Nine To Noon

RNZ journalist Andrew McRae with the latest on flooding in Tairawhiti.

The eyes of the world may be on Ukraine right now, but Dr Jeffrey Veidlinger has focused on a largely forgotten period of history that once captured international attention there too. At the end of the first world war a wave of anti-semitic violence rocked the eastern European region as the Russian empire fell apart. It's thought over 100,000 Jews died in hundreds of localised attacks and forced hundreds of thousands more to flee. The violence itself was carried out by those of varying political, military and class persuasions: the Jew seemed to be the one enemy they could all agree on. Despite alarm raised at the time, the deadly pogroms have come to be overshadowed by the horrors of the Holocaust. Dr Veidlinger argues in his new book, In the Midst of Civilised Europe, that the Holocaust's roots can be found in these pogroms.

Pacific countries have Covid community transmission for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020, Susana looks at how well are they coping. Lockdown is a significant option as their medical resources, staff and facilities are limited. And Polyfest is underway in Manukau, with hundreds of students taking to the stages, but no live audiences. Covid safety protocols has meant everyone is instead watching online. Susana Lei'ataua is RNZ Pacific's news editor

A polar bear, a blue fox and a honey badger are all up for grabs in Dunedin this weekend at an auction of taxidermied animals. Stuffed animal collectors are an eclectic group – young and old, male and female – says third-generation auctioneer Ronnie Proctor.

Demand for mental health support amongst Asian New Zealanders has soared since the beginning of the pandemic, but the community remains underserved. One provider, Asian Family Services, is trying to meet the demands of the Asian population, but says its funding is limited and is managing a three week long waitlist. In a recent 2021 survey commissioned by the health provider, 44 percent of respondents reported symptoms of depression, increasing to 61 percent for those under 30 years of age. Asian Family Services is working to fill the gap in support; it runs an 0800 helpline operating in ten different languages, and also provides support for mental health issues, problem gambling, and home isolation help. But its national director Kelly Feng tells Lynn how more funding and a clearer national strategy is needed to support Asian mental health.

After nearly a decade languishing in off-shore detention centres, 450 refugees in Australia will be resettled in this country over three years. The Australian government agreed to the deal yesterday - nine years after it was first offered by the then National Prime Minister John Key. Kathryn speaks with Melbourne based human rights lawyer Alison Battison who has acted for many of the refugees.

Film and TV correspondent Laumata Lauano joins Lynn to talk about sci-fi flick The Adam Project (Netflix) starring Ryan Reynolds, new fraud documentary Bad Vegan (Netflix), a Hitchcockian thriller Windfall (Netflix)and bite-sized Samoan comedy Meeps (Vimeo/YouTube).

Russia's war in Ukraine is dominating the headlines, so what can parents, grandparents or educators do to help children understand what they're seeing? And how can that message be delivered in an appropriate way to various age groups - from pre-schoolers to teenagers? Lynn is joined by Dr Nicole Racine, a clinical pyschologist and expert in paediatric mental health based at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada.

Technology correspondent Bill Bennett joins Lynn to look at why there appears to have been a lack of cyber-attacks during Russia's month-long war with Ukraine. He says, in reality, there IS a cyber-war going on but it's very much behind the scenes and doesn't affect New Zealand. It's a year since Australia introduced laws to make tech giants pay for the news they display - how has it gone? And why are Meta (formerly Facebook) employees running for the door? It's not because they've had an attack of conscience about what the social media giant has been up to.

Luke Finnegan reviews Paradais by Fernanda Melchor, published by Text Publishing.