Miocene of New Zealand. The fossil proved that New Zealand has never been completely submerged under water. Other New Settlers and New Travelers

According to the legend of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, their homeland remained under water for a very long time, until the great Maui pulled a giant fish out of the deep ocean. Actually, it was she who turned into the Northern Island of the archipelago, and from the hero’s boat broken by the beating fish, his South Island and numerous smaller islands appeared. The hook that caught New Zealand, Maui threw into the sky - this is the "tail" of our constellation Scorpio.

Inventing the legend a thousand years ago, the Maori hardly knew about the distant past of this land. However, many scientists believe that there is a grain of truth in it - a long time ago, when there was no human yet, the waves of the Pacific Ocean completely hid New Zealand, burying all the living creatures there. It is estimated that this transgression (as the scientist calls the flood) happened about 22-25 million years ago, at the border of the Oligocene and Miocene epochs, and lasted several million years, until New Zealand rose above the waves again.

This is the story of the archipelago that researchers modeled as New Zealand moved after it broke away from the piece of Gondwana we now know as Antarctica. The lithospheric plates diving under each other slightly “drowned” New Zealand during its flight to the north, and the melting of the Antarctic ice at the beginning of the Miocene only raised the ocean level even more. In general, it was not possible to completely escape from Antarctica.

The theory of the great flood is confirmed by marine deposits all over the surface of the islands, and the complete absence of fossils of any kind of terrestrial life in the period from 20 to 25 million years ago.

However, at least a small patch of New Zealand land still remained above the water all this time, according to Australian and British paleontologists.

Scientists led by Mark A from University College London have unearthed a real treasure in the abandoned gold mines of the New Zealand South Island - fossils of teeth and jaws of tuatara, whose age is estimated at 16-19 million years. Description fossil published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Tuatara, or tuatara, cannot be confused with anyone thanks to the unique dental “lock”. Its upper jaw contains two parallel rows of teeth, between which are the teeth of the only lower row when the jaws close. This design leaves very characteristic prints on the teeth, which Jones and his co-authors discerned.

Tuatars are the only surviving species of a whole order of the most ancient reptiles - Sphenodona. Their ancestors walked the Earth with dinosaurs and survived the latter, but gradually their habitat was reduced until it shrank to the New Zealand archipelago. On the two large islands of New Zealand, the tuatar finally finished off the white man - more precisely, the rats that he brought with him. Now these clumsy animals are found only on three dozen small uninhabited islands scattered around New Zealand, primarily on Stephen Island.

According to Jones and his colleagues, the fossil, which is several million years younger than the ancient flood, clearly indicates that at least some part of the South Island remained dry. Tuatara have remained in the archipelago since its flight from Antarctica, and if New Zealand had completely disappeared under water 20 million years ago, these reptiles would have had to re-colonize the islands. But at that time, the nearest land was already thousands and thousands of kilometers away.

Tuatars do not know how to fly, and they could not cross the ocean on a makeshift raft - this happens in paleobiology - because of the characteristics of their skin. Tuataras lose moisture very intensively and would die of dehydration within a few days traveling through the salty ocean. In this sense, tuatars are a much more convincing argument in favor of preserving some part of the land than the petrified skeleton of a tiny mammal from the same early Miocene, found several years ago near the site of the current find.

But exactly how much land was peeking out of the water, Jones and his colleagues cannot say.

And although the illustration for this note is an absolute exaggeration, even 1% of the current territory of New Zealand is a thousand times more than the territory of the already mentioned Stephen Island, where more than 30 thousand relic animals now live.

As for the fate and evolution of the Tuatars themselves, these studies are just beginning. The Miocene animal jaw fossil is a real boon for scientists, because previously only dinosaur fossils of Sphenodon and Pleistocene tuatara fossils were known, which could well be hunted by ancient people if they got to New Zealand. What happened to the Sphenodons in the interval of 70 million years was still not clear. It seems that in place of this white spot, something begins to be drawn.

Ash trap

Dozens of tourists die in New Zealand volcano eruption

Text: Maxim Makarychev

A volcanic eruption on White Island in New Zealand took dozens of tourists by surprise. As a result, according to local rescue services on Tuesday morning, at least five people died, dozens of tourists were declared missing. There were no reports of missing Russian citizens.

At least 20 people were injured, some of them in critical condition, according to local media. While a huge column of ash and smoke rose into the sky, they managed to be evacuated by boats from the pier on the shore of the island. On Tuesday evening it became known that at least 50 people were on the island. Taking into account the dead and rescued, there were about three dozen people whose fate remained unknown. After flying around the island in a helicopter, the local police reported that "there are no survivors on the island and people were buried under a layer of ash." They, as specified in the local branch of the Red Cross, were tourists from the United States, New Zealand, Australia, India and several European countries. These people made a walking tour on at least five boats and disembarked the island after mooring the ships. New Zealand Police Deputy Commissioner John Tims explained that sending rescuers to the island is still "too dangerous due to the fact that it is covered in ash and volcanic material." In addition, experts do not exclude a new and more powerful volcanic eruption.

The fire-breathing hill on White Island is considered one of the most visited active volcanoes in the world by tourists. One-day hiking tours to the island are popular with foreigners, where they are brought on boats and shown to the top of the crater. Video footage circulated on social media by one of the users shows the ascent to the crater of the volcano about an hour before its eruption. On the live broadcast, which was conducted at the head of the crater by one of the tourists, a group of smiling travelers is visible. Suddenly, the images turned dark and shooting was interrupted. According to eyewitnesses who managed to leave the island in time and watched the eruption from boats, the volcano, located about 40 kilometers from the coast of the Bay of Plenty, threw a huge amount of ash into the air, which soon covered a large area of ​​the island. White smoke emanating from the crater, according to seismologists, rose to a height of about 12 kilometers. A Brazilian tourist who was on White Island minutes before the eruption said many tourists suffered "extensive burns". Alessandro Kaufmann wrote on Instagram: "There were two tours of the volcano. Ours was the first. Another tour followed immediately after ours. We left the island. It was less than five minutes before the volcano began to erupt. People from the other tour, which arrived after, could not leave the island on time." According to him, the island "was covered with a large layer of volcanic ash."

Meanwhile, the geohazard monitoring website GeoNet warned on Dec. 3 that "the volcano could enter an eruption phase that is more likely than usual," according to the BBC. In turn, Ian Lindsay, an assistant professor at the University of Auckland, said that the level of warning about the danger of an eruption was recently raised from one to two units and the organizers of the tours were informed about this. According to him, White Island is a private island with a large number of private tour operators and is not under government control.

New Zealand > Oil, gas, coal. Transport > energyland.info, November 25, 2019 >

Activists blocked the ship off the coast of New Zealand, protesting against oil production

Ten activists in the port of Timaru in New Zealand continue to stay aboard the support vessel Skandi Atlantic, which is supposed to service the production platform of the Austrian oil giant OMV.

They locked themselves in rooms in different parts of the ship. Eight more people were detained by the police.

At dawn on November 24, 30 people, including climbers, boarded the Skandi Atlantic to prevent it from leaving the port, in protest against oil production off the coast of New Zealand.

Various environmental groups participate in the action: Extinction Rebellion, Otago Without Oil and 350 Aotearoa. In addition to the activists on the deck of the Skandi Atlantic and those who had locked themselves in, a team of four climbers, including Austrian Greenpeace activist Magdalena Bischof, climbed onto their mast.

The Bahamas-flagged support vessel was preparing to leave the port of Timaru and head north to service a 34,000-ton oil rig commissioned by OMV, which is now off the coast of Taranaki.

OMV is going to start drilling three oil wells there, and then another off the coast of Otago in the Great South Basin (a predominantly offshore area south of New Zealand's South Island). OMV intends to conduct the most dangerous type of oil drilling at extreme depths.

Amanda Larsson, climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace, says the campaigners represent the broadest section of New Zealand society. “The OMV oil rig is nearly 50 nautical miles off the coast of Taranaki and it is virtually impossible for ordinary New Zealanders to take peaceful action to confront directly.”

“By taking over the OMV support vessel, we want to delay the installation of a monster that is going to drill for oil in the face of the climate crisis,” added Amanda. "We're protesting here to stop this platform from quietly and discreetly destroying the climate away from the public eye."

OMV is one of the 100 companies responsible for over 70% of the world's emissions. Larsson says OMV can expect continued resistance from people across the country: “People are protesting against companies that are allowed to find new oil and burn it in the face of a climate crisis that threatens the lives of millions of people. Get OMV ready: we'll be everywhere."

These are not the first protests against OMV's plans. Last month, protests took place outside OMV's headquarters in Austria, where Maori climate activist Mike Smith (Ngati Kahu Ngapuhi) said he had filed a lawsuit against OMV CEO Rainer Seele at the International Criminal Court. In the past few days, there have been protests against OMV in Dunedin, Wellington and New Plymouth.

New Zealand. Russia > Media, IT. Ecology > inopressa.ru, November 12, 2019 >

Unrest in New Zealand amid allegations of Russian interference in the election "bird of the year"

Charlotte Graham-McLay | The Guardian

"(...) This election has sparked meme wars, full-length billboards and skirmishes between opposing campaigns, and now allegations of Russian electoral fraud. Organizers of New Zealand's Bird of the Year contest, a harmless poll to draw public attention to the state of native bird species, denied allegations that the results of 2019 were skewed by foul play after it was discovered that a large number of votes came from other countries.

“People are building all sorts of theories about Russia’s involvement in the New Zealand elections,” says Megan Hubsher, spokesperson for Forest and Bird, an independent conservation organization that conducts the annual vote. “But we can assure everyone that this time everything appears to be fair.”

"Throughout the contest's 14-year history, organizers have improved election protections in response to hacking attempts, and the 2019 poll has so far been the safest. In 2018, 300 fraudulent votes were cast in favor of the cormorant in an online vote by Australians trying to influence on the course of the competition (...)", the article says.

"(...) The results of the poll, released on Monday, contain votes from 92 countries, says Hubscher. Most overseas votes came from Australia (684), followed by the UK (682), the US (563) and Russia (335). )", informs The Guardian.

"However, Hubsher said it appeared that the new polling feature, which required voters to confirm their choice by entering a 4-digit code, prevented hacking attempts. And while New Zealand Twitter users were quick to come up with conspiracy theories, Hubsher added that everyone the votes from Russian postal addresses looked legitimate," the publication states. "She suggested that Russian ornithologists pursuing harmless interests might be responsible for the votes."

"New Zealand actually shares birds with Russia," said Hubscher.

“The winner of the 2019 poll (..) was not the godwit but the hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, a beautiful but anti-social bird that communicates by calling. It is the rarest penguin species on earth.” (...)

New Zealand > Ecology > ria.ru, November 7, 2019 >

New Zealand's parliament has approved a bill to cut carbon emissions to zero by 2050 in final reading.

"The Climate Change Response (Carbon Zero) Bill passed on its third and final reading this afternoon, which will allow New Zealand to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050," the New Zealand Parliament said in a Facebook post.

According to the text of the bill, its goal is to launch a mechanism "by which New Zealand can develop and implement a clear and stable climate change policy that will contribute to global efforts to limit the increase in average temperature to 1.5 degrees under the Paris Agreement.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden, speaking in Parliament, stressed that she was proud of this decision, which "leaves a legacy."

"I hope this means the next generation will see that we in New Zealand were on the right side of history," Arden said.

The Paris Climate Agreement was adopted on December 12, 2015 in Paris and entered into force on November 4, 2016. It aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change. The document was signed by 175 countries, including Russia. For the first time in history, he united the efforts of all world powers to curb climate change.

The agreement replaced the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, which was in force until then, which established greenhouse gas emission quotas for only a few developed countries, but the United States withdrew from this agreement, and a number of other countries did not comply with the agreements.

Currently, 197 countries are parties to the Paris Agreement, of which 185 have ratified it. In August 2017, the United States notified the UN of its intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.

> Privatization, investments > bfm.ru, October 25, 2019 >

Now the country is in 28th place, last year it was in 31st position, and eight years ago it was in 120th place. How did you manage to achieve positive dynamics again?

Russia has climbed three lines - from 31st to 28th place - in the new ranking of the World Bank Group Doing Business. Analysts attribute the positive dynamics to tax reforms, strengthening the protection of the rights of minority shareholders, as well as simplifying the process of connecting to electricity in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The Ministry of Economic Development believes that the main task for the future is to achieve stability. However, analysts note that Russia's progress in the list has slowed down. In May 2012 decrees, President Vladimir Putin ordered that Russia be in the top 20 by 2018. According to the new instruction, Russia should be in the top twenty by 2024.

Vladimir Putin joked about the new rating. During the plenary session of the Russia-Africa summit in Sochi, the Acting President of the Republic of Mauritius announced that his country had risen to 13th place in the ranking, to which the Russian leader immediately responded: “You are behaving immodestly - from 28th place in the Doing Business rating they moved to 13th, and Russia from 31st to 28th. We have taken your place."

New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong are in the top three, followed by Denmark, Korea, the USA and Georgia. Before Russia is also all the Baltic countries.

Business FM asked Russian entrepreneurs where it is easier for them to do business. The fact that in Russia is “immeasurably easier,” said Anton Epifanov, general director of the Levenguk company, which produces optical equipment. The company has offices in the USA, Spain, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria.

- In Western Europe - in Italy, Spain - the opening of a legal entity took us three to four months. In Eastern Europe, a little faster, but still it's months. Especially long in Hungary and Bulgaria. In Italy, the minimum authorized capital costs 10 thousand euros, and in Russia, for example, 10 thousand rubles. Feel the difference. In Spain - three thousand euros. For the services of a law firm that draws up all the documents, it is necessary to allocate three to four thousand euros, plus 1.5 thousand - to the notary. For a long time, because they are very unhurried, bureaucracy. Rent is the same everywhere: in good areas - more expensive, in bad - cheaper. People need to be looked for. It is difficult for me to work with them, because the difference in mentalities, the difference in all this. If you involve some kind of recruitment agency, it's immediately tens of thousands of euros - a salary for six months, for example. There, for half an hour of processing, they will drink all your blood, demand triple compensation.

— And what about the interaction with different authorities, the tax?

— In Europe, the tax system is very similar to the Russian one. I think it's comparable. In the West, at any rate, I have never encountered attempts to optimize taxation. There they pay every penny that is due, and they cannot imagine life otherwise. In the States, it's easier in many ways. Registration of a company via the Internet is fast and inexpensive, it costs about a few hundred dollars. There is usually little rest there, vacations are considered something indecent, there are few days off. But the US has a fantastically competitive market. For three dollars they will simply strangle, they will simply physically approach and strangle.

