The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.

The Sunday Times of Malta interviews Transport Minister Joe Mizzi and says it will be taxpayers who will pay for a better bus service, with the minister saying his hands are tied by a 10-year contract.

The Malta Independent on Sunday refers to a comment by Simon Busuttil at yesterday’s mass meeting, saying he knew these had not been easy times for the PN.

MaltaToday says the Maltese feel united by their language more than by their religion.

Illum quotes a government spokesman saying it was not true that Labour negotiated the sale of a stake in Enemalta with the Chinese government before the general election.

KullHadd leads with a comment by developer Sandro Chetcuti that his court case had revealed the truth in the case against Vince Farrugia.

It-Torca says the Civil Protection Department is itself in a state of emergency. It also recalls a time when, it says, the army was a PN army.

Il-Mument quotes Simon Busuttil saying at yesterday’s mass meeting that the country belonged to both Labourites and Nationalists and not just Labour. The newspaper also says that Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech in the ministerial declaration of assets did not declare a Brussels bank account of some €140,000.

The overseas press

A Chinese court has sentenced former leading politician Bo Xilai to life in prison after finding him guilty on charges of graft, accepting bribes and abuse of power. Xinhua reports the Jinan Intermediate People's Court also ordered that all his personal assets be seized. The former Politburo member and party chief of the megacity Chongqing vigorously denied any criminal wrongdoings during the trial. He mounted a fierce defence against claims that he corruptly obtained 26.8 million yuan (€3.25) and abused his political position to cover up the killing committed by his wife Gu Kailai. He accused Gu, who had earlier received a suspended death sentence for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood in 2012, for many of the corruption charges and even some aspects of the abuse of power allegation.

The East African Standard reports the Somali militant group al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack on the upmarket Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, in which at least 39 people died and 150 were injured.  

Iraqhurr says bombs targeting Shiite mourners in Baghdad have killed at least 57 people, as 12 others, among them 10 security forces members, died elsewhere in Iraq. The attacks are the latest in a surge in violence this year – the worst unrest to hit the country since 2008. M 

According to Le Journal du Dimanche, French police have seized a record haul of 1.3 tonnes of pure cocaine found on board an Air France cargo plane flying in from Venezuela – the biggest-ever haul in metropolitan France. The drugs, packed into 30 suitcases, had a street value of some €200 million.

Voters in Germany go to the polls today to elect a new parliament and decide whether Chancellor Angela Merkel would serve a third term in office. Berliner Zeitung says Merkel wrapped up her campaign, with a strong appeal to defend Europe against those opposed to the European Union.  

Pope Francis will visit the Italian island of Sardinia today – his second apostolic visit in Italy. L’Unione Sarda reports he will have meetings with labour representatives, the sick, the homeless, prisoners, cultural representatives and lastly with youths from the island of Sardinia. The highlight of the visit will be at the Shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria, a name shared by Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires, where he will celebrate Mass followed by the Angelus prayer.

In a separate development, Avvenire says the Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis would lead an assembly of cardinals on September 30 to announce the much-awaited date for the ceremony to declare both Pope John XXIII and John Paul II saints.  

El Universal says at least 170 people are feared dead as Mexico began the massive task of rebuilding after a rare double onslaught of storms. But the death toll may soar as President Enrique Pena Nieto said 68 others were still unaccounted for in a landslide in the southern village of La Pintada in Guerrero state.