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The Latest Breaking News from Philip Mehrtens

Afternoon Update: grocery giants sued over ‘illusory’ discounts; new Socceroos coach; and abducted toddler found after 73 years

Anthony Albanese says if the allegations are found to be true it would be ‘completely unacceptable’ behaviour by the supermarkets

The Guardian - AU

New Zealand pilot kidnapping exposes Indonesia’s Papua ‘hotspot’

The incident in a remote highlands region has drawn renewed attention to one of the world’s least-known conflicts.

Al Jazeera

‘They’ll shoot me in two months,’ says New Zealand pilot captured in Indonesia’s Papua

‘We do not ask for money... We really demand our rights for sovereignty’

The Independent UK

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New Zealand pilot captured by Papuan fighters says he is ‘alive and well’ in new hostage video

A New Zealand pilot being held hostage by separatist forces in a remote region of Indonesia has said he is “alive and well” in a new hostage video.

Evening Standard

New video shows NZ pilot Phillip Mehrtens alive and well nearly three months after being kidnapped by West Papua separatists

A New Zealand pilot being held hostage in Indonesia's remote Papua region says the Indonesian Army has been dropping bombs in the area where a separatist group is holding him.

ABC News

Indonesia says 3 troops missing since rebel ambush found dead

Indonesia's military confirmed on Wednesday that three soldiers missing since a weekend ambush by rebels in the restive Papua region have been found dead, in a setback for its mission to locate a New Zealand pilot held captive by separatists.

Reuters

Rebels holding NZ pilot in Indonesia's Papua prepared to drop key demand

Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Papua region who are holding a New Zealand pilot hostage are prepared to drop a demand that Jakarta recognise the independence of the area before they could consider freeing him, a rebel spokesperson said on Thursday.

Reuters

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Video released by Papuan fighters holding NZ pilot hostage warns 'ordeal could go on for a long time'

A New Zealand pilot, being held hostage in Indonesia's remote Papua region, warns his family that his ordeal "could go on for a long time," in a message sent via the rebels who are holding him captive.

ABC News

Indonesian troops surround Papua hostage-takers

JAKARTA: Security forces in the restive Papua region of Indonesia have surrounded separatists holding captive a New Zealand pilot, but will exercise restraint while negotiations for his release continue, a top security official said on Tuesday.

Bangkok Post

The Week in Detail: West Papua, forestry slash, and light pollution

The Detail podcast brings you the issues behind the news every weekday. Here's what we covered this week.

Newsroom.co.nz

Indonesian security forces ready to rescue hostage pilot but New Zealand wanted plan ditched

Papuan police say New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens is in good health and negotiations are being prioritised, while the rebels say they want a UN-mediated discussion before releasing him.

ABC News

Factbox-Separatist insurgency in Indonesia's Papua region

The kidnapping of 37-year-old New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens by separatist rebels in Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua has thrown a spotlight on the decades-long, low-level insurgency in the remote, resource-rich area.

Reuters

Deadlier and more media savvy, separatist rebels evolve in Indonesia's Papua

Egianus Kogoya, the dreadlocked rebel behind the kidnapping of a New Zealand pilot this month in the highlands of Indonesia’s Papua region, is at the vanguard of an increasingly dangerous and media-savvy insurgency for independence.

Reuters

The pilot, the rebels and West Papua's independence struggle

How did a Kiwi pilot get caught up in a rebel group's demands for West Papua's independence from Indonesia?

Newsroom.co.nz

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Crikey

‘The pilot also eats potatoes’: Papuan separatists say kidnapped NZ pilot is living in jungle with independence fighters

Papuan separatists have told Crikey a New Zealand pilot was taken hostage as a representative of the Pacific Nations family.

Reuters

Indonesia military ready for operation to free NZ pilot, if talks fail

An Indonesian military commander in its restive Papua region on Thursday said a "law enforcement operation" was being prepared to free a New Zealand pilot held hostage by separatists, but only as a last resort if negotiations failed.

Al Jazeera

Indonesia military court jails four soldiers over Papua killings

Four Papuan men were killed and their bodies mutilated after a deal to buy arms from the Indonesian troops fell apart.

Daily Mirror

Bow and arrow-wielding rebels threaten to execute hostage pilot if demands aren't met

Philip Mehrtens' single-engine plane was stormed after it landed in the remote mountainous province of Nduga, in the Indonesian province of Highland Papua by armed rebels

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The Independent UK

Papuan separatists armed with bows and arrows surround captured New Zealand pilot in video

Philip Mehrtens says ‘I will remain captive for my life’ if insurgent group’s demands are not met

Reuters

Rebels in Indonesia's Papua say images show abducted NZ pilot in good health

Separatists in Indonesia's restive Papua region have released images that they say show a New Zealand pilot taken hostage last week is in good health, but pledged he would not be freed until authorities acknowledge the independence of the area.

ABC News

Papua independence fighters release images of New Zealand pilot hostage Philip Mehrtens

Independence fighters in Indonesia's Papua region release videos and photos of a New Zealand pilot they are holding hostage, declaring the images and video are proof of life.

Evening Standard

Rebels who abducted New Zealand pilot move him deeper into Papua New Guinea jungle

Philip Mehrtens was captured early Tuesday by separatist fighters

The Conversation

The NZ pilot held hostage in West Papua is the pawn in a conflict only real international engagement can resolve

“Phil Mehrtens is the nicest guy, he genuinely is – no one ever had anything bad to say about him”, says a colleague of the New Zealand pilot taken hostage this week by members of the West Papuan Liberation Army (TPN-PB) in the mountainous Nduga Regency.

ABC News

West Papuan separatist group makes demands to Australia, New Zealand after kidnapping Kiwi pilot Philip Mehrtens, burning plane

A West Papuan separatist group is demanding Australia and New Zealand sever military ties with Indonesia after kidnapping a New Zealand pilot on Tuesday.

Crikey

Kidnapped New Zealand pilot ‘will be executed’, claim Papuan separatists, if independence negotiations fail

Philip Mehrtens, a Kiwi pilot, was kidnapped on Tuesday by insurrectionists from the West Papua National Liberation Army, considered a terrorist organisation by Jakarta.

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