Saudi Arabia allocates more than $5 billion to protect citizens from rising inflation

Saudi Arabia has allocated 20 billion riyals ($5.33 billion) to dampen the effects of rising prices on citizens, according to a royal decree issued by King Salman.

Half of the money will go to social insurance beneficiaries and people registered with the Citizen Account Programme, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

“A royal decree was issued approving the allocation of 20bn riyals as financial support to confront the repercussions of rising prices globally, including 10.4bn riyals to be distributed as direct cash transfers to support social security beneficiaries, the Citizen Account Programme and the Small Livestock Breeders' Support Programme,” the SPA reported.

The rest of the money will be used to increase strategic stocks of basic commodities and ensure their supply.

A total of $532 million will also be distributed as an additional one-time pension payment to social security beneficiaries during the 2022 fiscal year.

After the issuance of the royal decree, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke of the importance of protecting the kingdom's most vulnerable citizens from rising costs.

He made the remarks during a Council of Economic and Development Affairs meeting at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah on Monday.

Saudi Arabia also confirmed on the same day that it would resume registrations for the Citizen Account Programme in line with previously announced regulations.

The programme was set up in 2017 to provide cash transfers to poor and middle-income Saudis affected by austerity measures being introduced by the kingdom, which include petrol and electricity tariff increases, and higher VAT on food and beverage items.

The Gulf country tripled its rate of VAT to 15 per cent in July 2020 to offset the impact of lower oil revenue on state finances.

Saudi Hajj pilgrim arrival and preparation - in pictures

Ministry of Hajj and Umrah officials sanitise floors at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, in preparation for the arrival of pilgrims.

A man wearing ihram, the white robe of a pilgrim, waits for his luggage at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

A pilgrim waits for his luggage at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. Before the pandemic, the Hajj drew 2. 5 million pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

Officials make last-minute arrangements in the Mina area before the Hajj in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

A general view of the tent city in Mina before the start of Hajj in Makkah.

A Saudi policeman checks vehicles at at an entrance gate in Makkah. For a second straight year Hajj has been curtailed because of the coronavirus, with only vaccinated people in Saudi Arabia able to perform.

A pilgrim cleans outside his tent in the Mina area of Makkah.

A Saudi woman at the National Centre for Security Operations for Hajj.

Workers at the National Centre for Security Operations for Hajj gear up for the annual pilgrimage.

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Fireball

Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.

A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.

"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.

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The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

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The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

The Sand Castle

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