Australia

A light plane crashed in heavy monsoon rains on the northeastern tip of Australia on Wednesday, killing all five people on board, police said. The chartered flight, carrying four government workers and the pilot, had twice tried to land near Lockhart River, on Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula. “The plane approached …

A former Australian police officer was to appear in court Thursday charged with over 100 sexually related offenses, including dozens of rapes. The former Western Australian officer, who resigned after being charged by internal affairs in 2018, allegedly assaulted and raped numerous women over a decade during dates arranged online. …

New Zealand police said on Wednesday they have stepped up patrols at two mosques ahead of the first anniversary of a shooting that killed 51 worshippers after a distressing image linked to one of the mosques appeared on social media. A lone gunman used a semi-automatic gun to kill worshippers …

Australia has been through the wringer this year. The disastrous bushfire season has led to a dramatic increase in carbon emissions, crazy conspiracy theories, firefighter deaths, some billions of dollars in damage, and the heartbreaking loss of more than a billion animals. A new report shows how more a hundred …

‘This has been a good firefighting day for us, in terms of protecting our cultural assets and critical infrastructure,’ say authorities Firefighters in Australia have managed to keep uncontrolled blazes from reaching suburban areas of the country’s capital city, Canberra, using airdrops of fire retardant. Authorities said three drops of …

Large swathes of southeast Australia were bracing on Thursday for a days-long heatwave that threatens to stoke bushfires that have been burning for months. As firefighters and residents prepared for the heightened danger, the New South Wales (NSW) state government launched a six-month inquiry to examine both the causes of …

The bodies of three U.S. flying firefighters and the cockpit voice recorder from the water bomber in which they died battling Australia’s unprecedented wildfire crisis were retrieved on Saturday as their grieving families arrived in Sydney, officials said. Ian McBeth of Great Falls, Montana, Paul Clyde Hudson of Buckeye, Arizona, …

Sydney and parts of New South Wales were placed under a “severe” fire alert Wednesday after authorities ordered evacuations for residents in the Australian capital of Canberra. The NSW Rural Fire Service said more than 60 fires are burning across the state, and with temperatures near 100 degrees, Fahrenheit coming …

Parts of Australia’s east coast were hit by severe storms on Saturday, dousing some of the bushfires that have devastated the region for months but causing road closures and flash flooding. Fears of smoke from the fires disrupting the Australian Open tennis receded in Melbourne, where the main tournament was …

Two wildfires merged to form a massive inferno in southeastern Australia and a man suffered serious burns protecting a home, in a night of treacherous conditions during the nation’s unprecedented wildfire crisis, officials said Saturday. Authorities were assessing the damage after firefighters battled flames fanned by strong winds through the …

Tens of thousands of Australians have rallied across the country calling on the conservative government to tackle global warming and cut back on fossil fuels, as deadly climate-fueled bushfires burned out of control. At least 26 people have died, and more than 2,000 homes have been destroyed in the unprecedented …

The catastrophic bushfires continue to scorch large swathes of Australian territory, prompting authorities to issue new warnings and evacuation notices as the number of confirmed fatalities exceed two dozen. Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, announced in a news conference on Thursday that 27 people have lost their lives as …

Smoke from raging fires in Australia that killed at least seven people this week reached several cities in New Zealand and turned the sky orange, the New Zealand Herald newspaper reported. New Zealanders are sharing videos and photos of the thick orange smog covering the sun on social media. Residents …

Australian military aircraft and vessels will be deployed to help emergency services in the fire-ravaged states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria. Thousands of people fled to beaches in the south-eastern states on Tuesday as emergency-level fires spread. In Mallacoota, Victoria, about 4,000 people sought shelter on the coast. …

Volunteer firefighters in New South Wales will get compensation for loss of earnings after spending time away from jobs to battle bushfires in the state, Australia’s federal government says. The offer of up to A$6,000 ($4,200; £3,200) for privately-employed volunteers follows weeks of wrangling. PM Scott Morrison – who had …

The death toll from New Zealand’s White Island volcano eruption earlier this month has risen to 17 after another person died Sunday, police said. The latest victim died at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand police said. Sixteen victims of the eruption have died in New Zealand and one person …

New Zealand authorities said Saturday their country will be a safer place after owners handed in more than 50,000 guns during a buyback program following a ban on assault weapons. But critics say the process was flawed and many owners have illegally stashed their firearms. The government banned the most …

Breathing masks are selling out in Sydney with the city enveloped in the smoke from bushfires sweeping across a large swath of Australia’s east coast, damaging the country’s clean and green reputation. Office workers wearing protective masks, previously a rarity, have become a common sight in recent weeks in downtown …

Pregnant Muslim woman violently attacked in Sydney café A pregnant Muslim woman who was targeted in a vicious attack while sitting in a cafe in Sydney says she fears for the world children will grow up in if racism is not addressed. Rana Elasmar, a 31-year-old woman 38 weeks pregnant, …

Strong winds stoked more than 100 fires across Australia’s east coast on Tuesday, blanketing Sydney in hazardous smoke and prompting health warnings for the country’s most populous city. Australia is prone to bushfires in its dry, hot summers, but fierce blazes have been sparked early, in the southern spring, by …