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Surprise in Riyadh: Saudi King Abdullah names Sudairi Prince Nayef second in line DEBKAfile Special Report & Analysis March 28, 2009, 12:32 PM (GMT+02:00) Saudi Prince Nayef: King in waiting Riyadh is in uproar over the Saudi King Abdullah's snap decision to promote the interior minister Prince Nayef, 76, his half-brother from the rival Sudairi clan, to second deputy prime minister. This places him in direct line to the throne as the incumbent Crown Prince defense minister Prince Sultan lies on his deathbed. The official appointment took immediate effect. DEBKAfile's Saudi experts: Prince Nayef is the closest of any senior member of the royal house to the fundamentalist, radical religious elements of Saudi society, unlike the reforming, modernizing King Abdullah. More...

Israel's incoming, outgoing PMs gloss over growing rift with Washington DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis March 28, 2009, 11:32 AM (GMT+02:00) Designated prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu simply pushes away any suggestion of pressure on Israel from the Obama administration in Washington, while Ehud Olmert has said a few days before bowing out that he has left the Iranian nuclear threat to the next government. Olmert forgot to mention that his government's policy of letting Israel be sidelined on the existential Iranian issue and knuckling under to the US lead allowed Iran to build up momentum in its race for a nuclear bomb. Olmert "forgot" to mention that Israel is no longer in a position to stop Iran's nuclear program.  More...