The fire danger was elevated across wider swathes of southern Australia on Thursday, with residents warned to avoid at-risk areas as smoke from bushfires choked Sydney and other major cities. Devastating fires along the country's east coast have claimed six lives and destroyed more than 500 homes since mid-October, with climate change and unseasonably hot, dry conditions fuelling the unprecedented blazes.
More than 100 schools in Australia's southeast were closed on Wednesday and officials warned people in high-risk zones to be ready to evacuate as forecast high temperatures risked opening up a new front in raging bushfires.
Sydney was shrouded in dangerous haze on Tuesday as smoke from bushfire blazing along Australia's eastern board sent contamination levels soaring in the country's biggest city.
Countries including Australia have asked for trade compensation from the UK and the EU over Brexit disruption. Fifteen countries, including the US, India and New Zealand, have been setting out Brexit concerns at a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Geneva.
A cool change on Wednesday brought relief for firefighters battling massive bushfires in eastern Australia which destroyed 50 homes and saw flames come within meters of homes on the outskirts of Sydney.
Authorities in Australia's Queensland and New South Wales states on Monday declared a state of emergency as the country's eastern region prepared for catastrophic fire conditions.
Australia's consumer regulator filed a lawsuit against Alphabet Inc's Google on Tuesday, alleging it misled consumers about how it was collecting, storing and using personal location data.
An Australian sheep that entered the Guinness World Records after being found with an enormously overgrown fleece has died, it was announced. Chris the merino sheep made global headlines after being found wandering alone outside Australia's capital Canberra with masses of wool sagging from its frame in 2015.
Australian police have thwarted a billion-dollar international drug smuggling operation, reportedly with the help of a giant seal. An international investigation into the drug gang reached its climax last week after an abandoned yacht was found on the shoreline of Stick Island, off the coast of Western Australia, sparking a search for its occupants.
Australian firefighters battled more than 100 bushfires across two eastern states on Sunday as authorities warned that parts of the country could expected a severe bushfire season this summer.