U.S. Given Right to Search Liberian Ships DAKAR, Senegal Feb. 13 — U.S. Navy forces can board thousands of commercial ships in international waters to search for weapons of mass destruction under a landmark deal signed this week between the United States and Liberia, the world's No. 2 shipping registry.
The accord comes amid persistent fears that terror networks would use ships for attacks, and effectively hands oversight of vessels under the Liberian flag to the U.S. military, industry analysts say.
more at the link
This, at least, is good news. Seems like we need some good news this morning.
10,000 ships stranded in Chinese canal
Date: Friday, February 13, 2004 6:09:30 AM EST
BEIJING, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- More than 10,000 cargo ships are backed up on a Chinese waterway, in the fourth day of a traffic jam between Beijing and the southern city of Hangzhou.
The backup began Monday, when a 500-ton cargo ship on the canal near Shanghai attempted to skirt an inspection station, and ended up grounded in shallow waters, the China News Service reported. Port officials say severe drought in the region has reduced the water depth to only 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) in some places.
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=CqcXz0eidy2HPBMeTDhjHzMzPy2PHBq