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Live breaking news: Chaos as Barcelona riots for 9 days straight, Europe records its biggest ever cocaine bust

The jailing of a public figure has spelled disaster for Barcelona as cops face ongoing hordes of protestors lighting fires and hurling stones.

Alex BlairAlex Blair
@alexblair_1
less than 2 min read
February 25, 2021 - 5:19AM

Welcome to Rush Hour, news.com.au's live breaking news blog.

What appeared to be a normal day at work for these German customs workers quickly turned into one of the most egregious drug busts seen on planet Earth, with over 23 tonnes of cocaine being found hidden in shipping containers from Paraguay.

That's it for the blog today. Read on for all the morning's updates. We'll be back tomorrow from 6am.

Updates

Freight train derails in rural NSW

A freight train derailed in rural NSW early this morning and has spilt 8000 litres of hazardous materials into a paddock.

A spokesperson for the NSW Rural Fire Service told news.com.au personnel and hazmat specialists have been sent to the area, and will be providing assistance over the following days. Members of the SES have also been deployed to the area, which is being affected by flooding.

The wreck occurred just outside Nana Glen, about 25km from Coffs Harbour.

Fire and Rescue NSW said in a statement half of the 1500m train derailed about 2.15am on Thursday morning.

“One of these locomotives has leaked up to 8000 litres of diesel and 16 carriages have jackknifed, four of which are in floodwater,” Fire and Rescue NSW said in a statement.

“The train was carrying dangerous goods and specialist crews from Sydney and Newcastle have been deployed to the incident,” the statement said.

“A small fire occurred in one of the carriages however this was extinguished by the train driver.”

The driver of the train was later safely removed from the train and assessed by NSW Ambulance crews.

— with Phoebe Loomes

Dan Andrews hints at VIC restrictions easing

Daniel Andrews has dropped a big hint that more coronavirus restrictions will be eased across the state on Friday after Victoria recorded six straight days without any new infections.

Following a decreasing number of active cases across the state, the Premier said he expected Friday to be a “positive day”.

“I’m very confident tomorrow will be a day of good news,” Mr Andrews told reporters on Thursday morning.

“Tomorrow is the 14th day from the most recent cases when they first became most infectious. I think we can be quite positive about making some announcements tomorrow.

“That’s a testament to the effort of Victorians and how to stay the course to get this job done.”

But the Premier warned Victorians not to become complacent, despite more than 2000 across the state getting the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine this week.

“We’re at the beginning of the end, but it’s not over yet. There is still a long way to go,” he said.

— NCA Newswire

AFP to MPs: Failure to report crime harms investigations

Australia’s top police officer has sent a strongly worded letter to the PM in the wake of the Brittany Higgins rape scandal, warning politicians delays in reporting crimes can seriously damage investigations and risk the perpetrator reoffending.

The alleged rape of Brittany Higgins in parliament has brought the process for reporting crimes into sharp focus.

Australian Federal Police commissioner Reece Kershaw sent a letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday, warning MPs of the risks of failing to report crimes.

“I cannot state strongly enough the importance of timely referrals of allegations of criminal conduct,” he wrote.

“Failure to report alleged criminal behaviour in this manner, or choosing to communicate or disseminate allegations via other means, such as through the media or third parties, risks prejudicing and subsequent police investigation.”

— NCA Newswire

Personal trainers blast commercial gym over "unpaid labour"

A personal trainer has accused the Australian chain of charging fitness professionals huge sums of money to work in their gyms but then uses them to do “unpaid labour”.

CJ, a personal trainer from Queensland, filmed a TikTok video claiming it was standard in the industry for “commercial gyms to run off unpaid trainer labour”.

She said she worked as a personal trainer for GoodLife Health Clubs where she paid $310 in weekly rent for the “privilege” of being a trainer.

“When you sign up you get a complimentary PT session — a full hour of a qualified professional’s time. GoodLife is getting paid. How much does the trainer get paid? Nothing. They do that for free. For exposure,” she said in the video.

“You might think ‘oh well I can pay $59 for three sessions, that intro package, at least the trainer gets something’ — uh, no — the trainer gives you three hours of their qualified time GoodLife pockets the entire $59, plus the trainer’s $310 rent, and the trainer gets nothing. There is no paid role for this. They rely exclusively on unpaid labour.”

