Checkpoint for Thursday 3 September 2015

6:55 PM.An unmanned helicopter for spraying crops has won the first approval given out under new aviation rules around using drones. Audio

6:48 PM.Iwi in Auckland have ultimately secured the first right of refusal to develop housing on surplus crown land; The demand for repairs for marae around the country is growing as many reach 100 years old… Read more Audio

6:44 PM.China's President has announced he will cut 300,000 troops from the world's largest military machine; numbering 2.3 million. Audio

6:39 PM.Fresh supplies have been flown to a group of Russian climate scientists besieged by a pack hungry polar bears up on the Arctic Circle. Audio

6:27 PM.The United States is keeping a close eye on five Chinese navy ships operating in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska. Audio

6:25 PM.The Labour Party says the Prime Minister John Key should publicly reprimand his Pakuranga MP Maurice Williamson for his highly offensive behaviour as MC at a conference awards dinner. Audio

6:18 PM.The New Zealand Government is cutting aid to Nauru's justice system because of draconian civil rights abuses and its former chief justice says Australia should follow suit. Audio

6:12 PM.A neighbour woken by children screaming at a Palmerston North house where a child and her grandmother died in a fire today says the whole street will be devastated. Audio

6:08 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:55 PM.The Crown has told a jury that a police custody officer accused of rape picked up a woman he met online with no money and no intention of taking her out for dinner. Audio

5:52 PM.The demand for repairs for marae around the country is growing as many reach 100 years old. Audio

5:48 PM.The All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says a try should be worth seven points, not five. Audio

5:44 PM.The Sensible Sentencing Trust is taking legal action to try and stop the head of failed finance company Bridgecorp from being released on parole within days. Audio

5:36 PM.The Government and iwi in Auckland have resolved their stand-off over developing surplus Crown land for housing. Audio

5:33 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:29 PM.The All Blacks went to the nation today for their last public appearances in the provinces before the Rugby World Cup. Audio

5:23 PM.The Australians have shorn a world record off New Zealand - for the heaviest fleece from a merino sheep. Audio

5:20 PM.New Zealand has indefinitely suspended more than a million dollars of annual aid to Nauru, because it remains unconvinced the government there has done anything to improve basic civil and human… Read more Audio

5:15 PM.The gaffe-prone National MP Maurice Williamson has apologised after his sexually explicit jokes at a conference awards dinner prompted several delegates to walk out. Audio

5:14 PM.The Prime Minister has backtracked on his earlier refusals to boost the number of refugees New Zealand takes under its annual quota. Audio

5:06 PM.The family of a six-year-old girl and her grandmother who died in a fire early this morning are telling police there were working smoke alarms in their Palmerston North state house. Audio

5:00 PM.Six year old and her grandmother die in house fire, Government backtracks on refugee stance, MP Williamson apologises for sexually explicit jokes, Foreign Minister indefinitely suspends aid for Nauru… Read more Audio