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Cambodia's King Sihanouk abdicates

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk has abdicated his throne, claiming failing health, the National Assembly announced in Phnom Penh Thursday.

The 81-year-old king, currently in Beijing, made the announcement in a letter read to the assembly Thursday morning by his son, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Xinhua news agency reported. The prince is also head of the assembly.

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Sihanouk asked the country to form a nine-member council to select his successor, in accordance with Cambodian custom, the report said.

Ranariddh said his father had been expected to return home Thursday.

The prince is considered a possible successor to the throne, but has said he is not interested in the role. Under Cambodian law, the king need not be a direct descendent of the outgoing monarch, but must have royal blood.

Sihanouk, who led his country to independence from the French in 1953, endured shifting political fortunes, toppled in a right-wing coup and later held virtual prisoner by the communist Khmer Rouge.

He was reinstated as king in 1993 when relative calm returned to his country.

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