gives his 4-year-old daughter Suraia some last-minute encouragement before her first day at Joseph Sibilly Elementary School on St Thomas as schools across the territory kicked off the 2022-2023 school year Monday Thomas said he calls beach-loving Suraia “Princess Mermaid Munchkin,” and he’s excited to see her join her peers in the classroom Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Would you like to receive our daily news? Signup today Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account These criminalizing and Islamophobic accusations have been used against post-9/11 peace activists opposed to the US-led NATO war and invasion of Afghanistan It’s a deliberate tactic for political repression and censorship that prevents an honest dialogue on the so-called War on Terror A year and a half ago on Remembrance Day we as two Muslim Afghan women peace activists proudly held a banner in opposition to Canada’s military involvement in Afghanistan at Toronto’s Old City Hall it was the eleventh year of the ongoing war and occupation that has left tens of thousands of Afghan civilians killed We later explained our motive after we repeatedly ignored and refused requests for an interview the terms “Taliban supporters,” “Jihadists” and “Islamists” were used in stories about us This led us to file a defamation lawsuit with our lawyers Jeff Carolin and Peter Rosenthal The lawsuit was settled out of court this past June All details of the settlement are confidential except the release of Sun Media’s “statement issued on settlement of litigation” to us: “A column published in The Sun on November 14 and an interview that same day on Sun News expressed opinions of Tarek Fatah about a demonstration by the two of you during the November 11 2012 Remembrance Day Service at Old City Hall “We acknowledge that your shouts of protest did not occur during the Service’s two-minutes of silence honouring the deaths of members of Canada’s military but only after the police took your banner you have represented to us that neither of you are Taliban supporters We are happy with the settlement that our lawyers have achieved for us Last summer, a co-host of the Dean Blundell radio show on Toronto’s 102.1 The Edge was also held accountable by the CRTC for advocating violence against us after a protester from a separate contingent was physically assaulted by two male memorial attendees and this past winter the show was cancelled We would like to thank all of our supporters for their help during a year in which we have had to endure cyber harassment and stalking We hope this achievement sets an example and makes it easier for the ongoing dissent against NATO wars Praising the Canadian Armed Forces for “fighting for our rights” and “liberating Afghan women” while censoring our political dissent as both Canadians and Afghan women is grossly hypocritical It’s part of the sad reality that the use of racism and fear is how war is being justified For every Remembrance Day and memorial for the Canadian Armed Forces we will remember and honour the innocent lives lost and destroyed in Afghanistan at the hands of the NATO-led occupation before being denounced as inaccurate and invasive by its main characters But an appeal court in Norway overturned a previous ruling and cleared the author of The Bookseller of Kabul and her publisher of invading the privacy of the family she lived with and wrote about and concluded that the facts of the book were accurate Åsne Seierstad, a Norwegian freelance journalist who wrote The Bookseller of Kabul after spending months living with Afghan bookseller Shah Muhammad Rais and his two wives told the Guardian on Tuesday she was relieved that the eight-year legal battle that followed the book's publication was over As a journalist being accused of invading someone's privacy there is always a risk that it will stick to your name," she said the second wife of the real-life bookseller the Oslo district court ruled that Seirstad had invaded Rais's privacy but on Tuesday Norway's supreme court cleared the author of any wrongdoing In a statement Seierstad's lawyer Anne Gaustad said the court had concluded "the family was well aware of the nature of the book project" adding that Seierstad was found "not to have acted negligently and the content of the book was essentially deemed true" Seirstad said the legal process that had required her to defend "every single part" of the book had been a time-consuming process "It makes you reflect on how careful you have to be as a journalist "The judge ruled that I was not uncareful Seierstad met Rais after entering Kabul with the Afghan soldiers of the Northern Alliance two weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks who sold books previously banned by the Taliban Changing his name to Sultan Khan in the book she painted a picture of a local hero who risked his life to continue working in the face of huge adversity and danger but also of a ruthless patriarch who virtually enslaved his wives and children Following publication of