Day: August 26, 2025

In 2021, Russian climber Natalia Nagovitsina stayed with her sick husband overnight on one of Kyrgyzstan’s highest mountains and later recounted the ordeal in which he died in a documentary titled  “Stay with Khan Tengri: Tragedy on the Mountain.”

Now rescue workers and experienced climbers believe it is likely that Nagovitsina is dead after she became immobilized with a broken leg on the upper reaches of another mountain in Kyrgyzstan and efforts to bring her down in bad weather failed. Her story, and the deaths of others who scaled Pobeda Peak this year, have made for a grim high-altitude climbing season within the Central Asian country, which is celebrating its best-known climber, Eduard Kubatov, for recently reaching the summit of K2 in Pakistan without supplementary oxygen.   

Various accounts have described Nagovitsina’s ordeal since she broke a leg on August 12 on Pobeda, Kyrygzstan’s highest mountain at 7,439 meters above sea level. It lies on the border between Kyrgyzstan and China and is also known by the Kyrgyz name Jengish Chokusu (Victory Peak).

Italian climber and friend Luca Sinigaglia helped to bring food, a tent and a sleeping bag to Nagovitsina several days later, but he then fell ill and died. Subsequently, on August 16, a Kyrgyz helicopter involved in rescue operations made a hard landing, injuring some on board. On August 19, a drone filmed movement at Nagovitsina’ sleeping bag on the ridge where she was stranded, but few climbing veterans believe she could have since survived extended exposure to the brutally cold conditions on the mountain. 

“There is practically no chance” that Nagovitsina is alive after nearly two weeks on the mountain, wrote Anna Piunova, editor of Mountain.RU, a Russian website that covers climbing news.

Some climbers, including Bishkek-based Kadyr Saydilkan, bristled at any online commentators who suggested that Nagovitsina, who was in her late 40s, was to blame for the disaster, or didn’t deserve to be rescued, or shouldn’t have been on the mountain in the first place because she was a woman. 

Nagovitsina, Saydilkan said on Facebook, “fought with death for ten days and survived as long as she could. She dreamed, set goals, lived freely, with love, and pursued her dream!!! And you?”

Countries Set to Sign Critical Minerals Agreement to Counter China

In a significant move aimed at reducing dependency on Chinese resources, economy ministers from Belgium and Canada plan to sign an agreement focusing on the development of critical minerals, reports 24brussels.

The pact will target essential minerals such as lithium, rare earth elements, copper, tungsten, gallium, germanium, and nickel. These materials are vital for powering military equipment, electric vehicles, and quantum computing, which is crucial for Europe’s strategic interests.

Mark Carney, the Canadian special envoy for climate finance, highlighted that “one of the big vulnerabilities that’s been exposed by the Ukraine war, it was exposed by Covid, it’s been exposed by the changing global trade dynamics, [is] our vulnerabilities in supply chains including in critical metals and minerals.” He asserted that Canada can significantly assist in diversifying these supply chains for Germany and Europe.

Like Brussels, Berlin seeks to diminish its reliance on China for critical minerals essential to support the EU’s green, digital, and defense initiatives. Canada stands out as an attractive partner; it boasts approximately 200 mines extracting a variety of minerals and metals, many of which are deemed critical raw materials.

Several Canadian Cabinet members accompanied Carney to Berlin, including Defense Minister David McGuinty, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, and Energy Minister Tim Hodgson.

During his trip, Carney reported plans to visit Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems in Kiel on the same day, alongside Joly and McGuinty. Meanwhile, Hodgson is expected to deliver a major address to CEOs from the energy, manufacturing, and defense sectors, underlining the importance of this strategic partnership.