Native name	''Beluu ęr a Belau''
Conventional long name	Republic of Palau
Common name	Palau
Image coat	Seal_of_Palau.svg
Symbol type	Seal
Map caption	Palau is marked in green and in turn circled in green for better identification.
National anthem
Official languages	EnglishPalauan
Regional languages	Japanese
Demonym	Palauan
Capital	Melekeok
Largest city	Koror
Government type	Unitary presidential Democratic republic
Leader title1	President
Leader name1	Johnson Toribiong
Leader title2	Vice President
Leader name2	Kerai Mariur
Area rank	196th
Area magnitude	1 E8
Area km2	459
Area sq mi	177
Percent water	negligible
Population estimate	20,956
Population estimate rank	218th
Population estimate year	2011
Population density km2	28.4
Population density sq mi	45.5
Gdp ppp	$164 million (2008 est.)
Gdp ppp rank	not ranked
Gdp ppp year	2008
Gdp ppp per capita	$8,100
Gdp ppp per capita rank	119th
Sovereignty type	Independence
Established event1	Compact of Free Association
Established date1	October 1, 1994
Hdi	0.782
Hdi rank	49th
Hdi year	2011
Hdi category	high
Currency	US dollar
Currency code	USD
Country code	PW
Utc offset	+9
Drives on	right
Cctld	.pw
Calling code	+680
Footnote1	On October 7, 2006, government officials moved their offices in the former capital of Koror to Ngerulmud in State of Melekeok, located northeast of Koror on Babelthaup Island and northwest of Melekeok village.
Footnote2	GDP estimate includes US subsidy (2004 estimate). }}

Palau (), officially the Republic of Palau (), is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia; a Compact of Free Association was approved in 1986 but not ratified until 1993. It was put into force the following year, making it one of the world's youngest and smallest sovereign states. In English, the name is sometimes spelled Belau in accordance with the native pronunciation. It was formerly also spelled Pelew.

History[link]

The archipelago is also known as "The Black Islands." Vintage maps and village drawings, as well as photos of the tattooed and pierced Ibedul of Koror and Lundee, can be found at the Australian Library Online listed in the external links section of this article.

Palau was initially settled over 3,000 years ago, and perhaps 4,500 years ago, probably by migrants from the Philippines. A negrito population is attested until about 900 years ago. The modern population, judging by its language, may have come from the Sunda Islands. British traders became prominent visitors in the 18th century, followed by expanding Spanish influence in the 19th century. Following its defeat in the Spanish-American War, Spain sold Palau and most of the rest of the Caroline Islands to Germany in 1899. Control passed to Japan in 1914 and during World War II the islands were taken by the United States in 1944, with the costly Battle of Peleliu between September 15 and November 25 when more than 2,000 Americans and 10,000 Japanese were killed. The islands passed formally to the United States under United Nations auspices in 1947 as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

Four of the Trust Territory districts formed a single federated Micronesian state in 1979, but the districts of Palau and the Marshall Islands declined to participate. Palau, the westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands, instead opted for independent status in 1978, approved a new constitution and became the Republic of Palau in 1981, and signed a Compact of Free Association with the United States in 1982. After eight referendums and an amendment to the Palauan constitution, the Compact was ratified in 1993. The Compact went into effect on October 1, 1994, marking Palau de jure independent, although it had been de facto independent since May 25, 1994, when the trusteeship was cancelled).

Legislation making Palau an "offshore" financial center was passed by the Senate in 1998. In 2001, Palau passed its first bank regulation and anti-money laundering laws.

Politics and government[link]

Palau's politics takes place in a multi-party framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Palau is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government, while legislative power is vested in both the government and the Palau National Congress. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Palau adopted its own constitution in 1981, and the governments of the United States and Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association in 1986, similar to compacts that the United States had entered into with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The compact entered into force on October 1, 1994, concluding Palau's transition from trusteeship to independence as the last portion of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands to gain its independence.

Free association[link]

The Compact of Free Association between the United States and Palau sets forth the free and voluntary association of their Governments, and is primarily focused on the issues of government relations, economic relations, and security and defense relations. Palau has no independent military, and relies on the United States for its defense. Under the Compact, the American military has been granted access to the islands for 50 years. The role of the US Navy is quite minimal, limited to a handful of Navy Seabees (construction engineers) but the United States Coast Guard does have a stronger presence in patrolling the waters.

