The Bull Ring

𝔻𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕔𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕤 𝕒 𝕕𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕠 𝕦𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝔻𝕣 𝕊𝕚𝕠𝕦𝕩𝕤𝕚𝕖 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕞𝕚𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕓𝕚𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕚𝕤𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕠𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕗𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕌𝕟𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝔸𝕦𝕔𝕜𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕. I n October last year, the scientific journal  Nature reported on a survey it had carried out asking over 300 scientists about their experiences after speaking to the media about Covid-19. The results were chilling. Attacks on their credibility. Reputational damage. Threats of physical or sexual violence. Death threats. These are the things a scientist can expect to start happening if they take a journalist’s call. The results weren’t a surprise to me. I’ve been experiencing those things for over two years now. . . You might be asking why I’d keep answering the media’s questions if things are so bad. I ask myself the same question whenever my phone rings. I answer it, not because I’m “a narcissistic fraud” as one perso...

  Family on boat stuck on Kaikōura coast rescued themselves - coastguard Coastguard says the family of four whose boat became stuck on the Kaikōura coast over the weekend rescued themselves. The boat carrying a family of four became grounded off the Kaikōura coast on Sunday. Photo: Environment Canterbury The 40-foot leisure boat anchored on the northern side of the peninsula to shelter from a southerly on Saturday night Coastguard Southern Region manager Cheryl Moffat said the skipper noticed the anchor was dragging and went to reposition it. "They decided to lift the anchor to try and reposition it. Unfortunately, the smaller boat that they had on the back, the tow rope for that got caught around the propeller of the boat... They managed to put the anchor back down but it still wasn't holding and they drifted onto the rocks." The skipper then called for help - but before a Coastguard crew could set off, the family met them on shor...

  Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern admits some people overseas will receive the cost of living payment 8:56 am today Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the cost of trying to recover the $350 cost of living payment from New Zealanders living overseas would outstrip the benefits. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The government is backing the way the payment is being rolled out despite knowing that some people who are ineligible will receive it. The first instalment - of $116 - will be paid today to New Zealand tax residents over the age of 18 who earned up to $70,000 in the last financial year and are not entitled to the winter energy payment. An unknown number of New Zealanders living overseas have received letters from Inland Revenue (IRD) saying they qualify for the cost of living bonus, even though they are not New Zealand tax residents. Ardern said the vast majority of tho...

  Beirut silo collapses, reviving trauma ahead of blast anniversary 12:28 pm today Part of the grain silos at Beirut Port collapsed just days before the second anniversary of the massive explosion that damaged them, sending a cloud of dust over the capital and reviving traumatic memories of the blast that killed more than 215 people. Part of the grain silos at Beirut Port collapsed on Sunday. Photo: AFP / handout / LBCI There were no immediate reports of injuries from the collapse on Sunday. Lebanese officials warned last week that part of the silos - a towering reminder of the catastrophic 4 August explosion - could collapse after the northern portion began tilting at an accelerated rate. "It was the same feeling as when the blast happened, we remembered the explosion," said Tarek Hussein, a resident of nearby Karantina area, who was out buying groceries with his son ...

  United States is main threat to Russia, Putin says 10:51 am today Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed a new naval doctrine which cast the United States as Russia's main rival and set out Russia's global maritime ambitions for crucial areas such as the Arctic and in the Black Sea. Russia's President Vladimir Putin reviews naval troops as he attends the main naval parade marking the Russian Navy Day, in St. Petersburg on 31 July, 2022. Photo: AFP Speaking on Russia's Navy Day in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg founded by Tsar Peter the Great, Putin praised Peter for making Russia a great sea power and increasing the global standing of the Russian state. After inspecting the navy, Putin made a short speech in which he promised that what he touted as Russia's unique Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, cautioning that Russia had the military...

  Aerial methods used to rid Otago of wallabies 12:28 pm today Wallaby hunters are turning to helicopters, drones and thermal cameras in a bid to eradicate the pests from Otago. Wallabies can cause serious damage to the environment. Photo: 123rf The Otago Regional Council predicted the cost to the South Island economy would escalate to about $67 million a year within a decade if action wasn't taken now. The pests cause serious damage to the environment, deplete forest understories, prevent native forest regeneration, compete with livestock for food, foul pastures, and damage crops and fences. The council is part of the government's national wallaby eradication programme. Environmental Implementation acting manager Libby Caldwell said winter remained the best time to use aerial methods. Winter conditions limited foot access to areas of the Otago high country, but cooler tem...

  Award-winning brewer urges price removal from beer ads to reduce binging 7:51 pm on 31 July 2022 A leading independent beer brewer would like to see prices removed from alcohol advertising as a way to tackle drinking issues in New Zealand. The industry uses price to drive its sales. Photo: Unsplash / Josh Olalde Three Boys Brewery in Christchurch took out the Exhibitor of the Year at this year's Brewers Guild of New Zealand Beer Awards. Its owner Ralph Bungard said most of the problems with over-consumption of alcohol were linked with low-priced alcohol, and he would like to see prices removed from alcohol advertisements. He said the price of alcohol in New Zealand was very influenced by the advertising of that price. "We know some in the industry really use that price to drive their sales, and that's pretty much what drives the price of alcohol down," said Bun...

