Tanzanian Twins Separated After 16-Hour Surgery in Riyadhhttps://english.aawsat.com/varieties/5270873-tanzanian-twins-separated-after-16-hour-surgery-riyadh
Tanzanian Twins Separated After 16-Hour Surgery in Riyadh
The twins were separated after a 16-and-a-half-hour procedure conducted across 10 stages. SPA
The specialized medical and surgical team of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program (SCTP) achieved a new medical milestone by successfully separating Tanzanian conjoined twins Nancy and Nice.
The operation was performed at King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital (KASCH) at King Abdulaziz Medical City of the Ministry of National Guard in Riyadh.
Advisor to the Royal Court, Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) and head of the Surgical and Multidisciplinary Team for the SCTP Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah stated: "By the grace of Allah and the dedicated efforts of my colleagues on the medical and surgical team, the Tanzanian twins Nancy and Nice were separated after a 16-and-a-half-hour procedure conducted across 10 stages."
He added that the operation involved 35 consultants, specialists, and nursing and technical staff from the fields of anesthesia, pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, pediatric urology, pediatric orthopedics, and other supporting specialties to ensure the highest levels of precision and safety throughout every stage of the procedure.
Dr. Al Rabeeah detailed that the twins were conjoined at the lower chest, abdomen, and pelvis. Each had one lower limb, and they shared a third, deformed lower limb. They also shared a liver, large intestine, anus, and urinary and reproductive systems, with a shared external genitalia malformation.
He pointed out that this operation marks the third separation of conjoined twins from Tanzania and the 71st in the series of operations performed by the SCTP. Over its 35-year history, the program has covered 28 countries and studied 157 cases from around the world.
This underscores the Kingdom's pioneering role in humanitarian and medical work, supported by the direct patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.
On behalf of the medical team, Dr. Al Rabeeah expressed his deepest gratitude and appreciation to the Saudi leadership for the generous support that has established the Kingdom as a distinguished global center in this field.
The family of the Tanzanian twins also expressed their profound gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince for the high-quality medical care the twins received, appreciating the immense efforts made by the medical team to ensure the success of the operation.
Japan Confirms Year's First Fatal Bear Attack, 2 Others Suspectedhttps://english.aawsat.com/varieties/5270895-japan-confirms-years-first-fatal-bear-attack-2-others-suspected
A bear, who was rescued from captivity, is seen in an enclosure at the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) - in Armenia's highlands near the village of Urtsadzor, 68km from Yerevan, on April 21, 2026. (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN / AFP)
Japan Confirms Year's First Fatal Bear Attack, 2 Others Suspected
A bear, who was rescued from captivity, is seen in an enclosure at the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) - in Armenia's highlands near the village of Urtsadzor, 68km from Yerevan, on April 21, 2026. (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN / AFP)
Japanese authorities confirmed Friday the first fatal bear attack of 2026, with media reports saying police were also investigating two other possible cases.
The victim, reportedly a 55-year-old woman, died on April 21 in Iwate prefecture in northern Japan, an environment ministry official said.
Media reports said police were investigating two other deaths potentially caused by bears.
One body was discovered elsewhere in the Iwate region on Thursday and another in a forest in Yamagata prefecture on Tuesday.
Police confirmed to AFP that two people had died but could not immediately verify other details.
Last year, Japan saw a spate of deadly bear attacks, with a record 13 people killed.
In the latest suspected attack in Iwate, Kumagai Chiyoko, 69, went missing after going to a mountain forest to pick edible wild plants, broadcaster NHK reported.
Police and rescuers launched a search on Thursday in the forest where her car was parked and found her body shortly after 8:00 am (2300 GMT Wednesday), NHK reported.
She reportedly had injuries on her face and head that appeared to have been caused by an animal's claws.
City officials said local hunters were expected to begin patrolling the area on Friday, according to the broadcaster.
In the fiscal year between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, bear attacks injured 216 people, according to environment ministry data.
This marked a sharp increase from the previous year, when three people died and 82 were hurt.
Scientists say the crisis is being driven by a fast-growing bear population, combined with a falling human population.
