Coast
Watch The Ceremonies Perform ‘Problem Child’ as Fictional Band in New Movie, ‘Coast’
The new film Coast has been described as a movie “for teen girls who didn’t see themselves in films like Now & Then.” The protagonist, Abby, strives to become a rock star while nursing a crush on Dave, the frontman of the fictional band Piñata Jones. That group is portrayed by the real-life band The Ceremonies, whose drummer, Kane Richotte, plays Dave. SPIN has an exclusive first-look at a music video made to accompany the film for the song “Problem Child,” performed by Piñata Jones. The video takes place at a Piñata Jones concert in a local barn and features other key moments from the film. “Problem Child” was produced by Lovecats and composed by Grouplove’s Hannah Hooper with The Ceremonies’ Christian Zucconi (also a Groupl...
Jersey extends licences for EU fishing boats
The government of Jersey, a self-governing Channel Island between France and Britain, said Monday that it had extended a transitional fishing agreement with the European Union allowing EU boats to continue operating in its waters for three months. “The EU has recently requested an extension to the transitional arrangements, which had been due to come to an end on 30 June,” a statement from the Jersey government said, adding that “Jersey ministers have agreed to that request.” Jersey lies just off France’s northern coast and access to its rich waters has become a source of friction since Britain’s departure from the EU on January 1 tore up arrangements for fishing in the Channel. To gain new licences, Jersey has insisted that EU boats hand over proof that they have been operating in its wat...
Fish once labeled a ‘living fossil’ surprises scientists again
The coelacanth – a wondrous fish that was thought to have gone extinct along with the dinosaurs 66 million years ago before unexpectedly being found alive and well in 1938 off South Africa’s east coast – is offering up even more surprises. Scientists said a new study of these large and nocturnal deep-sea denizens shows that they boast a lifespan about five times longer than previously believed – roughly a century – and that females carry their young for five years, the longest-known gestation period of any animal. Focusing on one of the two living species of coelacanth (pronounced SEE-lah-canth), the scientists also determined that it develops and grows at among the slowest pace of any fish and does not reach sexual maturity until about age 55. The researchers used annual growth rings depo...
Senegalese navy seizes 8 tonnes of cannabis resin from boat
The Senegalese navy on Sunday intercepted a boat smuggling over 8 tonnes of cannabis resin through the waters off the West African nation’s coast, the armed forces ministry said in a statement. The vessel, which was flying a Togolese flag, was stopped 140 kilometres (87 miles) from the coastal capital of Dakar with seven crew members on board. After escorting the boat to a naval base in Dakar, the authorities discovered the 8.37 tonnes of hashish split between 279 bags. The boat was also carrying sacks of plaster, the ministry said on Monday. It did not provide a street value for the seized drugs. Earlier this year, authorities in Niger seized 17 tonnes of cannabis resin worth around 31 million euros ($37 million), the largest bust in the country’s history. According to Interpol, drug king...
Sri Lanka launches probe after burning ship pollutes beaches
Sri Lanka launched a criminal probe on Sunday into a huge container ship fire that has swamped the island nation’s coast with plastic pollution causing probably one of its worst marine disasters in history. Tonnes of microplastic granules have inundated the South Asian country’s famed beaches in Negombo, a popular tourist destination, forcing a fishing ban and prompting fears of ecological damage. The Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl has been smoldering on the horizon for 11 days after a blaze broke out as it was heading to Colombo from the Indian state of Gujarat. The 25-member crew, who have already been evacuated from the ship, will be questioned on Monday after a complaint was lodged by Sri Lanka’s Marine Environment Protection Authority, police said. Last week, authorities said t...
Several dead as freight ship sinks off Turkey’s Black Sea coast
A Palau-flagged freight ship has sunk off the coast of Turkey’s Black Sea province of Bartin, killing at least three crew members, according to Bartin Governor Sinan Guner. Guner had said earlier on Sunday that the ship, the Arvin, was a Russian dry freight vessel that sank off the coast of the Inkumu region in poor weather, but later corrected that. “The Arvin ship attempted to take refuge at the Bartin port due to poor weather conditions as it carried cargo from Georgia to Bulgaria,” Guner was quoted as saying by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency. The coastguard said the ship had sunk after taking in water amid poor weather. Six crew members had been rescued and efforts were under way to rescue others, it said in a statement. Anadolu said that all of them were hospitalised and were ...
