Australia on Monday boosted emergency grants and loans for small businesses hit ...
SYDNEY - Australia on Monday boosted emergency grants and loans for small businesses hit by bushfires that have ravaged the country during the peak tourist season, as firefighters used cooler weather to prepare for a return of hazardous fire conditions.The fires have killed 29 people and millions of animals, destroyed more than 2,500 homes and razed an area roughly a third the size of Germany since September.
“The customers come back and the businesses rebuild and the local towns and communities rebuild with their support,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told television network Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd.The Australian tourism industry estimates the fires which have raged throughout the December-January holiday season have cost it almost A$1 billion.
Firefighters had taken advantage of the milder conditions to “slow the spread of fire and build containment lines ahead of increased fire dangers”, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service said in a post on its Twitter account.The Australian Open tennis tournament was scheduled to begin in Melbourne on Monday with organizers saying they would monitor air quality after a player collapsed on court and quit a qualifying match due to bushfire smoke inhalation.
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