The Bull Ring

𝕊𝕦𝕣𝕧𝕖𝕪: 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕣𝕖 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕞𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥? 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕔 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤, 𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕙𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕖𝕡𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕔𝕤 𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕠𝕡 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕤. T his was according to a recent government-led survey of more than a 1000 people, prompted by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch terrorist attack. At the top of the list, 87 percent of people surveyed said a natural disaster would present a threat within the next year, and 91 percent said within the next decade. . . This was a lot higher than the global average of 69 percent. The report said this was not surprising, as New Zealand is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world for earthquakes, floods, droughts and volcanic activity. Eighty p...

𝕌𝕊 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕗𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕜 𝕥𝕠 ℕℤ 𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕕 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕕𝕖𝕓𝕒𝕥𝕖 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕗𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕌𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕓𝕖 𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕠 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕝𝕪 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕝𝕒𝕨𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕌𝕊 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤. D ozens of workers in the health sector told TVNZ's Sunday they are afraid for their bodily autonomy as the war over the right to abortion rages on. On June 24, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that recognised the right to abortion. Since June, it has opened the door for many conservative states to implement restrictive abortion laws. Former nurse Prudence Thompson runs Accent, a Christchurch-based global medical recruitment firm. . . She says ever since Roe v Wade was overturned, she's been inundated with messages from American healthcare workers hoping to move to Aotearoa. "Our inbo...

  Brazil presidency: Lula defeats Bolsonaro in bitter runoff election Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has won a runoff for the presidency and is expected to take office on 1 January. Photo: AFP Former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in an election that marked a remarkable comeback for the leftist leader and the end of the country's most right-wing government in decades. Lula had 50.8 percent of votes compared with 49.2 percent for Bolsonaro with 99.1 percent of voting machines counted, which the Supreme Electoral Court said was enough to "mathematically define" the outcome of the race. The vote was a rebuke for the fiery far-right populism of Bolsonaro, who emerged from the back benches of Congress to forge a novel conservative coalition but lost support as Brazil ran up one of the worst death tolls of the Covid-19 pandemic. Lula has vowed a return to state-driven economic growth and social ...

  India bridge collapse: Hundreds plunged into river and dozens killed in Gujarat The 230m bridge collapsed days after being reopened following repairs. Photo: AFP / Anadolu Agency At least 60 people have died after a bridge collapsed in India's western state of Gujarat, officials say. Hundreds of people were plunged into River Macchu in Morbi town. Local footage shows survivors hanging off the partly-submerged suspension bridge. Reports say as many as 400 people were on the structure at the time. Authorities said rescue efforts were continuing through the night. The incident comes just days after the bridge was reopened following repairs. The 230-metre-long colonial-era crossing was built during British rule of India in the 19th Century. Videos show scenes of chaos as onlookers on the river banks attempt to rescue those trapped in the water as darkness fell. Another video shows people climbing up netted wire remains of the bridge to escape...

  NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captures Sun 'smiling' NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an image of the sun "smiling" in 193 angstrom light on 26 October. Photo: Supplied / NASA/GSFC/SDO NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has captured an image of the Sun "smiling". The space agency tweeted an image of the Sun in ultraviolet light with dark patches resembling a smile. "These dark patches on the Sun are known as coronal holes and are regions where fast solar wind gushes out into space," NASA said on Twitter. The observatory is the first mission to be launched for NASA's Living With a Star program, which is designed to understand the causes of solar variability and its impact on Earth. NASA says the observatory's goal is to understand the solar variations that influence life on Earth and humanity's technological systems by determining how the Sun's magnetic field is ge...

  Bird of the Year: Pīwauwau/ rock wren crowned as 2022 winner The pīwauwau / rock wren. Photo: CC BY 2.0 Andrew / Flickr The pīwauwau/ rock wren is the winner of the Bird of the Year contest for 2022. The winner of the country's most popular competition was announced on Morning Report today.   By yesterday three frontrunners had emerged, the pīwauwau / rock wren, the kea, and kororā / the little blue penguin. The tiny alpine dweller narrowly defeated the little blue penguin, with nearly 3000 voters putting it in the top spot. Pīwauwau campaign leader Stephen Day said the bird had definitely flown under the radar up until now. "Unless you'd spent some time in the mountains, you'd probably never heard of a rock wren until two weeks ago. It's a true underbird." Competition spokesperson Ellen Rykers said the kororā actually had more number one votes but with the transferable voting system (people can vote for up to f...

  Music festival organisers and drug-checking clinics set for unrestricted summer season Felix Walton , reporter The New Zealand Drug Foundation says nearly a quarter of the drugs which circulate at festivals are not what they claimed to be. File photo Photo: 123rf New Zealand's new drug-checking legislation will be put to the test in what looks set to be the first unrestricted music festival season since the pandemic began. Events can now license drug-checking clinics on location after the government brought in legislation to allow for substances to be tested on-site to ensure they are not laced.   Northern Bass director Gareth Popham said drug use was inevitable at any music festival, but safety checks gave him peace of mind. "People need to get their heads out of the sand a little bit," he said. "This is something that's happening in 2022. Most young people dabble or partake at some stage."...

ℙ𝕆𝕃𝕃: 𝕃𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕕𝕘𝕖 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕪 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝔸 𝕟𝕖𝕨 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕝 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 ℍ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕫𝕠𝕟 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕒 𝕃𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕘𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪 A The latest political poll by Horizon Research finds New Zealand First with  6.75%  support – and in a position to decide which parties would form a government. This result would deliver the party  9 seats  in a 120-seat Parliament. Horizon finds Labour would win 40 seats, the Green Party 15. National would win 37 seats and ACT 17. Te Pāti Māori (on 1.74%) would have two seats if it retains one electorate seat. If New Zealand First should decide to go into  coalition with National and ACT a new government would have 63 seats. If it chose to work with a  Labour and Green , that coalition would have 64 seats. This na...

𝕀𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕤 '𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖'𝕤 ℕ𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕪' 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕓𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕒𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℙ𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕚'𝕤 𝕙𝕦𝕤𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕌𝕊 ℍ𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕠𝕗 ℝ𝕖𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕣 ℕ𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕪 ℙ𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕚'𝕤 𝕙𝕦𝕤𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕕 ℙ𝕒𝕦𝕝 ℙ𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕚 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕒𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕕𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒 𝕓𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕜-𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕡𝕝𝕖'𝕤 𝕊𝕒𝕟 𝔽𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕠 𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕪 𝕠𝕟 𝔽𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒 𝕤𝕦𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕕, 𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕤𝕒𝕚𝕕. A hammer-wielding man attacked US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband during a break-in at the couple's San Francisco home early today, authorities said, in an assault that raised fears about political violence ahead of the 8 November midterm elections. Paul Pelosi, 82, was taken to a hospital for treatment and was expected to make a full recovery, Pelosi's office said. Several media outlets reported he underwent surgery. The man arrested at t...