  Russia bars entry to 32 New Zealanders in sanctions response Russia's foreign ministry has slapped New Zealand journalists and officials with sanctions for supporting what it called the country's "Russophobic agenda." Russia's Kremlin, Moscow Photo: 123rf/ Cezary Wojtkowski The political move was announced Saturday. The list includes New Zealand's Military Secretary to the Minister of Defence Shane Arndell and the mayors of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, among other officials. Journalists named include Whena Owen, Matthew Hooton and James Hollings. The sanctions bar the targeted individuals from entering Russia indefinitely, the Russian ministry said. "Taking into account that Wellington does not intend to abandon its anti-Russian course and continues to produce new restrictions (against Moscow), work on updating the 'black list' will continue," the ministry added. In April, Russia ann...

ℕℤ𝕄𝔼 𝕡𝕒𝕪𝕤 ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕖 𝔾𝕒𝕪𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕕 ‘𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕤𝕦𝕞’ 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕡𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 ‘𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤’ ℕℤ𝕄𝔼 𝕡𝕒𝕪𝕤 ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕖 𝔾𝕒𝕪𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕕 ‘𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕤𝕦𝕞’ 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕡𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 ‘𝕓𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕤’ M edia organisation NZME has paid Clarke Gayford, the partner of prime minister Jacinda Ardern, a “confidential sum” after it published “baseless lies” about him. The published “lies” related to false allegations of criminal activity by Gayford. The two parties settled in court. . . In a statement issued through a consultancy firm, Gayford said the “damaging and untrue” statements were made on the KICK Fresh Music Friday podcast and on KICK social media pages. “The statements were based on rumours about Mr Gayford that are baseless lies. NZME Radio has apologised to Mr Gayford for these publications and the hurt and distress they have caused and accepts that he has never been the subject of criminal charges and ...

𝕊𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕤 𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕚𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝕗𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕞 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝔸 𝕤𝕥𝕦𝕕𝕪 𝕡𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕛𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕒𝕝 ℕ𝕖𝕦𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕤𝕪𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕚𝕒 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕚𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝕗𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕞 𝕚𝕤, 𝕚𝕟 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕦𝕝𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕗𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕣𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕣𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕩. T he findings suggest that damage to particular areas of the prefrontal cortex indirectly promotes religious fundamentalism by diminishing cognitive flexibility and openness—a psychology term that describes a personality trait which involves dimensions like curiosity, creativity, and open-mindedness. Religious beliefs can be thought of as socially transmitted mental representations that consist of supernatural events and entities assumed to be real. Religious beliefs differ from empirical beliefs, wh...

  NZ has bigger problems than a social media post - Christopher Luxon 11:28 am on 27 July 2022 Christopher Luxon says there are more important issues facing the country than the controversy over a National Party social media post. National Party leader Christopher Luxon. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The Opposition leader has admitted he was holidaying in Hawaii last week despite his social media posts suggesting he was visiting provincial New Zealand. While he was away, a video was posted on his Facebook page where he claimed to be in Te Puke visiting businesses. "We should have posted it closer to the date and we should've at least captioned it that it was in recent days, not implying that it was on that day," Luxon told Morning Report . "We got that wrong, and we own that." He said he had expected the video to be posted on the day of the visit or soon ...

  Angola pink diamond believed to be largest found in 300 years 7:39 am today A rare pink diamond, weighing 34 grams, is thought to be the largest discovered in the last 300 years. A 170-carat pink diamond dubbed the Lulo Rose was discovered at the Lulo mine in Angola's northeast region, picutred in a handout image from Lucapa Diamond Company Limited, 27 July 2022. Photo: AFP / Handout / Lucapa Diamond Company The 170 carat stone has been named the "Lulo Rose", after the mine in Angola where it was found. It is believed to be the largest pink diamond mined since the 185-carat Daria-i-Noor, which was cut from a larger stone and is now among the Iranian crown jewels. The Lulo Rose is a type 2a diamond, meaning it has few or no impurities. "This record and spectacular pink diamond recovered from Lulo continues to showcase Angola as an important player on the world...

  Call for Auckland Transport to drop park and ride charging plans 9:12 am today Stephen Forbes , Local Democracy Reporter steve.forbes@stuff.co.nz An Auckland councillor is calling for plans to introduce charging at public park and ride facilities to be dropped. Auckland councillor Daniel Newman says Auckland Transport's plans to introduce charges at park and ride facilities will unfairly affect people in areas like south Auckland who use them everyday to get to work. Photo: Stephen Forbes / Stuff Thousands of Aucklanders park at the facilities every day before taking public transport to work or study. They have, until now, been free as they encourage people to use public transport, but Auckland Transport is now looking to introduce charging under its controversial draft parking strategy. Manurewa-Papakura ward councillor Daniel Newman said that was a step too far....