Whale rescuers spent six hours searching for a humpback entangled in fishing equipment off the Gold Coast before a delicate operation to free the mammal. It took the team about 15 minutes to free the whale using specialised cutting equipment.

South Stradbroke

A humpback whale's migration was interrupted when it became entangled in up to 20 crab pots off South Stradbroke Island. The animal was first spotted trapped in fishing gear and appeared exhausted and in distress. Rescue teams from the SeaWorld Foundation launched a mission at first light and spent over six hours locating the whale. Once found, they worked to untangle four ropes from around its mouth, a process deemed essential for the whale's survival. After being freed, the whale showed immediate signs of recovery and swam away energetically. This marks the SeaWorld Foundation's fourth whale rescue of the season, with similar incidents expected to continue.

Rescuers free entangled humpback whale off South Stradbroke Island

Entangled and exhausted, this humpback's migration came to a halt at South Stradbroke Island. There were reports it was dragging up to 20 crab pots. There is weight down here. It was first spotted trapped in the fishing gear on Tuesday afternoon. Two rescue boats left at first light on Wednesday, it took more than six hours before they found the whale. It didn't look in a good way. It was sitting very stagnant, it wasn't diving and it was breathing quite laboured. The delicate rescue mission began, to untangle four ropes wrapped around its mouth. There was no way without intervention that that animal was going to survive. Until finally. That's all of them cut. Get that, get all that, all of it off. The whole lot's off. It started really kicking its tail. We couldn't keep up with it. The animal was, it was like it was a totally different animal. This is the SeaWorld Foundation's fourth rescue of the season, and it's not expected to be the last. In 2024, they help to save 10 whales off the coast. A bit of persistence being out there and a couple of keen eyes in the water, you can achieve great things. Tiani Reid, 10 News.

The Department of Justice has fired Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor and the daughter of ex-FBI director James Comey. This comes as the White House tries to mitigate demands for the Jeffrey Epstein files to be released.

Washington

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London

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Breakdown