Yemen Prime Minister warns transition at risk; eight dead in Taiz

At least five civilians and three soldiers were killed in the protest hotbed city of Taiz on Friday, and the head of a new government meant to prevent civil war in Yemen said a week-old political pact might unravel if the bloodshed went on. A deal to ease President Ali Abdullah Saleh from power has yet to defuse 10 months of violent unrest over the autocratic leader's fate and the political future of impoverished country.
In Taiz in south Yemen, government forces shot dead three civilians, and a fresh battle between government troops and gunmen backing protesters killed two people trapped in their homes during fighting, protest leaders and medical workers said. An official of the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), a bloc of opposition parties that signed the deal, said on Thursday they had agreed a cabinet line-up with Saleh's party and the bloc's spokesman said this could be announced as early as Saturday.