Category Archives: High Seas

Because of the coronavirus quarantine, millions of people are socially distancing themselves and staying at home in the hopes of flattening the curve. So, while youre doing your part to prevent the continued spread of the virus, why not sit down and find something new to binge-watch?

Hulu, with its colossal streaming library, is available for $5.99 per month, with a premium, commercial-free option available for $11.99 per month.

Considering that the streaming platform has the most extensive, high-quality selection of TV shows among any of its peers, its hard to go wrong with a price tag like that.

If youve already seen Tiger King and youre all caught up on Ozark, consider making the switch from Netflix to Hulu. And if youre still not convinced, here are a few of the best hidden gems you might not have known Hulu was carrying:

1) Better Things

The first two seasons of Better Things are somewhat overshadowed by the specter of co-creator Louis CK and his involvement in its development. But this tale of a divorced actress navigating parenthood and her career as she raises three daughters deserves better than to be trapped in the same conversation as CK. Star Pamela Adlon handles the bulk of the writing and the directing, steering the series into uncomfortable and often painful places. But its those places from which the show is able to pull its deepest (and most cathartic) laughs. Better Things is a comedy, and a great one at that, but its punches land just as hard as any drama on TV. All four seasons are currently available for streaming.

2) Black Sails

Since Game of Thrones ended, fans have found themselves in search of another massive fantasy drama capable of filling the void it left. But as it turns out, the best substitute for the show was airing at the same time. Balancing the same character-driven plotting with all of the political maneuvering of the early seasons of Thrones, Black Sails is a gritty, blood-soaked prequel to Treasure Island that almost nobody watched while it was airing. And thats a shame, because its an intelligent, exciting highlight of fantasy Peak TV. If youre looking for a high-seas adventure story that doesnt overstay its welcome, this is the right choice. All four seasons are currently available for streaming.

3) Nathan For You

Nathan For You is a strange docu-reality comedy starring Nathan Fielder, who is gifted with an almost superhuman ability to endure social discomfort. In the series, Fielder works as a marketing/management consultant, offering struggling companies bizarre strategies to improve their businesses. Among the ideas he generates are creating a genuine viral video of a pig rescuing a baby goat from drowning; sending a group of people on a multi-day hike for a gas station rebate; and selling TVs for $1 to guests willing to crawl through a tiny door and past an alligator. The show is as much social experiment as it is comedy, and yet its hard to find anything anywhere near as uncomfortably funny as this show. All four seasons are currently available for streaming.

4) Terriers

Terriers ran for one season on FX before being cancelled due to virtually nonexistent viewership. This is most likely due to a poor marketing campaign and an even worse title; after all, many apparently thought the series was about dog fighting. Those who tuned in, however, were treated to the raw, crackling chemistry of leads Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James as unlicensed P.I.'s attempting to uncover a political conspiracy in Ocean Beach, San Diego. The series is unique, thrilling and beautifully written, with a cliffhanger in its last moments that is somehow one of the most perfect endings in the history of TV. All 13 episodes of Terriers are currently available for streaming.

5) The Terror

Even in the age of Peak TV, great horror shows are hard to come by. Thats part of what makes anthology series The Terror so special, with both of its seasons telling gorgeous, self-contained stories that are as profound as they are bone-chilling. Season one follows the crew of Franklins Lost Expedition as they find themselves stranded in a frozen sea, confronted by the cruelty of nature while an elusive menace picks the men off one by one. Season two follows a Japanese-American community haunted by a specter from folklore as they are imprisoned in an internment camp in World War II. Both are excellent, and are currently available for streaming in their entirety.

RELATED COVERAGE ABOUT STREAMING TV SERVICES:

5 hidden gems on Disney Plus (for when you get tired of Netflix)

How to get a free month of horror movie streaming service Shudder and what to watch with it

The best streaming services for binge-watching TV shows while stuck at home

7 classic TV shows you can stream on Hulu to help pass the time

Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether its a news tip, a topic you want us to cover, or a personal story you want to share.

Joseph Rejent may be reached at jrejent@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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5 hidden gems on Hulu (for when you get tired of Netflix) - nj.com

With no shortage of daring sword-fights, nautical battles, and romance on the High Seas, thePirates of the Caribbeanfranchisehas something for everyone.Who could forget the epic clash of titans inPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearlwhen Captain Jack Sparrow went up against his mutinous first mate Hector Barbossa? Or in its sequel, Lord Cutler Beckett bringing the might of the East India Trading Company down upon the Pirate Brethren?

RELATED: The 10 Greatest Pirates In Movie/Television History

Fans have faithfully followed the franchise for five films, cheering on the victories, trials, and rivalriesof its colorful characters as they sail the Seven Seas in search of adventure. While some rivalries proved endlessly exciting, others took the wind out of the franchise's sails. Here are the series' five best rivalries, along withfive that make no sense.

A highlight ofPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,the rivalry between Jack Sparrow and his mutinous first mate aboard theBlack Pearlwas a driving force behind the plot of the film.

RELATED: Pirates of the Caribbean: The 10 Greatest Sword Fights

It spilled out into even more gleeful antagonism inPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger TidesandPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.In true piratical fashion, each man wanted all the glory and loot for himself, with the Black Pearl shipbeing the top prize, trading barbarous words at the point of steel with great aplomb.

InPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's ChestandPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,Will Turner was prone to lover's quarrels with Elizabeth Swann over her interest in Captain Jack Sparrow. She'd grown close to Jack in Will's absence aboard theFlying Dutchman,and he wondered if the pirate had stolen her heart.

Jack and Elizabeth's flirtation was the product of emotional manipulation on both of their parts. As charming as Elizabeth may have found Jack, her heart belonged to Will, and Jack was Will's friend, whom he shouldn't have worried about stealing his fiance.

After the disgrace of Commodore Norrington at the hands of Captain Jack Sparrow, the East India Trading Company moves in on Port Royal as the point of authority for the Royal Navy in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Lord Cutler Beckett deems it necessary to not just wipe out Sparrow, but the pirate way of life.

Beckett begins a full-scale assault on Sparrow and the rest of the Pirate Brethren, which he enacts over the course of two films. Beckett is more manipulative and brutal than Norrington ever was, showing the truly sinister and dictatorial nature of the British Crown on the open seas.

For a man of Lord Cutler Beckett's acumen and cunning, it seemed odd for him to have a rivalry with James Norrington. Beckett effectively replaced Norrington as the figure of military authority in Port Royal and placed the might of the East India Training Companyin league with Davy Jones ahead of a once-renowned Commodore.

