| Submit your comments on this article |
| International |
| King Fahd moved to Costa del Sol... |
| 2002-08-20 |
| King Fahd, the 82-year-old ruler of Saudi Arabia, who has been in a Geneva clinic since May, has moved to his marble palace on the Costa del Sol in Spain amid mounting fears over his health. He's aged since we last heard from him. He was 79 a week ago... Diabetic, arthritic and overweight, King Fahd is still suffering the effects of a stroke in 1995 and his condition is said to be unstable after eye surgery in Switzerland. He is attended by hundreds of courtiers, relatives and hangers-on, all dependent on his favour for their political power and ostentatious wealth. They're all very fond of him. They water him regularly and keep his Depends changed. Sometimes he recognizes one of them, briefly... Behind the mind-boggling displays of wealth lurk fears that the glory days of the House of Saud are ending. With no clear line of succession, the death of King Fahd is expected to unleash a power struggle among rival pretenders to the throne that could fatally weaken the ruling family. Reports say that within Saudi Arabia’s hermetic secrecy, anti-American unrest, even revolutionary fervour, is growing. Western expatriates, alarmed by rumours of a royal power struggle after King Fahd’s death that could presage upheaval and bloody reprisals, are quietly leaving. Probably at the same time a number of princes depart. Wonder how long they'll be able to keep the carcass on life support? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 I think it's so amusing that his palace is a replica of the White House. I once looked for pictures, couldn't find any online, though apparently it was featured in an luxoporn magazine a few years back. |
| Posted by: Dan Hartung 2002-08-20 23:04:19 |