Indonesia's Widodo praises peaceful release of kidnapped New Zealand pilot

Indonesian President Joko Widodo praised the peaceful release of New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens who had been kidnapped by rebels in the country's Papua region for 19 months. Mehrtens was working for Indonesian airline Susi Air when he was snatched by rebels from the West Papua National Liberation Army insurgent group at Papua's Nduga airport on February 7 last year.

A joint task force of police and military forces collected Mehrtens in a village of Nduga district early Saturday, before he was given medical and psychological checks and flown to the Papuan city of Timika. Mehrtens will be flown onwards to the capital Jakarta, the unit head said at a press conference.