It's the beginning of a hot, dry, El Niño summer for the top of the South Island and water restrictions have been introduced in Nelson and Tasman already, Sam talks to Kathryn about a group of Nelsonians tired of hearing that the city centre is dying - they have joined forces in a bid to change the narrative.Te Whatu Ora has briefed councillors from Nelson and Tasman on the progress of the Nelson Hospital upgrade, it is still 10 years from being finished. And Greymouth's Pounamu Pathway opened this week - it is one of four new Maori-lead tourism ventures on the West Coast.

A wounded NZ fighter lies in a crowded ward in a makeshift hospital as the Ukrainian/Russian war rages outside . He is being cared for by a Ukrainian medical team and develops a faltering connection with a local doctor with quite good grasp of the English language. It is the doctor's literal interpretation of the narrator's kiwi idiom that highlights the pathos of the situation they are living through. All Things Considered by Tim Saunders is one of the 2023 Nine to Noon Short Story Competition winners, and is told by Alex Grieg.

Martene McCaffrey of Unity Books Auckland reviews Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior published by Verso

Elizabeth Cracroft is the creator of the theatre show REHAB which aims to break down the stigma of addiction. The show was on at Auckland's Basement Theatre last month, and had it's first showing in 2021 during the city's Fringe Festival. She speaks from personal experience, she has now been sober 14 years. She says her own drinking story represents the full buffet of the idiosyncrasies of alcoholism. The stage play which is improvised, is set in a residential treatment centre and has a range of characters from a variety of backgrounds getting help for their addictions. From the age of 16, alcohol was her substance of choice, and her drinking escalated over the next few years until she was 24 and sought help. Elizabeth Cracroft has recently completed a law degree and intends to practice law, and hopes REHAB will be staged in other centres.

Arrests have been made in Nepal after a gang was accused of smuggling people and forcing them into the Russian military to fight in Ukraine. The people trapped in the scheme and extorted were young unemployed Nepalis, who thought they were being granted a travel visa, but instead they were being trafficked to fight for Russia. And Elizabeth has details of a family's dramatic escape from Covid-era North Korea. Elizabeth Beattie is based in Tokyo.

It's an end-of-the-year dilemma for many parents - how to say thank you to their child's teacher. As the school year grinds to an end, what gifts are appropriate for the person who's been guiding your child along on their educational journey? Alternatively - what presents aren't so appreciated? Is there such a thing as too many chocolates or coffee mugs? Maiana McCurdy, a teacher on Auckland's Hisbiscus Coast, kindly joins Kathryn with her thoughts on what's a hit - and a miss - in the staffroom at Christmas.

The new government says its tougher-on-crime approach will see up to 400 more people sent to prison in the coming year. But the union representing corrections workers says it is already facing chronic staff shortages, and can't keep up with this year's more than 10 per cent rise in the prison population. There are currently just under 9000 inmates. The Department of Corrections says it is short about 370 staff right now - meaning the country's 18 jails can't use all of the 11,000 beds across the system. But the Corrections Association says the number needed is closer to 500. Association President Floyd du Plessis says recruitment and retention is really challenging and the situation poses safety issues.

The Minister for Tertiary Education says the super-institute Te Pukenga will be gone within six to eight months, replaced by 8 to 10 institutions. Yesterday Penny Simmonds instructed the organisation to stop progressing the centralisation of vocational training and education. She says the new government will introduce legislation to get rid of Te Pukenga, which she says has been a total failure, and led to a blow out in costs. Kathryn speaks with former chief executive of Otago Polytechnic Phil Ker.

Film and TV correspondent Laumata Lauano has been working her way through the new Christmas offerings so you don't have to!

Speech and Language Therapist Christian Wright on what NOT to say to parents concerned about their child's speech and language development. And he'll share strategies for dealing with these questions if they do arise.