Foreign relations[link]

As a sovereign nation, Palau conducts its own foreign relations. Since independence, Palau has established diplomatic relations with a number of nations, including many of its Pacific neighbors. Palau was admitted to the United Nations on December 15, 1994, and has since joined several other international organizations. In September 2006, Palau hosted the first Taiwan-Pacific Allies Summit, and its President has gone on several official visits to other Pacific countries, including the Republic of China (Taiwan).

The United States maintains the usual diplomatic delegation and an embassy in Palau, but most aspects of the two countries' relationship have to do with Compact-funded projects, which are the responsibility of the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs. This has led to some ambiguity in the official status of Palau, though regarded as de jure independent.

Since 2004, Palau has joined the United States and Israel as the only nations voting consistently against an annual U.N. resolution condemning the United States embargo against Cuba which has been in place since 1962.

On October 5, 2009 Palau formalized Diplomatic and Trade Ties with Malaysia and Lord Morris Davidson was appointed as Palau's first Honorary Consul to Malaysia.

Palau is a member of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement.

Nuclear-free constitution[link]

In 1981, Palau voted for the world's first nuclear-free constitution. This constitution banned the use, storage, and disposal of nuclear, toxic chemical, gas, and biological weapons without first being approved by a 3/4 majority in a referendum. This ban held up Palau's transition to independence because while negotiating a Compact of Free Association with the United States, the U.S. insisted on the option to operate nuclear propelled vessels and store nuclear weapons within the territory. After several referendums that failed to achieve a 3/4 majority, the people of Palau finally approved the compact with the U.S. in 1994.

Asylum for former Guantanamo prisoners[link]

On June 10, 2009, Palau announced that it would accept up to all 17 of the remaining Uyghurs detained in Guantanamo "as a humanitarian gesture." Five Uyghur captives were released without being prosecuted in 2004, and transferred to Albania in 2006. The remaining seventeen were released due to lack of evidence in 2008.

Stuart Beck, Palau's representative to the United Nations, published an op-ed in the ''New York Times'' disputing the widely distributed report that Palau's agreement to accept the Uyghurs was tied to Palau's receipt of US$200 million in foreign aid. Beck asserted that Palau was receiving funds from the USA connected with accepting the Uyghurs, but it was $90,000 per Uyghur, not "$12 million." Beck asserted that the $90,000 was to compensate Palau for its "relocation costs" and was ''"to cover transportation, food, housing and medical help until the men can get oriented and get jobs"''. ''ABC News'' confirmed that the United States would be paying Palau for each captive who was resettled and quoted a senior official who described the amount as "not very substantial."

William Cleary, writing in the ''Pacific Daily News,'' reported that Palau was in a poor bargaining position to decline the American request. He wrote:

"The detainee transfer deal comes at a time when generous U.S. financial aid and economic development grants to Palau under a 15 year old treaty of free association between the two nations have expired. Palauan leaders apparently wanted to demonstrate their commitment to sharing mutual interests and burdens with the USA, as they make the case for renewal of U.S. grant assistance."

However, Cleary also described the assertions that the captive resettlement was a straight ''quid pro quo'' as "misleading." He listed the USA's desire to continue to be able to base DoD personnel on Palau, to balance the growing military force of the People's Republic of China as one complicating factor. He also listed Palau's desire to have exemption from growing pressure within the United States to restrict immigration from former protectorates like Palau as another complicating factor.

An official "technical working group" from Palau traveled to Guantanamo to meet with the Uyghurs in mid-June 2009. On June 23, the Palau government published a press release which said only eight of the thirteen Uyghurs agreed to meet with the delegation. Their report stated: ''"The team advised President Toribiong that in their opinion only a few of the detainees that were interviewed had any real interest in being relocated to Palau."'' On June 30, ''Radio New Zealand International'' reported only one Uyghur agreed to be temporarily resettled in Palau. On September 10, ''The Times'' reported that three of the Uyghurs have accepted the invitation to be transferred to asylum in Palau. On September 19, ''Fox News'' reported that in the week since the first announcement three further Uyghurs agreed to be transferred to Palau. Fox reported that five of the other Uyghurs had refused to speak with Palau officials. On October 31, six Uyghurs were reported to have been transferred to Palau. Twelve of the thirteen remaining Uyghurs were offered asylum. The thirteenth man was not offered asylum because his mental health had deteriorated too severely for the mental health resources available in Palau.

