Suez Canal gets Bigger

In August Egypt announced a major expansion of the new Suez Canal. This new waterway is expected to boost the traffic that passes through the canal. Till now the canal was smaller and could allow only limited number of ships to pass through it. But with the expansion, it now allows ships especially larger vessels to pass through the canal in both directions simultaneously, thus increasing canal traffic and revenue

About Suez Canal
Suez Canal was opened in 1869 after ten years of construction. It is an artificial waterway in Egypt that connects Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea. The canal allows traders and ships to navigate between Europe without having to take a long turn around Africa. It is owned and maintained by Suez Canal Authority of Egypt.
Suez Canal is an important source of revenue for the country. Egypt earns about 5 billion US dollar every year through Suez Canal.

Image credit: Wikimedia.org

Things You Didn’t Know About Gandhiji

We all know Mahatma Gandhi as the man who led our country to freedom. And we all know that on 2^nd October we as a nation celebrate his birthday to honour the sacrifices he made for our country.  But we know little about some smaller and more astonishing facts about his life. The following are a few facts about Gandhiji that are mostly unknown:

Mahatma Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize 5 times but was never given the award!

The funeral procession of Gandhiji was 8 kilometers long! He was so loved by people!!

Great Britain, the country against whom he fought for independence, released a stamp honouring him, 21 years after his death!

Gandhiji served in the army during the Zulu War (also called the Boer War) of 1906. He commanded the stretcher-bearer corps, which comprised of Indian volunteers formed to treat the British soldiers injured in this war.

There are 53 major roads (excluding the smaller ones) in India, and 48 roads outside India that are named after him!!