Anna Tsfasman, the owner of the Double B coffee chain, told about the nuances in starting your own business in Georgia and the Czech Republic.

— In Georgia, everything related to the organization of a legal entity is very simple, takes literally one day, and is very cheap. Therefore, you can register almost any type of business, except for licensed ones, in a couple of days and immediately open an account and start working. The difficulty in Georgia lies in the low purchasing power of the population. Any business that will be successful there must rely on tourists, and it is very difficult for the local population to work.

— And in Prague?

- In Prague, everything is different, there are, of course, more regulatory bodies, a huge amount of paperwork needs to be obtained, even permits for public catering, where there is no cooking. When there is cooking, you need to get permission from both the residents and the local administration. Not only do you need to get permission, it also costs money, you need to pay for these meters, however, not to the landlord, but to the municipality. But plus the people who live there, there are a large number of them, and their purchasing power is high. They are very conservative, they are not used to going to certain places, so it is quite difficult to promote a new project. But if you have already lured them away and you managed to change their path in your direction, then they will be faithful to you. But if you look at where you can develop faster, then, in my understanding, Russia gives more chances. But it is neither easier nor easier, of course, to do business with us. Of course, the registration of a new company is a rather simple story, but it has probably been a simple story for ten years now, everything else has been difficult for us, as it is. With the tax it became much more difficult: before, after all, they didn’t block accounts like that and didn’t shake you very much, now it’s all pretty tough.

According to the head of the Carfax Education group of companies Alexander Nikitich, in Russia the level of digitalization of relations between small businesses and the state is quite high compared to many other countries.

“How easy is it to do business in the UK? This is the absence of excessive bureaucracy and excessive formalization. But this is probably a consequence of British case law: for example, you can simply put facsimile signatures in PDF and send it, and this has the same legal force as what is called a “wet signature”, which, for example, is required everywhere in Dubai . Also in the UK, official documents are not required to be stamped by companies. On the other hand, for example, our company in Monaco. The beauty of working there is that it is a small country and it is very flexible, even in relation to small businesses: sometimes some official issues with small businesses can be discussed literally at the government level, and they meet halfway. In Singapore, a huge advantage is the speed of opening a company, some registration moments. Almost everything can be done electronically, and this is a big plus. Dubai is interesting because, firstly, there are no taxes, there is little regulation. And in the UK, on ​​the contrary, a very big problem is the excessive regulation of almost all aspects of activity. With the exception of Monaco, it is more difficult to open bank accounts for small businesses. For example, in Hong Kong it is almost impossible. The situation is related to the fact that all banks have recently become obsessed with playing the role of policemen, since this is required by various states.

The indicators in the Doing Business 2020 ranking from the World Bank are current as of May 1 of the current year. The study evaluates the legal norms that promote the expansion of entrepreneurial activity, as well as the norms that limit it. In total, there are 190 countries in the ranking.

New Zealand. Russia > Agroprom > fsvps.ru , October 24, 2019 >

The New Zealand delegation completed familiarization with the Russian system of veterinary supervision

On October 23 Rosselkhoznadzor held talks with New Zealand colleagues. The meeting was dedicated to the completion of the acquaintance of representatives of the New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) with the Russian system of veterinary supervision.

The foreign delegation at the talks was headed by the Chief Veterinarian of New Zealand Anthony Zorab, the Russian side - Deputy Head of Rosselkhoznadzor Konstantin Savenkov.

Anthony Zorab thanked the employees of Rosselkhoznadzor for organizing the visit of the New Zealand delegation to Russia. During the trip, MPI representatives visited the FGBU “Federal Center for Animal Health” (FSBI “ARRIAH”) subordinate to the Service and got acquainted with the work of the checkpoint on the state border of the Russian Federation using the example of the Big Port of St. Petersburg. In addition, the foreign delegation made a visit to enterprises producing products of animal origin (dairy, meat and fish products), as well as farms that supply raw materials for these companies.

Representatives of MPI noted that they were able to fully learn how the Russian system of veterinary supervision is arranged, how the traceability of products of animal origin is ensured on the territory of the Russian Federation. Foreign colleagues were convinced that in Russia these issues are of great importance. They also stressed that, in general, the country's food safety system has many similarities with New Zealand's.

The chief veterinarian of New Zealand said that during the trip he came to the conclusion that Russia is interested in combating antibiotic resistance - the resistance of a strain of infectious agents to the action of antibacterial drugs caused by the uncontrolled use of these substances in animal husbandry. Anthony Zorab noted that the New Zealand agency is ready to cooperate with Rosselkhoznadzor and exchange experience in this area.

Konstantin Savenkov agreed that Russia is constantly working on the development of product exports. In particular, Russian enterprises are interested in supplying aquatic biological resources (fish products) to New Zealand. New Zealand colleagues reported that they were ready to consider this proposal and discuss it with importing companies.

During the negotiations, the question was raised about the possibility of resuming the supply of beef from New Zealand to Russia. The ban was introduced in 2017 in connection with the discovery of ractopamine in these products, a substance whose use in animal husbandry is prohibited in Russia. Foreign colleagues noted that they sent materials to the Russian department regarding the inspection of enterprises, in the meat from which ractopamine was detected. Representatives of the Rosselkhoznadzor have studied them and will soon send a response on this matter to MPI. After that, the parties will continue discussing this issue.

The New Zealand delegation thanked Rosselkhoznadzor for the good reception and organization of the working trip.

New Zealand. Russia > Agroprom > fsvps.ru , October 16, 2019 >

A delegation from New Zealand arrived in Russia to get acquainted with the Russian system of veterinary supervision

On October 15, Rosselkhoznadzor held talks with a New Zealand delegation that arrived in Russia to get acquainted with the domestic system of veterinary supervision and visit enterprises that produce products of animal origin.

Earlier in March, the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance visited New Zealand. The working trip of New Zealand colleagues to Russia, which started on October 15, was a return trip.

The visiting delegation includes representatives of the New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI).

In addition to employees of the Rosselkhoznadzor and MPI, representatives of the Embassy of New Zealand in Russia and institutions subordinate to the Service - FGBU VGNKI and FGBU ARRIAH also took part in the negotiations.

During the meeting, the program of the visit of the New Zealand delegation was announced. MPI representatives will visit the Federal Center for Animal Health (FGBI ARRIAH) subordinated to the Service and get acquainted with the work of the checkpoint on the state border of the Russian Federation using the example of the Big Port of St. Petersburg. In addition, they will get acquainted with the veterinary control of Russian enterprises producing products of animal origin (dairy, meat and fish products), as well as farms that supply raw materials for these companies.

During the meeting, they spoke in detail about the structure of the Rosselkhoznadzor, the main functions that the department performs, and the information systems developed by the Service. In particular, they talked about the FSIS "Mercury", which draws up electronic veterinary accompanying documents for products of animal origin, ensuring the traceability of such regulated goods. In addition, representatives of the Rosselkhoznadzor spoke about FSIS Vesta, which was created to transfer and analyze information on laboratory testing of samples of regulated products in research in the field of diagnostics, food safety, food and feed quality, quality and safety of medicines for animals.

During the negotiations, the New Zealand colleagues were interested in how Russian enterprises wishing to export products get the opportunity to make such deliveries abroad, and also asked a number of questions about the implementation of veterinary supervision in the regions of the Russian Federation.

The representatives of the delegation thanked Rosselkhoznadzor for organizing the visit to Russia and expressed confidence in the success of such a working trip.

New Zealand > Education, science. Ecology > rg.ru, October 9, 2019 >

Ticket to the future

Who will be taken to the new "Noah's Ark"

Text: Sergey Demenko

The Flood, the fall of an asteroid, the reversal of the poles... The catastrophic scenarios that quite serious scientists have been "giving out" lately are off the charts. For example, in a new report by UN experts, it is stated that by the end of the century, due to global warming, the ocean level will rise by 1.1 meters. More than 700 million people will be affected, some coastal cities and even entire countries at risk of becoming uninhabited.

And here's a new scare. This time from New Zealand scientists: Matt Boyd and Nick Wilson decided to find a "Noah's Ark" on the planet, where earthlings can be saved in the event of ... a global pandemic. Why was this attack chosen?

According to the New Zealanders, the reason may be the discoveries in the field of biotechnology, which are now so enthusiastically engaged in the leading laboratories of the world, often without worrying about what unpredictable consequences for all of humanity they can lead to. Gene manipulation, the appearance of various chimeras, can get out of the control of science and enter the world, causing a pandemic of an unknown disease. Against which there will simply be no opposition.

This is exactly what Matt Boyd and Nick Wilson modeled. What did their computer show? Does some part of earthlings have a chance to survive if it chooses the right place where it can wait out the attack and then be reborn? This salvation could be a fairly large island or island nation.

"Pathogenic agents will easily cross land borders, so an isolated self-sufficient island could maintain a technologically advanced population that could populate the Earth after a catastrophe," the scientists say.

They considered several possible refuges that did not have land borders and were not connected by bridges with other countries, with a population of more than 250 thousand people.

The geographical location, the availability of natural resources, as well as the political and social characteristics of society were taken into account. As a result, 20 favorable states were selected, which were ranked on a scale from zero (unsuitable for survival) to one (most suitable). And three were named the most attractive: Australia (0.71), New Zealand (0.68) and Iceland (0.64). They have everything they need to save humanity during a global pandemic and become the basis for building a new society.

"These are countries with high GDP, self-sufficient in food production and energy production, and also quite distant from other states," the scientists sum up.

Behind this trio are Japan, Barbados, Cuba, Jamaica, Fiji: these island countries lack the resources, including energy, as well as the social capital and political stability for effective interaction of people after the disaster, explain Boyd and Wilson.

According to experts, such a rating can become an "insurance policy" in case a pandemic does start. However, they do not report how much it will cost, how many earthlings will be able to use it, on what basis this "rescue contingent of the future" will be selected. But that's another question.

New Zealand. Russia > Agroprom > fsvps.ru , October 4, 2019 >

Rosselkhoznadzor discussed with the First Secretary of the Embassy of New Zealand in Russia Roan Murphy the upcoming visit of the New Zealand delegation to Russia

On October 4, Advisor to the Head of Rosselkhoznadzor Artem Daushev met with the First Secretary of the New Zealand Embassy in Russia, Roan Murphy.

The talks were devoted to the forthcoming visit of a delegation from the New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) to Russia to get acquainted with the domestic system of veterinary supervision and visit enterprises that produce products of animal origin.

During the meeting, the organization of the trip and the plan of events within the framework of the visit were discussed. The New Zealand delegation will arrive in Russia on October 15 and within a week will get acquainted with the work of the Federal Center for Animal Health (FSBI ARRIAH) subordinate to the Rosselkhoznadzor and enterprises producing dairy products, black caviar and beef. It is also planned to visit the Big Port of St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg, the New Zealand Chief Veterinarian Tony Zorab will join the delegation.

The final meeting will take place at Rosselkhoznadzor on 23 October. At it, as Roan Murphy noted, in particular, it is planned to discuss interlaboratory cooperation between the Russian and New Zealand parties, which involves the exchange of experience between scientific institutions.

Roan Murphy thanked Rosselkhoznadzor for the opportunity to organize the visit of the New Zealand delegation to Russia and expressed hope that the upcoming working trip of foreign colleagues would be fruitful.

New Zealand > > fishnews.ru, September 20, 2019 >

New Zealand plans a breakthrough in the development of aquaculture

The New Zealand government plans to increase the total revenue of aquaculture farms by five times by 2025. Such rapid growth is expected to be achieved through existing production facilities - through innovation, investment inflow and reduction of administrative barriers.

The country's authorities hope to increase the figure from 600 million to 3 billion New Zealand dollars (380 million and 1.9 billion US dollars, respectively), writes the portal Stuff.co.nz. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash promised that the government would try to remove as many barriers to the industry as possible, while at the same time taking care of its sustainability.

As part of the announced plan, it is supposed to focus on research in the field of biosecurity and mariculture, as well as support the development of new technologies to reduce waste from aqua farms. Attention will also be paid to the problem of climate change, which is a serious concern for salmon farmers.

According to a Fishnews correspondent, the New Zealand government's current plans are in line with existing trends. Thus, in 2014, the Ministry of Extractive Industry of this country announced a significant increase in exports of aquaculture products.

New Zealand > Metallurgy, mining > metalbulletin.ru August 30, 2019 >

New Zealand Steel & Tube fined for fraud

New Zealand steel company Steel & Tube was fined $2 million by a local court. This is reported by the New Zealand media.

The sanctions are justified by alleged fraud in the certification of the company's anti-seismic steel products of a higher quality than in reality.

The certification was carried out both to increase sales profits and to meet the new standards adopted by the New Zealand government.

The company has now filed an appeal and the Court of Appeal will have to make a decision in the coming days.

> Army, police > un.org, August 22, 2019 >

UN chief urges to fight rhetoric that fuels hatred of non-Christians

Today, people are increasingly persecuted and even killed on the basis of their faith and beliefs: extremists shoot Jews in synagogues, Muslims in mosques, massacre Christians. As a result of cynical political manipulations, religious beliefs become the cause of a split in society. Meanwhile, it is faith based on common values ​​that can and should promote mutual understanding and diversity.

This was stated by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the occasion of the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. It is celebrated for the first time. The decision to that effect was taken by the General Assembly.

“Over the past few months, we have seen an increase in the number of attacks against individuals and groups based on their religion or beliefs. Jews were killed in synagogues, and their tombstones were desecrated with images of the swastika; Muslims were shot in mosques and their religious sites were destroyed; massacres were perpetrated against Christians during worship, Christian churches were set on fire,” the message of the Secretary General says.

In the past few months alone, there have been attacks on a synagogue in the US, a mosque in New Zealand, Catholic churches in Sri Lanka and a Protestant church in Burkina Faso. In conflicts around the world, from Syria to the Central African Republic, entire communities have been targeted for sectarian attacks.

“On this day, we reiterate our support for the victims of violence based on religion or belief: we are doing everything possible to prevent such attacks and ensure that the perpetrators are held accountable,” said the head of the UN.

Emphasizing that all religions teach to value human life and recognize that all people are created equal, the head of the UN called for a more active upholding of the true values ​​of mutual understanding and mutual respect and strengthening the fight against hate speech.

“We must resist and oppose those who deliberately lie and manipulate religion to create misconceptions, incite division and spread fear and hatred. Diversity is the source of wealth and power; it never poses a threat,” said the UN Secretary General.

António Guterres called for the eradication of anti-Semitism and hatred of Muslims, the persecution of Christians and other religious groups, and the condemnation of all forms of racism, xenophobia, discrimination and incitement to violence.