The USA agreed to give Palau additional aid in January 2010. Palau had rejected an earlier aid package of $156 million. The new aid package was for $250 million. President Toribiong asserted that the increase in aid was unrelated to Palau agreement to host the Uyghurs.

States[link]

Palau is divided into sixteen states (until 1984 called municipalities). These are listed below with their areas (in square kilometres) and 2005 Census populations:

Historically, Palau's uninhabited Rock Islands have been part of the State of Koror.

Geography[link]

Palau's most populous islands are Angaur, Babeldaob, Koror, and Peleliu. The latter three lie together within the same barrier reef, while Angaur is an oceanic island several miles to the south. About two-thirds of the population live on Koror. The coral atoll of Kayangel is situated north of these islands, while the uninhabited Rock Islands (about 200) are situated to the west of the main island group. A remote group of six islands, known as the Southwest Islands, some from the main islands, are also part of the country and make up the states of Hatohobei and Sonsorol.

Palau has a tropical climate all year round with an annual mean temperature of 82 °F (28 °C). Rainfall is heavy throughout the year, averaging a total of 150 inches (3,800 mm). The average humidity over the course of the year is 82%, and although rain falls more frequently between July and October, there is still much sunshine. Typhoons are rare, as Palau is outside the main typhoon zone.

Environment[link]

While much of Palau's natural environment remains free of environmental degradation, there are several areas of concern, including illegal fishing with the use of dynamite, inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste in Koror, and extensive sand and coral dredging in the Palau lagoon. Like the other Pacific island nations, a potential major environmental threat is rising sea levels. Water coverage of low-lying areas is a threat to coastal vegetation, agriculture, and the purity of the nation's water supply. Palau also has a problem with inadequate water supply and limited agricultural areas to support the size of the population. The nation is also vulnerable to earthquakes, volcanic activity, and tropical storms. Sewage treatment is a problem, along with the handling of toxic waste from fertilizers and biocides.

On November 5, 2005, President of Palau, Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr. took the lead on a regional environmental initiative called the Micronesia challenge, which would conserve 30% of near shore coastal waters and 20% of forest land by 2020. In addition to Palau, the initiative was joined by the Federated States of Micronesia and Marshall Islands, and the U.S. territories of Guam and Northern Mariana Islands. Together, this combined region represents nearly 5% of the marine area of the Pacific Ocean and 7% of its coastlines.

On September 25, 2009, Palau announced that it would create the world's first "shark sanctuary". Palau has banned all commercial shark fishing within its EEZ waters. The sanctuary protects about of ocean, a similar size to the European country of France. President Johnson Toribiong made the announcement at a meeting of the United Nations. President Toribiong also requested a worldwide ban on fishing for sharks.

In November 2006, the Palau Saving Bank officially announced bankruptcy. On December 13 of the same year the Palau Horizon reported that there were a total of 641 depositors that had been affected by the event. Among the 641 accounts, 398 held less than $5000 USD, with the remainder ranging from $5000 to 2 million USD. On December 12, 79 of the affected people received compensation, one was Taiwanese, while the rest were Palauan, Filipino and US citizens. Mr. Toribiong said, "The fund for the payout came from the balance of Palau government's loan from Taiwan." From a total of $1 million USD, which originally was for assisting Palau's development, there was $955,000 USD left at the time of bankruptcy. For the $955,000, Toribiong requested the Taiwanese government use it to repay its loans. Taiwan agreed to the request. The compensation will start its paying to depositor, who held less than $4,000 USD in the account.

Taxes are moderate, the income tax has 3 brackets with medium rates (9.3%, 15% and 19.6%), corporate tax is 4% and general sales tax is 7.5%. There are no property taxes.

Demographics[link]

The population of Palau is approximately 21,000, of whom 70% are native Palauans, who are of mixed Melanesian, Micronesian, and Austronesian descent. Many Palauans also have some Asian ancestry, which is the result of intermarriage between settlers and Palauans between the 19th and 20th centuries. Palauans with mixed Japanese ancestry accounted for the largest group, and some also had some Chinese or Korean ancestry. Filipinos form the second largest ethnic group.

