A huge iceberg, estimated to be the size of Manhattan, is moving away from Antarctica and towards the open ocean where it could pose a threat to international shipping lanes.

A Japanese whaling ship has begun moving away from the Antarctic coast under its own power, an official said today – 10 days after fire crippled the vessel and left it stricken near the world’s biggest Adelie penguin rookery.

A British pilot forced by bad weather to abandon her attempt to fly around the world over both poles said today that an Australian aviator stranded at a research station on the Antarctic coast could use fuel she stored there for her trip.