(CNN) -- Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah returned home to a Middle East shaken by unrest Wednesday after spending three months abroad for medical treatment.
The king, 86, had surgery late last year at New York's Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center for a herniated disc and a blood clot that were causing him back pain. He spent the last few weeks in Morocco undergoing physical therapy.
King Abdullah issued a number of decrees not uncommon in a time of celebration, but their sweeping nature raised the prospect that the Saudi ruler was attempting to stave off the potential for the kind of revolts that have engulfed neighboring nations.
The decrees, announced on state media, boost spending for social welfare programs, housing and education, including funds to help needy students attend college.
Bahrain's King Hamad was among those on hand to welcome King Abdullah home. It was not immediately clear whether they discussed the protests in Bahrain, which analysts believe could easily spill over into the oil fields of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter.
Source : http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/02/23/saudi.king/index.html?iref=NS1
