Australia

World News

'Just Red, Everywhere': Australia Fire Traps Seaside Residents On Beach

8:37pm December 31, 2019

by Merrit Kennedy

An out-of-control wildfire threatened exit routes from the town of Mallacoota, forcing residents to rush toward the water for safety as embers rained down from a red sky.

Australian authorities say the iconic Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks will go ahead, despite calls for them to be canceled for environmental concerns.

Threat Of Wildfires Not Enough To Cancel Sydney's New Year's Eve Fireworks

6:33pm December 29, 2019

by Gabriela Saldivia

Thousands have called for the iconic Sydney fireworks display to be canceled because of record heat and fire. Australian officials say they will go ahead unless conditions are declared catastrophic.

A swimmer jumps from a jetty in an effort to cool off in Adelaide, Australia, as the country experiences record temperatures.

World News

Australia Just Had Its Hottest Day On Record

3:33pm December 18, 2019

by Merrit Kennedy

The scorching temperatures are happening during a destructive wildfire season and a brutal drought. The average maximum temperature across the country on Tuesday was 105.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

In childhood, "telling stories was crucial to my existence and indeed to my survival," writer and cultural critic Clive James said. He died Sunday at age 80.

Books
Arts

Clive James, Writer, TV Host And Cultural Critic, Dies At 80

7:25pm November 28, 2019

by Elizabeth Blair

"Fiction is life with the dull bits left out." That is just one of the many clever observations of the writer, TV host and cultural critic Clive James. He died Sunday in Cambridge, England.

Queue Listen Now

Residents defend a property from a bushfire earlier this month in Taree, north of Sydney.

In Australia, Stubborn Fires Shroud Cities In Smoke, Char Terrain And Menace Koalas

2:26pm November 22, 2019

The blazes in one state alone have consumed an area about eight times the size of Los Angeles, and other fires have erupted across Australia. Amid drought and dry months to come, it could get worse.

Among the obstacles Katie Visco and her husband, Henley Phillips, had to get past were the Flinders Ranges, here seen near Hawker, Australia. "We felt so much joy," Visco says of the sight.

2,200 Miles And 4 Months Later, Runner Finishes Trek Across Australia

4:25pm November 21, 2019

by Colin Dwyer

Katie Visco said it was a "pinch" that drove her to undertake such an ambitious task with her husband in support. "I had been dreaming about this for a while," she tells NPR.

Behrouz Boochani, seen last year at the Australian detention center on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, where the Kurdish-Iranian asylum-seeker spent years seeking his freedom. On Thursday, the prize-winning author touched down in New Zealand on his way to

'I Am Happy Because I Survived': Refugee Writer Is Free After Years In Detention

1:13pm November 14, 2019

by Colin Dwyer

Behrouz Boochani won Australia's richest literary prize earlier this year — but the asylum-seeker, detained offshore, couldn't accept in person. Now, he has made it to New Zealand with a message.

Ferocious wildfires were burning at emergency-level intensity across Australia's New South Wales, most populous state, on Tuesday as authorities warned most populations in their paths that there was no longer time to flee.

Four Dead As 'Tinder Box-Like Conditions' Fuel Catastrophic Bushfires In Australia

7:29pm November 13, 2019

by Merrit Kennedy

The latest remains were found in a burned forest in New South Wales on Wednesday night. As of Thursday morning, there were nearly 70 fires in that state, and more than 70 in neighboring Queensland.

A firefighter battles a wall of flames Friday in Woodford, New South Wales.

Australia Wildfires: State Of Emergency Declared Over 'Catastrophic' Danger

3:55pm November 11, 2019

by Paolo Zialcita

Residents in the greater Sydney area have been warned of "catastrophic fire danger," the country's highest danger rating. At least three people have died in the fires in the state of New South Wales.

A firefighter monitors a fire on Saturday near Port Macquarie in New South Wales. Australia's most populous state has been subject to a large outbreak of wildfires because of drought conditions.

Wildfires Rage In Australian State: 'We've Simply Never Had This Number Of Fires'

5:53pm November 08, 2019

by Paolo Zialcita

Officials say persistent drought caused a massive outbreak of fires in New South Wales, which is the country's most populous state. Dangerous conditions are expected to continue in the coming months.