Checkpoint for Thursday 21 August 2014

6:54 PM.A specialist in traditional Maori custom and the arts is demanding the return of scared taonga, or treasures that have been put up for sale by the auction house Sotheby's in Paris; As the Maori king's… Read more Audio

6:50 PM.Ports of Auckland has nearly doubled its profit but warns next year will be tougher. Audio

6:44 PM.A new study has found that social inequality in New Zealand has worsened over the past decade. Audio

6:41 PM.A radiologist is pushing for hospitals to use 'virtual colonoscopies' to cut the country's high bowel cancer rates, arguing it's cheaper and faster. Audio

6:36 PM.New Zealand shares were stronger today, the benchmark Top 50 Index climbing 13 points to 5153. Audio

6:27 PM.Thousands of rescuers have been combing through the wreckage of homes engulfed by landslides in western Japan in the faint hope of finding survivors, a day after a wall of mud claimed at least 39… Read more Audio

6:23 PM.Some terrorism experts think the beheading of James Foley is designed not to deter the US from its air strikes, but to actually provoke it into a ground invasion. Audio

6:11 PM.More than 200 roading and maintenance workers are losing their jobs in Central and Southern Hawkes Bay with the collapse of a council-owned infrastructure company. Audio

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

5:55 PM.In the latest twist in Thailand's surrogacy scandal, authorities say DNA tests prove a Japanese man is the biological father of 15 babies. Audio

5:52 PM.A specialist in traditional Maori custom and the arts is demanding the return of scared taonga, or treasure that have been put up for sale by the auction house Sotheby's. Audio

5:52 PM.A specialist in traditional Maori custom and the arts is demanding the return of scared taonga, or treasure that have been put up for sale by the auction house Sotheby's. Audio

5:48 PM.The first laboratory on New Zealand's border, testing suspicious imports for illegal drugs is now officially open, paid for with seized cash from drugs offences. Audio

5:46 PM.Millions of dollars of Kim Dotcom's property will remain out of his control until at least next year, after a court extended an asset-freezing order. Audio

5:40 PM.The Online Media Standards Authority says it is still waiting for any blogger to sign up to its code - despite claims by the Kiwiblog author, David Farrar, that he plans to join. Audio

5:36 PM.As well as roading jobs on the line in southern Hawkes Bay, more than one hundred jobs might go at the stationery supplier, Croxley, partly because of people sending fewer letters and not using… Read more Audio

5:33 PM.The New Zealand dollar fell about half a US-cent today, after breaking below a key support level at 84-US-cents. Audio

5:28 PM.At least 30 farmers in mid Northland are facing financial ruin in the wake of this year's extreme weather events and falling income. Audio

5:23 PM.Primary school teachers and principals have overwhelmingly rejected a plan the Government billed as the biggest change since Tomorrow's Schools came in 25 years ago. Audio

5:19 PM.US officials have revealed details of a secret mission into Syria that tried but failed to rescue journalist James Foley and other American hostages. Audio

5:14 PM.More than 200 roading and maintenance workers are losing their jobs in Central and Southern Hawkes Bay with the collapse of a council-owned infrastructure company. Audio

5:11 PM.A woman has confronted John Key at Barrington shopping mall in Christchurch this afternoon about how slow it is getting her earthquake-damaged home repaired. Audio

5:08 PM.The Prime Minister John Key says the fact he was on holiday in Hawaii when a controversial SIS briefing took place gives further weight to his insistence he wasn't directly told about it. Audio

5:00 PM.John Key's Hawaiian holiday lets him off the hook. A council road company collapses jeopardising 200 jobs and the US reveals details of a secret mission into Syria. Audio