'Suez 2'? Ever Given grounding prompts plan for canal along Egypt-Israel border

UK prepared to play leading role in project given new impetus by Ever Given blockage, say sources

• April Fools' Day quiz: how easily fooled are you?

The blockage of the Suez canal by the beached Ever Given container ship has prompted fresh international efforts to find an alternative to the world's most important shipping corridor.

UN officials are understood to be reviewing plans to construct a new canal along the Egypt-Israel border, having previously dismissed ideas for a much longer route through Iraq and Syria as too hazardous.