Tag: Australian bushfires

Australia’s bushfire crisis turns off tourists

  by Holly ROBERTSON Agence France-Presse MOGO, Australia  (AFP) — Families grieving for lost homes and loved ones, burned koalas rescued from charred forests: The devastation of Australia’s bushfire crisis has tainted the country’s reputation as a safe and alluring holiday destination. Images of the unprecedented scale of this summer’s blazes have evoked global shock and an outpouring of sympathy. Thousands of tourists have been evacuated from coastal towns, international visitors have cancelled flights, and […]

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Australia’s ‘insurance’ koala population halved by bushfires

by Glenda KWEK Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — At least half of Australia’s only disease-free koala population, a key “insurance” for the species’ future, is feared dead with more badly hurt after bush-fires swept through an island sanctuary, rescuers said Sunday. Kangaroo Island, a popular nature-based tourist attraction off the coast of South Australia state, is home to many wild populations of native animals including the much-loved koala, where the populated was estimated at […]

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Australian Open delay valid if smoke haze worsens: Djokovic

BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) — Novak Djokovic said Australian Open organizers should consider delaying the first Grand Slam of the year if haze from bush-fires raging around the country threatens players’ health. The opening major of 2020 is due to start at Melbourne Park on January 20 and the city was blanketed by smoke from blazes burning to the east on Saturday, compromising air quality. Djokovic, president of the ATP players council, said in the early […]

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