Frankfurt

FRANKFURT — The Gulf state of Qatar has taken a 6.78-percent stake in Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen as part of a plan to take over around 17 percent of the company, Volkswagen said on Friday.

Qatar's investment will total some seven billion euros (10 billion dollars) and the country will become the third biggest shareholder in Volkswagen behind the Porsche and Piech families and the German state of Lower Saxony.

The agreement is part of a broader deal hammered out this month to merge Volkswagen with luxury sportscar maker Porsche, which incurred heavy debts in a recent failed bid to take over its far bigger rival Volkswagen.

It appears the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi is very close to being released. The US is pressuring the UK to prevent it, but the UK has business interests in Libya that may hinge on his release. Mergrahi is serving life with a minimum of 27 years after being convicted in 2001 of the 1988 bombing on board a Pan Am flight 103 which killed 270 people (the overwhelming majority being Americans). I don't really think the US has the right to interfere in a legal matter outside our borders, but I'm surprised that the Scottish courts and UK government are considering letting him go.

To fill you in on the horror of his crime consider:

Just playing this afternoon.... And asking what's your Internet Speed???

Test from me to Q-Tel using www.speedtest.qa

Test from me to Q-Tel using www.speedtest.net

Test from me to Frankfurt using www.speedtest.net

And what's yours?

http://www.mercer.co...

Top 50 cities: Quality of living
Base City: New York, US (=100)

Rank 2009 Rank 2008 City Country Index 2009 Index 2008
1 2 VIENNA AUSTRIA 108.6 107.9
2 1 ZURICH SWITZERLAND 108 108
3 2 GENEVA SWITZERLAND 107.9 107.9
4 4 VANCOUVER CANADA 107.4 107.6
4 5 AUCKLAND NEW ZEALAND 107.4 107.3
6 6 DUSSELDORF GERMANY 107.2 107.2
7 7 MUNICH GERMANY 107 107
8 7 FRANKFURT GERMANY 106.8 107
9 9 BERN SWITZERLAND 106.5 106.5
10 10 SYDNEY AUSTRALIA 106.3 106.3
11 11 COPENHAGEN DENMARK 106.2 106.2
12 12 WELLINGTON NEW ZEALAND 105.9 105.8
13 13 AMSTERDAM NETHERLANDS 105.7 105.7
14 14 BRUSSELS BELGIUM 105.4 105.4
15 15 TORONTO CANADA 105.3 105.3
16 19 OTTAWA CANADA 105 104.7

Tower: "Delta 351, you have traffic at 10 o'clock, 6 miles!"
Delta 351: "Give us another hint! We have digital watches!"

Tower: "TWA 2341, for noise abatement turn right 45 degrees."
TWA 2341: "Center, we are at 35,000 feet. How much noise can we make up here?"
Tower: "Sir, have you ever heard the noise a 747 makes when it hits a 727?"

From an unknown aircraft waiting in a very long takeoff line: "I'm f...ing bored!"
Ground Traffic Control: "Last aircraft transmitting, identify yourself immediately!"
Unknown aircraft: "I said I was f...ing bored, not f...ing stupid!"

O'Hare Approach Control to a 747: "United 329 heavy, your traffic is a Fokker, one o'clock, three miles, Eastbound."

A Wonderful Wedding Invitation...

Checkout.... Sorry Missed out attachment earlier.

Thief in headscarf cons jewellers

A jewel thief dressed as a wealthy Muslim woman has stolen rings worth hundreds of thousands of euros from dealers across Europe, police say.

The woman, wearing a headscarf, coat and gold-framed glasses, is suspected of swapping gems for replicas.

In one incident in Paris, the woman allegedly stole a 5.5 carat diamond ring worth 635,000 euros (£574,000).

Detectives say the thief has targeted dealers in Germany, Switzerland and France over a 10-year period.

German police are linking her to thefts from hotels in Germany and Switzerland during that time.

'Magician of crime'