DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Berlin airport plans ʼsoft launchʼ without main terminal building Berlin International Airportʼs chief hopes to save the country from further embarassment with his "BER Lite" project. The plan would see the airport open "metal boxes" instead of the elegantly designed main terminal. The firm behind Berlinʼs beleaguered new international airportconfirmed to Deutsche Welle on Tuesday its latest gambit to save what has become perhaps Germanyʼs longest-running joke and national embarrassment – a "soft launch" without the main terminal at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER). As first reported by Spiegel, the newest BER Director, Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, is set to present his "BER Lite" plan to the companyʼs supervisory board on Friday. Lütke Daldrup is the fourth leader tasked with rescuing the project, which has missed successive opening dates in remarkable fashion since 2011.
US state of Alabama to vote in controversial special election Alabama is set to cast a ballot in a special election that pits accused pedophile Roy Moore against Democrat Doug Jones. Polls suggest the race will be tighter than expected in a state that is heavily Republican. The US state of Alabama was set to vote in aspecial Senate raceon Tuesday that has underscored how deeply divided American politics have become. The race pitsRepublican Roy Moore(above), who has been accused of sexually harassing and assaulting multiple underage girls in the 1970s, against Doug Jones, a Democrat in a deeply Republican state. Polls from different sources have varied greatly, with some giving Moore a ten-point lead and others calling Jones as the prospective winner. "Iʼve known Roy for 27 years," a retired Moore supporter told DW at a campaign event in Fairhope, Alabama on the eve of the election.
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Marco Rubio: ʼVladimir Putin chose to interfere in US electionsʼ US senator Marco Rubio
US Senator Marco Rubio, who ran against President Donald Trump during the Republican primaries, tells that talk of US President Donald Trumpʼs impeachment over alleged Russian ties is premature.
Brexit: Hard-liners angered by Royal Mailʼs refusal to release Brexit stamp British advocates of Brexit have slammed the UKʼs postal service following reports that it will not produce a stamp marking the countryʼs exit from the EU. Some MPs said theyʼd push Royal Mail to reverse its decision. Conservative Brexiteers attacked Britainʼs Royal Mail postal service on Monday following reports in the press that it would not release a stamp commemorating thecountryʼs departure from the European Union, scheduled for March 2019. Pro-Brexit Conser-
vative ministers were quick to accuse the postal service of hypocrisy, saying that it had released a series of stamps celebrating Britainʼs accession to the European Community back in 1973. Speaking to the British press, David Jones, a former minister in Britainʼs Exiting the EU Department and a Conservative for Clwyd West, described the Royal Mailʼs decision as "outrageous," and said that he would write to the UK Business Secretary Sajid Javid, whohas oversight over the postal service, to complain.
Germany must allow third gender in registry of births, court rules An intersex person has won a court case to allow them to enter a third gender into the registry of births. The case was appealed to the Federal Constitutional Court after failing at lower levels. Germanyʼs Federal Constitutional Court on Wednesday called for a third gender option in the registry of births. Intersex people, who are neither male nor female, should be able to register their sexual identity as such, the Karlsruhe court ruled. The court found that the general right to the protection of personality in Germanyʼs Basic Law meant the register had to be altered to al-
low a third gender. The court ruled seven to one that lawmakers must create new legislation by the end of 2018 to allow for a third sex, providing the examples of "intersex," "diverse" or another "positive designation of sex." Another possibility raised was to scrap gender entries altogether. "Assignment to a gender is of paramount importance for individual identity; it typically plays a key role both in the self-image of a person and in the way in which the person concerned is perceived by others. The gender identity of those persons who are neither male nor female is protected,"the court ruled.
Refugee helpers in Germany sued for helping refugees German refugee helpers who guaranteed the living costs of Syrian refugees are being forced to pay back costs by job centers. Refugee organizations say people are being punished for showing humanity. A administrative court in the central German city of Giessen on Tuesday heard the cases of three refugee helpers who signed declarations guaranteeing the living costs of Syrian refugees — estimated at around €700 ($825) per month per refugee for a maximum of three years. The cases are part of a series in Germany in which social welfare authorities are demanding money from guarantors even after the asylum seekers have been granted residency rights and refugee status. In a ruling made last Friday, a court in Münster declared that William Eichouh would have to pay what he estimated at over €30,000 in back payments for unemployment benefits paid to two Syrians (his brother and sister-in-law) who had their asylum accepted within four months of their arrival.
German tractor driver mows down six speed cameras One manʼs late night ride on his tractor could end up costing him big, after German police say he drove over six different speed cameras. Authorities estimated that the damages could run into hundreds of thousands. Drivers in the small western German town of Gernsheim woke up to a curious sight on Tuesday, after six of the townʼs radartrap speed cameras were uprooted and crushed the night before.
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