Omar Bongo, president of Gabon, was one of Africa's youngest leaders when he came to power at the age of 31 and the longest at the helm by the time of his death. He governed the relatively peaceful West African state for more than four decades, largely with the backing of France.
Though his reputation was sullied by charges of unfettered corruption, nepotism and treason, Bongo was small fry compared to the other "big men" of Africa.
Sometimes referred to as the African Napoleon, a label determined more by his height (4ft, 11in) than any remarkable military or strategic acumen, Bongo utilised the rich oil, timber, manganese and uranium resources of Gabon for his personal gain, while the living conditions of his more than 1.4 million people remained basic but sustainable.
He maintained a delicate balance between bleeding the country while simultaneously making a great show of providing civic infrastructure, the Bongo Stadium and Bongo University being but two ventures supposedly financed out of his "own" pocket.
By the time of his death, he boasted an extensive portfolio of properties in France, and an alleged personal account at Citibank of US$130 million (Dh477 million).
Born Albert-Bertrand Bongo into the small Bateke ethnic group in Lewai (later renamed Bongoville), a town of the Haut-Ogooué province in southeastern Gabon near the border with the Republic of Congo, Bongo was the youngest of 12 children. Educated in Brazzaville, he worked in telecommunications before undergoing military training in Chad.
His future was made in the wake of Gabon's independence from France when he became director to the office of the then president Leon M'ba in 1962, having previously held several cabinet posts. During an attempted military coup in 1964 - the only one in Gabon's history - M'ba was captured and Bongo held in custody in the capital Libreville. France came to the rescue, extracting the promise of pursuing its interests in the oilfields of Gabon in exchange for returning M'ba to power.
When M'ba died in 1967, Bongo was his natural successor. He converted to Islam in 1973, taking the name Omar, adding Ondimba as his surname in 2003.
The single-party regime of Bongo's nominal Gabonese Democratic Party dominated until 1990 when multi-party politics was introduced in response to an increased appetite for true democracy crystallised after the anti-communist revolutions in Europe in the late 1980s. It was little more than a token gesture. Bongo was re-elected in 1993, 1998 and 2005 and amended the constitution in 2003 to eliminate any restrictions on the number of presidential terms permissible. He was to have held power until 2012.
The relationship with France soured eventually. In 2007, criminal inquiries found that kickbacks had been paid directly to Bongo in exchange for allowing exploitation of the oil fields of Gabon by the French company Elf-Aquitaine. As Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, sought to distance his government from the historic "Francafrique" relationship, so the protection that France had traditionally accorded its African "clients" diminished. In response, Gabon, like other African states, looked increasingly to the Chinese market.
Latterly, Bongo had set himself up as a mediator of conflicting African interests, assuming a pivotal role in trying to solve the crises in the Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He divorced his first wife, Patience Dabany, with whom he had two daughters and a son. His second wife, Edith Lucie, daughter of the Congolese president, predeceased him. Purportedly, he fathered more than 30 children by various women.
Omar Bongo was born on December 30, 1935. He died on June 8.
* The National
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
MATCH INFO
Norwich City 1 (Cantwell 75') Manchester United 2 (Aghalo 51' 118') After extra time.
Man of the match Harry Maguire (Manchester United)
Scoreline
Syria 1-1 Australia
Syria Al Somah 85'
Australia Kruse 40'
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
Leaderboard
15 under: Paul Casey (ENG)
-14: Robert MacIntyre (SCO)
-13 Brandon Stone (SA)
-10 Laurie Canter (ENG) , Sergio Garcia (ESP)
-9 Kalle Samooja (FIN)
-8 Thomas Detry (BEL), Justin Harding (SA), Justin Rose (ENG)
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
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THURSDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 10am:
Lucrezia Stefanini v Elena Rybakina (6)
Aryna Sabalenka (4) v Polona Hercog
Sofia Kenin (1) v Zhaoxuan Yan
Kristina Mladenovic v Garbine Muguruza (5)
Sorana Cirstea v Karolina Pliskova (3)
Jessica Pegula v Elina Svitolina (2)
Court 1
Starting at 10am:
Sara Sorribes Tormo v Nadia Podoroska
Marketa Vondrousova v Su-Wei Hsieh
Elise Mertens (7) v Alize Cornet
Tamara Zidansek v Jennifer Brady (11)
Heather Watson v Jodie Burrage
Vera Zvonareva v Amandine Hesse
Court 2
Starting at 10am:
Arantxa Rus v Xiyu Wang
Maria Kostyuk v Lucie Hradecka
Karolina Muchova v Danka Kovinic
Cori Gauff v Ulrikke Eikeri
Mona Barthel v Anastasia Gasanova
Court 3
Starting at 10am:
Kateryna Bondarenko v Yafan Wang
Aliaksandra Sasnovich v Anna Bondar
Bianca Turati v Yaroslava Shvedova
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
England squad
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Ben White
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse
Forwards: Tammy Abraham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Raheem Sterling
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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The five pillars of Islam
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Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million