News Updates

Reuters Alert Net - Saudi officials say Fahd in stable condition
[Saturday, May 28 - 11:50 GMT]
Saudi Arabia's King Fahd is now in stable condition, a day after he was taken to hospital with pneumonia, Saudi officials said on Saturday. They said the king, in his early 80s and incapacitated by a stroke since 1995, had undergone treatment to have water drained from his lungs. "He has now stabilized," one official said. Fears about the king's condition had heightened on Friday after a royal statement urged Saudis to pray for his recovery. The palace has issued no further update on his health.

BBC - Saudi uncertainty over sick king
Saudi Arabia's King Fahd is being treated in hospital amid conflicting reports about his state of health.
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Reuters - Saudi King Fahd doing well in hospital - agency
Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, ruler of the world's top oil exporter and a close ally of the United States, was taken to hospital on Friday but officials said he was doing well. Fears about the king's health had heightened earlier after a royal statement urged the monarch's subjects to pray for his recovery. Medical sources said he had pneumonia and high fever.

USA Today - Saudi King Fahd hospitalized; conflicting reports on alert
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.
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Bloomberg - Saudi Arabia's King Fahd Hospitalized in Riyadh
King Fahd is in good condition and medical tests are continuing, the Saudi Press Agency said late today, attributing the account to an official it didn't identify. Doctors said they believe the monarch is suffering from pneumonia
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Reuters - Saudi adviser denies country on alert
"The country is not on alert and leave has not been canceled," Adel al-Jubeir, the king's foreign policy adviser, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
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Arab News - King Fahd in Good Health
�King Fahd entered King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh this evening to undergo some medical examinations,� said the announcement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
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Al Jazeera.com - Saudi King Fahd admitted to hospital
King Fahd, believed to be aged 84, has been Saudi Arabia�s monarch since 1982.. ..His health started to deteriorate in November 29, 1995 when he suffered a heart stroke, and Crown Prince Abdullah has performed most of the duties of the Saudi head of state since then.
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BBC - Profile: Saudi King Fahd
King Fahd has been Saudi Arabia's monarch since 1982 when King Khalid died. But, after suffering a stroke in 1995, he has been little more than a figurehead, with Crown Prince Abdullah performing most of the head-of-state functions.
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The Saudi Net - Bio
Born in 1921 (1340 H), King Fahd studied at the Prince's School and later at the Saudi Institute in Makkah Al Mukarramah. In 1953 (1371 H), during the reign of King Saud, he was appointed the country's first Minister of Education, energetically contributing to the development of Education in the Kingdom. In 1962 (1381 H), he was appointed Minister of the Interior, and in 1967 (1387 H) Second Deputy Premier. In 1975 (1395 H) during the era of King Khaled, he became Crown Prince and First Deputy Premier. He became King of Saudi Arabia in 1982 (1402 H) following the death of King Khaled. Throughout his political career, King Fahd participated in and led various Saudi delegations, thus acquiring the expertise needed to take important decisions in both domestic and international domains. His early activities included attending the U. N. inauguration meeting in San Francisco in 1945 (1364 H).
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Also:

King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Web Site

SaudInf.com - Chronology - The Life and Times of King Fahd

1923: Born, son of King Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (Ibn Saud), founder of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

1945: Member of the Saudi delegation to the signing of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco

1953: Appointed first Minister of Education

1959: Led the Saudi delegation to the 32nd session of the League of Arab States in Casablanca, Morocco

1960: Led the Saudi delegation to the 33rd session of the League of Arab States in Lebanon

1962: Appointed Minister of the Interior

1965: Represented Saudi Arabia at the Cairo meeting of Arab heads of state

1967: Assumed position of Second Deputy Prime Minister

1970: Led Saudi delegation in talks with British leaders to discuss future of the Arabian Gulf

1970: Witnessed the launching of the Kingdom's first Five-Year Development Plan

1974: First official visit to Washington D.C. established Saudi Arabian/U.S. Joint Commission on Economic Co-operation

1975: Became Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister

1978: Led Saudi delegation to the Arab Summit in Baghdad

1981: Proposed innovative Eight-Point Peace Plan to resolve the Arab/Israeli conflict

1981: Represented the Kingdom at the North/South Conference in Cancun, Mexico

1982: Proclaimed fifth King of Saudi Arabia on 13th June, succeeding King Khalid

1982: League of Arab States unanimously adopted King Fahd's Eight-Point Peace Plan to resolve the Arab/Israeli conflict

1985: Announced the Kingdom's fourth Five-Year Plan

1986: Inaugurated the King Fahd Causeway, linking Saudi Arabia to Bahrain

1987: Hosted the eighth summit of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) in Riyadh

1987: Made state visits to Britain and France

1988: Signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

1988: Initiated diplomatic efforts to end the Iraq/Iran war

1988: Attended the extraordinary meeting of the League of Arab States summit in Algeria

1989: Hosted Lebanese leaders in Taif, Saudi Arabia, for the signing of the national reconciliation accord
1989: State visit to Egypt

1989: Attended League of Arab States summit in Morocco

1990: Signed border demarcation accord with Oman

1990: Sent more than one million copies of the Holy Qur'an, the first shipment of the Holy Book to the Soviet Union, for distribution amongst Muslims

1990: Condemned Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and helped to put together a coalition of forces to end the aggression

1992: Sent Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal to attend Moscow Middle East peace talks

1992: Announced new regulations for the Basic System of Government, the Provincial System and the Majlis Al Shoura (Consultative Council)

1992: Condemned Serbian aggression in Bosnia/Herzegovina; met with Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovitch; called for international action to halt the aggression; directed the effort to end the fighting and to ease the suffering of civilians; hosted the extraordinary meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference on Bosnia/Herzegovina

1993: Hosted meeting of Afghan leaders in the Holy city of Makkah for signing of national reconciliation accord

1993: Sent Saudi forces to serve in United Nations' peace-keeping contingent in Somalia

1993: Inaugurated the Majlis Al Shoura (Consultative Council)

1993: Introduced new regulations for the Council of Ministers

1993: Hosted 14th GCC Summit in Riyadh

1993: donated US$100 million for social services and utility projects in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank

1993: Approved a new Higher Education Council and universities system

1994: Completed expansion projects of Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah

1994: Called for resolution of Yemen crisis through dialogue

1994: Donated funds for the restoration of Islam's third holiest shrine and two other mosques in Jerusalem

1995: Announced sixth Five-Year Development Plan

1996: Assigned Crown Prince Abdullah to the Saudi/Syrian/Egyptian meeting in Damascus and the Arab Summit in Cairo

Source: The Saudi Arabian Information Resource