Checkpoint for Monday 18 January 2010

5:59 PM.The first round of the Australian Open got under way today. Audio

5:55 PM.The global financial crisis appears to have helped Australia to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Audio

5:54 PM.A Spanish politician says he's stupefied that the FBI has used his photograph to compose an image of what the al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden might look like now. Audio

5:51 PM.Guinea's military leader has spoken in public for the first time since he was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in December. Audio

5:48 PM.The United States last year handed down the lowest number of death sentences since 1976, when the death penalty was reintroduced. Audio

5:44 PM.House prices continued to rise in December but the property market also suffered a slump in sales. Audio

5:43 PM.The Pope has defended the way the Catholic Church responded to the Holocaust after his visit to Rome's main synagogue caused controversy among some Jewish groups. Audio

5:39 PM.A new ACC unit targeting high-cost clients has culled more than 700 long-term claimants in the past six months. Audio

5:37 PM.Individuals and governments around the world have responded generously to the calls for help by Haiti but with so many different charities, countries and international agencies all responding, are… Read more Audio

5:34 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:28 PM.A rape prevention group says it wants an advertisement portraying women over the age of 35 as cougars preying on younger men removed from the internet. Audio

5:25 PM.A day officials had hailed as a milestone for Auckland trains has been derailed with last minute delays hampering the first day of operation at Newmarket Station. Audio

5:22 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:21 PM.Thai police are expected to ask the courts today to extend the detention of five suspects charged with the illegal possession of weapons from North Korea. Audio

5:16 PM.An accident compensation specialist says the culling of hundreds of long-term claimants is harsh and causing considerable suffering. Audio

5:12 PM.A large crowd of people clamoured to see Prince William when he opened the country's new Supreme Court building in Wellington today. Audio

5:11 PM.Speaking from the Haitian capital, Michelle Hough from Caritas International says she agrees that demand for aid is still far outstripping supply. Audio

5:08 PM.In Haiti, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has appealed to millions of destitute earthquake survivors to be patient while emergency aid is mobilised. Audio