RIYADH // Saudi Arabia’s Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, a former intelligence chief, has been appointed deputy crown prince, Saudi state television reported on Thursday.
The appointment makes Prince Muqrin, the youngest son of the kingdom’s founder, King Abdulaziz Al Saud, next in line to succeed in the world’s top oil exporter and birthplace of Islam after his half-brothers King Abdullah and Crown Prince Salman.
“King Abdullah appoints Prince Muqrin as king in case the positions of king and crown prince become vacant,” Al-Arabiya television said, quoting a statement from the royal court.
The announcement gives more assurance to the kingdom’s long-term succession process at a moment when it sees itself as being a lone island of stability amid conflict and political turmoil across the Middle East.
King Abdullah turned 90 last year and Crown Prince Salman is 78. Prince Muqrin was 70 last year.
Prince Muqrin already holds the position of second deputy prime minister, a role to which he was appointed a year ago and was traditionally but informally seen as being equivalent to crown prince in waiting.
* Reuters
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day - 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227 for four at the close.
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