Nigerian government seizes bank’s assets over Shell’s N183 billion debt
File Photo Nigerian government have moved to sequester the assets of the country’s premier lender First Bank of Nigeria Limited in an effort to recover the damages oil major Royal Dutch Shell owed the Ejama Ebubu community of Rivers State in a legal contest spanning many decades, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Police operatives and court officials arrived the bank’s main branch in Port Harcourt on Tuesday to execute an order to seize the lender’s asset, FirstBank said in a statement. The bank said the incident leading to the confiscation of its properties was “unjustified, illegal and a reckless misuse of the machinery of justice.” Lagos-headquartered FirstBank resolved to guarantee the damages awarded against Shell by a Rivers State high court judge a decade ago. According to the estimation...
Turkish exploration vessel back in port ahead of EU summit
Turkey’s seismic exploration vessel Oruc Reis returned to port on Monday from disputed Mediterranean waters, less than two weeks before a European Union summit where the bloc will evaluate possible sanctions against Ankara. NATO members Turkey and Greece have conflicting claims to continental shelves and rights to potential energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean. Tensions flared in August when Ankara sent Oruc Reis to map out energy drilling prospects in waters also claimed by Greece. Turkey withdrew Oruc Reis from contested waters ahead of a previous EU summit in October to “allow for diplomacy”, but later sent it back after what it called unsatisfactory outcomes from the summit. Earlier this month, Turkey said Oruc Reis would operate in the region until Nov. 29. The energy ministr...
New Zealand mass stranding leaves nearly 100 whales dead
About 100 pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins have died in a mass stranding on the remote Chatham Islands, about 800km (497 miles) off New Zealand’s east coast, officials said. Most of them were stranded during the weekend but rescue efforts have been hampered by the island’s remote location. New Zealand’s Department of Conservation on Wednesday said a total of 97 pilot whales and three dolphins died in the stranding, adding they were notified of the incident on Sunday. “Only 26 of the whales were still alive at this point, the majority of them appearing very weak, and were euthanised due to the rough sea conditions and almost certainty of there being great white sharks in the water which are brought in by a stranding like this,” said DOC Biodiversity Ranger Jemma Welch. Mass strandings a...
IOM: More than 240 illegal immigrants rescued off Libyan coast
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said, on Monday, that more than 240 illegal immigrants were rescued off the Libyan coast in the past week. “On July 13-20, 243 migrants were intercepted at sea and returned to Libya,’’ the IOM said. IOM mentioned that a total of 6,119 illegal immigrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast and returned to Libya since 2020, while 9,225 illegal immigrants were rescued and returned to Libya last year. Among those rescued off the coast and returned to Libya this year were 453 women and 327 miners, IOM added. The state of insecurity and chaos in Libya makes the country a preferred point of departure for thousands of illegal immigrants who wanted to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Europe. Immigrant shelters in Libya are overcrowded with im...
Leeds boss kicks against fans returning to stadiums
Marcelo Bielsa has demanded Premier League chiefs block fans returning to grounds until all 20 top-flight clubs can reopen their turnstiles. Under the new Covid tier system, half of Premier League clubs will still not be allowed supporters from Wednesday, while the other ten can have 2,000. Leeds are in Tier 3 and must keep fans locked out – with boss Bielsa saying: “If fans are not allowed in all stadiums, then they should not be allowed until everyone can. “Clubs shouldn’t have to deal with the consequences of being in a category. It should be about trying to maintain the competition as equally as possible.” Arsenal will become the first Prem team to welcome fans back since March when they host Rapid Vienna in the Europa League on Thursday. While West Ham’s Prem clash with Manchester Uni...