the book, Rais flew to Norway, hired a lawyer and began a media campaign to repudiate Seierstad's version of events. He accused her of treachery, of humiliating him, his family and Afghanistan as a nation Seierstad said she was no longer in touch with Rais or his family "I never expected anything like this," she said "There is nothing I would change – to change it I would have had to write a totally different book." "It is now translated into 42 languages it is on university reading lists – it has proved itself," she said "The book came after the fall of the Taliban it says something about Afghan family life Those kind of stories – what happens behind the scenes on a TV screen – are important." The fact that her subjects were not at peace with the manner in which they were portrayed was not "ideal" But she was confident that she had presented the family in a "respectful" way "I have admiration for [Rais] and the fact he continued to sell his books He is an Afghan hero and I think I portrayed that but he is also an Afghan patriarch," she said "Journalism is about going out and making choices Asked what impact the experience had made on her Seierstad said: "I learned many lessons about how the world works It is also important to think that what you write has to pass a second test – am I comfortable with the people I am writing about reading what I have written you have to stand by your choices and your angle because that is journalism." On Wednesday, Queen Letizia of Spain attended a banquet hosted by King Willem-Alexander at the Royal Palace Amsterdam Pulling out all the stops for the special occasion whilst committing to her voguish she stunned in a patternless sapphire blue gown paired with the royal Diamond Loop tiara made by Cartier But Letizia's gown possessed a striking fashion-forward and dramatically chic silhouette which was a testament to her innate dressing style The 'Suraia' dress from the brand features a round high neck a pleated A-line skirt and 3/4 length sleeves  and Letizia kept the same design for her custom piece The original dress however comes with a thin suede belt with a large buckle to cinch the waist in for a more defined and fitted silhouette MORE: Queen Letizia's green trousers and chunky loafers combo is a lesson is cool-girl comfort chic which gave this timeless gown the perfect trend-led touch "Saccharine and stylish in equal parts, bows are still going strong this season," says Hello All-encompassing tops and dresses are emerging but if you're merely looking to dip your toe Though the bow detailing and her belt change were very subtle details they spoke volumes to her attitude towards modern yet royal-appropriate fashion Yet another Queen Letizia look we are utterly obsessed with By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Jonathan Oosting | joosting@mlive.comMohammed Abul-Fazal Chowdhury was charged yesterday with second-degree murder in the stabbbing death of his wife Sterling Heights police say Chowdhury called 911 early Monday and said three unknown intruders killed his wife after entering his apartment on the 2100 block of 14 Mile Road When police arrived they found Chowdhury standing outside his apartment "(He) told a variety of stories to police officers and the family shortly after the incident had occured," Henigan told Fox 2 it appears now that he is solely responsible." and friends yesterday remembered her fondly "She was one girl that I wanted to be," Sumaiah Ahmed told Fox 2 Chowdhury is being held in the Macomb County Jail without bond Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices As a gastroenterologist I am asked almost daily about Covid-19 and any precautions patients should take if they are on medications that decrease immunity We call them immunomodulators or biologics The clinical presentation of Covid-19 can range from mild non-specific respiratory symptoms to severe organ dysfunction — such as acute respiratory distress syndrome — that can lead to death with the common symptoms being fever (83 per cent to 98 per cent) muscular pain or fatigue (11 per cent to 44 per cent) risk factors for more severe illness requiring hospitalisation appear to be advanced age and underlying chronic conditions such as diabetes Some reports suggest that in more severe cases the median time from first symptom onset to the development of shortness of breath and/or need for hospitalisation is five to eight days The incubation period appears to average 5.2 days but may range from two to 14 days and potential asymptomatic infection has been reported Patients may complain of gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea or diarrhoea diarrhoea was reported in up to 25 per cent of patients The reported frequency of diarrhoea among Covid-19 patients at the moment has varied from 2 per cent to 33 per cent and was one of the prominent symptoms reported by the first case in the United States The virus has been detected in patients’ stools So while Covid-19 appears to spread primarily through respiratory droplets