Briefly

TURKIYE

Elections for presidency, parliament underway

Voters in Turkiye were heading to the polls on Sunday for landmark parliamentary and presidential elections that were expected to be tightly contested and could be the biggest challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces in his two decades in power. The vote will either grant Erdogan a new five-year term in office or set the country on a different path. Polling began at 8 am local time and was scheduled to close at 5 pm. Media organizations were barred from reporting partial results until 9 pm. There were no exit polls.

SOMALIA

Heavy rain causes flooding, displaces 200,000 people

About 200,000 people have been displaced due to flash flooding in central Somalia, a regional official said on Saturday, as the Shabelle River burst its banks and submerged roads. Inhabitants of Beledweyne town in Hiran region were forced out of their homes as heavy rainfall caused water levels to rise sharply. "It is a preliminary figure now," said Ali Osman Hussein, deputy governor for social affairs in the region.

NEPAL

Sherpa guide scales Qomolangma for 26th time

A Sherpa guide on Sunday scaled Qomolangma, known as Mount Everest in the West, for the 26th time, matching the record set by a fellow Nepalese guide for the most ascents of the world's highest peak. Pasang Dawa Sherpa reached the summit along with a Hungarian climber, according to the expedition organizer Imagine Nepal Treks. The season's first wave of climbers reached the summit this weekend as Sherpa guides fixed ropes and made paths for the hundreds of climbers who will attempt to scale the peak over the next few weeks.

Agencies Via Xinhua