Ailing Saudi king travels to Geneva

The official Saudi news agency says King Fahd has gone to Switzerland on his first foreign vacation in three years.

Saudi officials said the king would spend three weeks in Geneva before going to the Spanish resort of Marbella.

King Fahd has been in poor health since he suffered a stroke in 1995.

Since then, Crown Prince Abdullah has been the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia .

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service