Briefly

EGYPT

Ship blockage losses could hit $1 billion

Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, said on Wednesday in an interview with Egypt's Sada El-Balad TV that losses and damages from the Ever Given blockage could reach around $1 billion. Egypt's Leth Agencies said a total of 163 ships had transited the Suez Canal since its reopening on Monday and that 292 ships were still waiting. Also on Wednesday, Egypt began an investigation into how the ship ran aground in the canal, blocking the world's major waterway for almost a week. Lead investigator Captain Sayed Sheasha said the investigation would include examining the seaworthiness of the ship and its captain's actions.

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Shared Games bid with DPRK proposed

Officials in Seoul are promoting a joint bid to host the 2032 Olympic Games with Pyongyang. The capital of the Republic of Korea on Thursday proposed the co-hosting arrangement with the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in a letter to the International Olympic Committee. Seoul is trying to keep alive its hopes of hosting the Games despite Brisbane being the front-runner. The IOC has picked the Australian city as its preferred partner. ROK President Moon Jae-in and DPRK leader Kim Jong-un agreed to pursue a joint Olympics bid at a summit in Pyongyang in 2018. But relations have soured since 2019.

Xinhua - Agencies