The Yemeni people demand…

Tens of thousands of supporters and opponents of Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh held rival demonstrations in the capital yesterday, in a test of support for the veteran leader's 32-year rule.

Protesters outside Sana'a University chanted: "The people demand the downfall of the regime." The slogan has already been heard in the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings.

Across town, loyalists shouted support for a leader they said was holding the fractured nation together.

"The creator of unity is in our hearts. We will not abandon him," they yelled.

Seventeen people have been killed in nine days of anti-Saleh protests. Mr Saleh has said he will not give in to "anarchy and killing".