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Nicola Toki chats to Emile this week's critter of the week - the deepwater burrfish harriet smith. The deepwater burrfish (Allomycterus pilatus), or kopuwaitotara, is an unusual deep-sea porcupinefish found in New Zealand and Australian waters. Covered in short spines and equipped with large eyes for life in dim depths, it can inflate its body to several times its normal size when threatened, making it difficult for predators to swallow. Despite being regularly washed up on beaches, relatively little is known about its population, biology or conservation status.

We announce the finalists and the winner of our poetry day competition. Challenge was to send us a six line poem using the words Nugget / Long / Swelter / Seaside / Engine / Beginning.

Kara Rickard host of Music 101 here on RNZ talks about what's happening on her show and the music scene over the weekend.

The latest RNZ Pacific news and sport.

Afternoons critic Dominic Corry joins Emile to share what he's been watching - Mutiny and The Dog Stars (both in cinemas now)

The latest RNZ Pacific news and sport.

The Government has announced plans to reverse planned bans on hard-to-recycle PVC and polystyrene. PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, is cling film commonly used to wrap meat, produce and deli goods. Meat and dairy sectors argue that banning these plastics would be catastrophic for the economy. Greenpeace NZ's Russel Norman said the decision was disappointing and concerning because of the environmental and health risks associated with the plastics. Johan Verbeek is the director of the 'Centre of Advanced Materials Manufacturing and Design' at the University of Auckland. He joins Emile.

It has been a week of big and quite heavy news ... so we want to bring some joy into your Friday afternoon. In a rare occurrence, Muffin - a Texel sheep in Geraldine - has given birth to quadruplets .. but it's not her first multi lamb experience. Their human-mum Karen Sorenson is with Emile.

Today is National Poetry Day .. which means two things .. the first being that across the country bookshops, libraries & schools are hosting readings, workshops and performances. The second, it means the return of the Afternoons Poetry Competition. We give you 6 words, and you've got until 2 pm to come up with a 6 line poem that includes all of the words. The words are: Nugget Long Swelter Seaside Engine Beginning The winner will take home a copy of the 2026 Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook. And making a return to judging this year is poet Johanna Emeney.

The search for survivors is continuing in Nepal and Tibet after the devastating flash flood that ripped through the Himalayan border region. An already hard job has been made even harder with reports of secondary flood warnings. Dr Jitendra Bothara is a Nepal-born disaster recovery expert who has worked in major disaster zones around the world, including the 2022 floods in Pakistan.

The latest RNZ Pacific news and sport.

An update from the RNZ sports team.

As the trade war between the United States and Canada heats up, the US president has set his sights on one of North America's Great Lakes. Donald Trump signed an executive order today changing the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America". David Moscrop is a Canadian writer who's penning a book about Canadian nationalism in the time of Trump. He spoke to Guyon Espiner.

Paddy Gower and Guyon Espiner wrap the week in politics.

An update from the RNZ rurals team.

An update from the RNZ business team.

Flooding in Queenstown forced some residents to evacuate overnight as a major winter storm battered the South Island. There are now heavy rain watches for Northland, Auckland, Coromandel and Bay of Plenty - while strong wind watches are in place for Wairarapa and the Canterbury High Country. Weatherwatch head forecaster Philip Duncan spoke to Guyon Espiner.

Rescuers are racing to find survivors in the flash-flood devastated areas of Northern Nepal as Save the Children delivers emergency aid to families. Many places are still only accessible by helicopter. Heather Campbell is CEO of Save the Children and former country director of Nepal. She spoke to Guyon Espiner.

A man is in police custody after a man and woman were killed in the South Auckland suburb of Wattle Downs yesterday. RNZ National Crime Correspondent Sam Sherwood has the latest details.

The top stories and other headlines at midday

Michele A'Court and Jeremy Elwood with a lighter take on recent stories.

Jimmy discusses preparations at Wildbase Clinic in Massey University to deal with bird flu after the latest case on the Wairarapa coast.

Chris Tse reviews Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2026 edited by Tracey Slaughter, published by Massey University Press. Chris also talks about National Poetry Day, which takes place today, Friday 28 August.

In a world engineered to keep people glued to screens, David Gillespie says people's loss of focus thing has become a quiet epidemic. 

