Nepal's Fake Helicopter Rescue Scam

Mount Everest guides in Nepal ran a fake helicopter rescue racket to dupe insurance companies in Australia and the UK, as part of a $20m fraud scheme, according to an investigation by the Nepali police. 

Investigations by the paper revealed that the guides first staged a medical emergency, called in a helicopter, and checked tourists into a hospital. An insurance claim was then filed, which made it difficult for the foreign insurers, mostly operating from Australia and the UK, to verify incidents that purportedly happened at altitudes of 3,000 meters above sea level in remote Himalayan locations, according to the report. 

The newspaper first published an investigative report in 2019 about the alleged scam. While Nepalese authorities did not immediately act on the allegations, in 2025 the Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) reopened the case and found that the practice is widespread. 

The CIB probe revealed two methods the guides used to fake an emergency, according to the report. 

The first involved tourists who did not want to trek back down from high-altitude points. After an Everest Base Camp trek, which can take up to two weeks on foot, the scammers convinced tourists unwilling to trek back to pretend to be sick. They were then ferried back in a helicopter. 

In the second method, guides exploited mild and common symptoms of altitude sickness, and then told the tourists that only an immediate evacuation could save their lives. The guides also ferried multiple tourists in a single chopper, while supplying separate invoices to each passenger’s insurance company, portraying it as a dedicated flight, inflating claims of $4,000 to as high as $12,000, the report said. Medical officers acting in concert with scammers prepared discharge summaries using the digital signatures of senior doctors, while creating fake hospital admission records. 

Official investigators found that 4,782 foreign patients were treated across local hospitals between 2022 and 2025 in the scam. Some hospitals that received millions linked to the scam have also been identified, according to the report. 

On March 12, the CIB charged 32 people with offenses against the state and arrested nine of them. The other suspects are believed to be on the run.

Malaysia's Asian Cup Dream is Over

Malaysia has been knocked out of contention for the 2027 Asian Cup after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Tuesday overturned their qualifying wins over Nepal and Vietnam, saying the national team fielded players who were not eligible to represent the country. 

The AFC’s disciplinary ruling converted both matches into 3-0 forfeits for Malaysia, leaving them six points behind Vietnam at the top of Group F and removing any mathematical possibility of advancing, with one game to go. 

The Football Association of Malaysia were also fined $50,000 to be paid within 30 days. The association did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The sanctions from the continent's football governing body came in the wake of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) partially upholding the sanctions laid down by FIFA on the seven footballers who played for Malaysia using falsified naturalisation documents, ruling they would serve a 12-month suspension from official matches only. 

The CAS also upheld FIFA's 350,000 Swiss franc ($444,275) fine on FAM.

Liverpool had beaten Brighton & Hove Albion twice this season, winning 3-0 against them in the Premier League and 2-0 in the FA Cup. Therefore, you'd be forgiven for believing that it would be a walk in the park for the reigning champions again in yesterday's match in Sussex.

It wasn't to be. Liverpool suffered a 2-1 loss.

The Reds conceded as early as the fourteenth minute. It's entirely their own doing. Giorgi Mamardashvili lost the ball carelessly and from the resulting throw-in, the Seagulls nodded in from close range. 

But Reds levelled sixteen minutes later when a Brighton defender decided to head back a high ball without looking behind him and that was costly as Milos Kerkez nipped in to flick the ball over the goalie.

In the 56th minute, the same Brighton scorer netted again from close range. 

This was their 10th Premier League defeat of the season; you have to go back a decade to find the last time they lost that many times in the league. 

The defeat leaves Liverpool in fifth place in the Premier League table, but could drop further down the standings if results elsewhere go against them. 

They will be back in action only on April 04, when they face Manchester City in the quarter-final of the FA Cup, with their next league fixture on April 11 against Fulham.

Donald Trump’s 75-country US Visa Suspension Challenged

A group of United States citizens and immigrant rights bodies have launched a lawsuit seeking to challenge the sweeping suspension of immigrant visa processing for 75 countries by the administration of President Donald Trump.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday, argues that the Trump administration has relied on a false narrative to justify the visa processing suspension, one of the most substantial restrictions on legal immigration in the country’s history. 

The lawsuit charges that the policy “constitutes an unlawful nationality-based ban on legal immigration and a new set of discriminatory, unlawful public charge rules that strips families and working people of the process guaranteed by law”, according to a case overview by the National Immigration Law Center, which are among the groups supporting the legal challenge. 

The sprawling 106-page complaint further alleges that the administration relies “on an unsupported and demonstrably false claim that nationals of the covered countries migrate to the United States to improperly rely on cash welfare and are likely to become ‘public charges'”. 

The State Department has described the action, announced in mid-January, as a “pause” on immigrant visa processing on “countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates”. 

The department have not revealed the criteria it used to determine which countries were added to the list, which comes amid a wider effort to constrict legal immigration pathways into the US and to deport undocumented citizens from the country. 

