Checkpoint for Monday 7 July 2014

6:50 PM.Waikato iwi, Ngati Te Ata, the Crown and a steel company have been told by the High Court to negotiate how to resolve a historical dispute over mining wahi tapu or sacred grounds where skeletal… Read more Audio

6:44 PM.The Drug Foundation says more cannabis is smoked in New Zealand than Australia. Audio

6:35 PM.The Australian government has handed 41 asylum-seekers back to Sri Lankan authorities after a fast tracked screening process at sea. Audio

6:25 PM.More than 60 women and girls abducted last month by suspected Boko Haram militants in Nigeria have reportedly escaped their captors. Audio

6:22 PM.Education is taking centre-stage in the run-up to the election, with voters being asked to choose between two big-ticket policies. Audio

6:18 PM.In Sydney shoppers watched as a man repeatedly stabbed another man to death today. Audio

6:15 PM.A woman has had her last fallopian tube removed unnecessarily because doctors failed to properly assess if this was actually needed. Audio

6:12 PM.A High Court jury is struggling to reach a verdict in the case of a man accused of organising a cocaine smuggling operation that cost the life of his mother-in-law. Audio

6:07 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:57 PM.The High Court's told a Waikato iwi, Ngati Te Ata, the Crown and a steel company to negotiate how to resolve an historical dispute over mining wahi tapu or sacred grounds where skeletal remains are… Read more Audio

5:53 PM.A midwife could be fined or stopped from practicising for failing to act when a woman who was overdue, phoned at four o'clock in the morning to say she'd not felt her baby move for many hours. Audio

5:51 PM.New Zealand First is demanding an apology from the Independent MP, Brendan Horan, now that the Speaker dismissed a complaint he made about the misuse of party funds. Audio

5:47 PM.House prices in Auckland are refusing to slow down, but some of the city's 'hot spots' could be starting to cool. Audio

5:44 PM.The New Zealand dollar is slightly weaker against the currencies of the country's major trading partners. Audio

5:39 PM.American officials have ordered some overseas airports with direct flights to the US to ban cellphones and computers that have flat batteries and can't be turned on. Audio

5:34 PM.Two children have been pulled from a burning car by a passerby this afternoon while the mother was across the road at a bank. Audio

5:27 PM.Every supermarket, restaraunt and cafe in Christchurch is technically selling food illegally because the city council has botched-up. Audio

5:21 PM.The Prime Minister, John Key, has conceded there may be little the Government can do to stop Japan resuming some form of whaling. Audio

5:15 PM.The mayor of Auckland Len Brown is with us. Audio

5:13 PM.Aucklanders hoping for low council rate rises are likely to have to pay more in other charges, or have the city's ambitions seriously trimmed. Audio

5:08 PM.The grandfather of the young Northland rugby player who died from a head injury at the weekend says no one is to blame for what happened. Audio

5:00 PM.Jordan Kemp's grandfather speaks out about rugby concussions. Aucklanders hoping for low rate rises could be hit with higher local taxes and PM John Key concedes Japan could legally resume whaling. Audio