Yemen's Saleh to Resign Today

Will become fourth head of state felled by Arab Spring uprisings

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh will step down in exchange for safe haven in Saudi Arabia, according to the Middle Eastern country's UN envoy. Opposition parties and the Saleh government have come to an agreement that would see a transfer of power and Saleh's exile to Riyadh in the hope of bringing nearly a year's worth of violent protest to an end. Yemen's UN envoy, Jamal bin Omar, said Saleh is to sign the deal today in Riyadh in the presence of other Arab leaders and American and European representatives. Once the deal is signed, Saleh would become the fourth leader ousted by popular uprisings in the Arab Spring. Saleh has ruled impoverished Yemen for three decades, but anti-government protests that nearly descended into a state of war between the country's military and numerous tribes has brought that rule to an end.