Checkpoint

A kiwi teenager on a protest boat destined for Gaza said the flotilla is under attack from drones in international waters. 18 year old Sam Leason is onboard the Sirius in the Mediterranean Sea between Crete and coast of Libya. Earlier this month, a flotilla of 70 boats set sail from Europe carrying humanitarian aid, seeking to break the Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian territory. Leason spoke to Lisa Owen.

Wellingtonians keen on a chair their favourite councillor once sat on or a light fitting that maybe shone on The Beatles can now head to the dump. The capital city's famous tip shop is selling furniture and fixtures no longer required in the 120-year-old Town Hall, which is undergoing a facelift. The earthquake-prone central city building has been shut since 2013 and its redevelopment has proved contentious, after costs ballooned from 182 to 330 million dollars. Nick James reports.

What happens when a chat bot suggests you murder someone, specifically your father?Australian IT professional, Samuel McCarthy posed as teenage boy for a conversation with AI chatbot Nomi. He told the chatbot that sometimes he hated his father. The bot's response was violent and specific. Queensland University of Technology Law Lecturer, Henry Fraser has seen the whole transcript of the chatbot murder chat and Spoke to Lisa Owen.

Three months since disposable vapes were banned from shelves some schools say they're still grappling with students vaping and a researcher studying the long-term health effects is calling for vapes to be made prescription only. In June the goverment's ban on disposable vapes and strict advertising rules kicked in, meaning specialist vape stores must keep the products hidden from outside view. Non-specialist retailers aren't allowed to display the products at all. The Vaping Industry Association supports the ban on disposable vapes but says new advertising rules could be turning ex-smokers back to cigarettes. Louise Ternouth reports.

US President Donald Trump has told world leaders the war in Gaza must be stopped, though he says recognising Palestine will only reward Hamas.Mr Trump's comments in the UN General Assembly debate come as a growing number of member states move to recognise Palestine, to keep a two-state solution alive. Foreign affairs minister Winston Peters will outline New Zealand's position on Saturday, and ahead of that he was coy about responding to Mr Trump's comments. Anneke Smith reports.

There's troubling signs New Zealand footballers are being targeted by international match fixers. An RNZ investigation has revealed more than $200 million was wagered on New Zealand's national league last season through overseas bookies, raising alarm bells for sport integrity experts. Officials warn with a surge in betting activity comes the increased risk of match fixing and corruption. Sports correspondent Dana Johannsen spoke to Lisa Owen.

A Waikato food rescue group is harvesting hundreds of kilos of backyard bounty fruit that would other wise go to waste. Go Eco Food has been going for more than a decade but recently appealed to people with more home grown produce than they can use to donate it for re-distribution. Its chief executive Jo Wrigley spoke to Lisa Owen.

Asia correspondent Adam Hancock spoke to Lisa Owen about Typhoon Ragasa killing multiple people in Taiwan.

It's estimated about a quarter of the people in a small south island town are objecting to plans for an off licence liquor store in their neighbourhod. More than 540 Lake Hawea residents are opposed to Super liquor getting a licence to operate what would be the town's only free standing offie. There's just over two-thousand three hundred residents in the village.The store would be on the corner of Longview Drive and Burdon Loop close to a local playgound. And it's proposed opening hours are nine til nine seven days a week. Lake Hawea does have other off-licences including the local pub and two grocery stores but none of them are standalone liquor stores. Lisa Riley from Lake Hawea Voices believes the store wont be good for the community. She spoke to Lisa Owen.

Australia correspondent Nick Grimm spoke to Lisa Owen about ongoing investigations into a service outage affecting telecommunications provider Optus. It left people unable to call the emergency Triple-Zero number - which has now been linked to a number of deaths.