A pilot from New Zealand was taken hostage by rebels in Indonesia’s restive Papua region after setting fire to his plane which was carrying six passengers.
The militants of the West Papua Liberation Army, an offshoot of the Free Papua Organisation, hijacked the plane shortly after it landed at Paro Airport in the mountainous district of Nduga on Tuesday.
The pilot was identified by the local police as Philip Mark Mehrtens. While other passengers, including a young child, were released because they were indigenous Papuans, reports Independent.
The G20 summit, that brings together the leaders of the world's largest economies, will take place on Tuesday in Bali, Indonesia. The G20 a group of 19 nations plus the European Union, comprises almost two-thirds of the world's population, 85 per cent of global output, and 75 per cent of world trade. As of 2022, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union make up the group's 20 members.
Indonesian investigators came to the conclusion on Thursday that Sriwijaya Air Flight 182's engine control system malfunctioned minutes after takeoff, causing a catastrophe that killed all 62 passengers on board in January of last year, as per Bloomberg reports. As per the National Transportation Safety Committee's final report on the fatal flight on January 9, the pilots of the Boeing Co. 737-500 lost control of the aircraft when one of its automated engine throttle levers started losing power, causing the aircraft to roll onto its side and crash into the Java Sea.
The Indonesia Police have been accused of firing tear gas into the spectator stands and blocking the gates of the football stadium during the stampede which killed at least 131 people and left hundreds injured.
The witnesses believe that had the police acted swiftly and not blocked the stadium’s exits, they could have minimised the casualties during the chaos.
At least 174 people died at an Indonesian football stadium when thousands of angry home fans invaded the pitch and police responded with tear gas that triggered a stampede, authorities said Sunday.