**** Checkpoint FOR MON 18 MAY
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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Passengers on domestic flights will not have to go through extra security screening with the Government today ruling it out as too expensive. Instead it is opting for strengthening or installing cockpit doors. The Cabinet ordered a review of aviation security after a woman was charged with hi-jacking a 19 seat plane from Blenheim last year. A review last month said screening passengers before they get airborne was the only effective way to stop weapons being taken on board. But it said the screening equipment would cost tens of millions of dollars The Transport Minister Stephen Joyce joins us now. LIVE
The jury in the David Bain trial was today given a graphic demonstration of how the defence believes Robin Bain turned a rifle on himself. The defence argues that Robin Bain was the real killer at 65 Every St in 1994. But the Crown says David Bain murdered his family, setting it up to make it seem his father did it. Monique Devereux is covering the High Court trial in Christchurch LIVE
The Government has backed off naming the Auckland supercity Transition Agency saying there is an outstanding issue that needs to be resolved. The Local Government Minister Rodney Hide had hoped to name the five-member board to oversee the restructuring of Auckland's local bodies today. We're joined now by our political reporter Clare Pasley. LIVE
A man accused of assaulting his son has appeared in the Christchurch District Court, in the first case to be tried under the child discipline law. 50 year old James Louis Mason faces three charges of assault on a child under the age of 14. Our reporter Sophia Sinclair has been covering the trial and joins me now. LIVE
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH Patrick O'Meara
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In Sri Lanka - the army has announced it's killed four senior Tamil Tiger militants and found the body of the rebel leader's son.
A day after announcing they were silencing their guns, the last remnants of what was once one of Asia's most feared guerilla armies are cornered in a tiny patch of jungle in Sri Lanka's northeast. The BBC's Charles Havilland is in Colombo READER
The Prime Minister John Key is holding his ground on Christine Rankin's appointment as a Families Commissioner. But he's given her a clear message that he only wants to hear her talking about the work of the Commission, and not her personal life. Ms Rankin was a controversial figure in the 1990s as the head of Work and Income.
Questions have now been raised about the timing of Ms Rankin's most recent marriage, a few months after the death of her husband's previous wife. Mr Key was questioned about the controversial appointment at his post cabinet briefing this afternoon. Our parliamentary chief reporter, Jane Patterson, was there and she joins us now..LIVE
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17.30 HEADLINES
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The Agriculture Minister says he wants animal welfare investigators to inspect a pig farm that's under scrutiny after secretly filmed footage was aired on a television current affairs programme. The footage, covertly filmed by the group Save Animals From Exploitation or SAFE, showed sows being housed in pig crates David Carter says SAFE campaigners need to reveal the farm's location so investigators can see if the Animal Welfare Act is being breached.
The Agriculture Minister joins us now. LIVE
Parts of the South Island are drying out as the clean up continues from flooding over the weekend. Roads were closed, bridges threatened and rail traffic halted as heavy rain in the headwaters sent massive amounts of water downstream. Andrew McRae reports. PKG
Fiji's economy has suffered a major blow with the European Commission's decision to block 55 million dollars of aid destined for its ailing sugar industry. The sanction due to the failure of Fiji's military government to commit to hold elections this year, is the second time the sugar payment has been withheld. Our Pacific Issues Correspondent Richard Pamatatau reports. PKG
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17.45 TRAILS
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WAATEA
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The Auckland mayor John Banks today apologised for his suggestion that 40 percent of the city's council staff will lose their jobs when the super city is formed. That would mean around 2700 people losing their jobs. Mr Banks has said the comments were a mistake but he does expect to see a reduction in staff numbers.
The comments prompted an immediate reaction from the country's largest union, the Public Service Association. The Auckland Mayor, John Banks and The PSA's national secretary Richard Wagstaff are on the line now. LIVE
A High Court trial has begun for a Christchurch roading worker accused of murdering a 15 year old school girl. The body of Marie Davis was found in the Waimakariri River in April last year - eleven days after she was reported missing. 39 year old Dean Stuart Cameron now stands trial for her rape and murder. Our reporter Katy Gosset is covering the case at the High Court in Chritschurch - she joins me now. LIVE
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's popularity has taken a dramatic dive in the first opinion poll released since the Federal Budget was announced last week. Mr Rudd's approval rating is down ten points from 74 to 64 percent. And the Neilsen poll also has his ruling Labor Party down three points to 44 percent. With the latest is the ABC's political reporter Melissa Clarke. LIVE