Airplane plunges down 7,315m
While on the way from Australia to the island Bali a jetliner rapidly descended 24,000 (7,315m) feet only 25 after take-off. The aircraft had lost cabin air pressure. Oxygen masks came falling down and an emergency was announced. The airline staff was screaming in panic and ran through the aisle, shouting for everyone to get into crash position. The plane fell down 24,000 feet in just nine minutes. The pilot managed to turn the aircraft around and returned to the Australian airport.
Emergency services were already in place when the plane landed again in Perth Airport. The incident will be investigated through the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. During the plunge one of the passengers pulled off his mask and proposed to his girlfriend. He had planned to ask her to marry him on Bali but decided to take the chance. They both reconfirmed their wish to get married once they were safely back on the ground.
jetliner (ʤet ˈlaɪnəʳ) – das Düsenverkehrsflugzeug
rapidly (ˈræpɪdli) – schnell, rasch
to descend (dɪˈsend) – herabsinken, absinken
take-off (teɪk— ɒf) – der Start, Abflug
aircraft (eəʳkrɑ:f) – das Flugzeug
cabin air pressure (ˈkæbɪn eəʳ ˈpreʃəʳ) – der Kabinenluftdruck
staff (stɑ:f) – das Personal, Belegschaft
aisle (aɪl) – der Gang, Korridor
emergency (ɪˈmɜ:ʤən(t)si) – der Notfall, Notlage
incident (ˈɪn(t)sɪdənt) – der Vorfall, das Ereignis
to investigate (ɪnˈvestɪgeɪt) – etw überprüfen, untersuchen
plunge (plʌnʤ) – der Sturz, Fall
to propose (prəˈpəʊz) – etw vorschlagen, hier: einen Antrag machen
to marry (ˈmæri) – jdn heiraten
to reconfirm (ˌri:kənˈfɜ:m) – etw erneut bestätigen, nochmal bejahen
Harvey Weinstein scandal
Harvey Weinstein is one of the most domineering and prominent people in the movie industry. He co-founded the production- and distribution companies Miramax and Weinstein Company. His movies have earned more than 300 Oscar nominations. But there were always rumours about his aggressive behaviour, even sexual assault and harassment towards women. Although until now there was no evidence. So far he has denied all allegations of non-consensual relationships.
In the beginning of this month a report in the New York Times revealed multiple allegations of sexual harassment against Weinstein. Since then over 40 women have come forward and accused the producer of misconduct. On Tuesday Weinstein resigned from the board of directors of his movie production company. He was fired as chairman of the Weinstein Company but had still held a position on the board. He has further been expelled from the academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Apparently “everybody” in the business knew about Weinstein´s behaviour but kept shut out of fear. He was powerful enough to ruin somebody´s career. Among the women who accuse him are many big names in Hollywood like Kate Beckinsale, Gwyneth Paltrwo, Angelina Jolie, Lena Headey, Cara Delevingne, Lea Seydoux and many more. Weinstein´s wife filed for a divorce.
domineering (ˌdɒmɪˈnɪərɪŋ) – herrisch, tyrannisch
to co-found (kəʊ-faʊnd) – mit begründen, gemeinsam gründen
distribution company (ˌdɪstrɪˈbju:ʃən ˈkʌmpəni) – die Vertriebsgesellschaft
rumour (ˈru:məʳ) – das Gerücht
behaviour (bɪˈheɪvjəʳ) – das Benehmen, Verhalten
assault (əˈsɔ:lt) – der Angriff, Überfall
harassment (ˈhærəsmənt) – die Belästigung
non-consensual (ˌnɒn-kənˈsen(t)sjuəl) – nicht einvernehmlich, nicht zustimmend
to reveal (rɪˈvi:l) – etw zeigen, aufdecken
to accuse (əˈkju:z) – jdn anklagen, beschuldigen
misconduct (ˌmɪˈskɒndʌkt) – schlechtes Benehmen, unkorrektes Verhalten
to resign (rɪˈzaɪn) – kündigen, zurücktreten
chairman (tʃeəʳmæn) – der/die Vorsitzende
further (ˈfɜ:ðəʳ) – hier: außerdem, weiterhin, zudem
to expel (ɪkˈspel) – jdn verweisen, ausschließen
apparently (əˈpærəntli) – anscheinend
fear (fɪəʳ) – Angst, Furcht
among (əˈmʌŋ) – unter
to file (faɪl) – hier: etw beantragen, anmelden
divorce (dɪˈvɔ:s) – die Scheidung
Chad added to travel ban
Last month President Donald Trump added the African nation Chad to the travel ban. That left everyone wondering because until then Trump had praised Chad´s cooperation on counterterrorism. The reason behind the restriction is rather ridiculous – the nation ran out of passport paper. They had been given 50 days to prove they were meeting certain security conditions, as had other nations as well. Trump administration say they are needed for the US to properly control who is entering the country.
One of these conditions is to provide some samples of recent passports so they can be analysed by Homeland Security. But with not enough passport paper Chad could not fulfil this request. They offered to provide a pre-existing passport of the same type but that was not enough for Homeland Security. Still, the US told Chad it could maybe be removed in a couple of months after the problem has been addressed.
But then on Tuesday this week everything changed again. A federal judge in Hawaii blocked Trump´s travel ban order. This puts the restrictions temporarily on hold. Homeland Security says there were other problems with Chad as well, not just the missing passport paper. Other national security agencies objected vehemently to adding Chad to the travel ban but were overruled.
to add (æd) – etw hinzufügen
to praise (preɪz) – jdn loben, rühmen
restriction (rɪˈstrɪkʃən) – die Begrenzung, Einschränkung
ridiculous (ɪˈdɪkjələs) – lächerlich, albern
condition (kənˈdɪʃən) – der Zustand, die Bedingung
sample (ˈsɑ:mpl̩) – die Probe, Muster
recent (ˈri:sənt) – kürzlich, aktuell
request (rɪˈkwest) – die Bitte, Anfrage
to remove (rɪˈmu:v) – etw entfernen
to address (əˈdres) – etw ansprechen, angehen
federal judge (ˈfedərəl ʤʌʤ) – der/die Bundesrichter/in
temporarily (ˈtempərəli) – vorübergehend, zeitweise
to object (əbˈʤekt) – dagegen sein, Einwände haben, protestieren
vehemently (ˈvi:əməntli) – vehement, energisch
to overrule (ˈəʊvəʳru:l) – jdn überstimmen