Checkpoint for Wednesday 19 March 2025

5:44 PM.The United Kingdom work and pensions secretary has announced major cuts to welfare spending. It's a move that could hit up to one million people and split the ruling Labour party. UK correspondent… Read more Audio

5:33 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:30 PM.15-year-old Sam Ruthe is hoping to break the four-minute mile barrier. He is aiming to become both the youngest person ever and the first 15-year-old in history to break the iconic mark. Sports… Read more Audio

5:26 PM.Winston Peters is keeping his cards close to his chest about what went down during his meeting with U-S Secretary of State Marco Rubio today. But the foreign minister insists he made New Zealand's… Read more Audio

5:08 PM.Unless the culture changes someone is going to get hurt, someone is going get killed again, that said by the father of an Otago university student who suffocated at an over-crowded student house… Read more Audio

4:47 PM.The brother of a man who died by suicide in Palmerston North Hospital's mental health ward in April 2014 has welcomed a damning coroner's report into the death. Shaun Gray died on the 16th of April… Read more Audio

4:42 PM.Posties are being told they're no longer allowed to redirect mail to your PO Box, even if you've got the correct street address on your parcel. The new rules are causing headaches for businesses, with… Read more Audio

4:35 PM.The Samoa government is to decide the future of the wreck of the HMNZS Manawanui that sank off the south coast of Upolu, Samoa five months ago. Fuel and pollutants have been removed from the wreck but… Read more Audio

4:25 PM.The Professional Tennis Players' Association announced overnight it has launched legal action against both the ATP and WTA, the organisations that run the men's and women's professional tours. The… Read more Audio

4:24 PM.A Dunedin environmentalist was shocked to discover tens of thousands of small plastic balls being blown across the city's student quarter after Monday's St Patrick's day celebrations. It's not the… Read more Audio

4:17 PM.The highly anticipated call between US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart took place this morning. Vladimir Putin agreed to a watered-down proposal to stop firing on Ukraine's energy… Read more Audio

4:06 PM.It's been five years since the COVID-19 pandemic which also saw the spread of virtual meetings. Some workers have been ordered back to the office - but regardless the virtual meeting or video call has… Read more Audio