Last year also saw a poor acorn harvest pushing bears to seek food elsewhere.
Scrambling to respond, the government has deployed troops to help with trapping and hunting the animals.
Riot police have also been tasked with shooting them, with several thousand of the animals killed every year.
Brown bears are found only in the main northern island of Hokkaido, where their population has doubled over three decades to more than 11,500 as of 2023.
Japanese black bears, meanwhile, are common across large parts of the country including on the main island of Honshu which includes Iwate and Yamagata.
In 2024, the government added bears to the list of animals subject to population control, reversing protection that had helped the mammals thrive.
Malaysia Plans Cloud Seeding for Drought-hit 'Rice Bowl'https://english.aawsat.com/varieties/5270890-malaysia-plans-cloud-seeding-drought-hit-rice-bowl
Malaysia Plans Cloud Seeding for Drought-hit 'Rice Bowl'
A farmer carries rice seedlings to plant in a paddy in Sekinchan, Malaysia's Selangor state. Mohd RASFAN / AFP/File
Malaysia is resorting to cloud seeding to bring much-needed rain to the country's "rice bowl" north, where a drought has delayed planting of the staple crop and raised supply fears.
"This year... has been affected by prolonged dry weather, low rainfall and reduced dam water levels," the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security of Malaysia, Mohamad Sabu, told AFP.
The conditions mean farmers have missed two of the three usual planting phases for so-called "wet direct seeding" of rice, a technique that requires fields to be flooded. Dry direct seeding is an alternative, and deadlines for that extend until June.
But farmers argue the technique provides lower yields, and that scattered recent rainfall has rendered it impossible in some fields anyway.
While more than 50 percent of the region's rice fields have been prepared, just a fraction have been planted as farmers await the rain.
Planting has "not been cancelled", Mohamad insisted, but "temporary adjustments and mitigation measures are being implemented".
In Kedah's Muda Agricultural Development Authority areas, the main dam reservoir for the region is at just eight percent, according to local reports.
- High costs -
Farmer Abdul Rashid Yob, who has a three-hectare paddy in the region, told AFP the drought's impact was being compounded by rising fuel costs linked to the war in Iran.
"Even where water is available, many cannot afford to proceed due to high costs."
Rice is a staple crop in Malaysia, which consumes around 2.5 million tons a year, around half of which is produced domestically.
Most of that comes from northern peninsular Malaysia, with Kedah the biggest producer.
The region is "strategically important to Malaysia's food security", Mohamad said.
So with farmers facing arid brown fields that should be flooded, lush paddies, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim this week announced cloud-seeding operations to trigger rain.
The process involves spraying particles such as silver iodide and salt into clouds from aircraft to produce rainfall, and is widely used to affect weather patterns or even tamp down air pollution.
But success depends on atmospheric conditions -- without clouds, seeding will not work. Reports suggest officials hope to begin seeding soon, but no date has been publicly set.
The government has also announced programs to offset fuel costs, including boosts to existing aid programs.
- Struggling with conditions -
Fitri Amit, a small-scale rice farmer in Perak region further south, was skeptical of the measures, which he said were often delayed, arriving only once farmers' "capital has already been drained".
"Farmers prefer that support be given by increasing the paddy price," he said, referring to the sale price of cultivated rice.
"If the paddy price is guaranteed, once they sell, they get the money," he told AFP.
Though he is south of worst-hit Kedah, he too has been struggling with dry conditions.
"Irrigation was stopped because the reservoir levels were low," he said.
While Malaysian rice farmers have struggled with drought or erratic rainfall in the past, "this year's challenges are more significant", said Mohamad, citing "prolonged hot weather, lower-than-usual rainfall and declining water reserves in several irrigation dams".
The crisis comes with Asia bracing for a possible return of the El Nino weather phenomenon, which brings worldwide changes in winds, air pressure, and rainfall patterns.
Forecasters say it could develop as soon as May to July, and initial observations suggest it could be particularly strong.
Asia is often heavily affected by El Nino systems, which bring heatwaves and droughts to part of the region, and heavy rains elsewhere.
