Frenchman Jean-Paul Touze, who weighs 170 kilograms (374 pounds) sued Air France for alleged discrimination after it refused to let him board a Beijing flight unless he bought two seats.

Overweight flyers, who are unable to squeeze into a single plane seat, will be asked to pay for two seats, or not be allowed on board for ‘safety reasons’, the airline announced today.

Air France spokesman Nicolas Petteau said: “It’s a question of security.”

The airline denied reports in the French press that it would oblige obese passengers to buy a second seat.

It says it will reimburse the passengers if the plane is not full.

The company said it already offers obese passengers the option of buying an adjoining seat at a discount.

Obese passengers who don’t reserve a second seat may not be allowed to board, at the captain’s discretion and if there is not an unoccupied adjoining seat.

Three years ago Air France was sued by a 160-kilo (353 pounds) passenger who the airline obliged to buy a second seat for a full New Delhi-Paris flight.

Air France was ordered to pay €8,000 ($11,423) in damages and to reimburse the cost of the second seat.

Other airlines with similar policies on obese passengers include Southwest, JetBlue and American Airlines.

Divorces today is becoming alarming, more so when  the reasons given are flimsy, which could have been settled amicably. That’s why celebrity marriages don’t last more than few months.

In Nigeria, the case is a bit different because of  the African culture which usually does not allow a wife to leave her husband, even if the husband proves to be a monster. In other to avoid shame and humiliation from the society, the African woman could bear maltreatments,  most especially for the sake of the children and for what the society would say.

Men command so much respect and have the power and authority to send their wives packing whenever they please, and even bring in another wife without any complain from the woman. But most especially, before a man can send his wife packing during the primitive African era, it must be for a solid reason. But now, the story is slightly not the same again. Some couples can decide to call it quit because of insubstantial reasons which would have been avoided.

One thing discovered in most Nigerian celebrity marriages is that as these people  grow in fame, most of them seem to grow out of their marriages. It’s then they’ll come out to say they’re having problems with their marriages and the only option is divorce.

The mind boggling question is: why didn’t they opt out ever before achieving fame. Why after achieving fame?
There is no doubt about the great positive impacts that Nigerian entertainers have made through their undying efforts to make the Entertainment Industry match standards overseas.

Nigerian movies and music are now being appreciated abroad, especially in Africa. But it seems that after making efforts to imbibe Hollywood’s style of movie making and foreign style of music, some Nigerian celebrities’  attitude towards marriage is almost the same as theirs. We are not pointing this out to criticise but because their fans are concerned about them as models and will love it if they seek redress and add dignity in marriage to their profession.

Cases of crashed celebrity marriages abound in this country. They include  Saheed and Fathia Balogun. Saheed took time out when the going was good  to tell the world how rock solid his union with Fathia was. Soon, he accused the actress of flirting around .

The couple tried to save their marriage but their differences were ‘irreconcilable’ and they drifted apart. Married on December 20, 2000, the union crashed in 2006.

Star actress Eucharia Anunobi suffered the same fate. Eucharia filed for divorce from her  husband, Mr. Ekwu in 2007. Eucharia admitted that she and her hubby had been living separately for more than two years. “I caught him sleeping with our 13-year old housemaid. When I accosted him, he left the house. He returned after a month. He left the house again and never returned.

He left our 4year old son and his cousin. Since then I haven’t seen or heard from him. The child we have between us is a sickler, but he abandoned us and went off”. After the divorce; she has since been sighted around town with a younger lover whom she rained words of praises on whenever an opportunity arises.

Star actress Kefee Obareki and her producer husband, Alec Godwin filed for a divorce on Thursday, January 22,2009 at Sapele Magistrate Court, Delta State. Their union which produced no issue, crashed on allegations ranging from Alec accusing her of denying him sex after their wedding. He also accused her of  infidelity, that she brought men into their home.

Kefee accused her hubby of bed wetting and request for anal sex. She also said  that he beat her up. And of course, money issue was part of the problem. They are no longer together. Kefee has moved ahead and has since then  released another album A Piece of Me, which had the award winning kokoroko featuring Timaya..

Segun Arinze, according to reports, had on May 25, 2009, asked an Ikeja High Court, Lagos to divorce his wife of 13 years, Annette after 11 years of leaving apart since 29th May,1998. The marriage was blessed with 12-year -old daughter, Morenike Padonou.

He said he wanted a divorce to allow him continue with his life, promising to be responsible for their daugther’s upkeep. He also said that both found out after about a year into the marriage that they couldn’t leave together. They wedded at the Ikorodu Local Government Registry on the 10th of May, 1996.

Also, Ayo Adesanya, Monalisa Chinda, Stephanie Okereke, Bukky Wright, smoke screen talk show idol, Agatha Amata….The list is endless.

