Wellington - The New Zealand government said Thursday it was making urgent inquiries into the arrest of a 35-year-old New Zealander by Pakistani security forces as he tried to enter an al-Qaeda and Taliban stronghold on the Afghan border.

The man, identified on his passport as Mark Taylor, was reportedly detained at a paramilitary checkpoint near the town of Tank, about 280 kilometres south-west of Islamabad

Wellington  - Bar-tailed godwits - the long distance champions of the bird world - have started leaving New Zealand on their annual 18,000-kilometre migration to breeding grounds in Alaska.

The godwits (Limosa lapponica) spend the Southern Hemisphere summer at a number of estuaries and mudflats resting and gorging themselves to the point of being clinically obese in preparation for the flight to the other side of the world.

It is a remarkable feat of endurance, unmatched anywhere in the world.

Peshawar, Feb. 11 : Pakistani security forces detained a New Zealander on Wednesday who was trying to enter the South Waziristan region, an al Qaeda and Taliban militant stronghold on the Afghan border, officials said.

The man, identified as a 35-year-old New Zealander with a European-sounding name, was detained at a paramilitary checkpost on the outskirts of Tank town, about 280 km southwest of Islamabad, which is the gateway to South Waziristan, the Dawn reported.

Wellington  - A war dance made famous by New Zealand's national rugby team the All Blacks was officially designated the intellectual property of a Maori tribe in a compensation agreement signed in Wellington on Wednesday.

The All Blacks always perform the haka called Ka Mate, with ferocious threatening actions and protruding tongues, as a challenge in front of their opponents before the start of games.

Wellington - New Zealand doctor Stephanie Meyer delivered her own son in a car as her husband drove her to hospital, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Going into labour during the five-minute drive to the hospital in Palmerston North on New Zealand's North Island, she told husband Nathan, "You have to pull over. I think I'm crowning and I'm happy to have this baby by the side of the road," the Manawatu Standard reported.

"Next thing I just scooped him up on my tummy in the front seat," she told the paper.

Wellington  - New Zealand state-owned power generator Meridian Energy on Tuesday announced a joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors to conduct trials of a new generation of electric cars.

The first venture of its kind, they are combining to test two prototypes of the Mitsubishi iMiEV, a four-door hatchback with a maximum speed of 130 kilometres an hour and a driving range of up to 160 kilometres, with fuel costs claimed to be one-third the price of petrol.