Monthly Archives: April 2022

Niyama Private Islands in the Maldives, the only luxury resort in the country with its own wave breaking onto the shore, has three exciting new surf initiatives. Professional surf photographer Naomi Adbib is in residency at the resort until the end of July to capture action images of guests riding the waves. This will coincide with the visit of Cris Mills, a special surf strength coach, who is putting surfers through their paces throughout April until May 7. The luxury resort has also introduced a new speedboat to take intrepid surfers out to lesser-known waves further from the resort.

Niyama is home to two islands Play and Chill, which are connected by a bridge. Vodi wave is just off the shore of Play Island and is a powerful and sometimes hollow left hander. Off to the west and five minutes away by speedboat, Kasabu is a rippable and hollow right hander. Surfing can be enjoyed year-round at Niyama with bigger surf from March to November and no crowds.

Naomi is a photographer and videographer who specializes in surfing, water and lifestyle shots. Born in Morocco and raised in Spain, she spends her European winters in Nazar in Portugal, a renowned surfing destination, shooting big name surfers including Lucas Chumbo, Michelle des Bouillons, Rodrigo Koxa, Justine Dupont and Maya Gabiera.

Whilst at Niyama, Naomi is spending her days capturing surfing action at Vodi or out on boats to other surf breaks, taking pictures of surfing guests. Tailored to the surfer's needs, she can join individual surf sessions and lessons or spend up to 12 days with guests capturing their progress. For those looking for something extra special, Naomi can also take drone and video footage and compile one-minute surf video edits. Naomi also sends teaser photos to the Niyama Surf WhatsApp group highlighting the swell and encouraging guests to grab their boards and get to the beach.

Cris Mills

Cris is a Surf Strength Coach who has dedicated most of his adult life helping surfers improve their potential with movement, exercise and nutrition. He is offering both individual personalized coaching programs and group classes in the water and in the gym and spa. A highlight is the Surf Better program, a holistic and personalized process both in the water and on land that includes surf coaching, surf movement analysis, surf fitness and breath work, paired with pre & rehab techniques. Group classes include spine health and posture, breath hold classes, surf movement training and joint mobility training.

Sea Breeze speed boat at Niyama Private Islands Maldives

Adding a new dimension to Niyamas surf offering, Sea Breeze is the resorts new 2 x 350 horsepower speed boat, which is designed to cover long distances as fast and as comfortably as possible, making it possible for up to six guests plus a surf guide to surf in atolls further away and visit uninhabited islands. During the trip, guests will learn about the environmental challenges facing the Maldives and can make a positive impact by helping to remove washed up plastic and leaving the islands better than they found them.

After a days surfing, guests can hang out with Naomi, Cris and other surfers at Niyama's Surf Shack, with its bright red food truck, bean bags and swings to relax on, plus a reggae music soundtrack. The perfect spot for sundowners, the Surf Shack serves rum cocktails and gourmet snack food such as poached prawns, chorizo hotdogs, tacos, burritos and truffle fries with churros to wrap up.

Niyama Private Islands offers a collection of 134 villas, suites and pavilions, many with their own private pool, dotting along the beaches of both islands and extending out over the lagoon. The laid-back resort offers an abundance of space and privacy and a multitude of experiences tailored to adventurous honeymooners, active couples and style-savvy families.

Niyama Private Islands is 40-minute shared seaplane flight from Mal or a 30-minute domestic flight to Dhaalu Airport. Nightly rates start from USD $730 based on two sharing a Beach Villa with breakfast and dinner including taxes and fees. Surf photo packages with Naomi start from around USD $240 per hour; group classes with Cris Mills start from USD $60 per hour and private sessions from USD $280 per hour and trips on Sea Breeze with a guide start from USD $475 per person for a six-hour trip. To book visit http://www.niyama.com

Read the original here:

Niyama Private Islands Ups the Ante in the Maldives' Surfing Scene - Luxury Travel Magazine

Ibizas laid-back cousin, Formentera the Balearic island with no airport and few paved roads knows a thing or two about slowing things down. Life here is all about the simple things: eat lobster rice with your toes in the sand; watch the sun dip into the Mediterranean with a glass of Formentera wine; take a stroll along powdery white sand beaches that meet a turquoise sea. Add to that a Marine reserve with some of the clearest waters in Europe, a 130-kilometre hiking network and a burgeoning food scene, and you can see why so many who come to Formentera never leave.

The islands 32 hiking and biking trails, known as green routes, connect whitewashed villages like Sant Ferran and Es Pujols via 130 kilometres of stone and sand trails flanked by pine forests and turquoise seas. The green routes pass Formenteras iconic lighthouses and watchtowers, including La Mola and Cap de Barbaria, where the best panoramic views of the island can be found. Nature, too, is reason enough to lace up your hiking boots: wildflower meadows, juniper forests and isolated coves are just some of the landscapes youll encounter.

