RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has been admitted to the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh for medical test, the royal court said in statement early on Monday.
The king was admitted for inflammation of the gallbladder, said the announcement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The 84-year-old monarch has been in power since January 2015. He is considered the last Saudi monarch of his generation of brothers who have held power since the death of their father and founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz.
King Salman has empowered his 34-year-old son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as his successor. The crown prince’s assertive and bold style of leadership, as well as his consolidation of power and sidelining of potential rivals, has been controversial.
With the support of his father, Prince Mohammed has transformed the kingdom in recent years, opening it up to tourists and eroding decades of ultraconservative restrictions on entertainment and women’s rights as he tries to diversify the Saudi economy away from reliance on oil exports.
The prince has also detained dozens of activists and critics, overseen a devastating war in Yemen and rounded up top members of the royal family in his quest for power.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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