Category Archives: Oceania

Israel Adesanya continued his dominance over the UFC's middleweight division with another convincing win versus Robert Whittaker on Saturday at UFC 271 in Houston. Adesanya stifled Whittaker's offense in the rematch affair to earn his fourth successful title defense. With Whittaker finally removed from the title picture, who will get the next shot at Adesanya's title?

Could it be Jared Cannonier, who also impressed at the event with a big win over Derek Brunson and then called out Dana White to book a fight with Adesanya this summer.

Could Tai Tuivasa also be getting a title shot? His highlight-reel knockout over hometown favorite Derrick Lewis made for a thrilling co-main event, and of course the shoeys continued for the rising star from Australia. In fact, the region of Oceania held it down in Houston, with the Aussies and Kiwis (from New Zealand) securing five big wins at UFC 271.

But it might have been a loss that was the most defining moment on Saturday, as Roxanne Modafferi said goodbye to the sport. After nearly 50 fights, the "Happy Warrior" fought her heart out and placed her gloves in the center of the Octagon.

Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi, Jeff Wagenheim, Sam Bruce and Carlos Contreras Legaspi react to a big night in Texas.

Who's next for Adesanya: Jared Cannonier. The man did his job. And he has been doing his job, as his rsum speaks for itself. But he also needed to do something impressive on Saturday to solidify his case. That knockout win over Derek Brunson did the trick.

It was a highlight finish, a violent finish. He also did great on the mic afterward, demanding the shot from Dana White. Cannonier is 5-1 in his past six bouts, with the only loss coming to the unquestionably second-best middleweight in the world in Robert Whittaker. Adesanya vs. Cannonier: Book it.

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Who's next for Whittaker: He is in a tough spot. Losing to the same champion twice can be a bit of a death sentence for future title shots, but he's still one of the best fighters in the world, and he's in his prime. Whittaker never put too much value on the title itself, and he wasn't in a rush to win it back after losing it. He never made it a priority when he was asked repeatedly about rematching Adesanya after he lost.

That said, I've got an idea for Whittaker: Consider a move back to welterweight. I say that with hesitation because, like most, I favor fighters not cutting too much weight. But Whittaker deserves to be in big fights, and I want to see him in them. He already has beaten everyone at middleweight except Adesanya. If he could make the weight safely, imagine he fights a top-five welterweight and asserts himself as a new challenger for Kamaru Usman, who is on his run of rematches at the moment? If Whittaker can do it, it's a great move for his career.

0:41

Tai Tuivasa does a pair of shoeys after his epic knockout win vs. Derrick Lewis at UFC 271.

Who's next for Tuivasa: He just beat the No. 3 guy in the heavyweight division. And the two guys ranked ahead of him -- Ciryl Gane and Stipe Miocic -- are both coming off losses. Not saying Tuivasa is next up for a title shot, but this division is wide open right now.

There's a fight on April 9 between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Marcin Tybura, and Tuivasa against the winner of that bout makes a ton of sense to me. Tuivasa's stock is high right now. He might only need one more marketable fight against a highly ranked opponent to start thinking about that title shot. If you're in the UFC, you like heavyweights with rising stock.

Put Tuivasa in another ranked fun fight. Put him in there with someone who will throw with him, which I believe Rozenstruik or Tybura would do. There are a ton of options for Tuivasa's next fight because he hasn't fought many of the top-10 guys yet, but for me, Rozenstruik or Tybura would be the best choices.

Jared Cannonier finished Derek Brunson in brutal fashion, elbowing him on the ground until the referee stepped in and Brunson's corner threw in the towel. And yet, it wasn't nearly as emphatic as his postfight interview with Daniel Cormier.

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Cannonier shouted into the microphone for UFC president Dana White, who was cageside, to turn around and look at him. It took a few people around White to get his attention. But when he did, Cannonier said -- loudly -- that he was the one who should be next for the UFC middleweight title shot. Cannonier is right, and I'm not just saying that because I was a few feet away from his vicious stoppage of another top-of-the-line fighter in Brunson. Cannonier is the guy now that Adesanya has retained the title. Adesanya even called out Cannonier after his win over Robert Whittaker for a possible title bout in June.

Let's dial it back a bit, though. What Cannonier has done is nothing short of remarkable. He started in the UFC back in 2015 at heavyweight. Over the past seven years, the MMA Lab product has completely changed his lifestyle and physical form. He went down to light heavyweight and had a bit of success there. Then he made the move to middleweight in 2018, and he has won five of his six fights there, with the only loss coming to Robert Whittaker. Cannonier has finished four of those five victories, by the way. He isn't exactly just skirting by. He gave Whittaker all he could handle, as well.

Adesanya called for Cannonier before that bout with Whittaker last year, but Whittaker pulled it off to set up the trilogy fight. Fair play. But now it's finally Cannonier's time, and if you're sleeping on him at this point, it's time for someone near you to grab your attention the way UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell had to rouse White after the fight. Cannonier is the real deal, and now there's no one standing in his way.

