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New Compensation Offer Made over Suez Canal Blockage

A view shows the Ever Given container ship in Suez Canal in this Maxar Technologies satellite image taken on March 29, 2021. 2021 Maxar Technologies / Handout via REUTERS
A view shows the Ever Given container ship in Suez Canal in this Maxar Technologies satellite image taken on March 29, 2021. 2021 Maxar Technologies / Handout via REUTERS
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New Compensation Offer Made over Suez Canal Blockage

A view shows the Ever Given container ship in Suez Canal in this Maxar Technologies satellite image taken on March 29, 2021. 2021 Maxar Technologies / Handout via REUTERS
A view shows the Ever Given container ship in Suez Canal in this Maxar Technologies satellite image taken on March 29, 2021. 2021 Maxar Technologies / Handout via REUTERS

The owners of a giant container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March have made a new offer in a compensation dispute with the canal authority, a lawyer for the authority said on Sunday.

The Ever Given container ship has been anchored in a lake between two stretches of the canal since it was dislodged on March 29. It had been grounded across the canal for six days, blocking hundreds of ships and disrupting global trade.

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) demanded $916 million in compensation to cover salvage efforts, reputational damage and lost revenue, before publicly lowering the request to $550 million.

The Ever Given's Japanese owners Shoei Kisen and its insurers have disputed the claim and the ship's detention under an Egyptian court order.

Negotiations had been continuing until Saturday, SCA lawyer Khaled Abu Bakr told a court hearing in Ismailia over the ship's detention, according to Reuters.

The ship's owners had put in a new offer, he said, without giving details. The SCA's chairman previously said Shoei Kisen had offered to pay $150 million.

The court had been due to rule on the case on Sunday but Shoei Kisen's legal team asked for a postponement to allow more time for negotiations, one of their lawyers said.

This week UK Club, one of the ship's insurers, said it was engaged in "serious and constructive negotiations" with the SCA, and was "hopeful of a positive resolution to these negotiations in the near future".

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Syrian Interior Ministry Arrests ISIS Cell Responsible for Church Attack

People gather at Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus following the suicide bombing on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (EPA) 
People gather at Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus following the suicide bombing on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (EPA) 
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Syrian Interior Ministry Arrests ISIS Cell Responsible for Church Attack

People gather at Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus following the suicide bombing on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (EPA) 
People gather at Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus following the suicide bombing on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (EPA) 

Hours after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed that those involved in a “heinous” suicide attack on a Damascus church a day earlier would face justice, Syria’s Interior Ministry said authorities had arrested several suspects in connection with the attack.

The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the Mar Elias church in the Dweila district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and injured 63 others, according to the Health Ministry.

“In coordination with the General Intelligence Service, the Ministry carried out security operations against ISIS-linked terrorist cells in the Damascus countryside, arresting a cell leader and five members, and killing two others affiliated with the terrorist attack on Mar Elias Church in Damascus,” the Syrian Interior Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

“During the raid, quantities of weapons and ammunition were seized, in addition to explosive vests and mines. A motorcycle bomb that had been prepared for detonation was also found,” it said.

On Monday, the Syrian President expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the church bombing.

He said “this heinous crime that targeted innocent people in their worship places reminds us of the importance of solidarity and unity –government and people- in confronting threats to our security and the stability of our country.”

Sharaa added, “Today, we all stand united, rejecting injustice and crime in all its forms. We pledge to the victims that we will work day and night, mobilizing all our specialized security services, to apprehend all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and bring them to justice to face their just punishment.”

The attack is the first such bombing in Damascus since the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime. It raised fear among the people.

Commenting on the attack, a man in his 70s described the attack as “a huge and horrible strike,” stressing the need for “the authorities to tighten security measures on churches, all places of worship, and busy places.”

On Monday, Asharq Al-Awsat spotted heavy deployment of local security agents in the capital’s neighborhoods and major roads, amid heightened security measures.

Adbdulrahman Alhaj, a researcher in Islamic studies, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Interior Ministry statement that linked the attack to an ISIS suicide attack is a suggestion that the ministry’s spokesman Noureddine Al-Baba had mentioned in his Sunday press briefing.

Alhaj said he supports the ministry’s conclusions as ISIS had recently issued several threats signaling plans to confront the new regime in Damascus particularly, al-Sharaa.