Descending into and ascending out from most of the globe’s international   airports, a fleeting glimpse of a hybridizd lark might be witnessed soon enough in the skies of our individual states.

The merging of  BA with Iberia will herald the coming of a host of welcomed changes for air travellers,  some of the planned benefits spoken about have included gaining a wider variety of options for travelling long-haul towards destinations  in Latin America.

Business discussions for this Anglo-Spanish merger have been particularly lengthy.

The possible joining of forces between these companies have only in the past been posed as a sort of “What if” question, due to there being a lot of agreement to be reached by both potential partners.

Further mention about  the idea of BA and Iberia potentially amalgamating was given by it previous Chief Executive Mr Rod Eddington in 2003.

Six years on and with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed and approved, the two will establish a new joint holding company named TopCo.

BA has taken 55%  and Iberia 45% in joint ownership.

The cost of this mega recombinative move to British Airways and Iberia has been priced at 4.3bn, managing to springboard them back fully into the competitive arena as Europe’s third-largest airline.

 History has never hit back so hard on a  violent perpetrator as it has done on John Allen Muhammad.  Known as the Washington sniper, Mr Muhammad shot 10 people dead at  random locations within Maryland, Washington and Virginia in October 2002.

He was executed this week by lethal injection after he and lawyers lost a last ditch appeal plea for clemency. The execution took place at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia.   After having had the injections administered, he was then later pronounced dead at 9.11pm.

His joint accomplice in these killings Lee Boyd Malvo has been sentenced to life in prison.    

Weblinks:  http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5AA0B620091111

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/sniper/index.html

Lee Boyd Malvo: Background and case details

http://www.biography.com/notorious/crimefiles.do?catId=259458&action=view&profileId=260620

Hearing about self-orchestrated shootings happening in America are becoming increasingly more common. The firearm assault carried out last Thursday at Fort Hood Military Base by Major Nidal Malik Hassan came as bolt out of the blue for the small and commandeering community there. 

With 13 loosing the lives in the incident, and over a score wounded; the US Federal Authorities quite possibly have a dilemma on their hands relating as this does to the sprouting up of home-grown terrorism. 

The ending of Hassan’s violent rampage came when civilian police officer, Sgt. Kimberly Munley out of all heroism succeeded in disabling Mr Hassan with the use of her own weapon.  Investigators are in the process of supplying answers to all the “whys? and hows?

Weblinks: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,572305,00.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN5y0SjFwNY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do0ryiU8y28

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/fort-hood-shooter-contact-al-qaeda-terrorists-officials/story?id=9030873

Since the Han Chinese/Uighur Muslim riots happened back in July this year, China has now in recent days executed 9 people (8 whom belonged to the Uighur ethnic minority and one Han)  found guilty and sentenced  for their part in individual acts of violence, murder and vandalism in the Xinjiang province city of Urumqi.   

The Chinese authorities convicted 21 people overall, while these first 9 were killed in the past few days after their trial in October.   

Word on the carrying out of this penalty was broadcast by The China News Service. At the beginning of the week a final verdict was arrived at by China’s Supreme People’s Court warranting the executions. On paper though, no dates or other examplary details were provided.  

Close to 200 people died during the length of these civil disturbances.

Weblinks: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/11/09/china-uighurs-executed.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8800023

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/09/world/main5586487.shtml

Positioned so menacingly between the borders of East and West Berlin, the wall built there from the 13th August 1961 until its eventual collapse on the 9th of November 1989 presented itself so visibly as an all-encompassing symbol of division. 

During the reign of Communism in the East of the city, underpinned as it was by a cavalcade of ”prima facie” Soviet-style expressions, hundreds of people risked their lives in attempting to climb the wall, while many were killed as result of trying. 

Celebrating the 20th anniversary since the barrier was dismantled, the best of all political figures synonymous with those times, joined our newer generation of luminaries along with the German public to mark the event.  German Chancellor Angela Merkel who grew up in the East recollected that time as being “an epic moment in history” and as an occasion she will always fondly remember.

Weblinks: www.berlin-life.com/berlin/wall

www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/autumn.of.change/

Seismic political demands pressurise Mr Karzai

The world might have witnessed Hamid Karzai receive a flurry of warm gestures from leading politicians over the past week, but he himself needs to buck up his own ideas in relation to bringing some purposeful autonomy to Afghanistan. 

In preparing to be reinstated as President this month, he can’t afford sounding the slightest bit glib when voicing his oath of office. 

Having to set out his agenda for Afghanistan in a very affirmative tone, Mr Karzai has promised to root out corruption and alter or completely repeal the recent Marital Sex Law which was the cause of much civil disquiet back in April. 

5 British Servicemen die in Afghanistan

In the aftermath of 5 British soldiers being fired at and killed on Tuesday of this week in Helmand Province, the Taliban have claimed responsibility and are said to be protecting the gunman amongst their ranks. 

The sparking off of this lone assualt by a rogue Afghan National Police official happened at a checkpoint near a place called Shin Kalay where there are houses built. The gunman was positioned on top of a roof and shot unhindered towards the soldiers.  

Escaping from scene, the gunman sped off on a motorbike.  Tracking this man down is the next step, spokespeople from the UK’s Task Force Helmand have  sworn to find and capture him.

A naturally precautious U.N

Resting alongside this story is the announcement made by the U.N to temporarily relocate by pulling out 600 of its expatriate field staff from the region after one of the organization’s  guest houses was attacked in Kabul. 

Weblinks: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/04/AR2009110400208.html

http://www.kelowna.com/2009/11/05/un-relocates-afghanistan-staff-to-secure-housing/

http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=floridatoday&sParam=36709410.story

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20091106_A_shaken_U_N__pulls_back_in_Kabul.html

Now without any form of challenger, Hamid Kazai has gotten to be announced as President of Afghanistan yet again by the Afghan Election Commission.  

The run-off elections scheduled for the 7th of November 2009 have probably been securely scuppered.  

 Since Presidential Challenger  Dr Abdullah’s press conference on Sunday, politics in Afghanistan seems to have been ever so slightly recalibrated with an obvious supply of international backing.  

Hamid Kazai was the face presented to the Afghan people as an interim president in late 2002.

He has remained a dominant but controversial figure throughout the noughties, but now has to prove his mettle under the weight of both US and allie expectations.

The reception to Hamid Karzai’s victory has been mixed, UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon has warmly congratulated the president-elect, and has repeated his call for all parties to concentrate on creating lasting stability and peace in the region.

Whilst also applauding Karzai for his achievement, President Barack Obama has spoken of the need for Afghanistan to move on to other chapters and for Karzai’s presidency to facilitate this.

Weblinks:  http://abcnews.go.com/WN/karzai-wins-presidency-afghan-runoff-cancelled/story?id=8974230

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091102/FOREIGN/711029952/1042

http://www.laspecula.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2061&Itemid=1

http://www.rferl.org/content/Afghan_Election_Commission_Says_Runoff_Canceled/1867148.html