Latest news with #Pacific
Wales Online
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Wales Online
Legend in awe of Welsh rugby coach doing it the hard way on other side of world
Legend in awe of Welsh rugby coach doing it the hard way on other side of world The Welshman has been hailed as a 'top-notch person' as well as a 'legendary' player and coach Umaga is in awe of Jones, who has 'done it tough' since moving to New Zealand (Image:) New Zealand legend Tana Umaga says he "can't speak more highly" of former Wales captain Stephen Jones after the ex-fly-half moved across the world to join his coaching team at Moana Pasifika and came close to making history with the Super Rugby Pacific side. After leaving his role as Wales' attack coach at the end of 2022 - having been deemed surplus to requirements following Warren Gatland's return as head coach - Jones flew to New Zealand and became Umaga's assistant coach at Moana Pasifika the following year, a decision which he said was a "no-brainer". Working alongside the former All Blacks captain, Jones has helped to turn around the club's fortunes, as they came agonisingly close to sealing a historic first-ever play-off place this season, having finished rock bottom of the table for two successive campaigns before the Welshman's arrival. The 47-year-old has spoken openly about how much he is enjoying his new life in New Zealand, admitting he has been "blown away" by the beauty of the Pacific culture while also thriving in a more open coaching environment with Umaga and his staff. But the feeling is mutual, with Umaga full of praise for Jones as he spoke of their relationship and hailed him as a "top-notch person" as well as a "legendary" player and quality coach. "Oh, it's been such a pleasure with Stephen," he told UK. "I've got a lot of time and respect for him — not just as a rugby coach, but as a person. Article continues below "He's a top-notch person, and I think that's what kind of gravitated myself towards him. We just got on really well, and as usual, it was around a couple of beers that we got to know each other — and he does that well, a lot better than me. "Also, just in terms of being such a legend in the fly-half position and knowing what he does around that area, his attention to detail — that's what has impressed me. "Because it's such a big part of the game, and it's probably not a part of the game that comes natural to us. That's not just specific to our Islanders, but as New Zealanders as well. We're very much run and gun. We like the game to get going and moving, trying to keep kicking to a minimum. "But for us, he's given us ways of kicking and educated our players around that — what's a good kick, what isn't, when do we kick, and what does it look like for us to get it back as well," Umaga added. "As we've seen, the kicking game's such a messy part of rugby now because defences are so strong and get up on you so quick. Making errors inside your own half is near fatal now, and it just puts more stress on you in terms of fatigue. "When you're defending for long moments inside your own half, you're invariably going to leak points. Just around that whole area, he's very smart — not just in terms of what he knows, but what he teaches our players and how we formulate strategies in that area too, against certain teams." However, while Jones has been thriving on the other side of the world, it has certainly not been easy for him, with Umaga revealing that the former fly-half has stayed in New Zealand after his family returned to Wales for his childrens' schooling. "I can't speak more highly of Jonesy," said the former All Black, who will help coach the First Nations & Pasifika Invitational XV ahead of their clash with the British & Irish Lions later this summer. "He's done it tough too, because his family have returned to Wales for the schooling of their children. They were all here the first year, and then they made the decision to go home because their son was of age to start at the next tier of schooling. "He does it tough, but you wouldn't know — he's such an energised man. I don't know how he does it sometimes." It comes after Jones said he was enjoying the "healthy" coaching environment he now finds himself in, with collaboration and evolution key to Umaga's approach. "We've got a wonderful playing group, but the coaching environment where you can throw an idea or a concept out there and discuss and evolve it to grow [is also good]," he told New Zealand Rugby earlier this year. "It's a healthy environment to challenge ourselves. That's the part I love about this group. Article continues below "If I look at our coaching group and how we function and discuss things, there's an open willingness to share ideas. The forwards coach Tom Coventry might see an option for a back peel or an ability to get in behind them, and its great how we can evolve that. "Tana, at the helm, might say, 'Can we go this way?' and Seilala Mapusua has been amazing and might see a different picture," he added. "Between us all we can discuss that and put it to the playing group".
