Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

No businessman has ever wielded as much political power as Elon Musk and he hasn’t had to get elected, or even be approved by Congress. · But while Musk’s Doge team rips through the Washington swamp, uncovering waste and corruption, he should perhaps be paying attention to business closer to home. · Tesla is in trouble. · Sales have crashed 50pc in Europe compared to last January. In China, its largest market, sales fell 11.5pc in January. The…

Two weeks ago the world commemorated the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In the years since 1945 the images of the inmates have become part of the fabric of history, documenting the evil of which some of our species are capable. · We may now be used to seeing them, but the pictures of starved, emaciated bodies, barely more than skeletons, have never lost the power to shock. · As a former editor of the Jewish Chronicle, I have…

A landmark lawsuit against Merck is underway in a Los Angeles courtroom, marking the company’s first jury trial over claims it misrepresented the safety of its highly profitable Gardasil HPV vaccine. · Newly declassified documents in the trial have revealed troubling details about Merck’s failure to conduct key safety tests. · Internal emails reveal that Merck knew its Gardasil vaccine was contaminated with HPV DNA fragments from the vaccine's…

While we've seen antibacterial wound dressings before, Italian scientists have taken the idea to new extremes. They've created a material that kills multiple types of harmful bacteria, and it does so using tiny flowers. · If you've never heard of nanoflowers, they're microscopic structures made up of nanosheets of material which self-assemble into three-dimensional clusters. · The "petals" of each flower pack a huge amount of surface area…

A recent article in the online journal Aleteia (“Cimabue, the genius Italian painter eclipsed by Giotto”) highlighted the whole issue of the fickleness of fame. Such is Giotto’s giant stature that his eclipse of Cimabue from the limelight of history is almost total. Nowhere is this evident more bluntly and graphically than in the title of Michael Levey’s celebrated work on art history: From Giotto to Cézanne: A Concise History of Painting. It…

Able Seaman William Edward Knowles became one of the first New Zealanders to die in the First World War as a result of enemy action, following an ambush by Ottoman forces outside Alexandretta (İskenderun) on 8 February 1915. · The New Zealand Expeditionary Force had suffered its first combat-related death just three days earlier, when Private William Ham succumbed to wounds received during an Ottoman raid on the Suez Canal on 3 February. The…

Farmers and industry leaders have written an open letter to Science Minister Shane Reti, warning that cuts to AgResearch’s science teams could have serious consequences for farm productivity and animal welfare. · The state-owned research institute, focused on scientific research to support the agricultural sector, is axing 40 positions. · Its entire parasitology team is being shut down—despite its globally recognised work on drench resistance…

David Harvey of The Halfling’s View notes that NZME’s restructuring of the New Zealand Herald will prioritise engagement metrics over traditional journalistic values. · Editor-in-chief Murray Kirkness confirmed that the newsroom will publish fewer stories, cutting those that fail to “resonate” with audiences. According to Harvey, this means newsworthiness will take a backseat to digital metrics such as page views and video engagement. ·…

For the British it was the costliest day of the New Zealand Wars – but it occurred far from the battlefield. Bringing naval stores from Sydney, the modern 1706-ton steam corvette HMS Orpheus ran aground on the bar at the entrance to Auckland’s Manukau Harbour on February 7th, 1863. Of the 259 naval officers, seamen and Royal Marines aboard, 189 died. In terms of lives lost, it remains New Zealand’s worst maritime disaster. · The disaster was…

Te Pāti Māori wants a new Te Tiriti o Waitangi commissioner with the power to veto parliamentary decisions. Co-leader Rawiri Waititi says the policy is a non-negotiable demand in any post-2026 coalition talks. · He claims such a commissioner would have blocked ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill, currently in committee. · ACT leader David Seymour says the proposal would “break democracy,” while Labour and the Greens remain open to discussions on…