Checkpoint for Friday 12 August 2011

6:57 PM.A Northland principal says a number of schools in the region are accepting national standards only because they fear they'll lose funding if they don't; A Ratana Minister says the late Whetu… Read more Audio

6:39 PM.Welfare reform, with a special focus on benefit fraud, is expected to be the key theme at the National Party's election year conference in Wellington this weekend. Audio

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

6:30 PM.For the first time a suicide prevention helpline is being set up as part of a new campaign to tackle the disproportionately high number of Maori and Pacific people who take their own lives. Audio

6:28 PM.There's sure to be lots of roasts on tables in Christchurch this weekend after hundreds of meat-and-three-veg packs were handed out today. Audio

6:25 PM.The stock market has clawed back some of the losses it suffered this week, following extreme volatility on global equity markets. Audio

6:20 PM.More than a thousand athletes from 50 countries have arrived in Queenstown to compete in this year's Winter Games. Audio

6:16 PM.China's train makers are recalling 54 flagship bullet trains for safety reasons as public anger intensifies over a deadly crash. Audio

6:08 PM.Vodafone has been fined more than $400,000 for misleading customers. Audio

5:57 PM.Organisers of the first attempt by a team to row the Tasman from Australia to New Zealand are hoping it will eventually become a race, similar to one in the Atlantic. Audio

5:50 PM.The secret records kept by a New Zealand Prisoner of War during the Japanese occupation of Singapore have resurfaced in Britain. Audio

5:47 PM.A senior Ratana Church minister says he'll always remember Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan, for the changes she made to parliament; A Northland principal says some schools in her region have agreed to… Read more Audio

5:45 PM.The country's biggest Rugby World Cup party zone in Auckland is almost ready but the future of the marquee structure called the Cloud is still undecided. Audio

5:40 PM.New Zealanders have lost more than $750,000 to online scammers in the past 12 months and the internet security group, Netsafe, says it may only be the tip of the iceberg. Audio

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

5:29 PM."Ernie, do you take Bert to be your lawfully wedded muppet?" Audio

5:25 PM.Barry Watkins remembers the shark attack that almost killed him 40 years ago like it was yesterday. Audio

5:23 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:20 PM.The National Health Board has just released a highly critical report on the management of Dunedin Hospital. Audio

5:15 PM.Vodafone has been fined more than $400,000 for misleading customers who were charged for a service they thought was free. Audio

5:14 PM.A man jailed for killing an Auckland woman in a hit-and-run robbery in a supermarket carpark has won a retrial. Audio

5:11 PM.A police officer who made a risky turn and collided with a motorbike, killing the rider, has been fined $250. Audio

5:07 PM.Two workers have been critically injured when the flag pole they were moving hit power lines in the Auckland suburb of Mt Eden this afternoon. Audio

5:00 PM.Workers critically injured by overhead powerlines; charge against police officer reduced; bag-snatcher who killed woman has conviction quashed; big fine for Vodafone for misleading customers; National… Read more Audio