Thanks to the Posidonia Oceanica, a seagrass that acts as a natural filtration system on the island, Formentera has some of the clearest and bluest waters in the Mediterranean. Explore the islands 69-kilometre coastline on a paddleboard or kayak or join a dive or snorkelling tour, where youll find an underwater world of shipwrecks (the sunken Don Pedro cargo ship is 140 metres long) and rich marine life. The islands of Espalmador, off the northern coast of Formentera, offer the clearest waters for underwater exploration, while Cala Saona has calm waters for paddle boarding and swimming.

Blessed with miles of coastline and rich volcanic soil, Formentera is home to some of Spains highest quality ingredients, including olive oil, sea salt, figs, lamb, lobster and xeixa, a low-in-gluten flour that gives Formentera bread its sweet and rich flavour. Its no wonder, then, that dishes like guisat de peix (fish stew) and sobrasada (cured pork sausage meat) are prepared with the utmost care. A prized ingredient here is peix sec, a sun-dried fish thats preserved in olive oil and still caught using Formenteras traditional wooden fishing boats. The best way to eat peix sec is on an ensalada payesa, a salad of fresh tomatoes, onions, peppers and crispy-fried croutons.

During the Spring and Autumn, Formenteras lagoons and wetlands attract thousands of migratory birds journeying from Africa to Europe. In Salines, a protected natural park that spans from the south of Ibiza to the North of Formentera, you can spot over 200 bird species, including puffins and flamingoes. A short sail to UNESCO Heritage Site Es Freus Marine Reserve comes with more bird watching opportunities: home to the Posidonia meadows, the tiny islands between Formentera and Ibiza shelter European Shags, Petrels and the endemic Shearwater. Inland, look out for the colourful native lizards soaking up the sunshine.

Formentera has been a natural paradise for thousands of years, and the local authorities intend to keep it that way for many more to come. The Save Posidonia Project aims to protect the islands unique Posidonia Oceanica, which is crucial to filtering sediments and oxygenating the sea, by allowing visitors to sponsor areas of seagrass for as little as 1 euro. Through the website formentera.eco, the number of vehicles that can enter the island during the high season is also controlled, and, thanks to the efforts of The Plastic Free Ibiza and Formentera project, the islands hope to be free of all single-use plastics by 2023.

From the wild virgin coves of Playa Tramuntana to the restaurant-lined beaches of Ses Illetes and Levante beach, theres a stretch of sand on Formentera to suit every beach-goer. For a true Robinson Crusoe experience, set sail to the tiny private island of SEspalmador, where empty white sands and cobalt-blue coves are devoid of any restaurants or hotels. More developed beaches like Ses Illetes are lined with chiringitos selling lobster rice and punchy Formentera wines among the dunes, while in Ses Salines Nature Park youll find swathes of powdery sands surrounded by pink-hued salt lagoons and lush forest.

More:

Six reasons to visit Balearic island Formentera in summer 2022 - Euronews

A pair of massive double doors swing open, and a teenage Will Smith (played by Jabari Banks) walks into his aunt and uncles palatial Bel-Air home, where a big-dollar cocktail-party fundraiser is taking place. The soulful hip-hop song A Lot, by 21 Savage, soundtracks the scene. How much money you got? (A lot), the lyrics recite, seemingly narrating Wills awe as he clocks the material evidence of the Banks-family fortune. Yo! I got some rich-ass relatives, he says. This scene is from the first episode of Peacocks Bel-Air, one of the most anticipated Black television shows of this year and a dramatic reboot of the 90s sitcom staple The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Later in that same episode, the Banks children, Hilary, Carlton, and Ashley, are groaning about the family photo they know is inevitable. Then, Carlton asks his sisters, What could go wrong with a photo op with us in it? I mean look at us, pure, unadulterated Black excellence. To which Hilary responds: Period. The siblings understand that in order to represent their familyone of the few Black families in their ultra-affluent communityin the manner that their parents and school administrators expect, they must be exceptional in appearance and behavior, a reality that they both embrace and detest. Dramatic tension builds over the season as their outsider cousin, Will, struggles to find his place in their world.

Bel-Air is part of a cohort of recent shows that explore Black prosperity. Foxs Our Kind of People, a Marthas Vineyardset prime-time melodrama, delivers the dueling-families spectacle of 1980s fan favorites such as Dynasty. And OWNs soapy The Kings of Napa centers on a family that owns and operates a successful vineyard in Californias vaunted Napa Valley. These three shows differ in plot, tone, and production value, yet theyre all fluent in the language of Black excellence, or the long-held belief among African Americans that they must work twice as hard for half as much as white people receive. The term first comes up in Our Kind of People during a heated exchange between the rivals Leah (Nadine Ellis) and Angela (Yaya DaCosta); Leah accuses Angela of being a social climber who cant compare to the islands elite, of which Leah is a part. Describing her circle, Leah says, We dont just have a summer fling with Black excellence. We are Black excellence. In The Kings of Napa, the matriarch, Vanessa King (Karen LeBlanc), tells her family members about her and her late husbands original vision for their business. We said that people were going to see Black excellence in motion: wine, style, cuisine, all of it.

