Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd Hospitalized

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) – King Fahd, whose efforts to strengthen ties between Saudi Arabia – the world’s largest oil exporter – and the United States provoked the wrath of Islamic militants, was hospitalized Friday, apparently suffering from pneumonia.

Fahd’s half brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, has been Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler since Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke in 1995. Abdullah is expected to become king should Fahd die.

Fahd’s hospitalization triggered reports that an emergency had been declared in the kingdom. Officials said on condition of anonymity that an alert had been declared and that military leaves had been canceled or at least discouraged. However, this was firmly denied by the Interior Ministry.

“This is absolutely not true,” ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki said. “There’s no canceling of leaves and no state of emergency or anything.”

Saudi television station Al-Ekhbariya reported that Abdullah assured Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during a phone call late Friday that Fahd’s health was good and that the medical examinations were going normally.

MyWay