The Hindu : Front Page : King Fahd is dead, Abdullah is King

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 02, 2005

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Front Page

King Fahd is dead, Abdullah is King

Custodian of Islam's Two Holy Places

- AP

Saudi Arabian King Fahd, who died on Monday at the age of 84

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, who had been ailing for some time, died on Monday, ending a 23-year reign. His half-brother Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz was swiftly pronounced monarch.

King Fahd ascended the throne of one of the richest nations in June 1982, at the height of Saudi Arabia's petrodollar boom and ruled through three regional wars and, in his final years, the Al-Qaeda militancy.

``With deep sorrow and pain, the royal court... mourns the death of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd due to illness,'' Information Minister Iyad bin Amin Madani announced.

Eightyfour-year-old Fahd had been undergoing treatment at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh since May 27 for acute pneumonia. A medical source said he died around 0830 hours IST.

Media reports quoting a Saudi official said the funeral would take place on Tuesday.

The new monarch said the Cabinet ministers would retain their posts. A royal decree read out on state television appointed Crown Prince Sultan, who is also Defence Minister, first Deputy Prime Minister, a post King Abdullah held when he was Crown Prince. — Agencies

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