The Times - UK (2020-10-14)

(Antfer) #1

34 1GM Wednesday October 14 2020 | the times


Wo r l d


The South Korean boy band BTS,
one of the world’s most successful
pop groups, has provoked anger in
China after one of its members made
seemingly innocuous remarks about
the Korean War.
Samsung electronics, Hyundai
motors and the sportswear company
Fila removed BTS from their adver-
tising in China after criticism online
and in a Beijing tabloid newspaper.
It began after the seven members
of the band were presented with an
award by the Korea Society of the
United States for their contribution
to US-South Korea relations.
In accepting the honour, Kim

Pop group’s China crisis after war tribute


Nam-joon, who goes by the name
RM or Rap Monster, referred to the
1950-53 war. “The Korea Society
2020 Gala is especially meaningful as
this year marks the 70th anniversary
of the Korean War,” he told a ceremo-
ny held by video last week. “We will
always remember the history
of pain that our two
nations shared to-
gether and the sac-
rifices of countless
men and women.”
The war was
fought by South

Korea and a US-led United Nations
force against North Korea and China.
Some of BTS’s Chinese fans suggest-
ed that Kim’s words had dismissed
Chinese troops’ suffering. The state-
run Global Times said the remarks
“reflected a one-sided attitude”.
In 2018 BTS’s appearance on a
Japanese TV show
was pulled after
another mem-
ber of the
band wore a
T-shirt cel-
ebrating the
dropping of
atomic
bombs on
Hiroshima
and Nagasaki.

South Korea


Richard Lloyd Parry Asia Editor


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H

undreds of
volunteers
have joined
firefighters
on Mount
Kilimanjaro for a third
day to battle flames that
can be seen more than
20 miles away (Jane
Flanagan writes).
High winds caused the
fire to spread quickly on
the lower slopes of
Africa’s highest peak
after breaking out on
Sunday near a rest camp
where porters were
cooking for climbers.
Pascal Shelutete, from
Tanzania’s parks
authority, said that dry
grass caught light near
huts at Whona, an
overnight stop that
serves two popular
tourist routes. “There
could be more to this

fire but preliminary
evidence points to
Whona, where visitors
were warming their
food,” he added.
Hamisi Kigwangalla,
the tourism minister,

said his heart was
broken after the
“eruption” on the
extinct volcano, which
had destroyed a belt of
forest. Fire crew said
yesterday they were

hopeful of getting the
blaze under control after
the wind weakened
overnight.
“The weather is calm
and there is no heavy
wind that can spread the

fire to other areas,” Alex
Kisingo, from a local
wildlife college whose
students have been
helping the effort, said.
“The fire could have
been contained earlier

but a mountainous fire
is very tricky.”
About 50,000 tourists
a year climb the peak,
which rises to 5,895m
(19,340ft) above sea level
and looms over the

plains of Tanzania. The
parks authority
reassured travellers that
the mountain remained
open and safe. Tanzania
was only briefly closed
to tourists because of
the pandemic and
welcomed visitors back
on June 1 after President
Magufuli said the
danger had passed.
Fires on Kilimanjaro,
a Unesco world heritage
site, have been rare in
recent years after
security was increased
and its management
changed from civilian to
paramilitary with a brief
to crack down on
poaching, logging and
other such activities.
The mountain is
220 miles south of the
Equator and continues
to defy predictions that
the days of its peak
being capped with snow
are numbered. Climate
scientists had forecast
that all of Kilimanjaro’s
icefields and glaciers
would have melted by
now, yet several are
clinging on.

Hundreds


fight fires


on slopes of


Kilimanjaro


THOMAS BECKER/DPA/ALAMY

The flames on Kilimanjaro are visible from 20 miles away. It is thought that the fire was accidentally started at a rest stop where porters were cooking


The suspicious deaths of four finance
officials in Liberia have raised fears of
a murder plot linked to corruption
scandals that include the disappear-
ance of £100 million in new bank-
notes.
President Weah has appealed for
help from the US over the sudden
deaths of his administration’s senior
auditor and three tax department
employees, whose bodies were dis-
covered within days of one another.
Speculation is rising that the
deaths of the woman and three men
could be connected to inquiries into
sleaze, among them two missing
shipments of Liberian dollars from
the port in Monrovia, the capital, and
the alleged misappropriation of a
stimulus package worth £20 million.
Mr Weah, 54, the 1995 Fifa world
footballer of the year, became presi-
dent almost three years ago on a pro-
mise of resolving rampant corruption
but has made little progress. Reports

Mystery deaths of officials


linked to missing £100m


of missing millions, while 4.8 million
citizens live in poverty, have pro-
voked outrage and thousands have
demonstrated in the streets.
Ledgerhood Rennie, the informa-
tion minister, said that the govern-
ment wanted to be transparent about
any US involvement in the investiga-
tions. “People will come out with con-

spiracy theories and speculation
about things when they happen,” he
said. “We want to be clear and open so
that... these investigations will be
accepted by the public.”
The most recent suspicious death
was recorded in the early hours of Sat-
urday when the body of Emmanuel
Nyeswua, who was director-general
of the internal audit agency, was

found in the garden of his home. He is
reported to have had injuries consist-
ent with a fall from the top floor.
On October 5 the bodies of two
other tax office employees, Albert
Peters and Victoria Lama, were
found slumped in a car parked on a
city-centre street. The victims’ fami-
lies have said that they had not been
allowed to view their bodies, which
has left them increasingly suspicious.
The previous day George Fanbutu,
a tax official from the Liberian Reve-
nue Authority, was killed when his
car crashed into a wall in a suburb of
the capital. According to witnesses he
had been attacked as he drove by men
on motorbikes wielding machetes.
Mr Weah had set up a commission
to look into various allegations. Last
year nine ambassadors, including
those of Britain, the US and France,
raised concerns that his government
was funnelling cash from foreign do-
nors and demanded its immediate
return. Liberia has close ties with the
US owing to its creation in the 19th
century as a home for former slaves.

Liberia
Jane Flanagan

President Weah
has asked the US
to help with an
investigation
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