Checkpoint for Monday 31 March 2008

6:57 PM.Dith Pran whose harrowing experiences under the Khmer Rouge were dramatised in the Hollywood film"The Killing Fields"has died. Audio

6:53 PM.The Police Commissioner rejected orders to remove two Ministers from the House. Audio

6:50 PM.The radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has ordered his Mahdi Army militia to stop fighting government troops. Audio

6:47 PM.Israel has announced a raft of measures it says will improve the lives of Palestinians living on the West Bank. Audio

6:44 PM.News from the Waatea team. Audio

6:42 PM.A backlog of about 15,000 bags is still being worked through at Heathrow Airport's new terminal five. Audio

6:38 PM.The protests come a week before a controversial Free Trade Agreement with China is signed. Audio

6:35 PM.The latest plans to turn Auckland into a supercity could see the number of local body politicians radically reduced. Audio

6:32 PM.An update from the RNZ sports team. Audio

6:26 PM.France says its ready to evacuate a high-profile French-Colombian politician held hostage by FARC rebels for 6 years. Audio

6:21 PM.The National Party is proposing a scheme to compensate victims, as part of its victim rights policy launched today. Audio

6:17 PM.There are urgent calls for more funding and better communication between services dealing with mentally ill young people. Audio

6:12 PM.A prisoner support group says it's getting an increasing number of inmates asking to meet their victims. Audio

6:11 PM.The first results are coming in. Audio

6:07 PM.Officials say it's a million-dollar deluge - and Taranaki farmers are daring to hope the summer drought is over. Audio

5:58 PM.An Australian betting agency is giving punters the opportunity to bet on rainfall figures for the month of April. Audio

5:54 PM.Retailers have reported frenetic sales as party pill users stock up. Audio

5:50 PM.News from the Waatea team. Audio

5:46 PM.Cheaper, faster internet and more competition in telecommunications. Audio

5:40 PM.Business confidence has fallen to a 17 year low. Audio

5:37 PM.There's been tight security today for a group of men charged over the killing of a Wanganui toddler. Audio

5:34 PM.An update from the RNZ sports team. Audio

5:27 PM.The fragile Kakapo population has had a much needed boost with five chicks hatching in the last two weeks. Audio

5:23 PM.New Zealand soldiers on patrol in Afganistan have come under attack. Audio

5:15 PM.The hour has just passed when Zimbabwe's electoral commission said it would finally release some results. Audio

5:08 PM.The case of the man accused of killing deaf woman Emma Agnew. Audio