News in brief...
Aug 01, 2007
<b>Sheik delays flight over men</b><br><br>ITALY — A Qatar sheikh held up a British Airways flight at Milan’s Linate airport for nearly three hours after discovering three of his female relatives had been seated next to men they did not know. When other business class passengers refused to swa
Sheik delays flight over men
ITALY — A Qatar sheikh held up a British Airways flight at Milan’s Linate airport for nearly three hours after discovering three of his female relatives had been seated next to men they did not know. When other business class passengers refused to swap seats, the sheikh, a member of Qatar’s ruling family, went to the pilot, who had already started the engine, to complain. Mediation failed and the sheikh and his travelling companions — the three women, two men, a cook and a servant — refused to sit down. So, the pilot ordered them off the plane for safety reasons. The London-bound flight was three hours late and around 50 of the 115 passengers missed connecting flights. Traditions in the conservative Gulf Arab region bar women from mixing with unrelated men.
Hotels told to provide condoms
CHINA —All hotels, holiday resorts and public showers have been ordered to provide condoms as part of nationwide efforts to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS. The regulation, issued by the commerce and health ministries, also requires pamphlets about AIDS prevention to be displayed. Some provinces now fine hotels and bars which do not provide condoms.
Inmate threatens to spread HIV
INDIA — An HIV-positive prisoner has threatened to infect inmates and officials if he is not given special privileges. The 24-year-old man, charged with attempted murder, robbery and assault, wants better food, cigarettes and more time outside his cell. Officials at New Delhi’s Tihar jail now fear going near him. “I guess jail officials will now also have to be trained in handling cases where patients take advantage of their illness to act on their whims and fancies,†the jail boss said.
ITALY — A Qatar sheikh held up a British Airways flight at Milan’s Linate airport for nearly three hours after discovering three of his female relatives had been seated next to men they did not know. When other business class passengers refused to swap seats, the sheikh, a member of Qatar’s ruling family, went to the pilot, who had already started the engine, to complain. Mediation failed and the sheikh and his travelling companions — the three women, two men, a cook and a servant — refused to sit down. So, the pilot ordered them off the plane for safety reasons. The London-bound flight was three hours late and around 50 of the 115 passengers missed connecting flights. Traditions in the conservative Gulf Arab region bar women from mixing with unrelated men.
Hotels told to provide condoms
CHINA —All hotels, holiday resorts and public showers have been ordered to provide condoms as part of nationwide efforts to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS. The regulation, issued by the commerce and health ministries, also requires pamphlets about AIDS prevention to be displayed. Some provinces now fine hotels and bars which do not provide condoms.
Inmate threatens to spread HIV
INDIA — An HIV-positive prisoner has threatened to infect inmates and officials if he is not given special privileges. The 24-year-old man, charged with attempted murder, robbery and assault, wants better food, cigarettes and more time outside his cell. Officials at New Delhi’s Tihar jail now fear going near him. “I guess jail officials will now also have to be trained in handling cases where patients take advantage of their illness to act on their whims and fancies,†the jail boss said.