King Health
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_of_Saudi_Arabia
Report: Saudi King
Abdullah admitted to hospital for medical tests
By Laura Smith-Spark and Nic Robertson, CNN
December
31, 2014 -- Updated 1148 GMT (1948 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
(CNN) -- Saudi Arabia's
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz was admitted to a hospital Wednesday for medical
tests, according to a statement from the royal court cited by the state-run
Saudi Press Agency.
The
King is in the National Guard Hospital in the capital, Riyadh, the statement said.
It gave no further details of his health.
According
to the Saudi Embassy in Washington, Abdullah, 90, was born in Riyadh in 1924.
He
was named crown prince, or heir to the throne, in 1982 and succeeded King Fahd,
his half-brother, on his death in 2005.
He
had in effect been running the country since Fahd had a stroke in 1996 -- and
in nearly a decade of ruling on behalf of his brother, he began opening the
door to reform.
Since
ascending to the throne, he has taken steps toward broader freedoms and has
invested some of the country's vast oil wealth in large-scale education and
infrastructure projects.
However,
resistance from conservative factions has hindered some of his efforts, leaving
many women in particular disappointed by a lack of progress toward greater
independence.
Under
Abdullah's leadership, the country has, though, slowly squashed al Qaeda,
capturing or killing its leaders in the kingdom, forcing the remnants
underground and sidelining radical preachers.
It
has also taken a more prominent role in international affairs and is a key U.S.
ally in the region.
Earlier
this year, it became the lead Arab nation in a U.S.-led coalition to eradicate
the ultra-radical ISIS group in Iraq and
Syria.
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