Abdullah awarded 'Order of the Smile'

Dubai: Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz yesterday concluded a two-day visit to Poland during which he received an award for funding an operation to separate conjoined Polish twins.

The monarch received the "Order of the Smile," a medal awarded twice a year by Polish children to an adult who has helped improve the lot of youngsters.

Recipients of the order are traditionally expected to drink a cup of lemon juice without losing their smile, and are then supposed to pledge to keep smiling for the rest of their lives.

"The children chose King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz because he ... saved the life of two Polish Siamese twin sisters, as well as other children around the world," said Marek Michalak, chancellor of the Order of the Smile. Abdullah funded an operation in 2005 to separate Polish twins Daria and Olga Kolacz.

- With inputs from agencies