I'm with Robert Alexander (sort of). He was the cageside judge who puzzlingly scored the Casey O'Neill-Roxanne Modafferi fight for Modafferi -- even after O'Neill landed 72 significant strikes in Round 1, a record for a women's flyweight round, then broke her brand-new milestone with 86 more in Round 2. In all, O'Neill got the split decision victory with a record 229 significant strikes -- over 100 more than her opponent -- to remain undefeated.

O'Neill earned the win, no question. In just his fourth outing as a UFC judge, Alexander was way off base on his 29-28 scorecard. But considering that it didn't steal the victory from O'Neill, I'm going to chalk it up to Modafferi receiving a retirement gift in her final fight. I don't know that I could have turned in a scorecard like Alexander's, but hey, no one in the sport is more deserving of that myopia than Modafferi.

With Modafferi leaving the sport after 45 fights in a 19-year career, she thus vacates her long-held title of the nicest person in MMA. But "The Happy Warrior" was no pushover, and she worked hard on her game over the years and was doggedly competitive. She had some notable wins, including an upset of then-undefeated prospect Maycee Barber in 2020.

It might seem hyperbolic to say MMA will miss Roxanne Modafferi. She was never a champion or even close to that level. But in a sport often fueled by fabricated grudges, it's been refreshing to watch a competitor who treated her time under the spotlight as an opportunity to lift not just herself but her dance partner. Bravo and happy trails.

This was a huge night for mixed martial arts in Oceania, specifically Australia and New Zealand. Excluding the main event -- which was an all-Oceania contest between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker -- there were five other fighters in action from the region in Houston. Here's how we ranked their performances.

1. Tai Tuivasa: What a win from the Australian heavyweight in the co-main event. After suffering two takedowns in the first round and taking heavy punishment, Tuivasa saw his opportunity midway through the second, catching Derrick Lewis with a devastating elbow that ended the fight. The win is easily the biggest in Tuivasa's career and catapults him into immediate consideration for a title shot. There will be plenty of shoeys in Houston.

2:45

Tai Tuivasa breaks down his knockout victory over Derrick Lewis, and what it does to propel his career forward.

2. Casey O'Neill: O'Neill continued her unbeaten streak in the UFC by outlasting veteran Roxanne Modafferi in a controversial split decision victory. The Scottish-Australian fighter dominated the match by breaking the record for significant strikes in a three-round women's fight, landing 174 blows across the three rounds. Shockingly, one of the judges scored the fight for Modafferi, but O'Neill was a clear winner while remaining a promising UFC prospect.

3. Jacob Malkoun: Malkoun made it back-to-back UFC wins, as he overpowered AJ Dobson. Malkoun said he was dealing with "nervous energy" early and took some damage in Round 1. However, the Aussie turned the fight around with a series of excellent takedowns and ground-and-pound. Malkoun earned a unanimous decision victory, and he will look for a ranked opponent in his next match.

4. Carlos Ulberg: Ulberg earned his first UFC victory on Saturday with a technical dismantling of Fabio Cherant. The Kiwi overcame a late knockdown from Cherant in Round 1 and picked his opponent off with a series of jabs and kicks. Ulberg's reach advantage was the difference, as he earned a unanimous decision victory

5. Mike Mathetha [Blood Diamond]: It was a poor UFC debut for Mathetha, who was submitted late in Round 1 by Jeremiah Wells. Mathetha had no answer for Wells' wrestling, which prevented the Zimbabwean from showing off his striking ability. A teammate and longtime friend of Adesanya who trains out of New Zealand, Mathetha has plenty to work on to replicate a successful kickboxing career in the MMA arena.

0:51

Kyler Phillips gets Marcelo Rojo to tap with the slick submission in Round 3 of their bout.

At 26 years old, Phillips made a statement with his performance against Marcelo Rojo in Houston. Phillips looked fast and used every element to hurt the Argentinian fighter with his striking before submitting him with a perfectly executed transition from kimura to triangle and then locking the armbar.

Phillips is from the same Dana White's Contender Series 2017 class that saw Sean O'Malley arrive in the Octagon, but even a first-round KO was not enough to get Phillips signed immediately. Instead, he went to The Ultimate Fighter and ended up signing two years ago.

Five fights later, Phillips holds a 4-1 record in the UFC, with his only loss in a majority decision that earned him a Fight of The Night bonus, one of the three he has so far.

"The Matrix" has proved again that he can finish his opponents in various ways and will likely make the promotion reconsider the California native as a main card fighter for his next fight.

The bantamweight division is packed at the top and has a bunch of upcoming talents, but Phillips has earned some credit after UFC 271. The question now is: How high can Phillips rise among the best fighters in his division?

See the rest here:

UFC 271 takeaways - Who's next for Israel Adesanya and Tai Tuivasa, and a satisfying goodbye for the 'Happy Warrior' - ESPN

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Summary

According to XYZResearch study, over the next 5 years the Luxury Cruise Tourism market will register a xx% CAGR in terms of revenue, the global market size will reach xx Million USD by 2026, from xx Million USD in 2020. In particular, It should be noted that the impact of the epidemic has accelerated the trend of localization, regionalization and decentralization of the global industrial chain and supply chain, so it is inevitable to reconstruct the global industrial chain. Faced with the global industrial change in the post epidemic era, enterprises in various countries must take precautions. This report presents revenue, market share and growth rate for each key company. In this analysis report, we will find below details:

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Major players operating in Luxury Cruise Tourism market-Competitive Analysis:

Royal Caribbean International

Azamara

Oceania Cruises S. de R.L.

