Nine To Noon

All Whites coach Darren Bazeley named his 26-strong squad on Thursday for the Fifa World Cup, two New Zealand clubs still active post the regular A-league season, three-time America's Cup winner Blair Tuke is stepping off the Team NZ boat, and the biggest names in World Surfing will be in Raglan over the next week.

Our comedians are here for a lighter look at some of the weeks stories.

Jonathan reports on the on-going battle to get a second bridge underway in Ashburton, the amalgamation question in front of local councils and a world wide shortage of bins delays rollout of food waste collection in Ashburton.

Dean Bedford reviews After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal by Merlin Holland, published by Europa Editions.

A new art exhibition, shaped by Cyclone Gabrielle, has a focus on waterways and climate resilience. Currents Calling Home has opened at the Hastings Art Gallery.

Hip-hop soul singer Ladi6 - aka Karoline Fuarosa Park-Tamati is a finalist in three categories at the Aotearoa Music Awards later this month. Following the release of her latest album - Le Va - Ladi6 is up for Album of the Year, Best Solo Artist, and Single of the Year for Lightbulb. 

US President Donald Trump in China for a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Edward White is the Financial Times China correspondent.

The Members Bill was drawn from the so-called biscuit tin in 2024 and passed it's first reading on - appropriately perhaps - April Fools Day this year. 

Asher says the country's ever-increasing muster is because it is ultimately cheaper to put people in jail than to pay for the support services that might keep them away from crime.

Film and television reviewer Tamar Munch 

Tomorrow is Pink Shirt Day - the annual fundraiser  that aims to raise awareness about bullying. 

Technology commentator Mark Pesce on the latest issues.

The trial of Haydn Tasker who is alleged to have murdered Nelson policewoman Lyn Fleming, problems with drunken teens, Ai helping marine famers and the ongoing saga of the former interislander, Aratere, moored since late last year.  

Paul Diamond reviews The Good Settler by Richard Shaw, published by Massey University Press.

A collection of short stories about women across generations has taken out New Zealand's top prize for fiction. All Her Lives by Ingrid Horrocks was last night announced as the winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at last night's Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. The book of nine short stories follows women at various periods in time and place navigating the social or political challenges of the day: from a queer nurse feeling lost in her family home following her return from the Great War, the children of the gardener at Truby King's hospital making sense of what happens to the mothers and babies there; to a mother trying to keep her children healthy while living in a sub-par rental. Ingrid's interest in 18th century feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft is also included here - building on her non-fiction work and research about her. She joins Kathryn to explain how she's woven these stories together.

UK correspondent Harry Taylor details the latest in the leadership crisis facing PM Sir Keir Starmer. 

This month, families are getting help to reduce food waste through the Every Bite programme that gives a whole host of practical tips. 

A leading immigration and human rights lawyer says plans to clamp down on asylum seekers, and make it harder for decisions for deportation to be appealed are going ahead without any evidence there is a problem.  

Federated Mountain clubs is concerned that international visitor access charges to top conservation sites could get rolled into day to day funding rather than used for extra preservation of our native flora and fauna. 

The Wellington Phoenix women's team are off to a grand final, while in men's football Auckland FC are one step away. The All Blacks bring back a legendary former coach to the selection team, while New Zealand Rugby League has a new chief executive.

Like so many kids, Guy Hessell's first job was mowing lawns. When he started redesigning his parents' garden - with dubious results - they passed it off as a phase. But it didn't pass - and Guy went on to get a degree in ecology and ran a successful landscaping business. He was head gardener at Summerset Retirement Village, and Garden Manager at Whangarei Quarry Gardens. He's now sharing his wealth of gardening knowledge in a new book called Let's Go Native: From Back Yard to Bush, Landscaping with Native Plants. It includes how to create native gardens of any size, the benefits of riparian planting and practical advice for the complete beginner.

When Paul Auster died his wife Siri - herself an acclaimed novelist and essayist - was haunted by his loss and her latest work is a memoir called Ghost Stories, that weaves together the various pieces of their lives.

Simultaneously, a recent Supreme Court decision has sparked a redistricting surge in Republican-led states, potentially shifting the balance of power in the upcoming elections.

Under present rules whoever is in charge of the boat can give people permission not to wear life jackets. 

Dr Gary Jackson leads the population health team at Te Whatu Ora, which includes public health doctors, analysts, demographers, and advisors.

Qantas Group says Qantas and Jetstar flights from Australia would be reduced by four percent due to high fuel costs. It follows the announcement of earlier announcements from airlines of cuts.

