- Title: VARIOUS: MORE REACTIONS TO DEATH OF KING FAHD OF SAUDI ARABIA
- Date: 1st August 2005
- Summary: (MER1) LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (AUGUST 1, 2005) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF SAUDI ARABIAN EMBASSY 0.08 2. CLOSE OF SAUDI EMBLEM ON GATES 0.11 3. SLV SAUDI AMBASSADOR TO UNITED KINGDOM, PRINCE TURKI AL-FAISAL, WALKING OUT OF EMBASSY BUILDING INTO COURTYARD FOR NEWS CONFERENCE 0.20 4. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SAUDI AMBASSADOR TO LONDON PRINCE TURKI AL-FAISAL SAYING: "It saddens me to announce that the custodian of the Holy mosques King Fahd has died early this morning in Riyadh. He will be succeeded by Crown Prince Abdullah who has become King of the land (Saudi Arabia) and custodian of the Holy mosques. His royal highness Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz has become Crown Prince of the Kingdom. Official mourning in the Kingdom will begin on Wednesday. The funeral will take place tomorrow (August 2) following afternoon prayers in Riyadh and will be based on the Islamic Sharia." 1.15 5. WIDE OF PRINCE TURKI AL-FAISAL WITH MEDIA AFTER NEWS CONFERENCE 1.20 (MER1) JORDAN, AMMAN (AUGUST 1, 2005) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 6. SLV OF JORDANIAN FLAG FLYING AT HALF MAST OUTSIDE PRIME MINISTERS OFFICE 1.25 7. SLV JORDANIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, MARWAN MUASHER, ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE 1.32 8. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) JORDANIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, MARWAN MUASHER, SAYING: "The cabinet met today to condone the deceased, his Royal Highness King Fahd and released a statement on this occasion remembering the stances of the deceased and his support for Arabic issues and the issues related to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in particular. The government has announced a three day mourning period as well as a public holiday tomorrow, the day when the deceased will be buried." 2.09 (MER1) KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT (AUGUST 1, 2005) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 9. WIDE OF KUWAITI FLAGS FLYING AT HALF MAST 2.15 10. SLV KUWAITI MEN WALKING IN STREET 2.20 11. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED KUWAIT CITY RESIDENT TALKING ABOUT KING FAHD'S DEATH SAYING: "To be honest we have lost a great leader of the Arab and Islamic nation." 2.30 12. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED KUWAIT CITY RESIDENT TALKING ABOUT KING FAHD'S DEATH SAYING: "The death of King Fahd is a loss to the Arab world and especially to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf in general." 2.37 13. SLV MEN WALKING IN STREET 2.40 12. WIDE OF KUWAITI FLAGS FLYING AT HALF MAST 2.58 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 16th August 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM AND AMMAN, JORDAN AND KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT
- City:
- Country: England United Kingdom Kuwait Jordan
- Reuters ID: LVA18EGA3RWY3WM8UGQBNCSN4LI0
- Story Text: The Arab world mourns the death of King Fahd of
Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia's King Fahd died on Monday (August 1)
and Crown Prince Abdullah was swiftly pronounced monarch in
a smooth succession set to maintain the policies of the
world's largest oil exporter and key U.S. ally.
"It saddens me to announce that the custodian of the
Holy mosques King Fahd has died early this morning in
Riyadh. He will be succeeded by Crown Prince Abdullah who
has become King of the land (Saudi Arabia) and custodian of
the Holy mosques. His royal highness Prince Sultan bin
Abdulaziz has become Crown Prince of the Kingdom. Official mourning in
the Kingdom will begin on Wednesday. The
funeral will take place tomorrow (August 2) following
afternoon prayers in Riyadh and will be based on the
Islamic Sharia," said Saudi Ambassador to the UK and future
Ambassador to Washington, Prince Turk al-Faisal.
King Abdullah, who is at least 80, has run day-to-day
affairs since a stroke debilitated Fahd in 1995.
Fahd had been in hospital since May 27, when he was
admitted with acute pneumonia.
Several countries announced periods of mourning and
flew flags at half-mast. An Arab League official said an
Arab summit in Egypt, set for Wednesday (August 3), would
be deferred for up to a week.
The Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister, Marwan Muasher,
declared Tuesday (August 2) - the day of the late King's
funeral - as a national holiday in the Hashemite Kingdom
and announced three days of mourning.
"The cabinet met today to condone the deceased, his
Royal Highness King Fahd and released a statement on this
occasion remembering the stances of the deceased and his
support for Arabic issues and the issues related to the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in particular. The government
has announced a three day mourning period as well as a
public holiday tomorrow, the day when the deceased will be
buried," he said.
As flags flew at half mast on Kuwait mosques and
government buildings, residents of Kuwait city spoke of the
sense of loss felt across the region after the Saudi King's
death.
"The death of King Fahd is a loss to the Arab world and
especially to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf in
general," said one resident.
"To be honest we have lost a great leader of the Arab
and Islamic nation," added another.
U.S. crude oil jumped after his death but Saudi
officials said the kingdom would stand by its long-standing
policy aimed at pumping enough oil to satisfy markets and
stabilise prices.
Energy and financial analysts predicted that Fahd's
death will have no major impact on the Saudi economy, now
booming on strong oil prices. The stock market, the largest
Arab bourse, briefly suspended trading but rebounded after
early declines.
Saudi Information Minister Iyad bin Amin Madani
announced Fahd's death on state television, saying the
royal family had acknowledged Abdullah as the new sovereign
and accepted his choice of Prince Sultan as crown prince.
Prince Sultan, like King Abdullah, was born in 1924.
A Saudi official said Fahd's funeral would take place
on Tuesday to give time for foreign dignitaries to arrive.
Prayers for Fahd's soul are due to be said at the Imam
Turki bin Abdullah mosque in Riyadh on Tuesday. Saudis are
to pledge allegiance to the new king and his crown prince
on Wednesday.
Abdullah is also expected to choose a deputy crown
prince. Diplomats tip Interior Minister Prince Nayef, 72,
or Riyadh provincial governor Prince Salman, 69, as his
likeliest choice.
In Saudi Arabia, recitations of the Koran echoed from
mosques, radios and television sets but shops and
businesses remained open as Saudis accepted Fahd's
long-expected death.
Abdullah, the fifth son of Saudi Arabia's founder King
Abdul-Aziz to ascend the throne, is a cautious reformer who
has overseen modest economic and political liberalisation.
In the past two years, the kingdom has faced a violent
al Qaeda campaign to end seven decades of the royal
family's rule in the home of Islam's holiest shrines.
Fahd ascended the throne in June 1982, at the height of
Saudi Arabia's petrodollar boom and reigned for 23 years.
His strong alliance with Washington and his decision to
allow U.S. forces to deploy in Islam's birthplace in 1990
enraged Saudi-born al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The
troops remained until the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Bin Laden has vowed to depose the Saudi royals, whom he
has blasted as U.S. "agents and stooges".
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