News Bytes

LTU cancels flights to the US on winter flight schedule
The market for low budget airlines is definitely anything bit boring at the moment - the main focus is currently on Air Berlin and its subsidiary LTU. On August 22, the aero magazine reported on its website that LTU had canceled all flights to Los Angeles and Las Vegas during the winter months. In September, head of Air Berlin Joachim Hunold wants to announce what the future of LTU is going to be. The reason: Air Berlin is currently having experts finding out whether they should keep the trade name of LTU or not. Those experts will announce their ruling in mid-September. An airline spokesman said: "The name is currently on trial because a great competitor has achieved a prominent market position in Duesseldorf." He means Lufthansa, which has announced to expand its offers for long-distance flights between Duesseldorf and North America. (Source: http://www.aero.de)

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Immigration activist deported
On August 20, immigration officials announced that Elvira Arellano, an immigrant from Mexico, had been deported back to her home country. Not every deportation is worth a press release - but Arellano was special. She had been living in asylum in a Chicago church for one year to avoid deportation and thus being separated from her 8-year old son, who is an American citizen. To achieve a residence permit, she entered into a hunger strike, sent her son to Washington to meet with Members of Congress together with other activists and gave hundreds of interviews. Her fate and her fighting spirit made her an icon of immigrant rights. On Saturday Elvira Arellano had left the church to participate in a demonstration for immigrant rights in Los Angeles. There she was arrested and later deported, said Pastor Walter Coleman, pastor of the Adalberto United Methodist Church, where the Mexican woman had lived since August 15, 2006. Immigrant activists were outraged by the arrest and announced protests in the Los Angeles Times. Immigration opponents, however, used the opportunity to portrait Arellano and all other illegal immigrants as criminals. (Source: Sueddeutsche Zeitung)

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Elvis Presley's daughter cried during duet with her father
Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie Presley (39) burst into tears when she heard her voice together with her father's. To honor the 30th anniversary of her father, rock'n roll legend Elvis' death, she had recorded the ballad "In The Ghetto." Her voice was mixed into the song. "Singing this particular duet with him was more emotional for me than anything I'd done before," Presley told USA Today. "I do think this idea would mean a lot to him." Fans can buy the song off the internet. The proceeds will go to the Presley Place in New Orleans. It is a house for homeless families, still under construction at the moment. (Source: dpa)

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Unfaithful husband sues flower delivery service for $1 million
A flower delivery service in the US sent a written thank-you note for an order - and is now being sued for a compensation of $1 million by its customer. The man blames the company for ruining his marriage, because the written note had led to the uncovering of his secret affair. The man had send roses to his girlfriend. The delivery services thank-you note for the offer worth $100 was found by the man's wife, who, as a consequence, filed for divorce. The man is accusing the company of a breach of contract, since they had told him no documents of any kind concerning the order would be sent to his house or his office. (Source: AFP)