King Salman was admitted for inflammation of the gallbladder, the state news agency said without giving further details
Saudi Arabia’s 84-year-old ruler King Salman bin Abdulaziz has been admitted to King Faisal Specialist hospital in the capital Riyadh for medical checks, the state news agency (SPA) reported early on Monday. It said the king, who has ruled the world’s largest oil
exporter and the close US ally since 2015, was admitted for inflammation of the gallbladder, without giving further details.
King Salman spent more than 2-1/2 years as the Saudi Crown Prince and deputy premier from June 2012 before becoming king. He had also served as the governor of Riyadh region for more than 50 years.
The defacto ruler and next in line to the throne is the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, widely known by his initials MBS, who has launched reforms to transform the kingdom’s economy and end its “addiction” to oil.
The 34-year-old prince, who is popular among young Saudis, has won praise at home for easing social restrictions in the conservative Muslim kingdom, giving more rights to women and pledging to diversify the economy.To the king’s supporters, this boldness at home and abroad was a welcome change after decades of caution, stagnation and dithering.But state control of the media and a crackdown on dissent in the kingdom make it difficult to gauge the extent of domestic enthusiasm.
