Checkpoint for Wednesday 2 May 2012

6:57 PM.The captain and second officer of the Rena have apologised to iwi leaders in Tauranga for the environmental harm done after the ship grounded on Astrolabe Reef. Audio

6:54 PM.A major conference has heard people's privacy is increasingly coming under threat as more personal information than ever before is being stored on the internet. Audio

6:48 PM.The Waitangi Tribunal's set down dates to consider parts of the urgent Maori Council claims over freshwater and the sell-off of stakes in some state owned assets; A rangatahi group dedicated to fixing… Read more Audio

6:45 PM.The United States secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, has signalled that frequent travellers to the US may soon be fast-tracked through customs. Audio

6:36 PM.Myanmar's opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been sworn in as a member of parliament, after a two-decade struggle against the country's military rule. Audio

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

6:27 PM.Japan has launched its annual "Cool Biz" campaign, a month earlier than last year, as the country prepares for a summer without power from nuclear stations. Audio

6:24 PM.The country's largest lender, ANZ New Zealand, says funding pressures are building, and interest rates will have to rise soon. Audio

6:16 PM.To Australia, where businesses are demanding the big banks pass on all of the suprisingly large cut in the benchmark interest rate, but fear they won't. Audio

6:13 PM.Engineers want to be in the front line of a new government push to increase the number of graduates in science and technology subjects. Audio

6:09 PM.The ACT Party president is back pedalling on his comment that John Banks suggested to internet millionaire Kim Dotcom he split a 50 thousand dollar donation into two lots of 25 thousand dollars. Audio

5:57 PM.The price of cigarettes and tobacco may go higher still after this month's Budget, with the Prime Minister refusing to rule out yet another rise in the excise tax. Audio

5:52 PM.President Obama has used a speedy - and surprise - trip to Afghanistan to deliver an election year message to Americans. Audio

5:49 PM.The Government wants the Ministry of Maori Development to be consulted on all policy decisions - to reflect and protect the Maori view; The Waitangi Tribunal has set down a week in July to consider… Read more Audio

5:45 PM.A delegation of Pacific Island ministers, have ended a series of meetings in Fiji, encouraged that the country's in a state of transition towards democracy. Audio

5:42 PM.The drug-buying agency Pharmac is accusing a drug firm of unfair tactics as tensions mount over plans to change diabetes equipment. Audio

5:39 PM.The Dunedin ratepayers' association says the defamation action against the city's mayor by former Otago rugby officials is strange thanks for the city's help. Audio

5:36 PM.Wreckage from a life raft and an emergency beacon have been found by searchers looking for two men missing in Doubtful Sound. Audio

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

5:27 PM.Sir Fred Allen had what was called his last match at Eden Park this afternoon. Audio

5:23 PM.Police in Afghanistan say at least six people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack which came just hours after President Obama made a live television address from the war torn country. Audio

5:21 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:14 PM.Labour has released leaked Cabinet papers showing a dramatic backdown over MFAT cuts that will now save less than half of what the Government wanted. Audio

5:11 PM.A short time ago I asked Chris Simmons about John Banks saying he regretted dodging questions about the donations to his mayoral campaign. Audio

5:07 PM.The Labour Party has made a new allegation in Parliament that internet millionaire Kim Dotcom helped John Banks get a discount at the Hyatt Hotel in Hong Kong while a minister. Audio

5:00 PM.New allegations about Kim Dotcom and John Banks. Phil Goff leaks Cabinet papers on job cuts at Foreign Affairs. and Fred Allen is farewelled at Eden Park. Audio