A group of four women and nine children have secured flights to Australia from Damascus over the weekend, re-sparking conversations about ISIS brides returning to their home countries.

Additionally, associates of a recently disbanded neo-Nazi group were removed from an ANZAC ceremony for booing and heckling the speaker.

Despite the group officially disbanding in January due to hate speech laws, Australian correspondent Murray Olds says the individuals are still active.

"They still hang out together with secret handshakes and, you know, code words and whatnot, because they've all got IQs of about room temperature," he told Andrew Dickens.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In an effort to make newborn hearing checks a more comfortable process for babies and parents Christchurch Hospital has developed an innovation to replace cool gels.

"Exhausted mothers after breastfeeding all night would be anxious that we'd wake the baby up when we were screening in the maternity units," Christchurch Hospital's Newborn Hearing Screening Programme co-ordinator Angela Deken told Andrew Dickens.

"And so, the kudos really goes to one of the screeners, Pam Spark, who just kept pushing and trying to find solutions."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian comedian Elouise Eftos fights against the culture of self-deprecation with her tongue-in-cheek self-dubbed title of Australia's first attractive comedian.

Eftos spoke to Dickens about the discomfort people display when someone is outwardly confident and secure.

"Why is being a confident woman that knows she's funny and attractive and smart, why is that so confronting to people?", she asked.

Eftos is performing 'Aphrodite' at the New Zealand Comedy Festival on May 15-16 where she will explore complicated feeling towards the collective man, dating, and sexual liberation.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Todd McClay will sign the free trade deal with India in Delhi today following uncertainty as New Zealand First pulled support and Labour held out until the last minute.

Earlier this month some of New Zealand’s top exporters and business associations signed an open letter calling on all political parties to back the agreement.

India New Zealand Business Council deputy chair Tony Martin told Andrew Dickens, "I think deep down, you know, there's a very strong sense from both sides of the political spectrum that this is the right thing for New Zealand to do."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christchurch’s new One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha officially opened this weekend with a sold out match between the Crusaders and Waratahs on Friday night.

The All Blacks’ first test at the venue on July 4, and the Warriors’ first NRL match at the stadium in June both quickly sold out, while Robbie Williams and the Foo Fighters are set to perform in late 2026 / early 2027.

Crusaders CEO Colin Mansbridge says the One New Zealand Stadium is ready to replace Eden Park as New Zealand's national stadium, despite being half the size.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government is putting funds towards repairs needed on New Zealand's great bike trails due to storm damage.

It is expected that the Hauraki Rail Trail, that's been shut since January, the Waikato River Trail, and a connecting track on the Tasman Great Taste Trail will need approximately $800,000 to fix.

"If you think about the Hauraki Rail Trail, it is absolutely spectacular, but it does mean that it is vulnerable to weather events, so there's a bit of a balance," Tourism Minister Louise Upston told Andrew Dickens.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner took place in Washington last night, but was cancelled part way through after a shooter with multiple weapons charged through a security checkpoint.

Washington Bureau Chief for the Guardian, David Smith, was present at the dinner.

He told Andrew Dickens, "I heard some shouting and people diving under tables, and that kind of rippled like a wave through the room, and all of us, including me and guests at our table, we dived under."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A nationwide survey by the Combined Building Supplies Co-operative has found that 84% of members have felt moderate to significant impact from fuel price increases.

CEO Carl Taylor said some builders can't even afford to get to their work sites.

"So, clients are obviously starting to look at pausing their projects, pricing becomes harder to lock in, and the confidence drops, and that's when the activity slows," he told Andrew Dickens.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.