Checkpoint for Monday 16 August 2021

5:06 PM.The government has promised to send a Hercules aircraft and around 40 troops into Afghanistan to evacuate those in desperate need, including 53 New Zealanders.

Cabinet ministers have also agreed to… Read more Audio

5:09 PM.The government has agreed to help New Zealanders and their families evacuate from Afghanistan, as well as at-risk Afghan nationals who had worked with NZ personnel.

The government has agreed to help… Read more Video, Audio

5:19 PM.New Zealand Rugby has scored 130 spots in MIQ for the All Blacks and Black Ferns, after the special allocation was signed off by a group of Ministers.

More than 1200 sportspeople have asked for… Read more Video, Audio

5:26 PM.While the All Blacks and Black Ferns have locked in their spots in MIQ, the wind has gone out of the sails of SailGP.

The international sailing regatta was headed for Lyttelton in January, but they… Read more Video, Audio

5:34 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6268122932001 Video, Audio

5:39 PM.A public health expert is flabbergasted the government cannot provide specific vaccination information for a new Auckland border facility. 

It comes as questions remain over how many workers at… Read more Video, Audio

5:42 PM.Some of New Zealand's Olympians are celebrating with friends and whānau in person tonight, after being completing their MIQ stint.

The athletes and support crew have had to take the long way home… Read more Video, Audio

5:46 PM.The chaos unfolding in Afghanistan presents a sombre chance for reflection on New Zealand's involvement there in the past 20 years.

Two former Ministers of Defence have told RNZ Afghanistan is very… Read more Video, Audio

5:52 PM.Pregnant women are being encouraged to get vaccinated against Covid-19, amid warnings they are more at risk of getting seriously sick.

Mums-to-be are part of group three, so are already eligible to… Read more Audio

5:55 PM.Queenstown's council has been left scratching its head over how its lake has been stained neon green.

The neon green water has flowed down a creek through town, snaking its way through central… Read more Video, Audio

6:08 PM.An Afghan volunteer interpreter says helping the NZDF will cost him his life if our government does not get him out now.

Nowroz Ali, who worked alongside Kiwi forces in Bamyan province, fears the… Read more Video, Audio

6:17 PM.Australia is experiencing one of its darkest days of the pandemic, with new lockdowns, and others extended, as the Delta variant spreads across the country.

Nowhere is the virus more rampant than in… Read more Audio

6:24 PM.A teenager has completed a mammoth feat - rowing 1000km around the top of New Zealand.

Nineteen-year-old Ben Mason's spent three weeks at sea raising more than $20,000 for the Breast Cancer… Read more Video, Audio