Iran has agreed to a two-week ceasefire with the United States, in a major breakthrough aimed at easing weeks of escalating conflict in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump says he is prepared to suspend military action against Iran for two weeks, as part of a proposed ceasefire agreement.

Global tensions have sharply escalated after the United States issued a warning to Iran over access to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping routes.

China and Russia have blocked a United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at protecting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Australia is considering aid options to ensure Pacific nations have access to fuel, as the Middle East war threatens to derail several diesel-dependent island economies.

A landmark study has found that people who vape are at higher risk of cancer than those who do not, casting doubt over whether the habit is safer than smoking.

Australian police shot dead a fugitive gunman who had been on the ​run for seven months after allegedly killing two police personnel in ‌a remote town in Victoria state, Australian media widely reported on Monday.

Iran is reviewing a U.S. proposal to end the war in the Gulf but has ​no intention of holding talks to wind down the widening Middle East conflict, the country’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Hundreds of workers at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation have walked off the job in a 24-hour strike—the first industrial action of its kind at the broadcaster in two decades.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. was making progress ​in its efforts to negotiate an end to war with Iran, including winning an important concession from Tehran, while a source confirmed that ‌Washington had sent Iran a 15-point settlement proposal.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to chair an emergency meeting on the economic fallout from the war in Iran on Monday, with finance minister Rachel Reeves and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey ​in attendance, the government said.

President Donald Trump told Israel not to repeat its attacks on Iranian natural gas infrastructure as tit-for-tat strikes on energy plants sent prices spiraling, ​sharply escalating the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.