Checkpoint for Thursday 19 March 2009

6:58 PM.Africa's farmers are struggling because of high food prices, the global financial downturn and drought. Audio

6:54 PM.A visiting Amercian official is suggesting a new method for treating logs, avoiding the use of the chemical methyl bromide. Audio

6:50 PM.The Victorian government in Australia has spent up big to lure one of the world's most famous sportsmen to the state. Audio

6:46 PM.News from the Waatea team. Audio

6:43 PM.Josef Fritzl faces life in prison, after admitting charges of murder and slavery. Audio

6:39 PM.The U.S. House of Representatives will tomorrow consider a new law aimed at recovering millions of dollars in bonuses paid to AIG executives. Audio

6:36 PM.Wellington District Commander Piere Munro describes what happened. Audio

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

6:28 PM.The European Union wants its agriculture officials to swap their suits and laptops for overalls and a tractor. Audio

6:25 PM.The New Plymouth mayor Peter Tennant is with us now. Audio

6:23 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

6:21 PM.A carpet, believed to have been created for the tomb of the Prophet Mohammed in Medina, is to be auctioned in Qatar. Audio

6:18 PM.Tentative improvements by the owners of New Zealand's notoriously inefficient shipping ports are slowly gathering pace. Audio

6:15 PM.Tests run on the Bain family computer have been under scrutiny today as David Bain's murder retrial continues. Audio

6:10 PM.With foreign exchange analyst Derek Rankin. Audio

6:07 PM.In December last year while conducting a search at a house in Lower Hutt, an officer left behind a digital camera. Audio

5:57 PM.The District Courts in Auckland will be extending their opening hours to speed up the legal process. Audio

5:54 PM.The Christchurch police are on the hunt for a man they believe ram raided a pharmacy. Audio

5:51 PM.MPs looking into the Emissions Trading Scheme have been urged to introduce a carbon tax instead. Audio

5:49 PM.Two men have been committed to trial charged with the murder of Sergeant Don Wilkinson and the attempted murder of his collegue. Audio

5:46 PM.News from the Waatea team. Audio

5:44 PM.The British actor Natasha Richardson has died from head injuries following a skiing accident in Canada on Monday. Audio

5:41 PM.A Wanganui pensioner is rejecting claims he fired an air rifle at youths who were smashing a for-sale sign outside his home. Audio

5:39 PM.The Capital and Coast District Health Board has suspended its dealings with a recruitment agency which supplied a casual nurse infected with tuberculosis. Audio

5:36 PM.The CEO of AIG faced nationwide scorn over his decision to payout 165 million dollars in bonuses. Audio

5:33 PM.An update from the RNZ sports team. Audio

5:27 PM.The Prime Minister's suggesting those who don't need next month's tax cuts should give the money to charity. Audio

5:25 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:20 PM.The NZ dollar surged a cent and a half today after a shock move by the US Federal Reserve to flood the financial system with a trillion dollars in cash. Audio

5:15 PM.The Government has named seven roads of national significance in an effort to get them built or upgraded sooner. Audio

5:10 PM.The court in the retrial of David Bain has heard crucial evidence about a computer on which a message was left the morning his family were found dead. Audio

5:07 PM.NZ authorities are treating the case of a baby born on an inbound flight from Samoa and possibly abandoned as a critical priority. Audio