KATMANDU: Nepali climber Kami Rita Sherpa reached the top of Mount Everest for the 27th time on Wednesday, reclaiming the record for the most summits of the world’s highest mountain.
“He successfully reached the summit this morning guiding a Vietnamese climber,” Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks, his expedition organizer, said.
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks, including the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) Everest, and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring, when temperatures are warm and winds are typically calm.
Earlier Wednesday, British mountain guide Kenton Cool reached the world’s highest point for the 17th time, extending his own record for the most summits by a non-Nepali.
Authorities have issued 478 permits to foreign climbers this year, the $11,000 fee part of total costs for a summit ranging from $45,000 to $200,000.
Since most will need a guide, more than 900 people — a record — will try to summit this season, which runs until early June.
The 53-year-old Kami Rita Sherpa had held the overall title since 2018, when he ascended Everest for the 22nd time, passing the previous mark he shared with two other Sherpa climbers, both of whom have since retired.
But on Sunday another climber, Pasang Dawa Sherpa, 46, tied the record by reaching the top for the 26th time.
A guide for more than two decades, Kami Rita Sherpa first summited in 1994 when working for a commercial expedition.
Since then, he has climbed Everest almost every year, several times leading the first rope-fixing team to open the route to the top.
“These records were made not with an intention to make them but during my work as a guide,” Sherpa said last month as he headed to base camp.
Dubbed “the Everest man,” Sherpa was born in 1970 in Thame, a village in the Himalayas renowned as a breeding ground for successful mountaineers.
Growing up, Sherpa watched his father and then his brother don climbing gear to join expeditions as mountain guides, and was soon following in their footsteps.
In 2019, he reached the summit twice in the span of six days.
Sherpa’s client Wednesday was reportedly Chinh Chu, a Vietnamese billionaire who made his fortune in finance, while Cool guided Richard Walker, executive chairman of British supermarket chain Iceland Foods, to the top.
Nepali guides, usually ethnic Sherpas from the valleys around Everest, are considered the backbone of the climbing industry and bear huge risks to carry equipment and food, fix ropes and repair ladders.
Cool, 49, first climbed Everest in 2004 and his 16th ascent last year gave him the sole record for the most summits by a non-Nepali climber, but he said then that he was “surprised” by the attention.
“In reality, it’s not that amazing,” he said, pointing out that many Sherpa guides had stood on the peak more often than him.
“People go ‘it’s a world record’, it’s not a world record,” he said. “It’s just that I happen to hold the non-Sherpa record, for whatever that is worth, which in my mind, (is) not very much.”
Three Nepali climbers died on the mountain last month when a block of glacial ice fell and swept them into a deep crevasse as they were crossing the treacherous Khumbu icefall as part of a supply mission.
Fatalities climbed to four when a 69-year-old US mountaineer died this month during his acclimatization rotation at around 6,400 meters.
Nepali mountaineer climbs Everest for record 27th time
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Nepali mountaineer climbs Everest for record 27th time
- Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks, including the 8,849-meter Everest
- Kami Rita Sherpa had held the overall title since 2018, when he ascended Everest for the 22nd time
Man rescued from Mount Fuji twice in one week: reports
- Chinese university student, who lives in Japan, was found Saturday by another off-season hiker on a trail more than 3,000 meters above sea level
- People are dissuaded from hiking outside of the summer season because conditions can be treacherous
Police said the Chinese university student, who lives in Japan, was found Saturday by another off-season hiker on a trail more than 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) above sea level.
“He was suspected of having altitude sickness and was taken to hospital,” a police spokesman in Shizuoka region said on Monday.
Later, officers discovered that the man was the same one who had been rescued on Mount Fuji four days previously, private broadcaster TBS and other media outlets reported.
Police could not immediately confirm the reports, which said the man – having been rescued by helicopter on Tuesday – returned on Friday to retrieve his mobile phone, which he forgot to bring with him during the first rescue.
It was not known whether he was able to find his phone in the end, said the reports, citing unnamed sources.
Mount Fuji, an active volcano and Japan’s highest peak, is covered in snow for most of the year.
Its hiking trails are open from early July to early September, a period when crowds trudge up the steep, rocky slopes through the night to see the sunrise.
People are dissuaded from hiking outside of the summer season because conditions can be treacherous.
The symmetrical 3,776-meter mountain has been immortalized in countless artworks, including Hokusai’s “Great Wave.” It last erupted around 300 years ago.
In a bid to prevent overcrowding on Mount Fuji, authorities last year brought in an entry fee and cap on numbers for the most popular Yoshida Trail.
Starting this summer, hikers on any of Mount Fuji’s four main trails will be charged an entry fee of 4,000 yen ($27).
