MIDDLE EAST
Saudi palace reshuffle puts a youngster in charge of security
Saudi Arabia’s new interior minister, until now a little-known 33-year-old law graduate, replaces his veteran uncle as security chief at a time when the kingdom is confronting threats posed by Sunni Islamic State fighters and Shiite militants in the east. Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef was appointed on Wednesday to replace Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was stripped of his positions and removed as second in line to the throne of the world’s biggest oil exporter. King Salman made his son Mohammed bin Salman, 31, his heir and crown prince. Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 57, who was wounded in an al-Qaeda assassination attempt in 2009, put down an al-Qaeda bombing campaign and kept close ties to the US intelligence community, where he had a reputation as being safe and reliable. A son of the late Crown Prince Nayef who had served as interior minister since 1975 until his death from a heart attack in 2012, Prince Mohammed had been closely identified with the formidable and effective se...
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