40 Wednesday December 22 2021 | the times
Wo r l d
Drunk captain caused
coral reef eco disaster
Mauritius The captain and first
officer of a cargo ship that ran
aground on a coral reef have been
found guilty of endangering safe
navigation after admitting
drinking on duty. The crash of
the MV Wakashio caused a leak
of 1,000 tonnes of fuel at Pointe
d’Esny, a wildlife sanctuary,
causing huge ecological damage.
The ship had been hosting a
birthday party, and Sunil Kumar
Nandeshwar, 58, the captain, said
that since he had had “a few
drinks, it did not seem
worthwhile to intervene”. He had
approached the coast to get
mobile phone reception for the
crew. The pair will be sentenced
on December 27. (Reuters)Fukushima to release
radioactive water in sea
Japan Fukushima nuclear plant
has applied to build a tunnel to
release treated but still
radioactive water into the sea.
Tokyo Electric Power said it
needed to let out the 1.29 million
tonnes of water stored on site as
part of the decommissioning of
the plant. It would begin in 2023
and the water would be let out
1,000m off the coast and 12m
below the surface. (AP)Tehran war games
threaten Israel and US
Iran The Revolutionary Guard
fired ballistic and cruise missiles
during war games in the Gulf,
state television reported, amid
growing tension with the US and
Israel over possible Israeli plans
to strike Iranian nuclear sites.
General Hossein Salami claimed
the missiles had “hit their targets
with 100 per cent precision”. Iran
says the missiles can reach Israeli
and US regional bases. (Reuters)Politician swims away
from helicopter crash
Madagascar The secretary of
state for the police has survived a
helicopter crash after swimming
12 hours to make it back to the
shore at Mahambo, in the
northeast of the island. Serge
Gelle, 57, said he had used a seat
as a flotation device. He had been
inspecting a shipwreck after a
cargo ship illegally carrying 130
passengers sank, killing at least 21
people. (AFP)Two held over festive
ham and drugs raffle
Spain Police have arrested two
suspected drug dealers for raffling
off a Christmas basket containing
cocaine, hashish, cash, alcohol
and a leg of cured ham. It was
found during a raid on a drug den
allegedly run by the two men, a
Spaniard and an Argentinian, in
Murcia. On the wall was a list of
clients who had paid $5 or $11 to
take part in two raffles to win the
“narco-basket”. (AFP)French killer drone
repays Isis chief in kind
Niger French drones have killed
one of the suspects in last year’s
terrorist killing of six French aid
workers and two local guides in
Niger, an attack claimed by the
Islamic State in the Greater
Sahara. French general staff said
Soumana Boura had filmed the
murders and had commanded
dozens of fighters in the west of
Niger, adding that soldiers were
dispatched to identify him. (AFP)China
Dave Yin Beijing
HANNIE HEERE/ANIMAL NEWS AGENCYA Chinese woman who marketed prod-
ucts to her 100 million followers via
livestream platforms has been slapped
with a record fine for alleged income
tax evasion as part of the country’s
crackdown on a booming but under-
regulated industry.
Huang Wei, who is known on-
line as “Viya”, was fined 1.34 bil-
lion yuan (£160 million). Fans
awoke yesterday to find her
ecommerce and social media
accounts shut down after the
State Taxation Administration
announced the penalty.
The influencer, seen
‘Queen’ of influencers hit
by £160m tax-evasion fine
by many as the “queen” of social media-
driven ecommerce, was found to have
evaded 643 million yuan in taxes by
concealing personal income and falsely
declaring the nature of her income
between 2019 and 2020. She also failed
to pay 60 million yuan in other taxes.
The authorities said that she co-op-
erated with investigators by paying
500 million yuan during their in-
vestigation and admitted to tax-re-
lated crimes of which they were
previously unaware but that she
was punished for additional in-
come that she had covered up.
Two other prominent influen-
cers have fallen foul of the tax
authorities as China pushes for
“common prosperity” — Zhu Che-
nhui, known as “Xueli Cherie”,
and Lin Shanshan, or “Lin
Shanshan Sunny”, were
fined a combined 93.2 mil-
lion yuan last month.Huang Wei has
been caught in a
crackdown on
livestreaming
In the bitterly cold, dark and thorough-
ly isolated Arctic town of Iqaluit, a link
to the outside world can be the differ-
ence between life and death.
A bad storm as far away as Saskatch-
ewan, Canada’s southern prairie prov-
ince, can knock out the city’s phone
lines and internet. Until recently local
officials would communicate with
Ottawa by loading digital files onto
hard drives and flying them.
For most telecoms companies, keep-
ing the region’s tiny number of custom-
ers connected is unappealing. Huawei,
however, has spied an opportunity.
