The Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan on Saturday underwent two successful abdominal surgeries at the Seven Hills Hospital at suburban Andheri in north Mumbai, two days after he revealed on his blog that he would go under the scalpel.
Late on Friday night, 69-year-old Bachchan was admitted to the same hospital where his daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai delivered a baby girl in November. He had just finished shooting for a Bhojpuri film produced by his make-up man of 30 years, Deepak Sawant.
Speaking to reporters shortly after the surgery outside the hospital, Bachchan's actor son Abhishek Bachchan said: "I thank you for your thoughts, prayers, wishes, especially media for respecting our privacy. Dad had a small procedure today which is the legacy of his 1982 accident. He has been taken back to his room after the surgery. He is fine, hail and hearty and talking." He said his father would be kept under observation for 24 hours and was likely to be discharged on Sunday.
Though speculative reports said it was a hernia procedure, Bachchan and his family members as well as the hospital doctors did not comment.
Asked specifically about the nature of the surgery, a hospital spokesperson said: "All I can say is that he underwent an abdominal surgery."
Bachchan has had a history of stomach ailments since his accident on the set of Manmohan Desai's film Coolie in 1982. The actor was injured when Puneet Issar punched him in the stomach while shooting an action sequence, and recovered after several days in the hospital. In 2005, Bachchan was hospitalised again at Lilavati Hospital for intestinal surgery to treat diverticulitis, a medical condition in which tiny pouches bulge outward from weak spots along intestinal walls causing inflammation.
Bachchan himself put millions of fans at ease on Saturday night when he tweeted from the hospital and even joked on Twitter with his son. "Back ...! Thank you for your prayers. Your love and wishes never fail. Indebted for life. One that I shall never be able to pay back," Bachchan wrote.
artslife@thenational.ae
Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
RESULT
Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)
Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
Roger Federer's 2018 record
Australian Open Champion
Rotterdam Champion
Indian Wells Runner-up
Miami Second round
Stuttgart Champion
Halle Runner-up
Wimbledon Quarter-finals
Cincinnati Runner-up
US Open Fourth round
Shanghai Semi-finals
Basel Champion
Paris Masters Semi-finals
