In Egypt, the Suez Canal Authority has said that a shipping traffic jam caused by a giant container vessel getting stuck on the crucial waterway for almost a week has been cleared.

Traffic on the canal, a conduit for over 10% of world trade, began moving again on Monday evening after the 200,000-tonne MV Ever Given was refloated with the help of international salvage experts.

"All the ships waiting in the waterway since the grounding of the... (MV) Ever Given have completed passage," SCA chief Osama Rabie said in a statement by the canal authority.

The wedging of the Japanese-owned, Taiwanese-operated ship had created tailbacks to the north and south totalling over 420 ships, with billions of dollars-worth of cargo.

More here reports RTE News on the Suez shipping incident and impact on Asian-Europe trade.