The official languages of Palau are Palauan and English, except for two states (Sonsorol and Hatohobei) where the local language, along with Palauan, is official. Japanese is also spoken widely amongst older Palauans, and is an official language in the State of Angaur. Tagalog is not official in Palau, but it is the fourth largest spoken language.

Religion[link]

The German and Japanese occupations of Palau both subsidized missionaries. Three quarters of the population are Christians (mainly Roman Catholics and Protestants), while Modekngei (a combination of Christianity, traditional Palauan religion and fortune telling) and the ancient Palauan religion are commonly observed. According to the 2005 census 49.4% of the population is Roman Catholic, 21.3% Protestant, 8.7% Modekngei and 5.3% Seventh-day Adventist. There is a small Jewish community in Palau. In 2009 it sent 3 members to the 18th Maccabiah Games. There are also approximately 400 Bengali Muslims in Palau, and recently 6 Uyghurs detained in Guantanamo Bay were allowed to settle in the island nation.

Culture[link]

Society[link]

Palauan society, much like the island's language, has always been one unique to the island and its people. A very noticeable aspect of Palauan society is that it follows a very strict matrilineal system. Matrilineal practices are seen in nearly every aspect of Palauan traditions, especially in funeral, marriage, inheritance, and the passing of traditional titles.

To this day, the Palauan people still hold true to their traditions very seriously. This is very clear in the fact that the traditional government still holds extreme influence over the nation's affairs. In fact, the traditional government has held so much influence, that the federal government has had, on numerous occasions, attempts at limiting its power. Many of these attempts occurred and continue to occur, from 1990 to the present. These attempts, many of which in the form of amendments in the constitution, were put into place because of the corporate sector of the nation, they having felt that the traditional government was encroaching on what they deemed should be free economic zones. One such example occurred in early 2010, where the Idid clan, the ruling clan of the Southern Federation, under the leadership of Bilung, the clan's and Palau's Southern Federation's queen, raised a civil suit against the KSPLA (Koror State Public Lands Authority). In the civil suit, the Idid clan laid claim over Malakal Island, a major economic zone and Palau's most important port, citing claims that went back as far as the German Era. The civil suit, however, ended with the verdict that Idid clan could not use such citations and claims, and resulted in the conclusion that Malakal Island was land that belonged to the KSPLA.

Traditional government[link]

The present day traditional government of Palau is a direct continuation of the ancient traditional government, composed of practices that span thousands of years. In the traditional government, Palau is divided geographically into different categories. At the smallest level of geographic division is the village or hamlet, then the chiefdom (which is now politically referred to as a state), and finally the federation, or alliance of chiefdoms. In ancient times, there were numerous federations, or alliances, but upon the introduction of firearms by the British in the 17th century, a major imbalance of power occurred. Palau was divided into just two major federations, the northern and southern federations. The Northern Federation is headed by the high chief and chiefess of the ruling clan Uudes of Melekeok state, the Reklai and Ebilreklai. As a result of their position, they are commonly referred to as the king and queen of the Northern Federation. This northern federation comprises the following states: Kayangel, Ngerchelong, Ngardmau, Ngiwal, Ngaraard, Ngatpang, Ngeremlengui, Melekok, Aimeliik, Ngchesar, and Airai. The Southern Federation is likewise represented by the high chief and chiefess of the ruling Idid of Koror state, which also results in their titles as king and queen of the Southern Federation. The Southern Federation comprises the following states: Koror, Peleliu, and Angaur. Despite the presence of these terms however, lesser and lesser Palauans have knowledge of the concept of federations, and the term is slowly dying out. Federations had been established as a way of safeguarding states and hamlets who shared economic, social, and political interests, but now with the advent of modernism and a federal government, there is no need for such safeguarding. It is interesting to note however, that in international relations, the king of Palau is often synonymous with the Ibedul of Koror. This is a result of the fact that Koror is the industrial capital of the nation, and because of such, his position and reputation among the corporate sector of the country has a much greater impact than that of the Reklai of Melekeok.

