Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet

Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
This photograph taken on May 2, 2021 shows climbers negotiating the Khumbu glacier in the Mount Everest region of Solukhumbu district, some 140kms northeast of Nepal's capital Kathmandu. (AFP/File)
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Updated 08 October 2024
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Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet

Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
  • Only about 50 climbers worldwide have climbed all mountain peaks above 8,000 meters
  • Most climbers assembled at Chinese Himalayas have already summited 13 other highest peaks

Katmandu: A record number of climbers are gathered in Tibet to complete mountaineering’s pinnacle achievement, summiting the world’s tallest 14 peaks.

Only about 50 climbers have climbed all mountain peaks above 8,000 meters (26,250 feet), a feat that took most years, or even decades, to complete.

About 20 are vying for the record books this month, some spurred by a blockbuster Netflix documentary giving the endeavor a wider profile.

Technological advancements have made the feat easier to accomplish.

“We are growing as a community, and we are representing mountaineering all over the world,” Pakistani climber Shehroze Kashif, 22, told AFP.

“I think that’s great... they are completing their dream, as I am.”

It took Italian climber Reinhold Messner 16 years from his initial summit to become the first person in the world considered to have climbed all 14 peaks in 1986.

But most of the climbers assembled in the Chinese Himalayas at the base camp of Mount Shisha Pangma only began their attempts within the past few years.

They have already summited the 13 other highest peaks, located in the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges, straddling Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet and India.

Many have been waiting to scale the 8,027-meter-high (26,335 feet) Tibetan peak since last year, when China closed the mountain to climbers after two American women and their Nepali guides were killed in an avalanche.

The aspirants are a mix of seasoned veterans and rising stars.

Teenage Nepali climber Nima Rinji Sherpa, 18, aims to be the youngest to climb all 14.

Several hope to be the first from their respective countries to accomplish the feat.

Advances in mountaineering technology, weather forecasting and logistical support have made this once-inaccessible goal more achievable — particularly for those who can afford it.

Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks, Nepal’s biggest mountaineering expedition company, told AFP that climbers could expect to pay up to $700,000 for full support teams.

But he said the hefty price tag had not dissuaded a growing number of people from pursuing the endeavor.

“They climb one or two, and then the mountains attract them,” he said. “Soon they might decide to climb them all.”

Teams of support crews and helicopters for rapid transportation between base camps have allowed climbers to tackle multiple mountains in a single season.

“It is clear that the pioneers back then, they did much more difficult, dangerous and exceptional ascents,” German mountaineering chronicler Eberhard Jurgalski told AFP.

“Now it is possible to do them within three months. The logistics are so world-class now.”

British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja famously completed the 14 peaks in just over six months in 2019, shattering the previous record of seven years.

His efforts were chronicled in a Netflix documentary, inspiring a new wave of athletes to try and eclipse his speed run.

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila and her Nepali guide Tenjen Lama Sherpa — the latter who died attempting to summit Shisha Pangma last year — now hold the record.

They climbed the giant mountains in 92 days, ending in July 2023.

The pair also reached the “true summits” of all the mountains, which many previous climbers had missed.

This month, at least six have already completed the feat after summiting Shisha Pangma, including the first Japanese, Pakistani and female American climbers.

They also included Nirmal Purja again, who this time said he was climbing all 14 without supplementary oxygen.

The trend toward speed has not always been welcomed by the mountaineering fraternity.

Veteran climbers have criticized Purja and Harila for using helicopters, pre-prepared routes and support teams.

Dawa Yangzum Sherpa, who is aiming to become the first woman from Nepal to summit all 14 peaks, said the style of ascent dictated how much it was valued by other alpinists.

“Some climb 14 peaks... and maybe even have climbed Everest several times, but some don’t have the capacity to climb without support,” she told AFP.

But Russian climber Alina Pekova, also attempting the Tibetan summit to finish her 14-peak climb, said that speed ascents were an endurance test.

“If you can climb it a fast way, why not try?” she told AFP. “That’s another challenge.”


