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First Up for Thursday 17 December 2020

  • Previous Episode: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
  • Next Episode: Friday, 18 December 2020
  • Kaikoura locals help in rescue from fatal helicopter crash

    life and society transport
    Kaikoura helicopter crash wreckage.

    5:50 AM.The investigation is continuing into the cause of Tuesday's fatal helicopter crash that killed a Christchurch couple and seriously injured three children. Andrew Davidson and his wife Lin Chen died in… Read more Audio

    kaikoura-locals-help-in-rescue-from-fatal-helicopter-crash
  • Matata residents reluctantly leave homes

    life and society
    Some residents are not willing to go without a fight, as this sign on Rick, Rachel and Pam Whalley's fence attests.

    5:46 AM.The remaining families at risk of extreme weather in the Bay of Plenty settlement of Matata have finally and reluctantly agreed to leave their homes. Whakatane District Council has been buying… Read more Audio

    matata-residents-reluctantly-leave-homes
  • Humans everwhere make similar facial expressions socially

    science
    No caption

    5:37 AM.New research done by a team at the University of California, Berkeley found that Humans worldwide make similar facial expressions in social situations. The team developed a machine that learned an… Read more Audio

    humans-everwhere-make-similar-facial-expressions-socially
  • Assistance dogs are expensive but changing people's lives

    disability
    Guss, George Taggart's assistance dog.

    5:33 AM.Helen Vivian Fletcher is a children and young adults author in Wellington, she suffers from multiple auto-immune disorders as well as a sleep disorder where she can often cause significant injury to… Read more Audio

    assistance-dogs-are-expensive-but-changing-people-s-lives
  • Research aims to extend life of bumblebee hives

    rural
    bumblebee

    5:24 AM.The Ministry for Primary Industries is helping to fund new research aimed at extending the life of commercial Bumblebee hives from 8-10 weeks to up to 15 weeks. If the project is successful it could… Read more Audio

    research-aims-to-extend-life-of-bumblebee-hives
  • Iran still struggling with Covid-19 with vaccines limited

    world
    A Iranian cleric wearing a face mask walks near a shrine in the holy city of Qom, March 2020..

    5:08 AM.We head to Doha to catch up with Al Jazeera's Kamahl Santamaria - he gives us the latest on Covid-19 in Iran. Audio

    iran-still-struggling-with-covid-19-with-vaccines-limited
  • Previous Episode: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
  • Next Episode: Friday, 18 December 2020
shielded