power has now passed to his half bother salman. in an unprecedented move one of the grandsons have been named as deputy crown prince. erika wood reports now on the funeral for king abdullah. >> reporter: dignitaries from all over the middle east and beyond arrive to pay their respects the mayor of kuwait the prime minister of egypt, and leaders from countries like qatar and the united arab imrates. the ceremony was a transfer foreign dignitaries to greet his family including his successor, salman bin abdulaziz al-saud. the kingdom of bahrain said: and u.s. president barack obama said: and a similar sentiment from the former president of israel. >> it was a real loss for the middle east. and real loss for the peace in the middle east. he was an experienced heard and wise king. >> reporter: the u.n. secretary general bank ki-moon said: and it's a legacy that standings out in saudi history, one his successor will have to choose how he will carry on. >> he -- he unleashed a foreign policy that was far more dynamic, interventionist and

what should the americans know about king salman. >> king salman is a very strong practitioner of politician in saudi arabia, since age 19. he was governor of riyadh. he has a gift for remembering and knowing people. the problem is that he's 80 years old. i don't think his health is going to be very well. he has alzheimer's disease. it's an early on set of alzheimer's. johns hopkins has treated and is on his team. this has raised a problem the fact that he's going to be a figure head at this age. there are two really power centers in the country. these two are going to be the decider of saudi domestic and foreign policy. >> as part of transition, they've already named a crown prince. so we know in affect if he lives who the next king is going to be. is it important that we know the crown prince. they have sent a very powerful signal to the population that they're ready to move to the next generation. >> is it important to signal that there is not going to be an unleashed fight for succession among the many sons in the next generation? >> i think it was important in this transition that king

after all, salman is not a young man himself, is he?s, he's around 80 or 79 and he's known to have some health problems in the past few years. and this is why the late king abdullah appointed a second crowned prince who is now the crowned prince. and they now announced a new second crowned prince. this is quite significant, because he has prince muhammad bin nayef, and he's the first one from the second generation so that's the grandchild of the founder of saudi arabia because since the foundation of the saudi arabian kingdom, all the kings have been the sons. and for the past 60 years, they've all been -- the monarchy has been handed from one brother to the other. and it's likely that now prince mugren will be the last one and the first one, the third generation of the grandchild will be prince mohammad bin nayef. >> we heard tony blair saying that he was seen as a reformer within a very conservative society. but this is a society between conservatives and much more liberal minded people. how does that balance work for the new king? >>

it passes to king salman. hundreds of princes potentially in line for the throne, although the new king just appointed his nephew at deputy crown prince. that's a crucial development but despite that, questions remain over the stability of saudi arabia during the transition of power. king salman has moved to address concerns staying he planned to stay the course his father set for the nation. >> we are going to continue with the approach of father, king abdullah who is followed by his sons. we are going to continue to implement the koran and character of the prophet mohammed into our legislation. >> joining me on set still my colleague sami. let's look at.com stock problems inside the country, the fact that the dichotomies that exist, and it is very wealthy country, but there are many struggling to survive in saudi arabia. >> the die dichotomy you look at the demographics of saudi arabia which is important to look at. the working age group is increasing in saudi arabia. in 2010, it reached 66% of the populatio

the new saudi monarch king salman is from the old guard. he is thought unlikely to embark on reforms and there are questions about his health. >> if you saw the speech he gave, it did not sound good. he was mumbling. he seemed somewhat spacey, somewhat unsure how to inflect meaning to the words in his speech. >> tonight king salman has been sitting old of allegiance from his countrymen. tomorrow he will receive world leaders like david cameron, keen to cement their ties with arguably the most important arab country. >> for more on the death of king abdullah, i spoke a short time ago to jane smith who served as america's ambassador to saudi arabia until 2013. thank you very much for coming. what changes now in saudi arabia ? >> you have a transition that speaks to stability. the transition was seamless. as expected, salman became king after being crowned prince for three years. interestingly, very quickly prints muqrin -- prince muqrin becomes the crown prince. over the next few hours he will be given allegiance by the allegiance commission.

