Yemenis stage rallies, demand president step down

Defying the scorching summer weather and the dawn-to-dusk fasting hours during the holy month of Ramadan, the crowds are waving Yemeni flags and chanting slogans against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

One of the protesters, Gamal Gaber, says no one is leaving the rally "until we topple Saleh and all his regime members."

Meanwhile, thousands of Saleh loyalists gathered for Friday prayers in a mosque near the presidential palace in the capital Sanaa.