US seeks to contain Middle East conflict, Liberal apology for history book, and the pain behind Tim Winton’s new novel

Noisy neighbour | The $775m bid to bring an AFL team to Hobart could lead to crowd noise drowning out concerts by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra at its concert hall next door and even threaten its future existence, its CEO says.

‘God made a plan’ | Peter Cain, the ACT’s shadow attorney general, has apologised “wholeheartedly” for a 2002 workbook he wrote which does not mention the frontier wars and paints a rosy picture of how Christian settlers helped First Nations peoples.

Rent relief | Annual rent increases for houses have hit multi-year lows in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, suggesting a relentless stretch of rising rents may have peaked, a new report has found.

Greens gambit | The Greens want to open 1,000 new health clinics nationwide with free medical and dental care, in a $54bn policy that the minor party says it would push in the event of a hung parliament.

Glider glimpse | A webcam from inside the tree hollow housing a family of greater gliders offers footage of scratching, grooming and cuddles between two resident adult gliders, and potentially a joey peeking out of its mother’s pouch.

Middle East crisis | Eight Israeli soldiers have been killed and a number of others wounded in three exchanges with Hezbollah in heavy fighting inside Lebanon. Iran is bracing itself for likely Israeli attacks on its nuclear sites but Joe Biden has said the US would not support such strikes. It comes after most of Israel’s defensive effort appears to have been undertaken by its own systems rather than relying on western help. In Gaza, more than 70 people have been killed in a series of Israeli attacks and in Europe, hand grenades were thrown near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen (pictured) and shots were fired at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm.

Vance edge | Post-debate polls show JD Vance edged the vice-presidential debate over Tim Walz yesterday, while Democrats fear a triple threat to Kamala Harris from the Middle East crisis, the aftermath of the deadly Hurricane Helene and dockworker strikes.

Spain’s pain | Spain logged a record 21.8 million international visitors this northern summer during a period when anti-tourism protests spread across the country.

Haitian hell | Half of all Haitians are struggling every day to find food as rampant gang violence and lawlessness are causing “the worst hunger emergency in the western hemisphere”, a report has found.

Bank withdrawal | A man and woman have reportedly been fired from their jobs at the Vatican bank because they flouted a ban on marriage between employees.

Dally M | Jahrome Hughes has become the first Kiwi halfback to win the Dally M medal in 32 years, while Roosters forward Olivia Kernick took the women’s gong. And Jarome Luai, the most misunderstood man in the NRL, is determined his final Panthers game ends in a fourth grand final win.

Tennis | Carlos Alcaraz ended Jannik Sinner’s winning run to take the China Open title in Beijing after another pulsating encounter between the two young stars.Watch the highlights here.

Football | Aston Villa take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League while Liverpool host Bologna.

Queensland | State election leadership debate on Nine Network at 7.30pm.

Economy | New vehicle sales data for September released at 12pm.

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