when we come back who is king salman. for on the succession in the region and we'll dig deeper with the ambassador. stay with us. it's "inside story". behind these new innovations >> i did not see that one coming >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> this is my selfie... what can you tell me about my future? >> can effect and surprise us... >> sharks like affection >> techknow... where technology meets humanity... only on al jazeera america >> aljazeera america presents a break through television event borderland... >> are you tellin' me it's ok to just open the border, and let em' all run in? >> the teams live through the hardships that forced mira, omar and claudette into the desert. >> running away is not the answer... >> is a chance at a better life worth leaving loved ones behind? >> did omar get a chance to tell you goodbye before he left? >> which side of the fence are you on? >> sometimes immigration is the only alternative people have. borderland only on al jazeera america >>> y

socially conservative salman is not likely to introduce significant change. royal succession stipulates that the healthiest brothers inherit the throne. but the rules are not clear enough about complex situations. there are several grandsons of the king who may battle for power. prince salman is seen the most likely person to quell any dissent, whether he's able to rule a country with many citizens wanting change will be his greatest challenge. >> thank you for coming in. do you think that there is no huge appetite for change. >> i think we can expect continuity so we don't expect any major policy changes going forward. >> what about reform? >> i think king abdullah was a gradual, moderate reformist. he was not a reformist in the conventional sense. there will be institutional obstacles in reform. in terms of political reform, the municipal councils that we saw, it was much more of a gradual processes. >> what about the future for human rights? >> i think we have to remember that saudi arabia is itself a very conservative kingdom. younger saudis don't freely

have you met king salman? what can you tell us about him. >> he is a distinguished individual with oodles of experience over theears. i first met him when he was governor of riyadh years ago and he always struck me that he would put the interest of the family and country above all else. >> there are rumors that he is in frail health. are those rumors true? >> no one really knows but the rumors that we zoo in the papers that he has dementia or alzheimer's disease are all false. there is no indication whatsoever that he suffers from such a debilitateing disease. >> would you expect more social or political reform under king salman's rule? >> think king salman will really continue on the pace his his predecessor has created. change does not happen quickly. it is more gradual and takes time but change does occur in the kingdom, a lot of it has been occurring during the past few years. the national dialogue sessions and the role of women and the role of education, and more importantly the way the religious establis

we'll go from salman to muqrin and so on.y, the turmoil in the region, the problems in yemen, the challenge of iran and the islamic state, there is so much turmoil, the last thing saudi arabia needs is a battle of succession crisis. so i think those things will lower the risk of an out and out struggle and will encourage the family to keep the succession on track and maintain the stability that's important for the country at this point. >> woodruff: i heard you continue expect much change when it comes to economic or oil policy, secretary panetta. you expect saudi arabia to continue this policy of pumping a lot of oil even as the prices are dropping? >> i do, judy. i think they're going to continue that policy. they're going to continue to try to squeeze others so that, ultimately they think they have the -- both the economic capability and certainly the ability when it comes to oil to maintain that kind of pressure. >> do you see the same thing? and thus do you see a saudi arabia that continues to be a huge player in the reg

he's succeeded by salman, his half brother. our world affairs correspondent mike wooldridge, has been following developments in riyadh. >> translator: the official announcement from the royal court. king abdullah was 90 and had been in hospital for several weeks, suffering from pneumonia. before he came to power in 2005 he'd run the day-to-day affairs of the world's biggest oil exporter and producer during the previous decade after his predecessor suffered a stroke. king abdullah pushed through cautious reforms, including giving women a greater public role, against opposition from religious conservatives. in his first statement, salman bin abudulaziz talked about continuity. >> we'll never deviate from our institution, our holy book and islamic teachings. the arab nation is in dire need for continuity. >> reporter: king abdullah used his position as leader to try to promote dialogue both religious and political. he was a driving force behind an arab peace plan which offered israel the prospect of recognition in return for its w

king king salman 79. in saudi arabia the king has all the power.e has holds a court where people will come and petition him for things that they need. all decisions about affairs of state will ultimately cross his desk. so it is important to have somebody in that position who is at least able bodied able minded and capable of dealing with the heavy issues of the affairs of state. and right now, king salman faces big problems to his north, to his south. yemen, saudi arabia pumps billions of dollars into yemen. increasingly unstable. the houthis pushing out the government that saudi arabia supported there. to the north they see iraq now as really being very much in the mold of iran. iran for saudi arabia essentially an enemy. then they see iran as backing the houthis in the south in yemen. so this is going to absorb a lot of the time and effort and energy of king salman. again, not in the best of health. there is within saudi arabia a very big question looming. when the succession drop to the next generation. the next generation educated by and large