New Zealand > Army, police > ria.ru, August 12, 2019 >

The New Zealand government has bought more than 10,000 banned semi-automatic weapons from the public in less than a month since the March attack, the Guardian reported.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a ban on all military semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles in the country following the terrorist attack in Christchurch that killed 50 people. In April, New Zealand's Parliament passed a bill banning combat-type semi-automatic weapons, assault rifles and their parts. Earlier it was reported that the authorities plan to spend about $ 136 million on the purchase of such weapons.

According to the newspaper, since the start of the scheme in mid-July, residents of the country have handed over 10,242 units of such weapons to the police. At the same time, another 1,269 units were returned as part of an "amnesty", which implies that the police do not ask the owner questions about when and how he acquired these weapons.

In total, the New Zealanders, according to various estimates, have from 1.2 to 1.5 million weapons. Citizens in possession of banned semi-automatic weapons are expected to hand them in by December 20, 2019.

New Zealand > Migration, visa, tourism > prian.ru July 23, 2019 >

New Zealand investor visas brought the country $ 4 billion

In total for the 2018-2019 season. the country's government approved 243 applications.

Since the launch of the program in 2008, the two categories of investor visas have raised $4.1 billion, according to Imdaily. In 2019, experts recorded an overall slight decrease in income from both visas compared to last year.

Chinese citizens remain the main category of applicants - they account for 65% of all approved applications. Americans in 2018-2019 received 7% of investor visas, the British - 5.3%, the Japanese - 2.6%.

The rules for obtaining investor visas in New Zealand remain one of the most stringent in the world - the country's authorities reject about a third of all applications. Over the past 12 months, the government has denied 22% of Category 1 visa applications and 35% of Category 2 visa applications, forfeiting a potential investment of $329.9 million.

Refusal, presumably, may be due to the nationality of investors. So, the authorities of the country refused 17% of Indonesians, 18% of residents of Singapore refused, 38% of Malaysians and 41% of South Africans were not at all lucky. The Russians are also at the bottom of the list - just below 40% of refusals.

New Zealand > Lesprom > lesprom.com, June 28, 2019 >

In January-May 2019, New Zealand increased sawlog exports by 15.5%

In the first five months of 2019, China's share of total New Zealand sawlog exports increased by 5.35 percentage points to 80.6%, according to Statistics New Zealand.

In January-May 2019, the volume of log deliveries to China increased on an annualized basis by 23.7% to 7.4 million m3, to South Korea - by 4.5% to 782.4 thousand m3, to India - by 33, 2% to 481.8 thousand m3.

In total, in January-May 2019, New Zealand exported 9.1 million m3 of sawmill raw materials, which is 15.5% more than a year earlier.

New Zealand > Real estate, construction > prian.ru June 22, 2019 >

Real estate in Auckland is losing foreign investors

Due to the falling interest of foreigners in real estate in New Zealand, for the first time in 5 years, the Auckland market went negative.

Average prices fell about 2% to $902,000, the biggest year-on-year decline since 2014, according to 1 News Now. The main reason is government restrictions for foreign buyers and new rules for landlords.

In the surrounding cities, a drop in average prices was also recorded in May 2019. Parnell, down almost 15% to $1.44 million; and Ponsonby, where real estate fell 4% to $1.61 million. almost 9% to $1.65 million.

At the same time, sales of Auckland apartments in May rose by 19% compared to the same period in 2018. Due to the surge in interest, the average apartment price added 11% year-on-year to $680,000.

In Wellington, meanwhile, the average apartment price rose almost 12% year-on-year to $658,000, up $68,000 year-over-year.

The Otago area real estate market is also growing: up 11% compared to 2018. The average asking price reached $592,000.

It is obvious that the boom in the New Zealand real estate market is behind us. In May, the national average asking price fell by 1.5% to $664,000.

New Zealand > Army, police > ria.ru, June 20, 2019 >

New Zealand authorities will spend about $136 million to buy banned semi-automatic weapons from the public, according to the New Zealand Herald, citing a joint statement by the country's police and finance ministers.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a ban on all military semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles in the country following the terrorist attack in Christchurch that killed 50 people. In April, New Zealand's Parliament passed a bill banning combat-type semi-automatic weapons, assault rifles and their parts.

New Zealand is reportedly budgeted for NZ$190 million ($124.7 million) to buy back the weapons and another NZ$18 million ($11.8 million) to set up a scheme to collect them.

The ministerial statement notes that citizens in possession of semi-automatic weapons must hand them in by December 20, 2019.

In mid-March, two mosques in Christchurch (South Island, New Zealand) were shot, which, according to police, killed 50 people and injured 50 more. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the incident a terrorist attack. One man, 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant, has been charged with murder.

New Zealand > Fish. Ecology > fishnews.ru, June 19, 2019 >

Fight for New Zealand dolphins could take a toll on fishermen

New Zealand authorities have proposed new measures to protect the Maui and Hector dolphins. New Zealand fishermen sympathize with the dolphins, but ask the government to think about their families.

According to the New Zealand government, the population of these dolphins continues to decline: only 63 individuals of Maui's dolphins and about 15 thousand individuals of Hector's dolphins remain in the wild, writes the British portal Undercurrent News. These species are endemic to New Zealand.

The New Zealand Conservation and Fisheries Ministries have proposed a significant expansion of areas where netting and trawling are prohibited. Currently, on an area of ​​​​6.2 thousand square meters. km off the coast, networks cannot be installed, and on an area of ​​​​1.7 thousand square meters. km - to catch with a trawl. Conservation Minister Eugenia Sage said the risk of dolphin by-catch has been reduced by the introduction of such zones.

The government is proposing to expand the waters of two New Zealand marine mammal reserves. This initiative is part of a broader plan to protect dolphins from human threats. It is also expected to fight the spread of toxoplasmosis, a disease transmitted by cats. It has killed at least 9 dolphins since 2007.

According to a Fishnews correspondent, the Seafood New Zealand fish industry association said the implications of accepting the government's proposal must be considered. The organization notes that fishermen are concerned about the protection of dolphins and are trying to minimize the risks to their populations. At the same time, Seafood New Zealand is concerned about the well-being of the association's members and the hundreds of families of fishermen who may be affected by the initiative.

New Zealand. Russia. EAEU > Agroprom > fsvps.ru , June 13, 2019 >

Rosselkhoznadzor held a meeting with the Embassy of New Zealand in Russia

On June 13, negotiations were held in Moscow between Advisor to the Head of Rosselkhoznadzor Artem Daushev and representatives of the New Zealand Embassy in the Russian Federation.

First Secretary of the Embassy Charles Gillard announced the completion of his diplomatic mission in Russia.

He also handed over a letter expressing gratitude for the meeting of the Rosselkhoznadzor with the New Zealand delegation in May at the 87th General Session of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

Charles Gillard recalled that the Chief Veterinarian of New Zealand, Tony Zorab, planned to visit Russia this year at the invitation of the Rosselkhoznadzor to get acquainted with the system of veterinary supervision on the territory of the Russian Federation. Representatives of the Embassy noted that such a visit could take place in mid-October. The parties agreed to agree on the dates of the upcoming visit in the near future.

The parties also discussed the possibility of interlaboratory cooperation between Russia and New Zealand, within the framework of which mutual visits of responsible employees of laboratories subordinate to the Rosselkhoznadzor and the competent New Zealand authority are planned to exchange experience.

During the talks, the need to continue work on the harmonization of veterinary certificates for regulated goods exported from New Zealand to the EAEU countries was also discussed.

The parties thanked each other for the fruitful work and agreed to continue discussing issues of bilateral cooperation within the framework of the above-mentioned visit.

New Zealand > Finance, banks > ria.ru, May 28, 2019 >

The New Zealand Ministry of Finance, after reports of a possible leak of budget information, said that hackers could hack into its systems, in connection with which the department contacted the police.

Earlier, the leader of the opposition National Party of New Zealand, Simon Bridges, said that the party had learned the key details of the budget, the draft of which will be published on Thursday. Bridges' statement, which is available on the party's website, notes that the draft budget shows that the state "has money for tanks, but no money for teachers, there is money for trees, but not for teeth (dentistry - ed.)."

"Following morning press reports of a possible leak of budget information, the Treasury has gathered enough evidence to indicate that its systems were deliberately and systematically hacked. The Treasury Department contacted the police on the recommendation of the National Cyber ​​​​Security Center," the New Zealand Treasury Department said in a statement published on its website. .

The agency emphasizes that, as planned, the draft budget will be published on Thursday.

Bridges, the leader of the National Party, said on Twitter that his party "acted in a completely appropriate way." According to Bridges, "when it turns out what happened," Treasury Secretary Grant Robertson will be forced to leave his post.

New Zealand > Ecology > un.org, May 12, 2019 >

UN Secretary General thanks New Zealand for its contribution to the fight against climate change

A visit of solidarity and gratitude. This is how UN Secretary-General António Guterres described his trip to New Zealand, speaking on Sunday at a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of this country in Auckland. He expressed admiration for the way the government and people of New Zealand have responded to the tragedy of the mosque shootings in the New Zealand town of Christchurch, and also noted New Zealand's contribution to the fight against climate change.

Countering racism and xenophobia, limiting gun ownership, preventing the spread of hate rhetoric on social networks - these and other important measures, as the Secretary General emphasized, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern took after the tragedy in Christchurch. The UN supports these steps.

“In order to mobilize efforts in the UN system, I launched two initiatives: one aimed at combating hate speech - it was led by the Deputy Secretary General for the Prevention of Genocide, and the second - providing support to countries in the field of protecting their shrines. This initiative is being carried out under the leadership of the Alliance of Civilizations,” the head of the UN said.

The Secretary General recalled that every year in the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims, he visits a Muslim country as a sign of solidarity: in 2017 it was Afghanistan, in 2018 - Mali. This year, he decided to support the Muslim community in Christchurch with his presence to pay tribute to the courage and resilience of these people.

New Zealand fulfills obligations under the Paris Agreement

On climate change, Guterres praised the actions of the New Zealand government, which, according to him, is fully fulfilling all the obligations taken under the Paris Climate Agreement. He especially thanked the Prime Minister for the bill, which includes measures to keep global temperature rises within 1.5 degrees Celsius.

In this context, the Secretary General recalled the devastating consequences of climate change - the most powerful hurricanes that lead to humanitarian crises, and drought in Africa. He noted the "paradoxical situation" when everyone sees the consequences of climate change, but at the same time, political support for the Paris climate agreement, designed to protect humanity from destructive phenomena, is weakening.

He also thanked the New Zealand Prime Minister for her support to the Pacific island nations. During the current tour of the region, the Secretary General intends to visit Fiji, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Island nations are at the forefront of the fight against climate change - rising sea levels threaten their existence. “We must stop this serious trend and reverse it,” stressed the Secretary General.

In conclusion, António Guteres said that he considers climate change, as well as solving the problems that have arisen in connection with the rapid development of new technologies, the most important issues facing world leaders today.

A green economy is the future, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, addressing Maori and Pacific Islander youth in Auckland. The event with their participation was organized by the New Zealand Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw.

According to the Secretary General, the scientific world believes that by the middle of the century humanity should achieve carbon neutrality - to nullify atmospheric pollution, which leads to climate change. He noted the special role of youth in this task. “I am convinced that young people around the world will be able to convey this message to their governments,” the Secretary General emphasized.

He called for "switching taxes from revenue to pollution", not subsidizing fossil fuels, and by 2020 to stop building new coal-fired power plants. "We should be taxing air pollution, not people's income," the UN chief stressed.

“It is very important that young people around the world, civil society and the private sector understand that the future belongs to the green economy,” said the Secretary General. “It is very important that you convince your governments to take action as we face resistance,” he added. He recalled how he returned three times to Katowice, Poland, where a climate conference was held, in order to overcome the resistance of skeptics.

> Agroprom > oilworld.ru , May 7, 2019 >

Fonterra partners with Coca-Cola to expand presence in Southeast Asia

Fonterra, a New Zealand cooperative, and The Coca-Cola Company have entered into a strategic alliance to work together in a mutually beneficial way in the growing dairy product category in Southeast Asia.

Fonterra's experience in dairy nutrition, combined with Coca-Cola's strong sales and distribution channels, has already led to the launch of a new line of dairy products in Vietnam. The product, branded as Coca-Cola Nutriboost, is a mixture of milk and fruit juice.

Both companies are currently exploring opportunities to launch the Fonterra Anchor branded product line as well as new products in other markets in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Judith Swales, COO of Fonterra, said the alliance aims to stimulate demand in the dairy beverage category in the region.

"Both Fonterra and Coca-Cola are looking to accelerate the growth of the dairy category in Southeast Asia by engaging consumers with innovative new products," she said.

Dairy products have become one of the fastest growing beverage categories in Southeast Asia. Demand is driven by consumers' increased attention to healthy eating. This category is expected to grow at an average rate of more than 5% each year until 2020.

The deal with Coca-Cola was one of Fonterra's profit-boosting moves after a disappointing 2018 financial year. According to the co-op's report, its losses for the period amounted to NZ$196 million (US$128.5 million).

New Zealand > > offshore.su, April 24, 2019 >

New Zealand has updated the law on tax incentives for research companies

New Zealand has adjusted its taxation rules for companies engaged in research and development.

The Taxation Act of 2016 introduces new rules that will allow start-up companies involved in intensive research and development activities can expect to recover their R&D tax losses.

Under the new legislation, R&D companies will be able to receive payment of up to 28 percent (the company's current tax rate) of their R&D tax losses in any given year.

In order to be eligible for a tax refund, a company must be loss-making, resident in New Zealand with a sufficient share of R&D labor costs.

New Zealand. Japan > Foreign economic relations, politics > offshore.su, April 19, 2019 >

New Zealand is negotiating a free trade zone with Japan

During a meeting in Beijing on April 18, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key vowed to resume negotiations to modernize a free trade agreement between New Zealand and China.

The free trade agreement signed in 2008 "was a real success for both of our countries," Key said. "China is currently our second largest trading partner, with bilateral trade more than doubling since the agreement went into effect."

"Premier Lee and I have discussed our intention to modernize the FTA to reflect the growth in trade between our countries," he added.

It was reported that New Zealand was concerned about the impact of the signing of the FTA between Australia and China on its dairy and meat industry, which has been implemented since December last year. The new agreement provides better conditions for the export of Australian goods.

