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Saudi King Salman 'leaves hospital' after tests: state media

Saudi King Salman 'leaves hospital' after tests: state media
A video broadcast by the official Saudi Press Agency late Sunday showed King Salman walking out of King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the coastal city of Jeddah, using a cane and surrounded by officials, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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King Salma, 86, entered hospital a week ago for examinations, reported Saudi state media [Getty]

Saudi Arabia's ageing has left the hospital one week after being admitted for tests, including a colonoscopy, state media reported.

Video broadcast by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) late Sunday showed walking out of King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the coastal city of Jeddah, using a cane and surrounded by officials, including before being driven away.

He left "after conducting medical examinations and successfully completing the treatment plan and recovery period," the SPA said on Twitter.

The kingdom has for years sought to quell speculation over the health of the 86-year-old monarch, who has ruled the world's top oil exporter since 2015.

A week ago, state media reported that the king's colonoscopy results were "sound" and that doctors had "decided to keep him in the hospital for some time to rest".

In 2017, dismissed reports and mounting speculation that the king was planning to abdicate in favour of Crown Prince Mohammed, the de facto ruler.

underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder in 2020.

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Before this latest hospitalisation, he was most recently admitted in March for what state media described as "successful medical tests" and to change the battery of his pacemaker.

Under his rule, Saudi Arabia has launched ambitious economic reforms for a post-oil era and given more rights to women, while adopting a more assertive foreign policy, including entering in neighbouring Yemen.

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