According to a January 14 state department cable obtained by the Guardian, the sweeping list cuts across every major region of the world, spanning countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and eastern Europe. 

Amongst the affected countries include Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Syria, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

Scotland Achieve World Cup Dream

It's football news only this morning!

Scotland qualify for their first World Cup since 1998 yesterday when they beat Denmark 4-2 on a night of twists and turns at Glasgow's Hampden Park. 👏👏👏

The Scots took the lead in just the third minute courtesy of a phenomenal Scott McTominay overhead kick but the Danes levelled from the penalty spot in the 57th minute. The Scots were back in front when Lawrence Shankland turned in a corner from Lewis Ferguson in the 78th minute only for the other side to side-foot home minutes later to level at 2-2. 

And then Scotland scored two dramatic stoppage-time goals. Substitute Kieran Tierney restored the home side's lead in the 93rd minute from outside the box. And then came a sensational fourth from fellow substitute Kenny McLean, who lifted the ball over the Denmark goalkeeper from the halfway line. 

Scotland finish as Group C winners with 13 points, two clear of Denmark, ranked 18 places above them.

Meanwhile, Malaysia close their 2025 season unbeaten after edging Nepal 1-0 in their AFC Asian Cup 2027 Group F third-round qualifier at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on the same day. 

Harimau Malaya's winner came in the 55th minute via Faisal Halim, who coolly slotted the ball past the Nepali goalkeeper after a brilliant through ball from playmaker Safawi Rasid. 

Malaysia remain firmly atop Group F with 15 points from five matches and need only a draw with Vietnam in their last group game on March 31 next year to book their spot at the 2027 Asian Cup.

Harimau Malaya Pull Out of CAFA Cup

I just read the disappointing news this morning. After weeks of hype, Harimau Malaya's debut at the CAFA Nations Cup has been called off, with the national team pulling out due to logistical hurdles and player availability issues. 

World No. 125 Malaysia were drawn in Group B alongside Asian giants Iran (No. 18), Tajikistan (No. 104) and Afghanistan (No. 161). The matches were scheduled to take place in Tajikistan from August 29-September 08. But with the tournament set just outside the official FIFA international window (September 01-09), the national team struggled to secure key players, particularly those based overseas in Spain, Argentina and Colombia. 

Clubs are not obliged to release players outside the window. 

"With the matches being played in Tajikistan, logistical operations become very difficult," said national coach Peter Cklamovski (left) on Wednesday. "It's a difficult scenario for our players to get there and be ready to go. I'll never want to compromise the players. I want us at full strength". 

Malaysia had planned to use the tournament as part of their long-term development strategy, and Cklamovski admitted he had lofty ambitions. 

"I wanted to go into this tournament to win it", he declared. "But once the fixtures were released a few days ago, it became clear that it would be tough. We have to respect the clubs". 

Besides player availability, the tight schedule and travel logistics posed major challenges, especially with FIFA's newly enforced 72-hour recovery rule between games. Long-haul flights, rising costs and preparation issues only compounded the problem. 

"We've got players in Spain, Colombia, Argentina. It's difficult to get them there", said Cklamovski. "Then there's the impact on the budget – all that effort to arrive under-strength. It just doesn't make sense". 

He insists the decision to withdraw was the right one. 

"It's a smart call. What's more important now is to use the September window wisely and focus on October and November, especially with big matches coming up against Laos and Nepal (in the Asian Cup qualifiers)". 

While the withdrawal may come as a letdown for fans eager to see Harimau Malaya tested, the FA of Malaysia and Cklamovski believe it is a necessary step in the push for long-term progress. 

Malaysian women's doubles Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan made a confident start at the Japan Open by beating reigning European champions Gabriela Stoeva-Stefani Stoeva in the opening round on Wednesday. 

The world No. 3 needed just 31 minutes to dispatch the world No. 16 Bulgarian sisters 21-16, 21-14. 

The duo will next face either Taiwan's Hsieh Pei Shan-Hung En Tzu or the United States' Francesca Corbett-Jennie Gai in the second round.

Tortoises Rescued from Ninja Turtle Gang

Malaysian authorities have rescued hundreds of smuggled tortoises meant for sale in Southeast Asia, disrupting an international crime gang, a wildlife official said on Thursday. 

 

Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim (left) wildlife and national parks department (Perhilitan) director-general, said 400 tortoises worth RM3.8 million ($805,084) bound for the lucrative exotic pet trade were seized during an operation by the police and wildlife officials on Saturday.

 

Across Asia, many believe that tortoises bring good luck and prosperity.

 

"This is the biggest ever seizure in the past 10 years", Abdul Kadir told AFP, adding that the reptiles were to be sold on to Thailand and Indonesia after local demand was met. He said the tortoises were believed to have been smuggled from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. 

 

The joint operation, codenamed "United National Resource", crippled the tortoise smuggling ring known as the "Ninja Turtle Gang", he added. 

