By ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAIRO — Saudi Arabia's king on Wednesday ordered billions poured into a development fund that helps Saudis buy homes, get married and start businesses, state TV reported, as the oil-rich nation warily watches the unrest spreading around the Middle East.The measure was one of several announced by the monarch, who returned home Wednesday after a three-month absence during which he underwent medical treatment in the United States.Abdullah ordered that 40 billion riyals, or about $10.7 billion, be injected into the country's development fund, Saudi television said. That nearly doubles the original budget of 47 billion riyals.Other new measures include a 15 percent cost of living adjustment for government workers and a year of unemployment assistance for youth.The steps could be meant to shore up popular support and fend off unrest, as protests hit neighboring Bahrain, the first nation in the oil-rich Gulf to experience the region's anti-government upheaval.Much of the unrest is linked to poverty as well as demands for more political freedom.
Finance Minister Smotrich meets Histadrut Chairman Bar-David