Napoleon letter denying he ordered pope kidnapping sold at auction
- The letter, signed 'Napole,' went on sale the day after the funeral of Pope Francis, who died on Monday
- The sale price was way above the estimate of 12,000-15,000 euros, according to the Osenat auction house
PARIS: A hand-written letter from Napoleon denying his role in the kidnapping of Pope Pius VII in 1809 was sold at auction on Sunday outside Paris for 26,360 euros ($30,000), the auctioneer said.
The letter, signed “Napole,” went on sale the day after the funeral of Pope Francis, who died on Monday.
The sale price was way above the estimate of 12,000-15,000 euros, according to the Osenat auction house.
The auction’s location in Fontainebleau, south of Paris, was highly symbolic as the town was where the head of the Catholic Church was imprisoned after being initially held in Savona in Italy.
“This arrest is one of the events that will define Napoleon’s reign, at a political and religious level,” Jean-Christophe Chataignier, an expert in the Napoleonic era at Osenat, told AFP.
“Napoleon knows this letter will be made public and that it’s intended for authorities everywhere,” he added.
French forces kidnapped Pope Pius VII in his private apartments in the Quirinal Palace in Rome.
He remained a prisoner of Napoleon for five years.
The pontiff had sought to maintain the Vatican’s sway over the French Catholic Church and resisted Napoleon’s desire to exert control over the clergy.
'Without my orders'
In the letter addressed to French nobleman and ally Jean-Jacques-Regis de Cambaceres, Napoleon feigns ignorance of Pius VII’s detention.
“It was without my orders and against my will that the pope was taken out of Rome; it is again without my orders and against my will that he is being brought into France,” he wrote.
“But I was only informed of this 10 or 12 days after it had already been carried out. From the moment I learn that the pope is staying in a fixed location, and that my intentions can be made known in time and carried out, I will consider what measures I must take...,” he added.
Napoleon memorabilia regularly comes up for sale at auction in a flourishing trade marked by intense interest from collectors.
Two pistols that he once intended to use to kill himself were sold in France last July for 1.7 million euros, while one of his trademark “bicorne” hats set a record price for his possessions when it was acquired for 1.9 million euros in November 2023.
A sword that belonged to Napoleon and was specially ordered for the personal use of the French emperor is to be auctioned in Paris next month, with an estimated price of 700,000 to one million euros.
Sri Lanka Buddhists overwhelm city in bid to see Buddha's sacred tooth
- Four people died and hundreds fell sick while waiting in lengthy queues to see a sacred tooth in the city of Kandy
- Police said 32 buses were turned away because the city had run out of parking space
COLOMBO: Buddhists flocking to see a sacred tooth in Sri Lanka were urged by authorities to stay away on Thursday after four people died and hundreds fell sick while in lengthy queues.
Regional police chief Lalith Pathinayake said queues in the city of Kandy were already 10 kilometers (six miles) long as Buddhists waited to worship what they believe to be a tooth of the Buddha — a special showing of the relic that will end on Sunday.
Officials estimated there were around 450,000 people in queues on Thursday morning, more than double the expected daily number of 200,000.
“At the rate the queue is moving, even those already in line this morning may not be able to enter the temple,” Deputy Inspector General Pathinayake said. “We appeal to the people not to come to Kandy.”
The city’s main state-run hospital reported more than 300 people had been admitted after falling ill while spending days in cramped conditions. Four people, including an older woman, were pronounced dead on admission.
At the rate the queue is moving, even those already in line this morning may not be able to enter the temple
Lalith Pathinayake, regional police chief
More than 2,000 people who fainted while standing in line were treated at 11 mobile health units, local officials said.
“We are trying to avoid a stampede,” said Sarath Abeykoon, the governor of the province. “Health authorities have raised concerns about sanitation.”
The railway department said it was suspending all additional trains to the city because authorities were already overwhelmed by the number of pilgrims.
Police commandos were deployed to move thousands of pilgrims away from an old bridge that officials warned could collapse due to the excessive weight on it.
Police said 32 buses were turned away because the city had run out of parking space.
The relic was last displayed publicly in March 2009, when an estimated one million people paid homage.
Authorities had expected around two million visitors over the 10-day exhibition this time, but that figure was surpassed within five days.
In Dubai’s Gold Souk, bullion’s record run brings little joy for jewellers
- Bullion prices have hit record highs above $3,400 an ounce
- US tariffs and other factors have added fire to already hot demand for gold
DUBAI: In the bustling Gold Souk in Dubai, dubbed the “City of Gold,” 22-karat gold jewelry is a traditional favorite for weddings, religious celebrations, and as a family investment.
Yet with bullion prices hitting record highs above $3,400 an ounce, there are signs of change, as buyers look to diamonds and lighter gold jewelry, instead.
While US tariffs and other factors have added fire to already hot demand for gold as an investment, the impact is different for gold jewelry, according to Andrew Naylor, head of Middle East and Public Policy at the World Gold Council (WGC).
