Checkpoint for Friday 1 August 2014

6:55 PM.The retiring Chairman of the Maori Affairs Select Committee suggests there should be a separate body to deal with Treaty of Waitangi bills; Dozens of people have witnessed the signing of the… Read more Audio

6:38 PM.This week the Prime Minister announced which parties will get National Party help this election. He gave the nod to National supporters to vote for the United Future's Peter Dunne, in Ohariu and ACT… Read more Audio

6:35 PM.New Zealand shares fell today, the Top 50 Index shedding 58 points, or more than a percent, to 5110. Audio

6:20 PM.A top psychiatrist's claims the Australian Government tried to cover up the alarming number of mentally ill children in asylum detention is causing a ruckus over the Tasman. Audio

6:15 PM.The remaining bodies of MH17 victims and their personal items could be taken by train out of the crash site in eastern Ukraine within days. Audio

6:06 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:55 PM.In America - a spat between the Government's two spy agencies has erupted after the CIA admitted it snooped on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. Audio

5:52 PM.The Prime Minister's office has just responded to our story about documents obtained by the Herald which suggest the US may be using some of its most secret and prized type of spying in New Zealand. Audio

5:48 PM.Dozens of people have witnessed the signing of the Ngaruahine Treaty of Waitangi settlement at a pa in South Taranaki today; The retiring head of the Maori Affairs Select Committee suggests there… Read more Audio

5:45 PM.New Zealand has won three more medals, a gold, silver and bronze, on day eight of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Audio

5:41 PM.An Auckland councillor says the scaled-down plans for the city rail link undermine the project. Audio

5:39 PM.A 72-hour Gaza ceasefire has begun, the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants. Audio

5:34 PM.The managing director of Salt Funds Management, Paul Harrison, says trading started on a sour note. Audio

5:28 PM.The former Act leader and Epsom MP John Banks says he has new evidence and has vowed to appeal his conviction and sentence. Audio

5:23 PM.The Christchurch City Council's been told it must sell 400 million dollars of public assets or take other drastic action to avoid rates rises of twenty percent next year. Audio

5:20 PM.The sale of a large North Island farming station to foreign interests is being described as selling the goose that lays the golden egg by the opposition. Audio

5:15 PM.A three day ceasefire in Gaza started just minutes ago after a breakthrough this morning with the UN and United States announcing a humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas. Audio

5:07 PM.Just released documents show the US may be using some of its most secret and prized type of spying in New Zealand. Audio

5:00 PM.US singled NZ out for top-end spying, The UN and US announce three day ceasefire in Gaza, Chinese company enters into agreement to purchase large North Island farming station, Sell assets to avoid 20%… Read more Audio