There is a bird in New Zealand which – as the One Earth website writes – can “solve logical puzzles” and works “together to achieve shared objectives”. The kea parrot is intelligent and cheekily steals the rubber from the wipers of cars. It reminds me a little of the men’s cricket team from the same land.
A smart, adaptable, tight unit which last week became famous for nicking a historic, first Test match series from India in India.
In a wonderful arrangement of the planets, New Zealand is having a sporting moment. This month the women’s cricket team won the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup, their sailors won a third consecutive America’s Cup and the All Blacks, whose aura has frayed recently, mauled Japan 64-19. To echo what cricket captain Tom Latham said after winning in India: “I’m sort of lost for words a little bit.”
Kiwis appear to recoil from boastfulness and Wright says of his country’s sporting culture, “You can be a big star and still walk the streets without people making a big fuss. We don’t have that celebrity culture.” Rugby aside, he says, no one really grows up in the headlines. Groundedness is a fine ingredient of greatness.
To be far away is to be unknown and often underrated. We read The Guardian, The New York Times, Melbourne Age, but New Zealand papers were rarely our regular reading. But if we were ignorant, their kids weren’t, for they knew their riders, runners, rowers, cyclists had cut brilliant paths to over 160 Olympic medals. In a Statista graph of “average number of medals won per capita at the Summer Olympics from 1896 to 2020 ”, they stand fifth.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Daily roundup: Review of Smart #1 Pro+, a smart car for a new generationStay in the know with a recap of our top stories today. 1. Smart 1 Pro+ review: A Smart car for a new generation What would a car designed for Gen Z be like? It's a bit hard to imagine, but perhaps the Smart 1 might offer a bit of a clue. It starts with the name, which is...
Read more »
Growth, community and trust the 'building blocks' as Singapore refreshes Smart Nation strategies: PM WongSince the launch of Smart Nation a decade ago, Singapore has made “significant progress” and this can be felt and experienced in daily living, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
Read more »
Smart Nation 2.0: Professor Joseph Sung on artificial intelligence in scienceSingapore's newly refreshed Smart Nation 2.0 will see an additional S$120 million for artificial intelligence (AI) in science that will go towards building a vibrant research ecosystem and a "bilingual' talent pool that is proficient in AI and at least one domain in science.
Read more »
S’pore refreshes Smart Nation goals with plans to tackle digital harms, accelerate AI know-howpIt must sharpen its focus on the building blocks of growth, community and trust, said PM Wong./p
Read more »
Singapore schools to introduce 'AI for Fun' courses as part of Smart Nation 2.0 plan Singapore%
Read more »
Singapore refreshes Smart Nation goals with plans to tackle online harms and strengthen AI know-howSINGAPORE — Plans are afoot to equip scientists and students with artificial intelligence (AI) know-how and offer swift remedies to victims traumatised by cyber bullying and deepfakes circulating online, as Singapore charts its next Smart Nation milestones. Announcing the refreshed Smart Nation 2.
Read more »