Egypt closes five ports due to bad weather

Five Egyptian ports on the Red and Mediterranean Seas were closed on Saturday because of bad weather, an official said. The Red Sea ports of Port Tawfik, el-Adabia and el-Zeitia were closed because the wind had risen to 35 knots and waves were about four metres high, said the official, who asked not to be named.
He added that around 12 vessels were at sea waiting for better weather conditions. The ports of Alexandria and el-Dikheila, Egypt's largest ports on the Mediterranean Sea, had also been closed, the official said. The Alexandria port is the biggest in Egypt.
Suez Canal revenues rise Egypt's annual revenues from the Suez Canal climbed to a record $3.82 billion in 2006, with a record $1.03 billion in the last quarter, an official from the Suez Canal said on Friday. Canal spokesman Mahmoud Abdel Wahab said the returns were the highest since the canal opened in 1869. Comparison figures were not immediately available. The canal is an important source of foreign currency for Egypt, along with remittances from Egyptians living abroad, tourism, and oil and gas exports.