LONDON // A Sri Lankan Tamil demonstrator who went on hunger strike outside the Houses of Parliament accepted damages today from British newspapers who accused him of eating burgers during the action.
Parameswaran Subramanyam will receive nearly £80,000 (Dh480,000) from the Daily Mail and the Sun tabloids, his lawyer said.
Mr Subramanyam spent 23 days last year fasting as part of a protest by thousands of British Tamils about the treatment of their people in Sri Lanka. He later spent five days in hospital recovering.
The two newspapers falsely alleged that Mr Subramanyam, 29, had secretly eaten burgers from McDonalds during his hunger strike.
He sued them for libel at the High Court in London and the newspapers have now apologised, withdrawn the allegations and agreed to pay damages.
Judge David Eady said in his ruling: "The claimant did not consume any food at all throughout his hunger strike.
"The articles strike at the heart of the claimant's integrity, undermining the single achievement for which he became known and respected."
Judge Eady said Mr Parameswaran had been ostracised by Tamils after the untrue stories were published because they believed he had betrayed them and undermined the Tamil struggle globally.
Mr Parameswaran said he had thought about committing suicide after the newspapers published their stories because of the criticism he faced from other Tamils.
"I had death threats through mobile and text and all over the Tamil community they were spreading texts like 'kill Parameswaran' and 'bastard'," he said.
* AFP
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The Al Barzakh Festival takes place on Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm in the Red Theatre, NYUAD, Saadiyat Island. Tickets cost Dh105 for adults from platinumlist.net
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The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Transmission: CVT auto
Power: 181bhp
Torque: 244Nm
Price: Dh122,900
Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The%20Kitchen
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
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Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
if you go
The flights
Emirates offer flights to Buenos Aires from Dubai, via Rio De Janeiro from around Dh6,300. emirates.com
Seeing the games
Tangol sell experiences across South America and generally have good access to tickets for most of the big teams in Buenos Aires: Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Independiente. Prices from Dh550 and include pick up and drop off from your hotel in the city. tangol.com
Staying there
Tangol will pick up tourists from any hotel in Buenos Aires, but after the intensity of the game, the Faena makes for tranquil, upmarket accommodation. Doubles from Dh1,110. faena.com