Checkpoint for Wednesday 26 June 2024

5:50 PM.Wairoa was the hardest hit in last night's storm with Mayor Craig Little describing the impact as catastrophic with tens of millions of dollars needed in road and water repairs, Gianina Schwaneke… Read more Audio

5:48 PM.Antonio Glen Castillano, also known as Glenn Green pleaded guilty to nine charges of criminal harassment, one charge of posting harmful digital communications and one charge of obtaining by deception.

5:43 PM.South Africa correspondent Elna Schutz speaks to Lisa Owen about Anti-tax protests in Kenya becoming violent, a political rally in Rwanda turning into a tragedy and Monkeypox continuing to spread in… Read more Audio

5:36 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:31 PM.Sophie Devine believes the tour of England which begins tonight in Durham is a good place for the New Zealanders to test themselves against a top side ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year… Read more Audio

5:28 PM.Tragic, heartbreaking, unbelievable, that's how Gisborne locals at the Tatapouri fishing club have described the loss of their mates. Their bodies were found washed ashore at Mahia this morning… Read more Audio

5:19 PM.He's spent much of the day in the Hawke's Bay but right now he's on a defence force plane to Wairoa with extra police support after describing the aftermath of last night's weather there as… Read more Audio

5:14 PM.For many people living in Gisborne and Hawkes Bay, the threat of flooding overnight brought back awful memories from Cyclone Gabrielle. While in the Hawkes Bay settlement of Haumoana, dozens of people… Read more Audio

5:08 PM.A continous car horn sounding at 4:00am in Wairoa got Kim Laura Gilmore and her husband out of bed to investigate, only to discover water lapping at the Kopu Road house where they stay in, Kim Laura… Read more Audio

4:52 PM.The horrendous weather forced the closure of State Highway 2 from Napier into Wairoa today, Ray Edwards, NZTA-Waka Kotahi acting system manager for Hawkes Bay and Tairawhiti speaks to Lisa Owen. Audio

4:47 PM.Wairoa and Heretaunga in Hastings remain under a State of Emergency, Gisborne has also taken a hammering. Mayor Rehette Stoltz speaks to Lisa Owen. Audio

4:44 PM.The 43-year-old pleaded not guilty by way of insanity and infanticide but was convicted of murdering 2 year-old twins Karla and Maya and six-year-old Liane, three weeks after the family arrived in New… Read more Audio

4:38 PM.The murder of Janak Patel, at Sandringham's Rose Cottage Superette in November 2022, sparked outrage and protests over the safety of dairy workers, the men responsible for his murder and robbery of… Read more Audio

4:34 PM.Tokyo Olympic champion 800-metre runner Athing Mu missed selection for Paris after tripping in the final and finishing dead last. Her plight has exposed what has been described as the "self-defeating… Read more Audio

4:26 PM.School holidays start in just over a week, we've got one broken ferry parked up at the dock, another in scheduled maintenance and the third ship will be out of action for three months from the end of… Read more Audio

4:15 PM.Asia corespondent Erin Hale speaks to Lisa Owen about China saying its lunar probe mission has been a "complete success," the trial of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong who were arrested back in… Read more Audio

4:06 PM.Areas in Gisborne have also been hit hard by the weather, lashed by torrential rain. However in Wairoa, more than a hundred homes are flooded and some roads in and out of the town are badly damaged… Read more Audio