king salman has tried to address some concerns in a televised speech.says he plans to stay on the course his father has cede for the nation. >> translator: we are going to continue with the approach of father who built the state and is followed by his sons. we're going to continue to implement the car ran and the character of the prophet muhammad into our legislation. ♪ >>> take you to yemen now where a big explosion has been heard in the north of the country. the blast is believed to have taken place in a shia houthi strong hold. it comes the day after the president and cabinet stepped down. protesters angry at houthi rebels have been staging demonstrations around the country, including in the capitol. demonstrators are threatening to close ports. >>> at least 40 people have been killed in a syrian government shelling of a village east of damascus. and there was a grocery market and main square was hit in another town. nicole johnston has more from neighboring beirut. >> reporter: dozens of people have been killed and injured by air strikes in the town

salman is not likely to introduce significant change.t 79 years old, there are concerns about his ability to govern. his health is rumored to be frail. he has rarely spoken in public in cent years. the rules stipulate that the eldest and fittest among the brothers inherit the thrown but the rules are not clear enough about more complex situations. once all of the sons of the king die, and the crown passes to the next generation the several dozen grandsons may battle for power. prince salman is seen as the most likely person to quell any decent, whether he is able to rule a powerful country will be his greatest challenge. >> joining us is al jazeera presenter sami zeidan who has spent a lot of time covering developments in the gulf and saudi arabia. let's pick up on that last point. those in the country agitating for change. and campaigning for political reform. how does this play out. >> let's give a little bit of background first of all, jane. in 1993 at the beginning of this trend to try to establish something of an accountability syst

how do you see the personal relationship between king salman and obama?ll i think it will be a good one. i know king salman from days they was posted in the capitol, worked very closely with him on a number of different issues. i found him very compassionate, a very solid thinker, very open to discussions. i think you are going -- the president is going to find he has a very good partner in king salman. >> all right. thank you very much for joining us from washington, d.c. >>> now an army convoy has been ambushed in south sudan. no one has claimed responsibility but the killings are set to be similar to operations that have been carried out in the area by the lord's resistance army. we're speaking to the military spokesperson, thanks for being with us on al jazeera. can you tell us whether you have heard of any claim of responsibility as of now? >> yes, [ inaudible ] on base [ inaudible ] of civilian convoy [ inaudible ] committed by nra. [ inaudible ] appeal to the nra [ inaudible ] south sudan, more than ten years ago. >> so are you saying that there ha

all of this is going to be on the table now for king salman.e play this with his western allys? a huge amount of influx. we can expect the shorter mid term continuity. john. >> crucial influence on the u.s. economy and security. nic robertson, thanks. >>> all right. now to another key u.s. ally in the middle east descending in chaos to open the door to al qaeda. the government of yemen in shambles as the president and prime minister and cabinet resigns in the space of a few hours. they want to wash their hands of destructive political chaos. up until now, the government of yemen has been a key fight in the issues over al qaeda. in importance to the turmoil, the capital reducing its staff. our jamana joins us. they think 2008 where the u.s. embassy in sanaa was bombed. 12 people killed there. they think of 2006 when the architects of the "uss cole" bombing. this is a hotbed of extremism. the government is trying to contain that and now all hell has broken loose. >> reporter: absolutely. this is the concern, christine. looking at the situation. t

saudi arabia's new king salman is promising unity. >>> at least 5,000 people with killed in ukraine sinceast april, and the fighting is escalating. and former thai prime minister says democracy has died in thailand after she is banned from politics for five years. ♪ >>> arab leaders have gathered in saudi arabia for king abdullah's funeral. his body has now been moved from the mosque to its final resting place. the elderly ruling died in hospital after being admitted last month with a case of pneumonia, his half brother, salman is now the new king. >> reporter: the world learns of the death of one of its few remaining absolute monarchs. the pass to power was shaped from his birth by tradition and conservatism conservatism. >> translator: the problems of the world are caused by people rejecting the principals of joust advertise. >> reporter: he was taught religion and science by islamic scholars. his mother desended from bedouins. as crown prince he took control of the country in 1995 when the king had a stroke. ten years later abdullah became king. there were hopes that the fiercely conse

