Filipino Conjoined Twins Arrive in Riyadh for Potential Separation Procedure

The Filipino Siamese twins arrived in Riyadh on Sunday. SPA
The Filipino Siamese twins arrived in Riyadh on Sunday. SPA
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Filipino Conjoined Twins Arrive in Riyadh for Potential Separation Procedure

The Filipino Siamese twins arrived in Riyadh on Sunday. SPA
The Filipino Siamese twins arrived in Riyadh on Sunday. SPA

Filipino Siamese twins Akhizah and Ayeesha Yosoph arrived on Sunday in Riyadh via a Saudi evacuation plan facilitated by the Ministry of Health.

After arriving at King Khalid International Airport along with their parents, the twins were promptly transferred to the King Abdullah Specialized Children's Hospital (KASCH) under the Ministry of National Guard. At KASCH, a medical team is assessing the twins' condition to determine the feasibility of performing a separation surgery.

This initiative came upon the directives of the 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.

The Advisor at the Royal Court, Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), and head of the medical team overseeing the case, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah, expressed his gratitude to the King and the Crown Prince for their unwavering support. He commended their support and care to the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program and humanitarian endeavors at large.

Al Rabeeah highlighted the program's significance on a global scale, serving as a milestone in the field while aligning with the ambitious goals of Saudi Vision 2030 to enhance the Kingdom's healthcare services to a prominent position.

The parents of Akhizah and Ayeesha expressed their heartfelt appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince for the warm welcome and generous hospitality extended to them since their arrival in the Kingdom.



Japanese Billionaire Maezawa Cancels Moon Flyby Mission

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who returned to Earth last month after a 12-day journey into space, attends a news conference after returning to Japan, at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, in Tokyo, Japan January 7, 2022. (Reuters)
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who returned to Earth last month after a 12-day journey into space, attends a news conference after returning to Japan, at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, in Tokyo, Japan January 7, 2022. (Reuters)
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Japanese Billionaire Maezawa Cancels Moon Flyby Mission

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who returned to Earth last month after a 12-day journey into space, attends a news conference after returning to Japan, at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, in Tokyo, Japan January 7, 2022. (Reuters)
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who returned to Earth last month after a 12-day journey into space, attends a news conference after returning to Japan, at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, in Tokyo, Japan January 7, 2022. (Reuters)

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa cancelled his "dearMoon" mission, which the project said was to have been the first private flight around the moon, the mission announced on Saturday.

The team had originally aimed to make the circumlunar flight with celebrities on board by the end of last year but that became "unfeasible", the mission said in a statement on its website.

"Without clear schedule certainty in the near-term, it is with a heavy heart that Maezawa made the unavoidable decision to cancel the project," it said. "To all who have supported this project and looked forward to this endeavor, we sincerely appreciate it and apologize for this outcome."

The statement gave no further details on the cause of the cancellation.

Elon Musk's SpaceX named Maezawa, the colorful founder of Japanese online fashion store Zozo Inc, its first private passenger in 2018.

Three years later he was the first private passenger to visit the International Space Station in more than a decade, launching on a Soyuz rocket.

In 2022, Maezawa announced that K-pop star TOP and DJ Steve Aoki would be among the eight crew members he planned to take on the dearMoon mission.

In November he said the flyby mission would be delayed until this year or later.