*** Checkpoint FOR WED 11 NOV 2009
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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The Reserve Bank says the country's financial system has weathered the recession well and is in better heart than six months ago.But it warns it still expects more finance companies to go under as they struggle with the consequences of the recession.And trading banks have been given a clear mesage not to repeat the sort of lending which fuelled the housing boom.
Grant Spencer is the Reserve Bank's Deputy Governor and he joins us now. LIVE
It's the biggest monthly drop in food prices for three-and-a-half years.
And it's the third month in a row that the cost of groceries has fallen. But food is still more expensive than a year ago. Andrew McRae reports. PKG
The co-leaders of the Māori Party are distancing themselves from a hui being held tomorrow to decide MP Hone Hawaira's future. Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples say they won't be going to Northland to take part, as it is a party matter and the party will deal with it. Here's our political reporter, Catherine Hutton:PKG
The man the man known as the Washington Sniper has been executed in Virginia after a last-ditch appeal was thrown out. John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death by lethal injection for masterminding and carrying out the shootings that killed 10 people and terrified the Washington, D.C. region seven years ago.
His lawyers say he was mentally ill, but Virginia Governor Tim Kaine rejected a plea for clemency. An unnamed lawyer, who acted as the spokesperson for his family after the execution became emotional when speaking to the waiting journalists CUT Muhammad 's teenage accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo, is now serving a life sentence in jail. CNN correspondent, Jeanne Meserve joins us now
LIVE
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH Anusha Bradley
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The driver of the bus which crashed yesterday in Samoa killing eight people and injurying at least 20 others has been arrested.The crash is believed to be the country's deadliest, and it's feared the death toll may rise.
The bus was carrying more than 30 passengers and was on its way to the village of Lalomauga, when it swerved and went off the road.
Keni Lesa from the Samoan Observer says the driver, who ran away after the accident, had a previous dangerous driving conviction PRE-REC
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17.30 HEADLINES
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The Opposition banking inquiry says homeowners, businesses and farmers got stung for about 2 point 7 billion dollars by banks failing to pass on all of the Reserve Bank's interest rate cuts. The Official Cash Rate has fallen from 8.25 percent in June last year to 2.5 percent now and the inquiry by the Labour, Green and Progressive parties is suggesting the Reserve Bank be given more power to ensure that hard-working New Zealanders get the full benefit of those cuts.
The Finance Minister Bill English is dismissing the report, saying the review failed to make any new findings. Labour's Finance spokesperson is David Cunliffe - and he joins us now. LIVE
A prostitute at the centre of allegations of police corruption has been cross examined in the High Court - with questions asked about her criminal convictions.
The Crown says the former Christchurch police constable Nathan Connolly coerced the woman into giving him free sex in lieu of writing her traffic tickets.
Monique Devereux has been in the High Court in Christchurch, and joins us now.......LIVE
The Green Party is pulling the plug on part of its Memorandum of Understanding with the Government, saying it can no longer work with National on energy efficiency.The bust-up comes just seven months after the two parties signed up to the deal, which also covers home insulation and the regulation of natural health products.National says it regrets the decision - but its rejecting claims that it did not consult adequately with the Greens.Here's our political reporter, Julian Robins .PKG
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17.45 TRAILS
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WAATEA
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A goods train was raided en route to Auckland this morning - with a couple who left a trail of cheese in their wake later stopped by police.
Eight boxes of vacuum packed cheddar were recovered after being thrown from a car. Another four were spotted by a train driver a short time later.
The police were alerted by a rail worker who had reported people acting suspiciously on the line near the Manawatu town of Halcombe.
When the train arrived in Auckland, five containers were found to have been broken into.Joining us now is Sergeant Mike Lawton: LIVE
A union leader is accusing Solid Energy of stoking tensions on the West Coast by running advertisements criticising the actions of striking coal miners.
Hundreds of workers at the Stockton and Spring Creek mines have downed tools in support of Waikato colleagues - Solid Energy claims the action is irresponsible.
Geoff Moffett reports. PKG
Farmers and beekeepers are hoping a campaign launched today to encourage the planting of bee-friendly trees, will help save the honey bee.
Bees are under threat from diseases and pests like the varroa mite, and lack of food is now adding further pressure with fewer flowering plants to sustain the hard working insects. Matthew Peddie reports. PKG
Brazil's two largest cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have suffered major blackouts due to a problem at a dam on the border with Paraguay.
The national electricity grid operator said 17-thousand megawatts of energy had been lost, equivalent to the entire consumption of Sao Paulo state.
The BBC's Garry Duffy reports on the line from a darkened Sao Paulo. PKG