The captain and second officer of a ship that caused an environmental disaster when it hit a reef off the New Zealand coast were jailed Friday for seven months. Thousands of tonnes of fuel spilled into the sea when the ship ran aground last October.
She’s already had major chart success in her native New Zealand and next-door Australia. Now folk-popstrel Brooke Fraser is looking to crack Europe and the States with her catchy single "Something in the Water". She tells us about getting inspiration in the land of the Lord of The Rings. Also on the show: the "K-pop" music sensation straight out of Seoul, the super-sweet animated hero Kirikou, and a little taste of the Venice carnival.
A New Zealand court on Friday refused an appeal by Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom to be released on bail. He argued he had no intention to flee to his home country of Germany, where he would be safe from the US demand for his extradition.
Socialist presidential hopeful Francois Hollande outlines his vision for the country in his first major speech. Meanwhile, France gives New Zealand back 20 Maori heads. They were brought to France by colonialists almost two centuries ago and kept in a museum as a cultural curiosity. Finally, bartering is back in Paris. If the crisis has left you short of cash, why not just start swapping instead of buying?
In today’s show: there are few limits to his imagination – Eve Jackson meets Arthur Phillips, the man called one of the best authors in America. Also on the programme France returns 20 mummified Maori heads to New Zealand and thrills, adventures and bromance in Sherlock Holmes the sequel.
Eleven people were killed in a hot air balloon accident in New Zealand on Saturday after the vessel crashed near Carterton, a small town just north of the capital Wellington, an area popular for hot air ballooning.
The web echoes the new wave of violence gripping Egypt;
Greenpeace launches artivism campaign in New Zealand;
And Google creates a video retrospective of 2011.
The New Zealand Rugby Union appointed Steve Hansen (pictured) as the new head coach of the world champion All Blacks on Friday, replacing Graham Henry who stepped down after winning the World Cup.
New Zealand’s ruling centre-right National Party overwhelmingly won Saturday’s general election, paving the way for Prime Minister John key (pictured) to lead a government for a second term.
It is ten years since the beginning of the Afghan war and the first company of French soldiers has returned home for good. Also, after a two-year-old child is left to suffer after a hit and run accident, Chinese society questions whether it has started to lose its moral fabric. Finally, we look at the costs of the Rugby World Cup as New Zealand feels the pinch that follows the scrum.