— Sarah Sharples

Queensland to reopen its borders with Victoria this weekend

Queensland will fling its borders open to Victoria this weekend as the Melbourne outbreak continues to be contained by authorities.

The Sunshine State slammed its borders closed earlier this month when greater Melbourne was declared a hotspot but these restrictions will be eased from 1am on Saturday.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk informed parliament on Thursday morning the state’s chief health officer had given the green light for visitors to safely travel into Queensland.

Travellers from Victoria will no longer be required to complete a border pass on entry into the Sunshine State from Saturday.

— NCA Newswire

Barcelona continues to riot over jailed rapper

Protestors have continued to cause a ruckus in Barcelona over the jailing of rapper Pablo Hasel, who was arrested this month after insulting the monarchy and "glorifying terrorism".

The demonstrators have clashed with police for nine days straight, hurling bottles and burning dumpsters throughout the nation's capital.

The protests have begun to die down but showed glimpses of it getting nasty after looting commenced, with a woman losing her eye to a policeman's rubber bullet in an altercation.

Over 110 people have been arrested since the beginning of the Feburary clash.

Hasel has received support from prominent Spanish creatives, including Hollywood star Javier Bardem, who has signed a petition to release the rapper on grounds of freedom of speech.

QANTAS pushes back overseas flights

Qantas has pushed back its return to overseas flights by a further four months, with its international network unlikely to be fully restored until 2024 at the earliest.

The announcement was made on Thursday as the Qantas Group reported a staggering $1 billion loss in its half-year trading update.

The company said Qantas and Jetstar international flights would make a comeback from October 31, instead of July, as it previously forecast.

Most of Qantas’ international routes would resume on that date, including flights to London, Singapore and Los Angeles.

Three routes – New York, Santiago and Osaka – would return at a later date, with Qantas passengers able to fly to those cities with codeshare flights until then.

However flights to New Zealand are likely to increase from July as Australia maintains its travel bubble arrangement with its trans-Tasman neighbour.

— with Lauren McMah

New COVID strain labelled "the devil"

A new coronavirus strain capable of infecting human cells 40% mire effectively has labelled "the devil" by researchers.

The variant, named B.1.427/B.1.429, was first spotted in California during the US winter and has since been found in Denmark, Mexico and Taiwan.

As with any new variant, it contains new mutations which scientists were aware could give it an edge over the “original” strain of the virus.

Dr Charles Chiu, a virologist at the University of California, San Francisco, told the LA Times: “The devil is already here.
“I wish it were different. But the science is the science.”

Dr Chiu and his team also analysed 300 cases of B.1.427/B.1.429 to see if more people died with this strain compared to others.

Schoolkids attack tradies in wild video

A shocking rampage by students at a school for at-risk teens in Western Australia has been caught on camera, with the footage showing the moment they attacked two tradies.

About 10 students can be seen causing chaos in footage livestreamed to Instagram at the SMYL Community College in Rockingham, southwest Perth, on Tuesday after the workers arrived to fix a burst fire hydrant.
About six teenagers can be seen throwing punches at the men while they are trapped in a corner, amid shouts of “bomb him, bomb that motherf …” and “keep going”.

As teachers try to intervene in the melee, another student can be seen smashing the front windscreen of the tradesmen’s work vehicle after jumping on the bonnet amid yells of “let’s smash his car”.

It’s understood the tradies had arrived at the school to repair a fire hydrant that had been damaged and was leaking water.

— with Ben Graham

Migrant boat disaster kills 41

At least 41 people have drowned after a boat containing Libyan migrants bound for Europe capsized.

The UN reported at least 120 refugees fleeing the war-torn country were aboard the dingy when it sunk. The vessel suffered a leak just 15 hours into its journey.

“After about 15 hours the dinghy started to take in water, and the persons on board tried in every way possible to call for help,” a statement said, per Al Jazeera.
“In those hours, six persons died after falling into the water, while two others tried to swim to a boat spotted in the distance and drowned."

An Italian merchant vessel rescued the survivors and Sicilian port town of Porto Empedocle in Italy.

“After about three hours, the vessel Vos Triton approached the dinghy to carry out a rescue but in the difficult and delicate operation many persons lost their lives.”

The disturbing shipwreck is the latest disaster along what is known as the Central Mediterranean migration route, where an estimated 118 refugees have died this year alone.

More than 20,000 migrants fleeing Africa have perished at sea trying to reach Europe since 2014.

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