RELATED: Pirates of the Caribbean: 5 Best Villains (& The 5 Worst)

Beckett should have done what he could to save Norrington's reputation with a Letter of Marque since they both represented the Crown's interests, not offered them to Will Turner, nor acquiesced to the demands of Elizabeth Swann.

Born fromPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,the rivalry between James Norrington and Will Turner began over Elizabeth Swann. She was betrothed to Norrington out of a sense of duty, a fact that infuriated Willas Elizabeth's true love.

Norrington continued to pine for Elizabeth in his own way, though his fall from grace in the second film didn't win him a higher place in her affections. Norrington knew he could never make her happy like her humble blacksmith, but that didn't stop him from trading sarcastic remarks and parrying blades with Turner.

Perhaps it was Davy Jones' fault for falling in love with a fickle and elusive sea goddess. Perhaps it was Calypso's fault for not showing up on the only day Jones could set foot on land, thus betraying their love. But it was Jones who taught the Pirate Brethren to imprison her in a human form.

RELATED: Pirates of the Caribbean: 10 Most Hated Storylines

If anything, Calypso shouldn't havefelt compelled to help the pirate lords against the East India Trading Company, and she should have focused the majority of her wrath on Davy Jones. In the end, Calypso helps neither side despite the considerable build-up she receives.

If it hadn't been for Jack Sparrow, Armando Salazar might never have been cursed by the Devil's Triangle, but his pursuit of the young pirate and his need to vanquish piracy on open seas ran him afoul of its dark magic.

Hector Barbossa never made it a point to hunt Jack Sparrow because he thought him marooned on an island, but Salazar's dogmatic chasing of Sparrow made for some harrowing scenes inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

For the vague reason that Jack Sparrow "paid him great insult" once, Sao Feng had a rivalry against the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean. As the Pirate Lord of the South China Sea,Feng had a fleet of junks led by theEmpress ship at his disposal, and navigational charts to mythical realms.

Whatever the ire between Sao Feng and Jack Sparrow, it led to Feng abandoning the "losing" side of the Pirate Brethren and allying himself with Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company.

Although the great rivalry between Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa dominated the first film in the franchise, the pirate's many spirited exchanges with a deadpan Commodore Norrington were a delightful addition.

Norrington lost his commission and slandered his reputation in pursuit of Sparrow, which fanned the flames of resentment for three films. Norrington's need to regain his status and see Sparrow brought to justice was the driving force behind every decision he made, except for saving Elizabeth Swann's life as his final act of valor.

It wasn't long beforePirates of the Caribbean:On Stranger Tidesthat the likes of Blackbeard and Hector Barbossa might have joined forces and plundered together. Blackbeard was mysteriously missing from the Pirate Court during the War Against Piracy but would have no doubt fought against the Royal Navy and Davy Jones.

The explanation for the rivalry between Blackbeard and Barbossa is simply the prophecy that a "one-legged man" would kill Blackbeard, which ignited his search for the Fountain of Youth. Barbossa's only beef with Blackbeard seemed to be that because he was in the employ of King George II, he was bound to fight a fellow pirate captain.

NEXT:Spartacus: 5 Best Rivalries (& 5 That Make No Sense)

NextBrooklyn Nine-Nine: 5 Things That Changed After The Pilot (& 5 That Stayed The Same)

Kayleena has been raised on Star Wars and Indiana Jones from the crib. A film buff, she has a Western collection of 250+ titles and counting that she's particularly proud of. When she isn't writing for ScreenRant, CBR, or The Gamer, she's working on her fiction novel, lifting weights, going to synthwave concerts, or cosplaying. With degrees in anthropology and archaeology, she plans to continue pretending to be Lara Croft as long as she can.

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Pirates Of The Caribbean: 5 Best Rivalries (& 5 That Make No Sense) - Screen Rant

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearlbecame a break out sensation in the early '00s and Disney, realizing there were more fans of action and adventure on the High Seas than they anticipated, launched a franchise based on the popular Disneyland attraction.

RELATED:Pirates Of The Caribbean: 5 Reasons The Franchise Deserves Another Chance (& 5 Why Disney Should Let It Die)

As the sequels followedthe world-building became more extensive, it came to the point where the plot became convoluted and all hope of continuity vanished like theFlying Dutchmanbeneath the frothy waves. Unfortunately, the introduction of too many new characters, too many mythical artifacts, and too many double-crosses and switch-backs threatened to sink it. Here are 10 things that make no sense about the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

InPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,a down-on-his-luck Jack Sparrow trades his prized compass for some rum. This "betrayal" of the compass triggers Armando Salazar and his crew in the Devil's Triangle to look for the compass, because they believe it will eliminate their curse.

RELATED: Pirates of the Caribbean: 10 Most Hated Storylines

In previous movies, Jack gave it to Elizabeth to find Davy Jones' heart, he lost it to Cutler Beckett, regained it from Beckett, gave it to Will, let Blackbeard take it, gave it to Angelica, left it with Gibbs, etc, without it being "betrayed" and pointing to the "thing he fears most".

Fans learn in a flashback fromPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Talesthat Jack Sparrow received his compass from his dying captain, moments before he cursed Armando Salazar and all of his crew to haunt the Devil's Triangle.

This contradicts what they knew fromPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,which explained that Jack Sparrow got his compass from Tia Dalma/Calypso to point at what he wanted most.

The three-way duel inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chestis one of the most robust and iconic in cinema history, but it also appears to be superfluous. Jack Sparrow and Will Turner could have teamed up against Norrington for the heart of Davy Jones.

RELATED: Pirates of the Caribbean: The 10 Greatest Sword Fights

Sparrow could have used the heart to call off the Kraken and free his debts, then given it to Turner to free his father from servitude aboard theFlying Dutchman.Nothing about the curse stated the heart couldn't be shared among them, since Norrington's was the only plan that was unfavorable.

When Calypso betrayed Davy Jones by rescinding her love, he abandoned his duties on theFlying Dutchmanby neglecting to ferry the souls of the dead to the netherworld. When this happened, his human form gave way to a blustering barnacled squidman.

RELATED: Pirates of the Caribbean: The D&D Moral AlignmentsOf The Main Characters

When Jones is stabbed inPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,Will Turner assumes his duties as the new captain of theDutchman,and is allowed to serve in human form so that every ten years he may surface on land and see his wife and son. Yet for some reason when he's seen again inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,he's become barnacled like Davy Jones.

When Will is pierced in the heart inPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,the only way to save his life is to have him replace Davy Jones as the captain of theFlying Dutchman.So why does his heart need to be placed in the chest apart from his body?

