Yemen’s Leader Pledges Not to Seek Re-election

[Dappleganger]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/world/middleeast/03yemen.html

ARIS — In the latest shock wave from protests across the Arab world, President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen sought to forestall new displays of opposition, announcing on Wednesday that he would not stand for re-election when his term expires in 2013 or try to hand on power to his son, news reports said.
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The announcement conjured yet one more spectacle — unthinkable only weeks ago — of an Arab leader seen as a bulkhead of American policy bowing to pressure from the streets. Since mid-January, the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan have all come under pressure from populations they had long held in thrall.