Nine To Noon for Friday 12 March 2021

 

 

09:05 NGO urges swift repatriation of children with ISIS links

The humanitarian agency Save the Children is urging Western countries to swiftly repatriate the foreign women and children with links to ISIS fighters. Talks are under way about the possible deportation here of Suhayra Aden and her two young children from Turkey. The 25-year-old New Zealand citizen and her two children are being held there after trying to illegally cross the border from Syria, where she'd been living with Islamic State fighters since 2014. Thousands of foreign women and children related to alleged extremists have been held in camps in the Kurdish-controlled part of Syria for about two years. This week marks ten years since nationwide protests in Syria descended into a deadly conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands, displaced millions of children and their families, and decimated Syria's economy and infrastructure. Kathryn speaks with Save the Children's Syria Response director Sonia Khush.

09:20 New fund to help kids in hardship access sport and recreation

A new $2.15m fund has been launched aimed at minimising the barriers to sport and recreation so often experienced by children living in hardship. The Active Me - Kia Tū fund is a two-year partnership between children's charity Variety and Sport New Zealand, and will assist 3000 young people aged between 4 and 18 to access play, recreation and sport opportunities. Up to $300 will be available for each children for what they need - whether it's registration fees, shoes, uniforms or help with transport to get to events.  Variety will help identify which children are most in need - and the fund is currently only open to those in Northland and Auckland. Kathryn is joined by Sport NZ chief executive Raelene Castle and Susan Glasgow, chief executive of Variety.

09:45 Pacific correspondent Koro Vaka'uta  

A former Deputy PM of Samoa, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa is named Leader of new rival opposition party ahead of April election.  PNG introduces compulsory mask wearing as the country wrestles with a spike in Covid infections and a remote Kiribati island suffers from water crisis.

10:05 Rookie dragonboaters and finding the inner mongrel

A heart warming and funny new feature film tells the story of a group of Auckland women who rebuilt a dragon boating team despite some having never held a paddle before. THE PINKIES ARE BACK which opens next Thursday, follows the fortunes of the Pink Dragons crew, a team comprising 17 newbies, most unfit, some overweight, all survivors of breast cancer. Captain Annemarie Stevens is the team captain, who with the coach, has just four months to get the team in shape to get to the regional competition. Kathryn talks with Annemarie, film director Lisa Burd, and couch potato-turned dragon boater Kylie Hodgson.

10:35 Book review: No one is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

Ash Davida Jane of Unity Books Wellington, reviews No one is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood published by Bloomsbury.

10:45 The Reading

2000ft Above Worry Level, Written by Eamonn Marra and read by Jack Sergent. (final) 

11:05 Music reviewer Grant Smithies​

Today we'll hear two fine tracks from spanking new international "post-punk dance" compilation Two Synths, A Guitar (And) A Drum Machine, followed by some hectic kologo lute music from Ghana's Alostmen and a welcome new track from Auckland hip hop crew, Team Dynamite.

11:30 Sports commentator Sam Ackerman

It's the second day of racing in the America's Cup, the NRL season 2021 is underway, the latest on Sonny Bill William's sporting career and more cricket is on the horizon.

11:45 The week that was

Comedians Te Radar and Michele A'Court