Yemen president signs deal to end crisis

YEMEN President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed a Gulf initiative last night to hand over power to his deputy as part of a proposal to end months of protests that have pushed the Arab country to the brink of civil war.

Saudi state TV broadcast live images of Saleh signing the accord in the presence of Saudi King Abdullah and Crown Prince Nayef. Yemeni officials signed the accord after Saleh.

It was the fourth attempt to wrap up a power transfer accord that Saleh backed out of on three previous occasions at the last minute, fuelling turmoil.