New Zealand. Siberian Federal District > Foreign economic relations, politics > tpprf.ru , April 16, 2019 >

Tomsk region - New Zealand: looking for promising areas for business cooperation

A meeting with Vadim Androsov, representing the Russia New Zealand Business Council, took place at the Tomsk Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

During a lively conversation, they discussed the situation on world markets, the export opportunities of Tomsk enterprises and the success stories of Tomsk residents in foreign markets, the opportunities of the New Zealand economy for Russian business, and promising areas of cooperation between the Tomsk Region and New Zealand.

The Tomsk Chamber of Commerce and Industry was represented at the meeting by the Director of the Center for the Development of Foreign Economic Activities (Export Support Center) Alexander Belyaev and the Advisor to the President for Foreign Economic Activity of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Eduard Belyaev.

New Zealand is among the countries with the most favorable conditions for business in general and start-ups. The New Zealand government is interested in business development: the country provides affordable government financial support programs for start-ups, incubators and accelerators operate, and exporters are actively supported.

Promising areas of business cooperation with New Zealand are IT technologies and telecommunications, bio and environmental technologies, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, high technology production, alternative energy, small shipbuilding, tourism, agriculture using innovations, and education.

Tomsk CCI

New Zealand > > offshore.su, April 11, 2019 >

New Zealand introduces tourist tax

New Zealand's Green Party has put forward a proposal to introduce a tourist tax to finance infrastructure spending and environmental initiatives.

The Taonga Levy's proposal is to introduce a tax ranging from NZ$14 to NZ$18, in addition to the existing tax for foreigners. Residents of New Zealand do not have to pay tax.

The number of tourists in New Zealand is expected to reach 4.5 million within six years. The Green Party has put forward a tax proposal to "turn on tourist hotspots, deal with stress and save New Zealand's environment."

Tax revenue will be divided 70:30 between conservation activities and tourism spending.

New Zealand > Army, police > ria.ru, April 10, 2019 >

The New Zealand Parliament has passed a bill on third reading that would ban semi-automatic combat weapons, assault rifles and their parts, according to the New Zealand Herald newspaper.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a ban on all military semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles in the country following the terrorist attack in Christchurch that killed 50 people.

The bill is expected to receive the approval of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain on Thursday and enter into force on Friday. Under the new amendments, possession of prohibited weapons can be punishable by up to five years in prison. It is noted that the bill provides for a narrow range of exceptions, including collectibles, heirlooms and souvenirs.

Residents of the country who previously purchased weapons or parts for them legally and who have the appropriate license will be able to claim compensation. The details of the buyout system are still being discussed and will be considered by the Cabinet in May.

Shooting took place in two mosques in Christchurch (South Island, New Zealand) on March 15, as a result of which, according to the latest police reports, 50 people died and 50 were injured. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the incident a terrorist attack. One man, 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant, has been charged with murder and the court extended his detention until April 5.

New Zealand > Agroprom. media, IT > agronews.ru April 2, 2019 >

The apple-sucking robot set to work.

New Zealand's first commercial apple-sucking robot goes into operation. The robot was developed by Abundant Robotics and is a small moving tractor with a manipulator that picks apples with a pump. He navigates with the help of lidar, and a computer vision system helps him determine ripe apples. You can read more about the development on the company's website, a brief summary is given by MIT Technology Review.

The development of agriculture requires an increase in the use of human resources, which is not always possible or optimal. That is why automated systems are now increasingly used. For example, there is a robot that independently finds weeds and waters them with herbicides, and Walmart recently patented spot pollination and pesticide spraying using a drone.

At the same time, there are not so many commercially available agricultural robots that work on real farms. The Abundant Robotics robot has been used in the apple orchards of the New Zealand company T&G Global since the beginning of March. Lidar helps him to independently move through the rows between crops. The robot collects apples using a special pump - strong enough to pick an apple from a branch without touching it (like a vacuum cleaner). At the same time, the robot does not break branches and does not otherwise harm plants.

The robot can also independently determine the maturity of an apple: for this, it is equipped with a computer vision system. At the same time, T&G Global clarifies that the use of the robot will not lead to a reduction in staff: for now, the machine will only work at night, picking apples in hard-to-reach places.

In September 2017, robots also managed to sow a hectare and then harvest from it - and with little or no human help.

News source: nplus1.ru

New Zealand > media, IT > regnum.ru , March 30, 2019 >

Rocket Lab launched an experimental satellite for the US Department of Defense

The satellite was launched from Rocket Lab's launch site in New Zealand.

Rocket Lab, a private space company, launched a satellite from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This was reported by the press service of DARPA.

DARPA announced that on March 29, a 150-kilogram experimental Radio Frequency Risk Reduction Deployment Demonstration (R3D2) satellite was successfully launched into low Earth orbit.

The launch of the American military satellite was carried out using an Electron launch vehicle from the Rocket Lab launch site on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula.

The R3D2 satellite will be used to test a new type of membrane reflective antenna. A feature of this antenna is that it is launched in a collapsed form. The membrane is deployed already in orbit, the diameter of the antenna in the deployed state is 2.5 m.

The performance of the antenna will be monitored for six months after deployment. It is expected that if the tests are successful, small satellites with membrane antennas of a new type will be able to partially replace large communications satellites.

As REGNUM reported earlier, in January it became known that the private company Rocket Lab, based in New Zealand and the United States, will conduct several launches in the interests of the US Department of Defense in 2019 for the first time.

New Zealand > Army, police. media, IT > ria.ru, March 30, 2019 >

Surely everyone remembers Herostratus, the madman who burned one of the wonders of the world - the temple of Artemis in Ephesus. It is unlikely that after millennia this name would have been preserved in history, if not for the decision of the judges who forbade mentioning it. By their ban, the Ephesians immortalized Herostratus, who, in fact, achieved this.

Approximately the same now look like calls not to name the names of terrorists and mass shooters responsible for the death of innocent people. The "Don't name them" movement has long demanded that no mention of the killers be made. And now this more than controversial counter-terrorism tactic is all but official, thanks to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Speaking to members of Parliament, she solemnly, to applause, promised never to name the racist Brenton Tarrant, who is accused of the massacre of Muslims in a mosque in Christchurch.

The New Zealand Prime Minister's speech caused an incredibly wide response. Many Western media and politicians urged to follow her example and always do just that. This performance was declared a lesson for all world leaders. "Ardern is right not to name the Christchurch suspect. What about the others?" asks one of The Guardian columnists. And former British diplomat and political strategist Jonathan Powell shared a dream: how wonderful it would be if Ardern took the place of Theresa May and solved Brexit issues. What's there, it's easy to imagine what she would do: most likely, she would forbid mentioning the word "Brexit" - and the problem would resolve.

USA Today writes quite seriously that the decision not to mention Tarrant will reduce the risks of a repetition of such mass shootings. As if the experience with Herostratus did not teach anyone anything. As if he hadn't demonstrated that forbidden fruit becomes sweet. If in antiquity it was not possible to consign the name of the criminal to oblivion, then in the era of the Internet, such a taboo will much more help disperse the terrorist's popularity: "Estimate, but Tarrant's name is forbidden to pronounce. Remember, never say the name Tarrant."

The New Zealand government has gone even further. They banned the terrorist's "manifesto" under pain of the most severe punishment. Now any citizen who has this 74-page stream of consciousness on his computer faces ten years in prison. And if someone takes the risk of sending the document somewhere or making it public, 14 years in prison may also be obtained.

But this does not make it easier to combat the spread of ideas of Nazism and racism. So, it is easy to sum up, for example, psychologists who are trying to understand the motives of the behavior of maniacs for the sake of early prevention of mass executions, under a prison term. Political scientists who study right-wing radicalism can also be put behind bars, again to clearly identify the problem and find ways to solve it.

By the way, neither New Zealand nor Australia, where Tarrant comes from, really did not do this. We now hear a lot of oohs and aahs in the style of "Well, who would have thought that such a thing happened in quiet New Zealand!" But the neo-Nazi group Right wing resistance (“Right wing resistance”), to which, in particular, the Australian neo-Nazis who participated in the war in Donbass on the side of Ukrainian right-wing radicals are directly related, was created precisely in Christchurch, New Zealand. But this phenomenon has been little studied. And if you hush up the problem, hiding your head in the sand and pretending that these Nazis do not exist, more and more Breiviks, Tarrants and other insignificant "supermen" will appear.

For example, Tarrant's connections with right-wing radicals are now being investigated in several European countries. In Austria, there is even talk of the possibility of banning a right-wing radical group, to which the terrorist allegedly donated money. But after all, it is impossible to reveal all these connections if one does not analyze the "manifesto" of a neo-Nazi, the history of his movements and radicalization. By the way, Tarrant frankly admitted that he had been to Ukraine, but it seems that, unlike Europe, no one even initiated a check of his connections with local radicals. Why, it's easier to ban his name and keep repeating: "We don't have fascists."

It is necessary to fight terrorism not by banning the names of the newly-minted Herostratus or their writings. It is necessary to identify misanthropic ideas in the bud, crushing the organizations and online communities that spread them. And you definitely need to track creepy videos and live broadcasts of crimes at an early stage. Feeling guilty about the events in New Zealand, Facebook, through which Tarrant demonstrated his execution to the whole world, imposed a ban on the dissemination and support of the ideas of "white nationalism and white separatism." But a natural question arises: why only "white nationalism"? Surely, after all, Zuckerberg heard about racism of other colors and shades, and about radical Islamism, and about mass executions in Christian churches. But for some reason now he decided to fight only certain forms of racism.

The Norwegian activist Bjorn Iler, who miraculously survived the 2011 Breivik massacre, is absolutely right. He considers it a big mistake to call Ardern not to name Tarrant. In his opinion, an attempt to ban the mention of Breivik would raise him to a certain "mystical level." “It looks like he’s being portrayed as an evil, monster…,” Iler writes. “The fact that he’s only human has saved me from a life of fear. Breivik is a human, not a nameless monster looming over our lives.” .

Vladimir Kornilov.

New Zealand. IMF > Foreign economic relations, politics. State budget, taxes, prices > offshore.su, March 26, 2019 >

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided New Zealand with a report on the state of the country's economy in its annual economic and policy assessment of the country with recommendations for tax policy.

The IMF said: "New Zealand is enjoying strong economic growth driven by record high levels of migration, booming construction activity and an accommodative monetary policy." Most of the recommendations discuss financial services policy.

In terms of taxes, the IMF noted supply constraints in the housing market: "Better action to address housing supply bottlenecks will make it attractive to highly skilled immigration and businesses." The IMF recommended that the measures include "some funding from the central government, more efficient property taxation and user charges." Specifically, he said New Zealand should aim to "redirect savings incentives away from housing towards other investments".

“Higher capital gains tax on real estate will reduce incentives for housing investment,” an IMF official said, adding that “limiting the negative impact on the real estate market will work in the same direction.”

New Zealand > Army, police > ria.ru, March 21, 2019 >

The authorities of New Zealand have introduced a ban on semi-automatic military weapons and assault rifles in the country, according to the government website.

"The cabinet agreed on the need to change the law at a meeting on Monday, 72 hours after the horrific terrorist attack in Christchurch," Prime Minister Jacinda Arder was quoted as saying in a press release.

The ban will apply to components, as well as magazines for high-capacity cartridges.

According to the country's police minister Stuart Nash, some exceptions are likely to be made for the police and security forces. In addition, the possibility of using such weapons in the framework of major sporting events will be considered.

In parallel, the requirements for licenses that give the right to own semi-automatic weapons are changing.

“We are introducing transitional measures for owners to turn in their weapons to the police, where they will be stored until the terms of their redemption are announced. In addition, the police continue to accept weapons that will be sent for destruction,” Nash said.

The final amendments to the legislation will be adopted during the next parliamentary sessions.

Mosque attacks in New Zealand

Mosque attack in New Zealand

On March 15, gunmen opened fire on two mosques in Christchurch. According to the latest data, 50 people were killed and the same number were injured.

Jacinda Ardern called the incident a terrorist attack and the worst day in the history of the country.

One of the attackers, 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant, broadcast the attack on social media. Now he is in custody.

New Zealand > Army, police > inosmi.ru, March 19, 2019 >

Haber7 (Turkey): for a terrorist, everyone in the mosque is Turkish

Taha Dağlı, Haber7, Turkey

The terrorist attack on mosques in New Zealand contains deep messages.

Is a terrorist an Islamophobe or a Turkophobe? The answer to this question is fraught with very interesting details. Yes, the terrorist targeted the Muslims. attacked mosques. He killed 49 believers who were praying. But when we pay attention to his publications on social networks, we see that this terrorist is an ardent opponent of the Ottoman Empire and the Turks.

For him, hostility to the Turks seems to be identical with hostility to Islam. Because for this terrorist, any Muslim is a Turk. It does not attack the homes, offices or associations of Turks in New Zealand. He attacks mosques. Although there are no Turks among the people he killed.

Three of our citizens were injured. At the same time, the dead are among representatives of other nations. But for a terrorist it doesn't matter. Because, in his opinion, every Muslim who performs namaz is one way or another a Turk or an Ottoman.

In this regard, he does not hesitate to attack mosques. After all, everyone who is inside is Muslim, and therefore Turks. The terrorist says: "We will demolish the minarets of Hagia Sophia." Calls Istanbul Constantinople. Attacking mosques, he always focused on the Turks.

The terrorist carved on his weapon the name of the Serb who killed Sultan Murad I. He also wrote a message on his weapon containing hatred against the Turks. Inflicted on this weapon and the date of the Battle of Vienna in 1683. The Ottomans, the Turks are very worried about him. Because Ottomans and Turks are Muslims. And he looks at the Muslims of other countries as if they were Turks. In the end, in the history of many of them there is the Ottoman Empire.

This is the point of view of a terrorist. In fact, this is a situation that is not unique to a terrorist in New Zealand. We can meet the same opinion in many places in the West. According to the West, “Islamism” and “Turkishness” are concepts intertwined with each other. For many in the West, every Muslim is, in one way or another, an Ottoman.

This situation also makes it possible to better understand the definition given by the poet İsmet Özel to the Turks. Ismet Ozel, who recently had an illness, said: "A Muslim is called a Turk, who is not afraid of a conflict with an unbeliever." There is obviously no racist approach in this definition.

It actually describes how Turks and Muslims look in the eyes of the West. Another dimension of the New Zealand attacks has to do with the issue of Turkish survival. You may be asking, "What's the connection?" But imagine: in New Zealand, terrorists attack mosques, kill Muslims whom they consider to be Turks, and send threat signals from New Zealand to Istanbul through Hagia Sophia.

