Checkpoint

An unmanned helicopter for spraying crops has won the first approval given out under new aviation rules around using drones. Audio

Iwi in Auckland have ultimately secured the first right of refusal to develop housing on surplus crown land; The demand for repairs for marae around the country is growing as many reach 100 years old… Read more Audio

China's President has announced he will cut 300,000 troops from the world's largest military machine; numbering 2.3 million. Audio

Fresh supplies have been flown to a group of Russian climate scientists besieged by a pack hungry polar bears up on the Arctic Circle. Audio

The United States is keeping a close eye on five Chinese navy ships operating in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska. Audio

The Labour Party says the Prime Minister John Key should publicly reprimand his Pakuranga MP Maurice Williamson for his highly offensive behaviour as MC at a conference awards dinner. Audio

The New Zealand Government is cutting aid to Nauru's justice system because of draconian civil rights abuses and its former chief justice says Australia should follow suit. Audio

A neighbour woken by children screaming at a Palmerston North house where a child and her grandmother died in a fire today says the whole street will be devastated. Audio

An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

The Crown has told a jury that a police custody officer accused of rape picked up a woman he met online with no money and no intention of taking her out for dinner. Audio

The demand for repairs for marae around the country is growing as many reach 100 years old. Audio

The All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says a try should be worth seven points, not five. Audio