port news stories on Newser

Passenger Dies on Luxury Flu-Liner

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:14:08 CDT

A 74-year-old passenger has died after some 150 people fell ill with suspected norovirus on the luxury cruise liner Marco Polo, reports the BBC. The ship was touring the UK and Ireland with some 1100 passengers and staff when the illness broke out. The liner is currently being held at...

Hit Pirates With Somalia Blockade

Nick McMaster — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:18:00 CST

The Somali pirates terrorizing shipping lanes are clever, Peter Fromuth writes in the Washington Post , but their biggest advantages are those pirates have enjoyed throughout history: “big seas, many prey, and few protectors.” There are too many targets for warships to mount effective patrols on open waters. Instead, the UN...

Russia Seizes Georgian Port, Detains Soldiers

Matt Cantor — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:09:30 CDT

Russian troops took control of the key Georgian port of Poti for about 4 hours today, just one day after it pledged to withdraw from the country, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some 70 Russian troops entered the Black Sea port this morning and detained 20 Georgian coast guard members...

Dockworkers Strike Against Iraq War

Harry Kimball — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:25:32 CDT

In an action their union says is a protest against the war in Iraq, dockworkers from Washington to Southern California have taken May Day off, crippling West Coast port traffic, the Los Angeles Times reports. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, whose contract is up in 2 months, was ordered...

Iraqis Go on Alert as Mammoth Badgers Stalk City

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 07:02:18 CDT

Badgers have invaded Basra, Iraq, spurring fears of a man-eating monster on the loose in the port city. Despite Iraqi scientists' assurances that the creatures are not dangerous to humans, locals demonize the oversized carnivores and blame British troops for for unleashing them. The badgers "don't stalk humans and carry...