There is also a misconception that the king and queen of Palau, or any chief and his female counterpart for that matter, are married. This is not the case in Palauan society. Traditional leaders and their female counterparts, have always been related and unmarried (marrying relatives in Palauan society has always been a traditional taboo). Usually, a chief and his female counterpart are either brother and sister, or are close cousins, and have their own spouses.

Sports[link]

Baseball is a popular sport in Palau and was introduced to the islands by the Japanese in the 1920s. The Palau national baseball team won the gold medal at the 1990, 1998 and 2010 Micronesian Games, as well as at the 2007 Pacific Games.

Palau also hosts the Palau national football team which competes in the Oceania Football Confederation.

Education[link]

Some fields of study are available at Palau Community College. For professional and graduate programs, students must travel to a larger institution.

Libraries and museums[link]

There are several libraries in Koror, including a public library with a collection comprising about 17,000 books. The Belau National Museum, established in 1956, is also located in Koror and has an affiliated Research Library. Palau Community College also houses a library. In addition to the National Museum, the Etpison family has also opened the Etpison Museum in Koror, which contains many culturally important artifacts.

Transport[link]

Palau International Airport provides scheduled direct flights to Guam, Manila, Seoul and Taipei and Delta Air Lines launched new direct flights to Tokyo-Narita in December 2010. In addition, the states of Angaur and Peleliu have regularly served international airports. Freight, military and holiday cruise ships often call at Malakal Harbor, on Malakal Island outside Koror. The country has no railways, and almost half of the roads are unpaved (of the of highways, only are paved). Driving is on the right and the speed limit is . Taxis are available in Koror. They are not metered and fares are negotiable. Only Koror maintains a bus service. Transportation between islands mostly relies on private boats and domestic air services.

Media[link]

The 1968 World War II movie ''Hell in the Pacific'' starring Lee Marvin and Toshirō Mifune was filmed on Palau's Rock Islands.

Palau was the site for the reality television program ''Survivor''. Japanese ''Survivor'' used the islands for its first season in 2002. It was also the location of ''Survivor: Palau'', the tenth edition of the American ''Survivor'', which aired from February 17 to May 15, 2005 in United States, and ''Survivor: Micronesia'', the sixteenth edition, which aired from February 7 to May 11, 2008. In August 2009, ''Survivor Philippines'' also used the islands for its second season.

The islands are also mentioned in the song "Orinoco Flow" performed by the Irish singer Enya.

Palau was featured in an episode of the children's TV show ''Toot and Puddle,'' which was based on the book series by American children's author Holly Hobbie.

Palau has also been featured a few times by National Geographic.

Palau was featured in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.

See also[link]

Outline of Palau

Index of Palau-related articles

List of islands in Palau

President of Palau

References[link]

External links[link]

Palau from the ''University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries (USA) - Government Publications''.

Australian library online, subscription, or membership via institutional access, is required.

NOAA's National Weather Service - Palau

Government[link]

Official Site of the Republic of Palau

Official Site of the Consulate of the Republic of Palau to United Kingdom

Palau National Congress - Olbiil Era Kelulau, Senate

Chief of State and Cabinet Members

}}

Category:Oceanian countries Category:Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean Category:Countries bordering the Philippine Sea Category:Freely associated states of the United States Category:Micronesia Category:Island countries Category:Former Spanish colonies Category:Former Japanese colonies Category:Former German colonies Category:Spanish East Indies Category:English-speaking countries and territories Category:Republics Category:Liberal democracies Category:States and territories established in 1994 Category:Member states of the United Nations

