Checkpoint

Asia correspondent Chris Gilbert spoke to Lisa Owen about the meeting between the foreign ministers of China and North Korea and how government employees in Singapore have been urged to adjust their air conditioners as the country deals with an energy pinch made worse by the war in the Middle East. He also spoke about a napping contest coming up in South Korea.

Described as a visionary leader with a life dedicated to public service - former Manukau City Mayor Sir Barry Curtis was celebrated at his funeral service in Manukau. Sir Barry died last week, aged 87. He led Manukau City from 1983 to 2007 at a time when the city was expanding rapidly. Hundreds gathered at the Dew Drop Events Centre for the service. Reporter Lucy Xia was there.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

The Hurricanes and Blues will clash at the Caketin tomorrow night in what is shaping as the game of the Super Rugby season so far. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

The route 25 bus leaves Taumarunui each weekday morning and stops at Taumarunui hospital, Te Kuiti Hospital, Otorohanga and Waikato Hospital, returning the same way on the evening. It's primarily a health service, with patients riding for free. But members of the public can pay for spare seats. Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton spoke to Lisa Owen.

On average DOC staff on Rakiura Stewart island have been threatened every week while working to make the island predator free - including harassment, threats and verbal abuse. DOC is one of several partners working to make Stewart Island fully pest free. But as Katie Todd reports, the project's run into fierce opposition.

It might be a popular getaway spot but this weekend a very unwelcome guest is scheduled to arrive on the Coromandel Peninsula. A red strong wind warning has been issued as Cyclone Vaianu bears down on the country. The entire North island is under some form of weather warning or watch, with no part expected to be unscathed. But the Coromandel Peninsula and Great Barrier Island are at the highest level with a red strong wind warning from 5am til 6pm on Sunday. Thames Coromandel District Mayor Peter Revell spoke to Lisa Owen.

A Wellington Phoenix football programme to get kids into the game has seen youngsters take the pitch alongside their heroes. The Football for All programme to support lower-income and immigrant families access the sport began with a few dozen kids in Wellington and grew to thousands nationwide. The programme helps children from five to eighteen join local clubs. As Anya Fielding reports, some aspiring young players were able to kick around with some of the best in the game.

It's a civil union of a different kind, Auckland Council and the government have signed a ten year co-operation deal. The agreement sets out how the two will work together over the next ten years, to boost economic growth in Aotearoa's largest city. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown spoke to Lisa Owen.

A driver turned up at a Hastings Vet last week, with a hawk jammed tight in the grille of her car after the pair accidently collided. The bird was stuck, spread eagle in the grille, wedged tight including around the radiator. But remarkably still alive. The rescue mission was so complicated, reinforcements were required. Vet nurse Nadine Hook spoke to Lisa Owen.

The ANZ Premiership starts this weekend but some of the teams about to compete in netballs top-flight competition are almost unrecognisable. Sports reporter Bridget Tunnicliffe spoke to Lisa Owen.

Weather warnings or watches have been issued for the entire North Island, as Aotearoa braces for the arrival of Cyclone Vaianu. There's an orange heavy rain warning for parts of Northland that kicks in from 9pm Saturday. Some kumara growers are rushing to harvest before the weather hits. Further down the island, Coromandel Peninsula and Great Barrier Island currently have the highest level warning, a red strong wind warning from 5am til 6pm on Sunday. Damaging Wind gusts of up to 140km/h are expected Sunday afternoon. MetService Meteorologist John Law spoke to Lisa Owen.

Americas correspondent Katie Silver spoke to Lisa Owen about how he First Lady, Melania Trump, issued a surprise statement denying any links with the dead paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and how Cuba's leader has hit out at the US government in a recent interview. She also spoke about a Mexican miner being rescued after being trapped in a flooded tunnel for two weeks.

Whanganui residents have been sharing memories of a soon to be demolished local landmark - Liffiton Castle. The former villa-turned-mock-castle - is a familiar site to travellers on the State Highway 3 link to Wellington - and has for decades been home to a series of restaurants. Taranaki Whanganui reporter Robin Martin went to have a look.

Australian correspondent Nick Grimm.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

The A-League has fallen behind other codes when it comes to monitoring in-game concussions. After a player had a heavy collision in their last game - and passed the on-field test - Auckland FC are now pushing for change. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.

Air Chathams revealed it's cutting a significant number of North Island flights, including 45 percent of flights between Whakatane and Auckland. Last year, the government anounced it would support "at risk" regional routes through a 30 million dollar loan scheme. Associate Transport Minister James Meager spoke to Lisa Owen.

2026 was going to be tourism's year and it still could be, according to the boss of a leading campervan and recreational vehicle company. Tourism Holdings rents and sells campercans here and in Australia, the US, UK, Europe and Canada and has franchises in South Africa and Japan. Needless to say a fuel crisis, airline cutting flights and adding surcharges, isn't ideal. Tourism Holdings CEO Grant Webster spoke to Lisa Owen.

Fewer Maori and Pacific young people hold drivers licence's compared to Pakeha, and a Hutt Valley youth employment charity says that's locking them out of employment opportunities. Youth Inspire has been running a Driving School for more than seven years, during which over a thousand young people have come through its doors. However, they've just found out they will cease getting government funding and if it's forced to close there's concern there will be more road-related offending in the comunity. Maori News Journalist Pokere Paewai tagged along for one of the lessons.

