What the Sunday papers say…

MaltaToday says its latest trust barometer shows Prime Minister Joseph Muscat enjoying a strong 11-point lead over Simon Busuttil, but the PN leader gained three points since June. In another story, the newspaper reveals a court order to drop down one of St Julian’s notorious eyesores after it was abusively extended onto the public foreshore was ignored by the previous administration, while the offending developers were granted a €425,000 ‘discount’ on the land’s original value.

The newspaper also reports how the Roman Catholic Church today enters a three-week synodal process on marriage and family which, according to experts, may alter the Catholic understanding of the indissolubility of marriage and teaching on same-sex marriages.

Sunday newspaper Illum says Labour MP Deborah Schembri is opposing embryo freezing. In an interview with the newspaper, the Labour MP said if her party took a position in favour of embryo freezing, she would face a dilemma and could not vote in favour because it conflicted with her conscience.

In another story, the newspaper reveals that former Nationalist backbencher Franco Debono is not excluding his candidature with the Labour Party, while on the backpage, the newspaper reads how Maltese businesses are getting the short end of stick as a result of illicit trade and imports from Sicily.

The Sunday Times of Malta reports that Italy and Malta have agreed a moratorium on oil exploration activities in disputed waters southeast of Sicily and Malta. On the frontpage, the newspaper says Grindr, a men-only dating app used for casual sex encounters, is to blame for the surge in HIV.

The Malta Independent on Sunday says John Dalli’s daughter has been put on police bail over claims that she is “heavily implicated” in an alleged scam which saw several American investors swindled out of their life savings.

It-Torca says Siggiewi Mayor Karol Aquilina was lambasted by the Nationalist Party, of which he is president, after he voiced his opposition to the siting of a motorsports track within the confines of Siggiewi.

Nationalist news organ il-mument says Bank of Valletta loaned €51.5 million Shanghai Electric, while on the backpage, it says Malta is still part of a Libyan oil smuggling ring.

Kullhadd says more people are to become owners of their government-built homes, and that Malta Independent columnist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia is being investigated over claims that she built a rubble wall on public land without a permit.