Checkpoint for Thursday 16 October 2014

6:46 PM.One of the new agencies assigned to provide Whanau Ora services, Te Pou Matakana, says the social programme is heading for a catastrophe if it doesn't receive more funding; The Mana Movement leader… Read more Audio

6:39 PM.The researcher studying an ancient kangaroo too heavy to hop wonders if it is the source of intersting rumours about giant rabbits in the Australian Outback. Audio

6:38 PM.New Zealand shares fell today, with the benchmark Top 50 Index falling 31 points to 5132 points. Audio

6:33 PM.Across the Tasman, four police officers are to go on trial accused of bashing an Aboriginal man. Audio

6:28 PM.In Scotland two amateur treasure hunters with metal detectors have unearthed a very large hoard of Viking artefacts. Audio

6:20 PM.Documents released today show people who ate lettuce and carrots from either New World or Pak n Save were more than twice as likely to have contracted a severe form of gastroenteritis than those who… Read more Audio

6:17 PM.Two manufacturers are cutting jobs, with one company which makes paper bags in Upper Hutt collapsing entirely. Audio

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

5:56 PM.The race for the Labour Party leadership is on with the four candidates posing for a photograph to launch the campaign this afternoon. Audio

5:52 PM.Lawyers for an asylum seekers family in Australia are fighting a Federal Court's decision that the baby born in a Brisbane Hospital is not entitled to stay in the country. Audio

5:48 PM.One of the new agencies assigned to provide Whanau Ora services says the social programme is heading for disaster if it doesn't receive more funding. Audio

5:46 PM.The girlfriend of missing fisherman, Nicholas Stubbs, is praying for a miracle that he will be found alive. Audio

5:43 PM.The Green Party is questioning why Treasury would advise the Government to be "so mean" as to keep children hungry. Audio

5:39 PM.Government documents show people who ate lettuce and carrots from New World or Pak n Save were more than twice as likely to have contracted a severe form of gastroenteritis. Audio

5:36 PM.Police investigating a cold case murder have charged a man with raping a woman in hospital after she gave birth. Audio

5:33 PM.New Zealand shares fell today, with the benchmark Top 50 Index falling 31 points to 5132 points. Audio

5:27 PM.An insurance broker has been jailed for four and a half years for using millions of dollars of clients' money to prop up his company, as well as bribing a DIY store manager. Audio

5:21 PM.The Washington Post's Amy Nutt is in Dallas and says health officials are guilty of miscommunication and misinformation, Audio

5:19 PM.In the United States every step of how a Dallas hospital treated Ebola victim Thomas Duncan is now under review. Audio

5:16 PM.Wellpack which makes paper bags in Upper Hutt is shutting for good, with 40 workers axed today. Audio

5:13 PM.Stronger manufacturing production and rising demand for workers are continuing to underpin the economy amid gloomier economic news overseas. Audio

5:09 PM.At least 26 people have been confirmed dead and 70 people are missing after several avalanches in the Himalayas. Audio

5:00 PM.At least 26 dead in Nepal's blizzard-hit Annapurna ranges. 70 manufacturing jobs are cut and accusations fly as US Ebola health workers move to contain the disease. Audio