The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Sunday Times of Malta reports that Italy and Malta have agreed a moratorium on oil drilling in disputed waters.
MaltaToday says Prime Minister Joseph Muscat leads its ongoing survey by 11 points, but Simon Busuttil gained three points over the summer. Labour leads by 4 points over the PN when it comes to voting intentions, down from a five-point lead in June 2015 and an eight-point lead in March 2015.
Il-Mument says Bank of Valletta loaned €51.5 million to Shanghai Electric, which is to build the new gas powered power station.
The Malta Independent on Sunday reports that John Dalli’s daughter has been put on police bail as the FBI and Malta police ‘tighten the net’. The newspaper says Mr Dalli and his daughter Claire Gauci Borda have been ‘heavily implicated’ in an alleged scam which saw a number of low income Americans swindled of their savings.
It-Torca says the Mayor of Siggiewi, Karol Aquilina, has found no backing from the PN, of which he is president, in his opposition to the siting of a motorsport track within the confines of Siggiewi.
Illum says Labour MP Deborah Schembri is opposing embryo freezing.
KullHadd reports that more people are to become owners of their government-built homes, with Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon saying there was no discrimination between districts.
The overseas press
CNN reports UN Secretary General ban Ki-moon has called for a thorough and impartial investigation into the airstrike in the Afghan city of Konduz in an area where a hospital run by Médecins Sans Frontières was bombed and at least 19 people killed and 37 others injured. He said in a statement that hospitals and medical personnel were “explicitly protected” under international humanitarian law. Earlier, the UN said the bombing may have been a war crime.
The Washington Times says President Obama has offered his “deepest condolences” over the suspected US airstrike and promised a thorough probe of the incident. The US military has acknowledged carrying out the airstrike in the area. A spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan said they were targeting insurgents and there may have been “collateral damage”.
Kabul Times reports Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also expressed his “deep sorrow over the killing and wounding of civilians” in Konduz. Ghani said he had spoken with the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, US Army General John Campbell who “provided explanations about the incident and offered condolences to those affected”.
The International Committee of the Red Cross is not going to terminate its humanitarian activities in Afghanistan, following the deadly bombing the MSF hospital in Konduz. However, ICRC's press office told RIA Novosti they were reviewing the security situation.
Sputnik reports Russia has said it would step up air strikes in Syria. The senior officer of the Russian General Staff, Colonel Andrei Kartapolov, has said Russian jets had carried out more than 60 sorties in 72 hours across Syria. He added that “panic and desertion” had started among the Islamic State militants and some 600 were trying to escape to Europe.
Expresso quotes Portuguese President Aníbal Cavaco Silva urging a high turnout in today’s parliamentary elections. He said the country was facing “a crucial moment” in its history and there was a “heavy burden of responsibility” on its 9.5 million voters.
Times of Central Asia says Kyrgyzstan voters are heading to the polls today to elect a parliament for the next five years. Fourteen parties have been officially registered to compete for seats in the 120-member Jogorku Kenesh. This is the first time the country is using a biometric registration system to verify voters.
Le Jour says there have been more clashes between government and opposition supporters in Guinea, days before presidential elections. Violence broke out in the second city of Nzérékoré before a campaign visit by President Alpha Condè. His supporters angered local traders by asking them to close their shops.
VOA News reports the authorities in Oregon say the gunman who shot dead nine people at a community college killed himself and was not shot dead by police. Twenty-six year-old Chris Harper Mercer’s death came after a gun battle with two policemen on Thursday in Roseburg.
Televisiete announces rescue teams in Guatemala say they believe 350 people may still be buried under rubble following a landslide on Thursday. At least 55 bodies have been recovered so far and 30 people have been rescued. Tons of rock and mud buried some 125 houses after heavy rain.
Haaretz reports a Palestinian has stabbed two Palestinians to death and wounded two others in Jerusalem. Israeli police shot the attacker dead after he reportedly seized a gun and shot at tourists in the old city.
The Observer says British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Prime Minister David Cameron have paid tribute to the former chancellor who died at his home in Sussex, aged 98. Corbyn described him as “a Labour giant whose record of service to party and country stands as his testament”. Cameron said Healey was a “giant of post-war politics” and hero of the second world war.