SAUDI ARABIA: CROWN PRINCE ABDULLAH HAS SAID THAT THE HEALTH OF KING FAHD BIN ABDUL AZIZ IS STABLE
Record ID:
189758
SAUDI ARABIA: CROWN PRINCE ABDULLAH HAS SAID THAT THE HEALTH OF KING FAHD BIN ABDUL AZIZ IS STABLE
- Title: SAUDI ARABIA: CROWN PRINCE ABDULLAH HAS SAID THAT THE HEALTH OF KING FAHD BIN ABDUL AZIZ IS STABLE
- Date: 31st May 2005
- Summary: (BN14) RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (MAY 30, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. ARIAL VIEWS OF RIYADH (3 SHOTS) 0.24 2. SLV RIYADH STREET SCENES (4 SHOTS) 0.49 (BN14) RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (MAY 29, 2005) (REUTERS) 3. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED RIYADH RESIDENT SAYING: "The news that we heard about the King (Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz) being admitted to hospital made us feel sad. We hope that he recovers and that nothing bad happens to him." 1.10 (BN14) RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (MAY 30, 2005) (REUTERS) 4. SLV FAISALIAH TOWER; SLV RIYADH STREET (3 SHOTS) 1.29 (BN14) RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (MAY 29, 2005) (REUTERS) 5. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED RIYADH RESIDENT SAYING: "King Fahd is a father to everyone. His admittion to hospital has affected everyone. I wish him a speedy recovery and may God prolong his life." 1.39 (BN14) RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (MAY 30, 2005) (REUTERS) 6. SLV RIYADH STOCKSHOTS WITH STREET SCENE AND GV RIYADH SKYLINE 2.00 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 15th June 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
- Country: Saudi Arabia
- Reuters ID: LVA6NABK1H1FJM995737XXAW3I4K
- Story Text: Saudi Arabia King's health "stable" says Crown
Prince.
Medical tests showed the health of King Fahd of
Saudi Arabia to be "stable and reassuring", Crown Prince
Abdullah said on Monday (May 30, 2005).
The crown prince, the king's half-brother, gave no
medical details on the 83-year-old king, who has been in
hospital since Friday after suffering high fever, pneumonia
and respiratory complications.
Abdullah, 81, has been Saudi Arabia's de facto leader
since King Fahd suffered a stroke that incapacitated him in
1995. He is set to become king if Fahd dies.
The hospitalisation of the wheelchair-bound king has
caused alarm among the residents of Riyadh.
"The news that we heard about the King (Fahd Bin Abdul
Aziz) being admitted to hospital made us feel sad. We hope
that he recovers and that nothing bad happens to him," said
one resident.
"King Fahd is a father to everyone. His admittion to
hospital has affected everyone. I wish him a speedy
recovery and may God prolong his life," added another
concerned Riyadh resident.
If he dies, diplomats expect a smooth succession to
Abdullah, provoking no instability in a country that has
been fighting al Qaeda militants trying to topple the royal
family.
Fahd ascended one of the world's richest thrones in
June 1982, at the peak of an oil boom that transformed
Saudi Arabia from a desert country into a global economic
power and propelled its isolated tribal society into the
modern world.
He has played a key role in bringing the kingdom closer
to the United States.
The biggest challenge for his rule has come from
Saudi-born al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, whose group waged a
violent campaign to depose the royal family who he
said had betrayed Islam for allying itself with "infidel
America".
Abdullah, commander of the national guard, has overseen
a crackdown on al Qaeda militants.
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