Yemen president to sign plan to end crisis: opposition

Yemens embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to sign a plan to transfer power to his deputy and end the crisis that has gripped the country since January, a senior opposition figure said on Monday.The negotiations that have been under way for the past three days have led to an agreement by which the Gulf initiative and mechanisms for implementing it will be signed on Tuesday, Mohammed Bassandawa, head of the National Council of revolutionary forcessaidThe plan submitted by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council calls on Saleh to hand power to his deputy, Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, thus ending his 33-year rule in return for immunity from prosecution.Saleh has so far refused to sign the agreement, despite violence which has seen hundreds of people killed and thousands wounded since an uprising against his regime erupted in January.Bassandawa refused to give more details on the negotiations which he said finally persuaded Saleh to sign the GCC deal which the wealthy neighbours of impoverished Yemen first proposed in April.But another opposition official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said an agreement was reached concerning the mechanisms for the implementation of the GCC plan and an agreement was reached.In line with this agreement President Saleh will sign on Tuesday in Sanaa the Gulf initiative, said the opposition official.