Yemen’s old history books speak of the fifth century King al-Tuba al-Yamani who, in the final seconds of his life, gives his heir some tips on ruling the country. The king whispers to his son that the one who rules the kingdom should “bear the bites of snakes and scorpions, devour its money, waste its blood, and kill the closest people to him, even it be his brother”. One might now wonder whether former President Ali Abdullah Saleh said anything of the kind to Abdu Rabbou Mansour Hadi, who took up the reigns of power at the end of February and has since gone about a purge of former Saleh loyalists For 15 years before becoming president, Hadi had perhaps the most boring job in Yemen: as Saleh’s vice president his job was to attend ceremonies, cut ribbons and sit silently wearing his sunglasses. In just 60 days as president,
