RIYADH - Saudi Arabia will raise wages for most of its army staff, a move that follows a surge in inflation and the kingdom's first military engagement in almost 20 years against rebels in Yemen.
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At about $41 billion, military expenditure accounted for some 33 percent of the budget of the world's top oil exporter last year, according to the finance ministry's website.
At the weekly cabinet meeting on Monday, King Abdullah approved a proposal to raise wages for all soldiers as well as senior officers such as generals and lieutenants. The Defence Minister and the Crown Prince Sultan did not attend the cabinet meeting.
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