A person has died after a small boat capsized this afternoon at Days Bay in Wellington.Emergency services were called shortly after 4pm.”Sadly attempts to revive the person were unsuccessful and they have died at the scene,” a…
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Herald morning quiz: January 25
Test your brains with the Herald’s morning quiz. Be sure to check back on nzherald.co.nz at 3pm for the afternoon quiz.
Trapped Chinese miners rescued after two weeks
Eleven workers trapped for two weeks by an explosion inside a Chinese gold mine were brought safely to the surface today.
State broadcaster CCTV showed workers being hauled up one-by-one in baskets this afternoon, their eyes shielded to protect them after so many days in darkness.
One worker was reported to have died from a head wound following the blast that deposited massive amounts of rubble in the shaft on January 10 while the mine was still under construction.
READ MORE: China's new travel restrictions ahead of Luna New Year
The fate of 10 others who were underground at the time is unknown. Authorities have detained mine managers for delaying reporting the accident.
The official China Daily said on its website that seven of the workers were able to walk to ambulances on their own.
State broadcaster CCTV showed numerous ambulances parked alongside engineering vehicles at the mine in Qixia, a jurisdiction under Yantai in Shandong province.
READ MORE:
Increased supervision has improved safety in China's mining industry, which used to average 5000 deaths per year.
However, demand for coal and precious metals continues to prompt corner-cutting, and two accidents in Chongqing last year killed 39 miners.
'You are now in danger': Emergency level bushfires rage out of control
Lives and homes are under threat in the Adelaide Hills region as emergency level bushfires rages out-of-control.
Emergency warnings have been issued for Cherry Gardens south of Adelaide and Finiss.
Earlier watch and act alerts have been expanded for a growing number of Adelaide Hills communities that are more densely populated such as Sterling, Aldgate, and Bridgewater.
Hundreds of people have been told by the Country Fire Service it is too late to leave.
https://twitter.com/CFSAlerts/status/1353248435852308480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"You are now in danger. Take shelter in a solid building. Do not leave or enter this area in a vehicle or on foot. It is too late to leave as the roads will not be safe," the CFS message reads.
Fire crews are struggling to contain the out-of-control blaze, with conditions so bad they admit they cannot stop the fire's spread.
The scrub fire is burning in an East North Easterly direction towards Scott Creek Conservation Park.
A watch and act message was issued for Tilley Swamp on the Princes Highway.
"Take action now as this bushfire may threaten your safety. If you are not prepared, leave now and if the path is clear, go to a safer place," the message reads.
"Do not enter this area as conditions are dangerous."
More than 200 members of the CFS have been working on the ground to battle the blaze, as well as firebombers in the air.
South Australian police are investigating the potential cause of the blaze.
A heatwave has swept through NSW, Victoria, ACT and South Australia over the Australia Day long weekend. (BoM)
The fires come as much of SA spent the day in hot and dry conditions with Adelaide reaching 42 degrees around midday.
Police are also investigating a fire that took place near Gumeracha in the Adelaide Hills which is being treated as suspicious.
A camping stove was found near the ignition point.
CFS crews quickly managed to get the blaze under control this morning.
A total fire ban is in place for the weekend for the Mount Lofty Ranges, Yorke Peninsula, Lower Eyre Peninsula, Eastern Eyre Peninsula and the Mid North.
A fire near Gumeracha is being treated as suspicious by police. (Nine)
In stark contrast a flood warning has been issued for parts of the state as a tropical system moves across from Western Australia tomorrow.
The Bureau of Meteology said the south east of the North West Pastoral District, Flinders Ranges, Mid North and north east of the Eyre Peninsula could be hit by flash flooding.
Adelaide is forecast to reach a top of 32C tomorrow with rain and thunderstorms likely from the late morning.
Man dies after being crushed between ute and truck
A man has died after becoming trapped between a ute and a truck in north-western Sydney this morning.
Emergency services were called to Ramornie Drive at North Kellyville, following reports a man was trapped between two vehicles.
Paramedics treated the 40-year-old man but he died at the scene.
"The head injuries were quite severe and due to these injuries, and the chest injuries he sustained … unfortunately despite the excellent efforts from the paramedics they weren't able to save this gentleman," NSW Ambulance Inspector Nathan Sheraton told 9News.
Police have started an investigation into the crash.
The man is yet to be formally identified.
The truck driver has been taken to Westmead Hospital for mandatory testing.
Inquiries are continuing.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Trump planned to oust the acting Attorney General: reports
Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark nearly convinced then-President Donald Trump to remove then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and use the Department of Justice to undo Georgia's election results, The New York Times reported.
Clark – who appealed to the former President's false claims of election fraud – met with Trump earlier this month and told Rosen following the meeting that the then-President was going to replace him with Clark.
Clark would then move to keep Congress from certifying the election results in then-President-elect Joe Biden's favour, according to the paper.
Rosen demanded to hear the news straight from Trump, according to the paper, and arranged a meeting on the evening of January 3 – the same day that Trump's call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump pressured the state official to find enough votes for him to win Georgia, came to light.
