After years spent honing his skills as cinema’s all-action hero, Bruce Willis’s announcement that he is retiring from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia has come as a shock to his fans and peers alike.
“To Bruce's amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities,” said his family on Instagram. “As a result of this and with much consideration, Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.”
What is aphasia?
According to the NHS website: “Aphasia is when a person has difficulty with their language or speech. It’s usually caused by damage to the left side of the brain, for example, after a stroke. People with aphasia often have trouble with the four main ways people understand and use language. These are: reading, listening, speaking, typing or writing.
“Speaking problems are perhaps the most obvious, and people with aphasia may make mistakes with the words they use.”
Although Willis’s family have not disclosed whether he suffered a stroke or brain damage, the symptoms of the disorder have made it impossible for him to memorise and deliver his lines. The actor, 67, had, in recent years, started wearing an earpiece on set so he could be fed his lines.
‘Game of Thrones’ star Emilia Clarke says she ‘wanted to die’
The British actress, 35, who played Daenerys Targaryen in hit show Game of Thrones, has spoken about her own battle with the condition after a stroke in 2011.
She revealed she suffered an aneurysm that caused a stroke and subarachnoid haemorrhage soon after wrapping up the first season. It left her requiring brain surgery and unable to remember her name.
"I was suffering from a condition called aphasia, a consequence of the trauma my brain had suffered," she wrote in an essay for The New Yorker in 2019. “In my worst moments, I wanted to pull the plug. I asked the medical staff to let me die. My job — my entire dream of what my life would be — centred on language, on communication. Without that, I was lost.”
The actress said that for her, the condition was temporary: “I was sent back to the ICU and, after about a week, the aphasia passed. I was able to speak."
Sharon Stone and Randy Travis had to relearn to read and speak
Oscar-nominated actress Sharon Stone has spoken publicly about the aphasia-like symptoms she experienced after suffering a stroke in 2001 that caused a cerebral haemorrhage.
"I came home from that stroke stuttering, couldn't read for two years,” the Basic Instinct star told ABC News. “It's been a humbling journey. I was on Law & Order ... and I had a hard time with my lines. I can talk about it now because I'm OK now ... I feel really good about talking and having my full vocabulary.”
Country star Randy Travis has also spoken about the aphasia-like symptoms he experienced, after which he had to relearn how to speak, following a stroke in July 2013.
"When we first returned home, I could barely speak at all,” he wrote in his 2019 memoir. “We spent three months in speech therapy before I learned to say the letter 'A.' Eventually, after about a year and a half, I could say 'yup,' 'nope,' and 'bathroom.' I could also say 'I love you' and a few other phrases but not much more. All this was extremely frustrating for me; I felt like I was trapped inside the shell of my body."
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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 Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
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RESULT
Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City: D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Specs
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
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The biog
Name: Samar Frost
Born: Abu Dhabi
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The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders
Stuart Kells, Counterpoint Press
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How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
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