Yemen's Saleh cool on Gulf exit plan

Yemen's embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh yesterday gave a cool response to a Gulf plan for him to quit, even as massive crowds returned to the streets to demand his immediate ouster.
While tens of thousands of anti- and pro-Saleh demonstrators packed two different locations in Sanaa, suspected Al-Qaeda militants and tribesmen gunned down 20 soldiers and 2 civilians in separate attacks in Marib province, eastern Yemen.
"We stress that we will hold on to the constitutional legitimacy, in loyalty to our people, as we categorically reject the attempted coups on freedom, democracy, and political pluralism," Saleh told regime supporters in Sanaa.