When Calypso charged Jones with ferrying souls to the netherworld, his heart was in his chest for at least a decade. He only removed it over grief of losing Calypso's love, but it wasn't a requirement of the curse. So why did Will need to put his heart in a chest when he could have served with it inside of him?

After the credits have rolled onPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,Will Turner's sleep is disrupted by a nightmare involving Davy Jones. Will rolls over to go back to sleep, not spying the wet barnacled footprints on the floor.

RELATED: Pirates of the Caribbean: 5 Best Villains (& The 5 Worst)

This scene posits that Davy Jones isn't really dead and may show up in future films. This shouldn't be possible for two reasons; Will Turner broke Davy Jones's curse by being instated as the new captain of theDutchman,and because Poseidon's Trident was broken, therefore breaking all sea curses.

InPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,the historical significance of the Brethren Court meeting is amplified by Jack Sparrow explaining it hasn't happened in his lifetime. The severity of Davy Jones's rampage and the might of the East India Trading Company and Royal Navy wipingout the pirate way of life necessitates it.

The importance of the meeting comes into question inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,when the film shows that Salazar destroyed dozens of pirate vessels in his own efforts to end piracy on the High Seas. He stated he killed ever pirate save for Sparrow and his crew. Where was the Brethren Court then?

InPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,Lord Cutler Beckett is in pursuit of Shipwreck's Cove, where the Pirate Brethren are to meet and gather their forces. Davy Jones knows its location as he appears there to speak with Calypso in confinement. He also knows about the Pieces of Eight.

Beckett bothering with anyone else, Sparrow or otherwise to find it, seems superfluous. Even if it was an impenetrable fortress, Jones could warp in and out along with his crew at Beckett's command. He also doesn't even need Sparrow, because he already was in league with Sao Feng.

Angelica is introduced as Jack Sparrow's equal inPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,a pick-pocket and his former lover who can swashbuckle as well as any man. There's a scene where she disguises herself as Sparrow and no one notices the difference.

She's played by Penelope Cruz, who happens to look very feminine, and is several inches shorter than Johnny Depp. Aside from the height disparity, she has a thick Spanish accent in the film, and yet somehow passes for Sparrow convincingly.

InPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,fans learned more the Trident of Poseidon, a mythical artifact said to have power of all sea curses. If it's broken, then whomever is bound by a curse will be set free.

If this is true, why then didn't Calypso the sea goddess seek it out to break the curse the Pirate Brethren set on her? Why didn't Davy Jones use it to free himself from having to remain on theFlying Dutchman,bound to serve as its captain until someone stabbed him in the heart? Why didn't Barbossa and his crew seek it out in the first film?

NEXT:Star Wars: 10 Things That Make No Sense About The Force Awakens

NextBrooklyn Nine-Nine: 5 Things That Changed After The Pilot (& 5 That Stayed The Same)

Kayleena has been raised on Star Wars and Indiana Jones from the crib. A film buff, she has a Western collection of 250+ titles and counting that she's particularly proud of. When she isn't writing for ScreenRant, CBR, or The Gamer, she's working on her fiction novel, lifting weights, going to synthwave concerts, or cosplaying. With degrees in anthropology and archaeology, she plans to continue pretending to be Lara Croft as long as she can.

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10 Things That Make No Sense About The Pirates of the Caribbean Movies - Screen Rant

The Bangladeshi government has been urged to open its ports and allow two boats carrying hundreds of Rohingya refugees to come ashore so they can be given urgent medical care, food and water.

It is believed more than 500 people, including children, are onboard the stranded trawlers, which were recently seen in the Bay of Bengal but have reportedly returned to the high seas.

Last week, Bangladeshs foreign minister, Abdul Momen, said the boats would not be allowed entry, adding: Bangladesh is always asked to take care of the responsibility of other countries.

Earlier this month, Bangladesh rescued a separate boat that had been left adrift for two months after attempting to reach Malaysia. The charity Mdecins Sans Frontires, which treated about 400 survivors, said the passengers were mostly aged between 12 and 20, and some younger children were also onboard. More than 70 people are reported to have died on the boat.

Many of them couldnt stand or walk on their own, said Hanadi Katerji, MSF nurse and medical team leader. They were just skin and bone a lot of them were barely alive.

The boat had carried hundreds of Rohingya refugees fleeing desperate conditions in Coxs Bazar in Bangladesh, where more than 1 million refugees live in overcrowded camps. It had attempted to reach Malaysia but was turned away.

Described as the worlds most persecuted people, 1.1 millionRohingyapeople live in Myanmar. They live predominately in Rakhine state, where they have co-existed uneasily alongside Buddhists for decades.

Rohingya people say they are descendants of Muslims, perhaps Persian and Arab traders, who came toMyanmargenerations ago. Unlike the Buddhist community, they speak a language similar to the Bengali dialect of Chittagong in Bangladesh.

The Rohingya are reviled by many in Myanmar as illegal immigrants and suffer from systematic discrimination. The Myanmar government treats them as stateless people, denying them citizenship. Stringent restrictions have been placed on Rohingya peoples freedom of movement, access to medical assistance, education and other basic services.

Violence broke out in northern Rakhine state in August 2017, whenmilitants attacked government forces. In response, security forces supported by Buddhist militia launched a clearance operationthat ultimately killed at least 1,000 people and forced more than 600,000 to flee their homes. The UNstop human rights officialsaid the militarys response was "clearly disproportionate to insurgent attacks and warned that Myanmars treatment of its Rohingya minority appears to be a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing.

When Aung San Suu Kyi rose to power there werehigh hopesthat the Nobel peace prize winner would help heal Myanmar's entrenched ethnic divides. But she has been accused of standing by while violence is committed against the Rohingya.

In 2019, judges at the international criminal court authorised a full-scale investigation into the allegations of mass persecution and crimes against humanity. On 10 December 2019, the international court of justice in The Hague opened a case alleging genocide brought by the Gambia.

Rebecca Ratcliffe

It is not clear how long the two boats stranded off Bangladesh have been stuck at sea, or how many additional ships may be adrift elsewhere.

They will be at high risk of death because thats what weve heard in testimonies of survivors that were rescued previously by the Bangladesh government, said Saad Hammadi, south Asia campaigner at Amnesty International. Its a responsibility of all governments in the region to ensure that their seas do not turn into invisible graveyards.

On Friday, the UN high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, wrote to Momen describing the situation as a human tragedy of terrible proportions.

I appeal to you in the strongest terms to open your ports and allow the boats to land, she wrote. The reportedly more than 500 men, women and children aboard these boats have been at sea for an extended period of time, and we understand that they require urgent rescue, food, medical care and other necessary humanitarian assistance.

