Details also of Sheikh Zayed's funeral at link. Notable: Hamid Karzai attends as President of Afghanistan.
[O]n Wednesday, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan was chosen as the President of the United Arab Emirates, the official Emirates news agency WAM reported. The decision was taken by the Supreme Council, which comprises the leaders of the seven constituent emirates, their brothers and their crown princes, WAM said. "The Supreme Council of the Emirates held a meeting and unanimously elected Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi, as the president of the state," WAM reported. Sheikh Khalifa, 56, had been increasingly running the UAE before Wednesday's announcement. He heads Abu Dhabi's Supreme Petroleum Council, which drafts oil policy, and is deputy supreme commander of the armed forces. The pro-Western moderniser also heads the UAE's economic body. Deputy President Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashed al-Maktoum, who is also ruler of Dubai, had earlier taken the reins for the transition. |