Checkpoint for Thursday 5 December 2013

6:52 PM.More deep-sea drilling projects around the country are a possibility with the awarding of five off-shore oil and gas exploration permits. Audio

6:49 PM.A panel set up to review the basic rules by which New Zealanders live by does not recommend including the Treaty of Waitangi in a single written constitution; The Crown acknowledges that ancestral… Read more Audio

6:45 PM.Auckland's Navy Museum is enlisting public help to identify people in a series of old photos of the Pacific - many of which have never been on display. Audio

6:42 PM.The annual review of drug-buying agency Pharmac shows it's paying substantially less for some medicines than the price paid in Australia. Audio

6:36 PM.People living in more than 230 Port Hills homes in Christchurch have learned their green zoned land has been switched to red. Audio

6:33 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:26 PM.A review of Chorus' financial position has found it may struggle to fulfil its government contract to build an ultrafast fibre broadband network. Audio

6:22 PM.Listed companies, their advisors and industry bodies have given the Financial Markets Authority a pass grade on its second report card since the market regulator was formed two years ago. Audio

6:18 PM.Australian asbestos experts say the contamination potential facing quake-hit Christchurch is on a scale they've never seen before. Audio

6:14 PM.The driver of the train that derailed in New York on Monday may have "nodded off" or been suffering from "highway hypnosis." Audio

6:11 PM.A review of the country's constitution has recommended the Bill of Rights Act be strengthened to stop Parliament passing laws which breach it. Audio

6:08 PM.The former Black Cap, Lou Vincent, has outed himself as one of three players being investigated for match fixing by the Interational Cricket Council. Audio

5:57 PM.A man who hid a stash of methamphetamine in the ceiling of a Customs interview room at Auckland Airport, where it stayed for four years, has been sent to prison. Audio

5:52 PM.Horrifying accounts of torture and executions have been heard at a conference on sorcery killings in Papua New Guinea. Audio

5:49 PM.The Constitutional Advisory Panel does not recommend including the Treaty of Waitangi in a written constitution; The Police in Waikato are investigating whether a teacher, already facing sex charges… Read more Audio

5:46 PM.New Zealand First has claimed in Parliament that a charter school being set up in Northland has run out of money and will use portaloos for toilets. Audio

5:41 PM.The leaders of the Kaipara rates rebellion are defying a call to end their action, and pay their rates. Audio

5:37 PM.The former Black Cap Lou Vincent has confirmed he's one of three former players under investigation by the International Cricket Council for match fixing. Audio

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

5:26 PM.The Government has made it clear it does not expect Chorus to ask for more money to help with the 70 percent of the nationwide ultra fast broadband network it is building. Audio

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

5:19 PM.Thieves who stole a truck containing dangerous radioactive material in Mexico have tampered with the protective casing and may have been exposed to life-threatening radiation levels. Audio

5:15 PM.The High Court in Christchurch has heard a recording of a tense exchange between the murder-accused, Helen Milner, and the family of her dead husband. Audio

5:13 PM.New Zealand First says a charter school being established in Northland will be set up in prefab buildings, with portaloos for toilets. Audio

5:07 PM.The one-time Black Cap Lou Vincent has confirmed he is one of the targets of a match-fixing investigation being carried out by the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit. Audio

5:00 PM.A former Black Cap confirms he's one target of a match-fixing investigation. Claims that a charter school is being set up with portaloos in a paddock and a poisoning trial hears a tense exchange about… Read more Audio