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This handout taken and released on 21 September 2024 by the Cartenz Peace Task Force shows New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens (left), who was snatched by rebels in Indonesia's restive region of Papua in February last year, following his release at a press conference in Timika. Photo: HANDOUT / AFP West Papua advocates are concerned Indonesia will launch a military assault in Nduga province, putting thousands of innocent lives at risk, now that New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been released. But the Indonesian government say it is a "baseless accusation". Mehrtens was held captive for almost 600 days by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) in Nduga province. The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) vice-president Octovianus Mote is asking the New Zealand gov...

By Rosie Leishman* Afghan journalist Zahra Joya Photo: Zahra Joya/supplied The Taliban has introduced laws further restricting women's rights in Afghanistan, but an Afghan journalist in exile says they don't feel new. And she hopes New Zealand will do more. Three years on from the US withdrawal in Afghanistan and the Taliban's return to rule, journalist Zahra Joya said the new law banning women from raising their voices in public "doesn't feel new". Under the Taliban women in public must also be covered from head to toe and most cover their faces, leaving only their eyes visible. There were also restrictions for behaviour in their own homes. "It is a serious time for the international community and those who believe in human rights, women's rights, any of those basic values," Joya sa...

By Rich McKay, Brendan O'Brien and Andrew Hay, Reuters View of flooded houses in the coastal town of Guanimar, in Artemisa province, southwest of Havana, after the passage of Hurricane Helene on 25 September 2024. Photo: AFP / YAMIL LAGE Florida braced for the arrival of Hurricane Helene on Thursday, forecast to be a powerful Category 4 storm when it smashes into the state's panhandle. Officials issued dire warnings, pleading with residents in coastal areas along the hurricane's path to evacuate ahead of catastrophic winds and a potentially deadly storm surge, the wall of seawater pushed on land by hurricane-force winds, that could rise to 20 feet (6.1 metres) in some spots. "This is not a survivable event for those in coastal or low-lying areas," said Jared Miller, the sheriff of Wa...

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER China's decision to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean is "concerning" the foreign affairs minister and a foreign policy expert says. It is the first time China has launched a missile into the Pacific Ocean in the past 44 years. China launched the missile, carrying a dummy warhead, yesterday afternoon New Zealand time and at 8.44 am Beijing time. The Chinese defence ministry said in a statement the missile was part of a "routine arrangement in our annual training plan", and that it was not directed at any country or target. The missile "fell into expected sea areas", the statement said. Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said the missile launch was an unwelcome "and concerning deve...

A Hong Kong couple have copped a life ban from Cathay Pacific after a woman claimed she was harassed for reclining in her seat, the BBC reported. A video on social media platform Xiaohongshu captured part of the confrontation and has sparked a debate about traveller etiquette. What's the deal with putting your seat back? Is there a certain time you can't recline? What about on short flights? Is it good manners to ask first? What are your passenger rights on reclining? Flight Centre NZ general manager Heidi Walker says outside of meal times, take-off and landing or specific instruction from the crew, passengers are entitled to recline their seat whenever they like. "In regards to the terms and conditions, there is nothing that is directly associated with reclining your seat, so that being a...

New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Photo: AFP / Angela Weiss New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on Wednesday he expected to be charged with federal crimes and declared he was innocent, after The New York Times reported he had already been indicted following a long-running federal corruption investigation. Adams, a Democrat who would become the first of the city's 110 mayors to be criminally charged while in office, said in a video statement that if charges were filed they would be "entirely false, based on lies." He vowed to remain in office while fighting them. "If I'm charged, I know I'm innocent. I will request an immediate trial so New Yorkers can hear the truth," Adams said. Defying calls from Democratic politicians for him to resign, he said: "You elected me to lead this city, and l...