Saudi Arabia was preparing yesterday to bury Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud amid worldwide condolences, as Saudi Minister of Defense and Aviation Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud appeared poised to become the new heir apparent.
An aircraft bearing the body of Nayef left Geneva early yesterday for the kingdom’s western city of Jeddah, Saudi-owned al-Arabiyah television reported.
The funeral of the Persian Gulf nation’s security czar was expected to take place later in the Muslim holy city of Mecca after sunset.
Photo: Reuters
He was to be buried in al-Adl cemetery near the Grand Mosque, where several members of the royal family and prominent Islamic scholars are interred, the Okaz daily said.
“Crown Prince Nayef devoted his life to promoting the security of Saudi Arabia,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, while US President Barack Obama praised his cooperation in the fight against terror that “saved countless American and Saudi lives.”
French President Francois Hollande said his country had lost a “friend” and the president of the Swiss Confederation, where Nayef died, offered Bern’s “deepest condolences.”
The 79-year-old prince died of “cardiac problems” while at his brother’s residence in Geneva, a medical source in the city who asked not to be identified said.
Nayef’s death, just eight months after he replaced his late brother, Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, as crown prince, raises the issue of succession because of the advanced age of the first line of apparent heirs, in a time of turmoil rocking the Arab world.
King Abdullah himself is 88 and ailing and nobody is officially in line to replace Nayef.
However, his brother, Salman, 76, who took the defense and aviation portfolio after Sultan’s death, appears to be a strong candidate.
“Prince Salman is the most likely successor,” Saudi political scientist Khaled al-Dakheel said.
“All expectations point to Prince Salman to succeed Prince Nayef for his experience in administration, security and politics,” agreed Anwar Eshqi, head of the Jeddah-based Middle East Center for Strategic Studies.
And Jane Kinninmont, a senior research fellow for the Middle East and North Africa at London’s Chatham House, said Salman is “generally assumed to be the next in line.”
In 2006, the Saudi monarch established the Allegiance Council, a body of about 35 senior princes, as a new succession mechanism whose long-term aim was to choose the crown prince.
Nayef was the middle prince of the Sudairi Seven, the formidable bloc of sons of late Saudi king Abdulaziz Al Saud by a favorite wife, Princess Hassa bint Ahmad al-Sudairi.
In addition to Salman, remaining Sudairis include Prince Abdul Rahman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prince Turki II bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who is deputy interior minister and likely to succeed Nayef at the security helm.
Nayef, who spearheaded Saudi Arabia’s clampdown on al-Qaeda following a wave of attacks in the conservative kingdom between 2003 and 2006, became heir to the throne in October last year.
“He was one of the pillars of stability in the kingdom,” al-Jazirah daily wrote. “He managed to overcome crises and navigate this country to the shores of safety.”
Nayef traveled abroad several times this year for medical reasons, including to Algeria, the US and Switzerland, where he was shown on television in Geneva three days ago greeting supporters.
The nature of his illness was not made public.
Seen as more conservative than Abdullah, Nayef was a staunch defender of the Saudi dynasty and resisted any form of opposition.
He ordered and oversaw a fierce crackdown on al-Qaeda, forcing the jihadist group’s leaders and militants to flee to Yemen, from where they continue to be a thorn in the side of Saudi interests.
STEPPING UP: Diminished US polar science presence mean opportunities for the UK and other countries, although China or Russia might also fill that gap, a researcher said The UK’s flagship polar research vessel is to head to Antarctica next week to help advance dozens of climate change-linked science projects, as Western nations spearhead studies there while the US withdraws. The RRS Sir David Attenborough, a state-of-the-art ship named after the renowned British naturalist, would aid research on everything from “hunting underwater tsunamis” to tracking glacier melt and whale populations. Operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the country’s polar research institute, the 15,000-tonne icebreaker — boasting a helipad, and various laboratories and gadgetry — is pivotal to the UK’s efforts to assess climate change’s impact there. “The saying goes
FRUSTRATIONS: One in seven youths in China and Indonesia are unemployed, and many in the region are stuck in low-productivity jobs, the World Bank said Young people across Asia are struggling to find good jobs, with many stuck in low-productivity work that the World Bank said could strain social stability as frustrations fuel a global wave of youth-led protests. The bank highlighted a persistent gap between younger and more experienced workers across several Asian economies in a regional economic update released yesterday, noting that one in seven young people in China and Indonesia are unemployed. The share of people now vulnerable to falling into poverty is now larger than the middle class in most countries, it said. “The employment rate is generally high, but the young struggle to
ENERGY SHIFT: A report by Ember suggests it is possible for the world to wean off polluting sources of power, such as coal and gas, even as demand for electricity surges Worldwide solar and wind power generation has outpaced electricity demand this year, and for the first time on record, renewable energies combined generated more power than coal, a new analysis said. Global solar generation grew by a record 31 percent in the first half of the year, while wind generation grew 7.7 percent, according to the report by the energy think tank Ember, which was released after midnight yesterday. Solar and wind generation combined grew by more than 400 terawatt hours, which was more than the increase in overall global demand during the same period, it said. The findings suggest it is
FIRST STAGE: Hamas has agreed to release 48 Israeli hostages in exchange for 250 ‘national security prisoners’ as well as 1,700 Gazans, but has resisted calls to disarm Israel plans to destroy what remains of Hamas’ network of tunnels under Gaza, working with US approval after its hostages are freed, it said yesterday. Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz said that the operation would be conducted under an “international mechanism” led by the US. “Israel’s great challenge after the hostage release phase will be the destruction of all Hamas terrorist tunnels in Gaza,” Katz said. “I have ordered the army to prepare to carry out this mission,” he added. Hamas operates a network of tunnels under Gaza, allowing its fighters to operate out of sight of Israeli reconnaissance. Some have passed under
RSS