Saudi woman driver’s lashing sentence revoked

Saudi King Abdullah has revoked the sentence of 10 lashes imposed on a woman for driving in the conservative kingdom, a Saudi princess said yesterday on her Twitter account.

“Thank God, the lashing of Sheima is cancelled. Thanks to our beloved King.

I’m sure all Saudi women will be so happy, I know I am,” said Princess Amira al-Taweel, wife of billionaire Saudi Prince Al-waleed bin Talal Amira.

Meanwhile, on a separate note, Saudi men are to vote today in municipal elections, the last all-male affair in the Muslim kingdom after a royal decree this week giving women the right to cast ballots in four years.

Some 5,324 candidates will compete for 816 seats in the elections - only the second in Saudi Arabia’s history - to fill half the seats in the country’s 285 councils. The other half are appointed by the government.