These shows are obsessed with cash and glamour, reminding viewers in nearly every scene that African Americans, too, have generational wealth and sophisticated taste. For some Black viewersthe presumed core audience for these seriesthe glitzy theatrics provide welcome escapism from a world rife with anti-Black violence. But these shows also feel out of step with the cultural zeitgeist and with an audience that has been showing signs of Black-excellence fatigue for some time. Since 2020, aversion has grown in particular toward the ideology that links exorbitant wealth and conspicuous consumption to social progress for African Americans. This thought pattern mandates that African Americans work twice as hard to get things: mansions, designer clothes, private jets to private islands. Many Black capitalists have long argued that buying power and entrepreneurship are the path to racial and economic justice. But the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and its concomitant economic effects for Black communities, as well as the nationwide protests after the police killing of George Floyd, led to public disavowals of excellence and free enterprise reaching a fever pitch.

In this social and political landscape, a show such as The Kings of Napa might feel insensitive. At one point, a character says, I love rich Black folks, especially really rich Black folks, before turning to a family member and asking, What do you think the slaves are saying?implying that their luxurious lifestyle would make their ancestors proud. Bel-Air also revels in ostentatious consumption, as reflected in its hip-hop soundtrack. Music by Meek Mill, Bobby Shmurda, and Moneybagg Yo pays homage to the original shows hip-hop roots while the lyrics loudly link Black excellence to displays of wealth.

A fitting addition to the track list would have been Jay-Z and Kanye Wests 2011 song Murder to Excellence, which spoke to a moment of optimism for many Black Americans. In it, Jay-Z raps: Black excellence, opulence, decadence / Tuxes next to the president, Im present I stink of success, the new Black elite. The podcast host and cultural commentator Sylvia Obell put the songs lyrics into a national political context. There was that slight high between when [Barack] Obama won [his first presidential election, in 2008,] and before Trayvon Martin got shot [in 2012] where I think hope was the drug that we were all riding on and Black excellence felt like, Oh, maybe we can be anything! Obell told me. The killing of 17-year-old Martin at the hands of a vigilante was a stinging realization for many Millennials like Obell: Black excellence is not enough to keep us alive So why am I trying so hard to be excellent? Maybe I can just be me.

Still, the old narrative gained traction again a few years later. In a 2017 episode of the podcast Toure Show titled Puffy: How to Make a Billion, the artist and entrepreneur Diddy defined Black excellence as when we tap into our magic. His magic involved making tons of money and socializing with other members of the elite, notably at the exclusive Roc Nation Brunch, hosted regularly by Jay-Z and Beyonc. By the January 2020 gathering, Jay-Z had become a billionaire. Images from that day captivated street youth and emerging Black professionals alike, who concluded that successwhether in the underground economy or in the boardroomwould give them unprecedented buying power. Diddy and others who had started from the bottom seemed to believe that their place on a Forbes list was a sign of racial change, that their hard work and success in the free market would benefit the entire race. Black millionaires and billionaires, they declared, could fund racial-justice initiatives and create new jobs.

Read: The story of Jay-Z

And then, two months later, the world shut down. Nearly 10 million people lost their job in the United States that year, and Black and brown people were among those hardest hit. Meanwhile, billionaires got even richer during the pandemic. As the death toll and unemployment numbers rose, conversations about anti-capitalism seemed to reach a rare level of fervor. #TaxTheRich became popular on Twitter. People wrote about capitalisms ties to Black-labor exploitation, a connection that dates back to the global slave trade. Books such as Destin Jenkins and Justin Leroys 2021 Histories of Racial Capitalism grappled with the historical antecedents of todays tensions with the 1 percent. The emphatic point of these discussions was not that Black people should live in poverty, but that raising up a Black millionaire class does not result from or lead to economic justice, no matter how hard its members have worked to earn their assets.

Examining wealth distribution, instead of income, as a framework for studying economic disparities shows the stark gap between Black and white Americans. Today, according to a recent Deutsche Welle documentary on Americas Black upper class, only 2 percent of Black families are millionaires. In other words, most are not living the lavish lives that people like Diddy represent. Excellence as a framing of opulence is not Black or white. Thats American, Darrick Hamilton, a professor of economics and urban policy at The New School, told me. Racializing excellence forces Black Americans to measure their success according to a capitalist system that was reinforced by Jim Crow racial logic and bolstered by anti-Black economic policies. I want to structure the society where excellence is something we applaud and strive for, but its not a necessary ingredient just to survive, Hamilton said.

For all its fixation on excellence, Bel-Air does occasionally show signs of self-awareness. In the episode Canvass, Will and Carlton debrief about why Uncle Phils campaign to become district attorney isnt resonating with working-class voters. Will tries to explain the hoods distrust of the system. Carlton dismisses Wills take, saying, Apathy isnt a solution. Will doubles down: Being asked to choose between two shitty options is bullshit. But these insightful moments are few. The gravitational pull of the show is toward the Bankses lifestyle. The sets, the costumes, and the level of access and power they connote are supposed to be so enticing that viewers would want to trade places with Will. The show suggests that Wills new life in Bel-Air is a step up for him as a kid from West Philadelphiadespite the fact that his mom is a financially independent nurse and Will was already college-bound. In other words, the writers have reused the popular hood-kid fish-out-of-water narrative on a middle-class kid, making the already unsophisticated class critique feel further off-key.