Judging by the publications of the terrorist in social networks on the eve of the attack, it becomes obvious that he was preparing to commit it. He seemed to have officially announced, notified about it. Approximately 17 hours later, he carried out attacks, and even on the air. Why, when all this was happening, neither the police nor the security and intelligence services intervened in the actions of this man? So far this question has not been answered.

Now who can prove that this terrorist is not a product of intelligence like ISIS (banned in the Russian Federation - ed. note)? Although what happened looks like an individual action, there are also traces of an organized terrorist attack. And organized terrorism cannot but be associated with intelligence services.

Thus, a terrorist in New Zealand attacks mosques and threatens Turkey with a signal about Hagia Sophia. No matter how far New Zealand is from Istanbul, the signal is very close. In the head of this terrorist, like many in the West, hostility to the Ottoman Empire. This is what in fact has always been in their thinking, consciousness. The current state of Turkey is helping to bring this hostility to the surface in their minds.

Take note of the report written by the European Parliament in Brussels two days before the attack, which says "Hagia Sophia must not be turned into a mosque" and signals support for Fethullah Gülen's FETÖ terrorist organization Gulen). Let's take into account Prime Minister Netanyahu's statements about the PKK the day before the attack, as well as the threat voiced by his son with the mention of Constantinople. Add to this the report of the US State Department, published a few hours before the attack, which contains threats against Turkey and signals in defense of the PKK and FETÖ.

When we line it all up, a clearer picture emerges. Turkey is being targeted by the Zionist crusades. Let those who are ironic today about the “problem of survival” carefully look at this picture, and if they still do not see this problem or deny it, then there is nothing to say.

> Foreign economic relations, politics > offshore.su, March 18, 2019 >

New Zealand, China and Australia complete FTA talks

China is considering improving its free trade agreements with New Zealand and Australia, an intention that was confirmed after a series of ministerial meetings.

Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) spokesman Sun Jiwen told reporters recently that a review of the deal between Australia and China is planned in the near future so that bilateral negotiations can start at the right time.

In late March, it was announced that New Zealand and China would begin negotiations on April 25 to strengthen an already existing free trade agreement. The announcement by New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English follows talks between the Prime Minister and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Wellington on March 27.

New Zealand > Real estate, construction > prian.ru March 16, 2019 >

New Zealand real estate boom behind

The New Zealand housing market is cooling rapidly, and price growth has slowed to the weakest pace in seven years. During 2018, the average cost of residential real estate in the country rose by 1.5%, to $381,850, according to the Real Estate Institute (REINZ). This is a sharp decline after rising 6.3% in 2017, 13.9% in 2016 and 11.5% in 2015.

Adjusted for inflation, house prices actually fell 0.4% in 2018 from a year earlier. And for the last quarter they fell by 0.6%, although in the third quarter they grew by almost 4% over the year. The cooling is caused by the fact that a ban on the purchase of real estate by foreigners was recently introduced. And over the past seven years, a lot of new offers have appeared on the market, according to the Global Property Guide.

Auckland, which accounts for about 25% of total New Zealand property sales, saw little to no price movement in 2018 compared to the previous year. In addition, minimal value gains were recorded in Waikato (1.2%), Southland (1.4%) and the Bay of Plenty (2%).

The strongest price increase was recorded on the west coast, where housing prices rose by 18.4% during 2018. Significant cost increases were also seen in Nelson, Marlborough, Tasman (16.8%), Gisborne (15%), Manawatu and Wanganui (11.7%).

The average cost of housing in Oakland is $587,780, the highest in the country. Next come the Bay of Plenty ($415,940) and Wellington ($412,870). The cheapest properties are on the West Coast ($149,330), Southland ($170,470), Manawatu and Wanganui ($218,200) and Gisborne ($230,470).

New Zealand's economy grew by more than 3% in 2018, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The past four years have been the highest since 2007, with growth of 3% in 2017, 4.1% in 2016, 4.2% in 2015 and 3.2% in 2014. According to forecasts, in 2019 the economy will grow by another 3%, and in 2020 - by 3.1%.

New Zealand > Army, police > forbes.ru, March 15, 2019 >

Dozens killed in New Zealand attack

Editorial Forbes

At least 40 people have been killed in attacks on mosques in New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the incident a terrorist attack and "one of the darkest days" in the country's history.

At least 49 people have died in a shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. This was reported on Friday, March 15, by the local newspaper New Zealand Herald.

Shooting at the Deans Aven and Linwood mosques was carried out by at least two people. Police arrested four suspects, including one woman.

Witnesses said one of the shooters at the Deans Aven mosque in Christchurch was a man wearing a helmet and goggles and carrying an automatic rifle. The attack took place in the afternoon. A car drove up to the mosque, parked, a man got out of it, took out two automatic rifles, went inside and opened fire. Then he went out, took another weapon and returned to finish off those who survived.

About 300 people were at the mosque for lunchtime prayers, including children and members of the Bangladesh cricket team, along with an accompanying ESPN sports journalist.

Immediately after the attack, eyewitnesses spoke of numerous victims. At the time of writing, 49 people are known to have died (41 in the Deans Aven Mosque and 10 in the Linwood Mosque) and 48 injured with gunshot wounds in the hospital. According to preliminary data, there are no Russians among them.

What is known about the attacker

The shooter broadcasted the attack on a streaming channel for 17 minutes. Before that, on Twitter, he identified himself as a 28-year-old Australian named Brenton Tarrant and published a 73-page manifesto in which he spoke about plans to commit a terrorist attack, The Adverticer reported. According to the New Zealand Herald newspaper, the shooter turned out to be an Australian citizen with far-right views.

Christchurch police have vowed to remove footage of the attack from social media. Twitter has suspended Brenton Tarrant's account.

According to news.com.au, in a 73-page manifesto, the terrorist described himself as "just a white man" born into a working-class family with low incomes and determined to act "to secure a future for his people" and "directly reduce immigration to European lands." ". He didn’t go to university (“I wasn’t interested in what they had to offer”), he made some money from investing in Bitconnect, spending it on travel, and recently worked part-time delivering kebabs.

During a trip to France in 2017, Tarrant realized that “every French city has an occupier.” His actions were prompted by the 2017 Stockholm bombing that killed an 11-year-old Swedish girl.

Tarrant planned his attack for two years, but only three months ago he chose Christchurch for this, as "an attack in New Zealand would draw attention to the truth about the attack on our civilization."

According to the TV channel 1 News, shooting on Friday also occurred at another mosque and at a hospital in Christchurch. Later, New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush announced the arrest of four people - three men and one woman. In addition, the police defused several improvised explosive devices found in cars parked near the mosque.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the mosque shootings a terrorist attack and "one of the darkest days" in the country's history.

New Zealand > Army, police > rosbalt.ru, March 15, 2019 >

What is known about mass shootings in mosques in New Zealand

The massacre took place at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. On Friday at 13:40 local time (3:40 Moscow time), the terrorists began to shoot believers. 49 people died. Another 48 are wounded.

People were killed in Al Noor and Linwood Masjid mosques.

The name of one of the key participants in the attack is known - this is 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant. He carefully planned the crime and broadcast the murders on video. Before the start of the massacre, the criminal turned to the audience and invited them to subscribe to the blogger PewDiePie, and then went to the mosque to cheerful music. The footage shows the perpetrator pulling a white-printed rifle out of the car — with a few more pistols left in the car — and slowly entering the mosque. As the media later reported, the names of people were written on the rifles in Russian, Serbian, Georgian, English and other languages. Among others, Russian Admiral Dmitry Senyavin is mentioned.

Freeze video

The first victims are people who leave the building. Tarrant shoots them with a rifle. One man is wounded and tries to crawl away, but the terrorist ruthlessly finishes him off. Then the Australian shows how he walks through the mosque, reloads his weapon several times and shoots everyone in a row. People lie on the floor against the walls and the terrorist shoots at them to make sure everyone is dead. Groans are heard. The killer notices that someone is trying to escape and opens fire again.

A few minutes later, the shooter leaves the mosque - and goes to the car. Along the way, he shoots after people who have run out of the building, then changes weapons and opens fire on the street.

The terrorist again enters the mosque - and finishes off the wounded. At the gate of the building, he injures a woman, she falls on the asphalt and shouts: “Help! Help me!" Tarrant mercilessly cracks down on her - shoots the victim in the head, and then runs her over with his car.

The man is breathing heavily, he can no longer remain calm. The terrorist is driving a car and along the way opens fire on people. He doesn't care that the car windows are closed - the bullets pierce the windows. After that, he continues to drive, but no longer shoots. At this point, the video broadcast ends.

After some time, it became known that the shooting took place in the second mosque, about 5 km from the site of the first terrorist attack.

An eyewitness to the tragedy Nur at the time of the shooting was in the front row among the worshipers in one of the mosques. He told reporters that the perpetrator began to kill those who were outside, and then opened fire in the building. Nur heard the man reload his pistol three times. He fired in all directions. “I saw people in front of me drop dead. I tried to crawl away,” he said. The man managed to get to the window, which was broken by other believers, he jumped out and ran. All this time Nur continued to hear shots.

Eyewitnesses described the shooter as a white man in his 30s and 40s, dressed in a military uniform. A clip of cartridges was tied to his legs.

Before the attack, Brenton Tarrant posted a 74-page manifesto on social media, where he explains that he came to New Zealand only to stage a terrorist attack, and writes that his idol is Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in Oslo. Tarrant also indicated that he had read the records of "Charleston shooter" Dylan Roof and spoke about his hatred of migrants. There is also a biography of Tarrant in the manifesto, although it is not known how true it is. From it we learn that he was born into a low-income family, had little interest in learning as a child, and did not go to university. “I worked for a short time before I made money and invested in Bitconnect (probably a token exchange – Rosbalt), then used my income to travel,” he says.

Police said the shooter had three accomplices. Three suspects have been detained. Judging by the video from social networks, Tarrant himself could have been caught. Police said one of the men was charged with murder. The detainee, about 30 years old, will appear in court on March 16. Law enforcement officers, however, did not name the accused.

The police said that after the attack, they found several cars with improvised explosive devices in the city near mosques. The bombs have been defused. Schools and government offices were closed in the city. Residents were asked not to leave their homes.

On the same day in Auckland (1000 km from Christchurch), according to media reports, there were two explosions - at the station and a shopping center. Also, according to the New Zealand Herald, unidentified people left two backpacks with explosive devices at the station. The sapper robot defused two bombs.

Police officers conduct a special operation on Somerville Street in the city of Dunedin. A law enforcement report said the site was of interest in connection with the Christchurch incident. The area of ​​the special operation has been cordoned off, people have been evacuated.

The head of the Norwegian government, Erna Solberg, compared the incident with the terrorist attack committed by Anders Breivik. “This (today's attack on mosques in New Zealand. - Rosbalt) evokes painful associations with the events in Norway,” she stressed. The prime minister said that the manifestos published by both terrorists were similar - both documents contained an ultra-right message.

The same large-scale murder in New Zealand occurred only in 1943 - then the guards of the camp "Fatherston" during the riots shot 48 prisoners. One New Zealand soldier was also killed.

According to the New Zealand Police, only 35 murders were committed in the country in 2017.

New Zealand > Army, police > inosmi.ru, March 15, 2019 >

NZHerald (New Zealand): Christchurch mosque shooting was not a matter of "if" but "when"

New Zealand was a place considered one of the safest on the planet. However, reality has changed since the Christchurch mosque attack, and a security specialist is urging New Zealanders to be more vigilant and realistic about what is happening around, reporting to law enforcement what seems suspicious.

Darren Morton, Nzherald.co.nz, New Zealand

Until about 13:40 today, New Zealand still appeared to be safe from the threats and developments facing the rest of the world, but now we have tragically joined the sad reality of the world's security situation.

For many years, New Zealand has been a coveted place, considered the safest on the planet. To a large extent, despite today's events, this status will remain, as other countries face greater threats.

What many New Zealanders forget, however, is that the values ​​associated with security, lifestyle and isolation are greeted favorably as subject to study of weakness and vulnerability by those who wish to harm us.

Many of our compatriots are convinced that such things will never happen in our country. I think a compelling example of this mindset is the comments made today by a regional mayor who said, "This is unthinkable in New Zealand."

Such comments, of course, can be heard not only from him, but also from many other people who stubbornly refuse to believe what happened. But why should we be so shocked by what happened here?

For the few of us who constantly monitor and evaluate the global security situation, such events would never come as a shock. Despite our hopes that nothing like this would affect us, it has always been a matter of "when", not "if".

New Zealand today has come to the painful realization that all hopes in our geographic location, lifestyle, image as a global friend to all, and the belief that what is happening in the rest of the world does not affect us, have been our biggest threats from the very beginning. .

So where are we now? Of course, we must devote some time to mourning and thinking about the dead, as well as fully realizing what really happened, but our vigilance and understanding of the features of our new life must begin today.

While the whole thing is - let's hope - a single incident, we can't count on it. Reality proved that in our liberal environment it was easy to plan a devastating attack that shook our society to its foundations and provided the perpetrators with global coverage of their crimes.

Now we must move forward and do everything we can to preserve our freedom and way of life, because these are the things we must protect above all else.

However, our future approach to security issues must be taken by the entire society. We should look closely at each other, notice something unusual and report it to the employees of the relevant departments.

This is what Albert Einstein once said: “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who passively watch and do nothing.”

The reality is that we live in this world with individual villains and groups consisting of them, these people do not respect life, but they are only able to operate in an environment that allows them to plan and carry out attacks and remain above suspicion.

We cannot change them, but we can control and limit the environment they want through increased awareness and vigilance.

Unfortunately, most people working in the security industry are not prepared to deal with such threats, and to be honest, this is to be expected.

However, there may be companies in the security industry that will try to exploit today's fear in society and offer an excessive number of employees and services.

The first step on this path can be a query in the Google search engine.

Make sure you hire security guards and agree to services that are legal and provided by professional companies experienced in dealing with specific threats.

Tomorrow morning we will all wake up and continue to disbelieve, we will be only partially aware of our tragic inclusion in the real world.

The usual divisive rhetoric we hear from individuals and factions will continue, with some of the most easily suggestible people moving from conviction to acts of violence.

Today New Zealand has changed and events like this simply cannot happen without lasting impact at some level. We are now part of a growing global group that is influenced by extreme ideologies and beliefs.

Our responsibility as New Zealand citizens is to keep the memory of those who died; we must come together and take responsibility for those issues that relate to the protection of our way of life.

We cannot allow the events in the city of Christchurch to tear our society apart and change our way of life, plunging it into fear.

At the same time, we must increase our vigilance and be realistic about what is happening around us every day, we must report everything that seems suspicious to us, and hope that together we can protect our unique way of life.

Darren Morton is the chief executive of the security company Executive Security Group.