World Vision on the Nepal search and rescue operation; Far North Council pledges action on dangerous dogs; Peter Hillary on the Nepal flooding disaster; South Island ski fields on high alert for avalanches; Brass bands have a blast at regional champs.

The Nepal landslide and flooding, outcry in South Korea over police handling of a missing person case, and Yayoi Kusama, one of Japan's most famous artists, has died. 

. 'Humble Pie' is the name of a Napier promotion that has spurred a pie-eating frenzy.

Champion of the 4-day working week, Andrew Barnes, is researching how Western governments could better structure employment.

The latest RNZ Pacific news and sport.

The North Island's annual leisure marching event takes place in Hawke's Bay in September. The sport began 35 years ago and has grown in popularity to more than 100 teams nationwide. Hawke's Bay Tairawhiti reporter Alexa Cook went to find out what it's all about.

AI may make home loan fraud easier, regulator warns. Susan Edmunds money correspondent reports.

The National Aerospace Centre's new policy on what to launch into space would say yes to the New Zealand Defence Force but think hard about any request from, say, the Pentagon to put a satellite up. Phil Pennington reports.

The latest RNZ Pacific news and sport.

Located in Bluff Harbour and staffed by workers out of Invercargill and surrounds, South Port is booming thanks to the strength of the Southland economy. South Port chief executive Derek Nind spoke to John Campbell about their profit results and export trends.

The Mountain Safety Council has warned of high avalanche danger across the Southern Alps. The Council says naturally triggered avalanches are likely and human-triggered avalanches are very likely across the Arthur's Pass, Aoraki /Mt Cook, Ohau, Queenstown, Wanaka, and Aspiring regions. Paul Anderson, CEO of NZ Ski, spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

The latest news in Tongan language (Lea Faka-Tonga) - brought to you by our partner - Pacific Media Network.

The latest market updates and news from RNZ's business team.

Tech giant Meta has agreed to pay $17-billion dollars and to add further child-safety measures settle claims by States across the us that Facebook and Instagram harm children. The landmark settlement with 47 US states will see Meta introduce a number of changes, including a 2-hour daily limit for young users and night-time blocks. University of Canterbury senior law lecturer Cassandra Mudgway spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

After several telecommunications outages in Golden Bay, a group of residents is calling for more resilient infrastructure. The single fibre-optic cable that services the region at the top of the South Island has been damaged three times since 2022. When the connection is disrupted, people in Golden Bay not only lose access to their cellphones, landlines and the internet, but to eftpos, medical alarms and the ability to call 111. Samantha Gee reports.

The number of dogs in Far North classified as "dangerous" - dogs that have attacked, injured, or seriously threatened people or animals - has climbed from 1 to 6 over the same time period. Leonie Exel, a co-ordinator at lobby group Bay of Islands Watchdogs, says the group has been calling for better public education from the council for years - rather than just enforcement. Far North District Council group manager of delivery and operations Hilary Sumpter spoke to John Campbell.

The scale of the devastation in Nepal is becoming clearer, as the number of people who have died, and the number missing, continues to grow. World Vision Nepal's National Director Roslyn Gabriel is on the ground in Kathmandu and spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

The latest RNZ Pacific news and sport.

This morning's top stories and other headlines

An early morning update from RNZ's business team.

The latest news in Niuean language (Vagahau Niue) - brought to you by our partner - Pacific Media Network.

There's been a lot of talk about a Springboks backlash in this weekend's second test, but the All Blacks are adamant they will also be better. Joe Porter is in Cape Town and spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

The All Blacks are gearing up for this weekend's second test against the Springboks and while everyone is expecting a backlash from the hosts, the tourists are confident they'll also improve on their performance. As Joe Porter reports, the majority of All Blacks in Cape Town are bullish about their team's chances, too.

The latest news in Samoan language (Gagana Samoa).

Rescuers have continued their search for survivors, after a massive flash flood on the Nepal-Tibet border. More than 300 people have been killed. Almost a thousand others are missing, including five New Zealanders. BBC Global Affairs Correspondent, Anbarasan Ethirajan spoke to John Campbell.

The country's top future wine makers have been crowned meanwhile a merger of two lobby groups raises the question of whether it's time to reintroduce a wool levy. Rural News on Morning Report with Gianina Schwanecke.