Shoigu arrives in India to discuss prospects of military technical cooperation

NEW DELHI, January 21. /TASS/. Russia and India are set to boost partnership in combating terrorism, visiting Russian Defense Minister General Sergey Shoigu said at talks with Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar.

“Our countries condemn strongly any terrorist acts and oppose a policy of double standards in the struggle against this evil,” the Russian minister noted.http://itar-tass.com/en/russia/772293

On the face of it. It seems the locals in Yemen have had enough.

Iran-Backed Rebels Just Sacked Yemen’s Presidential Palace

Zerohedge headline reports ( rather hysterically perhaps as 15 crappy old scuds is not a lot. )

Yemen’s Rebels Hold US-Backed President “Captive” In His House. Seize Country’s Largest Ballistic Missile Base.

ends

Drone Warfare

British complicity in US drone war could be ‘one step from illegal act’, warns MP David Davis

Senior Conservative MP David Davis has issued a stark warning about Britain’s possible role in the US’s secret drone war against militants in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen.

The former Shadow Home Secretary told the Bureau that any British complicity in the US drone campaign is “in the same moral space, as far as I’m concerned, as collusion in torture”.

The UK was “one removed from an evil act” when it reportedly colluded with the US torture programme, he said.

“And it seems to me quite likely that we are one removed from an internationally illegal act in terms of providing information [for drone strikes] to the Americans. We don’t know for sure but that’s the suspicion.”

http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2015/01/12/british-complicity-in-us-drone-war-could-be-one-step-from-illegal-act-warns-mp-david-davis/

Professor Stefan Wolff explains that that drone strikes in Yemen have had some success in tackling the Yemeni armed group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and have had a knock-on effect on the country’s two internal insurgencies. But when people describe the US intervention in the country as a “model” for Iraq, he said, this is “not so much a policy of choice, but of necessity” as there are no longer troops on the ground for more active engagement.

http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2014/08/23/podcast-a-changing-drone-conflict-in-pakistan-and-yemen/

USA Today adopt a slightly more conservative

Yemeni Shiite rebels seize missile base

Rebels in Yemen seized the country’s largest missile base on a hilltop above the capital Sanaa on Wednesday, and posted guards outside the president’s home.

It came after the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, shelled U.S.-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s neighborhood Tuesday and swept into the presidential palace and looted its weapons depots. The president remained inside his house.

The military base, which houses ballistic missiles, overlooks the city, which the rebels captured in September. The rebels issued fresh demands Wednesday, asking for the post of vice president and several key government offices.

The Houthis are believed to be allied with former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was ousted in 2012 after Arab Spring protests. The rebels have vowed to eradicate al-Qaeda, but are also hostile to the U.S. Their slogan is “Death to Israel. Death to America.”

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/01/21/yemen-rebels-seize-base/22095109/

14. On December 9, 2002, Spanish forces intercepted a North Korean cargo ship bearing 15 Scud missiles to Yemen. The United States intervened to permit the transfer to be completed because Yemen is considered an important ally in the U.S.-led “War on Terror.” Yemen pledged to cease further arms purchases from North Korea.