Though there will always be an appetite for shows about unattainable riches, Obell believes that audiences today want more balanced treatments of African Americans and money in pop culture. Who wants to see these extreme levels of wealth displayed at a time when people are just struggling to feed their families? Obell asked. She noted that Starzs drug-lord drama franchise Power is highly watched Black programming. This popularity is not solely because viewers love to consume African American street-hustler tropes but also because those shows are more willing to have an unvarnished conversation about capitalism, the American dream, and the struggles of the working poor. Queen Sugar, which will air its final season this summer, has been one of the best shows in recent history to take on race, class, and generational inheritance. It has modeled, particularly in its first four seasons, how a show could address these topics with sincerity, without naively perpetuating myths about money as racial progress or denigrating characters because of their financial position.

Read: Queen Sugar deepens its complex family portrait

Further, many Gen Z African American viewers may not want to be preached to about respectability and uphill battles. Some have embraced the soft life, or a commitment to a low-stress, high-vibrational lifestyle, as a quiet protest against the they sleep, we grind ethos of Black excellence. Bel-Air, with its young cast, has a better chance of pivoting in its second season than The Kings of Napa and Our Kind of People (neither of the latter two has been renewed or canceled yet). I imagine that as Bel-Air finds its footing, viewers will see it engage directly with the concept of prioritizing rest and well-being (Hilary seems primed for such a plotline) and more conversations about class that draw from COVID-era debates. The series co-showrunners, T. J. Brady and Rasheed Newson, told Collider that in the first season they were nervous that theyd go too far with a story line in ways that the original producers would disapprove of. There are so many pieces on the board for Season 2, Newson said. And weve gotta grow. Perhaps they can depart from the rigid framework of class that theyd inherited from the original sitcom. Otherwise, Wills rebellious act of wearing Retro Jordan 5s in a Ferragamo-loafers world might not be enough to keep up with an audience thats done some growing up of its own.

See more here:

'Bel-Air' and the Flawed Logic of 'Black Excellence' - The Atlantic

2ND UPDATE, 1:23 PM: I tend to be quite expressive in my writing, a halting Johnny Depp said Tuesday on the stand of his $50 million defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard.

After previous testimony during the day detailing his dysfunctional childhood and rise to international stardom, Depp shifted focus in the Virginia courtroom to the vile texts and other communications that have come out of attacks on his Rum Diary co-star. The actor also addressed his reported deep-seated issues with drugs and drinks, laying a lot of the blame on his abusive mother and her nerve pills.

It was self-medication, the former Pirates of the Caribbean star claimed.

With the seven-member jury and Heard herself sitting close by, Depp explained that he started using his mothers pills at the age of 11 to take the edge off. He also claimed that he never took drugs or drank to party but to dull the pain. Citing the trauma of his youth, Depp said his quote, un-quote substance abuse that has been delivered by Ms. Heard is grossly embellished and sorry to say, a lot of it is plainly false. He added: It was an easy target for her to hit.

I am not some maniac who needs to be high or loaded all the time, the 58-year old Depp asserted, also alleging that he had long periods of total sobriety in his life.

In fact, contrary to evidence presented in this case and in the week-old trial, Depp said he was never been out of control on a film set or while working.

When I was with Ms. Heard, and her friends and we were all drinking wine and I was smoking marijuana, they used to tease me for what they said was a ludicrous tolerance because I never appeared bloated or high, he said. Even if I felt a little spinny no one would have ever known.

Making sure his version of events didnt completely diverge from what others have said, Depp did admit that he was addicted to the prescription opioid Roxycodone after suffering a back injury from performing an action scene on 2011s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I was bit by the snake, and before you know it that monkey is on your back to stay.

Depp added that once he finally kicked the drug, he vowed to stay off it no matter how much pain or discomfort he suffered, such as when one of his fingers was sliced off while on location in Australia in 2015. He said that he didnt take the opioid again.

Once you have been bit, you will be bit again, he said.

With tales of Peter Frampton and Van Morrison records, Clockwork Orange and Last Tango in Paris soundtracks and writers like the Beat Generation and Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, Depp delved into his own style of scribbles after some prodding by his lawyer Jess Meyers.

In my texts, in my emails, and my writings you take the subject itself and you try to express it in your own vernacular, he said, as the looming specter of hateful and threatening communications with the likes of self-described drug buddy and Avengers alum Paul Bettany, as well as members of his staff and medical team.

Knowing the damning portrait the texts and other communications paint and how effective they could be in Heards defense, especially with Bettany on the witness list, Depp took a risky preemptive approach hoping to defang the material.

I am ashamed of some of the references made and embarrassed at the tone that in the heat of the moment, the heat of the pain I was feeling, went to dark places, the actor said in a low voice on the stand. Sometimes pain has to be dealt with humor, and sometimes dark very dark humor, he went on to testify as Heard watched stone-faced.