A justice advocacy group is calling for a would be child sex abuser to be more closely monitored after he was charged with allegedly breaching his release conditions. The Sensible Sentencing Trust is asking the Department of Corrections to apply for an Extended Supervision Order for John Tekuru, if granted an ESO allows sexual or violent offenders to be monitored for up to ten years at a time after release. Louise Parsons from the Sensible Setencing Trust spoke to Lisa Owen.

People are dancing with joy in the capital with the debut of an international electronic music festival promising good news for music fans and hospitality alike. The ULTRA music festival makes its New Zealand debut on the Wellington Waterfront on Friday - in the spot previously held by the Homegrown festival before it decamped to Hamilton this year. It had left a large hole in the city's entertainment offering, but Ultra - featuring the likes of Chainsmokers and Zedd - has local businesses and leaders hoping it will have cash registers' ringing. Krystal Gibbens reports.

First Dave Rennie hinted at changes to the selection rule book, and now incoming defence coach Tana Umaga has admitted to changing his tune on the issue. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

In a bid to learn more about New Zealand's tiniest frog, researchers attached little backpack trackers to the hotchstetter frogs that are no bigger than a two dollar coin and live in the Maha-kirau Forest Sanctuary in the Coromandel. University of Otago researchers rigged-up eleven of the little hoppers. Associate Professor Stephanie Godfrey spoke to Lisa Owen.

While the shaky US-Israeli truce with Iran hangs in the balance, Donald Trump has taken a swipe at NATO for its lack of assistance in the war - saying it wasn't there when the US "needed them". The comments came after a meeting with NATO's Chief where the president discussed leaving the alliance. United States correspondent Todd Zwillich spoke to Lisa Owen.

Some residents in the Far North town of Kaikohe say a dire jobs shortage means they have no choice but to leave to find work or else languish on the benefit. About 6000 people in the Far North region are on the job seeker benefit, and a local employment adviser says she's snowed under with people desperate for work but nowhere near enough jobs available. On the day Checkpoint visited Kaikohe, all of 15 jobs were being advertised. Teuila Fuatai has more.

Asia correspondent Chris Gilbert spoke to Lisa Owen about how despite recent news of a tentative ceasefire in the Middle East, relations between the US and some Asian allies have cooled and how Thailand is weighing up changes to petrol station operating hours in response to the war. He also spoke about a deer that went walkabout from its famous, tourist attraction home only to be disowned by the city it fled.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

A small South Island football club is taking legal action against its local federation, alleging it is being charged excessive fees. But Mainland Football dispute Oxford FC's claims of price gouging, and the two parties will meet for a mediation. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

Winston Peters has welcomed a ceasefire between the US, Israel, and Iran, but is warning people not to get ahead of themselves. Donald Trump had imposed a deadline on Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, and then went further with threats of attacking infrastructure, and warning a "whole civilisation will die" Winston Peters was in Washington D.C meeting with the U.S Secretary of State as that deadline loomed. Political reporter Lillian Hanly has more.

MetService is warning of a cyclone heading our way from the tropics. This one, forecasters say, could get wild, with the possibility of winds like New Zealanders haven't experienced before. The Prime Minister too warned people to prepare for Cyclone Vaianu's impact, which he said is shaping up to be a "significant and damaging weather event." Peter de Graaf has more.

Air Chathams is reviewing its schedule. It's the only airline flying to its name sake Chatham Islands, providing a vital freight link and connection to the mainland and medical appointments. In March, Air Chathams added a $20 surcharge on all its tickets due to the rising cost of aviation fuel. Air Chathams boss, Duane Emeny spoke to Lisa Owen.

If you ever dream of running off to the circus but worry you've left it too late - never fear. In Christchurch there is a now a Circus Arts class specifically for those aged over 60. Rachel Graham swung on by to see what it was all about.

In March, Nicola Willis said treasury was forecasting a peak of 3.7 percent. The Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee left the official cash rate unchanged at 2.25 percent. But it's warning near term inflation is expected to increase considerably and the economic recovery to weaken. The Middle East conflict is the culprit. Economist Cameron Bagrie spoke to Lisa Owen.

The Coroner says 14 people died in suspected suicides after their release from prison over the last three years. Parolees have described being thrown into the outside world without support, and say more psychological support is needed. The Corrections Department told RNZ it does not record the number of suicides. Parolees say Corrections doesn't record the data because it would only make them look bad. Finn Blackwell has more.

Uncertainty surrounds when New Zealand's Sail GP team will be back on the water following their horror crash on home water in February. Black Foils skipper and co-CEO Pete Burling has confirmed the team will miss this weekend's Sail GP event in Rio de Janeiro. It appears they'll have to get used to watching the action from the shore. Sports editor Dana Johannsen spoke to Lisa Owen.

Thousands of households and businesses in parts of Hillsborough, Mt Roskill, Royal Oak and Three Kings were under a boil water notice after a test showed water contamination. It turned out to be a tap, that has been replaced. But during the notice Watercare's advice was to boil water, so that's a hundred degrees celcius. If boiling on the stove it needed to be for a minute. A supplier of coffee machines and a separate coffee company told Checkpoint most machines do not boil the water and hit a maxium of about 94-95 degrees. Jim Graham the Chief Advisor Water Science at The Water Services Authority - Taumata Arowai spoke to Lisa Owen.

Travel can be a game of jeopardy at the moment; between war in the Middle East, cancelled or delayed flights or any number of conceivable mishaps. Uncertainty is becoming of feature of domestic travel as well, with an increasing number of extreme weather events and a fuel crisis on New Zealand's doorstep. Ben Rose, the head of financial services at AA spoke to Lisa Owen.