RNZ: Sunday Morning

Australia's review of its Vilification Act has brought Muslim sensitivities back into the headlines, along with all the usual stereotypes. Wayne takes a timely look at the little-known strand of liberalism that's part of Islam past and present. Wallace follows up with Ani Zonneveld of the LA-based Muslims for Progressive Values: www.mpvusa.org

Geoff Robinson leaves Morning Report - and the shake-up that created the programme in 1975; April Fool hoaxes, a TV comedy turnaround, new recommendations for reporting suicide; fallout from an upsetting on-air slip.

This month, on Radio New Zealand's online service The Wireless they're exploring the theme of 'value'. Max Rashbrooke, editor of 'Inequality: A New Zealand Crisis' is contributing to The Wireless's coverage and he talks to Wallace Chapman about young people's experience and thoughts on egalatarianism in our country.

Up to half a million people crammed the streets around the presidential office building in Taipei last Sunday, in support of students that have been protesting for weeks, against the Governments trade pact with China. New Zealander and publisher of art magazine White Fungus, Ron Hanson, has been part of the protests.

Peter Fowler explores the push to build irrigation dams.

Tony Smith, senior sportswriter with Fairfax Media, based at The Press and with him in the Christchuch studio Angie Smit - NZ's top female middle-distance runner and a medals hope at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in July.

The biannual tsunami siren testing happens at the beginning and end of daylight savings in parts of New Zealand and that includes Northland, Auckland and Christchurch this morning.

In Fiji the long awaited election date has been announced - it will be Wednesday September the 17th 2014. From Suva is Dr Wadan Narsey - an independent economist and writer, and a former Professor of economics at the University of the South Pacific.

The Red Cross says the final death toll after flash flooding on the Solomon Islands main island of Guadalcanal will be very high. New Zealand Red Cross aid worker Peter Winthrop joins us from Honiara.

The polls are closed and votes will soon start to be counted in what's due to be the first democratic transfer of power in the country's history.

A United Nation's report has seen political parties embroiled in debate for the past week over how to respond to global warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has dire predictions 'unprecedented in type and scale' - and warns New Zealand is under-prepared.

Now entering its fourth year, Grateful in April is a free month-long programme designed to help people feel good about what they already have in their life. The idea was launched as a social experiment by former New Zealand journalist, Melina Schamroth, who is now a Melbourne-based social entrepreneur, charity CEO, speaker and author.

Li Cunxin, best known for his autobiography 'Mao's Last Dancer', which also became a feature film, will tour New Zealand as part of the Asia New Zealand Foundation's 20th Anniversary celebrations. While he is here he will speak in Auckland and Christchurch to hundreds of secondary school children, and the dance and literary community. In Wellington, he will lead a private master class in classical ballet at the New Zealand School of Dance. Li talks to Wallace about his amazing life story - from rural poverty in China to dancing on stages around the world. He is now the artistic director of the Queensland Ballet.

Is the Mana Party seriously considering forming an alliance with Kim Dotcom's new Internet party? What do they have in common politically or philosophically?

The news keeps coming at us from more sources than ever before - but what is that doing to our minds? Alain de Botton's latest book analyses archetypal news stories, raising questions like: How come disaster stories are often so uplifting? What makes the love lives of celebrities so interesting? Why do we enjoy politicians being brought down? Why are upheavals in far off lands often so boring?