Morning mail: Saudi Arabia 'to return to moderate Islam' Wednesday: Crown prince says ultra-conservative doctrines that govern nation are not normal. Plus: is Canberra the next hot travel destination? Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman says the shift to an ultra-conservative state was originally a reaction to the Iranian revolution. Photograph: Reuters Eleanor Ainge Roy @EleanorAingeRoy Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 25 October. Top stories Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has vowed to return the country to "moderate Islam", and asked for global support to transform the hardline kingdom into an open society. In an interview with the Guardian, the powerful heir to the Saudi throne said the ultra-conservative state had been "not normal" for the past 30 years, blaming rigid doctrines that have governed society in a reaction to the Iranian revolution, which successive leaders "didn't know how to deal with". He said he wanted to reform his country, empower its citizens and lure investors. Prince Mohammed said: "We are a G20 country. One of the biggest world economies. We're in the middle of three continents. Changing Saudi Arabia for the better means helping the region and changing the world." The crown prince's comments are the most emphatic he has made during a six-month reform program that has tabled cultural reforms and economic incentives unimaginable during recent decades, during which the kingdom has been accused of promoting a brand of Islam that underwrote extremism. Political ads on Facebook work in mysterious ways. Unless they pop up in your feed, there's no way to determine that they appeared as an ad. It's also possible to create "dark posts", which only show up as ads and not as a post on your Facebook page. This makes it difficult to see which groups are campaigning for which cause, and fact-check what they're saying. Targeted Facebook ads were a tactic seen throughout the Trump campaign and was believed to have contributed to his victory in the 2016 election. With the help of readers and in collaboration with the US news organisation ProPublica, we're now tracking these ads and have published a database. We've been able to look at some of the ways Malcolm Turnbull, GetUp! and Adani use the ads. Paul Keating has called Canberra a great mistake, a city with an air of unreality. But Lonely Planet's travel experts disagree, listing it in the top 10 cities around the world you must visit next year, and praising the capital's revitalised precincts, boom in restaurants and cafes, and its large collection of national treasures. "Criminally overlooked Canberra packs a big punch for such a small city," writes Lonely Planet's Chris Zeiher. "It is a bit of a hidden gem that has been hiding in plain sight. Rich with history, culture and entertainment, it offers something for every kind of traveller." Raids at the Australian Workers' Union headquarters in Melbourne and Sydney on Tuesday are likely to see the union challenge the investigation and warrants in federal court. The Australian federal police raided the headquarters in support of a Registered Organisations Commission investigation into donations the AWU made to activist group GetUp! when federal Labor leader Bill Shorten was in charge of the union. AWU's national secretary, Daniel Walton, branded the raids "an extraordinary abuse of police resources" and said they were part of an attempt to smear Shorten. Walton said the documents seized were over 10 years old and "do nothing more than highlight the fact that the union made a few political donations". Problems with Centrelink payments caused "extremely stressful" delays for some of Australia's most disadvantaged, with one welfare recipient telling Guardian Australia the delay left him with $2 to his name and unable to afford food. Confused welfare recipients voiced their anger on social media or visited local Centrelink offices but, in some cases, they were told there was no estimate for when the payment would be made. The Department of Human Services confirmed short delays in payments but did not answer questions on how many people or what payment types were affected. The delays coincided with new figures showing a marked increase in complaints about the agency. The Department of Human Service's latest annual report showed complaints rose from 113,746 in 2015-16 to 168,709 in 2016-17. Sport The Women's Ashes is off to a thrilling start. Hot on the heels of the World Cup, this is as good a chance as ever to grow the game of women's cricket, which, despite the blistering success of the Matildas and AFLW, has lagged behind other women's sport in the growing public interest. But with a messy TV deal making access difficult, is this a lost opportunity? Mal Meninga's Kangaroos are yet to lose a game, and are raging favourites for the Rugby League World Cup. What sets Meninga apart as coach? The Queenslander commands respect for the green and gold jersey across state lines – defying State of Origin rivalries. And as player and coach, he has overseen the transition from a working-class, suburban game to a multimillion-dollar national industry. Thinking time A woman walks past prototypes of Donald Trump's US-Mexico border wall. Photograph: Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images Between San Diego and Tijuana eight prototype border walls are ready for testing – but will any get built, and will it make a difference if they do? President Donald Trump campaigned hard on building a wall along the entire 3,200km Mexican frontier. The border wall is highly controversial, with major global contractors eschewing the opportunity and several state and local governments proposing blacklists of companies involved. But anticipated protests at the construction site never materialised, with local immigrant-rights activists choosing to greet the exercise with what San Diego photographer Maria Teresa Fernandez called "the sound of silence". "In accompanying her from diagnosis to death, I have struggled against unanswerable questions and enormous sorrow but they are insignificant compared to yours. I don't need to tell you how much your mum loved you but please know that it has been my privilege being her oncologist", writes Ranjana Srivastava, in a moving letter to the daughters of a patient who recently died. Tehching Hsieh is a Taiwanese performance artist who takes his work seriously. Very seriously. Whether it is living outside for a year, living solely in a small room for a year, or being tied to someone else for a year. Now a major retrospective of his art is showing at the Venice Biennale. "My performance artwork is time-based," Hseih tells Brigid Delaney. "Once time passes – they all disappear. All that's left are the records; and that's all you see in this show, an archive." What's he done now? After devoting five aggressive takedown tweets towards Republican senator Bob Corker (who had accused the US president of "debasing our nation"), Donald Trump then changed his tune and ended his tweeting storm on a note of positivity – a statement numerous economists have said is a hangover from the Obama administration, and not due to his administration. "Stock Market just hit another record high! Jobs looking very good." Trump tweeted. Media roundup The Age carries a full-page image of soldier Jesse Bird, who took his own life after being unable to get help from the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Bird had less than $6 in his bank account when he pleaded for financial assistance from veterans' affairs – 10 days after he died they transferred nearly $5,000. Do Australians really need the NBN? The ABC has an in-depth explainer which investigates how upgrading to NBN could affect your email and internet usage, Netflix account and downloads and your ability to work from home and use Skype. And the Atlantic has an insightful long read exploring why there aren't more new countries, with quests for self-determination from Catalonia and Kurdistan showing a move towards greater independence isn't enough. Coming up Parliament will sit, with political debate over the AFP raids on the Australian Workers' Union expected to continue into Wednesday. Malcolm Turnbull will persist with efforts to sell the government's new energy policy. Senate estimates hearings are scheduled in social services, treasury, employment and defence. Nurses and carers from 26 Bupa nursing homes across Victoria will rally in Melbournein support of fairer wages and safe staffing levels. 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