A New York man who says he was denied a seat on a five-hour JetBlue flight and was instead told to "hang out" in the plane's toilet has sued the airline for $2m, saying he suffered "extreme humiliation".
When Gokhan Mutlu arrived to check in for a
JetBlue flight from San Diego to New York in February he was told the flight was full, according to the lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court.
But Mutlu was allowed to board after a JetBlue flight attendant agreed to give up her seat and travel in an airline employee 'jump seat'. It was not clear in the lawsuit whether the flight attendant was working.
But 90 minutes into the flight, the pilot told Mutlu the flight attendant was uncomfortable and he would have to give up his seat and "hang out" in the bathroom for the rest of the flight, the lawsuit said. The pilot "became angry at (Mutlu's] reluctance" and said he "should be grateful for being on board", the lawsuit said. When Mutlu volunteered to sit in the 'jump seat', he was told it was reserved for airline personnel.
ITALYThe models are strutting past and the celebrities are carefully eyeing the collections, but it's not at every fashion show that you see prison guards by the catwalk. Security was tight as usual at Milan's San Vittore prison, where female inmates, launching their own womenswear line, showcased a collection of three white wedding dresses last week in a glamorous fashion show in the jail's courtyard.
Having learnt tailoring skills from a local cooperative that aims to help women behind bars, prisoners and former inmates displayed stylish dresses alongside creations by Italian big names such as Giorgio Armani, Prada and Alberta Ferretti.
"It is like a dream has come true," said Ecuadorian Mariuxi, who left San Vittore after a three-year drugs sentence and works for the Cooperative Alice, which runs the project. "It is work that brings happiness after an ugly period."
THAILANDThailand is offering its athletes big cash incentives for Olympic gold medals – but will pay out in instalments to stop them squandering it.
Gold medallists will earn 10 million baht (£160,000), silver medal winners will take six million baht and a bronze is worth four million baht – sizeable sums in a country where the minimum wage is just 203 baht (£3) a day.
However, half of the money will be paid over a 20-year period to prevent Thai Olympians, many of whom are from poor backgrounds, frittering it away.
"We don't want them to spend it all at once, they might need this money when they get old," said Thai Olympic committee member Charoen Wattanasin. "We will give it to them every month. Most of them manage their finances but there have been a few bad examples in the past."
AUSTRIAA man has escaped from his Austrian jail cell by squeezing through a food hatch in the door.
The 19-year-old Kosovan, who weighed less than 121 pounds, was being held at the prison in Linz for entering the country illegally, police spokesman Alexander Niederwimmer said.
How he got through two further doors or over the prison wall is being investigated, said Niederwimmer, calling the prisoner "a snake man".
OH, REALLYIt's a far cry from setting light to your lingerie in the cause of progress.
A solar-powered bra has been developed which can generate enough electric energy to charge a mobile phone or an iPod. Triumph International Japan has unveiled its environmentally friendly, and green coloured, 'Solar Power Bra' in Tokyo. It features a solar panel worn around the stomach, but replies on women not being too shy to expose it to the light.
MOVERS & SHAKERSANGELINA JOLIE
Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie has announced that she is expecting twins with actor Brad Pitt, the Hollywood couple's fifth and sixth children. Jolie, being interviewed at the Cannes film festival alongside comic actor Jack Black, acknowledged that she was having twins after Black made reference to them.
FATHER JOSE GABRIEL FUNES
The Vatican's chief astronomer says there is no conflict between believing in God and in the possibility of "extraterrestrial brothers" perhaps more evolved than humans. "In my opinion this possibility exists," said Father José Gabriel Funes, a 45-year-old Jesuit priest who is head of the Vatican Observatory.
SHANIA TWAIN
Canadian country star Shania Twain has separated from her husband of 14 years, record producer Robert John 'Mutt' Lange, according to People magazine.
The couple have a six-year-old son named Eja.
COMING UPKitsch and Europop will meet on Saturday for the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest.
While other talented singers have shunned the contest for the sake of their careers, this year's UK entry Andy Abraham has said he is not afraid of being labelled "cheesy" when he performs in Belgrade.
Terry Wogan's withering lighthearted commentary has already been labelled as a "problem" by Bjorn Erichsen, director of Eurovision television.
The full article contains 845 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
