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Egypt is preparing to inaugurate a major expansion of the Suez Canal, deepening the main waterway and providing ships with a 22 mile channel parallel to it.

Foreign leaders are due to attend an inauguration ceremony on August 6, promoted by Egypt’s government as an occasion for national pride.

The expansion aims to increase the traffic handled by the canal.

The Egyptian government hopes the revenues will boost the economy – but analysts have questioned the projections.Suez Canal expansion 2015

They point out that the volume of world trade has not been growing at the pace needed to deliver the sums Egypt hopes to collect.

Takings from Suez could also be hit by an expansion of the Panama Canal, due to be completed in 2016, which will compete for traffic along the Asia-North America route.

Many Egyptians have questioned whether the money could have been better spent on welfare or other infrastructure work.

The project is estimated to have cost $8.2 billion.

The expansion will allow for two-way traffic along part of the route, as well as for larger vessels overall. The construction of the new lane began in 2014, on the orders of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Security has been tightened for the inauguration ceremony amid fears of attack by militants allied to Islamic State (ISIS).

The militants, based in the Sinai Peninsula, have killed hundreds of people since the military overthrew the Islamist government of President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

The original canal, opened in 1869, currently handles 7% of global sea-borne trade.

The waterway connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, providing the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe.

Suez Canal’s nationalization led to a brief war in 1956, pitting Egypt against the UK, France and Israel.

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A rare Red Sea shark attack has killed a German tourist at an Egyptian resort, police say.

The shark reportedly bit off the 52-year-old man’s leg at the knee.

The attack took place on March 22 off the coastal city al-Qusair, the first such incident in five years.Red Sea shark attack oceanic whitetip

The species of shark has not been confirmed. A spate of attacks in 2010 that also led to one death was believed to have been carried out by an oceanic whitetip.

Those attacks forced the closure of part of the major resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for a week.

The area that saw Sunday’s attack witnessed another in 2009 that killed a Frenchwoman.

The German embassy in Cairo said it had been informed of the latest death but could not comment further.

Egypt is one of the world’s leading diving destinations.

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Tourists heading for famous Bondi Beach were left high and dry today after a rare natural phenomenon turned the water blood red.

Bondi was among several popular beaches in and around Sydney, Australia, which had to be closed after a huge algae bloom transformed the sea into something resembling a scene from a Jaws movie.

But despite the warnings a number of intrepid beachgoers were seen venturing into the water and swimming through the red surface, Ten News Sydney reported.

The natural phenomenon is caused when algae, a plant-like organism flourishes and large groups of the miniscule plants, which can appear in various colors, gather together often with spectacular results.

Known as Nocturnal Scintillans or sea sparkle it has no toxic effects but people are still advised to avoid swimming in areas with discolored water because the algae, which can be high in ammonia, can cause skin irritation.

British tourists were among large groups of visitors who were told by lifeguards not to enter the water until the all-clear was given because the algae can irritate the skin and cause other health problems.

Ken Roberts, 23, from Birmingham, England said: “Perhaps I’m just in the wrong country – I thought the Red Sea was somewhere in Asia.”

Local lifeguard Bruce Hopkins said: “It has quite a fishy smell to it.

“It makes the water look like it has a coating of tomato-sauce colored oil.”

Tourists heading for famous Bondi Beach were left high and dry today after a rare natural phenomenon turned the water blood red

Tourists heading for famous Bondi Beach were left high and dry today after a rare natural phenomenon turned the water blood red

The algae has already disappointing thousands who had headed to the coast to cool off as the summer Down Under finally gets under way of a prolonged cold period.

The New South Wales (NSW) Office of Water has been carrying out a series of tests to discover what caused the bloom.

One theory is that it was caused by an upwelling of colder nutrient-rich water.
A spokesman said that the blooms, sometime referred to as “red tides”, are more common around spring and autumn when the water temperature is higher and there are greater movements in ocean currents.

Large numbers of fish are believed to have perished from the effects of the algae.

A spokesman for the local council said red algae could be dangerous to some humans exposed to it.

“There are some possible risks to human health including skin rashes and eye irritation and for this reason the beach will remain closed until the algae dissipates,” he said.

Tourists and locals are hoping that the algae will have dissipated by the weekend, when temperatures are expected to reach 40c.

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