ace:Palau af:Palau als:Palau ar:بالاو an:Palau frp:Palaos ast:Paláu az:Palau bn:পালাউ bjn:Palau zh-min-nan:Palau be:Палау be-x-old:Палаў bcl:Palau bg:Палау bar:Palau bo:པ་ལའུ། bs:Palau br:Palau ca:República de Palau cv:Палау ceb:Palau cs:Palau cy:Palau da:Palau de:Palau dv:ޕަލާއޫ et:Belau el:Παλάου es:Palaos eo:Palaŭo ext:Palau eu:Palau fa:پالائو hif:Palau fr:Palaos fy:Palau ga:Palau gv:Palau gd:Palau gl:Palau - Belau xal:Паламудин Орн ko:팔라우 hy:Պալաու hr:Palau io:Palau ilo:Palau bpy:পালাউ id:Palau os:Палау is:Palá it:Palau (stato) he:פלאו jv:Palau kn:ಪಲಾವು pam:Palau ka:პალაუ kk:Палау Республикасы kw:Palau rw:Palawu sw:Palau ht:Palao ku:Palau mrj:Палау la:Belavia lv:Palau lb:Palau (Ozeanien) lt:Palau lij:Palau li:Palau lmo:Palau hu:Palau mk:Палау mr:पलाउ arz:بالاو ms:Palau my:ပလောင်းနိုင်ငံ nah:Palaos nl:Palau (land) ja:パラオ pih:Palau no:Palau nn:Palau nov:Palau oc:Belau or:ପଲାଓ uz:Palau pnb:پالاو pap:Palau km:ប៉ាឡាវ pms:Palau (repùblica) nds:Palau pl:Palau pt:Palau crh:Palau ksh:Palau ro:Palau rm:Palau qu:Palaw ru:Палау sah:Палау se:Palau sm:Palau sco:Palau sq:Palau scn:Palau (statu) simple:Palau sk:Palau sl:Palau szl:Palau so:Balau ckb:پالاو sr:Палау sh:Palau su:Palau fi:Palau sv:Palau tl:Palaw ta:பலாவு tt:Палау th:ประเทศปาเลา tg:Палау tr:Palau uk:Республіка Палау ur:پلاؤ ug:پالاۋ vi:Palau vo:Palauvuäns fiu-vro:Belau war:Palau wo:Palau yo:Páláù diq:Palau zea:Palau bat-smg:Palau zh:帛琉

Name	Herbert Nitsch
|birth date	April 20, 1970
Birth place	Austria
Occupation	Free-diver, pilot
Spouse	}}

Herbert Nitsch (born 20 April 1970) is an Austrian free-diver who has held world records in all of the eight apnea free-diving disciplines recognised by AIDA International. He is the current freediving world record champion and “the deepest man on earth”. This title was given to him, when he set the current world record in No Limits discipline at the depth of 214 meters (~702 feet). To date, he has achieved 31 official World Records (see Table below).

Nitsch, who works part time as a pilot for Tyrolean Airways, holds the No-Limits record, the prestigious title of "Deepest man on Earth" in which the diver can make use of a weighted sled to descend as far as possible and uses an air-filled balloon to return to the surface. Nitsch set the world record in Spetses, Greece in June 2007 when he descended to 214 m, beating his own record of 183 m set the previous year. He also held the world record in the Constant Weight event, which is considered by many to be the classic free-diving discipline: the diver descends next to a line, not using the line and unaided by a sled, and must maintain a constant weight, meaning that no weight can be dropped for the return to the surface. Nitsch exceeded the then world record in 2006 when he dived to a depth of 110 m, but failure to complete the strict surfacing protocols within the allotted time meant that the dive was disqualified. After this he took on Marcus Greatwood as his coach (until December 2007). In Hurghada, Egypt, in December 2006 he did a Constant Weight World Record dive of 111 m, adding 2 m on top of Guillaume Néry's previous record.

Nitsch worked hard in 2007 and on 14 June 2007 he achieved 214 m (702 ft) in Spetses, Greece on a revolutionary sled. Building on his fitness for the No Limits Herbert set the Constant weight (No Fins) record during The Triple Depth in Dahab, Egypt, and went on to push the Constant record to 112m during the World Championships in Sharm. Herbert also won the AIDA Individual World Championships.

Of the other five AIDA recognised events, Nitsch has been the world record holder in four: Static Apnea, Dynamic Apnea, Free Immersion and Dynamic Apnea without fins. He set a time of 9 mins 4 secs for the world Static Apnea record in December 2006 when he held his breath underwater in a swimming pool in Hurgada, a time that was beaten by 4 secs in 2007 by Tom Sietas of Germany. His record of 66 m for Constant Weight without fins, set in 2004, was beaten by 14 m in 2005 by Czech free-diver, Martin Štěpánek, who is also the holder of the Free Immersion record of 106 m; Nitsch recorded 100 m in September 2003, but his record was bettered by a dive of 101 m by Carlos Coste of Venezuela in October the same year and then twice improved upon by Štěpánek. Nitsch's Dynamic Apnea record, 183 m set in 2002, has been beaten by 40 m by Tom Sietas and women's champion, Natalia Molchanova of Russia, has also swum further than 200 m. Sietas also holds the Dynamic Apnea without fins record at 183 m, beating Nitsch's 2001 distance of 134 m by almost 50 m.

