17th century Dutch shipwreck gives up more of its secrets

DutchNews, November 24, 2017

Archaeologists at the site of the find. Photo: University of Western Australia 

The ill-fated Dutch ship Batavia which sank after striking a reef off the Western Australian coast in 1629 has given up more of its secrets. 

An international team of archaeologists, including scientists from the University of Western Australia, the Western Australian Museum and the University of Amsterdam, has discovered a new communal grave in the Abrolhos Islands containing the bodies of five of the survivors.

 ‘These people probably died shortly after the shipwreck,’, archaeologist Liesbeth Smits told Trouw. ‘They died of hunger or from drinking salt water. We didn’t find any evidence of a violent death, which we saw on the remains we found earlier.’ 

The newly built VOC ship, on its way to Batavia, was doomed from the start. Commander Francois Pelsaert, a merchant but in charge of the ship, and his captain Adriaan Jakobsz did not see eye to eye and the latter conspired to hijack the ship which was laden with valuable merchandise and money. 

Wrecked

But a navigational mistake put paid to his plan and the Batavia was wrecked in 1629 on the Morning Reef off the Western Australian coast. The 282 survivors ended up on a small coral island termed ‘Batavia’s Graveyard’ – Beacon Island. In the following months a mutiny unfolded, leading to the deaths of around 115 people, many of whom were murdered by the mutineers. 

The communal grave was discovered earlier this month and was made up of five sets of human remains, along with various artefacts. 

Now, Smits is going to try to find out where the five men came from. ‘We are going to look at the chemical composition of the enamel on their teeth. This is formed during the first years of life and doesn’t change with age. All sorts of chemicals from the environment of your birth end up in there, via food among other things. These chemical elements can tell us very accurately where these people grew up,’ she told Trouw. 

International 

The method was used on other remains as well and showed the VOC, which was the first multinational company in the world, was a truly international company with French and British crew members. 

Jeremy Green, head of maritime archaeology at the Western Australian Museum, who has been investigating the Batavia and the story of its survivors since the wreck’s discovery more than 50 years ago, says the grave constitutes yet another piece of the ship’s tumultuous history. 

‘This latest find adds significantly to the wealth of information we have on Batavia, and shows that there are still very important discoveries to be made about the remarkable human story behind one of Australia’s oldest known shipwrecks,’ he said.

Swimming with dolphins in virtual reality to aid disabled

Yahoo – AFP, Jo Biddle, November 19, 2017

A Dutch non-profit has developed virtual reality glasses to enable the
disabled to feel close to dolphins for therapeutic purposes

Swimming with wild dolphins is something most can only dream of, and jumping into pools with captive animals has become increasingly controversial with environmentalists condemning it as cruel.

But a Dutch non-profit believes it has found a way to bring people, especially the disabled, closer to such a joyful experience through the technological, immersive advances offered by virtual reality (VR).

The Dolphin Swim Club is the realisation of a more than two-decade journey by artist Marijke Sjollema, who had her first chance encounter with a dolphin in 1993 while snorkeling off the coast of Mexico.

"I saw this grey shadow under the water and my first thought was this is the end. I thought it was a shark," she told AFP.

She tried to stay calm "but this shadow was following me. And then there was this split second that I realised that it wasn't a shark. It was a dolphin."

"I didn't know anything about dolphins, but I instinctively knew, 'Oh a dolphin, I'm fine. This is a good thing'."

From that moment on, Sjollema's love of dolphins and all cetaceans was born.

"We know that there is something magical about dolphins. We think of joy, and playfulness and happiness and innocence when we meet dolphins. And this is even a healing quality," she told AFP.

She and her business consultant husband, Benno Brada, have devoted their spare time, energy and personal resources to their mission of enabling people to discover their own encounter with dolphins.

The VR dolphin therapy is designed as an alternative to dolphin-assisted 

therapies using dolphins in captivity

Healing qualities

Their first project using normal VR headsets playing a film of the dolphins launched in late 2015.

But last month they went a step further, unveiling waterproof VR glasses, which allow people to drift around a pool watching bottlenose and spinner dolphins playing around them in virtual reality.

This VR dolphin therapy in a pool, still at the trial stage, is thought to be a world first.

"The dream was to find an alternative to dolphin-assisted therapies using dolphins in captivity," Brada told therapists at a residential community for disabled people run by the 's Heeren Loo organisation who were testing out the waterproof goggles in the pool.