Sometimes you are exaggerating something youve done to make him understand you are on Planet Question Mark, Depp stated of the texts shared with the likes of Bettany that threatened to kill Heard, defile her and more.

Flipping the responsibility, Depp then declared he used horrible terms in texts in reaction to Heards claims of domestic abuse and more at his hands.

After the unfortunate words of Ms. Heard made their way into my heart and my head and those are two very opposing things and you are trying to find to the best way to express sometime to a friend, Depp went on to say.

With less than hour left in Tuesdays testimony, Depps attorney turned the actor towards describing how he met Heard and how their relationship developed. Depp described how he referred to Heard as Slim and she called him Steve, the names of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogarts characters in To Have and Have Not. Depp compared his difference in age to that of Bacall and Bogart.

I was the old craggy Bogie, and she was this beautiful creature, this stunning creature, Depp said, as Heard watched, expressionless.

Set to go to 2 PM PT today, Depp will return to the stand Wednesday for more testimony and cross examination.

UPDATE, 12:29 PM: Anonymity has left the building thats an odd thing to deal with, Johnny Depp told a packed Virginia courtroom today as the one-time Oscar nominee continued his testimony in the $50 million defamation trial against Amber Heard.

It all turned around, it went weird, Depp added of the gifts and curses of the huge success of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and the security details subsequently required for himself, the kiddies and other members of his family

In what was an arched attempt at presenting the multi-millionaire as just a regularly guy to the Fairfax County jury and onlookers in and out of the court, Depp pushed back against the self-described disturbing criminal acts allegations of domestic abuse that his ex-wife and Rum Diary co-star has long claimed.

Spending most of his initial testimony Tuesday ruminating over his troubled childhood and the violence he saw and was subjected to at a young age, Depp also played to the seven-person jury with tales of his early career.

Stressing he signed up for his some Pep Le Pew, some Keith Richards, Capt. Jack Sparrow role in the Pirates franchise in many ways out of watching cartoons with his own offspring, a sometimes rambling Depp sought project an air of an innocent thrust into a world of celebrity, money and power that he never expected or desired.

The actor also spent time carefully constructing a portrait of himself as someone who takes his craft very seriously.

That pose is very important after claims in filings by Heards side and prior testimony by others of a seemingly endlessly pampered Depps cavalier attitude towards his profession and production. Admitting he never actually saw the first Pirates flick, Depp said he believed in the character wholeheartedly and came to know Jack Sparrow better than the screenwriters.

The Edward Scissorhands actor also revealed how profoundly his life and career altered once Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl came out to huge box office success in 2003. As he had earlier in his testimony, Depp emphasized his concern for his kids and their safety amidst all the attention.

I forgot what the original part of your question was, I got lost in the gauntlet, Depp told his attorney Jessica Meyers after a detailed description of the throngs of fans he would meet at blockbuster film premieres.

The trial has paused for its 15-minute afternoon break. As she has been every moment since the much postponed trial began on April 11, Heard was watching Depps testimony in the courtroom. As she did in the 2020 UK libel trial that Depp lost, the Aquaman actress is scheduled to give her own testimony at some point in the five-week trail on this side of the ponf.

PREVIOUSLY, 11:18 AM: My goal is the truth, said Johnny Depp on the stand today one week into the $50 million defamation trial instigated by the ex-Pirates of the Caribbean star against Amber Heard back in March 2019. Lies build upon lies, he testified.

Calling Heards years old allegations of domestic abuse by Depp to her diabolical, the actor said he was doing the right thing pursuing the high profile case.

It was a complete shock, it just didnt need to go in that direction, as nothing of the kind ever happened, Depp told the Fairfax County Courthouse in a halting voice with no small degree of affectation. There were arguments, and things of that nature, but never did myself reach the point of striking Ms. Heard in anyway, nor have I struck anyone in my life, he added.

It was my responsibility to not only clear my name I wanted to clear my children of this horrid thing they had to read about their father, that was untrue, Depp went on to say of his motivation to bring this exposure of he and Heards relationship into the public sphere.

Its very strange when one day youre Cinderella, and in 0.6 seconds youre Quasimodo, the actor said of his perception of the public perception of him after Heards allegations of frequent abuse became public. I didnt deserve that nor did my children nor the people whove believed in me all these years, he added with no small degree of humility.

After that clearly well rehearsed set-up, Depp launched into a vivid depiction of his own working class childhood, and the turmoil and violence he experienced growing up. That history has been a vital element of Depps legal teams strategy even before the trial started last week.

Largely uninterrupted by his attorneys, Depps discussion of his early years was perhaps more relatable than much of what the jury has heard over the past week, tales of a life of private islands, private planes and a private detox doctor, perhaps beyond the comprehension of jurors even from well-to-do Fairfax County.

Observing her litigious ex-husband testifying, Heard sat close by in courtroom as she has every day since the much delayed trial began on April 11.

