Nine To Noon for Tuesday 16 April 2019

 

 

09:05 Parisian landmark, Notre Dame Cathedral burns

A massive fire at French landmark, the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris has collapsed the church's main spire. Huge crowds are watching as the fire rages. Our Europe correspondent, Seamus Kearney is at Notre Dame. Kathryn also speaks with Meredith Cohen, an expert in medieval architecture from UCLA.

09:20 ICRC still holds out hope for Louisa Akavi

The International Red Cross says it still holds out hope that New Zealand nurse Louisa Akavi may be alive - five and a half years after her capture by ISIS. Ms Akavi and two Syrian colleague were kidnapped in 2013, but the ICRC, government and media agreed not to say anything about the kidnapping in case it further endangered her. Yesterday the charity broke its silence with a plea for information about Ms Akavi's whereabouts, in the wake of the collapse of the IS caliphate. It has set up an mobile phone with all messenger apps, in both English and Arabic, which will accept any information about the trio. Pawel Krzysiek spent four years in Syria with the ICRC just after the kidnapping and tells Kathryn Ryan about all the efforts his organisation has gone to over the years to find their colleagues.

09:35  HTM-hell: Cyber-security threats on the rise

The number of cyber-security incidents reported in New Zealand last year more than tripled from those in 2017, with phishing and credential harvesting topping the list of breaches. The incidents were reported to CERT, or the Computer Emergency Response Team - which was set up 2 years ago. Director Rob Pope joins Kathryn to discuss what the agency does to combat cyber-crime and where the threats are coming from.

09:45 Trump's endorsement of 'Sanctuary Cities"

From the US, Washington bureau chief of The Guardian, David Smith talks to Kathryn about the US President's idea of moving illegal immigrants to so-called "sanctuary cities", urban centres usually run by Democrats where laws protect undocumented immigrants from deportation or prosecutions. This reflects his frustration at failing to cut the number of people crossing the border or to build the wall he promised in his election campaign. Also Tiger Woods golfing comeback.

10:05 Sophie Cunningham: City of Trees

Australian nature writer Sophie Cunningham talks with Kathryn Ryan about her latest book - a passionate treatise to arboreal life; the beautifully written City of Trees - Essays in life, death and the need for a forest.  Part environmental travelogue, it's both personal and political, musing on topics including endangered animals, walking, nature in the city, grief and loneliness.  Disparate subjects which are interconnected here. What ties them together are trees.  Sophie's essay, Biyala Stories, which is included in this collection, won the 2017 Nature Writing Prize. About the River Red Gum, she says she attempts to understand Melbourne, its history and environment through this tree.

10:35 Book review

Jenna Todd of Auckland's Time Out Bookstore reviews Spring by Ali Smith. Dazzling and inventive, this is the third book in Smith's seasonal quartet.

10:45 The Reading

The Life And Death Of Laura Friday (And Of Pavarotti, Her Parrot) by David Murphy. Part 11 of 12, (no webrights)

11:05 Construction sector reform & trusted brand rankings

Business commentator Rod Oram looks at support in the construction sector for reforms, and which companies have signed a government accord. Also,Infratil is to pay a 100 million dollar management fee to Morrison & Co. And Rod goes through some of the winners and losers in the lastest ranking of NZ's most trusted brands.

11:30 Hillsborough 30 years on: A survivor remembers

It's 30 years since a devastating crush at Hillsborough stadium killed 96 Liverpool fans. Attempts to hold anyone accountable for their deaths are still ongoing, with a jury unable earlier this month to decide whether the match commander David Duckenfield was responsible for gross negligence manslaughter. Wellington-based Danny Fearon was 19 at the time, and gave up seated tickets to join his fellow fans in the pen. He joins Kathryn to describe how he survived the crush.

11:45 Media freedom, Assange & regional cyber attacks

Media commentator Gavin Ellis says the arrest of Julian Assange is not an assault on media freedom if he faces hacking or rape charges.  Also, an unprecedented privilege: The NZ Herald gave over its editorial column to the man who has anonymously written editorial for 30 years so he could announce his retirement, and allowed John Roughan to put his name to it. And, a cyber attack on a small regional newspaper company is a warning to New Zealand's media.

Gavin Ellis is a media commentator and former editor of the New Zealand Herald.  He can be contacted on gavin.ellis@xtra.co.nz

Music played in this show

Artist: Anna Coddingtom
Song: The Runner
Time: 10.55