New Zealand > Army, police > un.org, March 15, 2019 >

The UN strongly condemned the shooting of worshipers in mosques in New Zealand

The UN condemned in the strongest possible terms the shooting of parishioners in two mosques in New Zealand. The UN Security Council and Secretary-General António Guterres expressed their condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of New Zealand. They called for a united front against hatred against Muslims, as well as against all forms of fanaticism and terror.

According to media reports, on March 15, shooting at parishioners was opened in two mosques in the city of Christchurch in eastern New Zealand, as a result of which 49 people were killed and many were injured.

“I am saddened and strongly condemn the shooting of innocent people in New Zealand while they were peacefully praying in mosques. I offer my deepest condolences to the families of the victims,” the UN chief tweeted. He called for joint efforts to resist anti-Muslim hatred and fight all forms of fanaticism and terror.

"The Secretary General reminds that mosques, like all places of worship, are holy," his spokesman said in a statement on behalf of the UN chief. António Guterres called on all people to show solidarity with the grieving Islamic community.

In his statement, the head of the UN once again called for joint efforts to combat Islamophobia and violent extremism in all its manifestations.

The members of the UN Security Council reiterated that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. They called for the perpetrators of this act of terrorism, as well as the organizers and sponsors, to be brought to justice. The 15 members stressed in a statement to the press by their chairman that any act of terrorism is criminal and cannot be justified, regardless of the motives and who and when it was committed. The Security Council urged all states, in accordance with their obligations under international law, to actively cooperate with the New Zealand authorities in this regard.

The heads of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) made the strongest condemnations of the incident. They noted that among the dead and wounded in New Zealand are many refugees and migrants.

New Zealand. China > Fish. Customs > fishnews.ru, February 19, 2019 >

New Zealand salmon made it difficult to get to the Chinese counter

New Zealand fishermen have had difficulty clearing their produce in China. The media attributed this problem to the bans against the Chinese holding giant Huawei.

New Zealand's largest seafood exporter, Sanford, has reported problems with customs clearance of its products in Chinese ports, writes the NZ Herald. Andre Gargiulo, director of customer service at Sanford, said the difficulties arose in late January and had already affected several batches of chilled salmon. He did not link the supply difficulties and the deterioration of relations between New Zealand and China, but noted that local authorities did not explain their actions in any way.

Meanwhile, according to a Fishnews correspondent, a number of New Zealand and American publications have voiced the opinion that Sanford's problems are caused by a ban on the supply of Chinese Huawei 5G technology to the New Zealand telecommunications company Spark. The ban was imposed by the New Zealand government in December last year due to an alleged threat to national security.

China is the largest market for New Zealand seafood, with about US$500 million in shipments last year.

New Zealand > Real estate, construction > prian.ru December 29, 2018 >

House prices rise again in New Zealand

In the third quarter of 2018, houses and apartments in the country rose by 3.93% year on year.

According to the Global Property Guide, on a quarterly basis, however, a decline of 1.59% was recorded. The demand for real estate is growing rapidly. In October 2018, the number of properties sold increased by 15.5% year on year to 6,791, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ). In Oakland, sales soared 15.2% over the same period.

The average cost of an apartment in Auckland is $7,200 per sq.m. A 120 sqm apartment can be bought for about $412,570. You can rent it out for $1,890 per month. Thus, the yield will be 5.48% per annum.

According to the IMF forecast, the New Zealand economy should strengthen by 3.1% this year and another 3% in 2019. By the way, recently a new record high of the average cost of housing was noted in the country.

New Zealand > Metallurgy, mining > metalbulletin.ru December 26, 2018 >

Tasman Mining revives old gold mine in New Zealand

Tasman Mining said it has been granted a mining license by the New Zealand government agency New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals to develop the Blackwater gold deposit, located on the west coast of the South Island.

Tasman said it will now receive rights to develop plans to build a mine on the site of the old Blackwater mine. Gold mining in the region ceased more than 6 decades ago.

Previously, Blackwater was the most profitable mine in the region, producing 700,000 ounces of gold between 1908 and 1951.

In addition, the Australian miner intends to set up commercial silver mining at the mine.

The company plans to complete the licensing process and develop an annual work and environmental management plan. Exploratory drilling at the site should start in early 2020 in accordance with the technical, environmental and economic prerequisites, followed by a final feasibility study for the project.

Tasman received exclusive rights to purchase Blackwater from OceanaGold in July 2018.

New Zealand > Real estate, construction > prian.ru December 23, 2018 >

The average cost of housing in New Zealand has reached an all-time high

The median property value nationwide hit an all-time high of $575,000 in November, up 6.5% year on year.

Excluding Auckland, the average home price in the country was a record $485,000, up from $450,000 in November 2017, data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) show. However, in Oakland, the median home value fell 1.5% to $867,000 from $880,000 in November 2017, but rose 0.3% MoM, PropertyWire reported.

Record value in November 2018 reached six regions. Prices rose 21.2% to $515,000 in Northland, 8% to $529,000 in Waikato, and 11.9% to $470,000 in Hawkes Bay. Wellington rose 11.5% to $613,000 in Tasman - 19.2%, up to $645,000, in Southland - 3.8%, up to $275,000. The main reason for the jump is rising demand, which is far ahead of supply, says Bindi Norvell, CEO of REINZ.

She noted that prices rose over the year in 14 of the country's 16 regions, with the exception of a 1.5% fall in Auckland and 3.3% in Canterbury. Of those 14 regions, seven saw double-digit jumps.

The number of homes sold nationwide increased by 2.6% year-on-year to 7,286, while excluding Auckland, the number of properties sold increased by 2.1% compared to November 2017. In Auckland, the figure was 3.9%. Regionally, the largest annual sales increase was in Gisborne at 39.3%, followed by the West Coast (28.6%), the Bay of Plenty (17.4%) and Marlborough (12%). However, in Nelson the number of transactions fell by 22.3%, in Canterbury - by 6.9%, in Southland - by 5.3%.

All of the current diversity of mammal species in New Zealand is the result of human activity. The British, and later the New Zealanders, took a purely pragmatic attitude towards the islands, they considered the new place as a farm, albeit a large one, but still a barnyard. Each species was brought consciously, and it was assigned a certain place in the structure being created, the settlers brought their way of life and habits from distant England and recreated everything in a new place. Unfortunately, the brought animals got out of control and nature put everything in its place, not as originally planned. In this article, I tried to link animal imports to dates and understand why this or that species was imported.

New Zealand, separated from Gondwana (the ancient supercontinent of the Southern Hemisphere) for a long period, had a rich endemic fauna, however, there were practically no mammals.
Before the arrival of man in 800 AD, only three species of small bats, sea lions, fur seals, and whales were found on the archipelago.
This was until the current washed ashore the fighting pirogues of the Maori, who later became the indigenous population of New Zealand. Usually, only Europeans are blamed for all environmental troubles, but the Maori have also contributed to changing the fauna of the islands. In 1280 they brought with them a small rat, which they used as a pet and also as food. And they destroyed one of the three types of bats.
A new archipelago southeast of Australia was discovered by the Dutchman Abel Tasman. In 1642, his team landed on one of the islands, but the locals killed several sailors, which scared the explorer away and, so to speak, postponed the change in the fauna of the archipelago for more than a hundred years
The first European mammals landed on the archipelago with Captain James Cook in 1773, they were goats and pigs. The Englishman specially released them to the islands during his second trip to New Zealand as a source of food for the shipwrecked. Early explorers, whalers, sealers, and settlers used the animals for food and barter with the Maori.
Pigs were distributed by local residents, giving each other. Maori quickly appreciated the gastronomic value of new animals, as well as their ability to utilize food leftovers.
With the first Europeans, unwanted guests also entered the islands, of which there were always a lot of rodents on ships. The black rat, house mouse and gray rat (pasyuk) were the first and only mammals that were brought to the island by accident.
All the rest were introduced quite consciously, which led to irreversible changes in the flora and fauna of the islands.
The beginning of the colonization of the archipelago was noted in 1814, with the first settlers, domestic cats also appeared. But the cat is known to walk on its own, and these have gone out of control, increasing their population, and causing great damage to flightless bird species, putting them at risk of extinction.
In the same year, the first settlers brought cows with them (I can imagine what a hard work it was, given the technology of transporting livestock at that time). On a long journey, one must keep a huge smell of feed and, most importantly, water, which is so valuable in the sea. But traditions are traditions, what is an Englishman without a cup of tea with milk
Analyzing the species set of immigrants that the British brought to a new place, we can divide them into several groups: pets, animals for farming and for hunting
The rapid development of the textile industry in England, the rapidly growing demand for wool gave impetus to the colonization of New Zealand, the purpose of which was pasture land for sheep. The first sheep appeared in 1830 and became one of the symbols of New Zealand, fencing ended in the UK, Thomas More thundered the words “sheep devour people”, so these animals were seen as a symbol of prosperity, so it is not surprising that they were one of the first to arrive on the green meadows of the new homeland. On the first sheep farms, they mainly kept merinos, since wool was more in demand than meat, because it was easier to deliver it to the metropolis, and before the appearance of the first refrigerated ship, one had to wait half a century. The appearance of sheep has changed the landscape of the islands - sheep are the most voracious among farm animals, they eat about 250 species of grass, leaving the local herbivorous fauna without a source of food.
Although some local species have found use for aliens. The kea parrot (Nestor notabilis) living on the islands, before the advent of Europeans, ate mainly fruits, insects, flower nectar, and less often carrion. But as soon as sheep were brought to the islands, the parrots learned to hunt them, and in a very cunning way: the strongest and largest males choose a smaller and weaker sheep in the flock, dive on her back and, tightly clutching the wool with their claws, tear the skin with their powerful beak. A wounded animal simply bleeds or rushes to run in horror, falls and breaks its neck. Well, here the whole flock flocks to the meal!

Three years later, the Australian bristle-tailed possum, kuzu (Trichosurus vulpecula), was the first of the Australian species introduced by Europeans to the islands of New Zealand. Possums were brought for the development of the fur trade: the fur of these animals was in demand on the World market and the British decided to develop a new market for their goods. The “New Zealand bear” still has some practical significance: its meat is supplied to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia, while the local industry processes carcasses into dog and cat food. However, the benefit of the body is limited to this.
In Australia, possum populations have been controlled by dingoes, wildfires and poor vegetation. In New Zealand, they exist in favorable conditions, so they breed twice a year. The number of possums is estimated at 70 million individuals, they account for 7 million tons of consumed vegetation per year.
Kuzu cause great harm to forestry, eating young shoots, and valuable species of endemic trees suffer; climbing the poles, the animals gnaw through the wires, dying in the process and leaving entire villages without electricity. In addition, they are carriers of tuberculosis, food competitors and natural enemies of land snails and birds. Now the symbol of New Zealand - the kiwi bird (Apteryx Shaw) lives under the constant supervision of naturalists and the pressure of possums. They are trying to multiply the first with all their might so that they do not have time to disappear, they are trying to destroy the second by hook or by crook.

In 1838, the first kind of "animal for entertainment" rabbit was brought to the islands. The British are great lovers of hunting - they begin to form a hunting fauna. A little more than 20 years have passed since colonization, and not only working farmers, but also bored aristocrats appeared in society. Mathematical modeling methods were not yet known at that time, and no one guessed that rabbits in the fertile conditions of New Zealand would breed much faster than hunters could shoot them. As a result, only the nascent agricultural economy of young Europeanized Zealand was undermined - rabbits devastated pastures intended for sheep with lightning speed
Some rabbits, for some reason, seemed not enough to the British, and in 1851 they introduced the Western European hare
Further, Europeans bring animals only for their favorite hobby for hunting. Between 1851 and 1923, about 1,000 British deer from farms were released into the wild to provide hunters with objects to hunt. But in the perfect climate and in the absence of predators, the population grew and began to threaten agriculture. Then the New Zealanders began to regulate the number of shootings, and sell the meat to European countries, where it was traditionally in demand. Over time, the flow of venison to Europe increased and people thought about commercial production and began to organize reindeer farms. The first deer farm license was issued in 1969. By 1979, there were 800 reindeer herding farms, and the interest was so great that after only a year there were already 1540 of them.
The domestication of deer in New Zealand has become a remarkable phenomenon.
In fact, it was the first animal in the last 5000 years that could be tamed, while goats, cows and others have already served man for hundreds of centuries.
This was achieved through a unique combination of a number of factors:
a system for trapping deer in nature was developed
no one, including the government, opposed the capture of deer, because they were recognized as a "harmful" animal
a large population of wild deer provided farms with ready-made livestock
temperate climate allowed year-round grazing use
In 2005, there were over 1.7 million farm reindeer (for comparison: 5 million cows, 40 million sheep). New Zealand has become a world leader in reindeer husbandry in terms of its level of technology and relative contribution to the national economy

Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Federal Agency for Education

Mari State Technical University

Department of Ecology, Soil Science and Nature Management

Neogene period and Miocene epoch

Yoshkar-Ola

neogene miocene ecosystem

Neogene system (period)

Subdivisions

general characteristics

organic world

Minerals

Miocene epoch

More and more herbivores

360° view

Forests can only feed a limited number of animals

Grass is an indefatigable producer of food

New teeth for hard work

Long legs for fast running

Miocene ecosystem

Other New Settlers and New Travelers

The first great apes

Bibliography

Neogene system (period)

Neogene system (period), Neogene (from neo ... and Greek gnos - birth, age), thickness (system) of rock layers deposited in the penultimate period of the geological history of the Earth. The Neogene system belongs to the Cenozoic group (era), following the Paleogene system (period) and preceding the Anthropogenic system (period). The beginning of the Neogene period is determined by radiological methods 25 million years ago, and the duration is over 23 million years. The Neogene system is divided into two divisions, the Miocene and Pliocene, which were identified in Italy in 1833 by the English geologist C. Lyell. The name Neogene system (period) was proposed in 1853 by the Austrian geologist M. Görnes. The studies of the Russian scientist N. I. Andrusov (from 1882 to 1917) were of primary importance for understanding the Neogene system on the territory of the USSR. The results of these studies serve as the basis for the stratigraphic division of the Neogene system on the territory of the USSR. They were supplemented and developed by the works of Soviet scientists: V. P. Kolesnikov, B. P. Zhizhchenko, A. G. Eberzin, R. L. Merklin, and others; The Neogene system of the Far East was studied by L. V. Krishtofovich and others. Abroad, studies on the Neogene system were carried out by Bulgarian scientists P. Gochev and E. Coen, French scientists C. Depere, E. Og, M. Zhinyu, Austrian scientists M. Neimair, S. Schafer, Hungarian - K. Krejci-Graf, L. Lopi, Romanian - E. Ekelius, S. Chokordel and others. The stratigraphy of the Neogene system in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans was studied by G. Finlay (New Zealand), R. Kleinpell (USA), G. Bolli (Switzerland) W. Blow (Great Britain).