The Aquaman star is scheduled to take the stand herself later in the proceedings. Both Depp and Heard testified in the late 2020 U.K. libel trial that saw the actor unsuccessfully move to rebut The Sun tabloid assertion that Depp is a wife-beater. While not officially permitted to be heavily referenced during this Stateside trial, the British matter does loom over the Virginia proceedings at least in the court of public opinion.

Depp will be on the stand on Wednesday for cross examination. The trial is set to run for five weeks. However, it will hit the pause button from May 9-12 as Judge Penney S. Azcarate has a previously scheduled conference engagement.

This latest fray between Depp and Heard, who divorced in 2016 with restraining orders and a media feeding frenzy surrounding them, started when The Tourist actor suddenly sued his ex-wife in March 2019 in Virginia for a late 2018 Washington Post op-ed Heard penned about domestic abuse and the potential fallout for victims.

As has been noted by Heards legal team in and out of court, the op-ed never mentioned Depp by name. Yet, in subsequent paperwork, the Hollywood Vampires guitarist proclaimed the article in the Jeff Bezos-owned outlet was clearly referring to him, cost the one-time box office gold actor well-paying roles, a return to the Pirates franchise and devastated his career.

In the three years since Depps filing, the case has seen Heard unsuccessfully try over and over to have the matter dismissed or shifted to California. As a result, Heard also she countersued Depp for $100 million in the summer of 2020.

While acknowledging that Depp has a high burden to meet for defamation, sources close to the actors team say he will own his various vices on the stand, but aim to make sure the truth comes out. Long before today testimony, Depp has adamantly denied he ever abused Heard. In fact, he has claimed that he is the victim of domestic abuse in the admittedly tempestuous relationship

It is almost a given that the losing side in this sordid affair will appeal and drag the matter on even further

The earlier part of today saw Depps friend and sound technician Keenan Wyatt testifying in a display that did not go as Team Depp had likely hoped.

Unsurprisingly seeking to be complimentary to his long-time pal and paymaster, Wyatt did confirm somewhat embarrassingly that one-time Oscar nominee Depp has been using an ear piece when filming since 1997s The Brave. Wyatt also was grilled on a binge with Marilyn Manson for a few days that Depp allegedly engaged in, plus a pattern of constant absences and tardiness on 2014s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales while production was underway in Australia.

Additionally, in what became a battle of objections between the lawyers in the courtroom, Wyatt detailed to the jury and onlookers his experiences with Depp and his interactions with Heard during the couples relationship. Ive never seen Johnny be violent to anyone, Wyatt told Heard attorney Elaine Bredehoft under a sometimes tense cross-examination.

You dont know what went on behind closed doors, Bredehoft declared in an explicit evisceration of Wyatts testimony that led to the sound technician defaulting to a cascades of I dont recall and similar statements.

Along with Depp and Heard, A-listers like James Franco, WandaVisions Paul Bettany and the worlds on-again/off-again richest man Elon Musk are set to testify in the Old Dominion-set trial.

As of right now, the trial runs Monday to Thursday, with Fridays off.

See original here:

Johnny Depp Details Opioid Addiction, Says He Is Ashamed Of Texts Threatening Amber Heard; Testimony In $50M Defamation Trial Will Continue Tomorrow -...

The breathtaking tours allow you to come up close and personal with orcas, bears, humpback whales, otters, seals, and more.

Have you ever sailed through the Gulf Islands or to the Great Bear Rainforest?

Manypeoplehave visited the awe-inspiring islands alongB.C.'s coast, but few of them have sailed through itspristine waters on a private tour.

Multiple cruise linessail up the coastline up to Alaska but most of them have upwards of 1,500 passengers on board; even some of the luxury lines carry close to 500 people.

For a decidedly more intimate experience, a Vancouver-based company is offering tailor-made charter expeditions for a maximum of nine passengers. The eco-friendly cruisestake passengers to places with protected waters that are home to an array of wildlife, including orcas, bears, humpback whales, otters, seals, and more.

The expeditions take place on "The Curve of Time" an ecotourism ship that served as an environmental awareness vessel for Greenpeace. Built in 1959 as a side-trawler, itwas laterconverted forecotourismand hasdecades of historical stories sailing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Owner and guideSylvaintells Vancouver Is Awesome in a phone interview that the voyages take guests tosecluded gemsfar from the mainland where they'll find neighbouring sea creatures, land mammals, and mountainous forestry.

When asked what sets The Curve of Time Charters apart from other companies, Sylvainsays"we're nicer people" with a laugh, adding that the experience on and off the vessel is something folks won't find on other tours.

For one, guests willlearn about the history of the area as they sail across the smooth waters, as well asthe local wildlife.And with kayaks and paddleboards onboard, theycan look forward to peaceful morning and evening paddles during anchorages. Crab traps and fishing gear are also available to fish for fresh seafood, including lingcod, rockfish, halibut, and salmon.

"No question on every trip [guests] will enjoy fresh crab," notes Sylvain, who adds the captain hosts a sushi night during the trip.

