Checkpoint Podcast Options

6:35 PM.NIWA is forecasting an increase in the number and strength of cyclones in the south-west Pacific this summer, and is warning the islands in their path to prepare for the worst. Audio

6:26 PM.The man behind an online petition supporting a helicopter pilot who's facing charges for helping save the life of an injured hunter, hopes it will lead to the Civil Aviation Authroity dropping the… Read more Audio

6:18 PM.Hillary Clinton appears to have come up trumps in the first Democratic Presidential debate. Audio

6:15 PM.Opposition parties want the Government to take cancer patients off the Jobseeker benefit. Audio

6:12 PM.Opposition parties say the Government's pitiful surplus means nothing as unemployment is still high and economic growth slow. Audio

6:07 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:54 PM.Ill-feeling caused by a failed royal visit to the Maori King last year will be put to rest next month when the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visit Turangawaewae marae. An offer of a… Read more Audio

5:51 PM.A five-metre tall Richie McCaw cut out has been erected in the small South Island town of Kurow to honour the All Black captain who played his grassroots rugby there. Audio

5:44 PM.Ukraine is defending its decision not to close airspace where a Malaysian passenger plane was shot down, hours after an investigation reported back saying it should have kept planes out. Audio

5:42 PM.The Crown says a social worker took advantage of a vulnerable boy in her care when she drove him to a Mangere motor lodge and had sex with him. Audio

5:39 PM.Police in Northland have had a major breakthrough in their hunt for thieves who've been stealing bee hives across the region. Audio

5:36 PM.More than twenty years ago, Patrick Renshaw, was jailed for stealing millions of dollars from clients. Audio

5:34 PM.The ratings agency Standard and Poor's has cut Fonterra's credit rating from A to A-minus. Audio

5:26 PM.The Labour Party is accusing the Workplace Safety Minister of coming up with his own list of high-hazard jobs, excluding dairying despite advisors telling him to keep it in, but including worm… Read more Audio

5:22 PM.Hone Harawira has written to Maori MPs challenging them to work together to find a solution for New Zealanders detained in Australian detention centres. Audio

5:18 PM.The Government's books are back in the black for the first time in seven years. Audio

5:14 PM.All restrictions have been lifted on the first book banned in New Zealand in 20 years. Audio

5:10 PM.Standard and Poor's, has cut Fonterra's credit rating. Audio

5:07 PM.A man arrested during the search for the Levin schoolboy Alex Fisher can now be identified as his older brother. Audio

5:00 PM.Alex Fisher's older brother appears in court. Standard and Poor's cuts Fonterra's credit rating and "Into the River" is allowed back on the shelves. Audio

6:57 PM.Around 60 people representing state tenants from all over the country marched on Parliament today calling on the government to rethink its plan to sell off state houses. Our reporter Shannon Gillies… Read more Audio

6:50 PM.Parliament resumes after a fortnight's adjournment with Opposition MPs keen to quiz Government ministers about the contents of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). Greens co-leader, James… Read more Audio

6:46 PM.The Māori Party is calling the late Dame Whina Cooper a visionary woman for her part in leading the Māori land march in 1975. A Maori dental surgeon says evidence that less than 20 percent of elderly… Read more Audio

6:40 PM.There are new warnings over how quickly parts of Antarctica are melting now and will melt in the future if climate change continues at the current rate. Leading scientist Luke Trusel says they've… Read more Audio

6:36 PM.Slow, understaffed and not dealing fairly with foreign investment - those are the latest brickbats thrown at the Overseas Investment Office. This time from the Labour Party following criticism from… Read more Audio