Could a new front be opening up in the war on terror?

The deadly car bombing outside the US embassy in Yemen represents an escalation in attacks against Western targets and shows al Qaeda-inspired jihadis are growing in ability and determination.

Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed at least 16 people, but it is possible that other groups will come forward in the next few days.

There is a complex network of over-lapping splinter cells and claims of rival leadership within Yemen.

Extremist violence in Yemen has been on the rise since February 2006, when 23 prominent militants tunnelled their way out of a high-security jail.

Ten Europeans and four Yemenis have died in attacks on tourist convoys in the past 15 months.

In March, a misfired mortar strike hit a girls' school next door to the US embassy by mistake.

A subsequent bombing campaign in the capital - against an expatriate residential compound and oil company offices - prompted the US state department to evacuate all non-essential embassy staff from Yemen.

US employees had just started to return to their embassy desks at the end of August - so the timing of the latest attack is significant.

Although both officially a category 3 storm at, or close to, landfall, Gustav is a very different storm to Katrina. The main differences are in size and central pressure, as well as track. Katrina passed 40 miles or so to the east of New Orleans, and Gustav should remain 50 miles + to the west of New Orleans. Also, Katrina’s wind field was much bigger than Gustav’s, with hurricane force winds extending 110 miles, compared to Gustav’s 70 miles.

 In addition, Katrina’s sustained winds were near 127 mph, compared to Gustav’s 115 mph, and more notably Katrina’s minimum central pressure at landfall was a very intense 920 mb – the 3rd lowest recorded for a landfalling hurricane. Gustav’s is 956 mb. In addition, out in the Gulf of Mexico, Katrina had been a severe category 5 hurricane with sustained winds up to 175 mph at its peak, and affected the offshore platforms with category 4 and 5 winds.

 Gustav has been a moderate category 3 through most of its track through the offshore platforms. The maximum significant wave height recorded for Katrina was 55 feet in the Gulf, which was the highest ever recorded, and so far for Gustav has been 30 ft.

Athlete knew fleeing was ill-advised but did so anyway.

Almost a week after the fright of his life, University of Alaska Anchorage cross-country runner Auston Ellis can't remember whether he heard the grizzly bear woof or a roar.

What he does remember very clearly is looking over his shoulder and seeing a huge set of jaws closing on his rump as he paused near the top of the Spencer Loop Trail on the Anchorage Hillside.

Instinctively, "I sucked in my butt." The jaws, he said, clapped shut with a snap, barely missing flesh. And then he ran.

From Adn.com News

HealthMap brings together disparate data sources to achieve a unified and comprehensive view of the current global state of infectious diseases and their effect on human and animal health. This freely available Web site integrates outbreak data of varying reliability, ranging from news sources (such as Google News) to curated personal accounts (such as ProMED) to validated official alerts (such as World Health Organization).