An Imaginary Archaeological Site Evokes the Fragility of Memory in the Saudi Pavilion at Venicehttps://english.aawsat.com/varieties/5270674-imaginary-archaeological-site-evokes-fragility-memory-saudi-pavilion-venice
An Imaginary Archaeological Site Evokes the Fragility of Memory in the Saudi Pavilion at Venice
Mosaic carpet reviving the memory of destroyed places (Artist and Visual Arts Commission)
In the Saudi Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, a Saudi artist of Palestinian origin, Dana Awartani, takes us on an immersive journey to discover an artistic map of archaeological and historical landmarks destroyed by war. It is not a geographical map, but rather a magnificent mosaic composed of thousands of clay pieces, molded and baked under the Riyadh sun, then colored with natural pigments to form geometric patterns and designs.
These patterns are drawn from historical sites, buildings, and monuments that stood for centuries in the Arab region, witnessing the rise and fall of states and kingdoms, until they too were destroyed, stripped of their place and significance in the collective Arab heritage.
Artist Dana Awartani (Artist and Visual Arts Commission)
In her work, Awartani has consistently depicted these waves of demolition and destruction. Her monumental piece at the first Riyadh Contemporary Art Biennale, which encapsulated a part of the history of the Great Mosque in Aleppo, Syria, and the tiles of the Hammam al-Samra in Gaza, which she presented at the Bukhara Contemporary Art Biennale last year, was unforgettable.
Documentation with Clay and Colors
Awartani has been working on this theme for years, convinced that we must document what we lose daily, through destruction and attempts at erasure.
She speaks of her research to learn more about the increasing number of buildings and archaeological sites that are being demolished. Her work coincides with escalating violence in the region, thus providing an immediate commentary as events unfold.
In Venice, her work documents twenty-three sites of significant historical importance, each possessing immense cultural and material value.
Part of the Saudi pavilion at the Venice Biennale (Artist and the Visual Arts Commission)
The Beginning in Riyadh
In her studio in Riyadh, Awartani began working on the monumental piece that represents Saudi Arabia at this year’s Biennale. Under the scorching Arabian sun, workers and craftsmen were engrossed in shaping and arranging clay molds according to a meticulously detailed blueprint. Awartani would be there, overseeing the craftsmen’s labors, discussing how their pieces fitted into the larger concept.
For her Venice piece, she chose a title inspired by the poetry of Abu Nuwas: "May your tears never dry, you who weep over the ruins." However, for the poet such behaviour was a waste of time. Awartani begs to differ.
The theme of ruins is a recurring motif in her work. She has described numerous Arab monuments whose virtual destruction merits our tears. Her work involves a unique perspective on these remnants, incorporating them into her art.
During our interview, she spoke about archaeological sites, mosques, churches, and several synagogues that were reduced to rubble by an aggressive attack that disregarded history and culture.
In contrast to Abu Nuwas, she draws upon the melancholy of these places: “I believe that these stones carry their history and tell the stories of the people who lived here for hundreds of years. These stones were all that remained after the living had passed away. Therefore, I did not agree with that poem, but I quoted that particular sentence out of context and used it to illustrate my point of view.”
Her work draws on 23 historically significant sites (Artist and Visual Arts Commission)
The Mosaic Carpet
Awartani's work dominates the space of the Saudi pavilion, resembling a mosaic made from colorful bricks. The piece is divided into different visual themes, all inspired by the Middle East, as she explained during a special tour of her studio outside Riyadh last January. "All the motifs I used here are taken from different places in the Middle East, and all of them have been destroyed," she said.
In her research, she documented the damaged sites and what happened to them, then extracted distinctive artistic forms and motifs from each location. She points out that the shapes and decorations vary in origin and history, including Roman and Byzantine styles: "There are many shapes and designs, but I make sure that every design I present includes a reference to a place that’s been destroyed."
At the Venice exhibition, all this information is displayed on one of the walls.
