Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president of Yemen, has arrived in Saudi Arabia to sign a power-transfer deal brokered by the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), the country's state television has reported.

The plan put forward last spring by the GCC countries offers Saleh and his relatives immunity from prosecution if he hands over power to his deputy, Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, the vice president.

Signing the deal would effectively bring an end to Saleh's 33-year rule.

Al Jazeera reports.