Bushfires flared in southern Australia on Thursday as a heatwave expected to bring renewed misery set in, and officials warned some areas are "just at the beginning" of the devastating crisis.

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake on Wednesday rattled an area less than 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant near the country's Gulf coast, a US monitor said.

A strong earthquake struck off the south of Puerto Rico early Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, the latest in a series of tremors that have shaken the island since December 28.

Firefighters raced to quell massive bushfires in southeastern Australia Tuesday, taking advantage of a brief drop in temperatures and some much-needed rainfall before another heatwave strikes later this week.

Reserve troops fanned out across fire-ravaged regions in three Australian states on Monday after a horror weekend, as the government pledged $1.4 billion over two years to help recover from the devastating months-long crisis.

Australia's military launched the seaborne evacuation of hundreds of people trapped in a southeastern town Friday, as the country braced for yet more catastrophic bushfire conditions.

A navy landing craft from HMAS Choules docked in the town of Mallacoota, where residents who had been stuck on the foreshore since New Year's Eve clambered aboard with family, pets and a few belongings. 

Car giant Volkswagen said Thursday it would open talks on a possible settlement in a mass lawsuit brought by hundreds of thousands of German diesel car owners over emissions cheating.

Australia ordered residents and tourists out of the path of raging bushfires Thursday as the country braced for a weekend heatwave expected to fan the deadly inferno.

Catastrophic blazes ripped through the country's south-east on New Year's Eve, killing at least eight people and stranding holidaymakers.

Thai retailers kicked off 2020 with a ban on single-use plastic bags, joining the battle against throwaway carriers in the Southeast Asian nation where citizens go through an average of eight every day. 

The move, taken on Wednesday by several major mall operators and the ubiquitous 7/11 convenience stores, will see customers instead paying a small fee for a reusable bag made of a cloth-like fabric. 

Flames from flying New Year's Eve lanterns might have sparked a blaze that killed dozens of monkeys at a zoo in northwestern Germany, management and security services said Wednesday.

The blaze tore through the monkey enclosure shortly before midnight, killing at least 30 animals, including orangutans, chimpanzees and marmosets, police said.