Checkpoint

There could soon be a ban on amateur climbers attempting to scale Mount Everest in a bid to ease congestion and discourage extreme selfie hunters with little or no experience taking on the challenge. Nepal's government is looking at new rules that would require climbers to have previously summited a seven-thousand-metre-high mountain before attempting Everest. Wanaka based Adventure Consultants takes climbers up Everest, and General manager Caroline Ogle spoke to Lisa Owen.

A Kaihu local says complaints have previously been made about the same dogs that killed a woman yesterday. 62-year-old Mihiata Te Rore was visiting a person she knew at a property in the small Northland town when she was attacked and killed. Police say the three dogs involved lived at the property. She is the third person to be killed by dogs in Northland in the last four years, sparking calls for more to be done by local and central government to deal with the growing number of dog attacks occurring in the region and further afield. Finn Blackwell has more.

The Health Minister won't say if the government has met its promise to blood cancer patients in New Zealand - that is that they have not been forgotten. Pharmac has proposed to fund two new combination medicines to treat a type of blood cancer - chronic lymphocytic leukaemia or CLL. The drugs can help those with CLL achieve longer lasting remission and avoid the need for traditional chemotherapy. Patients and advocates are celebrating, but Blood Cancer NZ and the Ministers acknowledge more work needs to be done. Lillian Hanly reports.

A massive clean-up is underway on Canterbury's Banks Peninsula, which remains in a state of emergency after a wild storm. The main highway from Christchurch to Akaroa has reopened, but people are still dealing with power and telecommunications outages. Anna Sargent reports from Little River.

More changes have been seen at the top levels of Netball New Zealand after a disastrous 2025. Its Chair and three Board Members have made the decision to step down. Sports reporter Bridget Tunnicliffe spoke to Lisa Owen.

A company has been fined $60,000 after it repeatedly sold electronics, including Bluetooth speakers and a tablet to an elderly woman even though they knew she was suffering from dementia and could not use the goods. The company, Tech Vault Enterprizes trading as House Smile, is said to have put unfair pressure on the woman and used methods to upsell to her. Commerce Commission Deputy Chair Anne Callinan spoke to Lisa Owen.

America's correspondent Adam Hancock spoke to Lisa Owen about Peru's eighth leader in almost a decade being ousted, as well as an ongoing fuel crisis in Cuba which has caused trouble for waste collection, with rubbish piling up on streets in the capital Havana.

There are calls for a crackdown on alcohol advertising that can be seen by children and young people, including a black out zone around schools, kura and playgrounds. A group of Waikato University health researchers said the evidence is clear; children's attitudes to alcohol are influenced by adverting exposure. Lead researcher Doctor Victoria Egli spoke to Lisa Owen.

Australia correspondent Nick Grimm spoke to Lisa Owen about Australia appointing a new federal opposition leader as the Liberal Party seeks to draw a line under disastrous polling showing its headed towards political annihilation if it can't turn its fortunes around.

News from the business sector, including a market report.