Global Briefs: Fraudulent mountain rescues in Nepal

Nepal

Police have charged 32 suspected hospital workers, trekking company owners, and helicopter operators who benefited financially from more than 300 mountain hikers’ fraudulent rescues. On April 7, the police, tourism board, and aviation officials created a joint task force to prevent further fraud. Between 2022 and 2025, guides allegedly exaggerated hikers’ medical­situations, laced hikers’ food with baking powder to mimic gastric distress, or told tired hikers to fake sickness. They then recommended hikers call a helicopter for evacuation. Helicopter operators billed insurance companies multiple full-price bills for the same trip, sometimes totaling $31,000. Nepal’s Central Investigation Bureau says the network has defrauded international insurance companies of $20 million and damaged the reputation of Nepal’s tourism industry. —Amy Lewis

Argentina

Amid environmental protests, lawmakers approved a controversial bill on April 9 promoted by President Javier Milei that authorizes mining for metals in ecologically sensitive areas of glaciers. Argentina has nearly 17,000 rock glaciers—a mix of rock and ice—according to a 2018 inventory, and the Central Bank of Argentina said mining exports could triple by 2030. But in the northwest, where mining is concentrated, glacial reserves have shrunk by 17% in the last decade. Enrique Viale, president of the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers, said the legislation threatens the water supply for 70% of Argentinians. Milei countered that environmentalists “would rather see us starve than have anything touched.” Environ­mentalist groups have vowed to challenge the bill in court. —Olalekan Raji

Mexico

Divers April 9 rescued a miner who survived 14 days trapped underground in a flooded gold mine. In late March a dam burst in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa, flooding the mine with 25 people inside. Most escaped immediately, but four, including Francisco Zapata Nájera, remained trapped while temperatures inside the mine reached 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Rescuers took 13 days to find Nájera, 42, and initially unable to move him, left him another 21 hours with drinking water, cans of tuna, and energy bars. After lowering the water level with pumps, army divers finally extracted Nájera. Last year saw a worldwide rise in mining fatalities, a trend that has continued into 2026, with over 231 people already perishing in mining accidents so far. —Evangeline Schmitt

Italy

The Adriatic seaside town of Riccione bought Benito Mussolini’s former vacation home in early April for 1.2 million euros to prevent it from becoming a shrine to the dead dictator. Other places significant to Mussolini, like his grave in the town of Predappio, have become gathering places for neofascist groups, and when the villa came up for auction this year, prospective buyers included fans of Mussolini. The dictator, who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943, used the villa as a summer getaway. Riccione will use the home as an events center, but will keep the name Villa Mussolini. “Yes, the name evokes an ugly story,” says Mayor Daniela Angelini. “But you can’t erase it, you must tell it in the right way.” —Evangeline Schmitt

Rwanda

The government of Africa’s most densely populated country is mapping agricultural land and using satellite imagery to track any development encroaching on farmland and forests. To promote food security, authorities in the capital Kigali have set aside almost a quarter of city land for agriculture and have imposed fines of up to $3,000 and jail terms up to six months on developers found to be encroaching. In a country roughly the size of Maryland, the current population of 15 million is expected to reach 22 million in a few years and faces an expected housing shortage. Kigali now requires developers seeking building permits to include green space and gardens in their designs. —Olalekan Raji

Bangladesh

Amid a worldwide fertilizer shortage due to Iran’s near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Bangladesh on April 8 asked neighboring India to supply more fertilizer, a request India said it would consider. The waterway closure has disrupted about one-third of the global fertilizer trade, threatening food security and food prices. Gulf Arab nations are major producers of urea, the most commonly used nitrogen-based fertilizer. They are also significant exporters of liquefied natural gas, a raw material for fertilizer production. The fertilizer crunch has prompted farmers in Australia and the United States to switch to growing crops requiring less urea, such as barley and soybeans, while planting less wheat, canola, and corn. —Joyce Wu