It's Friday so we cross the ditch to Canberra to talk to our correspondent Kerry-Anne Walsh.

RNZ: Morning Report

Kerry-Anne Walsh with news from Australia

What's in a name? What about a surname? The most common family names for babies born in New Zealand last year have been revealed, and they might surprise you. More babies were born with the surname Singh than any other last name - that's 398 baby Singhs. The next most common surnames were Smith, Kaur, Patel and Williams. Jeff Montgomery is the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

NZ's most popular baby surnames revealed

An Australian journalism expert has described Facebook's decision to ban news content from being viewed or posted on the site as "extraordinary". Facebook made the move in response to proposed laws that would force tech companies to negotiate with media outlets over how much to pay them for news content. Local and international news content can no longer be shared in Australia, and it also prevents people outside the country from sharing Australian content. Monica Attard is a former host of the Australian TV programme Media Watch and is now head of Journalism at the University of Technology Sydney. She spoke to Corin Dann.

Facebook's Australian news ban 'extraordinary' - expert

A brief update of movements in the financial sector.

Markets Update for 19 February 2021

People jumping on a scooter drunk, and late at night, are ending up in hospital after hours That's a trend noted by a New Zealand Medical Journal paper comparing the injuries from e-scooter users and cyclists between 2018 and 2019 at Auckland City Hospital One of the authors of the report, Dr Savitha Bhagvan says there should be a zero tolerance policy for alcohol and escooters, mandatory protective gear and stronger road rules. Dr Bhagvan is a trauma and general surgeon at Auckland City Hospital. She spoke to Corin Dann.

Drunk scootering causing major injuries - Doctor

It's been a week of "weather hell" in Texas, freezing temperatures, no power and no reliable water. Some progress has been made to restoring power but its on and off, with power sometimes returning to many people for just a few hours at a time. Many are struggling to find food. One person RNZ spoke to in San Antonio says the grocery store is "a mad house", with stores running limited hours, and because of the power outages, milk and meat at the store has spoiled. Houston correspondent Andrew Scheinder speaks to Susie Ferguson.

Texas polar blast leaves many without power

A New Zealander living in Myanmar fears the country is lurching back to the "dark ages" of a bloody dictatorship. On 1 February, a military coup removed the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Her party won a resounding victory at the election in November, but the military said the vote was fraudulent. Suu Kyi is now under house arrest and hundreds of activists and opposition leaders have also been detained. Corin Dann spoke with Nuala - who lives in Yangon with her husband and four children - about the protests that have been raging for three weeks against the coup.

Kiwi in Myanmar fears dictatorship on the way

New Zealand's Covid-19 vaccination programme begins today - with some of the country's 100 vaccinators first in line. From Saturday, they'll begin vaccinating the country's 12,000 border workers and their families. Dr Helen Petousis-Harris is an immunology and vaccine specialist at the University of Auckland.

First Covid-19 vaccinations to take place today

Netball New Zealand has confirmed world champion coach Dame Noeline Taurua will coach the Silver Ferns through to the end of the 2023 World Cup.

Sports News for 19 February 2021

From the middle of this year, all pupils will have access to free period products at their schools. Period poverty affects many who don't have the money, or the parental help, to buy the expensive products. Over the course of a lifetime, the cost can be thousands of dollars. As a result, around one in twelve young people miss school because of it. Dignity co-founder and director Miranda Hatchings has welcomed the step by the Government.

Free period products in schools a long time coming - campaigner

Let's go off-shore, even off planet to an event that's about to happen on Mars, where the Perseverance rover is about to enter the Martian atmosphere within a couple of hours. It's travelled nearly half-a-billion kilometres, at a whopping 76,000 kilometres per hour, and soon it's going to use the red planet's thin atmosphere to help slow it down, a process which will heat the bottom of the spacecraft as high as 1300 degrees celsius. Then, about 7 minutes later, it will - fingers crossed - land in the Jezero Crater. Corin Dann asked NASA Mars 2020 scientist, Michelle Minitti, about those "seven minutes of terror".

NASA Perseverance rover set to land on Mars today

Descendents of an ancestral maunga in Whanganui will return to the area this morning to ensure no more work takes place on Punakewhitu.  Dozens of hapū members flocked to the whenua yesterday morning after they were left shocked to see a hillside of Punakewhitu bulldozed to make way for logging trucks.  A call went out on social media and people went to help stop any work taking place.  Punakewhitu is privately owned - but the Horizons Regional Council says some sites require specific consent under the Heritage New Zealand Act, which requires consultation with hapū and iwi.  Kiritahi Firmin, descendant of Whanganui hapū Ngāti Tuera and Ngāti Hinearo, told Māni Dunlop there was no such consultation and they needed to make a stand. 

Whanganui hapū members want to stop bulldozing in Punakewhitu

Christchurch is still struggling 10 years on from the earthquake with vacant spaces and little development. But in the surrounding areas of Christchurch in Selwyn, inland and in the Waimakariri District to the north it's boom times, with the councils unable to keep up with building consents. The regions have continued to grow over the last 10 years after people initially moved there after the earthquake to escape the bumpy roads, red zones and EQC battles. RNZ's Sally Murphy reports.

Vacant spaces remain 10 years after Christchurch earthquake

New research shows a quarter of renters who leave their homes do so because landlords force them to. That's one of the findings from the largest research project on eviction in this country. Hamish Cardwell has more.

25pct of renters leave homes due to landlord forcing them to

The Black Caps all-rounder Kyle Jamieson has become an instant multi-millionaire. The 26-year-old has been bought for $2.86 million by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League cricket auction. Sports reporter Joe Porter has more.

Kyle Jamieson bought for $2.86m in IPL league auction

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RNZ: Morning Report

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