DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Ahmed Zaki Yamani, a long-serving oil minister in Saudi Arabia who led the kingdom through the 1973 oil crisis and once found himself held hostage by the assassin Carlos the Jackal, has died in London. He was 90. Saudi state television reported his death Tuesday, without offering a cause. It said he would be buried in the Muslim holy city of Mecca. Known for his Western-style business suits and soft-spoken, measured tones, Yamani helped Saudi Arabia command a dominating presence in OPEC from its birth. The kingdom remains a heavyweight in the group even today and its decisions ripple through the oil industry.