The centre has been using the land version of the VR glasses since 2016, and has seen noticeable benefits.

"Some 82 percent of our clients feel actually relaxed by seeing the films," said the organisation's policy advisor Johan Elbers.

"It takes them away from the world they are in, they enter a new world in another mindset, think differently, feel differently, see differently, and relax completely."

He recalled how one young woman, who had long had trouble sleeping, now watches a VR film of the dolphins swimming at night, and falls quietly asleep.

Another man is able to completely forget an agonising pain in his arm.

Dion, a 21-year-old resident of the community, said watching the film made him feel "peaceful."

"The dolphin noises and the water calms me down, that calms me from all the noises that there are, then you're zen," he said.

The VR glasses allow people to float around a pool watching dolphins playing 

around them in virtual reality, helping people relax and enter another world

Sharks next?

The pool-safe VR goggles, developed thanks to 50,000 euros ($59,000) grant from the Dutch government, consist of a waterproof Samsung smartphone in a waterproof backing mounted on a special 3D-printed rig made of recycled plastics.

"Stress is very important as a driver of all kinds of psychiatric problems," explains psychiatrist Wim Veling, from the University of Groningen.

"So we are trying in therapy to make people more relaxed," said Veling, who has been studying the use of VR to help people with mental health disorders.

"The power of virtual reality is in the immersion" into another world, he says on the Dolphin Swim Club site.

For Sjollema, the VR glasses offer huge advantages. Not only can they bring the dolphins to disabled people, who would not be able to travel to see them, but they also avoid the use of captive dolphins.

"Right from the beginning we wanted to make this an alternative for existing therapies with dolphins in captivity," she said.

The films were made during a 10-day shoot in December 2015 at the Red Sea, by a specialist VR team Viemr, using free divers capable of holding their breath for up to five minutes so as not to scare away the dolphins.

The dry version glasses are already being used in more than 150 universities, hospitals and community centres around the world.

And the hope is that the waterproof ones will prove equally beneficial. Sjollema and Brada are looking for a partner to launch their commercial production.

But Dion is ready for something a little more exhilarating.

He would like to watch "a film with sharks" or lions "where the animal is hunting a prey. It would be fun to see a little bit of action."

Dutch non-profit uses virtual reality to bring disabled people closer to a healing swim with wild dolphins https://t.co/Cp1AuBGqj7 pic.twitter.com/InmtnuRz7n

— AFP news agency (@AFP) November 20, 2017

Vietnam and China agree to avoid conflicts in S. China Sea

Yahoo – AFP, November 13, 2017

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) shakes hands with Vietnamese President Tran
Dai Quang (R) at the presidential palace in Hanoi (AFP Photo/LUONG THAI LINH)

Vietnam and China agreed Monday to avoid conflicts in the hotly contested South China Sea, as a new pathway to dialogue on easing tensions was opened with other Southeast Asian nations.

The communist neighbours have long sparred over the sea, through which $5 trillion in shipping trade passes annually and which is believed to sit atop vast gas reserves.

Hanoi and Beijing agreed Monday to keep the peace in the sea, the countries said in a joint statement during a state visit to Hanoi by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

They agreed to "well manage disputes at sea, make no moves that may complicate or expand disputes, (and) maintain peace and stability on the East Sea," the Vietnamese version of the statement said, using Hanoi's term for the waters.

China claims nearly all of the sea, even approaching the coasts of its neighbours. It is also partly claimed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan in addition to Vietnam.

China has in recent years built artificial islands and airstrips capable of hosting military installations in contested areas to cement its claims, inflaming tensions with its neighbours.

Relations between China and Vietnam hit a low in 2014 when Beijing moved an oil rig into waters claimed by Vietnam, sparking weeks of protests.

There have been two armed conflicts between China and Vietnam in the sea -- brief clashes in 1974 and 1988 that claimed the lives of dozens of Vienamese troops.

On Sunday US President Donald Trump offered to help Vietnam resolve the long-simmering tensions.

"If I can help mediate or arbitrate, please let me know... I am a very good mediator," Trump said on his own state visit to Hanoi at the tail end of his marathon tour of Asia.

Vietnam offered no response.

And China, which has long insisted the United States has no role to play in the dispute, spoke out against what it deemed foreign interference.

