Gourt > Regional > Africa > Egypt > Society and Culture > History > Suez Canal
The Suez Canal (Arabic: قناة السويس, Qanā al-Suways), west of the Sinai Peninsula, is a 163-km-long (101 miles) and, at its narrowest point, 300-m-wide (984 ft) maritime canal in Egypt between Port Said (Būr Sa'īd) on the Mediterranean Sea, and Suez (al-Suways) on the Red Sea.
The canal allows two-way north to south water transport between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation of Africa. Before the opening of the canal, goods were sometimes transported by being offloaded from ships and carried overland between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
The canal comprises two parts, north and south of the Great Bitter Lake, linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea.
More on [ Suez Canal ]
BBC News | Africa | World Edition
Sudan hijackers 'free' passengers
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:41:06 -0000
A Sudanese plane is hijacked after taking off from Nyala, in Darfur region, officials say.
S Africa land reform bill shelved
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:19:07 -0000
South Africa shelves legislation designed to speed up land reform by allowing the government to seize white-owned farms.
MDC heckle Mugabe in parliament
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:46:35 -0000
MPs from Zimbabwe's main opposition party heckle and jeer as President Robert Mugabe formally opens parliament.
Zambia's mourning turns political
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:59:32 -0000
Zambia's opposition leader says he was prevented from mourning the late president by his widow.
Migrants die off Spanish coast
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:40:23 -0000
At least 25 African migrants die off the Spanish coast after their boat drifts for days, according to survivors who reach land.
Kenya urged to snub amnesty calls
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:19:46 -0000
Kenya's Attorney General rejects calls for an amnesty over post-election violence
NYT > Africa
Zimbabwe Parliament Opens to Jeers and Arrests
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:05:08 -0000
President Robert Mugabe opened Zimbabwe’s Parliament to heckling from opposition lawmakers, hours after police arrested three of them, bringing the total in custody to five.
World Briefing | Africa: Sudan: Plane Is Hijacked From Darfur
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:08:16 -0000
Hijackers in the Darfur region of Sudan seized a jetliner carrying nearly 100 people, including local Darfur officials, and forced it to land at an airfield in the Sahara Desert in Libya.
Dozens Are Killed in Raid on Darfur Camp
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:55:00 -0000
The deaths resulted from an assault by the government on a huge camp for displaced people in Darfur, according the witnesses and leaders at the camp.
L.A. Times - Africa
World briefing
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Hijackers force jet to land in Libya
Deaths reported after Sudanese troops raid volatile Darfur camp
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Fighting begins after more than 70 government vehicles surround the sprawling refugee camp known as Kalma. The U.N. says the troops arrived amid allegations of weapons in the camp. Sudanese troops raided one of Darfur's biggest and most volatile camps early Monday, setting off a deadly clash that killed an unknown number of people and wounded dozens, according to U.N. and humanitarian officials.
Zimbabwe opposition party wins post of parliament speaker
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The election of a candidate from the Movement for Democratic Change, or MDC, deals a blow to President Robert Mugabe's regime. The vote is seen as a key test of who will control parliament. Zimbabwe's main opposition party won its first legislative showdown against President Robert Mugabe on Monday, taking the post of speaker of parliament.
UN News Centre - Africa
UN mission in Darfur condemns excessive' use of force at displaced camp
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) today strongly condemned what it called the "excessive, disproportionate use of lethal forces" by Sudanese security forces against civilians during a raid inside a displaced persons' camp in Darfur yesterday.
Security Council urges Burundi's Government and rebels to comply with truce
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The Security Council today welcomed the recent agreement by Government forces and rebels in Burundi to try to dismantle any roadblocks to the revised ceasefire agreement they signed in June.
UN humanitarian chief to visit drought-ravaged Ethiopia
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The United Nations relief chief will travel to Ethiopia next week to assess the situation in the Horn of Africa country first-hand, where millions of people need humanitarian aid because of a devastating drought and the soaring prices of many basic foods.
