Yemeni government forces regained control of a strategic gateway in the south today after intense three-day shelling of al Qaida hideouts in the area that left 43 militants dead, military and medical officials said.

The head of a grouping of Gulf Arab nations has presented a new proposal to Yemen's embattled president to resolve the country's crisis, calling on him to hand over power to a successor of his choice and leave within a month, according to a senior government official.