Warship sent to take oil sample as air traffic control chief reveals pilot's request came just minutes before plane disappeared.

Airbus has rushed two specialists to Jakarta to assist in the investigation of the disappeared A320 airliner operated by AirAsia, the budget carrier that rose from almost nothing in 2001 to be its biggest customer.

An Indonesian official last night said objects had been spotted in the sea by a search plane hunting for the missing AirAsia jet.

The billionaire CEO of AirAsia has described the disappearance of flight QZ8501 as his "worst nightmare", as the search for the missing plane resumes.

Fearful friends and relatives of passengers on board the missing AirAsia flight have gathered at emergency centres awaiting news of the search and rescue operation.

162 people on board flight QZ8501 that went missing between Indonesia and Singapore.

A fundraising page has been set up to help Wanganui man Antony de Malmanche pay for a lawyer as he fights drug charges that could lead to a death sentence in Bali.

A Kiwi man has been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle 1.7kg of methamphetamine into Bali.

When Dr Noel Trustrum landed in the Indonesian province of Aceh in January 2005, the Kiwi scientist struggled to comprehend what he saw around him.

Over the years, Maureen Tolfree has grown used to the lies and obfuscation, the tiny steps of progress followed by further setbacks.

In Bali's hip spot, Katie Furze is torn between watching surfers and protecting her offspring from the local primates.

A haven of traditional culture, Ubud is an hour's drive but a world away from the bustle of Kuta, writes Tamara McLean.

Schapelle Corby's parole will be monitored more strictly and she will get a severe warning after her boyfriend was charged with possessing marijuana.

Indonesian police have charged the boyfriend of convicted Australian drug smuggler after they allegedly caught him carrying drugs on Bali street.

A NZ couple who swam for their lives when the Indonesian ferry they were on sank say their experience should serve as a warning to other travellers.

Two Kiwi tourists who braved 11 hours clinging to their capsized ferry in Indonesia swam in searing heat and swift seas for up to eight more hours.

Two New Zealanders rescued after a boat travelling through eastern Indonesia sank have been identified.

About 200 forensic experts from around the world are identifying the MH17 bodies at a military barracks in a Dutch forest.

New Zealander Leeza Ormsby has been sentenced in Bali to 10 months in jail on drugs charges.

Kiwi Leeza Ormsby is likely to escape a 12-year sentence in a Bali prison after prosecutors at her trial on drugs charges recommended a much shorter jail term.

A Sydney DJ, who was with Kiwi Leeza Ormsby the night before she was arrested on drugs charges in Bali, says he did not know anything about drugs found in the villa she was staying in.

Countries searching for the missing Malaysian plane have yet to agree on how to share costs, an Australian search leader said.

Bali police have confirmed they searched a man at the scene of a drug bust that snared Sydney woman Leeza Ormsby, but decided he wasn't a suspect and let him go.

After a fruitless three-month hunt for flight MH370, Australian authorities have taken the first step towards handing over search operations to a private contractor.

A travel insurer has warned tourists about the risk of drinking arak, a locally made alcohol in Bali.

A British woman sailing near Indonesia at the time MH370 vanished says she saw a plane 'burning' and billowing smoke before it crashed.

Darwin remains cut off from all air services and flights from Australia to Bali are being affected as three separate ash plumes billow from an Indonesian volcano.

A vast ash cloud spewing from an Indonesian volcano has already shut Darwin Airport and is spreading south towards Alice Springs, an expert says.