The other main internal security concern in Saudi Arabia is in Qatif, home to about one million mostly Shia Muslims in the oil-producing Eastern Province.
The Saudi stock market has closed up over 5.5 percent after news that King Salman appointed his 31-year-old son as next in line to the throne.
The move marked another step in the meteoric rise of the young prince, who is already the world's youngest defense minister and has been charged with overhauling the country's economy.
The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms bordering Saudi Arabia, has been a major point of Saudi investment, especially in Dubai.
The new crown prince has also expressed support for improving human rights and freedom of expression in a country that is widely criticized for its oppressive laws. Rights groups say Saudi forces have killed scores of civilians and have called on the USA, as well as the United Kingdom and France, to halt the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia that could be used in the war. Iran and Saudi Arabia's rivalry has played out in proxy wars across the region and has deepened Sunni-Shiite enmity between hard-liners on both sides.
Crown Prince Mohammed has adopted a hard line against Iran, ruling out any dialogue.
Although Mohammed bin Salman's promotion was expected among close circles it came as a surprise at a time the kingdom is facing escalating tensions with Qatar and Iran and is locked in an air war in Yemen. "The interior ministry thus stays with the descendants of Prince Nayef, but with less experience at the helm", she wrote on Twitter.
Saudi Arabia says the three were Revolutionary Guard members. As part of the plan, Saudi Arabia cut back of many state lavish subsidies and proposed the partial privatization of the kingdom's state oil company, Saudi Aramco. He had previously been in charge of his father's royal court when Salman was the crown prince.
Otto Warmbier 'brutalised' in North Korean prison
US officials wouldn't say if Yun met with other North Korean diplomats while in the country or conducted more extensive diplomacy. Warmbier can open his eyes and blink but has no signs of understanding language or responding to commands, Kanter said.
The Saudi stock market is up over 4 percent after news that King Salman has placed his 31-year-old son next in line to the throne.
The Saudi Tadawul index, the largest in the Middle East, also was boosted by news that some benefits for civil servants were being restored.
The decision settles what many analysts had described as a power struggle between Prince Mohammed, who has led an aggressive expansion of the country's foreign policy, and his cousin.
According to the royal decree, Muhammad bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the nephew of King Salman, has been stripped of the title of the Crown Prince and removed from the post of the first deputy prime minister and the interior minister. They gather in secret and vote to pick the king and crown prince from among themselves.
The appointment of such a young royal as the immediate heir to the throne essentially sets Saudi policy for decades and removes the challenge of uncertainty.
State television flashed the news across its broadcasts early Wednesday morning.
The decree said Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, long a favourite of Washington for his tough stance against Islamist militancy, is relieved of all positions.
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