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Riyadh:
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Monday selected
Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz as the new crown prince and appointed
him deputy premier and minister of defence while Prince Ahmed bin
Abdulaziz was made the interior minister.
The appointments followed former crown prince Naif bin Abdulaziz
Al Saud's death Saturday. The 78-year-old was also deputy prime
minister and interior minister of the country.
King Abdullah has chosen Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, the current
defence minister, as the crown prince and appointed him deputy
prime minister and defence minister, Saudi Press Agency quoted a
royal order as saying Monday.
Another royal order said King Abdullah appointed Prince Ahmed bin
Abdulaziz, the current deputy minister of interior, as minister of
interior.
Naif, who died following a prolonged illness, was Sunday buried
after sunset prayers in the holy city of Makkah.
On Sunday, King Abdullah, together with other worshippers, offered
funeral prayers for the crown prince at the holy mosque in Mecca.
India was represented by Law Minister Salman Khurshid at the
funeral ceremony.
Earlier, a statement from King Abdullah, said prince Nayef died
"outside the kingdom".
He was hospitalised in Geneva and had left the country for medical
tests late last month.
As the kingdom's interior minister since 1975, Naif had led the
crackdown on Al Qaeda's offshoot in the country after the Sep 11,
2001 attacks in the US.
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