Remaining stranded hikers rescued near Everest/node/2618123/world
Remaining stranded hikers rescued near Everest
Above, villagers with their oxen and horses ascend the mountain during rescue efforts to reach hundreds of hikers trapped by heavy snow at tourist campsites on a slope of Mount Everest in Tibet on Oct. 5, 2025. (Lingsuiye via AP)
Tourism in the vast, high-altitude area in China’s western edge has increased in recent years
But an intense blizzard over the weekend buried camps and complicated travel
Updated 08 October 2025
AFP
BEIJING: Nearly 1,000 hikers and support personnel have returned to safety after heavy snowfall stranded them over the weekend on the Tibetan Plateau near Mount Everest, Chinese state media reported.
Tourism in the vast, high-altitude area in China’s western edge has increased in recent years, and outdoor enthusiasts flocked to its famous trekking spots for this year’s eight-day national holiday that concludes Wednesday.
But an intense blizzard over the weekend buried camps and complicated travel, sparking a large-scale rescue operation involving firefighters, horses, yaks and drones.
In total, “580 hikers and more than 300 personnel, including local guides and yak herders, have arrived safely” in a nearby township, state news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday evening.
“Local staff are organizing their return journeys in an orderly manner,” the report said, adding that “about a dozen” additional hikers had been brought by rescue teams to a meeting point with supplies.
Their return to safety brings an end to rescue efforts in the mountainous Chinese region, though the unexpected extreme conditions have wrought further damage in nearby areas.
In the mountains of neighboring Qinghai province, one hiker died from hypothermia and altitude sickness, state media reported Monday.
Over the border in Nepal and India, landslides and floods triggered by heavy downpours killed more than 70 people, officials said Monday, as rescue workers struggled to reach cut-off communities in remote mountainous terrain.
Once a shadowy dealmaker, one-time Zelensky associate is accused in Ukrainian corruption scandal
Tymur Mindich was a shadowy presence – navigating deals and moving behind the scenes with unseen influence
Mindich was linked to growing fears over his expanding influence within the country’s lucrative industries
Updated 8 sec ago
AP
KYIV: Before the revelation of a multi-million dollar embezzlement and kickbacks scandal involving Ukraine’s state nuclear energy company brought his name to the forefront, Tymur Mindich was a shadowy presence – navigating deals and moving behind the scenes with unseen influence, known to many, yet rarely spoken of. Mindich was linked to growing fears over his expanding influence within the country’s lucrative industries, his access facilitated by his ties to President Volodymyr Zelensky. The two were once business partners and Mindich’s influence had expanded under Zelensky’s tenure. The full extent of that influence was exposed this week when Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs released the findings of a 15-month investigation into a $100 million embezzlement scheme involving top officials and Ukraine’s state nuclear power company, accusing Mindich of being the mastermind behind the plot. Mindich has fled the country, with any criminal proceedings against him likely to be carried out in absentia. Two top government ministers have resigned. Ukrainian officials, experts and activists contend Mindich’s rise to power is closely tied to his privileged relationship with the president and Zelensky’s inner circle. “What we were hearing only as rumors now has some evidence,” said activist Tetiana Shevchuk, of Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center. “For a long time we have heard that Tymur Mindich is a shadow controller of the energy sector.” The entertainment tycoon Until Zelensky’s presidency, Mindich, 46, was just one among many wealthy Ukrainian entertainment industry entrepreneurs. Mindich was a co-owner of Zelensky’s production company Kvartal 95, named for the comedy troupe that helped catapult the Ukrainian president to fame as a comedian before he entered politics. Zelensky transferred his stake in the company to his partners after he was elected. Despite expanding his business portfolio since Zelensky’s election, Mindich maintained ties to the entertainment world. Until the corruption probe was exposed this week, he was a producer of the comedy show “Stadium Family” on YouTube. In light of the scandal and his tarnished reputation, the show’s owners shut it down this week. He is also a relative of Leonid Mindich, who was arrested by Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs in June when he was trying to flee the country, according to local reports; he was charged with embezzling $16 million from an electric power company. Rise under Zelensky Zelensky and Mindich’s close friendship is documented. The president used Mindich’s armored car during the final stretch of his presidential campaign in 2019. In January 2021, Zelensky celebrated his birthday in Mindich’s apartment during COVID. The two own apartments in the same building. After Zelensky’s 2019 presidential win, Mindich’s political ties grew. He was a close business associate of Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky, who backed Zelensky’s presidential campaign. Zelensky later cut ties with the billionaire and in 2023 Kolomoysky was arrested by Ukrainian security services on fraud and money-laundering charges. Businesses once associated with Kolomoysky began claiming that Mindich was now their beneficiary. “Gradually, in three years, he became, not an oligarch, but a known businessman with an interest in a lot of businesses,” said Shevchuk, the anti-corruption activist. They include agricultural enterprises and the nationalized SENSE bank. But, his name appeared most often in association with state energy companies, according to current and former Ukrainian officials, activists and experts. Ukrainian activists contend that without his close association with Zelensky, it would have been impossible for Mindich to cement his rise. Mindich “would have never been in politics, never been in a position of power or business without his connection to Zelensky, and this magnitude is worse because it’s happening during war time, and it is related to energy infrastructure at a time when Ukrainians don’t have electricity in their homes,” Shevchuk said. An alleged mastermind The case against Mindich rests on 1,000 hours of wiretaps revealing his significant influence over Herman Haluschenko, Ukraine’s energy minister from 2021-2025 until he was named justice minister in July. Haluschenko resigned that post after the investigation became public this week. While rarely named as a direct beneficiary in official documents, investigators cite extensive wire-tapping evidence they allege shows Mindich exerted control over a network of loyalists who pressured contractors for Energoatom, the state nuclear power company, demanding kickbacks of up to 15 percent to bypass bureaucratic obstacles and do business smoothly. Investigators allege the illicit funds were siphoned off, laundered through shell companies and funneled into Mindich’s pockets and those of his associates. These findings collected by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, known as NABU, and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, or SAPO will be central to any future court proceedings. A possible drone dealer NABU is also conducting an investigation into Mindich’s alleged dealings with Ukraine’s top drone manufacturer, Fire Point, but has not yet revealed its findings. Fire Point, which develops deep-strike drones capable of hitting targets inside Russian territory, has denied any such dealings. Ukraine’s domestic drone industry has seen a swift and remarkable rise, fueled by wartime innovation and urgent military demands. What was once a niche sector quickly evolved into a formidable technological force within just a few years. Fire Point is among local companies and startups that have rapidly developed advanced drones for reconnaissance, surveillance and combat operations, supported by growing investments. The NABU investigation is looking into whether Mindich is the ultimate beneficiary of the company.