and what do you think to under king salman? >> i think there are some sensitivities, greater than international pressure we've seen so far that is part of the challenge. moafers of the activists in the region are constantly questioning why isn't there increased pressure from the rest. it is feared that there will be a roll back on any progress. >> that's all right. i've had it happen to me many times so take a breath. if you need to -- if you need to stop it's okay. >> i think i may not be able to speak. >> that's all right. you know what minal we've had you on the program many times and again i've had this happen to me several times. i know what it's like, it's no fun. anyway take care, we'll have you back, all right? >> thank you very much. >> all right bye-bye. now to ukraine where pro-russian rebels have rejected a truce signed back in september. the rebels have now taken control of donetsk at the airport there. badly damaged by recent battles. new peace tawk talks started to talks seemed to unravel this week. separatists a

power passed to the half brother salman who is already 79 years old.makes the late kings brother the new crown prince only 10 years salman's, jr. after that the picture becomes more complicated with hundreds of princes potentially in line for the thrown. although the new king has just appointed his nephew as deputy crown prince. let's bring in a former member of the saudi council who joins us now on the line. thank you for joining us and i'm sorry for yours and the country's loss but i would like to talk about the important moves we have already seen in place. the fact the nephew is moved into the deputy crown prince position. how important do you think that is? what sort of statement is it? >> that's right. thank you for having me. and thank you for the condolence. we lost a great and kind man. he was our king and also our father figure. this move is very dramatic very drastic. first time that we jump to the grandchildren of the founder of this country. the grandchild is the son of the late prince knife. and he is the grandchild of [ inaudible ] who w

prince salman is nearly 80. with his appointment the current prince has been created the first time to perhaps reduce the possibility of a succession crisis in the near future, but even he is nearly 70. the crown in saudi arabia passes among brothers before it goes to sons. in a few years the last direct son of the founder of saudi arabia will either have died or become incapacitated by age, which will leave several grandsons vying for the throne. the real test could be just around the corner. >> joining me now is peter salisbury. and with me is patty sagba. we were just talking about yemen a couple of moments ago. and i asked you about the saudis and minutes after you leave the set we get this news about the death of king abdullah. what is your reaction? >> i think that in the short term what we're likely to see is a lot of refocusing not just in terms of the media, but within saudi arabia on what is happening internally, how to manage the line of succession onward and how to manage things in terms of arranging

opposing positions now on king salman's plate to manage.for isis in the past year king abdullah positioned saudi as the regional lead trying to win u.s. backing to deploy 50,000 anti-government forces to syria, including international troops. the u.s. lacked appetite for that. the compromise of air strikes and training not particularly palatable for the saudis either but if there is a bad taste in u.s. saudi relations, it will be the u.s. response to the arab spring in 2011. in egypt as the u.s. turned its back on president mubarak, the saudis urged him to stay. for king abdullah it served as an object lesson in u.s. loyalty to gulf allies. continuity will be king salman's guiding principle, but he inn harts a far more complicated kingdom than his predecessor. nick robertson, cnn, london. >>> the greeks are heading to the polls this weekend to choose a new parliament and head of state. polls project a win for the far left party, which is promised to get rid of aus art yi completely and make effort to eliminate much of the countries debts, b

>> prince salman was sharing at meetings that he approved that decision.ing abdullah has been saying that for the past year. when the prince was sharing in the council to approve that decision. i assure you that this is a decision that they are on board with. >> is saudi arabia happy that oil is trading at $45 a barrel? >> there is no way that any country who depends on a commodity that 90% of the budget depends on it, can be happy. since the oil price has crashed so rapidly it is something we must face. it is inevitable. no, we are not happy, but it is something you must face head-on without any hesitation. >> if you're not happy, widely bit this way? saudi arabia on its own taking over influencing a decision by opec to cut production. that could change the dynamics for oil instantly. why leave it at $45? >> what you said is not very correct. if saudi arabia reduces production by one million or 2 million barrels there could be a small spike in the price of oil. other companies who are desperate will fill the gap. in the medium to long-term the price at $4