Viking Ocean Cruises

Seabourn

Crystal Cruises

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Silversea Cruises

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

American Cruise Lines

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China

EU

USA

Japan

India

Southeast Asia

South America

Type Outlook (Value; Revenue, USD Million, 2015 2026):

Expedition cruises

River cruises

Sea cruises

Theme cruises

Mini cruises

World cruises

Transit cruises

Turnaround cruises

Others

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Millennial

Generation X

Baby Boomers

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COVID-19 Impact

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Luxury Cruise Tourism Market Expected to reach USD 10.2 Billion by 2028 Key Players , Royal Caribbean International, Azamara, Oceania Cruises S. de...

News last month that Citibanamex, Citigroups Mexican retail banking arm, would sell its art collection along with the bank prompted the countrys highest official to speak out.

While for some nations art and cultural objects might not be a primary concern upon the sale of a major national bank, the 2,000 artworks whose fates hang in the balance constitute a significant survey of Mexican art history, and for Mexico, preserving cultural heritage is a national priority. SinceMexicos president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office in 2018, his administration has been vocal about its desire to repatriate ancient cultural heritage and nearly 6,000 pieces have been returned to Mexico so far.

This policy has been making headlines in the art world as officials have intervened to attempt to block sales of ancient cultural objects from Mexico abroad.The discovery and collection of these items came after Columbuss arrival in South America in the fifteenth centuryhence the widely used term Pre-Columbian.

Culture minister Alejandra Frausto Guerrero has been outspoken about her stance that the nations heritage is not for sale, and has stepped in on four auctions over the last three years in New York, Paris, Munich, and Rome. The minister last year told AFP ahead of two auctions in France of pre-Hispanic pieces that Mexican law decrees that any piece of national heritage that is permanently outside the country, not temporarily for an exhibition or cultural cooperation, comes from an illegal act. Her efforts finally paid off when a sale in Rome was successfully halted last September, taking 17 Mesoamerican artifacts off the market, in line with Italys policy on looted artifacts.

Pre-Columbian sculpture, Museo Amparo in Puebla, Mexico in 2011. Photo by Veronique DURRUTY/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images.

The roots of these moves at an international level lie in both activism and academia. Elizabeth Baquedano of University College Londons Institute of Archaeology told Artnet News that she believes the sale of these objects at auction should be stopped altogether. For archaeologists, these ancient objects break the chain of history when physically removed from their context. For those concerned with the cultural heritage of Mesoamerica, some sacred items lose their meaning when placed in certain museum contexts.

Some masks are considered to be part of the ancestors; you wouldnt be selling the bones of your ancestors so why would you be selling the masks of your ancestors? Baquedano said. It lacks respect for the unnamed ancestors who produced them. The academicbelieves that replica objects often sold as souvenirs or fakes masquerading as the real thing can be produced to such a high standard that there is no need for private individuals to own the originals as art objects.

Luckily, I think were all moving towards a more just situation, Baquedano said. In the sense of respecting cultures, the heritage of a people, and the individuals themselves that produced them; people who had a very different take on the meaning of these objects than the auction houses are giving them.

As the profile of the conversation about repatriating Mesoamerican heritage rises, the marketplace for these objects is finding difficulty. Christies Pre-Columbian Art & Tano Masterworks auction last November was preceded by an in-person protest, noise in the press, and a petition signed by 57,691 supporters trying to halt the sale. Official representatives from several countries in Central America published a joint statement expressing concern about the commercialization of cultural property and a strong rejection of the sale due to the devastation of the history and identity of the peoples involved in the illicit trade of cultural property. The auction went ahead but a third of the lots went unsold.

Some collectors have begun voluntarily surrendering objects of cultural significance. French collectors Manichak and Jean Aurance returned a Maya stone carving they had planned to sell at auction to Guatemala in October last year after they discovered it had been looted.

While the attitude surrounding sacred ancient objects and their cultures of origin is changing, desire for these unique items remains strong. Auctions of these items and antiques from Africa and Oceana take place regularly at the major auction houses; Bonhams New York recently sent out an open invitation for a two-day complimentary valuation and consignment session, advertising the high prices these items can fetch.

According to Fredric Backlar, director ofAfrican, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian art at Bonhams, strong provenance is more important than ever. The market for top quality works has grown due to the limited supply of the material, crossover collectors from other collecting categories, as well as the legal parameters associated with ownership, he said. Artworks which have iron-clad documentation and provenance are highly regarded and command higher prices than those lacking documentation.

Mask, (300600). Photo Dumbarton Oaks, Pre-Columbian Collection, Washington, DC. Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Mexico has been making efforts to reclaim lost heritage since the fall of the dictator Porfirio Daz in 1911. Mexico embraced its Indigenous heritage post-revolution and the government celebrated the countrys pre-colonial history by commissioning art, most famously Diego Riveras world-famous mural Carnival of Mexican Life. Dictatorship (1936). Rivera collected Mesoamerican and Pre-Columbian artifacts himself, and Riveras collection is now housed in the Anahuacalli Museum in Mexico City which the artist designed and was fully realized in 2021.

