A prominent Saudi Shiite cleric has urged protesters to use "words" rather than "bullets" in their fight for equality in the Sunni-ruled kingdom after violent clashes in a Shiite village.

In a sermon to worshippers at a mosque in the village of al-Awamiya late Tuesday, Sheikh Nimr Nimr said Shiites must "not respond to bullets with bullets," according to the text of the sermon published online.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Thursday he would not step down if his former allies-turned-rivals are allowed to run in elections -- a potential setback to hopes for a peaceful transition.

The embattled leader told Time and The Washington Post that a power transfer deal crafted by his Gulf neighbors calls for "all the elements" causing tension in Yemen to be removed -- and warned of a civil war if that did not occur.

Saudi men were voting on Thursday in municipal elections, the last all-male affair in the Muslim kingdom after a royal decree this week gave women the right to cast ballots in four years.

Some 5,324 candidates are competing for 1,056 seats -- only the second elections in Saudi Arabian history -- to fill half the seats in the country's 285 councils. The other half are appointed by the government.

The U.S. embassy in Riyadh warned American citizens on Wednesday of a plot by a "terrorist group" to kidnap Westerners in the Saudi capital.

In a statement on its website, the embassy advised "U.S. citizens in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that we have received information that a terrorist group in Saudi Arabia may be planning to abduct Westerners in Riyadh."

Saudi King Abdullah has revoked a sentence of 10 lashes imposed on a woman for breaking the ban on women driving in the conservative kingdom, a Saudi princess said Wednesday 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 Alwaleed bin Talal.

A Saudi woman was sentenced to 10 lashes for defying a ban on women driving in the conservative kingdom, an activist said on Tuesday, while another woman was arrested in the capital.

Sheima Jastaniah was sentenced on Monday by a court in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, where she was caught driving in July, the activist said, requesting anonymity.

Saudi Arabia remains committed to Lebanon’s “security, unity, Arab identity and stability,” Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud stressed Sunday.

“Our tours and visits to some Arab capitals last year were aimed at bridging differences … and the kingdom’s efforts were focused on preserving civil peace in Lebanon, which we still support its security, unity, Arab identity and stability,” the king said in a statement addressed to the Saudi Shoura Council, which also tackled other domestic and Arab affairs.

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz announced on Sunday he was giving women the right to vote and run in municipal elections, the only public polls in the ultra-conservative Gulf kingdom.

He also announced that women would have the right to join the all-appointed Shoura (consultative) Council, in an address opening a new term of the council.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh returned to Sanaa on Friday after more than three months of medical treatment in Saudi Arabia, even as his forces were battling dissident troops in the capital.

Saleh's surprise return was announced by state television. He arrived by plane in Sanaa at 5:00 am (02:00 GMT), an airport source told Agence France Presse.

South Korean builder Samsung C&T said on Thursday it has secured a $2.1 billion deal to build a thermal power plant in Saudi Arabia.

Samsung said it would build the 4,000 megawatt plant in Qurayyah by 2014. The deal was part of a Saudi project to build six power plants by 2018.