The Economist: Middle East and Africa
Zambia:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
The death of a decent president, Zambia’s Levy Mwanawasa, raises questions about the state of leadership elsewhere in the continentON PAPER, Levy Mwanawasa should never have been president. He lacked charisma, wit or style—the sort of qualities that propel populists to high office in much of Africa. At rallies even his own supporters were fast bored by the former lawyer’s monotone drawl. His ill-health and slurred speech, the results of a car crash, led to nasty jibes about his mental capacity. When he narrowly won his first, disputed, presidential election in 2001, opponents dubbed him “the cabbage”, deriding him as a stooge for others more powerful.But Mr Mwanawasa, who died this week in France after suffering in June the latest of several strokes, deserves to be remembered more fondly than the showmen who have beggared much of the continent. In the past seven years he made a serious effort to clean up Zambia’s pervasive corruption. At some political risk, he turned against his predecessor and one-time patron, the diminutive Frederick Chiluba, who was charged with 168 counts of theft. Mr Chiluba was convicted of graft in a civil court in London last year. It was a rare success: few African leaders have been held to such account. ...
Saudi Arabia:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
Feeding its own people more cheaplyWHILE Saudi Arabia sets up its first sovereign wealth fund, ordinary Saudis are more preoccupied with the rising price of food. This is prompting the Saudi government to consider a new direction for foreign investment: buying farms in the poorer parts of the world. Inflation in Saudi Arabia is running in double digits, its highest rate for three decades. Last December, 19 prominent Saudi clerics gave warning that inflation constituted a crisis that would lead to social unrest and crime. Since then, the poorest Saudis have got poorer, with prices going up across the board because of rapid monetary growth. Food and housing costs are rising fastest. ...
Nigeria:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
Doubts persist about Nigeria’s banksTHE bright logos of Nigeria’s financial institutions adorn the tallest and poshest office blocks in central Lagos, the country’s commercial capital, testimony to years of impressive growth in banking. But now, after a rocky year, there are worries that some of the optimism may have been overblown. The reform of Nigeria’s creaking, corrupt banking system was one of the big achievements of President Olusegun Obasanjo in his second term in office (2003-07). As part of a policy to squeeze weak or failing banks out of business, in 2005 the Central Bank of Nigeria raised banks’ capital requirements. In a hectic round of consolidation, the number of banks dropped from 89 to 24. Those that remained have had a very good few years, with massive local expansion and sometimes triple-digit growth in their share prices. And with less than a fifth of Nigerians keeping their money in banks and with fast growth led by private companies, there still seems to be plenty of potential for more business. Banks surveyed by a Lagos-based stockbroker, Afrinvest, showed that median before-tax earnings had risen by 141% year-on-year by June. ...
Africa & Middle East - International Herald Tribune
Rice criticizes Israel's building in West Bank
By ETHAN BRONNER Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:23:54 -0000
The U.S. secretary of state was responding to a report by Peace Now that stated that Israel had nearly doubled its settlement construction in the West Bank in the past year.
Israel frees 198 Palestinians from prison
By Isabel Kershner Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:40:49 -0000
The move, to strengthen the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, came as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived to try to push forward the peace process.
U.S. officers executed Iraqis, statements say
By PAUL VON ZIELBAUER Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:23:54 -0000
Three U.S. soldiers are expected to be charged for murder in connection with the killing of four Iraqi prisoners.
Negotiations start with Sudan hijacker
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:23:54 -0000
Negotiations have started between Libyan authorities and the hijacker of a Sudanese plane that has been forced to land in Libya, the airline's manager said on Wednesday.
Mugabe heckled in Zimbabwean Parliament
By CELIA W. DUGGER AND ALAN COWELL Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:23:54 -0000
President Robert Mugabe opened Parliament to jeers from opposition lawmakers hours after the police arrested three more of them, bringing the total in custody to five.
Soon to be available on the Web: Dead Sea Scrolls
By ETHAN BRONNER Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:23:54 -0000
With an eye toward preservation, experts in Israel are digitally photographing the scrolls the aim of making all of them available.
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Sudan hijackers 'free' passengers
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:41:06 -0000
A Sudanese plane is hijacked after taking off from Nyala, in Darfur region, officials say.
S Africa land reform bill shelved
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:19:07 -0000
South Africa shelves legislation designed to speed up land reform by allowing the government to seize white-owned farms.
