Checkpoint for Wednesday 3 February 2021

5:07 PM.A Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for use in New Zealand, but it's still unclear when it will get here.

Medsafe has deemed the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine safe for use, giving it provisional approval… Read more Audio

5:11 PM.Residents in two East Otago towns are frustrated they do not know when they can drink water out of their taps and not a tanker.

Yesterday people in Waikouaiti and Karitane were told to stop drinking… Read more Video, Audio

5:17 PM.Medsafe has given provisional approval for the Pfizer Biontech vaccine. The first New Zealanders to get the jab will be MIQ workers and their families.

The Prime Minister says the vaccine will be… Read more Video, Audio

5:23 PM.The Waitangi Tribunal has heard Māori women have been marginalised for too long and colonisation denied them rights over their bodies, minds and beliefs.

The first stages of the Mana Wāhine Inquiry… Read more Audio

5:28 PM.A sinkhole has opened up in central Wellington on Wednesday afternoon. Crews are at the site on Jervois Quay near the waterfront.

RNZ reporter Charlotte Cook is there. Read more Video, Audio

5:30 PM.With international travel off the cards, boat sellers say they are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing demand. And space to keep vessels is now becoming scarce. Louise Ternouth reports. Read more Video, Audio

5:36 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Read more Video, Audio

5:42 PM.The CCTV systems in more than half our managed isolation and Quarantine Hotels are still not up to scratch despite the government ordering upgrades.

An investigation is underway into how Covid-19… Read more Video, Audio

5:49 PM.A woman has been sentenced to 100 hours community work and a year's supervision after she got busted at Auckland International Airport in 2019 trying to sneak in hundreds of cacti and succulents that… Read more Video, Audio

5:55 PM.175 years on from the battle of Ruapekapeka, hapū in the Far North have acknowledged the British men killed in the conflict, despite suffering losses of their own.

A memorial honouring 12 soldiers… Read more Video, Audio

6:08 PM.Kiwi cricket fans will focus their attention on India over the next five weeks as they wait to find out who the Black Caps will play in the World Test Championship final.

New Zealand have secured… Read more Audio

6:12 PM.Today marks 90 years since New Zealand's deadliest natural disaster.

The Hawke's Bay earthquake struck the cities of Napier and Hastings, killing 256 people.

The quake's anniversary was marked with… Read more Video, Audio