Nine To Noon

Europe correspondent Seamus Kearney looks at the big media leak out this morning into Uber which reveals the apparent secret help the company received from top EU politicians and how far it went to "avoid justice". Political leaders in Europe hope Britain's new choice of leader may lead to a 'restart' in relations between Brussels and London. But one country in particular will miss Boris Johnson: Ukraine. Amid fears in Ukraine that military support from the UK would be reduced, President Zelensky said he was confident that the UK's Ukraine strategy would not change under Johnson's successor.

The Pacific Islands Forum has rocky beginnings in Suva this morning as Kiribati withdraws with immediate effect.  It is the Forum's 51st meeting and the the first time the nations' leaders will meet face to face since the pandemic. The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says Kiribati's decision to leave the Pacific Islands Forum isn't necessarily about wider security issues within the region. Global interdisciplinary scholar, Distinguished Professor Steve Ratuva is the Director of the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies at the University of Canterbury talks to Kathryn about the issues up for talanoa.

Dr Julie Bennett, an epidemiologist from Otago University's Department of Public Health, says there is an urgent need for a national agency tasked with ensuring high indoor air quality in New Zealand. Covid has highlighted the quality of the air we breathe but regulations on the health impacts of indoor air quality are almost non-existent.

Comedians James Elliott and Pinky Agnew with a few laughs.

Sam Ackerman talks to Kathryn about a week of sport that hasn't been short of a headline. He breaks down why he thinks the Warriors losing arguably their best player might just be a good thing, looks at the message the All Blacks are sending for the second test against Ireland, wades in to the equal pay debate and questions whether bad boy Nick Kyrios is the best or worst thing for world tennis right now.

Emma Hisiop reviews The Hitchhiker by Gerwin van der Werf (translated from the original Dutch by David Colmer), published by Text Publishing

A Chatham Islands seafood business has been named Supreme winner of this year's Outstanding Food Awards. The Chatham Islands Food Co took gold medals for its blue cod, pure paua mince and paua pies. It's the first time a seafood business has taken the top spot in the competition. As the company's founders Delwyn and Gigi Tuanui says the Chathams produce some of the world's best seafood.

Elizabeth talks to Kathryn about a major security breach in China, where an online police database with personal details of an estimated one billion Chinese citizens was left publicly accessible for more than a year. The public was only alerted when a hacker recently plundered the data and attempted to sell it online. And Japan is off to the polls this weekend. Amid concerns that young voters won't turn out to vote, one large Japanese ramen chain is offering free noodles as a sweetener.

Men over 50 are forced to wait too long for prostate cancer to be picked up and then treated - according advocacy and support group, Prostate Cancer Foundation. About 650 New Zealand men die of prostate cancer every year. The Foundation says due to Covid there has been a decline in GP visits, and therefore detection of early signs. Its Chief Executive, Peter Dickens, tells Kathryn Ryan, once prostate cancer has been detected, it can take months for a referral to a urologist, further months for a biopsy and more waiting for any curative treatment such as a prostatectomy. Kathryn also speaks with prostate cancer survivor Conor English, who says men ought to treat their bodies like their cars, and get an annual WOF.

It's been a busy couple of weeks for Air New Zealand, as the airline got more international routes off the ground and unveiled its new Skynest sleep cabins. Flights from Auckland to Houston and Hobart restarted yesterday, joining a suite of others missing from the company's schedule for more than two years thanks to the pandemic. The aviation industry has been cranking back into gear, as borders reopen and travellers look to reconnect with family, friends or take long-delayed holidays. But it's also been hit by staff shortages, and an increase in fuel costs. Kathryn is joined by Air New Zealand's CEO Greg Foran.