The Beijing Games are just the latest winter sporting event to use nearly all human-made snow for competitions. Winter sports experts say this is just the new reality.
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The captain of one of the vessels said the detention was “unfortunate,” but “actually quite expected”
Two Crystal Cruises ships, which have been on the run over huge unpaid fuel bills, were arrested by the authorities in the Bahamas on Friday, the media reported.
The Crystal Symphony and the Crystal Serenity vessels were taken into custody near Freeport, according to the Cruise Law News and The Insider.
There were only crew members aboard during the seizures, as hundreds of passengers had earlier disembarked the ships in Bimini, which is the closest point in the Bahamas to the mainland US.
A video posted on Twitter has allegedly captured the captain on the Crystal Symphony informing his sailors about the detention of the vessel.
“The ship has been placed under arrest by the local authorities over some unpaid bills, and as bad as it sounds it’s actually quite a good thing to happen,” he’s heard saying in the clip.
The seizure was “unfortunate,” but “actually quite expected,” the captain said, adding that it wasn’t going to affect the movement of the crew in any way.
Crystal Symphony Captain announcement addressed to the crew. The cruise ship has been arrested in Freeport, Bahamas. Crystal Serenity was also arrested in Freeport. pic.twitter.com/cdBNyHf4s5
The embattled operator of the ships, Crystal Cruises, said it couldn’t comment on “pending legal matters at this time” when asked about the arrest by The Insider.
The company only said that both liners had completed their voyages and that the crew members aboard were “being cared for” and have been paid in full.
The Crystal Symphony was supposed to dock in Miami on January 22 after a 14-day cruise in the Caribbean. But the ship diverted from its course and headed for Bimini in order to avoid a US arrest warrant.
Earlier in February, the Crystal Serenity also made its way into the Bahamas after being denied entry to Aruba.
A US judge had earlier ordered the seizure of the ships after a civil lawsuit filed by Peninsula Petroleum Far East against its operators, Crystal Cruises and Star Cruises, which are owned by Genting Hong Kong Ltd.
The company claimed that Genting Hong Kong owed it $4.6 million in unpaid fuel fees, with $1.2 million from this sum referring to the Crystal Symphony’s operations.
Last month, Crystal Cruises announced that they’ll be pausing their oceanic cruises until late April “due to current business environment and recent developments with our parent company, Genting Hong Kong.”
NEW DELHI, Feb 07 (IPS) – The year 2021 began with several new vaccines showing efficacy in randomized trials, but despite 26 authorised Covid-19 vaccines globally, and at least another 200 in development (The Lancet, 2021), the first few weeks of year 2022 brought a sense of uncertainty.
The 2022 Beijing Games are underway and already the drama is brewing from stellar performances on the ice rink — both figure skating and hockey — and on the slopes.
Critics called out the Hollywood star for past statements after he backed, and then withdrew support for the controversial podcaster
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has drawn flak online after walking back support for Joe Rogan over his prior use of the N-word – with social media users digging up statements previously put out by the Hollywood star that would not go over well today.
Johnson quietly deleted at least one tweet from 2011 that has now been criticized as “violent” and “transphobic,” in which he called out someone for “turning tranny tricks.” The tweet resurfaced after the former WWE superstar claimed on Friday that he was “not aware” of Rogan’s N-word use when he voiced his appreciation for the embattled Spotify podcaster.
Describing it as a “learning moment,” Johnson added that he had “become educated to [Rogan’s] complete narrative.” He was responding to a tweet from author Don Winslow that criticized him for the “terrible use of [his] power” in defending Rogan and questioned whether Johnson had “actually listened to this man’s many racist statements about Black people.”
Dear @donwinslow Thank you so much for this I hear you as well as everyone here 100% I was not aware of his N word use prior to my comments, but now I’ve become educated to his complete narrative. Learning moment for me.
Over the weekend, however, social media users highlighted a number of past instances where Johnson was not exactly politically correct, including Donald Trump Jr. who noted the “hateful rhetoric” in the deleted 2011 tweet. Caitlyn Jenner also weighed in about the “double standard” being “real.”
Wow, @TheRock, you can’t just try to quietly delete transphobic attacks without giving a groveling apology and expect to ever work in Hollywood again.
Hmmmm… the double standard is real. @TheRock I love you but cmon dude…let’s be real. Cancel culture has got to go. Use your platform. @DonaldJTrumpJr thanks for highlighting
Other people shared video clips from his wrestling days that have not aged well, including one where he – likely, in keeping with his persona on the show – referred to fellow WWE star John Cena as a “bloated transvestite Wonder Woman” and another ringside moment where he “racially insulted Chinese people” by mimicking a stereotypical Asian accent.
Last week, Johnson and other celebrities had backed Rogan stance during the brewing controversy over Spotify’s decision to not de-platform him for apparently spreading Covid-19 misinformation on his John Rogan Experience (JRE) podcast. In an Instagram post, Rogan had maintained that he was only interested in “telling the truth” and having “interesting conversations.” At the time, Johnson had complimented Rogan’s response for being “perfectly articulated.”
Since the compilation of clips featuring Rogan using the N-word emerged, as many as 113 episodes of JRE have vanished from Spotify, according to JRE Missing, a service that tracks the popular podcast. No reason has been given for their removal.
