Checkpoint for Wednesday 4 May 2011

6:56 PM.The first revamped Air Force's Orion aircraft has officially been delivered, with five more to come in the next two years. Audio

6:46 PM.Waatea News for 4 May 2011 Audio

6:43 PM.Many people in Christchurch have taken up smoking again or are going through more cigarettes a day since earthquakes began rattling the region. Audio

6:42 PM.Rodney Hide is aiming to win over the man who ousted him as Act Party leader and has called his political brand toxic. Audio

6:38 PM.The White House has changed its story about how Osama bin Laden was killed, and is under growing pressure to explain why he wasn't taken alive. Audio

6:35 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:28 PM.The Christchurch quake has put off visitors coming to New Zealand with numbers plunging 11 percent in March. Audio

6:25 PM.A new centre being set up to help Canterbury businesses struggling after the recent earthquakes says it's getting ready to open its doors and is calling for applications from interested companies. Audio

6:22 PM.Westpac's profit has improved in New Zealand, as more people took out mortgages and the number of bad loans decreased. Audio

6:19 PM.To Russia now, where the Kremlin is calling the killing of Osama bin Laden a serious success for the United States. Audio

6:13 PM.Wellington city's move to raise parking charges will make it the country's most expensive place to park a car. Audio

6:08 PM.Some North Shore businesses and home owners face a long task repairing buildings damaged in the freak tornado. Audio

5:54 PM.People are leaving Christchurch for good at double the rate than before February's earthquake. Audio

5:51 PM.A week after Hawke's Bay was battered by severe storms, almost forty homes in Te Awanga, Ocean Beach and Waimarama remain off-limits. Audio

5:45 PM.News from the Waatea team. Audio

5:39 PM.The ACT Party's former leader Rodney Hide is planning to win back the confidence of the party's new leader Don Brash. Audio

5:36 PM.In Albany some stores are likely to remain closed for weeks because of damage caused by the freak tornado. Audio

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

5:27 PM.There's an investigation into what happened to an Interislander cargo ferry which hit something in the Tory Channel this morning. Audio

5:24 PM.Young beneficiaries are being given a multi-million dollar push towards work, though the Government is coy on where the money is coming from. Audio

5:22 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:17 PM.Fuel companies are defending the latest rise in the cost of petrol against claims the record high is unjustified. Audio

5:12 PM.The mayor of Auckland, Len Brown, toured through tornado-hit areas earlier today. Audio

5:10 PM.Two women living in Birkenhead's Roseberry Avenue have been left homeless by the tornado, both are struggling to find somewhere else to stay and one of them is due to have a baby next month. Audio

5:07 PM.People on the North Shore have spent the day cleaning up and counting the cost of the freak tornado. Audio

5:00 PM.North Shores counts cost of freak tornado, People left homeless in Rosebury Avenue, Len Brown talks about the damage caused by Auckland tornado, Fuel companies defend record petrol price, Young… Read more Audio