Sylvaindives down and gently collects sea creatures from the ocean floor to bring up to show guests, which he says is always a big hit.

"I bring up a whole bunchof living creatures and put them in a small aquarium and then we do an identification and then we put them all back," he explains. "People love it; peopleget excited.

"When we're tied up to a dock and we do it, everybody on the dock shows up on our vessel."

During shore excursions, a naturalist accompanies guestsfor plant identification during walks through the rainforest."People will be able to collect their own [mushrooms] and learn to cook or dry them," explains Sylvain.

Chef Mike,theonboard chef, has a background in "adventure dining,"where he foraged for food andpreparedit in remote places in the Yukon. Guests would hike or fly into locations "in the middle of nowhere" and enjoy elaborate meals on the top of mountains or by the edge of rivers.

And weighing in at nearly 200 tons, the steel vessel is anexceptionally stable ship, affording maximum comfort to passengers.

"It's made for the biggest oceans in the world. So when we cruise it on these protected waters its just dead, dead flat calm," he describes, adding that ship is the most stable 12-passenger vessel in the tourism industry.

Captain Matthew is a "lifetime adventurer, always eager to explore and discover," Sylvainsays.Early in life, he travelled the Pacific as a diver in the Royal Canadian Navy.

The captainsays "the only two things I ever wanted were to be a navy diver and a radio DJ." After his term in the navy, he chased his second dream with a successful career in broadcasting.

But the "call of the sea" overcame the marine man, who plunged into the civilian maritime industry in 2005 when he acquiredall the credentials required by Transport Canada to hold the position of Master on TheCurveofTime.

Over the course of his adventures, Matthew has spent a great deal oftimeexploring and working in the Salish Sea, the Sunshine Coast and points sailing the west coast of Brutish Columbia.

"Matthew has an extreme passion for the science and art of navigation, and loves to share his knowledge with fellow adventurers! addsSylvain.

Josh, who doesmarketing and development for the company, also sails on some of the expeditions. He underscores that the people on the ship truly set the experience apart from ones like it. They engage with the guests throughout the journey, offering an intimateexperience.

"Because it's super flexible, everything's going to be adapted to the group that's onboard," Sylvainadds. "Most of the people that end up purchasing these trips or groups or families."

The Curve of Time Charters offers five- to nine-day sailings on itineraries including the Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound, the Broughtons, and the Great Bear Rainforest.

Excerpt from:

Photos: You can sail through remote B.C. islands on a former Greenpeace ship - Vancouver Is Awesome

Not so long ago, it was easy for public banks to fund new fossil fuel projects. But now, as the world faces a worsening climate crisis, the tide may be turning.

Case in point: after Traditional owners filed an injunction over a Santos gas development near the Tiwi islands, South Koreas export credit agency announced it would reconsider its financial support.

Environmental and legal risks is one reason given by the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) for the delay in deciding on a loan of up to US$330 million for the project. The move could threaten its financial viability.

Public financial institutions are under renewed pressure to change lending practices after the worlds leading climate scientists strongly warned against any new fossil fuel infrastructure. In our region, public banks in China, Japan, and South Korea now face unprecedented scrutiny for their role in financing the climate crisis.

Not only that, but the Tiwi injunction has again shone a spotlight on the role played by export credit agencies like Kexim in pumping funds into new coal, gas and oil projects.

The Kexim loan was intended to go to the Korean energy group SK E&S, which had planned to export gas from the project to Asia. Without funding, there may be no project.

Thats why Kexims move is so important. While export credit agencies are not the only funders of oil, gas and coal infrastructure, and not the largest either, they have been instrumental in developing many of the worlds most carbon intensive sectors.

Read more: Green lending: world's biggest banks' latest initiative at COP26 is a step backwards

How? By locking in fossil fuel energy systems, leveraging private finance by reducing risk premiums, and shaping international standards which influence private bank policies. In short, they have played a key role in enabling fossil fuel expansion.

For decades, these state supported agencies have gone under the radar. No longer. Scrutiny is increasing of their work borrowing from national treasuries or public capital markets to finance export-oriented fossil fuel projects.

Thats not to criticise all the work these agencies do. Theyve proven invaluable for nations like South Korea as they industrialised. By providing direct loans, insurance and guarantees to foreign buyers, they have helped improve the competitiveness of their exports.

If the world is to achieve the rapid energy transition necessary to avoid the worst effects of climate change, we will need a revolution in global finance. We have to drain funding from fossil fuels and pump it into clean energy.

Until recently, efforts to cut international public funding for fossil fuel projects have focused on multilateral development banks like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. In response, both have slowly started to shift their financing away from fossil fuels.

While thats a positive step, bilateral funding bodies like export credit agencies are still stuck at square one. Research estimates these public banks are now financing fossil fuel projects more than the multilateral development banks. Between 2013 and 2015, for instance, these agencies financed oil and gas to the tune of US$32 billion a year. The worst offenders were Japan, Korea and the United States.

