MELBOURNE, Australia — Two volunteer firefighters died on Thursday night while battling ferocious blazes in the region surrounding Sydney, prompting Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, to say he would cut short a family vacation to Hawaii that had enraged constituents. The firefighters, Geoffrey Keaton, 32, and Andrew O’Dwyer, 36, had been among a convoy trying […]

Australia has experienced its hottest day on record and temperatures are expected to soar even higher as heatwave conditions embrace most of the country. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said the average temperature across the country of 40.9C on Tuesday beat the record of 40.3C from January 7 2013. Meteorologist Diana Eadie said: “This hot […]

Australia’s heatwave is expected to worsen after the country experienced its hottest day on record. The national average temperature reached a high of 40.9C (105.6F) on Tuesday, beating the previous record of 40.3C set in 2013. But this record could be eclipsed, as forecasters have predicted even more intense heat later in the week. It […]

It is so hot, birds are abandoning the sky. Hours after Australia set a record for its warmest day across the continent, with even hotter temperatures in the near forecast, Greg Marshall, a garden designer in Adelaide, said he had found birds of different species gathered on the ground Wednesday, under the shade of trees. […]

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said yesterday that official inquiries into last week’s fatal volcano eruption could take up to a year, and will carry potential criminal penalties of up to five years in jail. Ms Ardern also announced a NZ$5m (€2.8m) fund to help small businesses affected by the eruption, after New Zealanders […]

New Zealand military specialists wearing protective gear have recovered the bodies of six victims of a volcanic eruption on Monday. The experts – six men and two women wearing hooded protective suits and using breathing gear – landed on White Island by helicopter on Friday and found six of the eight bodies thought to be […]

New Zealand police have launched an investigation after a volcanic eruption on an island popular with tourists killed five people, injured more than 30 and left eight people missing, who are presumed dead. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said reconnaissance flights showed no signs of life on White Island, as eyewitnesses detailed the horrific burns suffered […]

New Zealand said on Tuesday that eight people were missing, presumed dead, a day after a volcano unexpectedly erupted off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island, killing at least five people and injuring more than 30. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters in Whakatane, a town near the volcanic White Island tourist attraction, that […]

The daughter of former Australian PM Bob Hawke has alleged she was raped in the 1980s but he asked her to stay silent to avoid harming his career. Rosslyn Dillon’s allegations are made in court documents seen by Australian site the New Daily. She says she was raped by Bill Landeryou, an MP in Hawke’s […]

A “mega blaze” raging across a 60km (37 mile) front north of the Australian city of Sydney cannot currently be put out, fire officials have warned. The blaze across 300,000 hectares (1,150 sq m) is just an hour’s drive from the nation’s most-populous city. People who cannot defend their property from approaching fires have been […]