Riyadh: municipal elections on February 10

Saudi Arabia's ministry of rural and municipal affairs announced on Saturday the postponement of the date of the first municipal elections in the country until February 10th after it was expected to be held in November.

The new calendar for the election of half of the 178 members of the municipal council in the Kingdom indicated that registering voters in the capital will start in November and the elections are to be carried out on February 10th. The Saudi news agency said that registering voters in Riyadh will start in November 23 and the door to nomination will be open between 26 and 30 of December. However, the municipality elections in the eastern and western southern areas are expected to be held on March 3 and will be organized in Mecca and northern of the Kingdom on April 21.

On the other hand, the trial of the Islamist Saudi academic Saeed Bin Zaer -- held over making statements approving suicide attacks -- was postponed after he refused to admit the accusations addressed to him in the absence of a lawyer.

Meantime, security sources in Riyadh announced on Saturday that two explosions destroyed two cars which were stationed near two banks in Jeddah and this resulted in wounding one persons at least. Witnesses said that one of the explosion took place at the back side of a car which was stationed near an automatic money transfer machine of the Saudi- American bank ( Samba ) while the second was in an empty car near a branch for the Saudi- British bank and a shopping center.

The Saudi ministry of the interior said that one of the explosion took place inside a rental car and injured the driver who had a record in "drug use." It added that the security forces arrested the driver.