In recent years, the conversation has grown in tandem with international awareness of Indigenous cultures thanks to activist groups putting pressure on public institutions to return heritage taken during the colonial erawith the most attention focused on African nationsand calls to increase scholarship on pre-colonial histories more generally. This includes drawing attention to the fact that while some Indigenous peoples are considered to have been wiped out this is not always the case.

There has been a myth that we need to rectify, the disappearance narrative for Indigenous Caribbeans, Laura Osorio Sunnucks, the British Museums head of the Santo Domingo Centre of Excellence for Latin American Research Africa, Oceania and the Americas, told Artnet News.

Im talking here about Mesoamerica but all of these boundaries have been contested, because boundaries in the sense of the nation state and the way we understand it didnt exist when these objects were made, Osorio Sunnucks explained, adding that although the Caribbean is not considered Mesoamerica, the Tano people have a connection to the people of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico which is both Mesoamerican and Caribbean.Its complicated, and the conversation around the heritage of these ancient artifacts is in flux as a result.

As auction houses continue toactively source these artifacts for regular sales, some believe thatthe trade in such objects is so entrenched in Western culture that to stop it entirely seems a long way off. But the progress in conversations surrounding the restitution of African heritage in recent years has been encouraging, and as Mexico joins forces with countries across Central, South America and the Caribbean, all looking educate people about their Indigenous heritage and populations, it could be on the cusp of reversing the tide of objects that are a part of that history from leaving the country.

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Mexico Is Ramping Up Its Efforts to Repatriate Its Lost Pre-Columbian HeritageSpelling Trouble for the Market and Museums - artnet News

Royal Challengers Bangalore have been declared most popular sports team in Asia in the digital space. According to Deportes & Finanzas, one of the biggest global data analytics firms, the Bangalore Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise is the only cricket team in the list. The rest are football clubs.

Manchester United takes the corresponding position in Europe. The other continents are topped by Flamengo (in America), Al Ahly SC (Africa) and Collingwood (Oceania).

We decided to explore long form content and with the podcast trends going up significantly, we decided to start The RCB Podcast with a strong theme for season 1: How the IPL changed my life. Two people sitting in a room with mics in front of them do not make a podcast, so we knew that it has to be well researched, packaged and produced. We partnered with ATS Studio who have the expertise in producing popular podcasts such as Misson Isro, to come on board and help bring this vision to life, Rajesh Menon, vice-president and head, RCB, said.

With Virat Kohli in the side, the teams programmes seem to have got acceptance from the fans. For instance, Bold Diaries provide all behind the scenes content and interviews, The 12th Man TV is a show for the fans, giving them a voice and The Game Day show provides dressing room content that even broadcasters do not have access to. Bold is Fit is a fitness content series.

RCBs content strategy focuses on key verticals such as 1) understanding the audience, the cricket fans and RCB fans in particular, 2) creating IPs and building affiliation and desirability for those properties, 3) Futuristic, benchmarking global trends, new technologies and 4) brand and business objectives, converting a two-month season to a 12-month content library, said Menon.

RCB says it successfully monetised all the content properties in 2021 and delivered staggering numbers to our brand partners. RCB was the most popular IPL team on social media for 2021 (engagement) and among the Top 10 global sporting teams in the world (alongside Manchester united and Barcelona who have a much larger following than RCB.

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Royal Challengers Bangalore have been declared most popular sports team in Asia in the digital space: Study - Free Press Journal

Tracey Holmes

Friday4 February 2022

The International Olympic Committee has awarded ABC sports journalist Tracey Holmes the 2021 Women and Sports Award for Oceania.

Holmes is the first journalist to win the prestigious award, which theIOC said recognises hercontribution to reporting on womens sport and mentorship for the next generation of women sports journalists.

In 1989 I started a weekly segment on the ABC called Women in Sport, now the ABC has a 50:50 project for its coverage and the sports department is the standout performer, Holmes said.

This award is a tribute to all those women athletes and women sports administrators who persevered without money, coverage or recognition to create a world today where women in many countries can do and can be whatever they so choose.

It is also a tribute to my mother and father,from whom I learned we are all equal, and it is a tribute to all those many of them men who freely offered their mentorship and guidance throughout my career.

A trailblazer for 30 years, Holmes was the first woman to be appointed as a sports broadcast trainee at the ABC and went on to become the first female reporter in its national sports department and the first host, male or female, of a national sports program,ABC Grandstand. The Women in Sport program was influential in increasing coverage of womens sport in Australia.

As well as her broadcast and digital reporting Holmes hosts award-winning weekly sports show and podcast The Ticket. She is currently in Beijing reporting for the ABC on the Winter Olympics.

Kevan Gosper, honorary IOC member from Australia, said Holmess commitment to gender equality and the promotion of women in sports administration was integral to her professional work.

This is also an important acknowledgement by the IOC and the Women in Sport Commission recognising and rewarding the essential role the media play in how women in sport are portrayed and ensuring the equal coverage of womens sport and sportswomen by the media, he said.

