Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Thursday 12 October. Top stories The Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has asked the Catalan government a simple question that may have a very complicated answer: have you declared independence, or not? On Tuesday evening, the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, said while the referendum this month had given his government a mandate to create a sovereign republic, he would "suspend the effects of the independence declaration" for a few weeks to give both sides a chance to talk. But the move has been met with confusion and frustration from Madrid and Rajoy has refused to rule out taking the unprecedented step of suspending the region's autonomy and imposing direct rule from Madrid. Rajoy also rejected calls for the dispute to be mediated by external partners, insisting the Catalan question remained a domestic matter. "The cabinet has agreed this morning to formally require the Catalan government to confirm whether it has declared independence after the deliberate confusion created over whether it has come into effect," he said in a television address on Wednesday. "If Mr Puigdemont demonstrates a willingness to respect the law and re-establish institutional normality, we could bring a close to a period of instability, tension and the breakdown of co-existence." Annastacia Palaszczuk's Labor government in Queensland is in front of its Liberal National party rivals, with One Nation polling 13%, the latest Guardian Essential poll finds. The coming Queensland election will be a key marker of One Nation's performance and will be closely watched given its federal implications and the number of marginal federal seats in the state. The poll also suggested the Nick Xenophon group was attracting 18% of the vote in South Australia before Xenophon revealed his decision late last week to return to state politics to contest the state election next March. Sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein continue to mount after his wife announced she was leaving him and his most powerful allies, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, expressed disgust at his actions. Georgina Chapman, co-founder of the Marchesa luxury brand and the mother of two of Weinstein's children, said she was ending her 10-year marriage to the producer. "My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered tremendous pain because of these unforgivable actions." Weinstein said he understood his wife's desire to separate. In an article for the Guardian, the actor Léa Seydoux has told for the first time of having to fight off Weinstein's advances in a Paris hotel room. Meanwhile Ben Affleck has apologised for groping the actor Hilarie Burton during an appearance on MTV's Total Request Live in 2003. Burton criticised Affleck on Twitter shortly after he had released a statement condemning producer Weinstein for alleged acts of sexual harassment and abuse. Labor has released a policy to address the potential risks of flammable cladding in Australia in the wake of the Grenfell fire in London. Labor will create a national licensing scheme for builders and installers, and a new penalties regime for people who breach the national construction code, as part of efforts to boost fire safety standards in buildings. The Labor leader, Bill Shorten, says the current regulatory and enforcement regime is "broken", and national action is needed to improve compliance with the building code, including toughening up penalties. A British woman and three Australians have been briefly detained by vigilantes, amid mass panic in Indian-administered Kashmir over a spate of alleged "braid choppings". Police in the Himalayan region say they have reports of at least 40 instances of women's hair being forcibly cut by unidentified assailants. The incidents have sparked mob violence and mass protests, and some young women in the region say they are too afraid to leave their homes. The first alleged incidents were reported the southern districts of the disputed state but have now spread to its capital, Srinagar. Police are at a loss to explain the alleged crimes but have doubled the reward for information about the culprits to 600,000 rupees (£7,000). Sport Australia has retained the Constellation Cup with a victory over New Zealand last night in Adelaide. The Diamonds beat the Silver Ferns 55-43, with Australia now leading the series 3-0, with one game to play. Nick Kyrgios has been stripped of his first-round prize money and fined an additional $10,000 after his controversial retirement after losing the first set in the Shanghai Masters. Kyrgios had become increasingly unhappy with the umpire Fergus Murphy. He later blamed a stomach bug but did not seek medical help on court. Thinking time | 
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Mariano Rajoy speaks at the Spanish parliament following the Catalonian independence vote. Photograph: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images 
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