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| Arabia |
| King Fahd's health improving |
| 2005-05-29 |
| Saudi Arabia's King Fahd's health is "steadily improving," three days after he was taken to hospital with pneumonia and respiratory complications, Interior Minister Prince Nayef said on Sunday. The health of the 83-year-old wheelchair-bound king has been frail since he suffered a stroke in 1995. The day-to-day running of the world's biggest oil exporter, which is fighting al Qaeda militants, was passed on to his half brother. "Thank God his health is steadily improving," Prince Nayef said without giving details. His comments were carried on the official Saudi Press Agency. King Fahd remained in hospital for a third day on Sunday for further tests and treatment amid rising concern about his condition. Alarm about the monarch's health was sparked by a rare royal statement which announced his admission to hospital on Friday and called on his subjects to pray for his recovery. Officials said he was suffering from high fever, pneumonia and respiratory complications from water in his lungs. They said his condition was stable on Sunday and that he was still being treated for respiratory difficulties. "The necessary medical tests were carried out and they all showed that his health condition is stable and reassuring, thank God. More examinations will be conducted at a later stage," a royal statement said on Saturday night without elaborating. In case he dies, diplomats expect a succession that goes to plan, provoking no instability in the country that has been fighting Islamic militants trying to topple the royal family. The script calls for Crown Prince Abdullah, King Fahd's half brother and a cautious reformist, to ascend the throne and for Prince Sultan, now defense minister, to become crown prince. "Crown Prince Abdullah has been the de facto leader for around 10 years, so it's difficult to see how the policy of the kingdom would change after the king's death," one diplomat said. Rumours about King Fahd's health have often surfaced in Saudi Arabia and on world oil markets since he fell ill 10 years ago. But this time they appeared to be better founded. "At first I thought it was just a rumor that he was in hospital," said one Saudi women, who declined to give her name. "I am very worried. After all, he is the king of a country." "What happens next is in the hands of God," added another. Fahd ascended one of the world's richest thrones in June 1982, at the peak of a petrodollar boom that transformed Saudi Arabia from a desert country into a global economic power and propelled its isolated tribal society into the modern world. 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 whom he said had betrayed Islam for allying itself with "infidel America." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 and propelled its isolated tribal society into the modern world See alternate universe thread. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-05-29 19:31 |