SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — “Apocalyptic” dust storms swept across drought-stricken areas of Australia over the weekend, with thunder and giant hail battering the east coast, as extreme weather patterns collided in the bushfire-fatigued country. The southern city of Melbourne was lashed by huge hailstones late Sunday and fire-ravaged parts of Victoria state overnight received heavy rainfall, prompting new extreme weather alerts. Australia has since October been overwhelmed by an unprecedented bushfire season made worse by […]

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s bushfires have burned more than half the known habitat of 100 threatened plants and animals, including 32 critically endangered species, the government said Monday. Wildlife experts worry that more than a billion animals have perished in the unprecedented wave of bushfires that have ravaged eastern and southern Australia for months. Twenty-eight people died in the blazes, which have swept through an area larger than Portugal. Officials say it will take […]