CBC
4 hours ago
- Science
- CBC
After the puzzling warmth of Earth in 2023 and 2024, what could 2025 have in store?
After 12 consecutive months with temperatures 1.5 C above the 1850-1900 average, Earth's temperature has now fallen — thanks in part to the end of a natural cycle. According to Berkeley Earth, a non-profit climate analysis organization, the global average temperature was 1.33 C above the pre-industrial average in the month of May, and the European Copernicus Climate Change Service (CCCS) found that the monthly average was 1.40 C above the pre-industrial average. (Climate agencies around the world use different methods to analyze global temperatures, hence the difference). While that may seem like good news, the fact is that 2025 is still on track to be one of the top three warmest years on record, according to Zeke Hausfather from Berkeley Earth. "With El Niño being firmly over, it is very unlikely at this point that 2025 is going to set a new record, but I still think it's the odds-on favourite to be the second-warmest on record, and it is virtually certain to be a top three warmest year," Hausfather said. El Niño, a natural, cyclical warming in a region of the Pacific Ocean that, coupled with the atmosphere, can cause global temperatures to rise, began in the middle of 2023 and then peaked in 2024, which could account for some of the record warmth that puzzled climate scientists. What was particularly interesting about the month of May is that land surface temperatures dropped quite a bit compared to the months prior. However, it was still the second warmest on record, after 2024. Hausfather said the sharp drop could have been some "internal variability" that had kept the land surface temperatures elevated and that perhaps last month was a result of the end of that variability. An important thing to also keep in mind when it comes to what we can expect in terms of 2025 making the record books, winter is when we see the greatest temperature anomalies, Hausfather said. So that could push 2025 even higher than what we're seeing now. On the road to warming trend of 1.5 C Ocean temperatures have decreased in part due the end of El Niño, but remain near record highs. In May, the average ocean temperatures were 0.99 C above the 1850-1900 average, according to Berkeley Earth. "At the moment, we are seeing, or we have just seen, a significant ocean heat wave in the North Atlantic," said Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). "[Ocean temperatures are] cooler than last year and the previous one, but it's warmer than any other years we have in the record. So this is one of these things where it depends [whether] we like to see the glass half full or half empty. It's still a very warm ocean." Though Earth did hit a 12-month average of 1.5 C, that doesn't necessarily mean failure on the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming below a threshold of 1.5 C. That would have to happen over a longer period, though there is no set timeframe set out in the agreement. Climate is looked at over long periods, typically spanning 20 or 30 years. Carbon budget running out However, a study published on Wednesday in the journal Earth System Science Data, found that — if emissions continue at 2024 rates — we have only three years until we exhaust our carbon budget to keep warming below that 1.5 C threshold. "Record-high greenhouse gas emissions are rapidly narrowing the chance of limiting warming to 1.5 C," Joeri Rogelj, professor of climate science and policy at the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London and co-author of the report, said in a statement. "The window to stay within 1.5°C is rapidly closing. Global warming is already affecting the lives of billions of people around the world." Though the that threshold may be breached, climate scientists like to stress that every tenth of a degree matters. But to keep warming below 2 C — the threshold initially set by the Paris Agreement — there needs to be a concerted effort to drastically cut CO2 emissions, as Antonio Gutteres, secretary-general of the United Nations, has continually stressed. Buontempo said that he's hopeful that the tools we have today will at least help us deal with dealing with the outcomes of rising temperatures. "I'm an optimist. I've always been an optimist, and my feeling is that, you know, there are plenty of positives in this terrible situation, including the fact that we never had so much information about our planet," Buontempo said.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Albanese faces backlash for 'tone-deaf' action upon Canberra return
