Syrian singer Mayada Basilis has died after a struggle with cancer aged 54.
Her death was confirmed by the Syrian Minister of Culture on Wednesday.
Basilis's husband, Samir Kouifati, told Syrian media in February that the Kezbak Helu (Your Lie is Sweet) star had been diagnosed with cancer and had asked fans to pray for her.
Since news of her death, several leading Syrian personalities paid tribute to the singer on social media.
"The lies in our lives are no longer sweet without your warm voice," Dayaa Dayaa actor Bassem Yakhour wrote on Instagram. "Goodbye Mayada Basilis."
“Sad and painful news, and a loss for art,” singer Nassif Zeytoun wrote on Twitter. “Goodbye to the great Syrian Aleppan singer. My condolences to her family and to all Syrians.”
Meanwhile, singer Hadi Aswad posted in an Instagram Story: “Lies were sweet with your voice and reality now is ugly with your death.”
Who is Mayada Basilis?
Born in Aleppo in 1967, Basilis began her singing career at the age of 9 after performing on Aleppo Radio.
In 1986, she released her debut album Ya Qatili Bilhajr. The name of the album, as well as the title track, were inspired by the Syrian folk song.
She would go on to release 14 albums, putting her unique spin on old Syrian folk songs, Christian hymns, as well as patriotic songs, over the course of a career that spanned almost five decades.
Basilis is perhaps best known for her song Kezbak Helu, which won her the Gold Award for Best Arabic Song in 1999 and made her a household name across the region. She also lent her voice to a number of popular Syrian TV shows, including Ekhwat Al-Turab and Ayam Al Ghadab.
Most of all, Basilis was celebrated for her live concerts. Her shows at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, Teatro Real in Madrid and the Cairo Opera House in Egypt are among her most lauded performances.
She was recognised as one of the most formidable singers to come out of Aleppo – a city famous for being the birthplace of many of the world’s most famous Arabic singers – and Basilis’s death is a marked loss for the region.
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
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The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 6 Huddersfield Town 1
Man City: Agüero (25', 35', 75'), Jesus (31'), Silva (48'), Kongolo (84' og)
Huddersfield: Stankovic (43')
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
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Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
Muguruza's singles career in stats
WTA titles 3
Prize money US$11,128,219 (Dh40,873,133.82)
Wins / losses 293 / 149
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
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- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
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- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
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Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
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The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
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Granta
COMPANY PROFILE
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
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