More information is here.

Media contact: Sally Jackson | ABC Communications

jackson.sally@abc.net.au

See the article here:

IOC honours Tracey Holmes for her journalism and leadership - About the ABC

February 2, 2022 -- Transvulcania by UTMB in Spain, Kullamannen by UTMB in Sweden, and Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko by UTMB in Australia join previously announced events for 2022 racing calendar --

(Chamonix, France) 2 February 2022/ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ Just eight months after the concept was first launched, UTMB Group and The IRONMAN Group, organizers of the UTMB World Series have today confirmed a final calendar of 25 events across 16 different countries in Asia, Oceania, Europe, and the Americas for 2022. And, with the addition of three new events of Transvulcania by UTMB in Spain, Kullamannen by UTMB in Sweden, and Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko by UTMB in Australia, the countdown to the first event of the year is officially on. Watch the video here.

The UTMB World Series will officially get underway with Croatias biggest trail running race, Istria 100 by UTMB, from the 7-10 April. Over 2,000 runners are expected to line up at the first ever UTMB World Series Event, for what will also be the first chance to qualify for the UTMB World Series Finals in the OCC, CCC and UTMB races at UTMB Mont-Blanc 2023.

The top three male and female finishers in the 50K, 100K and 100M categories will win automatic entry into the corresponding final, while regular runners will be able to collect Running Stones which can be used as entries into the UTMB Mont-Blanc lottery. UTMB World Series Events are now the only place where participants can collect Running Stones in favour of the former points system and begin their journey to Chamonix, France. Find out more about registration for UTMB Mont-Blanc 2023, here.

Marie Sammons, UTMB World Series Sport and Regeneration Director, commented: The calendar for 2022 is exceptional and we are really excited to be working with such dedicated race organizers around the world who share our vision for excellence, inclusivity, comradery and accessibility. With 25 events in 2022, both amateur and elite runners around the world will be able to find a UTMB World Series Event closer to them, which for many will be the start of the journey to UTMB Mont-Blanc and the Finals. We look forward to welcoming athletes from across the globe to an event soon, and to delivering an unforgettable experience at the best races and in the most striking locations.

Three new events added, as calendar is revealed

Two of Europes leading events Transvulcania by UTMB in Spain and Kullamannen by UTMB in Sweden will further bolster the offering in the region with 16 events now confirmed across Europe. And runners in Australia will have more chances to live the UTMB experience Down Under with the confirmation of a second event in Australia, Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko by UTMB.

Transvulcania by UTMB prepares for a remarkable return to the trails

The 273-square-mile island of La Palma, the westernmost island of Spains Canary Islands, will host the renowned Transvulcania by UTMB from 20-23 October 2022.

Celebrating its 12th edition in 2022 the first since 2019 the event is set to return stronger than ever for what is expected to be a particularly poignant edition following a significant volcano eruption on the island in 2021.

With around 2,500 participants and a deep elite field expected, the pinnacle 74km race starts from the south tip of the island at El Faro de Fuencaliente before runners race for the sky and the islands highest point at 2,420-meters. Runners can expect a variety of dramatic volcanic landscapes interspersed with pine groves, before finishing with the infamous descent to city of Los Llanos de Aridane.

Distances of 44km, 22km and a 7.6km vertical challenge are also on offer. Registrations for this sell-out event will be open from the 1-28 March on the official website, with the results of the lottery announced on 4 April.

A technical test of true trail running grit at Kullamannen by UTMB

Kullamannen by UTMB is more than just a trail race. Described as heaven, sea and hell, it consists of several distances from 22km to 100-miles on the wild and beautiful peninsulas Bjre and Kullaberg situated on the south of Sweden by the sea.

A technical test of true trail running grit, the course takes runners through fantastic nature reserves, before finishing at the magical Kullaberg. The adventurous track runs through narrow winding mountain trails, beautiful beech forests, and coastal paths, where runners can hear the waves crashing even under the darkness of night.

A pure Swedish trail adventure, the 2022 edition will take place on 4-6 November 2022. Entries open on 4 February on the event website.

A brand-new adventure at Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko by UTMB

Runners will discover new heights Down Under at Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko by UTMB Australias newest trail running event that has the countrys highest peak at its centre.

Hosted by the ski resort of Thredbo in New South Wales, the event will showcase the very best of the Snowy Mountains, as runners traverse through the scenic Kosciuszko National Park across 100-mile, 100km, 50km and 20km distances. Alpine meadows, snow gum forests and crystal-clear streams will showcase local nature at its best while runners ascend to the highest point in Australia.

Developed by the team behind Ultra-Trail Australia by UTMB and New Zealands Tarawera Ultramarathon by UTMB, the inaugural Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko by UTMB will take place from 15-18 December 2022 and is expected to welcome 1,500 runners to experience Oceanias newest, premium trail running event. Visit the official website here for more information.

Runners can plan their season and choose their next UTMB World Series adventure here.