, we have this report . >> prince salman abdulaziz is the new king of saudi arabia. he was seen as shoring up the succession line and avoiding a struggle for power. he's one of seven powerful brothers the sons of the founder of saudi arabian all from the same mother. all of the remaining sons are over 75 years old. he was governor of riyadh for nearly 50 years. during his tenure the saudi capitol grew into a major modern city. prince sal in, alman was seen as aligned with the west. he became minister of defense in 2011, and was also appointed to the powerful national security council. socially conservative and close to religious establishments salman is not likely to introduce significant change but there are concerns about his ability to govern. his health is rumored to be frail. he has rarely spoken in public in years. rules stipulate that the eldest and fittest of the king's brothers shall inherit the thrown. but once all the sons of the king die and the crown passes to the next generation the dozens of grandsons may ask for a power. >> for more on the view from t

salman bin abdulaziz al saud has taken over. he is seen as a conservative and has promised to continue the policies of his predecessors. >> we will continue with god's grace and strength committed to the rightful approach followed by the state since its inception at the hands of the founder. >> king salman has a lengthy political career behind him. he served as defense minister and deputy prime minister. he will have to call on that experience as he faces numerous domestic and foreign policy challenges. >> one of the biggest challenges facing the saudi kingdom is the rise of radical jihadists, even within its own borders. let's bring in our security analyst from the german institute of international and security affairs. first of all, will this new saudi government increase its health of the west in its fight against the global jihad, and is it raising its own insurrection. >> the kingdom, i think, has shown that it wants continuity in its domestic and international relations or years to come, and in fact, it cannot do more than

this news coming in after the saudi king abdullah did die and the new ruler coming in is salman. to keeping a look at that story and what to expect going forward. >> this morning has been the implications of that bond buying program. the european central bank launched a landmark quantitative easing program. out to you, you have been speaking on their response of whether it will be enough to revive the euro zone economy. what have they been telling you? >> well it's interesting. it is bigger than many expected. markets of course rallying on the back of it too while the euro took a leg down now. mario draghi revealed the ecb would buy 60 billion euros worth of public and private sector bonds starting in march. it will run through end of 2016 until inflation is picking up pace. key element there. the president said the bulk of the risk would be shouldered by national central banks. >> so on one hand we wanted to keep -- we want to keep the principle of the risk sharing in place and that's why we want the 20% and on the other we want a decision that would mitigate the concern that ma

king salman has succeeded him. before we begin this conversation, i'm going to give you breaking news. you and i are going to talk about what this might mean for the oil prices. the new saudi king says he will maintain policies of the predecessor. you and i were trying to put this in context. what do we know? what are the issues around his succession? >> the price of oil, wti brent, did jump over the uncertainty. nonetheless, it didn't jump that much. brent still remains at $50 a barrel. i don't think this is a big surprise, that king salman is saying that he is going to continue the policies that king abdullah pursued. king salman when he was crowned prince gave a speech that said the oil policy will remain in place for the foreseeable future. it is as if they've been preparing us for this change. the man to watch is saudi arabia's energy minister. he, in many ways, calls the shots. when he decided and effectively forced his thinking on opec at the last meeting, that it is not in saudi arabia's interest as the lar

we've been meeting with prince salman, now king salman regular regularly in washington who was just overand on a kind of a great state to saudi arabia level, i think that will be stable and secure. on another level, however, you have incredible instable in yemen. saudi arabia has played a fundamental role in driving both of concerns about iran's pretensions in the region and it's been a major player in the efforts against basharal assad in -- one of the his closest divorce, his real national security divorce has been the ambassador to washington f. abdul al jaber. at least it creates a hiccup in the sense of the king laid out an architecture for what would happen. now everyone is going to wonder what the new king will put into place. so there's a lot in motion a lot of moving pieces in the middle east. i think we would be remiss and wrong if we didn't think that there was going to be some kind of shift and change down the road. we just don't know what that will be. what it does is creates uncertainty. saudi arabia is a fundamentally important player in the middle east game. >> steve, thi

