MELBOURNE (Reuters) - The bodies of three U.S. firefighters who died in a plane crash earlier this week in Australia's remote bushland while battling a fierce wildfire have been recovered, the police said on Saturday as investigators started probe into the accident.

LONDON (Reuters) - The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere this year is likely to show one of the largest annual rises since measurements began in 1958, partly fueled by Australian bushfires, according to research by Britain's Met Office.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is working on the assumption that the status quo transition period after Brexit will terminate at the end of the year and not be extended, a senior official with the bloc said on Friday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's weather is expected be milder than normal from February to April, especially in eastern Europe and in western Russia, The Weather Company said on Friday.

PARIS (Reuters) - Strikes over planned pensions reform had reduced French electricity generation by 5.1 gigawatts (GW) or around 6.4% of available generation capacity by 0850 GMT on Friday, data from grid operator RTE and utility EDF showed.

(This January 9 story corrects to remove paragraphs 2 and 3, which were incorrect)

MELBOURNE/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian officials were working on Friday to extricate the bodies of three U.S. firefighters from a plane that crashed in remote bushland, as the area's "active" bushfire status complicated an investigation into the accident.

MELBOURNE/SYDNEY, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Australian officials were working on Friday to extricate the bodies of three U.S. firefighters from a plane that crashed in remote bushland, as the area's "active" bushfire status complicated an investigation into the accident.

MELBOURNE/SYDNEY, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Firefighters in Australia held a minute's silence on Friday for three U.S. colleagues killed in a plane crash as investigators scoured the accident site in remote bushland.