1Today was Melbourne Cup Day. Racing commentator Jack Petle joins Checkpoint from Melbourne.

2The Melbourne Cup is the TAB's biggest betting race of the year and this afternoon it was on track to do a record turnover.

3Shell Oil could finalise a deal to sell some of its assets to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and Infratil in as little as a month.

4A man has pleaded guilty in the Christchurch District Court today to causing a car crash that killed three members of his family. Geoff Eades was sentenced community service for falling asleep at the wheel and killing his wife, cousin and granddaughter.

5Business News

6The New Zealander who bought the rusting MV Princess Ashika on behalf of the Tongan government has told a Royal Commission of Inquiry that he never looked into the state of the vessals hull.

7The recession is still hitting workers in the pocket with new figures showing pay increasing at its slowest pace in nearly seven years.

8An army bomb disposal squad has succesfully removed an unexploded grenade from a street in the Dunedin suburb of Mosgiel after it was sucked out of a drain by a contractor.

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10The government is spending an extra $2-million to extend next year's free flu jabs to those most at risk of Influenza A H1N1 'swine flu'.

11The United States President Barak Obama has congratulated Hamid Karzai on winning a second term as President of Afghanistan, but has demanded he get much tougher on rampant corruption.

12Back to Melbourne Cup day at Flemington, where Shocking has taken out the race.

13Waatea News

14A High Court jury has been told a man accused of deliberately causing a fatal crash wasn't considered to be suicidal the morning of the collision. Tony Warrell was twice the legal limit when he plowed head on in to Katie Powell's vehicle on a rural highway.

15The leaders of two prominent Iwi say compensation won't be sought under any replacement of the Foreshore and Seabed Act. The Prime Minister John Key has made clear his intention to repeal the act, with a replacement put in place next year.

16A survey measuring perceptions of crime shows New Zealanders have a 'not in my backyard' mentality. 80-percent who took part in the Victoria University study said they were concerned with crime in the country as a whole, however 63-percent did not think there was a problem where they lived.

17Plans have been unveiled in the tiny but rich Gulf state of Qatar for a 150 million dollar film about Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

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19Australian-based racing commentator Jack Petley says Shocking was rated highly across the Tasman with a lot of late bets on the horse.

20Barack Obama has put his weight behind Hamid Karzai on his re-election as President of Afghanistan but has called for a clampdown on corruption.

21Solid Energy says almost 800-miners around the country are now on strike, after a breakdown in contract negotiations. The state owned coal miner has said that industrial action started at their open-cast mine in the Waikato last week.

22Business News

23An influential economist is warning that a new global financial bubble is in the making and it could be even more devastating than the one the world's experiencing right now.

24The top United Nations climate official has called on the United States to make specific commitments on cutting carbon emissions before next month's summit on climate change in Copenhagen.

25The Samoan head of state says the recent tsunami in his country has forced people to rethink the traditions of expensive funerals and cultural giving or fa'alavelave.

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27Ukraine's taking some of the most drastic measures against the spread of Influenza A H1N1 'swine flu' anywhere in the world.

28Opponents of a contentious Trustpower hydro power scheme in Marlborough have launched a final bid to halt the $275-million project.

29Waatea News

30Groups supporting people on invalids' benefits say they are worried the government will push them into work they can't handle.

31Snapper, scallops, bluenose and yellowfin tuna should be off the dinner menu according to Forest and Bird. It has just released its 2009/2010 'Best Fish Guide' for those shoppers who want to know which fish stocks are doing well.