UsmonJohn 8.5 | English ✍🏻

to release the men because neither the Thai government nor any other government was willing to put them on trial. When ships have been seized and crews kidnapped off the coast of Somalia, shipping companies simply pay the ransom demands. About 90% of world trade is carried by sea. Cost-cutting has made modern cargo ships extremely vulnerable to attack, according to Andrew Linington of Numas, the ship officers’ union in London. There are only 20–24 crew members on modern container ships. Usually, just two crew members patrol the bridge at night. ‘You can have ships the size of two football pitches and at any one time you will have just five or six people up and working,’ says Linington. Few companies are willing to pay for security measures such as non-lethal electric fences or sonic weapons. As well as being small in number, modern multinational crews are poorly paid. Many boats use Filipino crew members, who earn just $400 a month. For that money, few captains expect their crew to risk their lives by defending their ship. Even oceans full of warships have seen an increase in pirate attacks. There were no attacks in Iraqi waters in 2004, yet last year there were 10 attacks on oil tankers and cargo vessels near Basra. Ships are soft targets for terrorists. It would only take couple of major incidents in a key area – such as the Suez canal – to cause chaos. ‘Piracy isn’t fantasy,’ says Linington. ‘It is happening every week. It is an advertisement to terrorists that it is easy to attack something that is so crucial to world trade.

The Return of the Pirates A large container ship, the Australian Star, was sailing across the South China Sea on its way to New Zealand. It was evening and Captain Peter Newton had returned to his cabin. As the ship passed the Indonesian island of Bintan, nine armed men burst into Captain Newton’s cabin. They held a machete to his neck and tied his hands with rope. The gang leader told him that if he didn’t open the ship’s safe – or if he set off its alarm – they would kill him. When the pirates had taken the $20,000 they found in the safe, they used a rope to leave the ship and climb down to their boat. Pirates have always had a glamorous image. Hollywood loves to make films about pirates but now real-life pirates are more active than ever before. Over the last ten years attacks by modern pirates have increased by 168%. Since Captain Newton was attacked in 1992, there have been 3,583 piratical attacks reported worldwide, causing 340 deaths. Last November, a ship called Seabourn Spirit was ambushed off the coast of Somalia. The pirates who attacked the ship were armed with rocket-propelled grenades. The golden age of piracy was the 17th century, when European powers colonised the Caribbean. Pirates such as Edward ‘Blackbeard’ Teach and ‘Calico’ Jack Rackham attacked trading ships, taking advantage of the political vacuum and a secluded coastline that was perfect for ambushes. During the age of empire, the navies of the great powers enforced order on the high seas and piracy declined; but now, as the empires have vanished, piracy is on the increase again. It is helped by a number of things – from cost-cutting by the shipping industry to fact that there are no international arrangements to deal with piracy. The centre of modern-day piracy is the South China Sea, where more than a third of last year’s 266 reported pirate attacks took place. The seas around failing states are particularly dangerous. The Indian Ocean off Somalia is home to a special brand of piracy, in which ships are hijacked and crews are kidnapped and ransomed. Modern pirates use intelligence (including information from corrupt port officials), satellite phones and tracking technology to plan attacks on valuable cargo, but one tool of modern pirates remains the same: the rope and grappling hook. Climbing onto a ship in motion requires special forces-style skills and many in the shipping industry believe some modern pirates have a military background. According to Newton, the increase in piracy is also the result of the fact that there are few risks for the pirates. ‘Our ships don’t have armed guards and nobody is going to go after you because it is international waters and no one has jurisdiction,’ he says. ‘Once they are on your ship, there is nothing you can do if they are armed and you are not.’ Another reason why piracy is so risk free is that many victims fail to report the crime. Shipping companies would rather lose $20,000 stolen from a safe than report it to their insurers and face a large increase in premiums. Insurance premiums rose by 300% for vessels entering Yemeni waters after a suicide boat crashed into Limburg, a French oil tanker, in October 2002. Ships sometimes do not report piracy because they think that no country will bother to investigate crimes in international waters. Naval vessels often discourage pirates but rarely want to capture and detain them in international waters. The US navy recently caught and detained pirates who attacked a Thai fishing vessel near Somalia, but had

If you asked me that who was my celebrity crush Indeed she is

#thoughts In order to understand what your soul needs First, you have understand what your soul is ... @TheGeneralFather

The most beautiful building in the world © Nas Daily @TheGeneralFather

Do you have problems with IELTS Task 2 Writing? I hope you'll find this webinar useful. ⏰ Time : 21:00 🗓 Date : Monday, 3 October Topics to cover: 💡 2 strategies for generating ideas 🎯 improve writing by 0.5 (not a magical way) ❓ At the end we'll have a Q&A session to answer questions that are bothering you. My IELTS result Venue @dead_ielts

Wanted a little romance So, nice choice ?🧐🤔

👀👀 We don't measure like this , do we? 😅

Fall🍂 in Colorado 📍Colorado, USA @incentive_me

#Joke Multiple choice questions be like... 🤦‍♀😅

#thoughts Mind: what useful thing did you do today? Me: shut f$&@# up and sleep! Good night!

# Tardy Ahmadjon A long time ago, there was a boy called Ahmadjon. He was so curious and rather boorish. He had a habit of getting up late and in no time running to work. Though his Mom whom he only respected in this world was distressed by his pet son’s behavior. At times , she would lecture him on his bad habits and more often say “at one time or another you will be punished for your tardiness I’m afraid. Although he understood her mother, Ahmadjon wouldn’t mind much about it. As times goes by he has had some problems with his tardy arrivals at the office and had serious conversations with managers. It's only a matter of time before he's forced to resign. ## Session Vocabulary - a long time (A2)a lot of time - done - in no time (C1)very quickly; soon - done - only a matter of time (C1)it will definitely happen - at times (C1)occasionally; sometimes - done - as time goes by (C1)as time passes - done - at one time or another (C2)at an unspecified (usually past) time - done Bonus Words boorish distressed pet lecture tardiness tardy resign KEY A1 = Beginner A2 = Elementary B1 = Lower Intermediate B2 = Higher Intermediate C1 = Towards Advanced C2 = Advanced @TheGeneralFather

Hellooooo! 😎🔥 Today's session is about vocabulary and much more advanced I can say! 🎩🤓 We will look at some nice phrases with the word "Time"🕰 Not boringly just "tarjimations"🤭 or else, there gonna be useful story about "Tardy Ahmadjon"😲 Hope you like it!😬 Leave your reactions or opinions Coz they're very important for me!🫠 P.S I saw how it seemed that I tried to sound like Teacher Azam (not intentionally) Just .... IDK mann😅 @TheGeneralFather

There is gonna be new video in an hour🤭 What do you think it's gonna be about 👀

#thoughts That hit me so strong!

Those are my brothers Happy teacher's day🤓

It is our day brothers. CHEERS🥳 https://t.me/American_Dream_Inc https://t.me/TeamMrIkromov Jasurbek Ikromov ( IELTS mentor) https://t.me/dead_ielts Saidaxror Abdukodirov (IELTS mentor) https://t.me/AdilbekovEnglish Xusniddin Adilbekov (General English mentor) https://t.me/ESL_Abduvakhabov Samoyiddin Abduvahobov( General English mentor) https://t.me/TheGeneralFather Usmonjon Mamatkulov( General English mentor) English? Only them!