German sugar tax halted, passengers subdue hijacker on Flydubai, and Tennessee execution fails

After Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil presented a softened draft for a sugar-drink levy, the chancellor’s office announced the measure would not secure a majority in the cabinet, effectively shelving the tax as the Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Ernährungsindustrie, the Wirtschaftliche Vereinigung Zucker e.V. and the Bundesverband der Deutschen Süßwarenindustrie voiced fierce opposition. Meanwhile, on Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, three passengers, including a plumber and a dentist, subdued a co-pilot who had assaulted the pilot in an alleged terrorist act; the aircraft later landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and the remaining travelers were transferred to another flight to Tel Aviv. In the United States, the scheduled execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee failed when two doses of pentobarbital did not cause death, leaving her alive, hospitalized, and prompting the governor to suspend further executions while experts questioned the drug dosage and highlighted her previously reported blood disorder.