and secretions the gastrointestinal tract may be another potential route of infection There are no specific recommendations for people on immunosuppression such as inflammatory bowel disease patients and those with Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis IBD research has found that viral infections are more likely among patients on immunomodulators but it remains unclear if this can be extended to Covid-19 we don’t advise IBD patients — or indeed others on immunosuppression The risk of disease flare far outweighs the chance of contracting Covid-19 stick to your current therapy as we really want to limit steroid use for flare in this Covid-19 world the next biologic infusion should be postponed until they are better What are the possible outcomes for patients infected by Covid Remaining asymptomatic with increased immunity but without sustained immunity (while this is unclear radiographic abnormalities on chest imaging usually respiratory failure exacerbated by secondary infections and multi-organ failure it should be clear whether ongoing delay or holding of existing IBD meds is needed My fellow gastroenterologists overseas do not see a spike in disease presentation or worse outcomes in patients on immune therapies for IBD — and for that matter it is likely that many IBD patients have been infected while on their therapies and recovered without knowing it or with minimal symptoms it is nice to be able to provide a little bit of comfort for those who already have to deal with the real challenges of IBD • Find the latest detailed Covid information at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention bit.ly/36kuKDA; the World Health Organisation bit.ly/3cVZoWm; the Mount Sinai Health System bit.ly/2Xp3i3s Which of the Throne Speech promises is the Government best equipped to deliver on View Results Fire at Bailey Road shopping mall doused Some banks hit by capital squeeze Air purifiers for Dhaka: hope or hype? Chinmoy shown arrested in Saiful murder case The team is structured into seven specialised sub-teams. These include the mechanical sub-team led by Bayzid Baytur Redwan; electrical sub-team led by Shah Mehrab Hossain; science sub-team led by Suraia Afroz Maria; software and autonomous sub-team led by Sheikh Sakib; communications sub-team led by Shorower Hossain; logistics team led by Md Yasin, and media and branding team led by Sakib Mahmood Saad. Formed in 2021, the team has grown to encompass 40 dedicated members recruited annually. Their achievements speak volumes, with consecutive triumphs in the University Rover Challenge (URC) 2022 and 2023, as well as the Anatolian Rover Challenge 2022. With that being said, the team is always looking to improve and aim bigger, and this year will be no different as they prepare for the URC finals with their YGGDRASIL rover. "We are using our past experiences at the URC to improve our rover," says Abid. "Learning from the previous challenges we faced at the competition, we have brought changes to many aspects of our team and the rover itself, so I am hopeful that we'll be putting on a better performance this year." Dr Salekul adds to this saying, "This year's rover is a more improved version of the last one. We have made improvements in different areas such as the communication and operation systems. We have also had to improvise a lot. For instance, we have used carbon fibre in our rover this year, but unfortunately, we couldn't find any advanced technology in use in Bangladesh to cut the carbon fibre sheets. So, the team had to work with local furniture-making stores to get that done." "Right now, we're using different manufacturing techniques, hardware, and software packages to make sure that our rover is of the same standard as other top teams from different international universities participating in the URC," Abid adds. Of course, when working on a project like this, roadblocks can pop up in many forms. "Compared to teams from the US and Europe, we face far more challenges, especially in terms of logistics and staying fit after the long journey to the US," says Dr Salekul. "Besides, there's a lot of on-field decisions we have to take at the competition which can impact our score. We even see some of the best-performing teams struggle with problems that tend to hamper their performance. Despite that, we have left no stone unturned in our preparations for this year's competition." Abid goes on to emphasise on the need for certain skills for working on a project of this scale saying, "Building such a rover requires a team to have mechanical expertise, but UIU doesn't have a dedicated Mechanical department. Hence, our team members had to learn a lot of things from scratch by themselves." "Team-wide collaboration is vital here," adds Dr Salekul. "Just having students from Mechanical, Electrical, or Computer Science backgrounds won't suffice. They need to be able to work together to succeed." Despite the roadblocks and challenges, UIU isn't afraid to chase bigger dreams at this year's URC, and the team's