Saudi King upends royal succession, names son Mohammed, 31, as 1st heir

Agencies
June 21, 2017

Riyadh, Jun 21: Saudi Arabia's King Salman has appointed his 31-year-old son, Mohammed bin Salman, as heir, in a major reshuffle announced early on Wednesday.

saudikings2

A royal decree removed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a 57-year-old nephew of the king, as next-in-line to the throne and replaced him with Mohammed bin Salman, 31, who was previously the deputy crown prince.

According to the official Saudi Press Agency, the newly-announced crown prince was also named deputy prime minister and maintained his post as defence minister.

The former crown prince was also fired from his post as interior minister, the decree said.

Saudi Arabia's Allegiance Council voted 34 to 31 in favour of the changes, according to the state-owned al-Arabiya channel.

The Saudi king called for a public pledging of allegiance to the new crown prince on Wednesday, the channel said.

Restructuring power

Some royal observers had long suspected Mohammed bin Salman's rise to power under his father's reign might also accelerate his ascension to the throne.

The young prince was little known to Saudis and outsiders before Salman became king in January 2015. He had previously been in charge of his father's royal court when Salman was the crown prince.

Over the weekend, the king had issued a decree restructuring Saudi Arabia's system for prosecutions that stripped Mohammed bin Nayef of longstanding powers overseeing criminal investigations.

Instead King Salman ordered that a newly-named Office of Public Prosecution and prosecutor report directly to the monarch.

Mohammed bin Nayef was not believed to have played a significant role in Saudi and UAE-led efforts to isolate Qatar for its alleged support of Islamist groups and ties with Iran.

The prince had appeared to be slipping from public eye as his nephew, Mohammed bin Salman, embarked on major overseas visits, including a trip to the White House to meet President Donald Trump in March.

That visit to Washington helped lay the foundation for Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia in May, which marked the president's first overseas visit.

The trip was promoted heavily by the kingdom as proof of its weight in the region and wider Muslim world.

Yemen and Iran

Despite Mohammed bin Salman's ambitions, which include overhauling the kingdom's economy away from its reliance on oil, the prince has faced criticism for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which he oversees as defence minister.

The war, launched more than two years ago, has failed to dislodge Iranian-allied rebels known as Houthis from the capital, Sanaa, and has had devastating effects on the impoverished country.

Rights groups say Saudi forces have killed scores of civilians and have called on the US, as well as the UK and France, to halt the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia that could be used in the Yemen war.

The newly-minted crown prince also ruled out any chance of dialogue with Iran.

In remarks aired on Saudi TV in May, Mohammed bin Salman framed the tensions with Iran in sectarian terms and said it is Iran's goal "to control the Islamic world" and to spread its Shia doctrine.

He also vowed to take "the battle" to Iran.

Iran and Saudi Arabia's rivalry has played out in proxy wars across the region.

They back opposite sides in the wars in Syria and Yemen and they support political rivals in Lebanon, Bahrain and Iraq.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
October 17,2024

Bengaluru, Oct 17: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday announced that all government residential schools in the state will be renamed as Maharishi Valmiki Residential Schools.

He further said that the Raichur University will be renamed as Maharishi Valmiki University, news agency ANI reported.

He made the announcement on the occasion of Valmiki Jayanti, which is celebrated to honor Maharishi Valmiki, the revered author of the Ramayana.

Earlier today, the Karnataka CM paid rich tributes to Valmiki in a series of posts on X.

"Let the life and achievements of Dalit genius, Adi Kavi Valmiki, who wrote the epic Ramayana and showed that talent is not a gift of birth, but an achievement, be an inspiration to all of us," he said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
October 25,2024

udupimurder.jpg
The accused wife and the victim husband

 

Udupi, Oct 25: A seemingly natural death has unraveled into a heart-wrenching case of betrayal and murder in Udupi’s Marne village. 

Balakrishna (44), who had been battling fever and severe illness for nearly a month, succumbed to his condition on October 20, despite extensive treatment at multiple hospitals. 

Diagnosed with jaundice, he was under care at KMC Hospital in Manipal, Wenlock Hospital in Mangaluru, NIMHANS Hospital in Bengaluru, and Victoria Hospital. But his symptoms persisted, and he was brought home on October 19, only to pass away at 3:30 am the next morning.

A complaint filed by his grieving brother, Ramakrishna (42), has now transformed Balakrishna's case into an alleged murder investigation. According to Ramakrishna, his brother’s wife, Pratima, had been in a relationship with Dileep from Hirgan. Allegedly, frustrated by Balakrishna's interference in her relationship, Pratima conspired with Dileep to eliminate him.

The complaint suggests that Pratima and Dileep plotted to gradually poison Balakrishna, lacing his meals with a toxic substance that steadily worsened his health. 

In the early hours of October 20, Dileep allegedly visited the home, where he and Pratima are accused of suffocating Balakrishna with a bedsheet, ending his life in a final act of betrayal. 

The Ajekar police have now registered a murder case, transforming Balakrishna's tragic death into a haunting investigation. They also have managed to arrest the victim’s wife and her boyfriend. 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
October 17,2024

Mangaluru: In a shocking case of cyber fraud, an engineer from Mangaluru lost ₹30 lakh after being deceived by a scammer posing as a Mumbai police head constable.

On October 10, the engineer received a phone call, during which the scammer falsely claimed that 25 fraudulent bank accounts had been opened in his name. The caller alleged these accounts were being used for illegal transactions and urged the victim to act immediately to avoid legal trouble.

The scammer manipulated the engineer into believing that all funds in his personal bank account needed to be transferred for "verification" by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In a state of panic, the victim complied, transferring ₹30 lakh to multiple accounts provided by the fraudster.

Adding to the deception, the victim was told to send WhatsApp updates every 20 minutes to track the "progress." Realizing the fraud only after the transfers were completed, the victim filed a complaint, and a case has been registered at the Bajpe police station.

This incident serves as a stark reminder for the public to stay cautious and verify information before acting on unsolicited calls, especially those involving sensitive financial details.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.