The Saudis are busy issuing facile denials of heavy defeats on the front line, and at the same time, fabricating feats for their crestfallen forces, signaling that they are at the end of their tether.

“These soldiers have refused to take part in the war, to bomb Yemeni civilians, to destruct Yemeni infrastructure, or to carry out the scorched-earth policy in Yemen which is pursued from time to time.”

Former US president Donald Trump took full advantage of his last hours in office this week to push through a flurry of controversial decisions. One of Trump’s final acts was signing a deal to sell state-of-the-art warplanes and drones to the United Arab Emirates.