Checkpoint for Wednesday 17 December 2008

6:58 PM.A drill team looking for geothermal energy in Hawaii has inadvertently put its wellhead right into a magma chamber. Audio

6:57 PM.The seventieth anniversary of racist laws that led to the deaths of thousands of Italian Jews has been marked in Rome. Audio

6:55 PM.African National Congress which has ruled the country since the end of apartheid has a rival. Audio

6:53 PM.Italian police have arrested about 100 suspected members of Mafia clans in Sicily and Tuscany. Audio

6:49 PM.The UN has backed a US resolution that authorises countries to take their fight against Somali pirates onto Somali soil. Audio

6:43 PM.The parents of five primary school children in Christchurch say they have nowhere to go next year. Audio

6:40 PM.A former Bank of New Zealand Chairman has criticised Kiwibank for what he calls its overly aggressive advertising campaign. Audio

6:36 PM.An Iraqi doctor has been found guilty by a London court of trying to murder hundreds of people in failed attacks in London. Audio

6:33 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:25 PM.For the latest news from China, we're joined by our correspondent in Beijing, Quentin Sommerville. Audio

6:22 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

6:17 PM.Mandatory biofuel obligations have been repealed after Parliament passed legislation under urgency on Wednesday afternoon. Audio

6:14 PM.Any comfort exporters had been expecting from a weaker New Zealand dollar may have been torpedoed. Audio

6:07 PM.But the letter makes no mention of New Zealand's High Commissioner, who Fiji has threatened to expel. Audio

5:56 PM.The amalgamated Nelson Bays-Marlborough union has met today's deadline to satisfy the NZRU it had the finances to survive. Audio

5:54 PM.Two Dunedin surgeons are making a dent in the public waiting list, by giving free operations to 36 children. Audio

5:51 PM.The lawyer for Bruce Emery says he may appeal a bail decision that will keep his client in jail until he is sentenced. Audio

5:48 PM.News from the Waatea team. Audio

5:44 PM.Housing Minister Phil Heatley joins Check Point to discuss accommodation supplements. Audio

5:40 PM.Taxpayers look likely to have to fork out hundreds of millions of dollars more for accommodation supplements in coming years. Audio

5:36 PM.US sharemarkets have rallied on news the US central bank has cut its main interest rate to the lowest level on record. Audio

5:33 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:26 PM.The travel bans at the centre of the row are being criticised as doing nothing to help move Fiji towards democracy. Audio

5:24 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:19 PM.The decision means 80 staff are out of work from the 25 branches across the country. Audio

5:16 PM.ABC NZ, is selling up in the wake of its parent company in Australian going into receivership last month. Audio

5:11 PM.In a briefing to Judith Collins, the Department is forecasting more than 2-thousand extra prison beds will be needed. Audio

5:08 PM.The New Zealand dollar hit its highest point in a month today after a cut in the United States key interest rate to nearly zero. Audio