Checkpoint for Friday 7 February 2025

5:48 PM.Asia correspondent Erin Hale spoke to Lisa Owen about Japan's Prime Minister set to meet President Donald Trump for the first time, India's Narendra Modi visiting Mr Trump next week, bad news for big… Read more Audio

5:38 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:32 PM.After facing pressure from New Zealand, the Pacific nation has dropped a proposal to create its own passports. The Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown was pushing for local passports as part of the… Read more Audio

5:26 PM.Online abuse of athletes is again under the spotlight. Kiwi tennis player Monique Barry is the latest to reveal vile messages and threats sent to her social media inbox. Sports reporter Jonty Dine… Read more Audio

5:23 PM.Health NZ has launched a global search for a new chief executive to lead the embattled agency with the sudden resignation today of founding CEO Fepulea'i Margie Apa. However, frontline health workers… Read more Audio

5:23 PM.The owner of a scary Wellington tourist attraction said a slump in tourists, and belt tightening, are behind its closure. Fear Factory opened in the capital the year before COVID-19 struck and the… Read more Audio

5:13 PM.KC Jordon's daughter was catching the school bus from the small Hawkes bay community of Te Pohue to Sacred heart College in Napier more than forty kilometres away - but the route got canned at the end… Read more Audio

5:08 PM.The government said it's working at pace on a new law that would mean tough punishments for people who attack police officers. A Waikato officer was injured last night after a driver allegedly drove… Read more Audio

4:47 PM.The Crimes Legislation Stalking and Harassment Amendment Bill was introduced and passed its first reading in December last year to make stalking an illegal offence with a jail time of up to five… Read more Audio

4:34 PM.There's a call for accountability after assaults against a man ordered by the court to stay in a mental health unit run by IDEA services. Anne Hunt said her grandson, Daniel - who was sent the… Read more Audio

4:24 PM.RNZ's Jamie Wall spoke to Lisa Owen about the Super Bowl coming up and the Warriors set to begin their season. Audio

4:16 PM.Music to the ears of home owners today with a major bank dropping its three year mortgage rate below five percent for the first time since 2022. Westpac is advertising a rate of 4.99 percent, the… Read more Audio

4:11 PM.The Auckland Council proposal would see some off lead parks become on leash only, as well as further restrictions on dogs running free at some beaches. It wants to improve safety and protect wildlife… Read more Audio