1. United Airlines has been on the receiving end of fierce backlash after a Muslim woman wrote of her experience being refused an unopened can of Coke in case she “used it as a weapon”.
Tahera Ahmad, 31 years old, detailed her experience on Facebook in a post now shared nearly 8000 times.
It recounts how she was allegedly refused an unopened can during her flight from Chicago to Washington, while the man next to her was given an unopened beer.
Her Facebook post read:
“I am sitting on a United Airlines flight in the air 30,000ft above and I am in tears of humiliation from discrimination. The flight attendant asked me what I would like to drink and I requested a can of diet coke. She brought me a can that was open so I requested an unopened can due to hygienic reasons. She said no one has consumed from the drink, but I requested an unopened can.
She responded, ‘Well I’m sorry I just can’t give you an unopened can so no diet coke for you.’ She then brought the man sitting next to me a can of UNOPENED beer. So I asked her again why she refused to give me an UNOPENED can of diet coke. She said, “We are unauthorized to give unopened cans to people because they may use it as a WEAPON on the plane.” So I told her that she was clearly discriminating against me because she gave the man next to me an unopened can of beer. She looked at his can, quickly grabbed it and opened it and said, ‘it’s so you don’t use it as a weapon.’
Appalled at her behaviour I asked people around me if they witnessed this discriminatory and disgusting behaviour and the man sitting in an aisle across from me yelled out to me, “you Moslem, you need to shut the F..k up.” I said, “what?!” He then leaned over from his seat, looked me straight in the eyes and said, “yes you know you would use it as a WEAPON so shut the f..k up.” I felt the hate in his voice and his raging eyes. I can’t help but cry on this plane because I thought people would defend me and say something. Some people just shook their heads in dismay. #IslamophobiaISREAL”
United Airlines responded in a statement saying: “The flight attendant on-board Shuttle America flight 3504 attempted several times to accommodate Ms Ahmad’s beverage request after a misunderstanding regarding a can of soda. The in-flight crew met with Ms Ahmad after the flight arrived in Washington to provide assistance and further discuss the matter.
“Additionally, we spoke with Ms Ahmad this afternoon to get a better understanding of what occurred and to apologise for not delivering the service our customers expect when travelling with us.”
Ms Ahmad said the airline had “dismissed her entire narrative”.
“As a Premier frequent flyer at United, I have been served unopened canned beverages many times … It is ridiculing my integrity to dismiss the discriminatory behaviour towards me.”
The hashtag #UnitedForTahera has begun trending on Twitter as those against Islamophobia are calling for a United Airlines boycott.
In other news you may have missed…
2. There has been yet another sex scandal in football, but not in the NRL or AFL this time, but ‘football’ in the UK.
Three Leicester City players – including the son of team boss, Nigel Pearson – have been caught in a “vile orgy” according to The Sunday Mirror who obtained the footage taken after one of the players sent it out to friends in the UK.
The videos show defender James Pearson, 21, striker Tom Hopper, 22, and goalkeeper Adam Smith engaging in sex acts with three Thai women in a hotel room.
Some of the players can be heard hurling racial abuse at the women – as they commit sexual acts on the men – calling one “slit eye” and “minging”.
Hopper, according to The Sunday Mirror, tells one woman she is “an absolute one out of 10”.
The footage ends with the players high-fiving each other.
The three players were in Bangkok at the time for the Leicester City end-of-season tour.
James’ father and team boss, Nigel Pearson, is a patron of the league’s Kick It Out scheme, which aims to end racism in the sport.
The club has launched an investigation and the young players have been sent home early from the trip, apologising for their actions.
They have also deleted their twitter accounts.
3. Calls for teaching degree university cut-offs to be raised.
New data from the Department of Education reveals that 12 per cent of aspiring teachers did not score above 50 in their final Year 12 exams, and one third got an ATAR below 60.
The Australian Education Union has said this is worrying as not enough high-achieving students are looking towards a teaching profession.
“ATAR scores for teaching courses have declined in recent years, with the number entering teaching courses with an ATAR of over 80 dropping from 30 per cent to 20 per cent in just seven years,” Australian Education Union Federal President Corena Haythorpe told News Limited
“We already have a surplus of teachers and graduates unable to find work, yet we have shortages of teachers in maths and science — we need to lift entry scores and engage in proper workforce planning, not continue with the same failing approach.”
Education Minister Christopher Pyne has allocated $17 million to fixing this disparity, but there are still concerns it will not be enough to attract the brightest students towards a life in the classroom.
4. US Secretary of State John Kerry has broken his leg in a cycling accident.
Kerry has cut his European trip short, according to the AFP, after he broke his leg while cycling in France.
The 71-year-old broke his right femur and was hospitalised in Geneva after the accident in the French Alps, said the State Department.
We wish Kerry a speedy recovery.
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