The misery of holiday flying can be made even worse by who you end up sitting next to. So KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is unveiling a new feature allowing flyers to link up their social media profiles during check-in then pick a flying buddy from other passenger profiles.

Just days after the final withdrawal of U.S. troops, Iraq is in the midst of a growing political crisis. Aides to Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki say one of his main rivals, ordered attacks on Shiite politicians.

In the southern village of Wukan, residents have chased local authorities out of town and are in open rebellion over land seizures. Nearby villages also say their land has been taken. Nationwide, more than 40 million Chinese farmers have lost land.

In North Korea, streams of mourners are paying their last respects to the country's longtime leader who died over the weekend. In the three days since Kim Jong Il's death, little has emerged about what's next in North Korea other than a state funeral has been set for next week.

Intelligence analysts are scrambling to assess North Korea's designated leader Kim Jong Un, of whom very little is known. He is untested, and North Korea watchers wonder whether he will be challenged by the military or others in the leadership elite. Similar questions were raised about his father when he took over following the death of Kim Il Sung in 1994.

The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has created uncertainty about the government that controls one of the most oppressive countries in the world. There are concerns of a brewing power struggle following Kim's death. Analysts say the U.S. and its allies have no detailed contingency plans if the situation there spins out of control.