Syrian Conjoined Twins Successfully Separated in Saudi Arabia

The twins were attached in the lower chest, abdomen, liver, and intestine areas. SPA
The twins were attached in the lower chest, abdomen, liver, and intestine areas. SPA
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Syrian Conjoined Twins Successfully Separated in Saudi Arabia

The twins were attached in the lower chest, abdomen, liver, and intestine areas. SPA
The twins were attached in the lower chest, abdomen, liver, and intestine areas. SPA

A surgical team has successfully separated Syrian Siamese twins Ihsan and Bassam at the King Abdullah Specialized Children's Hospital at King Abdulaziz Medical City of the National Guards in Riyadh.

The twins were attached in the lower chest, abdomen, liver, and intestine areas.

The surgery was done in implementation of the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

Head of the surgical team, Advisor at the Royal Court, and Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, expressed happiness following the successful separation of Ihsan and Bassam.

The surgery lasted seven hours and 30 minutes and took place in five phases with the participation of 26 Saudi doctors specialized in the separation of twins.

He noted that this is the 58th successful surgery of the Saudi program for the separation of Siamese twins, which enjoys the support and follow-up of the King and Crown Prince.

Al Rabeeah thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince for the generous support provided for the program. He also thanked the members of the medical and surgical team for their efforts and perseverance.

For their part, the twins' parents expressed their appreciation and gratitude to King Salman and the Crown Prince, and commended the Kingdom's great humanitarian work.



Thousands Flee after Japan’s Biggest Wildfire in Decades

An aerial views shows a forest fire on a mountain in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, February 28, 2025, in this photo taken by Kyodo. (Kyodo/via Reuters)
An aerial views shows a forest fire on a mountain in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, February 28, 2025, in this photo taken by Kyodo. (Kyodo/via Reuters)
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Thousands Flee after Japan’s Biggest Wildfire in Decades

An aerial views shows a forest fire on a mountain in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, February 28, 2025, in this photo taken by Kyodo. (Kyodo/via Reuters)
An aerial views shows a forest fire on a mountain in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, February 28, 2025, in this photo taken by Kyodo. (Kyodo/via Reuters)

Thousands of people evacuated from parts of northern Japan as the country's largest wildfire in three decades raged unabated Sunday after killing at least one person, officials said.

Around 2,000 people fled areas around the northern Japan city of Ofunato to stay with friends or relatives, while more than 1,200 evacuated to shelters, according to officials.

"We're still examining the size of the affected area, but it is the biggest since the 1992 wildfire" in Kushiro, Hokkaido, a disaster management agency spokesman told AFP Saturday.

Some reports estimated the fire had spread over 1,800 hectares.

Aerial footage by NHK showed columns of white smoke billowing, four days after the blaze first materialized, with military helicopters trying to douse them.

One burned body has been discovered so far, with more than 80 buildings damaged and around 1,700 firefighters mobilized from across the country.

The number of wildfires has declined since the peak in the 1970s, according to government data, but there were about 1,300 across Japan in 2023 -- concentrated in the February to April period when the air dries and winds pick up.