Anthony Albanese has sparked mixed reactions online after returning to Australia without securing a face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump - only to post a photo of his dog lounging in Parliament as global tensions escalate. The Prime Minister used his return to Canberra to post an image of his cavoodle Toto sitting on an orange lounge suite in his Parliament House office. This lighthearted post came as the U.S. was focused on the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran , and while Australia faced pressing issues like trade tariffs and AUKUS discussions. 'Today is International Take Your Dog to Work Day,' he said on Instagram with an image of his cute companion. The Instagram post had supporters with one woman saying: 'I love it. Please don't join the war.' But one man slammed Albanese for being focused on trivial issues, during a time of economic and geopolitical upheaval. 'Nobody cares. Do your job,' he said. Another said the post was 'tone-deaf'. The post was made on Instagram after Albanese had returned from the G7 leaders' summit in Canada without securing a sidelines meeting in person with Trump, who cancelled so he could return to the United States early and focus on the Israel-Iran conflict. A meeting had been promised so Australia could lobby Trump to reconsider 50 per cent tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium, after import taxes on the metals were doubled on June 4, along with 10 per cent tariffs on most other Australian exports to the US. The Trump Administration is also reviewing its commitment to the AUKUS submarine deal, which is set to conservatively cost Australia $368billion so it has underwater defence against a more assertive China. Despite the need for leader-to-leader dialogue, Albanese had to settle for meeting with top economic officials in Calgary, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Trump had left the G7 summit early due to the Israel-Iran conflict, cancelling planned meetings with several world leaders including Albanese, who has only ever spoken to the US President on the phone. Trump was also unable to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi but they held a 35-minute phone call at Trump's request, in place of their planned in-person meeting on the summit sidelines. Albanese, however, was the only leader to miss out, with South Korea's new President Lee Jae Myung also failing to have a promised in-person meeting with Trump at the G7. Albanese last month declined to meet US Vice President JD Vance during his visit to Rome for the Pope's inauguration. When asked at the time if he had spoken or reached out to him for a meeting, Albanese replied simply, 'No'. 'He arrived quite late in terms of just prior to the mass taking place, as you will have seen,' he said later. The White House has confirmed that Trump will attend the NATO Summit in the Netherlands next week, though his presence may now be in doubt because of the rapidly changing situation in the Middle East.
RNZ News
5 hours ago
- General
- RNZ News
Country Life: Nick Roskruge - promoting Māori horticultural knowledge
Nick Rahiri Roskruge Photo: RNZ/Sally Round Nick Rahiri Roskruge has gone from working in a cropping gang to academia, and around the world teaching and learning about indigenous foods, but - as he says - he's never really left the paddock. His PhD in soil science led to a position as Professor of Ethnobotany at Massey University, a Fulbright award, and spending time with indigenous people and their crops in the Americas and the Pacific. Retired from his professorship, he said he was busier than ever and chatted to Country Life at his extensive māra in Manawatū about keeping traditional Māori horticultural knowledge alive. Follow Country Life on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts. Several varieties of kūmara drying after harvest Photo: RNZ/Sally Round Nick Roskruge's collection of Indian corn cobs Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
The Age
6 hours ago
- The Age
A food writer takes their first cruise, and is pleasantly surprised
I'm standing alongside 10 or so people on the banks of an estuary just outside Hobart, cracking open and downing a Pacific oyster pulled from the water this morning, before adding my emptied shell to the others lining the shore. It's the kind of intimate food experience Tasmania is famous for, yet mine is happening as part of a 3000-person cruise. As idyllic as my morning of epicurean solitude was, it turns out it wasn't particularly unique. In fact, I'm told, these tailored, small-scale moments are a key part of cruising these days. 'Excursions are no longer a bus tour of the sites and back to the ship. We carefully craft authentic experiences in each destination,' says the senior vice president of hotel operations for Celebrity Cruises, Keith Lane. These escapades extend beyond the oyster farms, wineries, distilleries and other adventures me and my fellow cruisers have been shuttled off to on our day in Hobart. Cruise ships are shaking off their 'all-in' buffet reputations, and replacing them with varied dining options that cater to a vast range of taste, preference and appetite. Which raises the question for someone on their inaugural cruise trip: how do you cater to 3000 people three times a day without it feeling like you're throwing mince into a piranha tank? On board the Celebrity Edge, the answer is by offering 29 restaurants, bars, cafes and other spots to grab a bite.
