News of Zealand: Brilliant 'Not Gay' Ad Calls Out Casual Homophobia

Everything you need to know about the world this morning, curated by bFM and VICE NZ.

Real Language in Rainbow Youth Ad
Rainbow Youth's first national ad campaign seeks to preserve the word 'gay' as positive and empowering. The LGBTQI rights charity draws attention to how misuse of the word contributes to larger issues of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. The ad emphasises 'gay' not as an expression of disappointment, but a positive term used to express one's identity and sexuality. A quote from the ad stating "Unless it's a man who loves another man, it's not gay." with an added, "Or a woman who loves another woman." Executive director, Frances Arns says inclusive language is especially important for youth who are developing their identity. With over 500,000 Facebook views so far, Arns says she is overwhelmed by the positive public response.

When Winston Met Bill, and Jacinda
Preliminary talks to form a new government are due to get under way today. New Zealand First are set to be meeting with the National Party this morning, followed by the Labour party this afternoon. Labour leader Jacinda Ardern has said she isn't worried about National going first. Talks will begin properly once the result of the special votes has been announced on Saturday afternoon.

Countdown Ditches Plastic Bags
Countdown is set to phase out single use plastic bags from its stores and online services by the end of 2018. The move has prompted praise from Greenpeace, with campaigner Elena Di Palma saying a ban is more effective than a charge. Di Palma told bFM News "The impact of the charge decreases over time, so consumers end up absorbing this as part of the cost of shopping. A charge will not stop the flow of plastic bags into the ocean." Di Palma added that it was the role of the government to step in and regulate plastic bans, saying regulation will make an even playing field for retailers. In addition to the ban, Countdown will be permanently reducing the cost of their reusable bags to $1 from the start of next week. Competing supermarket New World are currently polling their customers on the same issue to see whether they support a similar move. Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has also praised Countdown's commitment, saying he met with the supermarket early in his mayoralty to seek their support on reducing plastic bags.

Blacklisted Fire Trucks Back on the Road
A fleet of fire trucks previously blacklisted due to safety issues are set to be back on the road later this year. The trucks worth more than $13.5 million are reported to have had ongoing faults since their first use in 2015. Issues included faulty throttles, weak or broken door handles and loose hinges. Union Spokesperson Boyd Raines said the concerns were so great, fighters would try and wait until another model of truck was free before starting their response. Fire and Emergency national operations manager Paul Turner says the engines have now been repaired and pose no safety concerns.

Learning Literacy and Gourmet Cooking Skills Behind Bars
Rimutaka Prison has experienced some success in their prisoner education initiatives. The prison has been part of a programme to teach literacy and numeracy to prisoners via Te Kura, The Correspondence School. The education initiatives have also been delivered by prison advocacy group, Howard League, along with the Tertiary Education Commission. Earlier this week a group of prisoners graduated from the literacy programme which is aimed to repatriate prisoners back into the community. Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias and Corrections chief executive, Ray Smith, presented the awards this week. Earlier this year, Rimutaka Prison held a pop-up restaurant for Wellington on a Plate as part of the education scheme.

Tillerson Dodges Questions After Reports He Called Trump a Moron
United States secretary of state Rex Tillerson has denied claims he considered resigning earlier this year, and has pledged allegiance to the Trump administration. Earlier this week news outlet NBC reported Tillerson had called President Trump a moron and said he had wanted to quit in July. At a press conference Tillerson was questioned about the claims and while he refuted planning to leave, he did not deny labelling the president a moron. Trump was quick to respond to the allegations via twitter, demanding NBC apologise for their report and use of #fake news.

Samoa to Get First Breast Cancer Screening Programme
Samoa may have its first breast cancer screening programme in place by the beginning of next year. The Samoan Cancer Society said Samoa had a mammogram machine but not enough technical staff to use it. The National Health service are currently training more radiographers to account for this. Cancer Society CEO, Shelly Burich said it is currently up to women to learn about the early warning signs of breast cancer.

Spanish King Slams Catalan Referendum
King Felipe of Spain has branded the Catalonian referendum illegal and undemocratic. Speaking in a televised address Felipe criticised Catalan leaders for showing disrespect to the "powers of the state." According to the BBC, Catalans were outraged at the king's speech as it did not address ongoing police violence in the area. Catalonian President, Carles Puigdemont said his government would act on the country's independence referendum at the end of this week.

The Sixteenth Tropical Depression of Atlantic Hurricane Season
A set of weather events in the southwestern Caribbean has been declared the 16th tropical depression of Atlantic hurricane season by the US National Hurricane Center. The depression is likely to become the season's 14th named storm, called Nate. The hurricane is due to make landfall along the US Gulf Coast on Sunday. The centre of the storms are currently in Nicaragua and it is unknown how intense the hurricane may get.

Russian air strikes kill 38 people
Thirty eight people trying to cross the Euphrates river to escape fighting in Syria have been killed by a Russian airstrike. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in Britain, said nine children were killed in this attack. The Euphrates river cuts diagonally across the east Deir ez-Zor province in Syria. Two campaigns against Isis are being fought either side of the river, with Syrian and Russian troops on the West side and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, on the east. Russia has not acknowledged any of those deaths from its strikes and dismisses the Observatory's reporting as biased.

Reporting Katie Doyle, Lillian Hanly, Jenn Tamati and Leah Garcia-Purves