The regime of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an took a further leap towards undisguised dictatorship, intensifying its crackdown against the democratic and left-wing opposition, independent media and the Kurdish population.
On October 25, Co-Mayors of the Diyarbak谋r (Amed) Metropolitan Municipality, G眉ltan K谋艧anak and F谋rat Anl谋, members of the Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP), were arrested.
The Illawarra Knitting Nannas Against Gas (IKNAG) quizzed candidates in the November 12 Wollongong by-election in a Meet the Candidates knit-in on October 29.
鈥淩ight now the Stop CSG fight is neither won nor lost,鈥 said Nanna Annie Marlow. 鈥淎fter passing legislation a year ago on its Strategic Release Framework the Baird government has stalled. One year on there is not a murmur from Parliament House of where they intend to allow coal seam gas mining in NSW and the Nannas are nervous because there is no area in the state that is protected.鈥
Geelong Trades Hall announced on November 2 that Tim Gooden has formally resigned as secretary and treasurer after 11 years at the council鈥檚 helm.
Colin Vernon, formerly an Industrial Health and Safety Organiser in Geelong with the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union, Forestry and Furniture Products Division, was endorsed as secretary.
Gooden notified Trades Hall of his decision to vacate the positions in a letter to president Jacqueline Kriz.
Veteran socialist filmmaker Ken Loach鈥檚 new film I, Daniel Blake, tells the story of two people trying to survive under Britain鈥檚 increasingly cruel welfare system.
Many conservatives have claimed the film presents a 鈥渞omanticised鈥 view of the poor and that the harsh realities it depict are exaggerated 鈥 despite a large number of real-life examples similar to those features in Loach鈥檚 film. Below, comedian Mark Steel responds to Daily Mail columnist Toby Young, who said the film 鈥渄idn鈥檛 ring true鈥. It first appeared at The Independent.
A bill in Ireland to ban hydraulic fracturing, or , passed the first stage of approval on October 27 as lawmakers voted it through the country鈥檚 House of Representatives (D谩il Eireann).
Hazelwood Power Station, Australia鈥檚 dirtiest power generator and many decades past its 鈥渦se by鈥 date, will finally close on March 31.
Hazelwood鈥檚 closure is symbolic because of its size, its history and because it provides 20% of Victoria鈥檚 power. But technological advances and environmental concerns have finally caught up with it.
In May, majority owner ENGIE鈥檚 CEO Isabelle Kocher said the company was reviewing its remaining coal plants one by one and would close those with the most outdated technology.
Staff of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have overwhelmingly rejected a proposed enterprise bargaining agreement that would cut workplace rights and conditions, for a pay rise well below inflation. A ballot announced on November 1 revealed that 70% of eligible staff voted against CSIRO management's proposed EBA, dealing a further setback to the Turnbull government's faltering public sector bargaining policy.
In the end, on October 29, it all worked out rather well for Mariano Rajoy. After patiently implementing his motto that 鈥渁ll things come to he who waits鈥, the leader of the conservative People鈥檚 Party (PP) was that day confirmed as Spain鈥檚 prime minister for a second four-year term.
Normal operations were apparently resumed in the institutions of the Spanish state after 10 months of turmoil arising from the inconclusive general election results of December 20 and June 26.
Members of Melbourne鈥檚 Kurdish community rallied outside the city鈥檚 Turkish consulate on October 28 to protest the arrests of the co-mayors of the city of Diyarbakir in south-east Turkey.
The two mayors, G眉ltan Ki艧anek and Firat Ali, were arrested on October 25 and accused of links to the banned Kurdish Workers鈥 Party (PKK). Ki艧anek is also an elected member of the Turkish Parliament for the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party. She is also the city鈥檚 first female mayor.
There are 105,000 homeless people in Australia. In NSW and Victoria there has been a 20% increase in the rate of homelessness in the past decade. This shows that homelessness is a structural issue, one that charity is not capable of fixing.
The current homelessness services are incredibly scarce and designed to fail anyone in need of accommodation.
Guardian journalist and self-proclaimed 鈥渟ocialist feminist鈥 Van Badham鈥檚 latest article is entitled .
The NSW Coalition government is under fire again after property owners in Sydney's south-west were hit by a "monumental stuff-up" in which at least 140 new buyers were not told they would be in the path of a future motorway before they bought their properties.
The blunder affects properties purchased between June 27 and October 24 this year that are in or near the planned F6 extension corridor in Sydney's south and the Werrington Arterial project. The Labor opposition has linked the error with the privatisation of the agency responsible, Land and Property Information.