By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU (Reuters) – A Nepali sherpa guide climbed Mount Everest for the 26th time on Sunday, hiking officials said, becoming the world’s second person to achieve the feat. Pasang Dawa Sherpa, 46, stood atop the 8,849-m (29,032-ft) peak, sharing the record number of summits with Kami Rita Sherpa, said Bigyan Koirala, a…
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines has placed navigational buoys within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to assert sovereignty over the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea, a coast guard spokesperson said on Sunday. The step comes amid China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea as Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr pursues…
By Ece Toksabay and Huseyin Hayatsever ANKARA (Reuters) – He is not as charismatic as Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan, but mild-mannered Kemal Kilicdaroglu is optimistic about his chances of beating Erdogan in Sunday’s election, promising a new spring after two decades of his rival’s tumultuous governance. Long stuck in the shadow of Erdogan and his…
By Ismail Shakil and Anna Mehler Paperny OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada’s main oil-producing province of Alberta faces an upsurge in wildfire activity as western Canada swelters in hot, dry weather and blazes keep thousands from their homes. Authorities said Saturday they had already seen an increase in fire activity and were expecting more. Residents forced to…
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A truce between Israel and the militant Islamic Jihad group officially came into effect late on Saturday night, with an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire agreement meant to end the worst episode of cross-border fire since a 10-day war in 2021. As fighting tapered off, streets in Gaza that had…
By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) – Squishmallows joined Warren Buffett’s business empire two years after Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian and others helped make the plush stuffed toys a viral sensation on TikTok. For Judd and Laura Zebersky, whose company Jazwares makes the toys, the success of Squishmallows is hardly what they imagined when they met 33…
(Reuters) – As the Eurovision song contest was underway in Britain late on Saturday, Russian missiles hit the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil, which is home to the electro-pop duo Tvorchi, this year’s contestants from Ukraine. Local authorities, writing on Telegram, said the strike had hit warehouses owned by commercial enterprises and a religious organization,…
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – European Central Bank interest rate hikes are in their final stretch, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos told an Italian newspaper, while warning that higher borrowing costs could put stress on banks’ asset quality, even if indicators so far remain healthy. The ECB has raised rates by a combined 375 basis points…
By Ali Kucukgocmen ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan held his last election rallies in Istanbul on Saturday, accusing the opposition of working with U.S. President Joe Biden to topple him while making a final appeal ahead of the biggest challenge to his 20-year rule. Polls show Erdogan trailing the main opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu…
By Philip Pullella and Gavin Jones VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked Pope Francis on Saturday to back Kyiv’s peace plan, and the pope indicated the Vatican would help in the repatriation of Ukrainian children taken by Russians. “It is a great honour,” Zelenskiy told Francis, putting his hand to his heart and…
