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The fire burning in north-east Victoria near Walwa was so fierce it generated its own weather this afternoon, including a substantial pyrocumulonimbus cloud with lightning and thunder.

Oil prices rose for a second day on Friday, up more than 1% and set for their third weekly gain, on uncertainty about the future of supply from Venezuela and as Iranian unrest increases concerns about...

Parts of Victoria and SA could expect highs of 46 or 47C, with winds bringing bushfire danger later in week * Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Australia’s southern states are expected to bake this week as the most significant heatwave since the 2019-20 black summer pushes temperatures well into the 40s. Heatwave warnings cover large parts of Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory as a band of severe to extreme heat makes its way slowly across the country, from west to east. Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter Continue reading...

After 35 years of teaching fiction writing, the prize-winning author shares her wisdom. First tip? Don’t write what you know…