READ MORE: Capitol rioter 'threatened to assassinate' prominent Democrat
During the meeting, Rosen, another top Justice Department official and Clark gathered with Trump, White House counsel Pat Cipollone and other lawyers. Trump had Rosen and Clark state their cases for him, the Times reported.
The Times cited two officials who compared Rosen's and Clark's opposing arguments during the meeting to an episode of "The Apprentice," Trump's old reality TV show.
Citing four former Trump administration officials, the paper reported that an agreement among department leadership that they would all resign if Rosen were fired helped sway Trump from removing his acting attorney general.
The notion of department pandemonium, congressional investigations and blowback from fellow Republicans seemed to resonate with Trump, who after nearly three hours decided to allow Rosen to stay and determined that Clark's plan would not work, according to the Times.
CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
READ MORE: Trump impeachment trial to be triggered
Clark told the Times that its report contained unspecified inaccuracies and that he could not speak to his conversations with Trump or department lawyers.
"Senior Justice Department lawyers, not uncommonly, provide legal advice to the White House as part of our duties," he told the paper.
"All my official communications were consistent with law."
Trump declined to comment to the Times.
One of his advisers told the paper that the former President had pushed for investigating "rampant election fraud that has plagued our system for years" and "any assertion to the contrary is false and being driven by those who wish to keep the system broken."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Saturday called for the Department of Justice inspector general to launch an investigation. He said in a tweet that it was "unconscionable a Trump Justice Department leader would conspire to subvert the people's will."
The Times reported that Trump had pressured Rosen from the onset of his role as acting attorney general to appoint special counsels to investigate baseless claims that the election's integrity had been widely compromised, and specifically to probe Dominion Voting Systems, which Trump falsely claimed had perpetuated widespread fraud.
Rosen refused, telling Trump that such a move would be inconsistent with the department's lack of findings of voter fraud, the paper reported. Trump continued to press him, questioning why the department had not found evidence and accusing it of failing to advocate for him, while Rosen and Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue resisted.
Unbeknown to them, a Pennsylvania politician had connected Trump with Clark, who told the then-President he agreed that fraud had tainted the election results, according to the Times.
Clark, who had become the acting head of the civil division in September, was quickly embraced by Trump after their meeting, per the paper.
Covid 19 coronavirus: Jacinda Ardern calls for kindness following Northland Covid-19 case
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has urged Kiwis to be kind to each other, after the announcement that there is a new case of Covid-19 in the community. A 56-year-old woman from Northland tested positive for Covid-19, after spending…
Music festival shut down after hundreds involved in wild brawl
A music festival on Queensland's Stradbroke Island was shut down after a huge fight broke out between revellers.
Security guards were stationed around the festival but the brawl was so large police needed to be ferried over to end the fray.
Superintendent Scott Knowles said a festival-goer on a vessel ferrying people between the island and the mainland made his way to the captain's area before it hit a pontoon.
READ MORE: South-east of Australia hit by scorching heatwave
Two police officers attended the incident about 8.30pm when security alerted them to the fight.
Superintendent Knowles said the Queensland Ambulance Service tent was overrun by patrons and intoxicated people, resulting in police calling for an additional 10 officers as reinforcement.
"We effectively shut the event down and had the attendees transported back to the mainland," he said.
"Its atrocious, that sort of behaviour is completely unwarranted.
"To intimidate and overrun the facility is completely uncalled for."
READ MORE: Man killed by charging bull at NSW rodeo
Police used capsicum spray to stop the fight.
About 350 people attended the festival Superintendent Knowles said, with a "significant number" involved in the brawl.
Police are investigating the incident and also looking into whether the event organisers were adhering to liquor laws and COVID-safe practices.
Partner of man killed in fiery crash while fleeing police pays tribute
The distraught partner of a 43-year-old man killed while trying to evade police in outer Melbourne has spoken of her heartbreak.
John Beiruti died in a fiery crash in Dandenong in the early hours of this morning, leaving behind a five-month-old son.
"He had a heart of gold and he loved us with every fibre of his being," Mr Beiruti's partner, Argina Baker, said in a statement.
"He made us laugh, he made us cry, but he was always there, he was always trying as best he could."
Beiruti was first spotted by police driving a vehicle on Stud Road in Melbourne's south-east at around 3.30am.
Police attempted to stop the driver, as the car was of interest to officers in relation to an outstanding matter, but he sped off.
Officers then set up stop sticks – devices used to deflate car tyres during police chases – on Studd Road near the intersection with Brady Road in Rowville.
Police lost sight of the car before officers, who were driving south on Stud Road in search of the vehicle, saw a flash in the distance.
By the time officers reached the car, it was ablaze with flames, having crashed into a tree.
Police dragged the man from the burning vehicle and began performing first aid, but he died at the scene.
"Everyone can make silly decisions but we're behind the wheel of a car it's a pretty dangerous weapon," Victoria Police Detective Acting Sergeant Leigh Miller told 9News.
"Most people will stop. For people who don't want to stop it just puts you into a precarious position."
Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives have begun investigations.