Into the unknown

AFTER 33 years at the helm, Yemen's embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, was finally forced out of the country on June 4th and taken to a hospital in neighbouring Saudi Arabia following an attack on his compound in Sana'a, the capital. His faithful media at first made light of his wounds, describing them as scratches and predicting his rapid return. But it later emerged that Mr Saleh was badly burned, with shrapnel lodging close to his heart. He seemed highly unlikely to come back soon. His vice-president is temporarily in charge. Yemenis now wonder who will take over—and whether even greater chaos can be avoided, as competing factions bid to fill the power vacuum.