Yemen: President Saleh agrees to step down under Gulf plan

Officials in the capital Sanaa confirmed the government had accepted the plan drawn up by Gulf Arab states.

Saleh will hand power to his vice-president one month after an agreement is signed with the opposition, in return for immunity from prosecution.

At least 120 people have died during two months of protests.

The US has welcomed the announcement; a statement from the White House urged all parties to "swiftly" implement a peaceful transfer of power.

Opposition leader Yassin Noman was quoted saying he welcomed news of the handover but would not take part in a proposed national unity government.

The opposition have been insisting they will not accept immunity from prosecution for Saleh and his family.

If Saleh steps down as expected, he will join Tunisia's Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak as the latest Arab leader to lose power because of a popular revolt this year.

The BBC reports Tariq Shami, a spokesman for Yemen's ruling party, saying the party had informed the Gulf Cooperation Council "of their acceptance of the Gulf initiative in full".

Under the plan proposed by Saudi Arabia and five other states, within a month of signing an agreement with the opposition, Saleh quits and hands over to his Vice-President, Abdu Rabu Manur Hadi; Saleh appoints an opposition leader to run an interim government tasked with preparing for presidential elections two months later; and his family and aides are given immunity from prosecution.

Yemen is the Arab world's most impoverished nation and, even before the current protests, it was becoming increasingly chaotic, with both al-Qaeda and separatist challenges to the government's authority.