Nine To Noon

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is under serious pressure, Europe's debate on social media bans for children continues, and the future of Germany's city centres has been the subject of debate for years - but a new survey suggests people are returning to town and city centres in greater numbers.

A group of researchers in the United States are purposely infecting young trees with Dutch elm disease. It's being called a 'long shot' attempt to find some resistance to the fast-acting, fatal disease.

Research by the accounting software platform Hnry found 71 per cent of sole traders support a simpler tax system, with 46 per cent support lifting the GST threshold in line with inflation to at least $75,000.

Winegrowers are expecting to face continued volatility as the sector adjusts to changing drinking habits, export tariffs, and climate change.

Sport correspondent Sam Ackerman

Donna Brookbanks and Te Radar with a lighter take on recent stories.

Coroner Heather McKenzie examines the death of a 12-year-old New Plymouth girl by suspected suicide in 2017. Robin also discusses the decision to delay a decision on an LNG import terminal, while a doctors orchestra raises money for Hospice.

Laura Caygill reviews: The Witches of Cambridge by Alice Hoffman (Simon & Schuster), and How to Kill a Witch: by Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi (Octpus Publishing).

Dr Yoo Young Dominique Lee says anger gave her the strength to get her through one of the most difficult experiences of her early medical career - being drugged and sexually assaulted by a senior doctor.

Presidents Trump-Xi meet in Washington DC, Sri Lanka's High Court has given long jail sentences to 15 men charged with plotting the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks, continuing trouble from the Indonesian wildfires, and Singapore bans playing loud audio on buses.