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New Zealand has always had a pest problem. Possums, rats, stoats and other introduced species damage native ecosystems, threaten bird life and create major management costs. Nobody seriously disputes that action is needed. The real question is not whether pests should be controlled. The real question is whether New Zealand has become trapped in an expensive cycle of poisoning when it should be building industries instead. · Imagine taking…

Kiwibank's latest economic commentary presents a picture that may look contradictory on the surface. Markets are reacting to peace headlines from the Middle East, fuel prices remain elevated, growth indicators are soft, and uncertainty still hangs over the economy. But beneath the volatility sits a message that may provide some cautious optimism for New Zealand households and businesses. By elocal Economic Desk · The key takeaway is not that…

The US and Iran are poised to sign a deal which will prolong the ceasefire another 60 days, during which the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened and restrictions on oil trade against Tehran lifted, Axios has reported, citing American officials. In the meantime, the sides will try to reach a final deal to end the conflict, it added. Tehran has said the sides were moving closer to a “convergence of views,” but expressed concerns about a U-turn by…

Western mainstream media are “afraid to see the truth” about the Ukrainian attack on the Starobelsk college dorm, Russia’s newly appointed human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, has said, slamming the incident as a “deliberate murder of children.” The attack on the dorm, staged overnight from Thursday to Friday, left at least 21 people dead, mainly teenage girls. The massacre has been largely ignored by the Western media and politicians,…

Russia launches retaliatory strikes on Ukraine using ballistic missiles, including the hyper-sonic Oreshnik. All this in response to Kiev's drone strikes on a school dormitory in the Lugansk Republic, which took 21 young lives. · RT reports from the scene of the attack, while CNN and the BBC refuse an invitation to visit the site. We speak with an adviser to the Iranian president, as his nation suffered a similar tragedy, which the Western…

The latest shipping movements suggest the overall picture remains reasonably stable across the country, although we're beginning to see signs of a quieter period emerging in parts of the network. There is still fuel moving through the system and the larger hubs continue doing most of the heavy lifting, but a few smaller ports are starting to show lighter schedules. It doesn't automatically mean concern, but it does give us a few areas worth…

Russian forces launched a “massive strike” overnight against military targets in Ukraine, using intermediate-range hypersonic Oreshnik system and Iskander ballistic missiles, Kinzhal and Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, air-, sea- and ground-launched cruise missiles, as well as attack drones. The strike came after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Defense Ministry to “submit proposals” for a response to a Ukrainian drone attack on…

In this episode of Moscow Mules, Chay Bowes and his crew celebrate the 7th anniversary of the Narcofuhrer’s 4-year term. Also in this episode: the three spikes of the Ukrainian trident: corruption, failed Nazis and sending people to their deaths, are put on display. · Also we apologize to Greta Thunberg. Kind of...

2025 can be seen as the year in which the united anti-Russian coalition fell apart. In essence, there are now three distinct players acting against Russia (Ukraine, Europe, the US), and each has its own interests. Analyst Sergey Poletaev has prepared a series of articles in which he analyses the position of each player, their goals and interests in the conflict, and suggests how Russia might respond. By Sergey Poletaev, information analyst and…

The origins of Ashkenazi Jewish communities have been debated by historians, anthropologists and genetic researchers for more than two centuries. A recent video presentation revisits research that argues modern genetic evidence may have answered questions that written history alone struggled to resolve. By elocal International Desk · The discussion centers around DNA research and population genetics studies examining where the founding…