UTMB World Series 2022 calendar of events*

*Tarawera Ultramarathon by UTMB (NZ) and Gaoligong by UTMB (China) cancelled in 2022

QUOTES:

Xavier Pocino Mogo, CEO UTMB Iberia, Transvulcania by UTMB

We didnt have any doubts that Transvulcania by UTMB had to become part of the UTMB World Series. Its a high standard race that has its own magic thanks to its volcanic terrain from sea level to 2,500-metre-high peaks and thanks to its people. Transvulcania by UTMB is an exciting race and runners from all over the world highlight the passion that the local people project into this great event.

Per Sjgren, Co-founder, Kullamannen by UTMB

The spirit of Kullamannen is rooted in adventure, this is not just a trail run its a challenge that will push your soul and body to your limits. We are adventure-loving runners. Kullaberg on the west coast of southern Sweden has been our playground for training and adventure since we came here the first time on a school excursion in third grade. We are thrilled to be able to showcase the incredible location and race to the world as part of the UTMB World Series in 2022.

Geoff Meyer, Managing Director of Oceania for The IRONMAN Group, Ultra-Trail Kosciusko by UTMB

The UTMB World Series is the pinnacle of global trail running and were thrilled that Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko by UTMB has been selected to be a part of the inaugural series. Only the worlds best trail running events are a part of the UTMB World Series and we look forward to being a part of the series. Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko by UTMB has been designed with our entire trail running community in mind, with unrivalled support crew access, unique spectator points, and of course an unmistakeable trail running vibe. At the core of an event like this is providing the best possible running experience for participants and to ensure that weve left no stone unturned, the courses have been expertly crafted by Ultra-Trail Australia by UTMB founder Tom Landon-Smith, who is not only the countrys trail running expert but also lives in the region.

UTMB World Series

UTMB World Series is the worlds ultimate trail-running circuit that unites the sports biggest stars and amateur runners through the best, leading international events in the most stunning locations. Built on a passion for the mountains with sustainability at its heart, UTMB World Series gives all trail runners the chance to experience the UTMB adventure across the world, with events taking place across Asia, Oceania, Europe and the Americas in 2022. It is the only place where runners can begin their quest to UTMB Mont-Blanc, France, where the prestigious UTMB World Series Finals will be held. For more information, visit http://www.utmb.world.

UTMB Group

Over the last 18 years, and since the creation of UTMB Mont-Blanc in 2003 by a group of passionate friends, UTMB Group has been the driving force behind the development of trail running. The UTMB Mont-Blanc is the sports pinnacle event, and every year, 10,000 runners earn their place on the start line. UTMB Group also pioneered the LiveTrail technology, an innovative digital service that supports the management of endurance races. Revered by hundreds of thousands of athletes, UTMB has become a global, premium, and leading brand. In May 2021, UTMB Group partnered with The IRONMAN Group to launch the UTMB World Series, which from 2022, will bring together many of the best international events on the planet to provide exclusive access to the sports pinnacle event, UTMB Mont-Blanc. The UTMB World Series is built on the founding principles of UTMB Mont-Blanc: surpassing oneself; fair-play; respect for people and the environment; and solidarity. Find out more at http://www.utmb.world.

About The IRONMAN Group

The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN 70.3 Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN Virtual Racing (VR) Series, 5150 Triathlon Series, the Rock n Roll Running Series, the Rock n Roll Virtual Running Series, IRONKIDS, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon and The Sun-Herald City2Surf, UTMB World Series events including Tarawera Ultramarathon and Ultra-Trail Australia, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic, road cycling events including Haute Route, and gravel racing like Gravel Epic, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the companys vast offerings. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance, a private, family-owned business. For more information, visit http://www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group

CONTACT

UTMB World Series French & Swiss media enquiries:

presse@utmb.worldHugo Joyeux UTMB World Series Press Officer+33 4 50 53 47 51

UTMB World Series international media enquiries:

presse@utmb.worldSabina Mollart Rogerson International Press Officert: +44 7922 140148

nicola.dawson@utmb.worldNicola Dawson UTMB World Series Media & PR ManagerT: +44 7919051417

The IRONMAN Group media enquiries:

press@ironman.comDan Berglund

Read more from the original source:

UTMB World Series ready to run into inaugural year, with addition of three events to confirmed 2022 calendar - Endurance Sportswire

Charlotte Caslick and Henry Hutchison have been named the 2021 Shawn Mackay Womens and Mens Sevens Players of the Year awards.

Named in memory of Shawn Mackays life and his contribution to Rugby, this award recipient is representative of both a mens and womens player who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to their respective Sevens program, and whose level of sportsmanship and leadership upholds the values of Rugby.

Both players were standouts during the Australian Sevens 2021 campaign, most notably leading the charge at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Caslick kicked off Australias Olympic campaign, scoring the opening try on day one of competition and remained true to form the remainder of the campaign, finding the line against Japan, China and bronze medallists Fiji.

Following the Olympics, Caslick has since led the Australian Women to back-to-back titles in Dubai, accumulating 65 points in the opening two rounds.

Similarly, mens vice-captain Hutchison also returned to the Olympic stage following impressive performances in the lead up to the pinnacle event. Hutchison was instrumental in Australias success during the PacificAus Sport Oceania sevens in Townsville and has gone on to steer the Australians to a second-place finish on the World Series in Dubai.

