Checkpoint

School leaders say punishing families of truant kids won't fix the reasons why they're bunking off school in record numbers. A new report by the Education Review Office shows close to 80,000 kids were… Read more Audio

New Zealand's top basketball competitions are expanding to feature two teams from India next year. The Indian Panthers will field a team in the men's NBL and women's Tauihi League from next season… Read more Audio

Asia correspondent Erin Hale spoke to Lisa Owen on an apparent crackdown on Halloween celebrations in Shanghai, parts of India and Pakistan being covered in a thick layer of toxic smog and Mt Fuji… Read more Audio

US Democratic Party presidential candidate Kamala Harris has urged the United States to turn the page on drama and division in her final speeches to voters ahead of next week's election. She was… Read more Audio

An Auckland company has developed what's essentially a debit card that can be loaded with money and given to workers so they can choose what benefits them the most and they can buy them without having… Read more Audio

To Australia now .. where prime minister Anthony Albanese is embroiled in a controversy over accepting upgrades and free flights from Qantas and being too cosy with the airlines former chief executive… Read more Audio

News from the business sector, including a market report Audio

The White Ferns can cap off a successful six weeks of cricket overseas by adding another piece of silverware to their haul. New Zealand face India in the one-day series decider tonight in Ahmedabad… Read more Audio

A government scheme will allow building professionals to certify their own work rather than relying on independent inspections. "Candy floss and quick wins" is how one advocacy group's describing the… Read more Audio

A $100,000 reward and possible immunity is on offer for clues leading to the conviction of whoever's responsible for killing Auckland man Arthur Easton almost 40 years ago. The case was re-opened… Read more Audio

Building profesionals will be able to certify some of their own work under a new government scheme aimed at speeding up construction by cutting red tape. Qualified building professionals like… Read more Audio

A new survey shows the tax tide could be turning.  An IPSOS survey of 1003 people this month shows 65 percent of those questioned would support a Capital Gains Tax or CGT.  That is tax on profits made… Read more Audio