Checkpoint for Friday 27 September 2024

5:46 PM.Asia correspondent Erin Hale spoke to Lisa Owen about the world's longest-serving death row inmate being acquitted in Japan, China's Ministry of State Security taking to social media to air grievances… Read more Audio

5:42 PM.Students and supporters in Auckland, New Plymouth and Christchurch swapped their books for picket signs as they joined the School Strike 4 climate protests today. They're calling for the government to… Read more Audio

5:34 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:30 PM.Central Otago is creating a strategy to shape its economic future with hopes it may ease the pressures from rapid growth. A recent report suggests more growth is on the horizon with the population… Read more Audio

5:26 PM.Dame Noeline Taurua is calling on the Silver Ferns to find their mongrel. A relatively new look New Zealand side will take to the court against England in Auckland on Sunday, the Roses fresh off an… Read more Audio

5:24 PM.The parents of a boy who died on a school trip to Abbey Caves say they trusted teachers to keep him safe. Whangarei Boys' High School student Karnin Petera drowned when the cave system flooded in May… Read more Audio

5:15 PM.Waitaki mayor Gary Kircher said the discontent over the freeze on the Dunedin Hospital rebuild is "a pig's breakfast." He said the south has not been served well and the hospital's needed to deliver… Read more Audio

5:08 PM.Up to 600 jobs are to go from the Alliance Group's meat processing plant in Timaru, with very little prospect of any workers being re-deployed to other plants. It's planning to wind down sheep meat… Read more Audio

4:54 PM.Is Christchurch about to dethrone Wellington as the country's new capital of cool? Locals say Otautahi is becoming a hipper, more culturally vibrant place after it was devastated by earthquakes more… Read more Audio

4:46 PM.Beware the scammer coming back for a second crack at cleaning you out. The so called "recovery" scam is the latest way to swindle people out of their cash. It's where a scammer approaches a known… Read more Audio

4:40 PM.600 jobs are almost certainly gone from Timaru after workers were told by Alliance Group today it intends to close Smithfield meat processing plant. It's a body blow for the South Canterbury community… Read more Audio

4:34 PM.Victoria University researchers have discovered a surprising number of animal habitats in Wellington's shallow waters. Shallow waters are typically dominated by seaweed ecosystems. But as Krystal… Read more Audio

4:29 PM.RNZ's All Black correspondent Jamie Wall spoke to Lisa Owen about the latest from the All Black camp about the Bledisloe Cup on Saturday, the National Under 85 kg Club Cup final being on before the… Read more Audio

4:24 PM.From today, Pasifika women are working for free. This is according to new data from the Council of Trade Unions which calculates the date each year, that women start working for free because of the… Read more Audio

4:17 PM.A new project to improve VHF radio coverage and cell phone service on Māhia Peninsula is hoped to prevent tragedies at sea after the death of three Gisborne fishermen in the area. The bodies of Elwood… Read more Audio

4:06 PM.In a controversial move, unelected Hastings youth councillors have been given voting rights on committees and could get paid too after the Mayor pushed the proposal over the line. The group of 17… Read more Audio