Subdivisions

The deposits of the Neogene system are everywhere divided into two complexes - Miocene and Pliocene. The first is represented by marine deposits of the Lower and Middle Miocene and gypsum-bearing deposits of the Upper Miocene (Messinia). The lower horizons of the Pliocene deposits (plaisance) are represented mainly by clays; often they fill the narrow but deep river valleys of the Rhone, Nile, etc. The upper layers of the Pliocene, composed of sands (astium), are distributed outside the valleys, over vast areas. In Italy and Greece, many volcanic strata are observed in the Pliocene. In the basins of Central Europe, sedimentation in the middle Miocene occurred in conditions of poorly connected basins with the sea, which separated at the end of the Miocene and formed brackish-water lagoons and lakes. In the latter, the Sarmatian mollusk fauna developed, and later the Pannonian and Pontic faunas. In the south of the USSR, within the Black Sea-Caspian region, separated from the World Ocean by a ridge of mountains that grew at the end of the Paleogene, there was an isolated basin, which at times communicated with the ocean. The lower Miocene and lower middle Miocene are represented here by the upper part of the Maikop series clays, which accumulated in a very large basin isolated from the ocean. The overlying layers are either brackish-water marine (Tarkhan and Chokrakian stages) or freshwater (Karaganian stage) and then again marine (Konka stage) deposits. The Upper Miocene is composed of formations of the desalinated Sarmatian Lake and marine deposits of the Meotian stage. At the beginning of the Pliocene, on the site of the Black and Azov Seas, there was a brackish Pontic, then Cimmerian Lake, which was isolated from the Caspian, which remained in this era in the form of a small reservoir in the south of the basin. At the end of the Pliocene (Akchagyl age), the last great transgression of the sea, which connected with the ocean, took place. The Akchagyl Sea, along the deep valleys of the Volga and other rivers, penetrated into the depths of the East European Plain (to the Kama) and into the Caucasus, leaving deposits in them that, according to the conditions of occurrence, are similar to the plaisance of Western Europe. In the Caucasus, continental and thick volcanic strata of the Pliocene are widespread.

In southwestern Asia, depressions accumulated predominantly continental deposits, especially thick in Balochistan and the foothills of the Himalayas (mountains Sivalik), where the sites of bones of Neogene mammals and other animals are associated with them. In Indonesia, the Neogene system is represented by a powerful complex of marine and continental deposits, among which there are volcanic strata. Based on a comparison of the fauna of mollusks, foraminifers, and also vertebrates (for the continental layers), it was possible to distinguish here all the main divisions of the Miocene and Pliocene, comparable with European ones. Marine deposits of the Neogene system are distributed throughout the entire periphery of the Pacific Ocean; they compose the thick sedimentary-volcanogenic strata of Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands, the sedimentary strata of Sakhalin, the Japanese and Philippine Islands, southern Alaska, the coasts of California and Mexico. Significant strata of the Neogene system are distributed in Central America on the islands of the Caribbean Sea, in Venezuela, and other regions. Their stratigraphy is based on the fauna of marine coastal mollusks and foraminifers. In 1968, on the basis of data from deep-sea drilling, the study of the Neogene deposits of the bottom of the seas and oceans began. Sediments of the Neogene system are exposed by wells in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans and in the Mediterranean Sea. In tropical, subtropical and temperate climatic regions at a depth of 3500-4000 m, deposits of the Neogene system are represented by calcareous silts consisting of planktonic microorganisms (foraminifera, nannoplankton); at great depths of the abyssal plains - red pelagic clays with radiolarians. In the boreal regions (Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, Antarctica), the Neogene system includes diatom silts and clays, marine glacial deposits. The deposits of the Neogene system also contain volcanic-sedimentary rocks (Pacific Ocean), gypsum (Mediterranean and Red Seas), turbidites (Pacific and Atlantic Oceans).

general characteristics

In the Alpine folded region of southern Europe and southwestern Asia, at the end of the Paleogene, an orogenic stage of development began, which was expressed in the uplift of numerous mountain ranges (the Alps, the Carpathians, the Balkans, the Dinaric Mountains, the Apennines, the Caucasus, the Crimea, the mountains of Pontus and Taurus, Zagros, Balochistan, Himalayas, etc.). The growth of the mountains was accompanied by the formation of intermountain and marginal depressions, which strongly sagged and filled with erosion products of the growing mountains (molasses). As a result of movements of the earth's crust, sedimentary strata were collected into folds. At the same time, there were large intrusions of granites. Along the faults, magma penetrated the surface, pouring out in the form of lava sheets and forming volcanic cones. The main centers of volcanism were the Apennine Peninsula, Asia Minor, the southern Balkan Peninsula, and the Caucasus. At the end of the period, the formation of deep depressions of the inland seas - the Ligurian, Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Black, Caspian, as well as the Adriatic, Marmara, took place. All of them have relatively steep sides and a flat bottom. Under them, as geophysical observations show, there is no granite-metamorphic layer of the earth's crust and a basalt layer lies directly under the sedimentary strata. According to the structure of the bottom, they are similar to the depressions of the oceans. In Indonesia, underwater mountain ranges rose, turning into chains of islands, deep-sea geosynclinal troughs and basins of the surrounding seas formed. Along the periphery of the Pacific Ocean along the edge of the continents, mountain systems also rose (Cordillera, Andes, Kamchatka, Japan, Philippines, New Guinea, New Zealand) , the growth of island arcs and the formation of deep-sea trenches and basins. Outside the active regions of the periphery of the Pacific Ocean and the Mediterranean belt of Eurasia, in many parts of the continents in the N. p., intensive movements were also observed, expressed in blocky uplifts of mountains and deepening of the depressions separating them. At this time, the mountains of Central Asia were formed: Tien Shan, Kunlun, Altai, Sayans, Baikal, Stanovoy Range. Weaker uplifts were also experienced by the Scandinavian mountains, the Atlas, the Urals, the Appalachians, the mountains of Eastern Australia, and others. uplifts. These are the system of grabens in the region of Lake Baikal, Angara, Barguzin, etc., as well as the system of grabens in East Africa and the Red Sea. Movements along the faults of the last system were accompanied by earthquakes and strong volcanic phenomena, expressed by huge cones of active (Kenya, Kilimanjaro, etc.) ) and extinct volcanoes, with large fields of tuffs and lavas. Similar, but less grandiose, was the formation of the graben of the Rhine valley, accompanied by volcanism. The formation of rift depressions took place in the axial parts of the mid-ocean ridges of all oceans, which was also accompanied by intense volcanism and earthquakes. The strong dissection of the relief led to the fact that deposits of the Neogene system were partially formed in separate, more or less isolated basins, resulting in a wide variety of lithological composition and contained they contain organic residues. Within the central parts of the continents, deposits of the Neogene system are widespread and are represented by continental sediments of insignificant thickness. Only in the foothills and intermountain depressions do they sometimes reach a huge thickness, measured in several kilometers; sands, sandstones, clays, marls, organogenic limestones predominate, as well as thick pebbles and conglomerates at the foot of the mountains; coal-bearing rocks with brown coals are known in some places. In arid regions, thick strata of gypsum, potash, and other salts accumulated. At the end of the Neogene, glaciers and ice sheets formed in the northern mountainous countries. In Antarctica, they appeared at the beginning of the Neogene period. In the Neogene, the formation of the modern contours of the continents and oceans and the main features of their relief took place. The location of climatic zones and the nature of the flora and fauna were also close to modern.

organic world

Most genera and many plant species of the Neogene (especially the Pliocene) still exist, although their geographical distribution has changed in many cases. The climate of the Northern Hemisphere at the beginning of the Neogene was warmer and wetter than in the modern era, but gradually more and more approached the modern one. In Siberia, broad-leaved forests predominated; in Western Europe, in areas located at relatively high latitudes, palm trees, laurels and myrtle trees grew. By the end of the Neogene, Siberia was covered with coniferous taiga, although walnuts still grew along the river valleys. In Western Europe, towards the end of the N. p., evergreen forms were pushed back to the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, giving way to the north by deciduous and coniferous forests. The processes of gradual cooling and increasing dryness of the climate are established from the fossil floras of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The fossil flora of the tropical belt differed very little from the modern one. On the plains of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, steppe and desert vegetation close to modern also existed from the beginning of the Neogene period. The beginning of the Neogene in Europe was accompanied by a sharp renewal of the terrestrial fauna: marsupials, ancient predators - creodonts, and many groups of primitive ungulates died out. They were replaced by representatives of many new families, most of which still exist today: ancient species of bears, badgers, hyenas, the first proboscis (mastodons and dinotheres), the ancestors of horses - anchiteria, the first pigs, antelopes, deer, bulls, sheep, apes . Among them appeared, in particular, monkeys - the ancestors of man, the fossil parts of the skeletons of which are found in the continental deposits of the Upper Miocene of North Africa and the Pliocene of the East African Rift Zone. New genera of insects and rodents have appeared (for example, jerboas). The mammals of North America at the beginning of the Neogene developed separately and were much less diverse. In the middle of the Neogene (Upper Miocene), a land connection was established between the continents of Europe, Asia, and North America (probably in the area of ​​the Bering Strait), which led to large migrations of mammals and their further development. At this time, a very homogeneous fauna of the steppe type spread over vast expanses of Europe and Asia, the most characteristic and typical representative of which was the three-toed horse - hipparion. In somewhat younger deposits of the Neogene, the most ancient remains of weasels, wolverines, true horses and elephants are found. The end of the Neogene is characterized in Europe by the disappearance of many animal genera, which, however, continue to exist in the modern countries of the tropical belt. South America during most of the Neogene period was an isolated continent, on which a peculiar fauna of giant edentulous, marsupials, ungulates, rodents and flat-nosed monkeys, completely alien to the Northern Hemisphere, developed. Only in the Middle Pliocene was its connection with North America established, and the more highly developed fauna of mammals that penetrated from there began to quickly crowd out local forms, which in the modern era have been preserved in a small number of species. Australia has been isolated since the beginning of the Paleogene, marsupials developed here, sometimes reaching gigantic sizes. In the marine fauna of the Neogene period, laminabranchial and gastropod mollusks, foraminifers are especially abundant and diverse. Almost all of their genera and many species exist to this day. In closed and semi-enclosed, sometimes desalinated seas and large freshwater basins in the south of the modern territory of the USSR, peculiar laminabranch and gastropod mollusks developed, the study of which made it possible to develop a very detailed stratigraphy of the deposits of the Neogene system. Foraminifera and Ostra coda are also of great stratigraphic importance.

Minerals

Numerous minerals are associated with the Neogene deposits. Of the sedimentary minerals, the most important are oil and gas deposits in the foothill and intermountain troughs of the Near and Middle East, California, Alaska, Japan, etc. In the USSR, the oil and gas regions corresponding to large foothill foredeep include the Carpathian, Azov-Kuban, Terek-Caspian; intermountain depressions - Transcarpathian, East Black Sea, South Caspian and Fergana; intrafold depressions - Sakhalin-Okhotsk, South Okhotsk and Anadyr. Deposits of brown coals and lignites are fairly numerous in the Neogene deposits, and bituminous coals are also somewhat less common. Thus, deposits of the Far Eastern, Kolyma, Central Yakutsk, Amur, Baikal coal-bearing provinces and regions, the Transcarpathian and South Ural lignite basins, etc. are being developed on the territory of the CCCP. On the territory of foreign Europe, lignite deposits are known in the GDR, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia , Yugoslavia, etc. In Asia, the largest coal deposits are associated with the Anatolian lignite basin, coal deposits are also known in India, China, and Southeast Asia. The coal deposits of North and South America and Australia (the Latrobe Valley basins and others) have significant reserves. Sulfur deposits associated mainly with evaporite formations (Ccidcarpathia, the Apennine Peninsula, Sicily), as well as salt deposits (Ccidcarpathia, Transcarpathia, Transcaucasia, Central Asia, etc.) have been noted. Placer deposits of titanium, tin, ilmenite, rutile, zircon, etc., and many bauxite deposits of the tropical zone (Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname, Ghana, Guinea) were formed. There are also significant deposits of bentonite and palygorskite clays, alunites, perlites, kaolinites, and halloysite. Limestones, quartz sands, sandstones, diatomites, and clays are used as building materials, ceramic and cement raw materials. Numerous and diverse deposits of ores of mercury, tin, lead, zinc, antimony and other elements are associated with intrusive and effusive rocks, forming in places ore belts (the polymetallic belt of Peru, the gold-bearing belt of Ecuador, the tin-bearing and copper-bearing belts of Bolivia, the copper-silver deposits of Central America, cupriferous sandstones of the Tajik depression, polymetallic deposits and mercury ore provinces of the Alpine folded belt, including Transcarpathia). In the northwestern and western parts of the Pacific coast, incl. in the Koryak Highlands, Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, cassiterite-sulfide, pyrite, mercury, antimony ore provinces, deposits of ores of lead, zinc, copper, gold, silver, molybdenum, arsenic, chromium and other metals are common. Areas of intense volcanism and magmatism are promising for prospecting for non-ferrous metal ores. In ocean areas, sandy-argillaceous shelf deposits in many areas are oil and gas bearing: the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Guinea, the Mediterranean, Red, Bering Seas, the Gulf of Alaska, the Sea of ​​Japan and the South China Sea, the shelves of Chile, Peru, Ecuador, California. On the northeastern shelf of Australia, the productive stratum is confined to the Miocene reefs. Great prospects are associated with ferromanganese nodules containing many valuable metals (nickel, copper, cobalt, etc.), and phosphorites. Phosphorites and phosphatized sediments and rocks are common both on the shelves and in the upper parts of the continental slopes and in pelagic areas, mainly on seamounts. Part of the rocks enriched in phosphorites is of Miocene age - the shelves of northwestern, southwestern and southern Africa, the eastern and western coasts of North America, New Zealand, the seamounts of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans.

Miocene epoch

25 to 5 million years ago. Throughout the Miocene, the continents were still "on the march", and during their collisions a number of grandiose cataclysms occurred. Africa "crashed" into Europe and Asia, resulting in the emergence of the Alps. When India and Asia collided, the Himalayan mountains shot up. At the same time, the Rocky Mountains and the Andes formed as other giant plates continued to mix and pile on top of each other. However, Australia and South America still remained isolated from the rest of the world, and each of these continents continued to develop its own unique fauna and flora. The ice cover, which began to form as early as the Oligocene, during the Miocene spread to the whole of Antarctica. This led to an even greater cooling of the global climate. As the temperature dropped, the steppes steadily expanded and eventually occupied a large part of Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America.

