Hobart

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are among those meeting in Australia this week to decide the future of Antarctica's pristine waters.

Conservationists say new marine protected areas and rules to prevent overfishing are desperately needed, but that Russia could use its veto-like powers to once again block progress.

The pairing made of Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu and Chinese player Zhaoxuan Yang qualified on Wednesday for the doubles event of the WTA tournament of Hobart, Australia, with total prizes worth 250,000 USD, after they won 6-1, 6-4 against Romanian - Kazakh pair Raluca Olaru/Galina Voskoboeva.

Sofia is ranked 18th among 150 cities in the world with the fastest rise in prices of housing, according to an international report by the consulting company Knight Frank.

Six yachts including the supermaxis are on track to beat the Sydney to Hobart record, powered by favorable winds in what organizers described Dec. 27 as an “astonishingly fast race.”

Supermaxi LDV Comanche led the fancied big boats as the grueling Sydney to Hobart race began yesterday, after a close call that saw the yacht almost collide with rival Wild Oats XI.

Turkish U23 men's team emerged victorious on July 21, 4th World Age Group Underwater Hockey Championships held in Hobart, Australia. 

Turkey beat France by a score of 3-1 in the championship final. The under-23-years-of-age team finished the group stage in first place, beat Argentina in the quarter-finals 12-0, and beat Colombia 2-0 in the semi-finals.

Thousands of people have taken part in Walk Together rallies across Australia in a gesture to welcome refugees and immigrants to the country. The rallies, organised by Welcome to Australia, took place in more than 25 cities and towns and aimed to celebrate cultural diversity while promoting compassion and unity.

Greek-Australian composer Constantine Koukias will present his new chamber opera "Kimisis" at Verge Gallery in Sydney from March 25-28.

A hit at Tasmania's MONA FOMA Festival in 2010, Kimisis is a gallery-style installation work written and directed by Koukias, a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, ranked third in the world, has qualified for the round of 16 of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, on Friday, in Melbourne, after defeating by 6-4, 7-5 American player Bettanie Mattek-Sands in the third round.

Photo credit: (c) Xu YANYAN / XINHUA

Supermaxi Wild Oats XI won its eighth line honours in the Sydney to Hobart race Dec. 28, officials said, to become the most successful yacht in the history of the competition.