Borrowing for Picton's ferry terminal, support for  Marlborough based Sounds Air, a community fundraiser in the Waihopai Valley also hopes to tackle pests and a group of outdoors access advocates are using a paper road to text access to conservation land. 

Susanna Andrew of Unity Books Wellington reviews Death of an Ordinary Man by Sarah Perry

Abe's Bagels, which will mark 30 years in business in December, has just been sold to Australian food producing behemoth George Weston Foods - which owns other familiar brands including Ploughmans, Tip Top Bakery, Burgen, Big Ben pies and Golden Crumpets. 

Massey University academic, Richard Shaw's final book in a trilogy on family stories and colonisation.

Solomon Islands PM Jeremiah Manele ousted, New Caledonia suspends trade cooperation with Vanuatu, Starlink set to return to Papua New Guinea and a security deal between Fiji and Australia appears close. RNZ editor Koroi Hawkins with the latest from the region.

After more than a century of neglect, restoration work is well underway to restore Wellington's largest stream system, the Kaiwharawhara awa. The programme is led by Zealandia and its General Manger is Mark Ormsby.

Stagnant rents, vacancies and falling capital gains and seeing so-called mum and dad investors are pulling back from owning rental properties. But what does that mean for the housing market? Auckland University associate professor Michael Rehm.

Film and TV reviewer James Croot joins Susie to discuss The Devil Wears Prada sequel, does it live up to the first - which was made 20 years ago? Widow's Bay is a horror comedy starring The American's Matthew Rhys as a small town mayor keen to overcome the community's cursed reputation. And Secret Service is a spy thriller, based on the book by Tom Bradby. You can listen to the interview Kathryn did with Tom about his novel in 2019. James Croot is a TV Guide and The Press film and TV reviewer.

André Ngapo is learning designer and national coach at Brainwave Trust Aotearoa which focuses giving tamariki the best start in life. 

Technology journalist Bill Bennett joins Susie to talk about how a move to "digital minimalism" is seeing younger parents reinstalling home phones to combat smartphone burnout, or switching to "dumb" phones. But how does that work in New Zealand where the old copper phone network is about to be turned off? A Chinese court has ruled it's illegal to replace human workers with AI and major battery manufacturers are moving to deploy sodium-ion batteries for home energy storage - could this be a major breakthrough that will substantially cheapen EVs? Bill Bennett is an Auckland-based technology journalist

Local worries over council reform, drive to prevent deaths during Road Safety Week, winter PJ drive, and new bridge underway for Tongariro River Trail. Jesse Archer is with LakeFM in Taupo.

Jane Westaway reviews Departure (s) by Julian Barnes, published by Penguin Random House.

Caterpillar is a drama about three generations of a family of women living together: one struggling to hide her dementia, a tetchy teen with acting aspirations and a middle-aged filmmaker who's trying to juggle her career and home life. 

UK correspondent Steph Spyro details what's on the line for the Prime Minister in Thursday's local elections, antisemitic hate crimes are up with 140 offences logged last month by London's Metropolitan police. New figures show almost two pubs a day are closing in Britain, the foreign office is working to get Britons on a virus-hit cruise home and Sir David Attenborough will turn 100 this week - what's planned to celebrate it? Steph Sypro is the Daily Express' deputy political editor

A number of Nelson artists are disappointed their wares have been removed from the Suter Art Gallery's shop. 

A new report from Youthline finds young people are facing a perfect storm of mental health distress, rising living costs and digital pressures. 

Science correspondent Allan Blackman looks at how the Hindenburg disaster has haunted the development of hydrogen technology and why that might be changing. 

Lauren Keenan clearly paid little attention to advice she received to never set a novel in New Zealand. She's just published her fourth historical fiction novel, this one following the lives of two women - Keita and Catherine, as their lives intertwined in 19th century New Zealand. 

In the latest data out this morning, the unemployment rate fell slightly in the first quarter of the year. RNZ's economics correspondent Gyles Beckford.

Alexa Cook joins Susie from the Hawke's Bay with the latest from the region.

Sonja de Friez reviews Other People's Bodies by Megan Nicol Reed, published by Allen & Unwin.

Big pharma is often a divisive industry, but almost everyone is interacting with the outputs of the biotechnology industry on an almost daily basis. 

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton joins Susie to look at the new blow delivered to mortgage holders, with the OCR lifted for a third time in the face of rising inflation. It comes as more clues are delivered by the federal government that cuts are likely in next week's Budget.

University of Otago researchers are following a cohort of more than 80 pregnant women to uncover why intense food cravings and aversions are so common in pregnancy.