More and more herbivores

In the Miocene, mammals became much more numerous and diverse, and many herbivores arose among them. By this time, the "ruminant" stomach has become an ideal mechanism for digesting grass. As a result, a kind of explosion took place in the Miocene, giving rise to new types of herbivores capable of "chewing gum". Ruminants can fill their bellies with a huge amount of food, which can be digested later. Moreover, if a predator attacks a ruminant, it can run away from it, taking with it a supply of food for several days in advance. Once in safety, the animal can, without too much haste, digest the food it has eaten. During this kind of "ruminant revolution" the number of ancestors of the current antelope, buffalo, deer, giraffe and sheep has increased dramatically. Antelope-like pronghorns lived in North America - their bizarre horns grew on the tip of their noses. Many new types of teeth appeared to cope with grass food, the old teeth of herbivores underwent two main changes. Firstly, the pattern of tubercles on the chewing surface of the teeth became much more complex, and they became self-sharpening. Now on the teeth, as they were erased, rows of strong enamel ribs were formed, which remained sharp throughout the life of the animal. Secondly, individual teeth developed much wider crowns (that part of the tooth that protrudes above the gum) and became larger. These innovations, as well as the introduction of root holes (which provided blood flow to the growing part of the tooth), contributed to the fact that the teeth of animals began to grow throughout their lives. Now the constant friction of the teeth against each other no longer led to their premature wear.

360° view

The need to adapt to a predominantly grassy diet is not the only problem facing the new Miocene herbivores. No less serious problems were associated with life on open plains, where herbivores were constantly in sight of predators. To survive in such conditions, animals needed good all-round vision, giving a wide or even 180-degree view (with such a view, the eyes are located on both sides of the head, and the animals see both what is in front and what is behind, while remaining motionless) . Such vision allowed herbivores to notice the danger threatening from any direction in time, which, in turn, improved interaction in the herd. In order for the herd to have a better chance of surviving in open areas, it developed special methods of carrying, "guard duty" (when individual animals look diagonally across the entire herd), as well as more advanced systems of signals and information exchange within the herd.

Third message about horses

Throughout the Miocene, horses continued to increase in size. Merigippus was the size of a pony today. The middle toe on each of his feet was disproportionately large compared to the same toe of his predecessors, and it can be said that merikhippus walked on tiptoe all his life - or rather, did not walk, but ran very quickly. Numerous tubercles on the molars helped him chew tough grass. Previously, horses were forest dwellers and ate tender and juicy foliage. However, by the beginning of the Miocene they had adapted to life on the open plains.

Forests can only feed a limited number of animals

The spread of the steppes and the gradual disappearance of forests in the Miocene strongly influenced the growth of the populations of herbivorous mammals. Fewer trees mean less energy they "give" to animals. Imagine for a moment an ordinary tree. It spends most of its energy on creating a support for itself. To this end, it develops a special solid trunk and many branches. In a temperate climate, animals can consume only a very small part of the edible substance produced by a tree in a year. On deciduous trees (which shed their leaves annually), leaves generally grow for only six months of the year, and fruits and seeds (with the exception of nuts) appear for only a few weeks. This means that temperate forests can feed only a limited number of animals in a year.

The third message about elephants

Now elephants have become much more similar to modern ones. The mastodon - they call it platybelodon ("shovel-tusk") - made its way through the thickets like a heavy bulldozer. From his lower jaw protruded wide spade-shaped fangs, with which he dug various plants from the soil. Deinotherium was much larger (about 4 m at the shoulder). With the curved fangs of his lower jaw, he may have pryed at the edible roots like a large pitchfork.

Grass is an indefatigable producer of food

With herbs, things are completely different. In general, grasses are fast-growing plants and fairly resistant to climate change. Most types of grasses are stunted. Only a few grow to one or two meters or more, the rest are much lower. As a result, the herbaceous plant expends very little energy on the creation of supporting structures - simply because it almost does not need it. But grasses spend almost all their energy on the production and accumulation of nutrients. Thus, the steppes form vast zones of increased photosynthetic activity and can provide food for numerous populations of animals.

New teeth for hard work

The sharp increase in the amount of grass on land in the Miocene epoch meant, in fact, the emergence of a fundamentally new source of food. However, at first, it was not easy for herbivorous mammals to use the resources of this bottomless pantry. Some of their species even became extinct because they could not adapt to the herbal diet. Mammals, whose teeth were designed to chew soft leaves, found it difficult to switch to such a tough and fibrous food as grass. For such animals, the herbal "diet" meant constant chewing, and their teeth quickly wore out, creating serious problems for them. After all, mammals do not have an unlimited supply of teeth, and toothless jaws mean inevitable starvation for them. A responsible problem facing the new Miocene herbivores. No less serious problems were associated with life on open plains, where herbivores were constantly in sight of predators. To survive in such conditions, animals needed good all-round vision, giving a wide or even 180-degree view (with such a view, the eyes are located on both sides of the head, and the animals see both what is in front and what is behind, while remaining motionless) . Such vision allowed herbivores to notice the danger threatening from any direction in time, which, in turn, improved interaction in the herd. In order for the herd to have a better chance of surviving in open areas, it developed special methods of carrying out "guard duty" (when individual animals look diagonally across the entire herd), as well as more advanced systems of signals and information exchange within the herd.

One of the largest among modern sharks is the great white shark, reaching a length of 10m. But this giant would seem like a dwarf compared to one of its ancestors, the Carcharodon Megalodon. This fish lived on Earth from the Miocene to the Pleistocene era. And although the carcharodon megalodon is known to us only from fossil teeth, scientists were still able to recreate its appearance. Take a look at the life size photos of the two teeth above. The one on the left belongs to an adult great white shark. The other is a fossil tooth of a Carcharodon. Scientists compared both teeth and, based on the size of the great white shark known to them, estimated that the length of the carcharodon from the nose to the tip of the tail should be at least 20 m.

Long legs for fast running

Long legs are also a valuable asset during life on the plains. They allow the animal to keep its head high above the ground and thus better view the surroundings. And, of course, long legs serve their master as an indispensable means of salvation in case of danger. Therefore, during the Miocene, the limbs of herbivores gradually adapted to fast running. The bones of the lower leg lengthened over time, while the bones of the upper leg, on the contrary, became shorter. The main muscles responsible for the movement of the limbs were also shortened and were now located higher, closer to the shoulder blades and ilium, where they were connected to the animal's trunk. With such a structure of muscles, the animal could make long jumps, while expending a minimum of energy. The legs of a herbivore living on the plains weigh very little and do not have much strength. However, they are ideally suited for escaping from predators and allow the animal to cover long distances at high speed once it enters the proper running rhythm.

The chalicotheres were a very strange group of mammals. They looked like a cross between a horse and a rhinoceros. The claws on their limbs indicate that they fed on roots rather than grass.

Miocene ecosystem

We can get some idea of ​​the Miocene ecosystem if we turn to its modern counterpart, the East African savannas. The grassy plain provides different types of food for a variety of animals. In the savannahs of East Africa, zebras nibble at the rough tops of grasses, and wildebeests nibble at their leafy central parts. Gazelles, on the other hand, look for protein-rich seeds and shoots near the ground. Beard-keepers often kneel to reach the shortest grass or dig up edible bulbs and tubers from the ground. There are also herbivores in the savannas, who find food above the level of the tallest grasses. For example, a black rhinoceros eats tree bark, thin branches and foliage, but an elephant eats both grass and tree leaves, often absorbing up to 250 kg of vegetation per day. Well, the growth of the giraffe allows it to avoid any kind of competition, since it can cut off branches and foliage at a height of 6 m from the ground. Thus, different types of herbivorous animals do not claim each other's food resources, and there is enough food for everyone. Perhaps it was the same during the Miocene: different species existed at the expense of different parts of the ecosystem.

Aegyptopithecus, a small great ape, lived on the territory of modern Egypt during the Oligocene era, about 27 million years ago. It had a short tail and a prominent jaw. It is not a direct ancestor of man, but possibly the predecessor of the current great apes.

Other New Settlers and New Travelers

In the same period, other new settlers appeared. At the beginning of the Miocene, the ranks of birds were replenished with new species of parrots, pelicans, pigeons and woodpeckers. A little later, the first ravens and falcons joined them. New mammals such as mice, rats, guinea pigs and porcupines evolved rapidly. A strange group of horse-like animals also appeared - they are called chalicotheres. With large claws resembling hooves, they dug up edible roots. From now on, animals could move freely from Africa to Europe or Asia and vice versa. A kind of two-way traffic soon emerged, with elephants migrating from Africa to Eurasia and North America, while cats, buffaloes, giraffes, and pigs traveled in the opposite direction.

The first great apes

The first primates were small animals, similar to shrews. They appeared on Earth about 65 million years ago. Evolution continued to work in this direction, and by the middle of the Oligocene, two main groups of primates had formed - New World monkeys (in South America) and Old World monkeys (in Africa and Asia). Soon another group of monkeys descended from the African branch, which became the ancestor of the great apes and, ultimately, man. The brain of great apes is larger than that of their other relatives. In addition, they do not have a tail, and long and strong arms are perfectly adapted for climbing trees and jumping from branch to branch. The fossil remains of a small anthropoid ape, which they called Aegyptopithecus ("Egyptian monkey"), fell into the hands of scientists. She lived in Africa in the Oligocene era, about 27 million years ago. No one can say with certainty that it was Aegyptopithecus who was the ancestor of modern great apes, but this is not at all excluded. Shortly after the beginning of the Miocene (about 24 million years ago), another, more highly developed anthropoid ape appeared - driopithecus, similar to the current chimpanzees. These animals quickly moved from their African homeland, through land "bridges" to Europe and Asia. Apparently, Dryopithecus walked on two legs, but ran and climbed trees with the help of all four limbs. Perhaps he even carried food in his hands. So, the history of mankind was about to begin.

The shape of the nose of African and Asian monkeys (left) is different than that of their South American relatives. Monkeys from the New World (America) have flat noses, with widely spaced nostrils facing in different directions (the one to the left). And monkeys living in other parts of the world have thin noses with nostrils pointing forward or downward.

Bibliography

1. Lit .: Andrusov N.I., Izbr. works, vol. 1 - 4, M., 1961 - 65;

2. Kolesnikov V. P., Zhizhchenko B. P., Eberzin A. G., Stratigraphy of the USSR, vol. 12 - Neogene of the USSR, M. - L., 1940;

3. Gladenkov Yu. B., Neogene of Kamchatka, Moscow, 1972;

4. Krashennikov V. A., Stratigraphy of the Miocene sediments of the Mediterranean according to foraminifers, Moscow, 1971;

5. Chumakov I. S., Pliocene and Pleistocene deposits of the Nile Valley in Nubia and Upper Egypt, Moscow, 1967; Zhinyu M., Stratigraphic geology, trans. from French, Moscow, 1952. M. V. Muratov.

Similar Documents

Geological history of the Earth. The organic world of the Precambrian, its geosynclines and platforms, epochs of folding. Physical and geographical conditions of the Paleozoic era. Minerals of the Late Paleozoic. Geosynclinal belts and the organic world of the Mesozoic era.

abstract, added 04/21/2015


Minerals as a factor in the economic state of the territory. Classification and comparative characteristics of minerals in the territory of the Jewish Autonomous Region, their geological development, development history, exploration, use and production.

term paper, added 05/11/2009


Definition of the concept of "minerals" and their genetic classification. Magmatogenic, igneous, pegmatite, postmagmatic and hydrothermal deposits. Exogenous (weathering) and sedimentary deposits. Combustible minerals.

abstract, added 03.12.2010


Oil and gas complex. The state of the raw material base and the development of coal mining in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Metal minerals: ferrous, non-ferrous, rare and rare earth metals. Gold. Non-metallic minerals.

abstract, added 02/05/2008


Paleogene, Neogene (Tertiary) period of the Cenozoic era. Features of the Quaternary period. Organic world of sea and land. The structure of the earth's crust and paleogeography at the beginning of the era. History of the geological development of geosynclinal belts and ancient platforms.

abstract, added 05/28/2010


General concepts of sedimentary rocks: origin, structure, features. Minerals associated with carbonate, salt and phosphate, clayey rocks. Scientific and practical caustobioliths, clastolites, liquid and gaseous fossil fuels.

abstract, added 03/17/2010


Minerals as mineral and organic formations of the earth's crust. Oil shale, coal, anthracite, oil. Slightly decomposed, moderately decomposed and strongly decomposed peat. Kerogen as a syngenetic deposited organic matter.

presentation, added 05/21/2016


Violation of the geological structure of the subsoil. Overloading of the earth's surface with products of mineral processing. Ores of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Colored stones: diamond, malachite, emerald, rhodonite, charoite, amber and pearls. Building minerals.

abstract, added 01/16/2011


Composition, occurrence conditions and placement of deposits in the Leningrad region. Industrial value of bauxites (near the city of Boksitogorsk). Oil shale and phosphorites, their application. Extraction of thin-slab limestone: production of measured and shaped products.

creative work, added 04/12/2009


Features of the geological structure of the North Caucasus, minerals and large deposits of oil and gas. Prospects for development and increase in production. Description of the educational geological map: stratigraphy and tectonics, types of faults, igneous rocks.

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand broke away from Gondwana 200 million years ago, in the Mesozoic, in the Triassic period. Most of it before the Cenozoic was covered by the sea, and the land was small islands. And only in the Miocene, when the mountains rose from the ocean, did New Zealand take on its modern shape.

New Zealand has one distinctive feature - the absence of mammals. The barrier of the ocean turned out to be insurmountable for them, and those habitats that animals occupied on other continents in New Zealand went to birds - running birds: moa and kiwi, which probably descended from ancient flying birds. There were also short-legged moas - emids, and long-legged - three-meter-tall dinornis. These birds lived in New Zealand until Polynesian hunters got there and killed them. The last dinornis bird was killed 200 years ago, and today paleontologists study it

skeletons, entire cemeteries of which have been found in New Zealand. Today, of the terrestrial birds, the kiwi are the only indigenous inhabitants. And on a quiet starry night you can still hear their plaintive cry, for which they got their name.

New Mathematics With Hamilton's theory in hand, it's easier to appreciate the connection Darwin saw between a cow that produces "good marbled beef" and is slaughtered and eaten, and an ant that toils all its life with no hope of personal reproduction. cow gene,