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Saudi Medical Team Begins Separating Nigerian Conjoined Twins

The twins share areas in the lower abdomen, pelvis, lower spine, and lower spinal nerves. SPA
The twins share areas in the lower abdomen, pelvis, lower spine, and lower spinal nerves. SPA
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Saudi Medical Team Begins Separating Nigerian Conjoined Twins

The twins share areas in the lower abdomen, pelvis, lower spine, and lower spinal nerves. SPA
The twins share areas in the lower abdomen, pelvis, lower spine, and lower spinal nerves. SPA

A Saudi medical and surgical team began on Thursday separating Nigerian conjoined twins Hassana and Hasina at King Abdullah Specialist Children's Hospital in King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh.

The separation is in implementation of the directives 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.

Following their arrival in Riyadh on October 31, the twins underwent extensive examinations, which revealed they share areas in the lower abdomen, pelvis, lower spine, and lower spinal nerves.

The surgery will be performed in nine stages and is expected to take approximately 14 hours.

A team of 38 consultants, specialists, technicians, and nursing staff in the specialties of anesthesia, pediatric surgery, urology, orthopedics, plastic surgery, and pediatric neurosurgery will participate in the operation.

According to Advisor at the Royal Court, Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), and head of the medical team Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, the success rate of the operation is 70%.

This is the 60th operation performed by the Saudi program for separating Siamese twins.

Over the past 34 years, the program has cared for 135 conjoined twins from 25 countries.
Al Rabeeah expressed gratitude to the Saudi leadership for its support of the program.

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Japan's Popular Princess Aiko Turns 23 with Future as a Royal in Doubt

FILE - Japan's Princess Aiko greets the guests during a spring garden party at the Akasaka Palace imperial garden in Tokyo, on April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
FILE - Japan's Princess Aiko greets the guests during a spring garden party at the Akasaka Palace imperial garden in Tokyo, on April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
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Japan's Popular Princess Aiko Turns 23 with Future as a Royal in Doubt

FILE - Japan's Princess Aiko greets the guests during a spring garden party at the Akasaka Palace imperial garden in Tokyo, on April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
FILE - Japan's Princess Aiko greets the guests during a spring garden party at the Akasaka Palace imperial garden in Tokyo, on April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Japan’s popular Princess Aiko turned 23 on Sunday, as she takes on more official duties even while her future in the imperial family remains in doubt, The Associated Press reported.
Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, graduated from university earlier this year and has since been participating in official duties and palace rituals while working at the Red Cross Society, according to the Imperial Household Agency.
But Japanese law requires her to renounce her royal status and leave the family if she marries outside the imperial family.
The vast majority of Japan’s public supports changing the law to allow her to remain a royal and become emperor, but conservatives in the governing party insist on keeping male-only succession. Japan’s rapidly dwindling imperial family has only 16 members, including four men.
Aiko was to mark her birthday with her parents at the imperial palace in Tokyo. The IHA also released several photos of Aiko, including one of her standing by a persimmon tree at a palace garden. Another showed her holding pieces of traditional hand-crafted washi paper that she made at a workshop during her first solo official trip in October to the National Sports Festival in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Saga.
The 1947 Imperial House Law, which largely preserves conservative prewar family values, allows only males to take the throne and forces female royals who marry outside the family to give up their status. With only one young male member, that puts the survival of the 2,000-year-old monarchy in jeopardy.
The youngest male member of the imperial family, Prince Hisahito — Aiko's 18-year-old cousin — is currently the last heir apparent, posing a major problem for the system.
The government is looking for a way to keep the succession stable without relying on women, such as allowing the family to adopt new male members from former noble families that lost their status after World War II.
Aiko's own views on the topic are unknown. She's only had one full news conference, when she reached adulthood.
Last month, the United Nations women’s rights committee in Geneva issued a report that called for the Japanese government to allow a female emperor, among other issues hindering gender equality in the country.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi dismissed the report “regrettable” and “inappropriate.” He said the imperial succession is a matter of fundamental national identity and that it is not covered by constitutional basic rights.
Crown Prince Akishino, Aiko's uncle, was asked about the succession debate at a news conference marking his 59th birthday Saturday, and replied that members of the royal family are “living humans” and that the palace officials who support their daily lives should know how it affects them.
At her work at the Japanese Red Cross Society, Aiko is assigned to volunteer training program, the IHA said. On weekends, it said, the princess enjoys taking walks with her parents and playing volleyball, tennis and badminton with palace officials.