king salman though his remarks give a reassuring message of stability. we are seeing a new generation of royals. the deputy carbon prince has the dedication of modernizer. do you expect changes? >> well you know the kingdom of saudi arabia what king salman said yesterday is no different. they have the right to point out a new leadership if you like a young younger levels of royals coming. it's of interest how king salman made sure that prince mulcran is his chris crown prince. the crown prince and the crown prince. number two in the line of succession that is assured. it's interesting how many got this right by saying maybe someone will remove him. once the royal family and the people of saudi arabia at large have anyone the assent to the king the carbon prince this is security and stability for saudi arabia for a long time to come. we know that the prince is not 50. i suspect that we will see some changes in foreign policy. i doubt there'll be much changes in defense policies so saudi arabia is not a country that goes into other countries directly or in

king salman is not. this is important just in terms of a sunni support base that could grow in the fight against isis but in terms of the approach the white house is looking for. how saudi arabia will view that is through the prism of the establishment and what they are willing to tolerate. for now, saudi arabia is very aware that any sudden moves in terms of political outlook is very worrying for allies. they are taking this very slowly john. >> a pivotal moment in the region. nima thank you. >>> also happening, a key ally in the middle east poised on the brink of chaos which could open the door to al qaeda. the government of yemen now in shambles as the president, prime minister and cabinet all resign in the space of a few hours. officials say they want to wash their hands what of they call political destruction chaos that gives rebel insurgents more power. up until now, yemen is a key ally in the fight against terror. in response to the turmoil, the u.s. embassy in yemen is now cutting staff. further

salman and his brother are the last two.is from that next generation. he's about 55 years old and wields enormous influence behind the scenes. >> he certainly does. everybody who has been to saudi arabia and deals with him knows he's a powerful powerful guy. brian todd thanks very much. our experts are standing by. we will assess what's going on in saudi arabia what it means for the united states. we will take a quick break. welcome back to showdown! i'm jerry rice here discussing the big race between the tortoise and the hare. my guest is stephanie branton. jerry, i'm going bunny. shocker. not really. you see, the hare's "thoracic limbs" allow for greater extension and elongated strides. look for the hare to leverage this advantage. ok. vote on twitter for your chance to win a mercedes-benz big race viewing party. when the flu hits, it's a really big deal. the aches. the chills. the fever. an even bigger deal? everything you miss out on... family pizza night. the big game. or date night. why lose out to the flu any longer t

his brother salman is now reported to be king. this is as expected.is reportedly 79 years old, and has been crown prince and defense minister since 2012. also a long-time friend of the united states. we'll have more on the death and the transition to king salman later in the show. now, though, we want to take a closer look at new turmoil engulfing the middle east. yemen's government designed under pressure today under so-called houthi rebels. today's announcement came one day after government and rebel forces announced a deal for sharing power. this is yemen east biggest political crisis since arab spring demonstrations three years ago, that helped push the dictator out of power. salas is said to have encouraged the rebel's latest assault . the shia muslims are fighting in the north. some speculate they receive backing from iran. there is also an act of successionist movement in southern yemen demanding to break away from the north. al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, the most dangerous branch of the al-qaeda franchise is based in yemen. it has claimed

in keeping with tradition, there was no formal swearing in ceremony, but king salman during the funeral abdullah that regional heads of state from qatar, ba rain queue ate and others were able to meet the man who leads one of the gulf's richest and most influential nations. shortly after sending the -- ascending the throne the new king said he would maintain the same policies as his predecessors. >> we are going approach with the -- could not with the approach of father who built the state and followed by his son. we are going to implement the qaran into our legislation. >> one of his first steps was to set the chain of succession for years to come. his half brother, prouns principle mukram has been affirmed. but he also appointed his nephew as deputy crown prince second in line to the thrown. prince mohammed biniah is the first ground sewn of saudi arabia's founder to be named as future heir. he is a powerful figure behind saudi policies. >> he was interior minister and is an expert on counter terrorism. i think that's a signal that the kingdom under king salman is going to be very foc

but i think king salman is a very savvy individual. he was governor of riyadh province for over four years. he is a great administrator. he is at his desk at 8:00 in the morning. he is very much known as a straight-shooter, very much like king abdullah. jenna: there are questions about saudis supporting terror groups, i make this disclaimer, a difference between the saudi government and big oil if you will inside of saudi arabia, supporting terror groups like isis because of the threat of iran and wanting to make sure that the game, the playing board is being played the right way in favor of the saudis. i'm just curious on that of how good of an ally you really think they are when it comes to american interests in the middle east? >> i think we're pretty well aligned with the saudis. the saudis believe isis treats them as a mortal enemy. isis stated their main objective is to take over the cities of mecca and medina in saudi arabia. and become the real custodians of islam. so i think -- saudi arabia. very much aligned with us in that r

