Saudi king reshuffles cabinet

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has carried out an extensive cabinet reshuffle.

On Monday, the Saudi king dismissed Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Saleh al-Sheikh from office and appointed Sulaiman Aba al-Khail to the post.

The monarch also appointed Khalid al-Sabti as the minister of higher education and sacked Khalid al-Anghari from the post.

Mohammed al-Hiazaa and Abdul Aziz al-Khudairi were also appointed as minister of health and minister of media, respectively.

In April, the US-based opposition research group, Institute for (Persian) Gulf Affairs, quoted US and Saudi sources as saying that King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and may succumb to his illness in a few months.

On March 27, King Abdullah named his half-brother, Prince Muqrin, as the successor to the current Crown Prince Salman should he become king.

On April 15, the Saudi king also replaced spy chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who spearheaded the kingdom’s mission in the Syria crisis, with Youssef al-Idrisi.

The 90-year-old king’s health has declined over the past few years, during which he has been hospitalized several times.

Failing health, old age as well as the death of the king’s half-brothers have raised concerns about the future of the oil-rich country in the face of anti-regime demonstrations.