Die gras is groener...

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Die Queen verjaar binnekort en ons het vandag af om dit te vier. Ek werk baie hard aan my algemene nuusbrief wat ek nog vandag wil stuur. Intussen is hier 'n bietjie NZ-feite om te wys dat die gras soms wel groener aan die anderkant is.....

1.  Europeans remained by far the largest ethnic group at 67.6 per cent of the population.*

New Zealand's increasing turn towards Asia is confirmed in the latest Census figures on the country's rapidly changing ethnicity, languages and religions.

Europeans remained by far the largest ethnic group at 67.6 per cent of the population but Asians - the fastest growing major ethnic group - were the third largest.

They made up 9.2 per cent of the total, well ahead of Pacific Islanders on 6.9 per cent - after being just 1 percentage point ahead of Pacific Islanders' 6.5 per cent in the preceding Census.

Though Asians were the fastest growing ethnic group, there was still a significant increase in the number of British people entering the country.

Migrants describing themselves as English increased 26 per cent from the 2001 census, while those calling themselves British grew 64 per cent to 27,189.

Asians - the largest groups were Chinese, Indians, Koreans, Filipinos, Japanese, Sri Lankans and Cambodians - grew by almost half in the five years between Censuses, taking them to 354,552 people. And their growth in numbers far outstripped the 7.8 per cent expansion of New Zealand's total population, to 4.03 million.


2.   New Zealand most Honest and least corrupted country in the world.

Corruption has declined slightly in South Africa this year, although the country has dropped five places in the world rankings, according to the world's major corruption- fighting NGO, Transparency International (TI).
SA scores 4,6 in TI's 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) compared to 4,5 last year, but ranks 51st this year where last year it ranked 46th. In the index, a country of perfectly honest and unbribable politicians and officials would score 10 while an entirely corrupt nation would score 0. With a score of 4,6 SA "failed" the test of official honesty, along with all but two countries in Africa - Botswana, which ranked 37th with a score of 5,6, and Mauritius, 42nd with a score of 5,1.

In last place at 163 was Haiti with a score of just 1.8, followed by Myanmar, Iraq and Guinea tied at 160th with 1.9.

Zimbabwe came 130th with 2,4.

*At the top end of the rankings were Finland, Iceland and New Zealand,* which tied first with 9,6, followed closely by Denmark, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Australia and the Netherlands, all highly developed countries.

3.   New Zealand second most peaceful country in the world

Geweld maak SA soos oorlogland
PIETER MALAN    
Londen

Die vlak van geweld en moorddadigheid in Suid-Afrika is soortgelyk aan dié van lande in ’n staat van oorlog of erge maatskaplike onrus.

Om die waarheid te sê is die lewe in Suid-Afrika só onseker dat dit veiliger is om in Mosambiek, Bosnië of Kambodja te gaan bly – almal lande wat tot baie onlangs as die onveiligste plekke op aarde beskou is.

Dít is die bevindings in ’n studie oor wêreldvrede wat hierdie week in Londen uitgereik is en wat die relatiewe vrede in 121 lande wêreldwyd probeer meet. Volgens hierdie “vredesindeks” bevind Suid-Afrika hom op no. 99 op die onderste vyfde van die lys saam met lande soos die Filippyne, Zimbabwe, Rusland en die twee gewelddadigste lande op aarde, Irak en Soedan.

Wat Suid-Afrika se posisie in dié groep egter uitsonderlik maak, is dat dit een van min lande is waar daar nie ’n oorlog heers, ’n erge terroristebedreiging bestaan of gewelddadige straatbetogings aan die orde van die dag is nie.

Suid-Afrika se klassifikasie as ’n “onvreedsame” land is bloot te wyte aan sy hoë moordsyfer, die vlak van geweldmisdaad en die oorvloed handwapens op straat. Selfs Iran, ’n land wat deur die VN beskou word as ’n reuse-bedreiging vir wêreldvrede en wat kliphard probeer om ’n kernwapen te bekom, is twee plekke hoër op die lys en daarom vreedsamer as Suid-Afrika.

Hiervolgens is Noorweë die vreedsaamste land, gevolg deur Nieu-Seeland en Denemarke. Irak, Soedan en Israel is die gewelddadigste.

Suid-Afrikaners wat emigreer kies oor die algemeen baie vreedsame bestemmings: Nieu- Seeland, Kanada (8ste) en Au-stralië (25ste) is almal op die boonste vyfde van die lys.

Amerika, daarenteen, vaar weens die oorlog in Irak en die land se reuse- militêre besteding glad nie goed nie. Die land lê op die 96ste plek, net drie plekke beter as Suid-Afrika.

Die navorsers wys egter daarop dat die studie net 121 van die meer as 200 lande ter wêreld betrek (en net 21 van die 54 Afrika-lande) omdat daar geen geloofwaardige statistieke vir die res beskikbaar is nie.

“’n Mens kan aanneem dat baie van dié lande (waarvoor geen statistieke bestaan nie) ook nie baie vreedsaam is nie,” lui die navorsingsverslag.

 

4.  28 May 2007

Rank	YTD	Team		Rating
1		New Zealand		1683.55
2		France		1487.40
3		Australia		1463.00
4	(+1)	South Africa		1452.82
5	(-1)	Ireland		1450.53
6		Argentina		1376.88
7		England		1336.39
8		Wales		1273.49
9	(+2)	Samoa		1263.09
10	(-1)	Scotland		1249.95

 

 

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Anna-Maré