Yemen President Officially Steps Down After 33 Years In Power

Yemen’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh has stepped down after 33 years in power and months of protests which took the country to the brink of civil war.
He formally handed power to his deputy Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who was sworn in as president on Saturday.
The transfer of power is part of a deal brokered by Gulf states. Mr Saleh is also granted immunity from prosecution.
As part of the agreement, Mr Hadi will serve a two-year term and oversee the drafing of a new constitution.
Aides to the former president have said that Mr Saleh will go into exile in Ethiopia within two days along with some of his family members, the Associated Press reported.
Mr Saleh becomes the fourth Arab leader to be removed from power after more than a year of mass protests in the region. He only returned to Yemen on Saturday after receiving medical treatment in the United States for injuries sustained in an assassination attempt last June.
Standing next to Mr Hadi at the ceremony, he said: “I hand over the banner of the revolution, of the republic, of freedom, of security and of stability… to safe hands.”