Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

Around 9,000 farming families across New Zealand are considering their Fonterra voting papers. The proposition is of critical importance to the entire New Zealand economy: selling iconic dairy brands like Mainland, Anchor, Kapiti and others to the largest dairy company in the world, French firm Lactalis. Farmers must consider this very carefully. The decision is yours. We caution you to think not of the short-term sugar hit from selling, but…

Turn an all-time classic into a simple traybake – thick squares of coffee sponge cake with a creamy coffee frosting topped with roasted chopped walnuts, chocolate-covered coffee beans and a dusting of cocoa. make it this afternoon for a sweet dinnertime treat or to take to work and treat your work mates. Ingredients For the sponge - 225g unsalted butter - 225g light muscovado sugar - 275g self-raising flour - 2 level tsp baking powder - 4…

Mata Hari spent much of her career claiming that she was raised as an Indian temple dancer. In reality, however, she was born Margaretha Zelle on August 7, 1876, and grew up the daughter of a haberdasher in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden.  Desperate for adventure, at age 18 she answered a newspaper ad and wed a much older army captain named Rudolf MacLeod. His military career later took the couple to Indonesia, where they had two children, but…

The world’s investors, executives, policymakers and politicians all now keep an eye on the Truth Social account @realDonaldTrump. The president’s posts have the power to move markets and even shake up the world order. Now there’s another habit they might need to cultivate: watching the announcements from China’s ministry of commerce. The ministry’s initially low-key announcement last week of new regulations on Chinese rare earth exports has…

This really is the best chocolate chip cookies recipe ever! No odd or complicated ingredients, and super easy and quick to make. It's a simple, straightforward, amazingly delicious, doughy yet still fully cooked, chocolate chip cookie that turns out perfectly every single time! Ingredients: - 1 cup salted butter softened - 1 cup granulated sugar - 1 cup light brown sugar packed - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract - 2 large eggs - 3 cups…

Officially known as Ratufa indica, or the Malabar giant squirrel, the species is one of four relatively hefty rodents in the squirrel family. “The four species that make up this group are fascinating in their large size, brilliant coloration, and penchant for feeding on some of the massive tropical fruits in the tree canopy,” Koprowski tells Bittel. Although these companions match the Malabar squirrel in sheer mass, they have decidedly less…

You don’t become one of the world’s top motorcycle component manufacturers for nothing. For the past five years, Brembo has been working to improve the environmental impact of its manufacturing processes – and now, it's claiming a breakthrough. Brembo has developed a brake caliper made from an alloy composed entirely of 100% recycled aluminum. According to the company, this new alloy reduces life cycle emissions per caliper by up to 70%,…

For the first time, scientists have used innovative tech to demonstrate that a healthy microbiome needs a consistent flow of the right foods, finally proving that the "hunch" advice of 5 A Day is spot on, as far as your gut bugs are concerned. Researchers at Swiss university École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), working with scientists at the University of California, San Diego, have used AI and machine learning to make new…

A richly textured bowlful made with cannellini beans and orzo, with pesto that can be served like garlic bread or on toast. If you don’t want to make the bread, just make the pesto and spoon some on to each serving of soup, or offer a bowl of it at the table. It’s a good idea to keep Parmesan rinds. They give such an intense umami flavour to soups. The soup itself, apart from the pumpkin, is pretty much a store-cupboard recipe (you can use…

Is it really about trust, or is it about framing? Each year, surveys show media trust falling. Commentators blame social media or disinformation. But perhaps the public isn’t rejecting facts. Maybe they’re rejecting how those facts are framed. “Framing” is the editorial layer added to facts. Which details are spotlighted, which are buried, and what tone guides interpretation? Readers know who the prime minister is. What drives disengagement…

A whole roasting tray of crispy chicken, bacon and potatoes, perfumed with rosemary and thyme leaves.  For a feistier flavour, substitute one-third to half the bacon for diced chorizo. Halve the quantities below for a smaller serving. Ingredients - 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling - 500g streaky bacon lardons - 2kg free-range, organic chicken thighs, drumsticks and wings - 2-3 tbsp thyme leaves - 1-2 tbsp chopped…

Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi’s demotion as party whip has sparked fresh questions about spending and internal accountability. Kapa-Kingi, MP for Te Tai Tokerau, confirmed she “managed an adjustment within the rules” after reports of a budget overspend but refused to explain why, citing privacy concerns. She denied online claims that the figure was as high as $200,000. A viral post by social media influencer Shubz, shared by…

Around 9,000 farming families across New Zealand are considering their Fonterra voting papers. The proposition is of critical importance to the entire New Zealand economy: selling iconic dairy brands like Mainland, Anchor, Kapiti and others to the largest dairy company in the world, French firm Lactalis. Around 9,000 farming families across New Zealand are considering their Fonterra voting papers. The proposition is of critical importance to…

As the sun crosses the sky that was defaced by rockets and paragliders on October 7, it is worth reflecting upon the lessons of the last two disturbing years. They boil down to a single truth: Israel has emerged stronger than it had ever imagined, but the West has been exposed as woefully weak. Indeed, for us it may already be too late. Call me pessimistic, but they say that you only find out who you are when you’re put to the test. If that is…

Last week, David Seymour enthusiastically welcomed the recommendation by Auckland University’s Senate to make the compulsory first-year courses on the Treaty and te ao Māori voluntary after Act had publicly campaigned on the issue. He described the Senate’s “two to one” vote in favour of voluntary enrolment as a “massive victory for people… to make up their own mind”. In fact, the “victory” was even more decisive. Seventy-five per cent of…

New Zealand’s economy “was supposed to be better by now,” says Herald business editor Liam Dann, who admits even economists are baffled. The Official Cash Rate has dropped 250 basis points, yet “rate cuts seem to have had little impact on the economy so far,” according to Mark Brown of Harbour Asset Management. Housing markets in Auckland and Wellington aren’t reacting, consumers remain wary, and the Reserve Bank “appears to have been…

In 1990, a British Airways pilot was sucked out of a cockpit window mid-flight. He spent 20 minutes partially dangling out of the plane as the flight crew held his ankles. Miraculously, the co-pilot plane landed and the pilot survived. British Airways Flight 5390 took off without a hitch on June 10, 1990. But just 13 minutes into the flight from Birmingham, England, to Malaga, Spain, disaster struck. In an instant, a windscreen panel blew…

Territorial raptors typically occupy their territories over long periods of time. Since usable nest sites are valuable resources for raptors and serve a signal function for conspecifics of habitat quality (Jiménez-Franco et al., 2014; Newton, 1979; Sergio et al., 2011), long-term nest reuse over decades and centuries can be usual for some species. For example, C-14 analyses of fecal material accumulated in a Gyrfalcon (*Falco rusticolus*) eyrie…

For 5,500 years, handwriting has been central to human communication. But new research suggests Generation Z may be the first to lose it. A University of Stavanger study reports that about 40 percent of young people born between the late 1990s and early 2010s struggle to communicate effectively by hand. Digital habits are partly to blame. Social media, keyboards and touchscreens have replaced pen and paper in school and daily life. Experts…

Labour has privately conceded that New Zealand’s gas shortage is so serious it requires cross-party action, despite being the party that banned new exploration in 2018. On August 20, well before the Prime Minister called for cross-party unity on gas, Labour’s energy spokesperson Megan Woods wrote to Energy Minister Simon Watts calling for “a bipartisan manner on the development of a gas prioritisation plan.” Woods acknowledged soaring power…