Foreign News
Climbing star, 23, dies after falling from Yosemite’s El Capitan
An Alaskan climbing influencer has died after falling from El Capitan, a famous vertical rock formation in California’s Yosemite National Park.
Balin Miller, 23, was live-streamed on TikTok ascending and subsequently falling from the monolith on Wednesday.
In an emotional social media post confirming her son’s death, his mother Jeanine Girard-Moorman said: “My heart is shattered in a million pieces. I don’t know how I will get through this. I love him so much. I want to wake up from this horrible nightmare.”
Details of what caused the incident are not clear, but Miller’s brother Dylan told AFP he was lead rope soloing – a technique that enables climbing alone while still protected by a rope – on a 2,400ft (730m) route named Sea of Dreams.
He had finished the climb and was hauling up equipment when he likely rappelled off the end of his rope, Dylan said.
Tom Evans, a Yosemite-based photographer who witnessed Miller fall, told Climbing magazine he called 911 after Miller tried to free his bag, which was stuck on a rock.
Originally from Anchorage, Miller grew up climbing with his father and brother.
He was an accomplished alpinist and gained international attention for claiming the first solo ascent of Mount McKinley’s Slovak Direct, which took him 56 hours to complete, according to a post on his Instagram in June.
“He’s had probably one of the most impressive last six months of climbing of anyone I can think of,” veteran alpinist Clint Helander told the Anchorage Daily News in July.
Another renowned Alaskan climber Mark Westman, compared him to Alex Honnold, who became the first person to free solo a full route on El Capitan.
Miller’s death came on the first day of the federal government shutdown, which left national parks “generally” open, with limited operations and closed visitors centres.
The National Park Service said in a statement that they were investigating the incident and “park rangers and emergency personnel responded immediately.”
Miller had spent weeks solo climbing in Patagonia and the Canadian Rockies, completing a notoriously difficult ice climb called Reality Bath, which had been unrepeated for 37 years, according to Climbing magazine.
He was known affectionately as the “Orange Tent Guy”, due to his distinctive campsite at the base of El Capitan.
El Capitan, an enormous sheer granite rock face of approximately 3,000 feet (915 meters), is a major landmark in the national park and entices big-wall rock climbers from all over the world.
Miller’s death marks the third at the Californian national park this year. In June, an 18-year-old from Texas died in the park while climbing without a rope on a different formation.
And in August, a 29-year-old hiker died after being struck in the head by a large tree branch.
[BBC]
A court in Malta has acquitted businessman Yorgen Fenech of masterminding the murder of prominent anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Fenech, 44, was acquitted on Wednesday at the end of a jury trial. He had been tried on charges of complicity to murder and for the lesser charge of criminal association to commit murder.
If found guilty, Fenech could have faced life in prison.
Caruana Galizia’s family were seen weeping in the packed courtroom in Valletta after the businessman was cleared of both counts by an 8-1 margin following eight hours of deliberation by the jury.
“Nine years after Daphne’s brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed,” the slain reporter’s family said in a statement.
“Lasting justice means no person should ever face the same risks again. Our country failed to protect Daphne’s life. It owes it to her to prevent other lives being lost.”
Fenech’s family members were seen celebrating the jury’s decision.
The killing of Caruana Galizia in October 2017 shocked Europe’s journalist community and set off a political firestorm in Malta, focusing international attention on its police and judiciary.
Dubbed a “one-woman WikiLeaks”, Caruana Galizia had exposed corruption at the highest level in the Mediterranean island country, shining a spotlight on links between Malta’s business and political elites. She was 53 when she was killed.
Prosecutors argued that Fenech had wanted Caruana Galizia killed because she was about to reveal information about him.
Fenech has denied the accusations. His defence instead pointed fingers at his one-time friend Keith Schembri, the former chief of staff of then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and a target of Caruana Galizia’s blogs.
Muscat, who was never linked to the murder, stepped down in January 2020 due to the political fallout from the assassination.
Police told the court that Schembri had never been a suspect. He has denied any role in the murder.
An independent inquiry in 2021 found that officials in Malta had failed to protect Caruana Galizia from threats to her life before her death.
[Aljazeera]
A head teacher’s quick decision to evacuate his school saved 900 pupils from deadly flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border
Rajendra Dawadi tells the BBC he was tipped off about incoming flood waters and moved students to higher ground with just minutes to spare. One pupil says she and her friends survived by just 10 seconds and watched as a nearby bazaar was swept away
Wednesday’s disaster has killed at least 794 people and more than 2,500 people are missing in Nepal, local officials say
In Tibet, the official death toll is 16, with 546 reported to be missing, according to Chinese state media –
[BBC]
A ferry carrying around 260 people has capsized off the coast of northern Cyprus with a search underway for survivors, according to local media.
The catamaran-style boat was travelling from the port of Kyrenia, also known as Girne, and started sinking a few kilometres off the coast of the island state on Sunday.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
[Aljazeera]
Shree Charani, Prema Rawat spin Pakistan out for 55 in one-sided contest
Sun directly overhead Bentota, Thiniyawala, Iththakanda, Udawalawe, and Kataragama about 12.08 noon t9day (06)
Showers above 75 mm are likely at some places in the Uva and Eastern provinces.
Tharanga creates history with Diamond League crown in Brussels
UN welcomes Lanka’s anti-graft drive, seeks end to impunity
Dispute which triggered listed company director being detained at BIA resolved
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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