Saudi King to address nation, issue decrees

Riyadh, 18 March 2011 (Reuters) : AM Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah will address the nation on Friday to issue a number of decrees, the Royal Court said in a statement released by the state news agency.
The speech by the King Abdullah 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 Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah speaks tomorrow at two o'clock (1100 GMT) to the citizens and issue a number of decrees," the statement said.

The news agency gave no further details on the decrees, or what the King would say.

Saudi Arabia has mostly avoided the wide unrest that toppled rulers in Egypt and Tunisia and spread to other countries in the region.

Upon his return in late February, the king unveiled handouts worth an estimated $37 billion to ease social pressures.