MDC heckle Mugabe in parliament
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:46:35 -0000
MPs from Zimbabwe's main opposition party heckle and jeer as President Robert Mugabe formally opens parliament.
Zambia's mourning turns political
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:59:32 -0000
Zambia's opposition leader says he was prevented from mourning the late president by his widow.
Migrants die off Spanish coast
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:40:23 -0000
At least 25 African migrants die off the Spanish coast after their boat drifts for days, according to survivors who reach land.
Kenya urged to snub amnesty calls
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:19:46 -0000
Kenya's Attorney General rejects calls for an amnesty over post-election violence
NYT > Africa
Zimbabwe Parliament Opens to Jeers and Arrests
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:05:08 -0000
President Robert Mugabe opened Zimbabwe’s Parliament to heckling from opposition lawmakers, hours after police arrested three of them, bringing the total in custody to five.
World Briefing | Africa: Sudan: Plane Is Hijacked From Darfur
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:08:16 -0000
Hijackers in the Darfur region of Sudan seized a jetliner carrying nearly 100 people, including local Darfur officials, and forced it to land at an airfield in the Sahara Desert in Libya.
Dozens Are Killed in Raid on Darfur Camp
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:55:00 -0000
The deaths resulted from an assault by the government on a huge camp for displaced people in Darfur, according the witnesses and leaders at the camp.
L.A. Times - Africa
World briefing
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Hijackers force jet to land in Libya
Deaths reported after Sudanese troops raid volatile Darfur camp
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Fighting begins after more than 70 government vehicles surround the sprawling refugee camp known as Kalma. The U.N. says the troops arrived amid allegations of weapons in the camp. Sudanese troops raided one of Darfur's biggest and most volatile camps early Monday, setting off a deadly clash that killed an unknown number of people and wounded dozens, according to U.N. and humanitarian officials.
Zimbabwe opposition party wins post of parliament speaker
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The election of a candidate from the Movement for Democratic Change, or MDC, deals a blow to President Robert Mugabe's regime. The vote is seen as a key test of who will control parliament. Zimbabwe's main opposition party won its first legislative showdown against President Robert Mugabe on Monday, taking the post of speaker of parliament.
UN News Centre - Africa
UN mission in Darfur condemns excessive' use of force at displaced camp
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) today strongly condemned what it called the "excessive, disproportionate use of lethal forces" by Sudanese security forces against civilians during a raid inside a displaced persons' camp in Darfur yesterday.
Security Council urges Burundi's Government and rebels to comply with truce
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The Security Council today welcomed the recent agreement by Government forces and rebels in Burundi to try to dismantle any roadblocks to the revised ceasefire agreement they signed in June.
UN humanitarian chief to visit drought-ravaged Ethiopia
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The United Nations relief chief will travel to Ethiopia next week to assess the situation in the Horn of Africa country first-hand, where millions of people need humanitarian aid because of a devastating drought and the soaring prices of many basic foods.
The Economist: Middle East and Africa
Zambia:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
The death of a decent president, Zambia’s Levy Mwanawasa, raises questions about the state of leadership elsewhere in the continentON PAPER, Levy Mwanawasa should never have been president. He lacked charisma, wit or style—the sort of qualities that propel populists to high office in much of Africa. At rallies even his own supporters were fast bored by the former lawyer’s monotone drawl. His ill-health and slurred speech, the results of a car crash, led to nasty jibes about his mental capacity. When he narrowly won his first, disputed, presidential election in 2001, opponents dubbed him “the cabbage”, deriding him as a stooge for others more powerful.But Mr Mwanawasa, who died this week in France after suffering in June the latest of several strokes, deserves to be remembered more fondly than the showmen who have beggared much of the continent. In the past seven years he made a serious effort to clean up Zambia’s pervasive corruption. At some political risk, he turned against his predecessor and one-time patron, the diminutive Frederick Chiluba, who was charged with 168 counts of theft. Mr Chiluba was convicted of graft in a civil court in London last year. It was a rare success: few African leaders have been held to such account. ...