so, king salman is pushing to build more infrastructure to create jobs and even talk that the kingdomay soon allow women to drive. the hope is that would increase demand for cars and make it easier for women to get jobs. that is if old school saudis will actually hire them. >> trace gallagher in los angeles, thank you. analysts say it's unlikely the king's death will change the course of oil prices in the comes months. the price of oil has fallen almost 16%, now below 50 dr. a barrel. the airline industry is clearly loving every minute of it. southwest airlines reports it will likely save half a billion dollars. united and delta projecting savings in the hundreds of millions of dollars and could be great news for those airline shareholders. but customers not so much. fox business network's jolene is here some e-mail -- why are you picking on the airlines? are you kidding me? have you been on an airline lately? we'veing pick on them all we want. >> a lot of people are complaining that fares are not going down and they're not. here's a stat i want to show you right now. jet fuel is actu

all eyes are on the successor, king salman his half brother. any signs the next chapter in leadership will change the dynamic with the u.s.? >> the short answer is no. this relationship between the saudi arabian government and united states is a deep one. it is certainly built on personal relationships at the highest levels of government. but for the past several decades, this relationship has been constantly fortified with intelligence sharing, security cooperation, as you mentioned, the war on terror. the short answer is it's not likely going to change on the external front, through the united states or war on terror. you can see changes on the domestic front, the coalition needed to have king salman govern saudi arabia efficiently but don't expect a major change. >> and king salman is being thrust into power quickly and things are changing on ground. we're seeing google maps change the names of streets named after him from prince to king. all moving quickly. thank you for following it for us. >> there's also historic turmoil farther afield i

be focused on area security and regional security. >> king salman's reign begins against the advance of i.s.i.l. and issues in yemen. long seen as a force that ensures a measure of stability in the arab world. jerald tan, al jazeera. >> haiti has sworn in a provisional council hours before the meeting of the members of the u.n. security council. reporting from port-au-prince. >> as the security council landed in haiti several thousand people marched through streets. the political turmoil is not over. a new elect ralg council may electoral council may have been sworn in, these people say they won't be happy until the country's leader, michel martelly goes. he now appears to have their support. >> we support the president in his efforts to find a solution to the political steal mate. >> what do you say to those who are still protesting in large numbers mr. president? >> this is the effect of the democracy. i believe that there were many more people in the streets because of the conferences the dialogue, there are less people. >> this is a very challenging time. the parliament is not fi

you've met king salman. do you think anything will change when it comes to foreign domestic policies, that they will be a more solid ally of the united states because certainly the alliance is afraid of it. >> i think the u.s. officials doubtlessly will hope that things get better because we know deputy crown prince has been mr. anti-terror and worked closely with the u.s., but i think the factual is that our president and the saudis just have a different outlook on the middle east. the saudi said number one enemy is iran, and our president seems determined to find a way to do a deal with iran that the saudis don't want done and is not going to be particularly active in trying to overthrow assad, their other big interest. >> you wrote that they don't see the u.s. as much as a reliable -- of a reliable protector as the saudis had in the past. david, you were pretty harsh on the saudis, saying that this was a perfect opportunity having a new king to reassess the relationship with the saudis and you called the

salman is 79.the prince is 69. >>> the times of israel is reporting the president is furious over israel prime minister's benjamin netanyahu's invitation in march because he did not communicate it to the administration. they are also reporting the president asked netanyahu to pro down the sanctions rhetoric over iran. joining us now is face the nation host, bob schieffer. first let's talk about our relation with israel and how do we counter iran's influence in that region? >> well, the administration is negotiating a treaty to try to rein in iran's nuclear power. what this is all about is that the president announced in the state of the union message that if the congress tried to put new sanctions on iran and there is a movement in congress to do just that, he fears it could derail the whole talks and just end the whole thing and he told them if they do that, he is going to veto it. well, the next day house speaker john boehner said that he had invited benjamin netanyahu to come and address a joint