Bachelet added that she was also encouraging other governments in the region to take similar action.

Malaysia has turned away at least two boats, with the countrys air force stating that it recently refused entry to about 200 refugees in order to prevent further spread of the coronavirus within the country, which remains under lockdown.

Rights groups fear that governments are using the global health crisis as a pretext to push boats back, and say it is an alarming reminder of a 2015 Andaman sea crisis, when many Rohingya died at sea after south-east Asian nations refused them entry.

Momen said Bangladesh could not rescue any more people, adding that the country had no room to shelter any foreign people or refugees.

More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar following a brutal army crackdown that began in August 2017. The UN has since described the militarys actions as ethnic cleaning and akin to genocide.

Brad Adams, the Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said Bangladesh had shouldered a heavy burden as the result of the Myanmar militarys atrocity crimes, but this is no excuse to push boatloads of refugees out to sea to die.

He added: Bangladesh should continue to help those at grave risk and preserve the international goodwill it has gained in recent years for helping the Rohingya.

The rest is here:

Bangladesh urged to open ports to allow in Rohingya refugee boats - The Guardian

With its first film based on a popular attraction at Disneyland, thePirates of the Caribbeanfranchise became an unprecedented success in the early '00s, thanks to its instantly memorable characters.Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearlwas a breakoutfilm for several stars including Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, while Johnny Depp's return to form as Captain Jack Sparrow became the highlight of his film career.

RELATED: Pirates of the Caribbean: 5 Ways The RideInspired The Movie (& 5 Ways The Movie Changed The Ride)

Over the span of five films,characters like Captain Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa became integral parts of the canon, while Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, and James Norrington were replaced by different young leads. A revolving door of villains kept their adversaries interesting, and ensured the stakes remained high on the High Seas. But did everyone's story have a "touch of destiny"? Here are5 characters who got fitting endings and 5 who deserved more.

Elizabeth Swann went through quite the transformation fromPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black PearltoPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.She began as a damsel in distress, and ended her pirating adventures as the unlikely Pirate King of the Brethren Court.

Not only did Elizabeth have enough pirate tales to last her a lifetime, she was finally able to marry her true love Will Turner and start a family. While it was tragic that she had to be apart from him during the years he commanded theFlying Dutchman,his curse was eventually lifted and they were reunited inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

James Norrington went from being a powdered-wig wearing priss to a belligerent brawler over the course of the first two films, but by the end of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chesthe was poised to be a power player with the rank of Admiral in the Royal Navy.

RELATED: Pirates of the Caribbean: Ever Main Character, Ranked By Intelligence

But byPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,all the momentum that had been built with his character development completely deflated. He ended up sacrificing himself in a way that made little sense, and being mortally wounded by an insane Bootstrap Bill for narrative shock value to fans.

Davy Jones was a tyrant of the Seven Seas over the fickle love of the sea goddess Calypso, and as a result was responsible for terrorizing and killing innocent sailors out of misplaced heartache. He didn't deserve a happy ending because he made sure so many others wouldn't have one.

When Jack killed him inPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,Will Turnertook his place, and not only gain the powers of immortality, but saw that Calypso'scharge was done properly and the souls lost at sea ferried safely to the next world.

With adventures spanning five films, Jack Sparrow was able to lose and regain his ship The Black Pearl, get trapped in Davy Jones' Locker and live to tell the tale, defeat the likes of Blackbeard and the might of the Royal Navy, and plunder mythical treasure like the Fountain of Youth and Poseidon's Trident.

By the conclusion ofPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,Jack is in command of thePearlfrom Captain Barbossa, but the film is wide open for a more fitting end for Captain Jack, Pirate Lord of the Caribbean. Rumors exist that a sixth film may see Johnny Depp return to his famous role.

Will Turner went from being a humble blacksmith to taking over the duties of Davy Jones as captain of theFlying Dutchmanover the span of three films. Unfortunately, his duties ferrying lost souls to the netherworld occurred right after he'd married his longtime love, Elizabeth Swann.

RELATED:Pirates Of The Caribbean: 5 Best Villains (& The 5 Worst)

Fortunately his son Henry Turner had grown up incredibly resentful of the curse that bound his father, especially since he only got to seehim once at the age of 10 when he could come on dry land. Henry was able to locate Poseidon's Trident and destroy it, thus ending all curse on the High Seas and ensuring Will could return to his family.

The Blackbeard that appeared inPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tidesis based on the infamous pirate of history, who famously boarded ships with lit matches in his beard and drew from the bracers of six pistols slung across his chest.

In the film, Blackbeard dies during a duel over the Fountain of Youth. While he may have been one heinous pirate, his death was premature, as the real Edward Teach continue to plunder and pillage for several more years.

Once a decorated member of the Spanish Royal Navy, Armando Salazar hated pirates with such a fiery passion he made it his solemn duty to wipe them all out. However, he was double-crossed by Captain Jack Sparrow in The Devil'sTriangle, and then forced to haunt it with his cursed crew for eternity.

RELATED:Pirates Of The Caribbean: 10 Ways Real Life Pirate History Influenced The Franchise

Armando Salazar deserved to be killed in the climactic battle for the Trident of Poseidon at the end ofPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,but not simply because he was a ruthless killer. He was a pale imitation of Captain Hector Barbossa and his plotline fromPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

First introduced inPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearlas Captain Jack Sparrow's mutinous first mate aboard theBlack Pearl,Hector Barbossa later became Captain of thePearl and a cursed man until Jack could be reinstated.

He was resurrected inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,and fulfilled a position as begrudging ally to Jack Sparrow and his comrades as they fought both the Royal Navy and Davy Jones. He'd survived in all five films through all manner of luck and magic, only to be unceremoniously killed in the fifth filmjustas he's reunited with his daughter.

With Commodore Norrington's reputation in disgrace after failing to capture Jack Sparrow, Lord Cutler Beckett and the East India Trading Company arrived in Port Royal to finish the job inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

Beckett desired to eradicate all pirates and see law and order pervade the High Seas, which drove him to hunt down the Pirate Brethren and destroy them collectively inPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.The sanctimonious and vindictive bureaucrat was suitably destroyed by themin fitting irony.

Governor of Port Royal, Jamaica and father to Elizabeth Swann, Governor Weatherby Swann was a man of tradition, who disapproved of his daughter cavorting with piratesand her choice of fiance in the blacksmith Will Turner. He did however desire to see her happy, despite his reservations.

