Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah will undergo a back operation next week to tighten a loose ligament in his back, the Royal Court said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA. "The operation will take place, God willing, next week at King Abdulaziz Medical City for the National Guard in Riyadh," SPA quoted the Royal Court statement as saying. The king, in his late 80s, underwent an operation to tighten ligaments around his third vertebra in October of last year and had two rounds of back surgery in the US in 2010 after suffering a herniated disc, leading to a three-month recuperation period outside the kingdom. The statement did not say whether Abdullah would remain in charge of government of the world's top oil exporter during his treatment, but Crown Prince Salman acts as his deputy. Reuters
