Saudi princes arrested for sit-in against having to pay utilities
RIYADH: Eleven Saudi princes face trial after their arrest at a sit-in protesting having to pay their utility bills, authorities said on Sunday, as the monarchy pursues reforms amid hefty debt and high unemployment.
Saudi Arabia's attorney general said "no one is above the law" after the princes were detained outside a palace in Riyadh, where they had gathered last week to demonstrate against a government decision to stop paying the water and electricity bills of royals.
They also demanded compensation for a death sentence issued against one of their cousins, convicted of murder and executed in 2016, attorney general Saud al-mojeb said. They have been charged on "a number of counts" and are being held at the maximum security Al-hayer prison south of Riyadh, he said.
"A group of 11 princes staged a sitin at the historic Qasr Al-hokm palace on Thursday... objecting a recent royal order that halted payments by the state to members of the royal family to cover their electricity and water utility bills," the attorney general said. "Despite being informed that their demands are not lawful, the 11 princes refused to leave the area, disrupting public peace and order". The names of the 11 princes have not been made public.
Saudi Arabia is in the midst of a political and economic shake-up, marked by the sudden appointment of the king's son Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince in June.
Prince Mohammed, who sidelined his cousin as heir to the throne, has since consolidated his grip on the kingdom's economy in a meteoric rise in the royal court.
The recent arrests come amid a string of government spending cuts as Saudi Arabia, the world's largest producer of oil, pushes to diversify its economy following the 2014 drop in global oil prices. The country plans to slash its generous welfare programme and open energy giant Saudi Aramco to partial privatisation.
The measures have been linked to rising tension within the royal Al-saud family which counts thousands of members –only a handful of whom wield direct influence over the kingdom. The economic overhaul has been linked to the arrest of more than 200 princes in an anti-corruption purge in November spearheaded by Prince Mohammed. Most of those detained were held at the palatial Ritz- Carlton hotel in Riyadh, which has turned into a luxury prison. Some have since reached settlements with the government. BEIJING: China has budgeted over $2 billion for major research and development programmes this year, state media reported on Sunday.
The 13 billion yuan ($2 billion) programmes consist of 40 special projects and over 600 minor projects, covering four major fields including social development, high-tech research, agricultural science and technology, and fundamental research, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) said.
China, which is reconfiguring its economy by curbing excessive manufacturing, has stepped Research and Development (R&D) budgets in key technologies.
China is investing heavily in modern technologies including internet of things and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
China has topped globally in 2016 with a record 1.3 million patent applications followed by 605,571 by the US and 318,381 by Japan, according to the official.
According to a guideline on patent budgets soon to be released by MOST, social development will receive the most funds, with 41.7 per cent of the total projects and 34.8 per cent of the budget.
Risk control in public security and technical equipment for emergencies were the two areas with the most funds under social development, according to the guideline.
Medical research is also set to get a big chunk of the budget, with five special projects receiving 1.2 billion yuan in total.
From 2016 to 2018, medical research received 30 per cent of the budget for social development.