Briefly

AUSTRALIA

Vigilance urged as major bushfires burn

Australian firefighters warned people on Monday to prepare for more bushfires in a "high-risk" summer, after blazes killed one person and incinerated more than 350 buildings in the southeast. Weather conditions have eased since strong winds and temperatures topping 40 C fed dozens of wildfires in Victoria state, which declared a state of disaster on Saturday. However, officials said 12 major fires were still burning across the state. Country Fire Authority Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said another "heating event" was expected toward the end of January, though its intensity was uncertain."We are early in the high-risk weather season," Heffernan told a news conference. "There's been a lot of fire in the landscape. Much work will be done between now and then to contain these fires."

UNITED STATES

NASA launches mission to probe exoplanets

NASA launched a new satellite mission into low Earth orbit on Sunday to study the atmospheres of exoplanets and their host stars. The Pandora mission lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:44 am Pacific Time from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Pandora will examine at least 20 exoplanets along with their host stars.

FRANCE

Alps avalanches kill 6 skiers over weekend

Three off-piste skiers were killed in separate avalanches in the French Alps on Sunday, resort officials said, bringing the death toll over the weekend to six. A British man in his 50s died at La Plagne ski resort after being buried under 2.5 meters of snow despite a large-scale rescue effort. Another skier was found dead following an avalanche in Courchevel, the resort said. In a third incident, a 32-year-old skier was killed in an avalanche in Vallorcine, Haute-Savoie, according to local gendarmerie. The fatalities followed two avalanches on Saturday that claimed three additional lives.

Agencies - Xinhua