What could have caused the crack-ups of these once- upon- a- time -heavenly made marriages? Research has shown that sex and money are the main issues, not forgetting false lifestyle and peer pressure. It is either one of the parties is complaining ‘my husband cannot satisfy me in bed!’, ‘his penis is too small’, ‘he doesn’t take care of me anymore and can’t perform his fatherly duties, or’ ‘She’s cheating on me!’, ‘he drinks too much, beats me up!’, or ‘she’s being influenced by her friends who give her bad advice!’ These and more unending reasons will make one doubt if ever they were truly in love!

Most people who want to go into entertainment may want to emulate the life style of their idols, and those  who are thinking of tying the knot with an entertainer maybe having a second thought about it to avoid such a fate befalling them because it creates a false scene of a common trend in the industry.

JOS— SECURITY has been beefed up in Jos, the Plateau State capital, following an outbreak of fresh violence in parts of the city which left about 15 people dead, yesterday. Many were reported injured while about four houses were torched in the skirmish which again took ethno-religious dimension reopening hostilities of the 28 November, 2008 crisis.

About eight corpses were seen at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, JUTH, while an unspecified number of bodies was sighted being taken into the Plateau Specialist Hospital, though journalists were barred from getting near the vehicle. The charred body of a victim was also seen at the cross-section near the Jos Central Mosque.

Many parts of the city were thrown into confusion as people ran in different directions to avoid getting caught in the mayhem. Ironically, the Presidential panel investigating the last crisis is currently holding public sitting in the state.

The state government has, in a reaction, reviewed the existing curfew in the state capital to 6.00 p.m to 6.00 a.m. from the former period of 12 midnight to 6.00 a.m.

Commissioner for Information, Mr. Gregory Yenlong, said the review became necessary to nip in the bud the prevailing security situation “so that hoodlums will not take advantage of the security breach to molest innocent citizens.”

He urged citizens to adhere strictly to the curfew, noting that “all efforts are being intensified to ensure the safety of life and property.”

The latest violence was said to have been triggered by the alleged refusal to allow a man whose house was burnt in the last crisis to rebuild it as he was told he could no longer live in the Dutse Uku area of the state capital. This was said to have generated tension which pitched the people along ethno-religious divide spreading to other areas as news of the fighting went round.

The police have, however, assured that the situation was under control. A statement by the police public relations officer, Assistant Superintendent Mohammed Lerama said: “The Plateau State Police Command wishes to state that there was a security breach this afternoon at Nasarawa Gwom area of the city. However, the police promptly responded to the challenge and it is presently being contained.

“Other residents of the town are, therefore, advised to remain calm. Anyone who takes the law into his hands will be dealt with in accordance with the law. Residents should equally disregard any rumour of crisis in the city.” Security has been beefed up all over the city with a combined team of police and military personnel taking positions at strategic locations to contain further violence.

Christian Forum condemns action

The Plateau State Christian Elders Consultative Forum, yesterday, condemned Sunday’s attack on Christian faithful in the state, describing the action as Islamic terrorism on churches. In a statement, signed by Bishop Andersen Bok, national coordinator, and Dr. Musa Pam, secretary general, the forum said “we hereby condemn today’s attack on Christians in Jos, the capital of Plateau State in which several persons have been reported injured or dead.

“The attack, coming today, after the normal Christian services in churches is premeditated, wicked, deliberate and terrifying. “Our fellow brothers and sisters were just coming out of churches in Nasarawa area of Jos when some Islamic youths pounced on them with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons.

Shortly after the attack, we were made to believe that some Islamic fundamentalists were engaging themselves in some fracas after some disagreement which spilled into churches leading to Christian casualties.

“Why must it be churches and Christians who will suffer from an all-muslim affair? In the last Jos crisis, Christians became casualties after some muslims protested an election result that was intended to elect local government chairmen.

Why would Islamic fundamentalists engage themselves on a Sunday morning shortly after the service if the ‘terror’ act was not premeditated?” While thanking the Plateau State government for its prompt reaction which quickly restored peace to the city, the Forum urged muslims to see this as the last of such provocation on Christians in the state, stressing that enough was enough.”

Meanwhile, about 35 people have been arrested in connection with yesterday’s violence and are now helping the police in their investigations. Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Greg Anyating, who disclosed this at a news briefing said five of them were arrested in military uniforms while various arms and other weapons were found with them.

He blamed a group of muslim youths whom he said attacked innocent people going to church, noting: “This morning (yesterday), there was a breach of the peace by a handful of muslim youths who, without any form of provocation whatsoever, started attacking people who were going to church particularly around St. Michael Catholic Church in Nasarawa Gwong area.”

However, he said he could not give any casualty figure for now assuring that necessary measures had been put in place to restore normalcy. Anyating regretted that the fresh violence came after previous crisis in neighbouring states like Bauchi were successfully contained from spreading to the state.

Although security men have taken strategic positions in troubled parts, there were reports of sporadic burning of houses last night in Nasarawa and Rikkos areas.