Checkpoint for Wednesday 24 August 2011

6:54 PM.Auckland's public health service is running a screening programme at Liston College to catch any cases of tuberculosis after someone at the school was hospitalised with TB. Audio

6:49 PM.A Far North Maori trust says the region is crying out for investment in social housing; However, the Housing Minister, Phil Heatley, says the government's new Social Housing Unit may be able to help… Read more Audio

6:45 PM.If the Wallabies win the Rugby World Cup a few weeks from now, many of Australia's best rugby writers may well not be there to witness it. Audio

6:42 PM.The east coast of America has been shaken by a shallow 5.8 magnitude earthquake - the biggest in Virginia since 1897. Audio

6:40 PM.An American parenting handbook that promotes hitting children to make them obedient is being investigated here. Audio

6:37 PM.Today staff at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry learned that 144 of them will lose their jobs under planned cuts which will save at least 18 million dollars. Audio

6:34 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:23 PM.American and European officials have been quietly meeting for weeks with members of Libya's National Transitional Council to try and map out a democratic path for the country post Colonel Gaddafi. Audio

6:19 PM.News from the business sector. Audio

6:10 PM.Tax consultants are calling a Supreme Court ruling on tax avoidance a "landmark" decision which thousands of small businesses must look at. Audio

5:56 PM.People in Christchurch who've made home improvements without increasing the size of their property say they will lose tens of thousands of dollars if they accept the Government offer to buy their… Read more Audio

5:52 PM.The country shrugged off the surging New Zealand dollar last month to post a July trade surplus for the first time in 20 years. Audio

5:49 PM.A Far North Maori trust says the region is crying out for investment in social housing - but the government's ignoring it; The Ngapuhi board seeking the right to settle the iwi's Treaty claims is… Read more Audio

5:46 PM.Stricter rules and tougher penalties are on the way to protect the Exclusive Economic Zone - that's the seabed between 12 and 200 miles off New Zealand. Audio

5:39 PM.Government pressure on schools opposing the national standards in reading, writing and maths has taken its first casualty. Audio

5:36 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:28 PM.Eleven people, including eight children, have been killed in house fire south of Brisbane - the worst in Queensland since the Childers backpackers blaze in 2000. Audio

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

5:21 PM.Damien McElroy of the Telegraph in Tripoli and joins us. Audio

5:14 PM.Today staff at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry learned that 144 of them will lose their jobs under planned cuts which will save 18 million dollars. Audio

5:11 PM.Tax consultants say Inland Revenue must spell out to the many thousands of small businesses how it intends to use the ruling. Audio

5:07 PM.Tax collectors at the IRD have triumphed in their legal battle against two surgeons in a tax avoidance case with implications for thousands of small businesses. Audio

5:00 PM.Surgeons lose a landmark tax avoidance case. More than100 MAF workers lose their jobs and 11 people are killed in one of Queensland's worst house fires. Audio