On 13th October 2017 the military leadership announced the rescue of a Canadian-American family that was held by a Taliban affiliated group. The military leadership said it launched the rescue operation after a tip off from US intelligence that the family had been moved into the tribal areas from across the border in Afghanistan.

Spain’s richest region, Catalonia, held its independence referendum on October 1st. The results showed 43% of the region’s electorate that voted, 90% voted for independence. The 2014 referendum had a similar turnout, and 81% voted for independence in the non-binding referendum. Ever since the vote Catalan Independence remains uncertain.

According to CNN reporting on the 12th of October, “President Donald Trump slammed Puerto Rico on Thursday, saying its power grid and infrastructure were a "disaster" before two hurricanes hit last month and he threatened to pull federal emergency management workers from the storm-ravaged island”.

A month ago I could report that a ban on Niqab in Denmark, was as close as ever with 6 out 10 Danes supporting such a ban. Now the Danish liberal government and their social democratic opposition have exclaimed that they are ready, in collaboration with other parties from left to right, to push it through.