saudi arabia's new ruler, king salman salman, is pledging to stay the course after the death of kingh. the late ruler was buried friday in riyadh. some observers say the new 79-year-old king salman faces serious health problems of his own. >>> a ransom deadline by isis for two japanese hostages has passed and there's no word on their fate. muslims in japan prayed for the hostages on friday hoping for their safe release. on tuesday, isis gave japan 72 hours to pay $200 million or it will execute the men. >>> a colorado woman was sentenced to four years in prison friday after admitting she tried to become an isis bride. shannon conley of arrested after she told investigators she was going to turkey to marry an isis member and defend muslims. the 19-year-old told the court she never meant to hurt anyone. >>> india notion authorities say divers are -- indonesian authorities are saying divers are having trouble raising parts of the airasia flight from the bottom of the java sea. it crashed with 162 people on board. many of the victims expected there still and the fuselage. >>> grocery sto

. >>> saudi arabia's new king salman has reshuffled his cabinet. it should give a clear direction of which direction the country will be heading. bana al sultan has been dropped as secretary-general of the national security. ali al naimi is staying on, determined not to reduce the flow of oil. this man who was appointed to the deputy crown prince retained his position as minister of interior. it's a job he's had since 2012. prince mohamed bin abdul aziz el saud is second in the line to the throne. indicating saudi arabia's policies are unlikely to change. >> well i think it's very significant that the national major securities are unchanged. many of them have been there for quite a number of years. yet some of the changes i think reflect what you would expect from any new ruler and that is he wants his own people in certain positions. we are seeing a very little change in continuity. prince faisal is still the form minister abraham el saaf is still the very important finance minister. one key resignation or demotion if you will is prince bandar ben

king salman's reign begins against the backdrop of war in syria and turmoil in yemen. saudi arabia long seen as a pillar of stability in the arab world, al jazeera. >> boko haram fighters have killed at least 15 people. it happened outside of maiduguri. boko haram is believed to have killed thousands of people in an effort to establish it's own state. still to come, the u.s. president is on his way to india. we'll tell you why as it is an important trip at a crucial time. and back on track how investment is breathing life in nigeria's colonial era rail network. tonight at 7:30 eastern. only on al j >> sunday night. >> 140 world leaders will take the podium. >> get the full story. >> there is real disunity in the security council. >> about issues that impact your world. >> infectious diseases are a major threat to health. >> "the week ahead". sunday 8:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> top stories here on al jazeera. separatists have begun the battle for the strategic port of mariupol in eastern ukraine. it follows an attack on a market that killed 27 people. >>

king salman appointed his nevada as deputy crown prince, second in line to the throne. prince nayef is now the first grandson of saudi arabia's founder to be named as future heir. he is a powerful figure behind saudi security policies. >> mohammed nayef is an expert on counterterrorism, and that is a signal that the kingdom under king salman will be very focused on internal security and regional security. >> and it's a region in transition. his reign begins against the backdrop of the war in sir air and turmoil in yemen. all concerns to saudi arabia, long seen as a pillar of stability in the arab world. >> more on al jazeera, long lines and longer wait, we take a look at how websitens venezuelans are struggling to buy basic goods. plus a slice of scottish nationalism in the city of dundee. >> visibility was 3 to 5 nautical miles. >> weathering the storm. >> we want to show people how to replace property against the worst mother nature has to offer. >> experts forecast how to stay safe. >> i'm standing in a tropical windstorm. >> in extreme weather. >> oh my god. >> tech

he will be succeeded by his brother salman. oil wealth to help economic growth. >> president obama expressed his condolences, calling him a ruler who took bold steps. they are the biggest oil exporter. the price rose in the wake of the announcement. >> the new king will face a challenge in neighboring yemen. the president has resigned after rebels seized his palace. >> they failed to honor an agreement to withdraw from the palace. in his letter of resignation the president said the country had reached a quote that end -- dead end. >> the big news, the death of king abdullah. he was de facto ruler for pretty much two decades since his half-brother suffered a stroke in 1995. being in that position meant he was effectively one of the world's richest and powerful people. but he was not immortal. he was 90 years old. he suffered a long infection which led to him being hospitalized. no surprise he has died in that sense, but that does not make it less shocking for saudis. the funeral will be held in riyadh and u.s. president joe bide