Corinth Canal shut after landslide

Authorities on Monday closed Greece's iconic Corinth Canal, used mainly by commercial ships and pleasure craft, after a landslide caused by heavy rain in the area. Repairs are expected to take up to two weeks, significantly lengthening the journey of vessels which had been planning to use the shortcut. The 6,343-meter-long canal, which links the Gulf of Corinth on the Ionian Sea side and the Saronic Gulf on the Aegean side, was inaugurated on July 25, 1893, as one of the crowning achievements of a state firmly on the path to Westernization. [ANA-MPA]