Checkpoint for Wednesday 12 March 2014

6:56 PM.New Zealand has an opportunity to be the big winner when the FIFA Under 20 Football World Cup arrives on its shores next year. Audio

6:53 PM.New Zealand scientists have revealed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is now seriously considering the possibility the planet will heat up by four degrees before the end of this century. Audio

6:50 PM.Parliament was told today there's been a dramatic rise in the number of complaints about health and disability services. Audio

6:47 PM.Members of a Palmerston North iwi have been dealt a blow to their campaign to stop the Crown settling a Treaty claim with an urban authority; The former cabinet minister and outgoing National MP… Read more Audio

6:44 PM.A parliamentary committee has been told its goal of engaging parents in their children's education is a tough ask and needs to start early. Audio

6:37 PM.Malaysian authorities are under pressure to re-focus it's search for the missing passenger plane after the airforce has denied earlier reports that the aircraft was last detected far west of its… Read more Audio

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

6:27 PM.Fisher and Paykel Appliances is investing around 7.5 million dollars on expanding its research and development facilities in Auckland and Dunedin. Audio

6:23 PM.A heated meeting of Otago and Southland sheep breeders has unanimously rejected an AgResearch plan to shift most of its scientists from Invermay near Dunedin. Audio

6:17 PM.The US Senate committee that oversees the CIA, has now publicly accused it of spying on Congress and possibly breaking the law. Audio

6:15 PM.A principal who used tens of thousands of dollars from her cash-strapped Otara school to buy air tickets to Australia among other things, is promising to pay it back. Audio

6:08 PM.The Prime Minister says his Justice Minister got it wrong over a trip to China and if she makes the same mistake again he wouldn't want to be in her shoes. Audio

5:54 PM.The small central Otago town of Lawrence is losing its largest employer, though the business is trying to keep most of its workers on even as it ups sticks. Audio

5:51 PM.Members of a Palmerston North iwi have been dealt a blow to their campaign to stop the Crown settling a Treaty claim with an urban authority; The Kohanga Reo National Trust has told a parliamentary… Read more Audio

5:45 PM.Malaysian authorities are being accused of misleading the public with the airforce now denying earlier reports that the missing passenger plane was last detected far west of its flight path. Audio

5:42 PM.A 400 million dollar lawsuit against directors of the failed finance company Bridgecorp has been dropped in favour of a 19 million dollar settlement. Audio

5:39 PM.A families commissioner has been told she'll have to stand aside from the role if she decides to run as a National Party MP. Audio

5:35 PM.New Zealand's biggest ever fraud trial opened late today after a challenge over whether the judge could be perceived as biased. Audio

5:32 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:27 PM.The police in Wellington have seized a million dollars worth of crystal methamphetamine. Audio

5:25 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:22 PM.The sexual abuse of three boys at a Maori immersion school has been described as a gross breach of trust undertaken in a cynical and calculated way. Audio

5:12 PM.Our political editor Brent Edwards is with us. Audio

5:08 PM.The Justice Minister, Judith Collins, has dodged a bullet by only getting a dressing down from the Prime Minister over failing to reveal she'd had dinner with a milk company's owner and a senior… Read more Audio

5:00 PM.Judith Collins says sorry after being reprimanded by the Prime Minister. Sex offending by teacher described as gross breach of trust and Police raid 3 more central Wellington properties for meth. Audio