Checkpoint for Wednesday 3 July 2024

5:44 PM.South Africa correspondent Elna Schütz speaks to Susana Lei'ataua about South Africa finally having a government again, Ivory coast having a significant health breakthrough and a first for Africa in… Read more Audio

5:38 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:33 PM.Razor's brand new squad was named last week which had some predictable picks like Scott Barrett picking up the captaincy while also including some surprises - Hurricanes prop Pasilio Tosi among them… Read more Audio

5:31 PM.How young is too young to be testing the academic ability of primary aged children? Visual journalist Marika Khabazi asked people in Auckland what they reckon. Audio

5:25 PM.The government also announced this morning that from years 3 to 8, schools will have to test children's reading, writing and maths twice a year. Education Minister Erica Stanford speks to Susana… Read more Audio

5:18 PM.Experts are cautiously optimistic about the government's interest in expanding artifical intelligence use in the education and health sectors. However, they're calling for a deliberate and… Read more Audio

5:14 PM.Meanwhile, two reviews will put the magnifying glass on the Hawke's Bay Regional Council's controversial decision not to open the river mouth sooner - which locals say is the reason their homes are… Read more Audio

5:07 PM.Schools will be required to test the ability of year 1 students to link sounds and letters at 20 and 40 weeks of schooling. From years 3 to 8, schools will have to test children's reading, writing and… Read more Audio

4:56 PM.From Monday to Friday at noon, 100 people gather in the middle of Mangere's town centre dressed in colourful hats and shirts for an hour long dance class, the classes started in 2013 as part of a plan… Read more Audio

4:46 PM.The government has committed another half a million dollars to help mop up flooded properties. One of those was The Limery, it's New Zealand's only lime juice factory and teams have been working non… Read more Audio

4:41 PM.The head of Mapu Maia said it's had an increase in school counsellors and social workers reaching out with concerns of problem online gambling among secondary school students and even some children at… Read more Audio

4:26 PM.Roussel will compete in the women's three metre springboard diving event in Paris, where she'll be cheered on by her biggest fan - two-year-old daughter Athena, sports correspondent Dana Johannsen… Read more Audio

4:16 PM.Asia correspondent Erin Hale speaks to Susana Lei'ataua about a Taiwanese fishing vessel being detained by China, North Korea claiming it successfully tested several missiles this week and multiple… Read more Audio

4:06 PM.Collins said AI could be used as tutors for children or to assess mammogram results. Her 'digitising government' portfolio includes responsibility for AI policy, said it could lead to more equitable… Read more Audio

11:47 AM.Science commentator Allan Blackman joins Kathryn for a look at a new study that's found honeybees can detect the subtle scents of lung cancer in the lab - even from a patient's breath. And researchers… Read more Audio