Scramble for power after Saudi king dies

THE death yesterday of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, has unleashed a scramble for power in the world’s largest oil producer.

Fahd, who moved Saudi Arabia closer to the US, but ruled the nation in name only since suffering a stroke in 1995, will be replaced by his half-brother.

The newly appointed monarch, 81-year-old Crown Prince Abdullah, has been the kingdom's effective ruler for 10 years and is the main force behind unprecedented reforms and a two-year crackdown on al-Qaida groups.