During the 2009 Vertical Blue competition at the Dean's Blue Hole in Bahamas, he broke the Free Immersion world record at 109 m. On the last day of the competition, he performed a world record dive in Constant Weight at 120 m, beating by 6 m the previous record that he had set a few days earlier. He used his arms only in the last 40 m of this ascent, with a total dive time of 3:58.

Official World Records by Herbert Nitsch [link]

170 m 72 m* 86 m 172 m 134 m 181 m 92 m 183 m 100 m 95 m 50 m 62 m 66 m 172 m 183 m 111 m 9 min 4 sec 185 m 214 m 83 m 112 m 114 m 109 m 120 m 142 m 112 m 123 m 114 m 124 m 120 m

apnea !! Record !! Date !! Location
DNF	131 m	27 January 2001
DYN	|	24 February 2001	Geneva
CWT	|	16 June 2001	Millstätter See
CWT	|	11 October 2001	Ibiza
DYN	|	10 November 2001	Berlin
DNF	|	24 November 2001	Wiesbaden
DYN	|	2 February 2002	Vienna
FIM	|	27 February 2002	Austria
DYN	|	16 November 2002	Berlin
FIM	|	5 September 2003	Millstätter See
CWT	|	5 September 2003	Millstätter See
CNF	|	6 September 2003	Millstätter See
CNF	|	11 September 2004	Spetses (Greece)
CNF	|	12 September 2004	Spetses
NLT	|	2 October 2005	Žirje (Croatia)
NLT	|	28 August 2006	Žirje
CWT	|	9 December 2006	Hurghada (Egypt)
STA	|	13 December 2006	Hurghada
NLT	|	13 June 2007	Spetses
NLT	|	14 June 2007	Spetses
CNF	|	21 October 2007	Dahab (Egypt)
CWT	|	1 November 2007	Sharm (Egypt)
CWT	|	4 April 2009	Long Island, Bahamas>Long Island (Bahamas)
FIM	|	6 April 2009	Long Island, Bahamas>Long Island (Bahamas)
CWT	|	11 April 2009	Long Island, Bahamas>Long Island (Bahamas)
VWT	|	7 December 2009	Long Island, Bahamas>Long Island (Bahamas)
FIM	|	8 December 2009	Long Island, Bahamas>Long Island (Bahamas)
CWT	|	9 December 2009	Long Island, Bahamas>Long Island (Bahamas)
FIM	|	19 April 2010	Long Island, Bahamas>Long Island (Bahamas)
CWT	|	22 April 2010	Long Island, Bahamas>Long Island (Bahamas)
FIM	|	25 April 2010	Long Island, Bahamas>Long Island (Bahamas)

72m = AIDA Lake Record; after 2001-12-31 AIDA International no longer separated the records achieved in a lake from those in the sea.

References[link]

Current Freediving World Records

Category:Free-divers Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Austrian sportspeople

de:Herbert Nitsch fr:Herbert Nitsch it:Herbert Nitsch pl:Herbert Nitsch ru:Ницш, Герберт uk:Герберт Ніцш

Lost tribe(s) may refer to:

Uncontacted peoples or lost tribes, communities who live, or have lived, without significant contact with globalised civilisation

Ten Lost Tribes, the Lost Tribes of Israel

In television and film:

''The Lost Tribes'' (TV series), a 2007 Australian reality series

''The Lost Tribe'' (TV serial), a 1980 British series starring Bill Paterson

"The Lost Tribe" (''The Goodies''), an episode of ''The Goodies''.

"The Lost Tribe" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of ''Stargate Atlantis''.

''The Lost Tribe'' (film), a 2010 film starring Nick Mennell

''The Lost Tribe'' (1983 film), a New Zealand film

''The Lost Tribe'', a 1949 film in the Jungle Jim series

''The Lost Tribe'', a proposed remake of the 2009 film ''The Forgotten Ones''

In other media:

Lost Tribe, an English electronic music duo

''The Lost Tribes'' (album), an album by A Tribe Called Quest

''The Lost Tribe'', a 1983 ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' book