Experts fear that allowing Huawei to
build a presence would leave the com-
munity at the mercy of Beijing. Block-
ing the deal, on the other hand, would
leave the people of Iqaluit trailing be-
hind in a digital world.
Madeleine Redfern, a former mayor
of the town, said: “If you live in the
north, should your security be compro-
mised simply because our state is not
prepared to make those investments?”
Iqaluit — population: 7,600 — is the
capital of Nunavut. The sun almost dis-
appears for eight months of the year
and temperatures drop below minus
50C. Its challenges include woeful
phone signals; expensive, patchy and
slow satellite-based internet; and inad-
equate housing, health and education.
“I have to sit in a certain spot in my
house to get a signal,” said Connie
Naulaq, 41, at the only functioning
coffee shop. While I was in town, the tap
Huawei deal will
give China a hold
over Arctic north
water was contaminated with fuel,
prompting “Do not drink” alerts.
Naulaq, who lives with her mother and
sister, said they paid C$250 (£147) a
month for a landline and limited inter-
net. Her mobile phone contract costs
£118 a month. The median annual Inuit
income is £14,700.
Justin Trudeau has promised to bring
high-speed internet to every Canadian
household by 2031, but progress has
been slow. According to Nunavut
Tunngavik, a legal body that represents
Inuit people, the data used by the aver-
age Canadian household would cost
£4,100 a year in the Arctic.
Two years ago Huawei formed a
partnership with ICE Wireless and
Iristel to expand high-speed internet
coverage in Canada. In June it donated
tablets and laptops to emergency shel-
ters. Tom Wang, head of Huawei Cana-
da, said: “Every Canadian deserves ac-
cess to a fast and reliable network.”
Until recently the company was at
the centre of a diplomatic dispute trig-
gered by the arrest of a senior execu-
tive, Meng Wanzhou, in Canada on a
US warrant. In response China de-
tained two Canadians. In September
Meng was released as part of a plea deal,
and the Canadians returned home.
China is taking a strategic interest in
the vast Arctic region, proclaiming it-
self a “near-Arctic state” despite being
almost 1,000 miles away at its nearest
point. It is working on plans for a “Polar
Silk Road” as rising temperatures open
the way for new shipping routes. Cana-
da is said to be considering following
Britain, Australia and the US in ban-
ning Huawei from its 5G programme. If
it does, the company may find it harder
to make inroads into the Arctic.
Huawei is not the only game in town.
Elon Musk’s StarLink plans to supply
high-speed internet using a network of
satellites. Iqaluit’s mayor, Kenny Bell,
said he had already signed up, although
it is still months or years away.
In Ottawa airport, though, it seemed
the writing was on the wall: a huge
Huawei billboard stretched at least 100ft
next to the baggage carousels.Canada
Charlie Mitchell Iqaluit, Canadian Arctic
North PoleIqaluitA
R
CT
IC(^) CIR
CLE
500 miles US Ottawa
Saskatchewan
NUNAVUT
CANADA
Circumcision ritual claims
lives of 30 teenage boys
The deaths of at least 30 teenagers from
botched circumcisions and dehydra-
tion in a South African rite of passage
has prompted calls for murder charges
to be brought against those responsible.
The summer “Ulwaluko” season
began last month. Each year thousands
of boys from the Xhosa and other eth-
nic groups mark their passage to man-
hood by spending weeks in remote se-
clusion with few comforts beyond a
blanket. Little is known about their rou-
tine beyond the early circumcision
ritual carried out by a traditional sur-
geon. Dozens of initiates have been
hospitalised in addition to the deaths.
At least 1,100 have died of complica-
tions resulting from the ritual since
1995, when data started being gathered.
“They have died from dehydration, sep-
ticaemia and not dressing their wounds
properly,” Nkosi Langa Mavuso, chair-
man of the Congress of Traditional
Leaders, said. He blamed unregistered
initiation schools and bogus practition-
ers who believe water deprivation helps
healing. Herbs are typically used to
treat wounds, and penile amputations
regularly follow complications
including mutilation and infection.
The winter Ulwaluko from June to
July recorded 14 deaths. The summer
death toll of 30 is likely to rise as there
are three more weeks of the season and
70,000 boys are thought to be involved.
Oscar Mabuyane, premier of the
Eastern Cape province, where most of
the ceremonies take place, told the
Daily Maverick website: “People
should be charged with murder.”
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the min-
ister responsible for traditional affairs,
defended the practice’s cultural role.
There is stigma attached in communi-
ties to males who are uninitiated.
South Africa
Jane Flanagan Cape Town
Flying school A young barn owl runs to build its muscles. Barn owlets flap their
wings at seven weeks, make short flights at eight and can glide by ten weeks