Saudi crown prince returns home after treatment

The crown prince of top Opec oil exporter Saudi Arabia returned to the kingdom on Friday after spending most of the year in Morocco following medical treatment in the United States. Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz, thought to be about 85, underwent an operation in New York in February and then went to Morocco, authorities said at the time without saying what he was suffering from. The royal court said in a statement earlier this week that the treatment had been successful, without giving further details. Diplomats have said Prince Sultan, also the first deputy prime minister and minister of defence and aviation, had cancer. He had an intestinal cyst removed in Saudi Arabia in 2005 and he visited Geneva in April 2008 for what were described as routine tests. In March, King Abdullah appointed Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz as second deputy prime minister, cementing his rank in the royal family hierarchy.