The widow of Abdul Halim Khaddam, the former Syrian vice president turned opposition figure, has died less than two weeks after her husband's death from a heart attack in exile.
A family announcement said Najat Marqabi was buried at the Islamic cemetery in Paris on Wednesday. She died of natural causes.
“The blow from his death was too big. They were very close,” a friend of the couple in Abu Dhabi said.
The couple were married for decades and had four children.
Khaddam, who is from the port city of Banias, died on March 31 at age 88. Marqabi was from Damascus.
Banias was a protest hub when the Syrian revolt against five decades of Assad family rule broke out in March 2011.
Khaddam quietly channeled substantial sums to help people from his hometown and surrounding villages when regime forces cracked down on the area. Hundred of civilians were killed, opposition activists in Banias said at the time.
“Abdul Halim and Najat helped from Paris so many needy people inside Syria and abroad without saying a word,” the friend said.
Khaddam left Syria for France after the killing of his Lebanese ally Rafik Hariri in February 2005. UN investigators interviewed Khaddam about the inner working of a regime he knew by heart.
A Sunni Muslim, Khaddam was a Baath Party stalwart and an astute politician who allied with the Assad family till he thought the Alawite-dominated regime went too far in what he believed was its murder of Hariri.
Khaddam became foreign minister when Hafez Al Assad took power in a 1970 and was Assad’s de facto political representative in Lebanon.
The UN investigation implicated high-level Syrian security officials in the Hariri killing, and an international tribunal in the Netherlands indicted several Hezbollah operatives who are being tried in absentia.
Wicked: For Good
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How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
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Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
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Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
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The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
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Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
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Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
ACC 2019: The winners in full
Best Actress Maha Alemi, Sofia
Best Actor Mohamed Dhrif, Weldi
Best Screenplay Meryem Benm’Barek, Sofia
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Best Film Yomeddine by Abu Bakr Shawky
Best Director Nadine Labaki, Capernaum
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
