In brief: Sherpa team reaches Mount Everest’s peak

Katmandu, Nepal – A Chinese woman and five Sherpa guides have scaled Mount Everest, becoming the first team to reach the peak from the Nepal side since a deadly avalanche last month sent climbers home, officials said Saturday.

Wang Zing, 40, and her Nepalese guides reached the 29,035-foot summit on Friday, said Nepalese Tourism Ministry official Dipendra Paudel. They were all safe and returning to lower camps.

An avalanche on April 18 swept the route near the base camp, killing 16 Sherpa guides. After the disaster, the guides refused to continue for different reasons, including out of respect for their dead colleagues. Some said they were too shaken to go up the mountain, while others were angry at the government’s slow response to help families of the fallen Sherpas.

All the teams eventually decided to cancel their expeditions. The government then issued an incentive saying they could come back any time in the next five years without paying permit fees.

3 shot, 1 wounded at Jewish Museum

Brussels – Three people were shot dead and a fourth seriously wounded in an armed attack at the Jewish Museum in Brussels on Saturday, officials said. Police detained one suspect and were looking for a second.

The bloodshed, which came on the eve of national and European Parliament elections, led officials to immediately raise anti-terror measures.

Interior Minister Joelle Milquet told reporters that the shooter apparently parked a car outside before entering the Jewish Museum. She added the gunman “apparently fired rather quickly, went outside and left.”

The three dead were two women and a man, and all were struck by bullets in the face or throat.