EXPRESSING your opinion these days is easier than ever. SABRINA DANKEL looks at how nearly 20,000 clicks on the web “save” Radio New Zealand.

No big bang as sci-fi comes close to a Best Picture Oscar, writes KYLIE KLEIN-NIXON.

How do you turn around the life of a young man who’s got nowhere to go? KARA LOK found out at Te Rakau, Wellington’s Maori education and drama company.

New Zealand-born Indians have added elements of Christianity from their adoptive country to their traditional funerals, reports BRENDA COTTINGHAM.

There are as many as six million landmines left in Cambodia from the conflicts in the 1970s. LEE STACE meets a NZ woman doing her bit to help.

BEN STRANG puts his case for a smoking ban on Wellington’s streets and in public places like toilets.

Balibo film director Robert Connolly talks to TASHA BLACK about what the New Zealand and Australian governments didn’t want you to know about journalists’ deaths in East Timor.

Cold, hard, scientific proof from KYLIE KLEIN-NIXON that My Chemical Romance are the greatest band in the world.

Will Rodney Hide make the capital a Super City too? Perhaps. But local councils will certainly have to do things differently.

The Government is taking a new broom to health – and a multiplicity of small, local providers appears to conflict with its solutions. NewsWire explores smaller community services with an uncertain future.

The controversial national standards for primary schools will be introduced on the first day of school next year. Our IN DEPTH team looks at why teachers and education academics are resisting.

When he initially turned down going to Copenhagen, John Key forgot NZ has senior responsibilities to Pacific neighbours. Our IN DEPTH team investigates.

Our IN DEPTH team finds the Foreshore and Seabed Act repeal may put an end to National’s wedded bliss with electors.

LIZ PROCTOR found it relatively easy to see beyond a media blackout the passion OPC staff are applying to restore the centre’s reputation.

The Royal Air Force have closed down its UFO hot line. KYLIE KLEIN-NIXON – who is susceptible to mysterious lights in the sky – thinks it’s the end of an era.

Spreading the good word, atheist style, KYLIE KLEIN NIXON examines why she chooses not to believe.

A news series of billboards aims the safety message in the wrong direction, says KYLIE KLEIN-NIXON It’s time to put pressure on the ones who need to change.

Technology isn’t really keeping up with the imagination, writes KYLIE KLEIN NIXON. Where are the robot buddies Science Fiction promised us?

The protection group looking after Te Raekaihau Pt wants this recognised in coastal rehab plan, reports PENELOPE SCOTT.

Woven-tales of Ink, Silver and Silk is an exhibition showcasing the work of Minu, Mairi, Sarah Dalley, Sophie Lewis-Smith, reports JONATHAN TRINGHAM.

What happens on Sunday evenings at Presbyterian St John’s in Wellington is unconventional, writes SABRINA DANKEL.

In Wellington to open a career retrospective exhibition, leading US graphic designer Jason Munn talks to CATHERINE McGREGOR.

Stephen Harris talks to SARAH HARDIE about uncovering the story of his great-uncle’s World War II experiences.

‘Wonderfully evocative’ were the words Prince Edward used to describe Whitireia Performing Arts Centre. Video: CARL SUURMOND. Story: JESS JONES.

The Waikanae Rugby Club has been around for a while, but only in recent times has it become a force in the Horowhenua Kapiti competion. LEE STACE reports.

Wellington City Council wants more input into plan that will guide Capital for next three decades, reports TASHA BLACK.

After strong start, Pakistan find themselves in trouble

‘We told you so!’ BONNIE TAI explains why it’s your bad to put off that trip to the dentist.

My Year Without Sex is not, in fact, about the sex, Australian film director Sarah Watt reveals in an interview with MELISSA McDONALD.

Forbidden love, fangs and frantic fans – the Twilight saga has it all. NewsWire’s BONNIE TAI offers her opinion on the growing trend.

Being bullied is not a life sentence, says TORY REGAN. Children need to know bullying will end, and be proud that they are different.

But converting to Islam has been a positive experience for five young Kiwis, who tell their stories to TASHA BLACK.

Isaac Mao, China’s first blogger, visited Whitireia journalism students to talk blogs, the great firewall and censorship 2.0.

The NEWSWIRE TEAM took video, photos and interviewed Isaac about the concept of “sharism”.

But it’s no place for a businesswoman. Dunedin CEO Brigit Blair gives TASHA BLACK her perspective on trading Korea style.

Long-time Tuhoe activist Tame Iti was among artists selling their work to raise funds for those affected by the 2007 police raids. RUBY ARMSTRONG-KOOY and CARL SUURMOND got an exclusive interview.

Marie Grant and Joan O’Dea fear they are about to either lose their homes or find themselves living next to a motorway. LEE STACE finds out about the downside of the Kapiti Coast expressway options.

Director Warwick Thornton visits Wellington to promote his first feature length film, Samson and Delilah. He speaks to KYLIE KLEIN-NIXON about community and telling the truth.

SABRINA DANKEL discovers a Whitireia connection to the devastating typhoon and flood in Manila. She talks to Kaye Jujnovich about the plight of her Filipina friends.

NewsWire journalist CARL SUURMOND went to the Chathams with the Prostate Cancer Foundation last weekend. Here’s his report on how the island’s 150+ men were targeted.

Computer giant Bill Gates inspired one young newcomer to NZ to change his name to Bill, reports SABRINA DANKEL. She writes here about why some migrants take Western names.

Jamie Selkirk’s pet project is a multi-million dollar revamp for the Capitol. He wants to have it open by next September, reports DANIEL SIMMONS RITCHIE.

FANS of award winning Cafe Bastille are mourning its closure – but also got a chance to buy some of its art, reports MELISSA McDONALD.

