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Live coverage of the struggle for independence in Catalonia from聽Dick Nichols, European correspondent of 91自拍论坛 Weekly and Links--International Journal of Socialist Renewal, based in Barcelona.

The October 17 edition of The Age has a front page story about bullying and sexual harassment in the Country Fire Authority (CFA).

The article said: "Women working for the CFA have been sexually assaulted and harassed amid a culture of fear, bullying and impunity, according to a leaked internal report whose existence has been a tightly held secret until now."

The iconic Bondi Pavilion on the foreshore of Bondi Beach has been saved from privatisation, and discussions have commenced about plans for its future as a cultural centre and creative hub.

The big swing against the Liberal Party in recent council elections resulted in former Liberal mayor of Waverley Council Sally Betts, who was pushing hard for the commercialisation of the pavilion, being replaced as mayor.

Three things stand out about the October 14 truck bomb attack in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

First is the huge number of casualties. The detonation of a large truck packed with explosives created an apocalyptic scene of carnage. It levelled nearby buildings, killing at least 327 people and injuring more than 400 others.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) finally liberated Raqqa, in northern Syria, from ISIS occupation on October 17, after a battle of 135 days. In 2014, ISIS declared Raqqa its capital, which makes its defeat a decisive event.

The SDF is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious armed force made up of dozens of militias that is committed to the political project of 鈥渄emocratic confederalism鈥, the participatory democratic project associated with the Kurdish-led Rojava Revolution.

A new report by the World Wildlife Federation (WWF), , has highlighted Australia as the only developed country in the top 10 deforestation hotspots.

WWF predicted up to 6 million hectares would be cleared in Eastern Australia by 2030, ranking it with the Amazon, Vietnam, Borneo and the Congo.

Free West Papua Campaign has responded to Australia鈥檚 election to the United Nations Human Rights Committee by calling on the Australian government to cease supporting Indonesia鈥檚 brutal occupation of West Papua.

In a , FWPC said: 鈥淚t has to break with the tradition of successive Australian governments that have simply turned a blind eye to the human rights atrocities that have occurred on our doorstep for decades, and instead take a principled stance.鈥

The Victorian Government鈥檚 announcement on October 18 that it will ban single-use plastic shopping bags is a welcome step towards reducing plastic pollution.

Victoria will join South Australia, ACT, Northern Territory and Tasmania, which already have similar bans in place.聽Queensland and WA will follow in 2018, leaving NSW as the only state to allow the bags.

A single-use plastic bag is used for just 12 minutes on average, but can take up to 1000 years to break down.

Palestinians and media groups have condemned Israel鈥檚 raid on of 11 Palestinian telecom and production companies in the occupied West Bank on October 18, which have since been shut down.

called on authorities to stop their harassment of Palestinian media, as well as for Israeli forces to release the two journalists arrested in the raids in the West Bank.

Traditional Owners from the Gulf Country in the Northern Territory showed their opposition to fracking聽 for shale gas outside Origin Energy鈥檚 AGM on October 18. The protest was organised by SEED 鈥 the Indigenous Youth Climate Network.

Traditional Owner Nancy Hoosan said: 鈥淚鈥檓 not just talking for myself and my people, I鈥檓 talking for everyone. No matter what colour you are or what language you speak, we drink the same water.

鈥淎ustralian government, listen to us. We don鈥檛 want fracking in our country.鈥

A new report, entitled , has reaffirmed what most women and girls already knew: sexual abuse and harassment are incessant, it starts young and it is on the rise.

Commissioned by Plan Australia and Our Watch, the survey collected responses from 600 girls and young women aged 15鈥19 across Australia.

Protests are continuing in Manus Island detention centre as refugees resist the Australian government's plans to move them to the East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre. Two refugees have died since August and numerous others have been attacked by locals in East Lorengau.