Parts of Australia were sweltered in record temperatures of close to 122 degrees as the country sweated through a prolonged heat wave even as bitter cold covered much of the U.S.

Australia’s trade minister is set to travel to Brussels for talks with European Union officials to try and secure a free trade accord, which if signed would be the bloc’s third major agreement this year and bolster its efforts to stave off pressure from the Trump administration.

Vast swaths of southeastern Australia are sweltering in a heat wave that’s pushed temperatures to close to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) and forced some residents to protect their properties as wildfires race through parts of rural Victoria.

Australia is capable of its best finish at a Winter Olympics, with Bree Walker, Scotty James and Jakara Anthony leading the charge for Olympic gold.

Australia is hoping Milano Cortina 2026 will be its most successful Winter Olympics in history. The reason for Australia's winter sports surge has its roots in a 70-year-old snubbing.

Australia’s central bank has lifted its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 3.85%, after three rate cuts last year and as inflation surges

Australians are again bracing for rate pain, as an overheating economy forces the central bank to tighten the policy screws

(Removes incorrect reference to size of FSU's membership in the last paragraph in Jan 22 story) Feb 6 (Reuters) - Australia's Finance Sector Union condemned ANZ Group's decision to cut jobs across multiple Suncorp Bank divisions on Thursday,