His dedication to British principles caused him to ally with the brutal Lord Cutler Beckett and the East India Trading Company inPirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest,despite the fact that Beckett would turn around and have him killed off-screen simply becausehe's "outlived his usefulness".

NEXT:Pirates of the Caribbean: 10 Fan Art Pictures That Captain Jack Sparrow Would Steal

NextBrooklyn Nine-Nine: 5 Things That Changed After The Pilot (& 5 That Stayed The Same)

Kayleena has been raised on Star Wars and Indiana Jones from the crib. A film buff, she has a Western collection of 250+ titles and counting that she's particularly proud of. When she isn't writing for ScreenRant, CBR, or The Gamer, she's working on her fiction novel, lifting weights, going to synthwave concerts, or cosplaying. With degrees in anthropology and archaeology, she plans to continue pretending to be Lara Croft as long as she can.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: 5 Characters Who Got Fitting Endings (& 5 Who Deserved More) - Screen Rant

The shipping forecast is probably the closest thing we have in the modern age to a national epic. The institutions rhythms and rituals have changed little since it was first broadcast on New Years Day 1924: there is poetry in the daily litany and mystery in its terminology. The radios prayer, Carol Ann Duffy called it. For Seamus Heaney it was a sibilant penumbra.

The forecast reminds us were a maritime nation and its map binds us to our continent, covering not only our own coasts and waters but an area extending from Norway to Portugal to Iceland. There is democracy in its geography, where tiny Fair Isle carries as much heft as mighty Biscay while Lundy, a sliver of rock in the Bristol Channel, is equal in importance to the Irish Sea. And from the salty old seadog in his brine-encrusted fishing boat to the merchant banker on his yacht, the shipping forecast, all seafarers are equally reliant on it.

Of the four daily broadcasts by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, my favourite is in the early morning. Usually this one goes out at 05.20, but in our current emergency its broadcast at 05.33, those 13 minutes representing the only significant schedule shift since the service was suspended altogether during the second world war. Before this, no disaster, no crisis and certainly no Test match climax had shunted the iron horse of the schedule from its position.

While many prefer the cosy, late-night feel of the 00.48 forecast, all soothing nocturnal intimacy and somnolent talk of falling slowly, for me you cant beat being roused from sleep by the familiar rhythmic intonation of the pre-dawn broadcast. Every morning Im coaxed awake by a meteorological gazetteer of familiar names Tyne, Dogger, Fisher and cryptic crossword clues of forecast detail, on the face of it impenetrable but actually fairly straightforward. First theres the wind and its direction and predicted strength according to the Beaufort Scale, north-westerly five or six, followed by the weather conditions, rain later, and finally the visibility, good becoming moderate.

Theres reassurance in regularity. The forecast always progresses in the same order around its 31 sea areas, beginning with Viking off the coast of Norway and moving broadly clockwise, zigzagging across the North Sea, along the Channel, turning south towards the Iberian peninsula then tracing the Atlantic fringe back up to south-east Iceland.

For those not out at sea, its a journey to fire the imagination without lifting your head from the pillow, a 31-stop tour better measured in duvet togs than kilometres, an odyssey in the mind through familiar places Dover, Hebrides, Wight and locations that seem to defy conventional mapping: Fisher, Sole, North Utsire.

The shipping forecast is the closest I ever came to reading out poetry on the air

Not many people can say theyve been to Utsira. I have. North and south. (The island off south-west Norway has been officially spelled with an a since 1924, though neither North or South Utsire appeared in the shipping forecast until they were introduced in 1984.) Reached by a heaving, churning 70-minute ferry ride across some of the most tempestuous waters in northern Europe, Utsira wears its forecast fame lightly. Not many places are namechecked on the BBC eight times a day, but forecast familiarity hasnt inspired a flood of visitors. When I explained to the captain of the ferry why I was there (hed assumed that, with Utsira boasting Norways widest variety of avian life, I must be a birdwatcher) he blinked a couple of times, said OK, and climbed back up to the wheelhouse.

By chance I happened to be there the weekend Utsiras football club was holding its annual knees-up, and I wangled an invite. Fielding a team from a population of a little over 200 is achievement enough, but the impressive collection of trophies I saw in a cabinet suggested that on the football field at least, Utsira was punching above its weight.

They [the trophies] are all old, one of the players shouted into my ear above the music. The sea crossing to the island is very rough. Sometimes teams would arrive barely able to walk from the seasickness, so wed beat them easily. Then they all got together to complain. Now we have to play all our matches on the mainland and dont win anything any more.

Ive now travelled to, or through, all of the shipping forecasts 31 sea areas, which means the daily broadcast invocation conjures up my night on the lash with Utsiras footballers, along with many other faces and places to which I can return without getting wet.

In area Thames, for example, I was lucky enough, after a six-month visa application process, to visit the Principality of Sealand, since 1967 a self-declared independent nation on a former British gun emplacement in the North Sea. The platform on two vast concrete legs eight miles off Harwich looks like a North Sea Stonehenge. Arriving was unforgettable: Prince Michael of Sealand himself escorted me out there on a royal RIB and the micro-nation remains the only country in the world Ive been winched into. Once I was through immigration, the pizza delivery leaflet pinned to a corkboard represented one of the greatest examples of optimism Ive ever seen.

Im convinced that wherever you go, however unpromising or uninspiring a place might appear, youll always find something to make the visit worthwhile: a quirky piece of local history perhaps, or someone with a hell of a story to tell. Its a theory that has served me well wherever Ive been and Ive been to Stevenage and has only failed me once.

Shipping forecast area Fisher widens into the North Sea from a small stretch of the west coast of Jutland, northern Denmark. The only place to visit is the port of Hanstholm, where I spent a long weekend. A really long weekend during which I found nothing to do and nothing to see. Nobody hangs around Hanstholm; they roll off the overnight ferry from Norway and head straight off. Not me. My weekend there must have come close to contravening the part of the Geneva Convention dealing with sensory deprivation. To give you an idea, according to someone I spoke to, the name Hanstholm is derived from an old Norse word meaning islet of the glove. The story goes that many years ago a woman once dropped a glove there.

Fortunately the broadcast sweeps me past Fisher and on to other memories, other places I can revisit without leaving home. There was the time in Galicia when I sat for hours and watched the sun set over the Atlantic from the tip of Cape Finisterre from finis terrae, the end of the earth, a holy place since way before Christianity. It gave its name to the sea area until 2002, when the Met Office renamed it FitzRoy to avoid confusion with the French and Spanish forecasts, whose Finisterre is of different dimensions. FitzRoy is named for Vice-admiral Robert FitzRoy, best-known as captain of the Beagle when Charles Darwin was aboard, but who in 1854 founded what became the Met Office, set up specifically to provide weather information for seafarers.

