Australian police revealed Thursday they had cracked a major global money-laundering ring with operatives in more than 20 countries and funds syphoned off to groups reported to include Hizbullah.

The Australian Crime Commission said more than Aus$580 million (US$512 million) of drugs and assets had been seized, including Aus$26 million in cash, in a year-long sting codenamed Eligo targeting the offshore laundering of funds generated by outlaw motorcycle gangs, people-smugglers and others.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop lashed out Wednesday at Edward Snowden, accusing the U.S. intelligence leaker of "unprecedented treachery" after he unveiled Canberra's efforts to spy on Indonesia.

Bishop praised cooperation with Washington and reserved harsh words for Snowden, whose revelations led Indonesia to halt work with Australia to stem people smuggling, a key priority for new conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Australia has damaged its human rights record by persistently undercutting refugee protections, including a "draconian" policy to send asylum-seekers to Pacific island camps, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.

In its annual World Report, the group said successive Australian governments had prioritized domestic politics over international legal obligations towards asylum-seekers, who faced "draconian new policies in Australia" diverting them to third countries.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has declared Australia will pursue the crackdown on boats carrying asylum-seekers into its waters, saying Indonesia should understand it is a matter of sovereignty.

Jakarta has reacted furiously to repeated incursions by Australian vessels into Indonesian waters, reportedly while attempting to turn back boats carrying would-be refugees, despite an official apology from Canberra.

Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell announced on Monday the sale of stakes in Australian natural gas assets for more than one billion U.S. dollars to a Kuwaiti state company.

Shell said it had agreed to sell its 8.0-percent equity interest in the Wheatstone-Iago gas field and 6.4-percent interest in the Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project for $1.135 billion (837 million euros) to the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company.

Easing conditions Sunday after a week-long heatwave helped Australian fire crews battling major wildfires that destroyed 25 homes in the southeast, but there were warnings of a long and dangerous season ahead.

Firefighters in the states of South Australia and Victoria said they had gained the upper hand over a series of blazes which started last week during temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for several consecutive days.

The worst of the bushfires in Australia's state of Victoria appeared to be over Saturday, officials said, as firefighters battling the blazes welcomed cooler conditions after days of extreme heat.

Four homes were lost in a fire in the Grampians region, in western Victoria, where a massive 52,000-hectare blaze had threatened townships and prompted the evacuation of holiday spots.

Indonesia said Friday it "deplores" intrusions by the Australian navy into its waters and demanded Canberra suspend its military-led operation to halt the flow of asylum-seekers.

Jakarta also pledged to step up maritime patrols in areas where it fears its "territorial integrity" could be violated.

Australians sweltering through an extreme heatwave were warned that the worst was yet to come Thursday, with hundreds of fires raging in several states and temperatures nearing record highs.

Most of southeast Australia has been in the grips of a scorching heatwave that triggered a devastating wildfire on the west coast, razing 55 homes and claiming one life on Sunday.

Australia's foreign ministry said Wednesday it was trying to confirm the reported deaths of a young woman and her husband in the Syrian conflict.

Amira Karroum, 22, and Yusuf Ali were widely reported to have been killed in Aleppo on Saturday.