Australian Sevens Performance Manager Scott Bowen said: Shawn represented everything we hope our program members can be both on and off the field, and this award holds a special place in the program.

Both Charlotte and Henry are leaders in every aspect of their game, from how they prepare, train and play and it is an example our younger squad members look up to.

Australian Womens Sevens player Charlotte Caslick said: Its an honour to be chosen for this award given all it represents.

While we didnt have the campaign we wanted in 2021, towards the end of the year we started to come together as a team and Im excited to play with such an incredible group as we progress through the World Series.

Rugby isnt a game of individual awards, but Im certainly honoured to be recognised by my peers and know Ill have a hard time retaining this honour next year.

Australian Mens Sevens player Henry Hutchison said: I am delighted to receive the Shawn Mackay award. To be recognised by your teammates for your contribution to the team is very humbling and is the greatest honour a player can receive.

Shawn typified what it meant to be an Australian 7s player and my father actually taught him at Waverley. So, the award is extra special to my family and myself.

2021 was a tough year and it didnt play out the way we wanted it to. However, there were so many learnings for our group, and this has added to our hunger as we look to make Rugby Australia, our fans and the country proud of this program moving forward.

There has been a massive attitude shift in this area of our group, and I cant wait to see where it takes us.

Their recognition is part of a week-long celebration of the Rugby Australia Awards which will culminate in the 2021 John Eales Medal being announced on Sunday morning (AEDT).

See the rest here:

Caslick and Hutchison claim 2021 Shawn Mackay player of the year awards | Latest Rugby News | RUGBY.com.au - Rugby.com.au

Global Deforestation and Forest Growth over 30 Years

Forests are the great carbon capturers of our planet, and they are a key source of wildlife habitats and vital resources for people around the world.

But deforestation is threatening this natural infrastructure, releasing carbon into the atmosphere while simultaneously reducing wildlife diversity and making our environment more susceptible to environmental disasters.

This graphic looks at global deforestation and forest growth over the past 30 years, mapping out the net forest change by country and region using data from the UNs Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Today, forests make up around 31% of the Earths total land area, spanning 15.68 million square miles (40.6 million km). Over the past three decades, the world lost a bit more than 4% (685,300 square miles) of its forests, which equates to an area about half the size of India.

Europe and Asia were the only two regions which had significant overall forest growth during this time period, while Oceania saw no significant change and North and Central America saw a slight reduction.

Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization

Africa along with South America and the Caribbean were the regions with the greatest amount of net forest loss, both losing more than 13% of their forests over the past 30 years. This is largely because these two regions have large amounts of forest area available, with the underlying land in high demand for agriculture and cattle-raising.

Although the overall forest loss around the world is massive, the rate of forest loss has slowed down over the past three decades. While an average of 30,116 square miles were lost each year between 1990 to 2000, between 2010 to 2020 that number has dropped to 18,146 square miles, showing that the rate of overall loss has fallen by almost 40%.

Despite an overall slowing down of forest loss, certain countries in South America along with the entirety of Africa are still showing an increase in the rate of forest loss. Its in these regions where most of the countries with the largest reduction in forest area are located:

Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization

Brazil, home to most of the Amazon rainforest, saw 356,287 square miles of net forest loss, largely fueled by farmers using the land to raise cattle for beef. Its estimated that 80% of the deforested land area of the Amazon has been replaced with pastures, with the resulting beef production known to be among the worst meats for the environment in terms of carbon emissions.

The other great driver of deforestation is seed and palm oil agriculture. These oils account for about 20% of the worlds deforestation carbon emissions, and their production concentrated in Indonesia and Malaysia is now expanding to other Asian countries along with Africa.

While the demand for beef and palm oils drives deforestation, initiatives like the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) are providing incentives to protect forest land.

Select countries in the European Union along with the United Kingdom and South Korea have committed $494.7 million to six central African nations (Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Congo) for them to preserve their forests and pursue low emission pathways for sustainable development. The initiative has seen $202 million transferred thus far and an anticipated reduction of 75 million tons of CO2 emissions.

Its estimated that forests absorb around 30% of the worlds carbon emissions each year, making them the greatest and most important carbon sinks we have on land. When you pair this with the fact that deforestation contributes around 12% of annual greenhouse gas emissions, the importance of forest preservation becomes even more clear.

But we often forget how much forests protect our environment by acting as natural buffers against extreme weather. Forests increase and ensure rainfall security, making nearby land areas significantly less susceptible to wildfires and natural droughts in hot and dry seasons along with flooding and landslides in wet seasons.

With every dollar invested in landscape restoration yielding up to $30 in benefits, reducing deforestation and investing in reforestation is considered an effective way to reduce the difficulty and costs of meeting climate and environmental protection goals. This is without even considering the benefits of maintaining the worlds largest wildlife habitat and source of species diversity, the home of the nearly 70 million indigenous people who live in forests, and the livelihood of 1.6 billion people who rely on forests every day.

Despite the short-term acceleration in forest loss seen in 2020, there have been positive signs about forest regrowth coming to light. A recent study found that previously deforested land can recuperate its soil fertility in about a decade, and layered plants, trees, and species diversity can recover in around 25-60 years.

