Checkpoint for Thursday 18 June 2015

6:57 PM.Trade and Enterprise is not saying what killed hundreds of lambs in the Saudi desert even though it knows what happened. Audio

6:52 PM.Trade Minister Tim Groser defends desert farm in Saudi Arabia despite high death rate among lambs; Foreign Affairs Committee hears petitions on Syrian Christian refugees & TPP trade deal. Audio

6:48 PM.A Far North iwi with vast resources of swamp kauri is refusing to sell the taonga - despite the high prices it's fetching overseas; A Te Atiawa hapu says it is devasted that four rare yellow-flowering… Read more Audio

6:44 PM.The Labour Party is accusing the Housing Minister, Nick Smith, of picking a fight with iwi over the right of first refusal for surplus Crown land in Auckland. Audio

6:42 PM.A high profile funds manager Milford Asset Management will pay one point 5 million dollars in a settlement after being found at fault in an investigation over market manipulation. Audio

6:35 PM.A woodwork teacher at Gisborne Boys High has been awarded for his work in getting Maori boys who hate school to love it. Audio

6:26 PM.A mother of two's been honoured for diving into a burning car to save two girls while on a trip to the supermarket. Tamsin Duckmanton, chopper pilot John Oakes and mountaineer Ben Dare all received… Read more Audio

6:24 PM.Rescuers had to battle their way through cloud and thick ice to reach four trampers who were hurt and suffering from hypothermia. Audio

6:22 PM.The Finance Minister has conceded lower dairy prices are hitting the economy but Bill English says growth is still expected to remain strong over the next four years. Audio

6:17 PM.A union representing meatworkers says its members are being forced to sign individual contracts that mean more work for less money. Audio

6:14 PM.Hundreds of properties in the South Island's Mackenzie Country are without power this evening. Heavy snowfall today has knocked out Alpine Energy's Geraldine network. Audio

6:10 PM.Jetstar is taking on Air New Zealand in the regions, but it hasn't decided where. Audio

6:07 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:56 PM.Protester says the felling of 23 pohutukawas on the Waitara riverbank today has left the township looking out on to a concrete wall topped with barbed wire. Audio

5:50 PM.Te Reo Maori has been given a boost with the revival of an influential languague society based at the Victoria University of Wellington. In the seventies the Maori Language Society was pivotal in… Read more Audio

5:46 PM.A cyclist has been fined $150 for holding up traffic on a narrow stretch of Dyers Pass Road above Christchurch in the Port Hills. Audio

5:43 PM.The United States top general and its defence secretary say not enough Iraqis are willing to be trained to fight Islamic State. Audio

5:37 PM.Sikh leaders will meet in Auckland this weekend to discuss how to prevent religious discrimination after a club barred a Sikh man because of his turban. Audio

5:35 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:29 PM.A teenager's joy-ride in a stolen digger only came to an end when police officers threw tear gas into the cab - but not before he'd bashed into several cars and fences. Audio

5:27 PM.Labour says blaming sand storms for the deaths of lambs on the government backed Saudi farm is another ludicrous attempt to disguise a bribe for a wealthy Saudi Arabian businessman. Audio

5:25 PM.The Crown has rubbished the idea that a knife-wielding thief stabbed a dairy owner in self-defence. Audio

5:17 PM.Severe weather has closed roads, schools and disrupted flights and caused flooding in Otago and Southland. Reuben Mama was on a bus trip between Christchurch and Wanaka, which stopped in Tekapo and… Read more Audio

5:14 PM.The woman who's husband was crushed to death at Lyttelton Port is desperately hoping it's a safer place to work now and no one else is killed. Audio

5:08 PM.Jetstar is holding out the prospect of up to a 40 percent drop in regional airfares when it begins flying out of at least four towns later this year. Audio

5:00 PM.Jetstar choosing four towns to start regional flights;Port company pleads guilty; widow hoping no one else is killed;Severe weather causing disruptions in the South Island;Closing arguments in dairy… Read more Audio