As the area forecast reaches its conclusion I think of how I once stood on a black beach at the foot of a black mountain looking out at a grey sea under a grey sky, a monochrome vista that was the legacy of a 1973 volcanic eruption on the Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar) off southern Iceland. Standing on land thats younger than you are is a sobering way to finish any journey.

For all the poetic inspiration of its curious place names and recondite meteorological phrasing, the shipping forecast is there to save lives. The number of disasters and tragedies averted thanks to sailors and skippers being made aware of impending storms and high seas is impossible to calculate. The reassurance of its rhythmic incantation goes much further though, way beyond the seafarer. The daily recital wakens and nurtures something deep within us, a maritime people, its poetry of protection an evocative reminder that not everything about being an island nation is insular or inward-looking. The beauty of its composition and delivery serves only to elevate the forecast further in our national consciousness.

The shipping forecast is the closest I ever came to reading out poetry on the air, the BBC broadcaster Charlotte Green once told me and she should know, having been effectively the voice of the forecast for years. Theres a real appeal about it, even if you dont know anything about the sea and dont know what the terms mean. Its absolutely mesmerising.

Charlie Connelly is author of Attention All Shipping: A Journey Round The Shipping Forecast (Little, Brown)

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Moderate becoming good: my journey to every place in the shipping forecast - The Guardian

ThePirates of the Caribbeanfranchise reignited the world's love for the danger, intrigue, andexcitement of the High Seas. For an action adventure film series it didn't skimp on the romance, and amidst all the canon fire, swashbuckling, and plundering of buried treasure, it showcased several amorous pairings.

RELATED:Pirates Of The Caribbean: 5 Ways The Franchise Aged Perfectly (& 5 Ways It Did Not)

The most memorable of these Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), and their love story was chronicled across three films. The latter two films,Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger TidesandPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Talesintroduced fans to new lovers, to mixed results. Below are 5 couples fans loved and 5 they'd make walk the plank.

From the moment Will Turner was fished out of the sea during Elizabeth Swann's voyage to Port Royal, Jamaica, the pair would share a connection. It developed into puppy love inPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,butbyPirates of the Caribbean: At World's Endthey were exchanging wedding vows.

Though their fates were disrupted bythe likes of Jack Sparrow, Hector Barbossa, Davy Jones, and other outlaws of the Seven Seas over the course of the film franchise, their trials and tribulations only caused them to grow closer together.

Infamous womanizer Jack Sparrow may have encountered Angelica inPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,but they had a long romantic history together before that, which ended when he left her.

RELATED:Pirates Of The Caribbean: 5 Reasons Why Captain Jack Sparrow Is A Great Pirate (& 5 Why He's The Worst)

She got her revenge by using him to get to her father, the pirate that all other pirates hate, Blackbeard, and discern the whereabouts of the Fountain of Youth. Their relationship lacked chemistry and was rooted in emotional manipulation, causing fans to reject it.

An unexpected flirtation blossomed between Elizabeth Swann and the notorious Captain Jack Sparrow inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,despite the fact that he was a loathsome pirate who had kidnapped her in the previous film.

Elizabeth needed Jack to save Will, who had been taken prisoner aboard theFlying Dutchman,and was willing to use her feminine wiles to make him help her. Whether she developed true feelings for the pirate or not,fans felt she had more chemistry with him than anyone else.

Despite being the nefarious pirate charged with ferrying souls to the netherworld, Davy Jones had a tender side. His heart belonged to the goddess Calypso, but her betrayal of their love caused him to imprison her in a human vessel and carve out his own heart.

RELATED:Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Worst Thing Each Main Character Has Done

Calypso's excuse for not meeting Davy Jones on the one day he could go ashore every 10 years was simply it's in her "nature" to be as fickle as the sea, which to most fans sounded like a cop out.Her choiceresulted in Jones going on a murder streak and hastening the deaths of dozens of innocent people.

Elizabeth and Commodore Norrington were betrothed inPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,and though his ardor for her was unrequited, some fans believed that she grew to care about him in later films, especially when he sacrificed himself to save her life.

His role increased inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chestwhen, after having his commission taken and his reputation slandered, he begrudgingly joined Jack Sparrow's crew. Though he had difficulty expressing his emotions, he retained his honor and his valor.

When Jack Sparrow finally arrived in Tortuga, the gathering port town of all scalawags inPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,he encountered Giselle and Scarlett, two ladies of ill repute who had their hearts broken by him years before.

RELATED:Pirates Of The Caribbean: The 10 Greatest Sword Fights

Jack's strategy was to make one believe he was in love with her, then proceed to see the other behind her back. This worked for a time until they found out about one another, and inPirates of the Caribbean: At World's Endtake up with Joshamee Gibbs.

The playful and mischievous Tia Dalma was a welcome addition to the colorful cast of characters inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.She helped to resurrect both Captain Hector Barbossa and to an extent, Captain Jack Sparrow.

Some years prior to their reunion Tia Dalma and Captain Jack had been "nigh inseparable", until her true nature as Calypso the sea goddess and his true nature as a self-serving scalawag ended things.

A young and impressionable missionary when fans first meet him inPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,Philip is taken hostage by Blackbeard and only allowed to live because Blackbeard's daughter Angelica believes he can help restore her father's wayward soul.

RELATED:Pirates Of The Caribbean: 5 Reasons Curse Of The Black Pearl Is The Best (& 5 Reasons It's Dead Man's Chest)

Most fans felt that Philip was a poor man's Will Turner, especially since Orlando Bloom didn't return for the fourth film. When he was given a shoehorned love story that involved Syrena the mermaid, its melodrama felt forced and inconsequential to the overall plot.

While not technically a romantic couple, Pintel and Ragetti were two inseparable rascals under the purview of Captain Barbossa and later Captain Jack Sparrow. They were both incredibly loyal to one another even as their leaders changed, andcreated some of the franchise's most hilarious scenes.

The last time they were seen was inPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,and were supposed to be brought back for the fourth installment, when it would be revealed they were each serving aboard different ships and believing the other to be dead, only to be happily reunited, but the subplot never made it into the film.

The introduction of Henry Turner (son of Will Turner) in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Taleswas a welcome one to fans, except that he wasn't given any more character development than to occupy a potential love interest for Hector Barbossa's daughter Carina.

The possibility for a romance between Henry and Carina never reached the heights of Will and Elizabeth Turner, and perhaps that was for the best, because it couldn't possibly ever eclipse one of the foundation elements of the first three films.

