
Pandemic Gives Loan Sharks More Prey
Voice of America
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Business partners “Noradhiah” and “Shahirah,” who asked that their real names and the type of small business they own not be disclosed, sit nervously, fidgeting in their chairs, as the phone call gets underway.
They listen and watch as a case manager for the Muslim Consumer Association Malaysia talks with a loan shark’s henchman. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can download this video to view it offline. The case manager tells the henchman that they’re going to negotiate a deal that will bring a close to all business between the loan shark and Noradhiah and Shahirah The henchman says they owe the equivalent of nearly $1,000.
Local officials and navy personnel attend a joint Iranian, Russian and Chinese military drill in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, on March 12, 2025. (Iranian Army Office via AFP) Chinese navy troops attending a joint naval drill with Iran and Russia stand on the deck of their warship in an official arrival ceremony at Shahid Beheshti port in Chabahar in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, on March 11, 2025.

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