Australias equivalent Export Finance Australia is hardly blameless. Between 2009 and 2020, our agency loaned an estimated A$1.5 billion to new coal, oil and gas projects, dwarfing the funding it gave to renewable projects.

As governments belatedly swing into action, it is likely we will see an end to the historical support given by these banks to highly polluting sectors. In turn, this will hinder corporate efforts to mobilise public and private finance alike.

Thats not to say there wont be holdouts. At the Glasgow UN climate conference in late 2021, developed countries including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom committed to ending public funding for unabated fossil fuel energy. Australia, Japan and South Korea were not among the signatories.

Read more: Why banning financing for fossil fuel projects in Africa isn't a climate solution

The Glasgow announcement came only a month after the OECD announced it would end export credit support for coal-fired power plants built without the ability to capture and store carbon dioxide.

While important, these steps are nowhere near enough. To date, only the Canadian export credit agency has committed to aligning funding with the goal of net zero by 2050. That means the lending policies of almost all of these agencies remain glaringly inconsistent with Paris Agreement goals and renewed warnings from climate scientists.

In a year when unprecedented floodwaters have taken lives and livelihoods up and down Australias east coast, it is time for governments to revise the mandates of their export credit agencies. They can be a force for good by helping to leverage billions of dollars into clean energy projects, rather than fossil fuel ones.

Without government action, it will be left to local communities like the traditional owners in the Northern Territory and environmental organisations to fight uphill battles against these taxpayer funded banks.

Read more from the original source:

Tiwi Islands offshore gas fight shows public banks are under real pressure over fossil fuel funding - The Conversation Indonesia

Heres how some resorts around Fiji celebrated the Easter Weekend.

Heres how some resorts around Fiji celebrated the Easter Weekend.

Kokomo Private Island Fiji in Kadavu pictured an surfer Easterbunny:The Easter Bunny has found us.

Wishing our family & friends the happiest Easter, we cannot be more grateful hearing the sound of very excited little guests running around our Island home again.

With love from Kokomo.

Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort in Korotogo:BULA BULA to all our Easter BUNNIES Wherever you are in the world, we hope you have a wonderful day and send our best wishes to you all.

Enjoy time with family and friends today and dont forget to share some of yourchocolate!

Sota tale

We cant wait to see you here soon.

Castaway Island Fiji.

Castaway Island Fiji pictured the last ray of sunset making beautiful hues against the sky on the tropical island getaway:Happy Easter from Fiji!

This is the view from outside our bure, our home away from home.

When you arrive on Castaway Island Fiji they say welcome home and the beautiful staff here make every effort to make it feel that way.

It will be with a heavy heart we leave tomorrow but we are looking forward to coming back to our Fiji home another time.

Shangri-La Yanuca Island.

Shangri-La Yanuca IslandEmbrace the joy of Easter coupled with the Bula spirit of Fiji. Shangri-La Yanuca Island, Fiji is brimming with renewed energy and excitement this weekend.

Our Easter Bula Burger Challenge commenced yesterday and continues tomorrow to the delight of guests.

We celebrate this one big island family and we share our thanksgiving with yours.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Malamala Beach Club Fiji.

Malamala Beach Club Fiji:Look at that gorgeous water!

You will find some of the most stunning, clear waters amongst the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji we just cant get enough!

Tropica Island Resort.

Tropica Island Resort:Wishing all of our Tropica friends and family a blessed Easter Sunday.

Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort Fiji.

Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort Fiji:Trade your bed for one of ours!

Aside from comfort, we promise to include the views, too.

#HomeAwayFromHome

Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort.

At Kokomo Private Island Fiji in Kadavu.

Feedback: ranobab@fijisun.com.fj

Continue reading here:

Let's Go Local: How Properties Celebrated The Easter Weekend - Fiji Sun Online

"The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" sees Cage playing a fictionalized or "stylized" version of himself who is debt-ridden and who becomes a CIA informant after a billionaire mega-fan and drug lord, played by "The Mandalorian" star Pedro Pascal, invites him to make a paid birthday party appearance. It's a meta concept that harkens back to when Cage played screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and his fictional twin brother in Spike Jonze's "Adaptation."

Some of the roles Cage has taken on may have been driven partially by a need to pay the bills, since he at one point owed millions of dollars in back taxes to the IRS. Reports of a lavishlifestyle, with private islands, castles, and even a dinosaur skull were offset by his lawsuit against a formerbusiness manager for causing him "financial ruin."However, as Cage himself recently pointed out in aGQ cover story, he "never phoned it in" with his performances, even when it might have seemed like he was slumming it.

This is something that director Guillermo del Toro concurred with when he recently tweeted, "He absolutely never, ever does anything but his best I've said it before: there has not been, nor will there ever be an actor like Nicolas Cage. A master."

Cage may have said he will never see"The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" because it's "just too much of a whacked-out trip" for him to go to a theater and watch him play himself.But for everyone else who might (rightly) consider that a good time,the movie is intheaters on Friday, April 22, 2022.

Go here to see the original:

The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent Is The 'Scariest Thing' Nicolas Cage Has Ever Done - /Film