NEXT:MCU: 5 Couples Everyone Loved (& 5 That Were Just Annoying)

NextWhich Sons Of Anarchy Character Are You, Based On Your Zodiac Sign?

Kayleena has been raised on Star Wars and Indiana Jones from the crib. A film buff, she has a Western collection of 250+ titles and counting that she's particularly proud of. When she isn't writing for ScreenRant, CBR, or The Gamer, she's working on her fiction novel, lifting weights, going to synthwave concerts, or cosplaying. With degrees in anthropology and archaeology, she plans to continue pretending to be Lara Croft as long as she can.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: 5 Couples Fans Loved (& 5 They Hated) - Screen Rant

This photo, provided by the Imperial War Museum AFP/Getty Images, was taken on June 6, 1944 and shows Canadian soldiers from 9th Brigade landing with their bicycles at Juno Beach in Bernieres-sur-Mer as Allied forces storm Normandy beaches in northwestern France on D-Day. The 75th anniversary of the D-day landings falls on Thursday, June 6.

NORMANDY, France Its Tuesday, June 6, 1944 D-Day.

An historic day for Europe, for German-occupied France, and for Joe Sullivan.

The 23-year-old radio operator from Douro, Ont., near the City of Peterborough, is one of about 200 soldiers of the Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders who are fighting seasickness on board of LCI299 (Landing Craft Infantry).

Clumsily, the bulky troop transport is searching its way through the high waves towards the beach. A day earlier, Sullivan and his regiment had embarked in Southampton, England, and had been transported to the French coast by the Southampton Road.

We didnt know anything, Sullivan recalls, only on our way to France did the officers tell us where we were going and that this would not be another exercise, but a real operation.

This mission is the largest landing operation in history.

At 6 a.m., the ships artillery begins the bombardment.

There was deafening noise around us, says Sullivan.

In addition to a battleship, several cruisers and destroyers fire salvo after salvo towards the French coast. Simultaneously, the allied bomber fleet is flying attacks on German coastal positions.

Around 7 a.m., under the roaring noise of the guns, Sullivan sees the first wave of Canadian troops head towards the coast. They are men from the 7th and 8th Infantry Brigades of the 3rd Canadian Division.

The conditions for the troops were very bad, Sullivan describes, looking back at the landing on Juno Beach.

The first wave of assault craft were hampered by high seas and dangerous coastal reefs. Several of them hit the notorious beach obstacles, and are destroyed by exploding mines that are attached to rammed piles just below the waters edge.

We saw the clouds of smoke on the beach and heard the battle noise. I suspected that there would be huge losses on that section of the beach that day, Sullivan says.

Library and Archives CanadaLanding craft 299 lands at Juno Beach, Courseilles-sur-Mer, France, on June 6, 1944. The men making their way ashore were members of the Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry Highlanders.Handout Not For ResaleSupplied

His 9th brigade, called the Highlander Brigade, has been declared the reserve on that day. At 11 a.m., in addition to the Glens, the Highland Infantry of Canada, and the North Nova Scotia Highlanders all receive their marching orders for the small seaside resort of Bernires-sur-Mer, which is part of the Canadian landing section called Juno Beach.We landed before noon and for me as a greenhorn as a green boy it was the first shocking encounter with the war, Sullivan recalls of his first day in combat in the Second World War.

Packed with weapons, equipment, rations and his radio, he and his comrades, some with folding bikes, disembark over the landing ships narrow, rocking gangway and work their way through the deep water to the beach with the help of stretched ropes.

The buildings located close to the beach are massively damaged. Numerous dead Canadian and German soldiers still line the landing site. Sullivan sees how medics are taking care of the wounded in hastily erected emergency hospitals.

It was a harrowing sight to see the scores of dead and wounded on the beach, he says.

In Bernires-sur-Mer, he has his first encounter with the Germans. Weary from battle, they wait on the beach for their transport to prison camp in England. For them, the war is over.

For Sullivan and the advancing troops of the 9th brigade, it is just beginning.

In late April of the following year, he would set foot on German soil for the first time. On May 6, 1945 exactly 11 months after the landing he and his regiment would march into the completely devastated City of Emden, Germany.

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VE Day 75th: Even the longest journey starts with a single step - Standard Freeholder

Chinas ties with the ASEAN or Association of Southeast Asian Nations over the South China Sea is at a critical stage. The ASEAN region is crucial to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) the dream project of President Xi Jing Ping but ongoing disputes over the crucial South China Sea between US-backed ASEAN has only complicated the matter.

ASEAN nations have often criticized aggressive Chinese activities and plans in the South China Sea (SCS) as Beijing attempts to strengthen its grip on the disputed territories.

As reported by EurAsian Times earlier, the South China Sea is a key naval passage linking Asia with Africa and Europe. As estimated $3.37 trillion of international trade passes through the SCS and it is believed to be abundant in untapped natural resources such as oil and gas.

China lays claims to 80% of the SCS. It is also claimed by Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei all of who form the part of the ASEAN nations. Other members of the ASEAN includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.

With the ASEAN countries busy dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, China has taken advantage of the situation and has used this opportunity to forward its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Last month, China established two districts to manage the Spratly Islands and Paracel.According to reports, the two new districts will be under the authority of the local government in Sansha, a city in Hainan.

The new districts will govern the Paracel and Macclesfield Bank an area claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan and the Spratly Islands and their adjacent waters, where there are multiple overlapping claims from the Philippines, Malaysia and even Brunei.

Prior to this, the Chinese had named and effectively claimed 80 geographical features in the SCS. According to reports, this includes 25 islands, shoals and reefs, and 55 undersea mountains and ridges. But the Chinese actions have not gone unnoticed and have drawn criticism and protests by most of ASEAN members including Vietnam, Philipines and Malaysia.

Chinese provocative actions drew immediate criticism from Vietnam. Vietnam currently occupies 13 of the reefs in the West. Vietnams Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Le Thi Thu Hang said that the move had seriously violated Vietnams sovereignty.

On April 2, a Vietnamese fishing vessel sunk after colliding with a Chinese coastguard ship near Parcel Islands. The sailors on board were rescued by the coast guard but the Chinese denied any wrongdoing.

Surprisingly, Vietnam got support from the Philippines, as they remembered the event in June 2019. In this incident,22 Filipino fishermen were left floating in the high seas when a Chinese vessel rammed and sank their boat at Reed Bank. Vietnam immediately came to the rescue saving the men adrift in the seas.

Vietnam also sent a diplomatic protest note to the UN over Chinas illegal claims over the South China Sea.Le Thi Thu Hang emphasised that Vietnam asserts its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos in the East Sea in accordance with international law.