A mosaic carpet revives the memory of destroyed places (Artist and Visual Arts Commission)
An Imagined Archaeological Site
The location of the Saudi pavilion offered the artist a tremendous opportunity to showcase her work. The space is vast and abstract, and Awartani had the choice of several ways to present her piece, but she rejected the traditional modes of presentation. To convey the idea of "liberating antiquities from a colonial perspective," she wanted the viewer to be on the same level as the artwork, not gazing down at it from above. She also aimed to create an immersive experience, drawing visitors into the work. They walk through designated pathways between adjacent mosaic tiles, raised on wooden bases, without artificial or imposed boundaries. "I wanted the audience to feel like they were part of the work, walking among these elements," she says. "It's like an imagined archaeological site. That's why the entire floor is covered in earth."
She describes the work as an "immersive ground installation" that incorporates a mixture of different designs. "I didn't want to create a map showing the origin of each pattern, because many of these patterns exist in multiple locations. It's a shared heritage, and you can't simply say: this is a Palestinian pattern, this is a Syrian pattern, and this is a Lebanese pattern. They are all very similar; our heritage is shared and important to us all."
She explains the visual patterns and geometric designs used in the work: “There are two patterns from Gaza, one from the Al-Bureij mosaic, and the other from the Monastery of St. Peter. There is also a collection of forms from Beiteddine Palace in Lebanon, and a palm tree from a monastery in Syria. Upon entering the building, the visitor finds a wall plaque detailing the main concepts and listing all the sites. Most are residential spaces, such as houses or living rooms, but many are Christian sites: monasteries, churches, the Church of the Nativity, the Church of All Nations, and Bethlehem and Jerusalem, which have suffered historical damage. This is because mosaics are used extensively in these places.”
Architectural, botanical, and animal-inspired designs drawn from destroyed Arab sites (Artist and Visual Arts Commission)
Fragile Beauty
From the moment we enter the hall, the pieces unfold before us with serene and fragile beauty. We follow different patterns, noticing that each belongs to a specific place. Some are cracked and appear as if they have just arrived from their actual geographical location, a place of destruction and fragmentation. But this fragile state stems from the artist's desire for the work to reflect the condition of the damaged archaeological sites. In the clay mixture used, she omitted adding straw, which helps bind the pieces together, and left the clay pieces to the effects of nature. She believes that the occurrence of cracks is natural and serves the idea. She did the same when using natural colors to paint the brick pieces and did not try to fix them with artificial materials.
"It won't stay this vibrant, because the colors are natural and are absorbed by the clay, but I also didn't want to put a sealant or anything artificial on it."
Architectural designs inspired by destroyed sites (Artist and Visual Arts Commission)
Mosaics.. From East to West and Back
The artist chose to use mosaics as an embodiment of the connections between East and West. "During my research, I discovered that the first mosaics appeared in Mesopotamia, specifically in Iraq. They then spread to the Roman Empire, and mosaic art flourished in Italy, where it was widely used in Christian places of worship. When the Byzantines reached Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, they brought this art back to the region. Therefore, most of the patterns I use here are inspired by traditional mosaics from that era."
The mosaics seem right at home in Venice, whose churches boast exquisite examples of them.
A Collaborative Endeavor
The work required over 30,000 hours of labor, involving thirty-two artisans from Riyadh and beyond. Awartani has regularly collaborated with traditional artisans and there is a philosophy behind this. She sees it as essential to her work: “I try to think of it this way: I wouldn’t go to a factory and ask them to carve the stones by machine. I prefer working with people in the traditional way because I also care about preserving the old techniques. The same applies to this project. It was done using an old kind of clay, but I modified the technique slightly. Traditional mud bricks contain sand and straw to make them strong and prevent cracking. I deliberately omitted these to make them crack. Moreover, mud bricks were used in building standing structures, but I use them as flooring. So, it’s essential to understand the craft we’re working with. I make sure to involve people throughout the process. They will see images of the project, and their names will be credited as my collaborators.”
*The Saudi Pavilion is commissioned by the Visual Arts Commission of the Ministry of Culture, under the supervision of curator Antonia Carver and assistant curator Hafsa Al-Khudairi.
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