“In markets like Dubai, this creates a two-fold effect: on one hand, you see stronger interest in gold as a safe-haven asset, on the other, high prices dampen jewelry demand.”
At Dubai’s Gold Souk, retailers said they are seeing this trend, as current prices prompt shoppers to look for alternatives.
“There are no potential customers nowadays because of the gold prices,” said Fahad Khan, a sales representative at retailer Damas Jewellery.
“It’s a little bit tough to afford gold, so I think it’s better to go with diamonds,” said Lalita Dave, 52, as she browsed around the Gold Souk.
Lab-grown diamonds
Dubai has been a magnet for gold buyers for at least 80 years, starting with Iranian and Indian traders, both cultures sharing a tradition of 22-karat jewelry for adornment and investment.
Yet as gold prices rose 27 percent last year, demand for gold jewelry in the UAE fell by around 13 percent, outpacing an 11 percent drop globally, according to the WGC.
Jewellery demand could face further pressure across key regions in 2025 if gold prices remain elevated or volatile, the WGC said in its gold demand trends report published in February.
Price swings, more than price levels, are increasingly shaping consumer behavior, particularly in India, it noted.
Shifts in Indian purchasing patterns often ripple through Gulf markets such as the UAE, where buyers are a key driver of sales.
Goldman Sachs recently raised its end-2025 gold forecast to $3,700 per ounce and said prices could climb as high as $4,500.
“Higher gold prices are likely to dampen demand for jewelry, in a classic example of how the best cure for high prices is high prices,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
One sign of economizing has been the rise of lab-grown diamonds.
India exported $171 million worth of lab-grown diamonds to the UAE in 2024, up almost 57 percent from $109 million two years earlier, data from the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council showed.
India’s exports of cut and polished diamonds to the UAE in the April–November 2024 were up 3.7 percent.
UAE ranked third in global diamond imports in 2023, trade data shows, its primary trade partners including India, South Africa, and Belgium.
While the UAE accounted for just 1.5 percent of the global diamond jewelry market by revenue in 2023, it is projected to grow by 5.9 percent annually to reach nearly $2 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.
That outpaces the global growth forecast of 4.5 percent and makes the UAE the fastest growing market in the Middle East and Africa.
Trade tensions
One impact from recent trade tensions with the US has been accelerated talk about finding alternative markets and production hubs, two executives at major Indian diamond exporters said.
If tensions persist, potentially spanning years, one of the sources speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity said his company’s contingency plans included shifting some Indian production overseas, including to the UAE.
Shamlal Ahamed, managing director of international operations at retailer Malabar Gold & Diamonds, said the rise in lab-grown diamond jewelry sales in the UAE appeared to be driven more by design preferences than pricing and he remained bullish on gold jewelry demand.
“While price-conscious buyers may wait for a dip, our experience shows that such declines are often short-lived, with buyers quickly adapting to new price levels.”
NASA’s oldest active astronaut returns to Earth on 70th birthday
WASHINGTON: Cake, gifts and a low-key family celebration may be how many senior citizens picture their 70th birthday.
But NASA’s oldest serving astronaut Don Pettit became a septuagenarian while hurtling toward the Earth in a spacecraft to wrap up a seven-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
A Soyuz capsule carrying the American and two Russian cosmonauts landed in Kazakhstan on Sunday, the day of Pettit’s milestone birthday.
“Today at 0420 Moscow time (0120 GMT), the Soyuz MS-26 landing craft with Alexei Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner and Donald (Don) Pettit aboard landed near the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan,” Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said.
Spending 220 days in space, Pettit and his crewmates Ovchinin and Vagner orbited the Earth 3,520 times and completed a journey of 93.3 million miles over the course of their mission.
It was the fourth spaceflight for Pettit, who has logged more than 18 months in orbit throughout his 29-year career.
The trio touched down in a remote area southeast of Kazakhstan after undocking from the space station just over three hours earlier.
NASA images of the landing showed the small capsule parachuting down to Earth with the sunrise as a backdrop.
The astronauts gave thumbs-up gestures as rescuers carried them from the spacecraft to an inflatable medical tent.
Despite looking a little worse for wear as he was pulled from the vessel, Pettit was “doing well and in the range of what is expected for him following return to Earth,” NASA said in a statement.
He was then set to fly to the Kazakh city of Karaganda before boarding a NASA plane to the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Texas.
The astronauts spent their time on the ISS researching areas such as water sanitization technology, plant growth in various conditions and fire behavior in microgravity, NASA said.
The trio’s seven-month trip was just short of the nine months that NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams unexpectedly spent stuck on the orbital lab after the spacecraft they were testing suffered technical issues and was deemed unfit to fly them back to Earth.
Space is one of the final areas of US-Russia cooperation amid an almost complete breakdown in relations between Moscow and Washington over the Ukraine conflict.
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