Saudi King Boosts Spending as Protests Sweep Arab World
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Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah ordered sweeping increases in spending, including $67 billion on housing and funds for the military and religious groups that backed the government’s ban on domestic protests.
The new package, which follows a $36 billion handout announced on Feb. 23, will probably help prevent unrest from gathering pace in the kingdom, analysts said. A call for a March 11 demonstration in the kingdom failed to materialize after the government deployed troops at designated assembly points for the rally and senior clerics denounced protests as un-Islamic.