The Philippines, another ASEAN member, has seen massive investments from Beijing in the country but remains dissatisfied by the Chinese antics. The Philippines also opposed Chinas establishment of two districts to govern Parcel and Spratly Islands.

In the latter, China has turned seven reefs, including Fiery Cross, into missile-protected island bases, including three with runways. The Philippines has a presence on at least nine islands and islets in an area it claims in the Spratlys.

The Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement objecting to what it called Chinas illegal designation of Fiery Cross Reef as a regional administrative centre in the hotly contested Spratly archipelago.

The Philippines calls on China to adhere to international law, the department said, reminding Beijing of a 2002 agreement that urged all governments involved in the SCS dispute to exercise self-restraint abject from provocative actions that could threaten the stability of the region.

Malaysia, another ASEAN member, has been at the receiving end of Chinese intimidation. A Malaysian oil vessel was followed by a Chinese survey ship, Haiyang Dizhi.

The Malaysian coast guard confirmed that the survey activity was inside Malaysias exclusive economic zone. According to Haiyang Dizhis travel history, it left port at Sanya on Hainan Island on 9 April, went through Vietnamese waters and entered the waters of Malaysia and Brunei on 17 April.

The United States is also actively involved in the SCS dispute as it views Chinese actions as examples of expansionism and regional bullying. In addition to the air and naval exercise in response to Chinese activities, Washington also spoke to ASEAN member countries via video call earlier last week.

U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, warned his ASEAN counterparts that China is taking advantage of the worlds preoccupation with the coronavirus. Since many member nations are weak to respond at this critical juncture, the Chinese have the perfect window of opportunity to swiftly assert their position.

ASEAN countries cannot afford the colonization of the South China Sea by Beijing. Experts talking to the EurAsian Times stated that as long as ASEAN members continue to argue amongst themselves, China will find it easier to split them and reap in the rewards of a fractured association.

ASEAN must work with the US, who although is not a claimant in the South China Sea dispute, but remains the only country that can thwart Beijings actions and plans.

Despite the international outcry and criticism, China seems determined to push forward and defend its regional interests. China launched a counter-protest to Vietnams issuing of diplomatic notes to the UN, saying Any country that attempts to deny Chinas sovereignty, rights and interests in the South China Sea in any form and to reinforce their illegal claims is doomed to fail, said Geng Shuang, the Ministry spokesperson.

China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty, rights and interests in the South China Sea, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

However, experts have warned that ASEAN nations must unite and unequivocally back the US to contain China and at the same time seriously negotiate with Beijing to find a long-lasting solution. Else, the day the US starts slipping, China would have controlled the entire region, either by economic might or military muscle.

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The Inevitable Clash Between China & ASEAN Nations Over The South China Sea - EurAsian Times

Javier Tebas has been talking about the topic of when football can kick off again.

Tebas is the president of La Liga who saw the Spanish government this past week approve a protocol for sporting activity.

For football, this paves the way for La Liga clubs to begin testing players on Monday with a view to the clubs returning to training the following week.

La Liga hoping to able to play games starting in mid-June, if the virus situation continues to improve and allow it.

With regard to the issues and debate surrounding the return of professional football, Javier Tebas has been speaking intelligently about the realities of the situation. What he says of course, equally applies to the Premier League as well as La Liga, the same with Serie A and the Bundesliga who are also working towards the return of football and completing this 2019/20 season.

Javier Tebas saying:

I do not understand why there would more danger in playing football behind closed doors, with all precautionary measures, than working on an assembly line, being on a fishing boat on the high seas.

If important economic sectors cannot restart, in a safe and controlled manner, they could end up disappearing. That could happen to professional football.

In Spain, football is an important economic driver that we need to reactivate like many others.

We continue to focus on this reactivation, in a responsible manner and adhering to health recommendations, as soon as possible.

I am fed up reading stuff from attention seeking journalists who talk about it being impossible for football to return any time in the near future, even behind closed doors, as though it was some kind of a special case that should be treated differently to every other industry and aspect of society. I also read quotes from players and others involved in football, stating even behind closed doors games can only happen when it is 100% safe to do so.

There will never be a 100% safe time, that is not reality, whatever kind of work you do.

As Javier Tebas brilliantly puts it, it is ridiculous to claim there would be more danger of playing football behind closed doors, with all the extra precautions top tier football can afford, compared to those working in factories (assembly line) or out on a fishing boat.

It is pure arrogance and disrespect if any football players think they can indefinitely stay away from work unlike NHS cleaners, supermarket workers, those working in the food supply chain and so on, never mind the doctors and nurses at the very frontline.

As Javier Tebas also points out, basic economics apply to professional football in the same way they apply to any other industry.

If all the furloughed workers at a factory currently closed refuse to go back to work once lockdown is eased, the company / business goes bust and all the workers lose their jobs, then cant pay their mortgages etc etc

Whilst nobody is feeling sorry for those in the Premier League in a financial sense at the minute, whether owners, management or players, the reality is that money doesnt magically appear. They need football to be playing on the pitch or else there is no money, simple as that.

I hear some fans and journalists saying just end this season now and then start the 2020/21 Premier League only when back to normal with full stadiums and so on.

I have no big sympathy for those who own PL clubs, in most cases anyway, but not completing this current season would lead to serious financial problems and probably legal challenges, as Ligue 1 are now finding after the French government ordered their season to end this week.

As for everything being back to normal, I have a feeling that will be a long way down the line, I doubt we will see fans allowed before the new year and certainly not 52,000 inside St James Park any time before 2021.

It is a case of making the best of a difficult situation, just as we are all having to do in our jobs and lives in general.

None of want to see behind closed doors games but that is what must happen for the time being and surely we want to see as many football clubs survive as possible? Just like me and you, when Premier League players are asked to get back to work, then that is what they have to do.

I think it is inevitable that we are going to see a lot of clubs in the other three divisions go out of business in this crisis, sad but inevitable. Even in normal times we have seen the likes of Bury and others fold, football clubs are not immune. The lower down you go the less resource clubs have to fall back on and the more reliant they are on ticket money.

We know that money hasnt been distributed fairly throughout football BUT if the Premier League isnt generating the usual revenues, there will be nothing at all to trickle down.

It isnt that nobody cares about the health and safety of Premier League players, it is simply the case that nobody cares about the health of football players any more than they do about the health of somebody working in your local shops, hospitals or factories.

We are all in this together, or at least we should be.

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This is brilliant from Javier Tebas on football restarting - The Mag