"We hope non-regional countries can respect the regional countries' efforts in maintaining the regional stability of the South China Sea, and play a constructive role in this aspect," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

More talks agreed

Trump was in Manila on Monday for meetings with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and several other countries.

At that meeting China and ASEAN, which includes Vietnam, announced on Monday night they had agreed to begin talks on a much-delayed code of conduct for the sea.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang sealed the accord with the ASEAN leaders in Manila, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency.

However no timeframe was announced for an actual code.

China initially agreed in 2002 to begin talks on a code, but delayed doing so while carrying out its expansionist strategy.

And at China's insistence, ASEAN also agreed in August that any future code would not be legally binding, despite a strong push from Vietnam.

After the Philippines backed China's position, ASEAN agreed it would not have legal force.

The Philippines had for many years stood alongside Vietnam as one of the region's strongest opponents to Chinese expansionism.

Following Manila's complaint to a United Nations-backed tribunal, the panel ruled last year that China's territorial claims in the sea were without legal basis.

But the Philippines, after President Rodrigo Duterte took office last year, decided not to use the ruling to pressure China.

He instead chose to build closer ties in return for billions of dollars in investments and aid.

Critics accused Duterte of giving in to Beijing. But he said his tactics had eased tensions and opened the door to dialogue.

Dutch-built super yachts are being re-sold to tax haven buyers

DutchNews, November 10, 2017

The Galactica Star in Barcelona. Photo: Ralf Roletschek / roletschek.at 

Luxury yachts built in Dutch shipyards are being sold to suspect buyers around the world through tax havens, Trouw and the Financieele Dagblad reported on Friday. 

The dubious yacht transactions were revealed through an investigation being carried out into the Paradise Papers by the two Dutch newspapers . 

The documents reveal at least two instances in which the actual buyer of a Dutch-built yacht has been protected. In one case, the purchase money was obtained, the US justice department maintains, by corruption. 

The Dutch land registry, which covers fishing and inland water pleasure boats as well as housing, said that registration of luxury yachts should be made compulsory to reduce the risk that yachts can be used to cover up money laundering. 

The Paradise Papers contain information culled from legal advisor Appleby and the Estera trust office in Bermuda which came into the hands of German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then via the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists to the media worldwide. 

Appleby has been involved in the registration or management of hundreds of ships of which one hundred could be classified as super yachts: vessels of up to 150 metres in length and worth hundreds of millions of euros. 

Galactica Star

One of these is the Galactica Star (65 metres and valued at €82m) which was sold in the summer of 2013 by Dutch shipbuilder Heesen. The buyer was Speedwave 65, a company recently set in the British Virgin Islands by an individual who chose to be anonymous. 

Speedwave sold the yacht on almost immediately to another Virgin Island entity Earnshaw Associates Inc, owned by the Nigerian oil magnate Kola Aluko who allegedly obtained his money illegally. Heesen said it was unaware of the resale of the Galactica to Aluko at the time. 

Shipyards also fall under legislation aimed at preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism, like banks and trust offices They must establish the identity of the actual owner and the aim of any given transaction. 

Mass seal deaths in Russia's Lake Baikal

France24 – AFP, 31 October 2017

AFP/File | The Baikal seal is the smallest in the world

Around 130 dead seals have washed up on the shores of Russia's Lake Baikal, authorities said Tuesday, as they launched a probe into the latest problem to hit the world's deepest lake.

The Baikal seal is the smallest in the world, and exactly how and when the species colonised the ancient Siberian lake is still a mystery.

"There were about 130 animals found dead" over the past few days, said environmental ministry spokesman Nikolai Gudkov.

"We took water samples to understand whether we can talk of water pollution as the reason," he told AFP, though results have not yet been processed.

Scientists have also taken biopsies of the animals, he said.

The animal is not endangered and Gudkov said the species' population has actually increased in recent years, growing to around 130,000.

Preliminary theories about the die-off did not suggest pollution is the reason, he added.

Lake Baikal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which has thousands of endemic species, has been suffering from a string of detrimental phenomena over recent years.

These include depletion of fish stocks, death of endemic sponges and explosion of growth of Spirogyra algae unnatural to the lake which scientists say is caused by pollution.

Around 130 dead seals wash up on shores of Russia's Lake Baikal, latest problem to hit the world's deepest lake https://t.co/Z4UnF4AYFH pic.twitter.com/NAv2W6C5pq

— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 31, 2017