Saudi Arabia:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
Feeding its own people more cheaplyWHILE Saudi Arabia sets up its first sovereign wealth fund, ordinary Saudis are more preoccupied with the rising price of food. This is prompting the Saudi government to consider a new direction for foreign investment: buying farms in the poorer parts of the world. Inflation in Saudi Arabia is running in double digits, its highest rate for three decades. Last December, 19 prominent Saudi clerics gave warning that inflation constituted a crisis that would lead to social unrest and crime. Since then, the poorest Saudis have got poorer, with prices going up across the board because of rapid monetary growth. Food and housing costs are rising fastest. ...
Nigeria:
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:47:15 -0000
Doubts persist about Nigeria’s banksTHE bright logos of Nigeria’s financial institutions adorn the tallest and poshest office blocks in central Lagos, the country’s commercial capital, testimony to years of impressive growth in banking. But now, after a rocky year, there are worries that some of the optimism may have been overblown. The reform of Nigeria’s creaking, corrupt banking system was one of the big achievements of President Olusegun Obasanjo in his second term in office (2003-07). As part of a policy to squeeze weak or failing banks out of business, in 2005 the Central Bank of Nigeria raised banks’ capital requirements. In a hectic round of consolidation, the number of banks dropped from 89 to 24. Those that remained have had a very good few years, with massive local expansion and sometimes triple-digit growth in their share prices. And with less than a fifth of Nigerians keeping their money in banks and with fast growth led by private companies, there still seems to be plenty of potential for more business. Banks surveyed by a Lagos-based stockbroker, Afrinvest, showed that median before-tax earnings had risen by 141% year-on-year by June. ...
Africa & Middle East - International Herald Tribune
Rice criticizes Israel's building in West Bank
By ETHAN BRONNER Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:23:54 -0000
The U.S. secretary of state was responding to a report by Peace Now that stated that Israel had nearly doubled its settlement construction in the West Bank in the past year.
Israel frees 198 Palestinians from prison
By Isabel Kershner Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:40:49 -0000
The move, to strengthen the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, came as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived to try to push forward the peace process.
U.S. officers executed Iraqis, statements say
By PAUL VON ZIELBAUER Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:23:54 -0000
Three U.S. soldiers are expected to be charged for murder in connection with the killing of four Iraqi prisoners.
Negotiations start with Sudan hijacker
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:23:54 -0000
Negotiations have started between Libyan authorities and the hijacker of a Sudanese plane that has been forced to land in Libya, the airline's manager said on Wednesday.
Mugabe heckled in Zimbabwean Parliament
By CELIA W. DUGGER AND ALAN COWELL Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:23:54 -0000
President Robert Mugabe opened Parliament to jeers from opposition lawmakers hours after the police arrested three more of them, bringing the total in custody to five.
Soon to be available on the Web: Dead Sea Scrolls
By ETHAN BRONNER Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:23:54 -0000
With an eye toward preservation, experts in Israel are digitally photographing the scrolls the aim of making all of them available.
Research Plus: Suez Canal - Three photos, a dynamic map, and authoritative article (Introduction, Physical Description, and History) on the Canal -- with links to key names, placenames, and events; from Encarta.
Operation Musketeer: Duel for the Suez Canal - Three-part scholarly recounting and analysis of the Suez Crisis (1956), by Wilfred P. Deac, in Military History Magazine (from About.com).
Meta Description: [ Start exploring the fascinating history of Africa here. ]
Story of the Suez Canal - Reprint from: All the Year Round, January 8, 1876; from Islamic History Sourcebook, Fordham University.
Suez Canal - Brief description and key-dates history of the artificial waterway, with several links; from Encyclopaedia of the Orient.
Suez Canal - Description and history of the Suez Canal; from Encyclopedia.com.
Meta Description: [ SUEZ CANAL [Suez Canal] Arab. Qanat as Suways, waterway of Egypt extending from Port Said to Port Tawfiq (near Suez) and connecting the Mediterranean ]
Suez Canal Honoured as an International Landmark - Report dated June 04, 2003, announces that the International Association for Civil Engineers has designated the Suez Canal as a landmark in the history of world civil engineering.
Wikipedia: Suez Canal - Illustrated article including history, current day, and related links.
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