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What began as a coup aimed at deposing a millionaire landowner president, whose 鈥渃rime鈥 had been to gradually shift Honduras away from US control and implement mild pro-people reforms, has spurned on a mass resistance movement with the potential to revolutionise the country.
Thousands of peasant rights鈥 activists marched in Guarico, Venezuela on Thursday to demand an end to impunity for the killings of 220 farmer organizers since the 2001 Land Reform Law was passed. The march was sparked by two recent attacks presumed to have been planned and paid for by large estate owners against well-known land reform activists.
Portugal鈥檚 parliamentary elections, held on September 27, changed the political landscape. The governing Socialist Party (PS), which had an absolute majority in 2005 after winning 45% of votes, lost more than half a million votes and fell to 36.56%.
The Sydney Stop The War Coalition organised a rally and march on October 8 to mark the eigth anniversary of the US-led imperialist war on Afghanistan. The rally demanded the Australian government withdraw all Australian troops from the conflict.
One hundred people gathered at Parramatta ferry wharf on October 9 to call on the NSW government to abandon plans to privatise Sydney Ferries. The protest was organised by Save Our Sydney Ferries, a coalition of unions and public transport support groups.
In May, the New South Wales Labor government introduced a new law lowering the threshold for public intoxication before which a person could be 鈥渕oved on鈥 or potentially arrested by police. The threshold was changed from 鈥渟eriously drunk鈥 to 鈥渘oticeably drunk鈥.
People in the Philippines are struggling to rebuild after Typhoon Ketsana caused widespread flooding and landslides.
Climate change is deadly serious. Predicted water shortages, rising sea levels, crop failures and dangerous weather events threaten the lives of billions within decades unless action is taken now.
Seventy people attended a memorial service outside Fremantle Prison on October 2 for Aboriginal man John Pat. Pat was found dead in police custody at Roebourne Prison on September 28, 1983. The ceremony was organised by the Deaths in Custody Watch Committee in memory of all the Aboriginal people who have died in police custody in WA, including Pat and Aboriginal elder Mr Ward.
On October 6, the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the official interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.25%. Explaining the bank鈥檚 decision, RBA governor Glenn Stevens said 鈥渢he risk of serious economic contraction in Australia鈥 had now 鈥減assed鈥.
If a rapist escapes justice for long enough, should the world hand him a get-out-of-jail-free card? If you're Roman Polanski, world-famous director, a lot of famous and gifted people think the answer is yes.
The flooding in the Philippines after Typhoon Ketsana has displaced hundreds of thousands. The left-wing Power of the Masses Party (PML) is calling for donations to help in relief work (see below for details).