Along with this, in some instances these regrowing secondary forests can absorb more carbon dioxide than primary forests, giving hope that a global reforestation effort can absorb more emissions than previously thought possible.

From better financial incentives for local farmers and ranchers to preserve forest area to larger scale policies and initiatives like CAFI, curbing deforestation and promoting reforestation requires a global effort. Reversing forest loss in the coming decades is a daunting but necessary step towards stabilizing the climate and preserving the environment that billions of animals and people rely on.

Read this article:

Interactive: Natural Disasters Around the World Since 1900 - Visual Capitalist

2 February 2022: The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) has now achieved global real-time coverage with a final geographic expansion to Canada, Oceania, Antarctica, and all remaining small states and territories. The expansion adds a total of more than 30 new countries and territories to the dataset and over 3,000 political violence and protest events spanning back to the start of 2021. With this data release, ACLED has officially extended real-time coverage to the entire world, bringing the full dataset to more than 1.3 million individual events globally.

ACLED began as a PhD project covering six central African states and it has since grown into the most trusted source for real-time data and analysis on conflict and instability around the world, said Professor Clionadh Raleigh, Executive Director at ACLED. We are a team of nearly 200, covering sources reporting in over 100 languages, on events ranging from peaceful protests to bombing campaigns. Full global coverage opens the door to innovative analysis and programming for ACLED, our partner organizations, and our wider user community. These data demonstrate the variation in violent actors and forms of disorder, and create new opportunities for early warning and preventive action. ACLEDs geographic expansion has shown that no country is immune to the risks of violence and instability, and we now have a shared, fully global resource that can help researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working to reduce these risks in real time.

ACLEDs mission is to bring clarity to crisis. By making reliable, global, real-time conflict data openly accessible, we strive to provide the tools necessary to support the critical efforts of our users around the world to better understand, monitor, and ultimately mitigate the threat of violence.

Achieving global coverage and making the dataset freely available to the public would not be possible without the invaluable contributions of ACLEDs partners. Their continued support ensures that ACLED data will remain free and accessible for years to come.

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New expansion brings ACLED to full global coverage - World - ReliefWeb

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON From the monkey puzzle tree of Peru to the Tasmanian blue gum of Australia, from the baobabs of Madagascar to the giant sequoias of California, the world is blessed with an abundance of tree species. How many? A new study has the answer.

Researchers on Monday unveiled the worlds largest forest data base, comprising more than 44 million individual trees at more than 100,000 sites in 90 countries helping them to calculate that Earth boasts roughly 73,300 tree species.

That figure is about 14% higher than previous estimates. Of that total, about 9,200 are estimated to exist based on statistical modeling but have not yet been identified by science, with a large proportion of these growing in South America, the researchers said.

South America, home to the enormously biodiverse Amazon rainforest and farflung Andean forests, was found to harbor 43% of the planets tree species and the largest number of rare species, at about 8,200.

Trees and forests are much more than mere oxygen producers, said Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, aprofessor of biological diversity and conservation at the University of Bologna in Italy and lead author of the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Without trees and forests, we would not have clean water, safe mountain slopes, habitat for many animals, fungi and other plants, the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystems, sinks for our excess of carbon dioxide, depurators of our polluted air, et cetera, Gatti said.

Indeed, our society often considers forests as just pieces of wood and trees as natural resources, ignoring their fundamental role for humankind in providing ecosystem services that go behind the mere economic even if important timber, paper and pulp production. From trees and forests humanity gets inspiration, relaxation, spirituality and essentially the meaning of life, Gatti added.

South America was found to have about 27,000 known tree species and 4,000 yet to be identified. Eurasia has 14,000 known species and 2,000 unknown, followed by Africa (10,000 known/1,000 unknown), North America including Central America (9,000 known/2,000 unknown) and Oceania including Australia (7,000 known/2,000 unknown).

By establishing a quantitative benchmark, our study can contribute to tree and forest conservation efforts, said study co-author Peter Reich, a forest ecologist at the University of Michigan and University of Minnesota.

This information is important because tree species are going extinct due to deforestation and climate change, and understanding the value of that diversity requires us to know what is there in the first place before we lose it, Reich said. Tree species diversity is key to maintaining healthy, productive forests, and important to the global economy and to nature.

This study did not tally the total number of individual trees globally, but 2015 research led by one of the co-authors put that figure at about 3 trillion.

The new study pinpointed global tree diversity hot spots in the tropics and subtropics in South America, Central America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It also determined that about a third of known species can be classified as rare.

The researchers used methods developed by statisticians and mathematicians to estimate the number of unknown species based on the abundance and presence of known species. Tropical and subtropical ecosystems in South America may nurture 40% of these yet-to-be-identified species, they said.

This study reminds us how little we know about our own planet and its biosphere, said study co-author Jingjing Liang, a professor of quantitative forest ecology at Purdue University in Indiana. There is so much more we need to learn about the Earth so that we can better protect it and conserve natural resources for future generations.

See the article here:

Scientists count the world's tree species (spoiler: it's a bunch) - Euronews