Saudi King To Address Nation, Issue Decrees
By RFE RL
(RFE/RL) — Saudi Arabia’s royal court said King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz will address the nation on March 18 to issue a number of decrees.
The speech by the elderly king would be the first since returning to the kingdom nearly a month ago after three months of medical treatment in the United States for back treatment.
The Saudi news agency gave no further details on the decrees, or what the king would say.
Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy and a key U.S. ally, has mostly avoided the wide unrest that toppled rulers in Egypt and Tunisia and spread to other Gulf countries. Upon his return in late February, the king unveiled handouts worth an estimated $37 billion to ease social pressures.
