The German government on Wednesday approved a draft law allowing a third gender option on birth certificates for babies who are not distinctly male or female.
A thorough medical check-up awaits anyone who applies to join Germany's police or fire service. But transsexual or intersexual applicants probably won't make the cut, it emerged on Friday.
Claudia Schmidt initially seems like a typical 'wine queen' (Weinkönigin). She's got the flowing white dress, long silk gloves and very sparkly tiara - and lit up the otherwise downbeat Greens election party at Berlin's Columbiahalle last Sunday.