WELLINGTONIANS are more beautiful than their architecture, says a Chilean photographer taking pictures of people on the capital’s buses. CARL SUURMOND took pictures of him.

A New Zealand-wide queer youth development project will close after losing $150,000 in government funding, reports TORY REGAN.

WELLINGTON punk-rock band The Outsiders are set to take on Europe at the end of this month with a four-week tour of Germany, the Netherlands, UK and Ireland, reports REUBEN McDOUGALL.

An under-used Waitangirua carpark is to make way for picnic areas and playgrounds. CATHERINE McGREGOR finds out why community representatives are enthusiastic.

Should public transport users be dogged by the canine companions of fellow travellers on their way to exercise areas? In the capital, many people aren’t in favour. By KARA LOK.

Adult themes and swear words have separated a Hutt 7-year-old from her first role in a movie, Separation City. But she’s happy to wait, she tells BLAIR STEWART.

A new Indian newspaper will launch in the Capital soon, the fifth annual Diversity Forum was told this week. NewsWire had a team at the forum to cover some of the 40 presentations.

The capital has a starring role in the 3D movie-making revolution. KYLIE KLEIN-NIXON talks to a leading exponent of cinematic post production.

Kiwi Michelle Kern says she still feels the differences of lifestyle and mentality between her old and new home, she tells SABRINA DANKEL.

Wellingtonians tell ADAM GOSNEY the capital isn’t as affordable as a recent survey suggests – but they love the lifestyle.

Little Sjaak Ferrer may be only 13 months old, but he’s no stranger to the drums. His dad, Rafael Ferrer of dance school Cuban Fusion, has been playing them since he was not much older, reports JANICE IKIUA.

Threat from new text message ‘worm’ down played by Kiwi phone and anti-virus companies, reports CARL SUURMOND.

Barry Manilow and Bach are blaring at central Lower Hutt bus stops to deter young people hanging out, reports KYLIE KLEIN-NIXON.

Wellington City’s new public artwork has taken a bit of a beating. JONATHAN TRINGHAM asks passers-by for their thoughts.

Bucket Fountain playground has a $4280 rubber makeover to make it safer, reports JONATHAN TRINGHAM.

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jim MacMillan worries about how social media affect journalists’ approaches to reporting, he tells REUBEN McDOUGALL.

Making music for the tiny New Zealand market requires a certain degree of blind belief, Wellington band Family Cactus tell CATHERINE McGREGOR

An ex-pat American story-teller relates a Sudanese story about bats that encourages diversity, reports TASHA BLACK.

Sculptures by former Chilton St James School students Lisa Basford and Tania Vercoelen, are part of a travelling art exhibition, reports SARAH HARDIE.

Tertiary institutions face budget cuts of up to 20% in 2011 and some courses could be closed, says Whitireia’s CEO. LEE STACE talked to Don Campbell about tough times.

After spending the last eight months in New Zealand, German journalism student Sabrina Dankel explains how she experienced Kiwi charm.

As Kiwiblog stirs up the Mt Albert Labour candidacy debate, bloggers’ influence appears to be growing. SANDRA DICKSON runs the rule over bloggers at the last election.

ANNE CORNISH meets two historians who revealed dodgy deals foisted upon Maori and who provided background for the court action that sparked the foreshore and seabed law.

Being English and settling in New Zealand should be a breeze – shouldn’t it? Not necessarily, as one Wellington woman tells MELISSA KINEALY.

Amid renewed national debate about Maori representation, PAUL McBETH, KRISTINA KEOGH, CHARLOTTE HILLING and LUKE APPLEBY look into Wellington regional council’s partnership with Maori.

A’art is a new Wellington community gallery offering free exhibitions and support for artists, and taking no commission on sales. LUKE APPLEBY reports.

As part of moves to save their culture, Niueans from Wellington are on a visit to the island. BRENDA COTTINGHAM explains the value they place on the trip.

Asperger Syndrome is more than just a troubling form of autism. REESH LYON meets a Wellingtonian who has the syndrome, to gain an insider’s guide to the condition.

Maori will have soon have control of a chunk of the Wellington coast. AARON CASKEY, JESSICA DIXON, MIYUKI McGUFFIE, REESH LYON and WILLIAM LIANDO explain.

It took Kitty McKinley just one lecture in law school to know being a lawyer isn’t anything like law on TV. KRISTINA KEOGH talks to a youth centre manager with a big challenge.

Stuck inside? Even if the weather outside is terrible, you can visit Wellington’s best lookout spots right here. LUKE APPLEBY stitched the photos together.

A rare and intact moa egg has been found in a museum in Romania by a Wellington couple.

Now a Te Papa expert in taonga wants to investigate how it got there, reports REESH LYON.

A cervical cancer vaccine has raised heated debate among religious groups. So what do New Zealand’s Catholics think of Gardasil? SARAH CODDINGTON finds out.

VIDEO: Why motorists love tunnel tooting under Mt Vic – and the ear-drum hammering it gives tunnel pedestrians. WILLIAM LIANDO shoots the story.

JESSICA DIXON finds a Wellington Good Samaritan organisation that tries to keep the hurt, the abused and the needy off the city’s streets at night.

Sufferers of severe acne no longer need a specialist to prescribe them a powerful medication. JENNY MEYER investigates.

Alexandra Johnson gives her view of the Oscar best movie winner. See her comments and those of other reviewers who were watching, reading, listening over summer.

In December, REESH LYON spoke to Interest.co.nz managing editor Bernard Hickey about ways to invest money. He put the same questions to ABN AMRO Craigs’ stock exchange advisor Anne Hare – and got different answers.