Checkpoint for Thursday 17 March 2022

5:07 PM.Auckland's hospitals have been missing up to a quarter of their staff some days during the Covid outbreak.

After weeks of stories of stresses from the shop floor because of doctor and nurse… Read more Audio

5:11 PM.Joe Biden has labelled Vladimir Putin a 'war criminal' as the Russian leader continues his brutal invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin has responded calling the it 'unforgiveable rhetoric'.

Meanwhile… Read more Audio

5:14 PM.South Westland businesses say the border reopening dates mean they can start edging out of survival mode after two years of hanging on by their fingernails.

Close to 400 jobs were lost in the area… Read more Audio

5:18 PM.Petrol pain, a food price frenzy, is the cost of coffee next? Well it certainly appears to be across the ditch, where reports say the morning brew could soon be costing some Aussies seven dollars a… Read more Audio

5:23 PM.The welcome mat's out for tourists but not if they are arriving by cruise ship.

Vaccinated Australian visitors can fly to New Zealand from April 13 without having to isolate. It's May 2 for visa… Read more Video, Audio

5:33 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6300929836001 Video, Audio

5:37 PM.There's 930 people in hospital with Covid today; 23 of them in ICU or a high dependency unit.

And the death curve is steepening, 10 reported today, bringing the total number of Covid related deaths… Read more Video, Audio

5:42 PM.Dunedin police sergeant Aaron Burgess has told Checkpoint there has been another incident of a student falling during St Patrick's Day partying.

"We've just had another incident where an intoxicated… Read more Video, Audio

5:49 PM.It's a nightmare scenario for a couple just before their wedding day: the photographer, the makeup artist or the celebrant tests positive for Covid and there's a mad scramble to find a replacement.

… Read more Video, Audio

6:06 PM.Two Dunedin students have been taken to hospital after falling from a roof and a balcony during St Patrick's Day celebrations in the city's student quarter.

Some students have been drinking since the… Read more Video, Audio

6:11 PM.Dairy giant Fonterra has reported a lower half-year profit as higher milk prices raised costs and cut its margins.

While a dip in profit might usually make shareholders nervous, the record milk… Read more Audio

6:14 PM.A special ceremony was held in central Wellington in the wee hours of this morning, to mark the return of a very special waka.

Unearthed in the banks of Te Awakairangi or the Hutt River, the waka is… Read more Video, Audio