Trump to appoint former ICE director Tom Homan as US ‘border czar’

Trump to appoint former ICE director Tom Homan as US ‘border czar’
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Trump to appoint former ICE director Tom Homan as US ‘border czar’

Trump to appoint former ICE director Tom Homan as US ‘border czar’
  • Tom Homan is also a contender for secretary of homeland security
  • Former ICE chief will be in charge of the deportation of illegal immigrants
US President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), will be in charge of the country’s borders in his new administration.
Homan will be “in charge of our nation’s borders (“The Border Czar”), including, but not limited to, the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Homan, who served in Trump administration for a year and a half during his first term, is also a contender for secretary of homeland security.
Trump made cracking down on illegal immigration the central element of his campaign, promising mass deportations. He frequently praised Homan during the campaign, and Homan often hit the trail to rally supporters.
Trump added in his Truth Social post that Homan will be in charge of the deportation of illegal immigrants.
The president-elect is meeting with potential candidates to serve in his administration before his Jan. 20 inauguration as president.
CNN reported on Sunday that Trump had offered Republican Representative Elize Stefanik the job as US ambassador to the United Nations.

Rivals of ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina foil her party’s attempt to hold a rally

Rivals of ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina foil her party’s attempt to hold a rally
Updated 25 min 3 sec ago
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Rivals of ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina foil her party’s attempt to hold a rally

Rivals of ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina foil her party’s attempt to hold a rally
  • The rally in Dhaka by Hasina’s party was to commemorate the death of a party activist on Nov. 10, 1987
  • On Sunday, rival party activists filled up much of the area where the rally was scheduled to take place

DHAKA: Rivals of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday thwarted a plan by her Awami League party to hold a rally in Bangladesh’s capital, seen as a potential first effort to make a comeback on the streets since she fled the country in August amid a mass uprising.
The rally in Dhaka by Hasina’s party was to commemorate the death of a party activist on Nov. 10, 1987, which had sparked a mass protest against former military dictator H.M. Ershad. He was eventually ousted from office, ending his nine-year rule in 1990.
The day is commemorated as “democracy day.” In 1991, Bangladesh switched to a parliamentary democracy from a presidential form of government, and since then Hasina and her rival, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, became the most powerful political figures in the country.
On Sunday, activists of the party headed by Zia, Hasina’s main rival, and also members of the conservative Jamaat-e-Islami party took to the streets of Dhaka, filling up much of the area where the rally was scheduled to take place.
Others, including hundreds of student protesters, also announced that they wouldn’t allow Hasina’s supporters to stand on the streets and hold the rally. The protesters said that they think Hasina’s party was trying to make a comeback by holding a rally on the streets on Sunday. The protesters from the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, a group that led the mass uprising in July-August, aggressively hunted for supporters of Hasina.
Groups of people surrounded the Awami League party’s headquarters near the Noor Hossain Square in Dhaka where Hasina’s supporters were supposed to gather to hold the rally.
Security was tight in the area, but witnesses and local media said that the protesters attacked several supporters of Hasina when they attempted to reach there and chanted slogans in favor of the fallen leader.
The Awami League party said that many of their activists were detained by police as they came under attacks.
Tensions ran high throughout Sunday with the anti-Hasina protesters saying that they wouldn’t allow the party to hold any public rally under any circumstances. The Awami League party questioned the notion, saying it is against the spirit of democracy and the constitutional right to assembly.
The Awami League party posted a number of videos on Facebook on Sunday showing its supporters being manhandled. Its party headquarters had earlier been vandalized following Hasina’s fall on Aug. 5, and on Sunday it was empty and there were signs of destruction. Outside, control was in the hands of Hasina’s opponents.
The political chaos in the South Asian nation went on as Zia’s party was seeking quick reforms and a new election from an interim government headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus. The party believes it will be able to form the new government in the absence of Hasina’s party, while its other allies are also struggling.
As the interim government ends its three months in office, people remain concerned over high commodity prices, law and order, mob justice and the rise of Islamist forces once suppressed by Hasina’s regime. The international community also remains wary about alleged attacks on minority groups, especially Hindus that make up about 8 percent of the country’s 170 million people.
The Yunus-led government said it would seek extradition of Hasina and her close associates as they face charges of crimes against humanity involving deaths of hundreds of protesters during the uprising.
On Sunday, Bangladesh’s Law Adviser Asif Nazrul said the interim government would ask Interpol to issue red notices seeking the arrest and repatriation of fugitives allegedly responsible for the deaths of people during the mass uprising.
“We will … prioritize bringing them back from wherever they are hiding,” he told reporters in Dhaka.


