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According to CNN International, health authorities in Hamburg are examining two women (one of whom had recently returned from Thailand) for signs of avian influenza. Though the authorities stated it was ‘very unlikely’ that either woman was infected, the news was enough to send shares in Lufthansa down a bit. According to German wire service dpa (link in German), definitive test results are expected some time this evening.

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RT? News reports that the European Commission is expected to find tomorrow that Ryanair’s Charleroi airport deal with the Walloon government is illegal. Such arrangements will not be ruled illegal per se, but will be subject to significant limits of scope and time. We shall all have to wait to see what effect the ruling will have on the future of cheap air travel.