The Pike River coal mine board has rebutted allegations that money woes compromised safety at the mine.

With luck, the country will receive news that the brave 29 are back above ground and telling tall tales over a beer.

Since its announcement in 2005, the Herald has tracked the progress of the Pike River coal mine.

The two men who managed to get out of the Pike River mine clambered up a narrow chimney to escape.

France's govt yesterday admitted that the country's biggest airport might run out of fuel, as pension reform protesters blockade refineries.