Checkpoint for Wednesday 23 September 2009

5:07 PM.An armed standoff at a Napier bus terminal that lasted for more than four hours has ended with the arrest of a man. Audio

5:13 PM.New Zealand is back in the black, having emerged out of its worst recession in three decades. Audio

5:17 PM.The Prime Minister says the gdp figures are promising and should prompt the international credit agency Fitch to remove New Zealand from negative credit watch. Audio

5:23 PM.A Superannuation Fund rebound has reignited debate on whether the Government was right to halt contributions. Audio

5:26 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:28 PM.Sydney has been blanketed by a choking dust storm which weather forecasters say is the worst to hit the state in nearly 70 years. Audio

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

5:37 PM.The deputy chair of the Maori Affairs select committee Hone Harawira has his sights set on the country's tobacco company bosses saying that he'd like to quote"lynch the bastards"unquote. Audio

5:42 PM.The police say the extent of injuries to a woman shot and killed in Matamata this morning is making the job of formally identifying her difficult. Audio

5:44 PM.Health authorities in Australia are a step closer to prosecuting the disgraced docter Roman Hasil who fled New Zealand in 2006 after a series of botched sterilisations at Wanganui Hospital. Audio

5:49 PM.News from the Waatea team. Audio

5:51 PM.Old political foes John Key and Helen Clark have met in New York today over a couple of loaves of Vogel bread. Audio

5:55 PM.The Labour Party says TVNZ has been forced to relinquish its rights to next year's Commonwealth Games in Delhi because of the government's demand for an increased dividend. Audio

5:58 PM.Where the country's media is dominated by newspapers and television channels owned or controlled by the Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his family. Audio

6:06 PM.An armed standoff at a Napier bus terminal that lasted for more than four hours has ended with the arrest of a man who police say has mental health problems . Audio

6:10 PM.New Zealand's moved out of recession earlier than had been expected - thanks in part to an increase in exports to China. Audio

6:13 PM.Ten Canterbury mayors are pushing for government intervention into the local regional council, on the eve of a vote that may topple its chairperson. Audio

6:17 PM.Protective measures introduced just six years ago to ensure the wellbeing of international students as young as five years old are now being reviewed. Audio

6:20 PM.Parliament's health committee is distancing itself from accusations some doctors are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of men from prostate cancer. Audio

6:23 PM.News from the business sector. Audio

6:26 PM.Crawling around in an attic wrestling with a five and a half metre long python is only half the job done for Queensland man Aaron Chapman - the next challenge is dealing with Mummy - she's over six… Read more Audio

6:33 PM.An update from the RNZ sports team. Audio

6:36 PM.Brazil's called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the crisis in Honduras. Audio

6:39 PM.We cross now to China and our correspondent in Beijing, Quentin Sommerville. Audio

6:43 PM.Today police in France cleared a squalid camp for immigrants near the port city of Calais that came to be known as the Jungle. Audio

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

6:49 PM.Auckland city bars and restaurants say a plan to force them to close at 11 o'clock would kill business and create havoc on the streets Audio

6:53 PM.The Employment Court has heard that the Corrections Department considered bringing in the military to help run prisons if officers were locked out in the dispute over double bunking. Audio

6:55 PM.Thousands of social workers around the country are taking part in a day to celebrate their profession Audio