Seattle Daily Star

 RIYADH: Doctors in Saudi Arabia have successfully separated Yemeni conjoined twins after a “complicated” 15-hour operation, Saudi state media reported on Monday. The baby boys, Yussef and Yassin , were “conjoined in several organs,” and some 24 doctors were involved in the operation to separate them, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. The center’s doctors carried out the “four-phase surgery” separating Yussef and Yassin, describing it as “among the most complicated” they had performed, the SPA said Monday. Last July Saudi doctors separated a Yemeni baby from her parasitic twin, saying at the time it was their 50th successful operation on conjoined twins. In December a separate set of Yemeni twins were separated by doctors in Jordan’s capital Amman before being flown back to Sanaa, according to the UN children’s agency. Last week Saudi King Salman ordered that yet another set of Yemeni conjoined twins, girls named Mawaddah and Rahmah, be transferred to Riyadh “to conduct m...

 RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman sent a cable of condolences and sympathy to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the victims of a terrorist attack that took place east of the Suez Canal on Saturday, the Saudi Press Agency reported early Tuesday. “As we share with you the pain of this affliction, we send to Your Excellency, the families of the deceased and the Egyptian people, our deepest and sincere condolences,” the king said, reiterating the Kingdom’s stand with Egypt and its people. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also sent a similar cable to the Egyptian president. The attack in the restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula killed 11 security personnel of a water pumping station. Five others were wounded in the attack, according to the Egyptian military. During a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces on Sunday, President El-Sisi said he has directed law enforcers to cleanse Sinai of terrorist elements. He stressed the need to continue impleme...

  Ankara has taken several concrete steps to improve ties with Riyadh Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels to Saudi Arabia on Thursday as the countries seek to re-establish relations after a period of tension and stagnation. “Turkey and Saudi Arabia will seek to develop all aspects of relations between the two countries during the visit and exchange views on regional and international issues,” the Turkish presidency said. Mr Erdogan’s visit is seen as the most tangible step by Turkey as it seeks better relations with several countries in the region, including the UAE, Israel and Egypt. The Turkish president’s last visit to Saudi Arabia was in 2017 during which he met King Salman and performed Umrah. Officials in both countries have been working on a rapprochement for months, with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visiting Saudi Arabia in May last year. Turkey’s ties with Riyadh and a host of Arab countries were strained by Ankara’s support of the Muslim Brot...