Checkpoint for Wednesday 5 August 2020

5:09 PM.Warning: Details in this report may be disturbing to some viewers.

Dozens of people have been killed and at least 4,000 injured after a massive explosion at Beirut's seaport.

There were apocalyptic… Read more Video, Audio

5:12 PM.Official job numbers out today "massively understate" the reality, according to some economists.

The number of unemployed people unexpectedly fell from 4.2 to four percent over lockdown.

Finance… Read more Audio

5:16 PM.One of a chorus of economists to warn the latest official numbers do not mean New Zealand dodged a bullet is Kiwibank's Chief Economist, Jarrod Kerr.

His Kiwi Economics report was headlined Simply… Read more Video, Audio

5:23 PM.Auckland business leaders want the government to let wealthy international students back into the country via quarantine facilities run by universities.

Speaking at a crisis summit today, Mayor Phil… Read more Video, Audio

5:34 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Video, Audio

5:40 PM.It's Victoria's deadliest day in the battle against Covid-19 with 725 new cases, and 15 more deaths including a man in his 30s.

It comes as the state prepares for a quarter of a million workers to… Read more Audio

5:48 PM.It will take a minimum of six weeks in hard lockdown for the Australian state of Victoria to claw back control of its Covid-19 outbreak, and even then it will be a massive task, an epidemiologist and… Read more Video, Audio

5:51 PM.Auckland Airport says it will be ready to operate facilities for a quarantine-free Pacific bubble by August 17 if given the green light.

It comes as the government is being challenged to present a… Read more Audio

5:55 PM.Are sugary drinks a fizzer? A group of primary school students from Porirua think so.

For more than 20 years, sugary drinks have been banned at Glenview School, and students there say it's given… Read more Video, Audio

6:06 PM.Warning: Details in this report may be disturbing to some viewers.

It was an explosion so massive it registered on the richter scale, the measure used to quantify the force of earthquakes. Dozens of… Read more Video, Audio

6:19 PM.New Zealanders flying into the country for a short trip home can now be charged for their stay in managed isolation.

But the actual regime won't come into place until at least next week.

Here's RNZ… Read more Audio

6:22 PM.The National Party says it will solve Wellington's transport problems and dig a second Mount Victoria Tunnel.

The party has announced a $4 billion package for Wellington and the Hutt Valley as part… Read more Audio

6:25 PM.The Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says community transmission of Covid-19 in the country is inevitable, but the Health Minister is not as convinced.

Chris Hipkins would not use that… Read more Video, Audio

6:25 PM.Outgoing Sport New Zealand chief executive Peter Miskimmin says there's been a 'win at all costs' mentality in the country, and it's time to strike a better balance.

Miskimmin has today announced he… Read more Audio