• British climber Kenton Cool makes 19th ascent of Mount Everest

    British climber Kenton Cool makes 19th ascent of Mount Everest

    Kathmandu ( AFP) – British climber Kenton Cool has successfully climbed Mount Everest for the 19th time, extending his own record on Sunday for the most summits of the world’s highest mountain by a non-Sherpa.

    More than 50 climbers have reached the summit since the spring climbing season began this month, taking advantage of a brief run of good weather and typically calmer winds.

    Mountain guide Cool, 51, first climbed Everest in 2004 and has since taken paying customers up the world’s highest peak almost every year.

    “Kenton summited Everest for the 19th time at 11am Nepalese* time (0515 GMT*) on Sunday,” a post on his Instagram account said.

    His 15th summit in 2021 tied him with American Dave Hahn for the most summits by a non-Nepali climber, and his summit the following year gave him a solo title.

    Cool was once told he would not walk unaided again after a rock-climbing accident in 1996 that broke both his heel bones.

    He told AFP in a 2022 interview after his 16th ascent that his Everest record was “not that amazing” in the context of Nepali climbers’ achievements.

    “I’m really surprised by the interest … considering that so many of the Sherpas have so many more ascents*,” he said then.

    Nepali climber and Sherpa Kami Rita, 55, is also attempting to break his own world record for the most Everest summits with his 31st climb.

    Cool’s latest summit comes after at least two people – a Filipino and an Indian climber – died on Mount Everest last week.

    Nepal has issued 458 climbing permits* to mountaineers this season and a city of tents hosting foreign climbers and support staff has built up at the foot of Everest.

    A climbing boom has made mountaineering a profitable* business since Sir Edmund Hillary* and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay* made the first ascent in 1953.

    Last year more than 800 climbers made it to the peak of Everest, including 74 from the northern Tibet*.

    Most Everest hopefuls are escorted* by a Nepali guide, meaning more than 900 climbers will tread the path to the summit this season.

    Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring.

    20 May 2025

    Photo : British mountaineer Kenton Cool has broken his own record and climbed Everest for the 19th time. Picture: Nisha Bhandari/AFP

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      The US government has ordered immigration officials to pause raids and arrests on farms, hotels and restaurants, according to a report by the New York Times.

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      Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed the report, saying in a statement that “we will follow the president’s direction and continue to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off America’s streets.”

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      The recent protests in Los Angeles, which were triggered by large-scale immigration raids in local communities, have increased pressure on the government. This situation poses a dilemma for the president, who is seeking to maintain the support of key constituencies ahead of the upcoming congressional and midterm elections in 2026.

      Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has implemented an unprecedentedly heavy-handed immigration policy. His cabinet officials recently held meetings with ICE leadership, setting a minimum quota of 3,000 arrests per day, a mandate that has resulted in intensified immigration raids nationwide.

      The temporary suspension of the agriculture and hospitality raids likely does not represent a fundamental change in Trump’s immigration policy, which remains aggressive in rhetoric.

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      The administration has relied heavily on a crime-focused message, which places significant emphasis on apprehending individuals illegally in the country who are also violent criminals.

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