Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

Few places beat the Caribbean if you’re looking for a tropical getaway: the white sand beaches and warm waters are a great antidote to the winter blues. UK winter is peak season in the Caribbean, but with so many travellers looking to thaw out, it can mean crowded beaches and busy resorts. · Some of the most visited islands, like Jamaica, the Bahamas and Puerto Rico, offer a perfect location for a sunny getaway, but if you want something more…

Towards noon on December 13th, 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted ‘a large land, uplifted high’. His vessel was probably off Punakaiki, so this may have been the peaks of the Paparoa Range. · Tasman sailed from Batavia (today’s Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) in August 1642. His expedition had two aims: to establish whether there was a southern sea route to Chile which could be used to prey on Spanish ships, and to…

Auckland Council’s vote to oppose the Treaty Principles Bill has opponents questioning why a local body is involved in a national issue. · On The Platform with Sean Plunket, Councillor Maurice Williamson expressed frustration, saying, “The treaty is an agreement between the Crown and Māori… we’re not the Crown. Why are we getting involved in something that has nothing to do with us?” · The council held a meeting where Committee Chair Richard…

In 2023, more than 300 million tonnes of plastics were produced worldwide from the by-products of the oil and gas industry. About 97 percent of these are non-biodegradable. · This is higher than the weight of the total global human population.  · Every day, the world dumps 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastics into oceans, rivers and lakes, disrupting marine life and threatening human health.   · If we don’t respond, stocks of accumulated…

At the restaurant of the Turf Valley Resort in western Baltimore, businessmen in golf attire perch at dimly-lit bar tables sipping bottled beer through the late afternoon. · It is a typical weekday scene at the luxury conference and golf complex, except that the conversation revolved around the arrest of Luigi Mangione. · Once best known in the area as a relative of the club’s owners, Mr Mangione’s name is now plastered across every newspaper…

Tickets went on sale for New Zealand’s new national Golden Kiwi lottery on December 12, 1961. All 250,000 tickets sold within 24 hours, with the £12,000 top prize (equivalent to nearly $570,000 today) four times that offered in previous lotteries. · A national ‘art union’ lottery operated in New Zealand from 1932, but the prizes were small. Many people continued to take part, illegally, in overseas lotteries. In an attempt to benefit from their…

This trifle will look smashing on your Christmas table! And is a fresh take on the original fruit and jelly version. Layers of custard and chocolate, studded with biscuits and piled high with cream and cherries, it looks stunning in a trifle dish but otherwise just use a glass bowl! · Ingredients · 500ml tub ready-made chilled custard · 100g plain chocolate (broken) · 400g chocolate brownies (use your favourite.) · 2 x 390g jars cherries…

Researchers have identified 13 proteins in the blood that predict how quickly or slowly a person’s brain ages compared with the rest of their body. · Their study1, published in Nature Aging on 9 December, used a machine-learning model to estimate ‘brain ages’ from scans of more than 10,000 people. The authors then analysed thousands of scans alongside blood samples and found eight proteins that were associated with fast brain ageing, and five…

A few days before the 16th BRICS Summit got underway in Kazan in October, Russia, the organisers of this key conclave advised attendees to bring along US dollars and euros as Russian banks preferred these currencies to exchange rather than the ruble. At the meeting, the leaders representing the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations discussed plans to reduce their dependence on the American dollar. · Though the US…

Donald Trump’s return to the White House in 2025 is expected to once again shake international politics, economics, trade, security, energy, and climate, given his political vision and his transactional approach to foreign policy. · Trump pledged a sharp pivot on energy and climate issues compared to Joe Biden, which could have profound implications for U.S. markets and international partners. · Early impact: COP29 and Trump's influence ·…