The three skippers in the Vendee Globe solo round the world race who are having to avoid the worst of the violent Southern Ocean storm all are deploying different strategies. Two, Jean LE CAM in eighth and seventh placed Jean-Pierre DICK are headed in different directions as they outrun the worst of the winds nearest the centre of the low, while Yann ELIES in sixth has hove to and slowed right down - to just two or three knots at times - to hold a position which should ensure the strongest winds pass to his north.
There was no prospect of a festive truce for the Volvo Ocean Race teams on Sunday as CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand battled to hold on to their lead in the face of a Christmas Day fightback from Team Telefónica.
Yemen's state weakness due to fragmentation and ongoing conflicts allowed Al Qaeda and affiliates to take and hold territory, possibly enabling them to seize the Port of Aden. If Al Qaeda establishes safe havens in the southern Abyan province, supported by local Yemeni inhabitants, attacks at sea or in near by ports similar to the "USS COLE bombing" in 2000 could become a threat, increasing the danger to Red Sea shipping. Yet Al Qaeda is of secondary concern for the Yemeni government, with secessionist insurgencies in the north and the south threatening the state's unity. Only a stable Yemen can effectively deny Al Qaeda a stable base in the long run.
Modest speeds for Vendée Globe leaders... BESTAVEN holds third... STAMM talks of Pip HARE's Superbigou
The Vendée Globe's leading duo Charlie DALIN and Thomas RUYANT are into a period of quieter winds as they recover from the big Indian Ocean storm which hit them on Tuesday night with gusts to 55 knots of wind and big seas.
Scientists have identified a new mechanism to account for the drastic aridification in eastern Africa over the past two million years, with likely implications for understanding the evolution and dispersal of our early human ancestors.