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Russia has agreed to resume peace talks with the US and Ukraine, with Kremlin and US sources confirming Vladimir Putin has accepted an American proposal to reinstate negotiations.
The Russian President met with US envoy, Steve Witkoff, in a three hour meeting that briefed Putin on previous meetings between Ukraine, NATO and European nations.
Kremlin foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told media those previous summits - from which Russia was absent - did not produce anything meaningful.
"Naturally, Steve Witkoff briefed Vladimir Putin on the substance of the Oslo discussions, shared his comments on them, and noted some new approaches and developments in the positions of the Europeans and Kyiv. Although they contained relatively little of practical value in the context of settling the Ukraine crisis."
Ahead of Israel's general elections next week (27 Oct), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has directed the Israeli Defence Forces and Mossad to overthrow the Iranian regime.
Mr Netanyahu visited a shopping centre in the town of Dimona, telling supporters that despite being weakened, Tehran is still active and must be stopped.
Polling suggests a tight race between Netanyahu, leader of the nationalist Likud party, and his chief rival, Gadi Eisenkot, who leads the centrist Yashar!, for control of the government.
Mr Netanyahu told supporters Donald Trump wants them to support his party.
"And came a few days ago, my close friend, the President of the United States, and told the citizens of Israel, do you want to end this, do you want to end this? So he's telling you one thing, vote Mahal (Likud), vote for your faithful path, and together, with the help of God we will bring about the eternity of Israel."
A Democratic candidate for US Congress has been detained by Israeli forces, while accompanying Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank.
Brad Lander was among around 90 volunteers harvesting olives for farmers when they were detained near Bethlehem, after Israeli authorities declared the area a closed military zone.
The Israeli rights group, Rabbis for Human Rights, says the volunteers had no prior warning of the restriction.
Mr Lander says Palestinian farmers should be able to harvest their land without interference.
"I am Brad Lander and I am harvesting in this olive grove with Rabbis for human rights because this is what our tradition commands of us, (Hebrew): "Seek peace, and pursue it" (Psalms 34:15). The Palestinians whose land this is have the right to harvest it in peace and that is why we are out here here today."
There has been no immediate comment from Israeli authorities or the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
The husband of federal MP Helen Haines says she's got a long recovery ahead of her, after losing both legs in an alleged attack.
Dr Haines was allegedly rammed with a four wheel drive, sustaining severe lower body injures which have resulted in both legs being amputated.
Her husband Phil says Dr Haines is in a critical but stable condition in The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.
"Helen's road to recovery will be long and difficult but we know she is a fighter, she is a determined person who will do her best with our love and support to recover, and that is what we hope for."
Hundreds of supporters gathered at a vigil for Helen Haines in Wodonga in her electorate of Indi last night [[Wed night]] to wish her well.
Local resident Susan Gordon-Brown told SBS News she was shocked by the incident.
"We're new to the area, we just moved here about a year and a half ago. We voted for her. I can't think of anyone better to help. Like, she has this huge constituency yet she seemed to be everywhere."
The Deputy Mayor of the Gladstone Regional Council in Queensland says violence against female politicians and representatives, is real and needs to be addressed.
Natalia Muszkat says disrespect and harassment have been growing across social media against politicians at all levels of government and she herself has had to contact police about abuse.
Ms Muszkat has made the comments after the alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines earlier this week.
She says authorities need to take the safety of politicians seriously.
"The authorities and people take this seriously, because we and many other women politicians have been speaking about this for a long time, and we seem to excuse a lot of this behaviour, either for mental health, for anger, a lot of other things. But there is a huge component here of gender violence."
It's believed the rate of people hospitalised due to e-scooters and e-bikes has more than tripled over the past five years.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare says it's hard to accurately count the number of hospitalisations linked to e-scooters and e-bikes because the data isn't separated from other similar forms of transportation.
But it says that category of transportation was responsible for just over 4,000 hospitalisations in 2024-2025 compared to just under 1,300 in 2019-2020.
The Institute says this rise is consistent with the rise in popularity of e-scooters over that time period.
New national codes were introduced in July to better distinguish e-scooters, e-bikes and other e-mobility devices more clearly.
In sport, the New York Knicks have lost their first game of the new NBA season, with the Philadelphia 76ers sending a message they're after this year's title.
The 76ers have added LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to their roster, rallying for a 106-100 win.
It's an NBA-record 24th season for James, who finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
