Yemen's Saleh reaches agreement with opposition

 The first conference of south Yemen, held in Cairo Sources in the Yemeni opposition said on Monday that they had reached an agreement with embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh regarding the signing of the Gulf Initiative. Mohamed Basindwa , a leading opposition figure said: “an agreement was reached according to which Saleh will sign the Gulf Initiative after being submitted to US and European pressure. The agreement calls upon Saleh to transfer his authorities to his vice president Abd Al-Rahman Mansur Al-Hadi before running the presidential elections.”
"Everything has been agreed upon, and the president is supposed to sign the Gulf initiative tomorrow (Tuesday). The opposition and the vice president will also sign the operational mechanism," Basindwa told Reuters news agency.
Saleh has three times backed down from signing an initiative presented by the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) .
The initiative states that Saleh will keep the title of the president without any powers or authority. At the same time, Saleh will retain presidency of  his ruling General People's Congress (GPC).
Al Haid however will be given unlimited powers that allow him to run the presidential elections.         
The same source said that there are concerns as to the reactions of dissident army commander Ali Mohsen El Ahmar and tribal leader Sadeq El Ahmar as the agreement didn’t include them. The former of has considerable military influence while the latter has financial clout in the country.
 A source in the GPC said the agreement had been ready for several days but a party in a an opposition alliance had been against the deal.
They said one of the last sticking points had been over whether a military committee being set up to oversee the armed forces would have the power to sack commanders who refuse to obey orders. Saleh agreed to give the committee such powers because it would be led by Hadi, they said.
Meanwhile, the first conference of the Southern People in Yemen was held in Cairo, on Sunday. It concluded by debating a comprehensive vision to solve the problem of the south. The conference was held in attendance of two of the former presidents of South Yemen, Naser Mohamed and Heider Abo Bakr El Attas. Some southern groups boycotted the conference as it had not included a clear call for separation from the north.   
The conference stated its success was due to the valiant efforts of the Yemeni youth in "shaking Saleh's throne". It also stressed the necessity for consistency in reform through public unarmed efforts.  
The most viable solution to the South Yemen problem was agreed to be the restructuring of the country and reverting to 21st May 1990 borders, making a federal union of two countries with one parliament coming out of federal elections. The parliament should consist of two bodies; the House of Representatives and the House of Senates.    
Equal basis representation was also called for as the conference recommended that every 100000 members of population of Yemen should be represented by a parliament member.
 Yemen has been paralysed by months of protests that have weakened the government's control on the country and allowed Islamist militants to take hold of swathes of the country in the south.
The violence also triggered fears that it could affect neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter which shares a long border with Yemen.
Opposition officials said the presidential election was expected to be held in January.