Mauritius awaits results of close-fought vote

Mauritius awaits results of close-fought vote
Updated 33 min 13 sec ago
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Mauritius awaits results of close-fought vote

Mauritius awaits results of close-fought vote

PORT LUIS, Mauritius: Mauritians are set to find out Monday who will govern their Indian Ocean island nation for the next five years after a hotly disputed election race.
Both the incumbent Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and his main rival Navin Ramgoolam claimed their political blocs had triumphed in Sunday’s legislative poll.
Voters had voiced concern about the continued political and economic durability of one of the richest and most stable democracies in Africa, with the election overshadowed by an explosive phone-tapping scandal.
The poll came on the heels of a historic agreement last month that saw Britain cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius following a long-running dispute.
But Jugnauth’s hopes he would handily win a new term on the back of the deal were dented when secretly recorded phone calls of politicians, diplomats and journalists began to be leaked online last month.
Seeking to keep a lid on the scandal, the authorities announced a social media ban until after the election, before making an embarrassing climbdown in the face of opposition and media outrage.
The move added to concerns that Mauritius’s much-vaunted democracy and civil liberties were being gradually eroded.
Jugnauth’s Militant Socialist Movement and its allies are seeking to hold on to their 42-seat majority in the 70-member National Assembly but face a stiff challenge from former prime minister Ramgoolam’s Alliance of Change.
During a lively and sometimes heated campaign, both camps promised voters they would take measures to improve the lot of ordinary Mauritians who face cost of living difficulties despite strong economic growth.
“We are confident of winning because the people appreciate our record,” 62-year-old Jugnauth said after polls closed, accusing the opposition of trying to hinder the smooth running of the vote.
Ramgoolam, 77, issued a similar declaration.
“We are heading toward a big victory tomorrow. The people are waiting for this liberation,” he told reporters.
Both men are members of the dynasties that have dominated politics in Mauritius since it became independent from Britain in 1968.
A new bloc, the Linion Reform alliance, campaigned against the establishment politicians with the slogan “Neither Navin, Nor Pravind,” and criticized corruption and nepotism.
Police had been stationed in polling stations across the country to ensure the security of the vote, while a number of international observers monitored the process.
Ramgoolam had warned early on polling day about the risk of fraud, while later saying that voting went off largely without incident.
Ballot counting begins on Monday morning with results expected later in the day.
Turnout among the one million registered voters was expected to be around 80 percent, media commentators said, based on figures from a number of polling stations.
Sixty-two seats were up for grabs under a first-past-the-post system, with the remaining eight allocated under what is dubbed the “best loser” system.
The majority-Hindu nation has seen remarkable stability and growth since independence, building an economy based on tourism as well as financial services and textile manufacturing.
GDP growth was seven percent in 2023, but analysts say Mauritius needs to diversify its economy, and concerns about governance and corruption are growing.
The island is renowned for its spectacular palm-fringed white beaches and turquoise waters, attracting 1.3 million visitors last year.
The Chagos deal was a major success for the government, though Britain will retain a lease for a joint US military base on the island of Diego Garcia for an “initial” 99 years.
Jugnauth hailed it as the completion of the nation’s “decolonization.”
But some have voiced concerns that president-elect Donald Trump’s approach to the US military presence in the Indian Ocean might have repercussions for the agreement.


COP29 opens with Trump climate withdrawal looming

COP29 opens with Trump climate withdrawal looming
Updated 33 min 4 sec ago
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COP29 opens with Trump climate withdrawal looming

