Yemen deal nears collapse

A GULF-brokered deal to ease Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh out of power teetered on the brink of collapse yesterday after he refused to sign, raising the threat of increased instability in the Arabian Peninsula state.

The pact would have made Saleh, a shrewd political survivor who has been in power for 33 years, the third ruler ousted by a wave of popular pro-democracy uprisings sweeping the Arab world. He had been due to sign the deal on Saturday.

Yemen’s opposition was furious at the last-minute change of heart.