BBC News with Jonathan Izard

The Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has signed a deal to transfer power to his vice-president, ending his rule of more than 30 years. The agreement followed nine months of protests in Yemen. Frank Gardner reports.

Three times Yemen's president has agreed to step down; three times he's gone back on his word. But today in the capital city of his powerful neighbour Saudi Arabia, President Ali Abdullah Saleh finally signed an agreement to transfer power, ending his 33-year rule. Saleh's opponents are saying he's the latest dictator to be

toppled

by this year's Arab uprising. But even if this time the president does stick to his word and leave office, this will not be the end of Yemen's troubles.

The latest attempt to restore calm in an area of Tahrir Square in Cairo, where there have been violent clashes between demonstrators and police, has broken down. Leaders from a local mosque had appealed for a

truce

, but police have again used tear gas against the protesters. Meanwhile, small fires have been lit in the square in the hope that the rising smoke will carry the tear gas with it. There's been mounting pressure on Egypt to end what the UN human rights chief has called "excessive force" against demonstrators.

The head of an independent commission of inquiry in Bahrain into the violent suppression of pro-democracy protests in February has given a detailed account of the abuse suffered by many