The left-wing Sandinista government of Nicaragua has fast-tracked a plan for China to build and operate a rival to the Panama Canal, linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The plan was pushed through the Sandinista-controlled Nicaraguan national assembly, with the strong support of the president, Daniel Ortega. Ortega led a popular uprising which overthrew the former Somoza dictatorship in 1979, and held onto power until defeated in a democratic election in 1990. He was elected president aga…
