A Pakistani inquiry will look into the circumstances of the death of Muhammad Hassan, 25, a mountain porter who accompanied an international team in their attempt to climb K2, the world's second-highest peak.
Reports said that during the push to the summit on July 27, Mr Hassan fell from a narrow path known as the Bottleneck on the 8,600-metre mountain.
Until his attempt to scale the mountain, Mr Hassan had limited his climbing to the K2 base camp but decided to go to the summit to earn more money to treat his mother, who is in poor health.
“Hassan had told me he wanted to earn enough before winter to be able to shift the family to an area with moderate weather,” Mr Hassan’s brother Muhammad Hussain told The National.
“Our mother suffers from asthma and has trouble breathing. This area’s weather is too harsh for her.”
Tourism authorities in Pakistan's Gilgit Baltistan, who are responsible for climbing permits, said on Friday they had opened an inquiry into the incident.
Mr Hassan was an employee of Lela Peak Expedition. Seven Summit Club, a company offering services to mountaineers, had assigned him to assist the rope fixers during the summit push.
A dispute broke out in the climbing community after a video emerged that appeared to show a train of climbers stepping past Mr Hassan to reach the top.
Drone footage posted on social media showed the team of Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila, who was heading to the summit in a world record attempt to become the fastest climber to climb all peaks above 8,000 metres, leaving behind the injured Mr Hassan in a condition that purportedly led to his death.
Mr Hassan was not part of Ms Harila's team.
She told the BBC that she and her team tried everything to help Mr Hassan, denying accusations that he was left to die.
He is survived by three sons.
“It is a tragedy that the team, which Hassan was part of, could not even bring his body with them when they descended from K2,” Mr Hussain said.
“If someone from an affluent family were to face such a tragedy, a helicopter would have been used to rescue the body. In this country, no one cares about the poor.”
K2, on the Chinese-Pakistani border in the Karakoram range, has a deadly reputation, with climbers most often dying on the descent, where the slightest mistake can trigger an avalanche.
Only a few hundred climbers have reached the summit.
In contrast, the summit of Mount Everest has been reached more than 9,000 times.
Last village
Iskolai is the last village from the mountaineers begin their journey to K2's summit.
Accompanying the mountaineers are porters, each of whom carries up to 25kg of luggage to base camp.
High-altitude porters take over at base camp and accompany the mountaineers to the summit.
While the Iskolai-to-base camp porters earn 1,500 rupees ($5) for each trip, the charges increase up to 5,000 rupees for the high-altitude porters.
“Some high-altitude porters go ahead of their team to fix ropes during the climb, this is why their job is very difficult,” said Hamza Murad, who serves as assistant commissioner of the district.
Mr Murad told The National it was not possible to recover Mr Hassan’s body from the Bottleneck, where it is lying at an altitude of more than 7,900 metres, because of the harsh conditions.
“Even a helicopter cannot go there to rescue it,” he said.
Mr Hussain also used to work as a porter but was advised not to climb the mountains because his feet were affected with a disease.
“Hassan was the lone breadwinner for our family,” he said.
Neighbour Ahmed Chotsar said Mr Hassan was a hardworking porter.
“Several porters work only for a few months of the year, but Hassan used to work in these extremely cold area all round the year,” he said.
Ayaz Shigri, who serves as president of the Baltistan Tour Operators Association, told The National that a big problem for local mountaineers was the lack of proper training.
While the government had announced plans to set up a mountaineering school in the area several years ago, they were not put into action, he said.
Also, he said the local mountaineers and high-altitude porters often use second-hand equipment and many do not have equipment of the calibre used by the foreign climbers.
Mr Hassan was “not properly equipped for the climb”, wearing neither a down suit nor gloves, Ms Harila wrote on Instagram.
The Bottleneck area is considered the riskiest point on the final K2 ascent.
Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara died on K2 along with a fellow climber in February 2021.
Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari
The specs: 2018 Maserati Ghibli
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Fuel economy, combined: 8.9L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE SIXTH SENSE
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Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
The Vile
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What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
'Project Power'
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback
Director: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
Rating: 3.5/5
'Tell the Machine Goodnight' by Katie Williams
Penguin Randomhouse
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie
Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
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RESULTS
Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18
Women
1 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:16
2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14
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Director: Nick Bruno and Troy Quane
Stars: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan and Roshida Jones
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
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The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
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- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Brief scores:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
SUZUME
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Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.