COP29 opens with Trump climate withdrawal looming
  • Just a handful of leaders from the Group of 20, whose countries account for nearly 80 percent of global emissions, are attending
Baku: The COP29 climate talks open Monday in Azerbaijan, under the long shadow cast by the re-election of Donald Trump, who has pledged to row back on the United States’ carbon-cutting commitments.
Countries come to Baku for the main United Nations forum for climate diplomacy after new warnings that 2024 is on track to break temperature records, adding urgency to a fractious debate over climate funding.
But Trump’s return will loom over the discussions, with fears that an imminent US departure from the landmark Paris agreement to limit global warming could mean less ambition around the negotiating table.
“We cannot afford to let the momentum for global action on climate change be derailed,” said Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s special envoy for climate change and environment.
“This is a shared problem that will not solve itself without international cooperation, and we will continue to make that case to the incoming president of one of the world’s largest polluters.”
Outgoing President Joe Biden is staying away, as are many leaders who have traditionally appeared early in COP talks to lend weight to the proceedings.
Just a handful of leaders from the Group of 20, whose countries account for nearly 80 percent of global emissions, are attending.
Afghanistan will however be sending a delegation for the first time since the Taliban took power. They are expected to have observer status.
Diplomats have insisted that the absences, and Trump’s win, will not detract from the serious work at hand, particularly agreeing a new figure for climate funding to developing countries.
Negotiators must increase a $100 billion-a-year target to help developing nations prepare for worsening climate impacts and wean their economies off fossil fuels.
How much will be on offer, who will pay, and who can access the funds are some of the major points of contention.
“It’s hard. It involves money. When it comes to money, everybody shows their true colors,” Adonia Ayebare, the Ugandan chair of a bloc that groups over 100 mostly developing countries and China, told AFP on Sunday.
Trump, who has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax,” has vowed to pull the United States out of the Paris agreement.
But Ayebare brushed aside the potential consequences of a US withdrawal, noting Trump already took Washington out of the Paris agreement during his first term.
“This has happened before, we will find a way of realigning.”
Developing countries are pushing for trillions of dollars, and insist money should be mostly grants rather than loans.
They warn that without the money they will struggle to offer ambitious updates to their climate goals, which countries are required to submit by early next year.
“Bring some money to the table so that you show your leadership,” said Evans Njewa, chair of the LDC Climate Group, whose members are home to 1.1 billion people.
But the small group of developed countries that currently contributes wants to see the donor pool expanded to include other rich nations and top emitters, including China and the Gulf states.
One Chinese official warned Sunday during a closed-door session that the talks should not aim to “renegotiate” existing agreements.
Liang Pei, an official at China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, urged negotiators to instead address “the climate crisis collectively, constructively.”
The talks come with fresh warnings that the world is far off track to meet the goals of the Paris agreement.
The climate deal commits to keep warming below 2C compared to pre-industrial levels, preferably below 1.5C.
But the world is on track to top that level in 2024, according to the European Union climate monitor.
That would not be an immediate breach of the Paris deal, which measures temperatures over decades, but it suggests much greater climate action is needed.
Earlier this year, the UN warned the world is on track for a catastrophic 3.1C of warming this century based on current actions.
“Everyone knows that these negotiations will not be easy,” said Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
“But they are worth it: each tenth of a degree of warming avoided means fewer crises, less suffering, less displacement.”
More than 51,000 people are expected at the talks, which run November 11-22.
For the second year running the talks will be hosted by a country heavily reliant on fossil fuels, after the United Arab Emirates last year.
Azerbaijan has also been accused of stifling dissent by persecuting political opponents, detaining activists and suffocating independent media.

Russian strikes kill five in southern Ukraine

Russian strikes kill five in southern Ukraine
Updated 11 November 2024
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Russian strikes kill five in southern Ukraine

Russian strikes kill five in southern Ukraine
  • Overnight Saturday into Sunday, Russia fired 145 drones at Ukraine,

Kyiv: Russian air strikes killed at least five people in southern Ukraine, authorities said Monday, a day after Moscow and Kyiv both launched record overnight drone attacks on each other.
Four people were killed in the southern city of Mykolaiv, according to the regional governor, while another died in Zaporizhzhia in an attack that authorities said injured more than a dozen.
“Four dead,” Mykolaiv Governor Vitaly Kim said early Monday on Telegram, revising up an earlier toll of two after an attack that set several residential buildings on fire.
About 300 kilometers (185 miles) to the east in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s state emergency services agency said Russia carried out three air strikes that killed a man and damaged multiple buildings.
Zaporizhzhia region governor Ivan Fedorov said that 18 people were injured, including five children.
“Boys aged 4, 16 and 17 and girls aged 15 and 17 have received the necessary medical assistance,” he said on Telegram.
Overnight Saturday into Sunday, Russia fired 145 drones at Ukraine, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, more than during any previous single nighttime attack during the conflict.
Russia also said it had downed 34 Ukrainian attack drones targeting Moscow on Sunday, the largest attempted attack on the capital since the start of the war in 2022.