UAE leader designates his son as crown prince

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates, has appointed his eldest son Khaled as crown prince of Abu Dhabi. Wednesday’s move places Sheikh Khalid in line to take over as the next leader of the federation. Sheikh Mohammed, commonly known as MBZ, ascended to the presidency last year. At the time, rumors swirled about whether he would make one of his brothers his heir, as has been tradition. In that case, front-runners would have been Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed, the powerful national security chief, Sheikh Mansour, the owner of the Manchester City football club, or the foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah. Sheikh Khaled was appointed chairman of the country’s intelligence agency in 2016.