 

The operation involved a car chase in which the driver of a vehicle thought to be used in the smuggling was arrested. The driver subsequently led the enforcement officers to a location where rare three-keeled land turtles (Scientific name: Melanochelys tricarinata) and Indian star tortoises (Scientific name: Geochelone elegans) were being kept. 

 

Commercial trade in the Indian star tortoise was banned in 2019.

 

"The strategic location of Malaysia in Southeast Asia makes the country a hub for the smuggling of these exotic species", Abdul Kadir explained. The tortoises are illegally brought into Malaysia by road or in suitcases by smugglers aboard commercial flights. 

 

Traffic, a wildlife NGO, has previously said that Southeast Asian countries "function as source, consumer and as entrepots for wildlife originating from within the region as well as the rest of the world".

Please Pick Up Your Own Poop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oxygen? Check. Crampons? Check. Poop bags?… Check. 

Those aspiring to climb Everest this year will have to make some adjustments to their packing list, as new rules now mandate that climbers bring their excrement down with them from the world’s highest peak, in a bid to tackle pollution. 

 

Most people who attempt to climb the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) Mount Everest do so via Nepal, paying $11,000 apiece just for the climbing permit. With gear, food, supplemental oxygen, Sherpa guides and more, it costs upward of $35,000 to take on the mountain. 

 

But the world’s highest peak has a poop problem, driven by the number of visitors, and the harsh conditions on the mountain, which interfere with the degradation process. 

 

“The problem of human waste on Everest was very bad”, Diwas Pokhrel, first vice president of Everest Summiteers Association, told CNN, adding that at the mountain’s highest points, it was “polluting the mountain environment”. 

 

Without the new rules, the poo problem was highly likely to get worse: Last year, Nepal gave out a record 478 climbing permits to climb the peak. Twelve climbers were confirmed to have died on the mountain, while another five remain officially missing. 

 

Jinesh Sindurakar of the Nepal Mountaineering Association told CNN that an estimated 1,200 people will be on Everest this season. 

 

“Each person produces 250 grams (8.8 ounces) of excrement a day and they will spend 2 weeks on the higher camps for the summit push”, Sindurakar explained, adding that each climber will be given two poop bags, which can each be used six times. The bags contain chemicals to solidify the human waste and make it odorless, Sindurakar said, and Nepal’s Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality will issue some 8,000 bags this season. 

 

Efforts to reduce the impact of tourism on the Himalayas have stepped up, with 35,708 kilograms of waste and plastics removed from peaks including Everest, Lhotse, Annapurna and Baruntse through an initiative led by the Nepali Army, according to the Himalayan Times.

Malaysia Records Worst CPI Score in a Decade

The latest global watchdog Transparency International’s annual report was released yesterday and the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index shows that most countries are failing to stop corruption. 

 

The CPI ranks countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, scoring on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). The global average remains unchanged for over a decade at just 43 out of 100. 

 

And more than two-thirds of countries score below 50, while 26 countries have fallen to their lowest scores yet. Despite concerted efforts and hard-won gains by some, 155 countries have made no significant progress against corruption or have declined since 2012. 

 

Not surprisingly, Malaysia continued its slide, managing only 47 out of 100 possible points – its worst performance in a decade. 

 

TI’s piece “CPI 2022 for Asia-Pacific: Basic freedoms restricted as anti-corruption efforts neglected” published yesterday identified the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As well as this narrative on Malaysia: 

 

“Malaysia’s (47) statistically significant decline is indicative of its ongoing struggle with grand corruption. The 1MDB scandal – first uncovered in 2016 – is considered one of the largest exposés of corruption in the world, implicating banks, celebrities and institutions across six countries. In 2022, former Prime Minister Najib Razak was sent to jail for his involvement. Yet this doesn’t even cover the full extent of corruption at the highest level in the country: in December the Anti-Corruption Commission opened a new investigation into a different prime minister¹ who allegedly misappropriated over $136 billion in government funds during his term. The current prime minister promised to clean up after ongoing scandals, but as part of efforts to stabilise his unity government appointed a deputy prime minister² with a number of serious corruption allegations against him, potentially inviting new risks”. 

 

Muhammad Mohan, the chairperson of the local chapter TI-Malaysia, said despite an "improvement" in the ranking from 62nd previously to 61st, Malaysia’s score continued to fall after reaching its height of 53 points in 2019. 

 

He listed the reasons for the low score, which included the lack of political will in fighting institutional corruption in the government, huge Covid-19 pandemic stimulus packages that were rolled out without parliamentary debate and scrutiny, appointing unqualified politicians to head government-linked companies, and the reluctance to firmly address cost overruns such as the Littoral Combat Ship project. 

Nothing new lah, as far as Malaysia is concerned.

 

¹ Muhyiddin Yassin
² Ahmad Zahid Hamidi