past accomplishments are inspiring them to do their best. "In 2022, our rover's science system received a lot of praise at the competition," says Abid. "There, scientists from NASA told us that they were currently using one of the technologies in their missions which we had used in our rover. This is indeed a matter of pride for us that we were able to implement something that NASA too is using." As for what we can expect from YGGDRASIL and UIU's Mars rover team, Abid says "We have done our best so far and will continue doing so at the competition as well as represent our institution and our country." "Are we nervous? I'd say no," adds Abid. "We're trying out many new things this year, so we're more excited than nervous." |রাজনীতিব্যানারে-স্লোগানে খালেদা, তারেকের সঙ্গে জোবাইদার নাম২০০৮ সালের ১১ সেপ্টেম্বর স্বামী তারেক রহমানের সঙ্গে লন্ডনের উদ্দেশে বাংলাদেশ ছেড়েছিলেন জোবাইদা। এরপর একে একে ১৭টি বছর কেটে গেলেও দেশে ফিরতে পারেননি তিনি। untruthful way that left her feeling "violated" Legal experts say the ruling by Oslo district court will transform the way in which western journalists and authors write about people from poor countries Åsne Seierstad was ordered to pay more than £26,000 in punitive damages to Suraia Rais the second wife of bookseller Shah Muhammad Rais with whose family the Norwegian writer lived for five months while researching her book the rest of the Rais family revealed the full extent of their fury over a book they say is an insult not just to them but to the whole Afghan culture Now that Suraia's case has been accepted by the Norwegian judge seven other members of the family have announced that they too will sue the author his two sons and his two daughters have already prepared their cases with the same lawyer who secured victory for Suraia Seierstad and her publishers could find themselves back in the dock in two to three months' time "Suraia's success is a green light to the other members of my family," said Rais "The penalties that my mother and my first wife will ask for will be higher than that demanded by my second wife because the defamation against them was much greater "The money is not important to us though," added Rais. "Seierstad has offered us lots of money to settle this out of court. She even offered to write a second book containing the truth about our family and about Afghanistan but we turned all those offers down We want this book to be discredited in a court of law for all to see because it is the honour of the Afghanistan people it has insulted." have also been told they must pay legal fees Seierstad has indicated that she intends to appeal Her lawyer has said the case could end up in the European court of human rights All this from a book that was a massive international critical and commercial success In 2002 Seierstad contacted Rais and asked if she could live with his family in Kabul to write a book about Afghan culture and the story of one family's experience of surviving the tragedy of civil war treated as an honoured guest: given precedence at social gatherings and taken to private family ceremonies We didn't even ask to see her book before it was published "The only thing I asked her to do was to open her eyes to my family and friends and give a clear and clean picture of Afghan culture," he said "There is so much told about our culture that is wrong Seierstad wrote a thinly-veiled story of a family that was "based on true incidents I have participated in or stories I have been told" 31 members of the Rais family and their neighbours allege in the writ that the author misrepresented their lives They say in the document that they have been insulted and left feeling "demeaned" and "violated" The writ points to inconsistencies in the book But most damagingly to Seierstad's reputation as a journalist it gives examples of passages where it alleges she revealed secrets about the family's sex lives and "forbidden loves" – sometimes using their real names and The behaviour revealed is so prohibited in Afghan culture that according to the writ several family members were forced to emigrate: Rais's first wife now lives in Canada with three of her children Several other family members moved to Pakistan Seierstad was unavailable for comment today but her publisher in London says the case has wider ramifications for the publishing world this case could go on for another five years but the Rais family have shown through their tenacity so far that they are not going to let this drop," he said "This case will definitely be the start of a new international trend because it proves that people can be sued across borders It shows that even a poor person from Afghanistan can stand up and pursue a case in a different country," he said This article was amended on 28 July 2010 to make clear that the legal proceedings took place in Oslo, Norway It was amended on 7 August to make clear that allegations that The Bookseller of Kabul revealed sexual secrets and forced some family members to emigrate are all attributable to the plaintiff's writ.