THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The aged king of Saudi Arabia led a burial ceremony on Sunday for his brother, Crown Prince Nayef Abdul-Aziz, in the holy city of Mecca before his internment following evening prayers.He was the second heir to the throne to die outside the country in less than a year. The 88-year-old King Abdullah gathered with royal family members and international envoys for the service. Prince Nayef's wrapped body was carried through crowds of relatives in a ceremony broadcast live on several television channels.
Abdullah has now outlived two appointed successors from among the elderly group of sons of Saudi's founding monarch, King Abdul-Aziz.
Health issues increasingly preoccupy the ruling inner circle in Saudi Arabia and show the vivid contrast between a leadership born at the dawn of Saudi's oil-rich age and the current population heavily weighted toward youth – with more than half under 25 years old. » | Monday, June 18, 2012
