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Canada has banned all air cargo originating in Yemen, Transport Minister Chuck Strahl announced Monday in response to a global bomb scare.

The minister said the interim order was not prompted by any specific threat to Canada, but was a precautionary measure to ensure Canadians that their skies are safe.

"It's just based on a general risk assessment," Mr. Strahl told reporters outside the Commons.

"Our partners around the world are basically following similar steps," he noted. "Cargo coming from [Yemen]is a big concern."

Canada's decision comes as parallel actions are taken by other countries following the discovery of an elaborate mail-bomb plot that originated in Yemen.

Earlier Monday, Britain took the unusual step of banning the import of larger printer cartridges by air. Britain also announced broader measures to halt air cargo from both Yemen and Somalia in the wake of the plot.

Mr. Strahl noted that there are no direct flights between Yemen and Canada. Air cargo from Yemen would therefore be diverted to other countries before planes would be allowed to continue on to Canadian airports.

However, it's unclear how Canada or other countries can ensure that all Yemeni cargo is monitored.

The cost of screening every piece of air cargo that enters the shipping system in an attempt to prevent terror attacks could be so astronomical as to bankrupt international shipping companies, analysts warn.

"In a worst case, it would stop world trade," said James Halstead, a longtime consultant with the Aviation Economics firm. "UPS and FedEx would probably go bust, we'd have a full disaster scenario."

Still, the United States and other governments have tightened their scrutiny of air cargo and shipped packages as investigators search for more mail bombs possibly sent from Yemen.

An official United Arab Emirates security source said authorities are tracing the serial numbers of a mobile phone circuit board and computer printer used in a mail bomb sent from Yemen and found in Dubai last week.

Yemeni security officials also said that a leading al-Qaida militant in Yemen who surrendered to Saudi Arabia last month provided the tip that led to the thwarting of the mail bomb plot.

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