Saudi Arabia's crown prince dismissed: Royal decree

April 29, 2015

Riyadh, Apr 29: Saudi King Salman on Wednesday appointed interior minister Mohammed bin Nayef as his new heir, replacing the monarch's half brother prince Muqrin, and made his son, defence minister Mohammed bin Salman, second in line to succeed.

He also replaced veteran foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, who had served in the role since March 1975, with the kingdom's Washington ambassador Adel al-Jubeir, the first non-royal to hold the post.

The changes signalled a major shift at the top of the ruling Al Saud family away from princes chosen by the late King Abdullah, who died in January, and towards those close to the new monarch.

In a decree published by state media, King Salman said the decision to replace Muqrin with Mohammed bin Nayef and to make his own son deputy crown prince had been approved by a majority of the family's Allegiance Council.

Mohammed bin Salman, who has been the most prominent face of Saudi Arabia's military campaign in Yemen, was replaced as head of the royal court by Ahmed al-Sweilam, the decree said.

The decree also appointed Saudi Aramco chief executive Khalid al-Falih as health minister and chairman of Aramco and made labour minister Adel al-Fakeih economy and planning minister, replacing him with Mufrej al-Haqbani.

Internal reshuffles in Saudi Arabia often move oil prices as stability in the world's biggest petroleum exporting country is key to global supplies.

Of particular interest to oil markets was Falih's appointment. His new post of chairman is a position so far held by veteran oil minister Ali al-Naimi, who remained in his post.

Traders said they were closely observing who would become Aramco's new CEO and whether oil minister Naimi's position would be impacted.

Naimi, who is 79 years old and has been oil minister since 1995, has seen several oil price crashes in his tenure, is seen as crucial in Saudi Arabia's decision last November to not cut production in support of prices, which have halved since June 2014.

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Israel continues massacre in Lebanon; targets capital Beirut in fresh aggression

News Network

November 7,2024

The Israeli regime has killed at least 40 people during new airstrikes against eastern Lebanese areas, besides targeting the country’s capital Beirut with fresh acts of aggression.

Lebanon’s health ministry announced the fatalities on Wednesday, saying 53 other people had also been wounded during the aerial attacks that targeted the country’s Bekaa Valley, including the city of Baalbek.

In early Thursday, the regime was also reported to have attacked Beirut’s southern suburbs, including a site adjacent to Rafiq Hariri International Airport.

The attacks came after the regime issued short-notice evacuation orders apparently directed at the residents of the areas, claiming that the areas contained facilities belonging to Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement.

Tel Aviv has been using similar claims on countless occasions since last October, when it markedly intensified its deadly acts of aggression against Lebanon, in order to try to justify the escalation. Hezbollah has, however, invariably refuted the claims.

Also on Wednesday, the United Nations warned in its most recent flash report on the humanitarian crisis caused by the Israeli atrocities targeting Lebanon that the aggression had “reached a critical point.”

The attacks have claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people, which was “58 percent more than the 1,900 fatalities” that were caused by the regime’s 2006 war against Lebanon, the report said.

“Additionally, an estimated 1.3 million people have been displaced, both within Lebanon and into neighboring countries, 33 percent more than the number of people displaced in 2006,” it added.

Women comprised the majority of those who had been rendered homeless within Lebanon as a result of the Israeli attacks, the report noted.

It also regretted that the Israeli attacks had featured 78 assaults on healthcare facilities across the country that had claimed the lives of 130 health workers and injured 111 others.

In response to the aggression, Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of retaliatory strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israeli forces trying to advance on southern Lebanese areas.

The movement has vowed to sustain its strikes until the regime ends the escalation.

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