Things are heating up in the US election home straight. Our chief correspondent, Paul McGeough, brings us two stories today: Latest polling shows Hillary Clinton's votes falling off a cliff and the strange tale of the Republicans joining Clinton in criticising FBI Director James Comey for the timing of this "renewed" investigation into her private email server.

Our Nick O'Malley also brings us the fascinating story of the spook Evan McMullin, the only presidential candidate with potential for a surprise.

Our correspondents have also been busy at work elsewhere.

From Jakarta, Jewel Topsfield writes that Australia and Indonesia are considering joint patrols in the highly sensitive South China Sea amid escalating tensions over the hotly-contested waters.

While Philip Wen shines some light into the appointment of former trade minister Andrew Robb as a senior economic adviser to the Chinese-owned Landbridge Group, despite the contentious company's acknowledged role in advancing President Xi Jinping's strategic imperatives in the region.

Other stories not to miss today:

• It took 29 months, but Lebanon now has a president
• The battle for Mosul has arrived at the city's limits