Checkpoint for Friday 28 August 2015

6:54 PM.A New Plymouth woman who set up a Facebook page to try to find her old pony has been deluged by other people signing in to track down horses they once owned. Audio

6:48 PM.A Whangarei kaumatua says the Norwegian petroleum company Statoil is trampling rangatiratanga underfoot by choosing to deal behind closed doors with select groups of Maori; Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou… Read more Audio

6:34 PM.Turmoil on the international stock markets this past week, with underlying fears of slowing growth in China, has raised questions about the resilience of the New Zealand economy. Audio

6:22 PM.Recent studies of plankon fossils, dating back 420 million years, suggest that mass extinctions started in the oceans, as the seas filled with toxic metals and oxygen levels dropped. Audio

6:20 PM.In Australia, there's pressure for a law change to ensure terrified victims of human trafficking get police protection even if they won't help with an investigation. Audio

6:16 PM.A man attacked by an orangutan in Indonesia is back in New Zealand recovering from a tourist trek that went wrong. Audio

6:10 PM.The way's been cleared for double murderer Scott Watson to do a media interview, after 17 years of silence - but obstacles remain for the father of victim Olivia Hope. Audio

6:08 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:56 PM.The fifteen New Zealand firefighters flown to the United States to help battle forest fires in the North West have now been deployed. More than 100 fires are raging over 400,000 hectares. Audio

5:54 PM.Work is is about to start on a section of State Highway One in Waikato regarded as the highest risk road for fatal and serious crashes in New Zealand. Audio

5:51 PM.New Zealand Post says it will continue cutting jobs because each year it needs to save $30 million to cover the decline in mail. Audio

5:42 PM.Kiwirail has lost more than $150 million over the past year but its performance is well up on the previous year. Audio

5:38 PM.Security's been tight today at Northland's Regional Council building after protestors occupied the carpark to object to deep sea oil drilling. Audio

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

5:27 PM.New Zealand's best dart player Rob Szabo will have to upset Michael van Gerwen in the first round of the competition this evening in order to play through the rest of the weekend. Audio

5:25 PM.The EQC has just released a statement on our story about the daughter of an 86-year-old Christchurch woman who says she had to threaten to call the police before two people from the Earthquake… Read more Audio

5:23 PM.The Prime Minister acknowledges there is a strong link between children who've been in state care and crime and says the Government needs to do a better job. Audio

5:20 PM.The daughter of an 86-year-old Christchurch woman says she had to threaten to call the police before two people from the Earthquake Commission would leave her mother's home. Audio

5:15 PM.The Corrections Department today approved North and South writer Mike White interviewing Watson in jail, though only after the courts forced it to look again at its original rejection of this. Audio

5:10 PM.A magazine interview with double murderer Scott Watson is to go ahead and the father of one of the victims wants to be there too. Audio

5:08 PM.Police say the death of a four-year-old girl at her Onehunga home three weeks ago was not an accident. Audio

5:00 PM.Police launch homicide investigation into Maggie Watson death, I want to be at Scott Watson interview - Olivia Hope's father, Hope's plea is out of my hands - journalist, 86 year old threatens to call… Read more Audio