World News: Wild celebration as Yemen leader leaves for treatment

The departure of Yemen's battle-wounded president for treatment in Saudi Arabia set off wild street celebrations in the capital Saana, where crowds danced, sang and slaughtered cows in hopes that this spelled a victorious end to a more than three-month campaign to push their leader from power.

Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was taken overnight to a military hospital in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, underwent successful surgery on his chest to remove jagged pieces of wood that splintered from a mosque pulpit when his compound was hit by rockets on Friday, said medical officials and a Yemeni diplomat.

While Mr Saleh is away, Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is acting as temporary head of state, said the deputy information minister, Abdu al-Janadi.

The minister said the president would return to assume his duties after his treatment, though experts on Yemeni affairs questioned whether a return is possible in the face of so much opposition.

"Saleh will come back. Saleh is in good health, and he may give up the authority one day but it has to be in a constitutional way," Mr al-Janadi said.

Centre-right win in Portugal

Portugal's Social Democrats - led by Pedro Passos Coelho - unseated the Socialist government in an emphatic election victory, giving the centre-right party a strong mandate to enact an austerity programme demanded in return for a 78 billion euro international bail-out.

Leaders' trial is postponed

The sodomy trial of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been postponed after the judge dismissed the defence's demand for him to be replaced.

Anwar had been scheduled to testify in the trial for the first time today. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Protest to be 'biggest yet'

Tens of thousands of protesters have gathered in Athens to protest outside Greece's parliament against the government's austerity policies and demand that the heavily indebted country stop paying its creditors.

The protest was the 12th in as many days, and organisers have vowed to make it the biggest in recent weeks.

Greece was saved from default with a 110 billion euro bailout package of loans from the IMF and the EU.

Man charged for pennies bill

A US man has been charged with disorderly conduct after paying for a disputed medical bill with 2500 pennies.

Jason West went to Basin Clinic in Vernal to dispute an outstanding $25 bill. After asking staff whether they accepted cash, West dumped 2500 pennies on the counter and demanded they count them.

Quake city is rocked by aftershock

New Zealand: An aftershock has rattled buildings in the earthquake-ravaged city of Christchurch. No serious damage or injuries have been reported. The 5.5-magnitude quake struck today 14 miles west of Christchurch at a depth of just under two miles.Egypt: The IMF has agreed to provide $3 billion in financing to help the country ease the blow its economy sustained when ex-President Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power.