Checkpoint for Friday 27 September 2013

6:58 PM.A NIWA scientist Richard Turner has looked back at media reports of Tornadoes from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Audio

6:55 PM.The Maori Council is asking for an urgent hearing into the Government's review of the legislation that oversees the Council and Maori Wardens; The Hapai Te Hauora Tapui health provider in Auckland… Read more Audio

6:36 PM.ASB's action this week over pre-approved home loans have once again put the spotlight on new rules for low deposit lenders, and the political debate about housing affordability. Audio

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

6:22 PM.The police investigating the disappearance of a missing Otago man have posted a 20-thousand dollar reward in the hope of finding him. Audio

6:16 PM.Time is running out for the ancient giant stone statues on Rapanui or Easter Island with up to 70 percent badly eroded by wind and rain. Audio

6:09 PM.Just moments before a crucial Security Council meeting on Syria began the Prime Minister told the United Nations General Assembly the council could not wash its hands of the crisis. Audio

5:50 PM.Australian scientists have made a breakthough in discovering how one of the causes of motor neuron disease actually works. Audio

5:47 PM.The Maori Council is asking for an urgent hearing into the Government's review of the legislation that oversees the Council and Maori Wardens; The Hapai Te Hauora Tapui health provider in Auckland… Read more Audio

5:43 PM.The Justice Minister Judith Collins says she wants to bring justice up to speed, and to improve the flexibility and transparency of the system. The Convenor of the Law Society's Criminal Law… Read more Audio

5:40 PM.Fonterra has now acknowledged that fertilisers containing the heavy metal and known carcinogen Cadmium are causing increasing contamination of New Zealand soils. Audio

5:36 PM.Two nephews of the Mana Party leader Hone Harawira have been jailed for attacking a man and stealing his iPod. Audio

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

5:22 PM.Families with children at risk of rheumatic fever are going to be fast-tracked to the top of the list for state housing. Audio

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

5:19 PM.The Government won't be interfering in the detention of two New Zealanders who have been jailed for two months in Russia while piracy charges are investigated. Audio

5:14 PM.The Justice Minister Judith Collins says she wants to bring the courts into the 21st century, get faster decisions from judges and give the public greater access to those decisions. Audio

5:08 PM.Just moments before a crucial Security Council meeting on Syria began the Prime Minister John Key told the United Nations General Assembly the council could not wash its hands of the crisis. Audio

5:00 PM.As Security Council meets, Key says it can't ignore Syria; Collins proposes changes "to bring courts into 21st century"; Partner of detained Greenpeace protester; Families at-risk of rheumatic fever… Read more Audio