NSW firefighters and rural communities welcomed rain on Thursday but warned it was only just the start of what they needed.

Smog-prone regions near Beijing and Shanghai posted big improvements in air quality in late 2019, but pollution in other parts of China worsened as dirty industries were relocated rather than shut down.

An indigenous burn practitioner has urged fire policy makers to "get the bush between their toes" and cut red tape as his people begin to assess the damage wrought to their country over the summer.

A baby is fighting for life in hospital after being left in a hot car in the middle of the afternoon, with Victoria Police charging a woman.

Waiting for thick smoke to settle around the Gospers Mountain bushfire, firefighters and conservation specialists were delighted to learn their efforts had spared the prehistoric Wollemi pine from going up in flames.

President Vladimir Putin has engineered a surprise shake-up of Russia's leadership, proposing changes to the constitution that could keep him in power well past the end of his term in 2024.

The indiscriminate wildfire that tore through the NSW south coast town of Mogo bears its scars on the blackened ruins of a brick building on the main drag.

Last year was the earth's second-hottest since records began, and the world should brace itself for more extreme weather events such as the bushfires that ravaged parts of Australia, the World Meteorological Organisation said.

Nine people have been charged over their alleged involvement in a gun supply syndicate that on-sold firearms stolen from rural properties across NSW.

A community leader has urged a stop to violence and retaliation in the Cape York town of Aurukun after residents rioted in the wake of a fatal stabbing on New Year's Day.