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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday that he had discussed the crisis in Gaza with his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer, and reiterated his government's strong support for a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, Reuters reported.

Starmer this week said Britain was prepared to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly in response to growing public anger over the images of starving children in Gaza.

Australia has not yet made a formal decision to recognise Palestine though Albanese supports Israel's right to exist within secure borders and Palestinians' right to demand their own state.

In a statement, Albanese said they agreed on the importance of using international momentum to secure a ceasefire, the release of all Israeli hostages and the acceleration of aid. They also want to ensure militant group Hamas does not play a role in a future Palestinian state, according to Reuters.

President Donald Trump says the US will charge a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea, in what he called a "full and complete trade deal". 

It comes just a day before a 1 August deadline for countries to reach agreements with the US or be hit with higher tariffs. South Korea had been facing a 25% levy if it had not struck a deal, BBC reported.

Pressure on Seoul had been mounting after Japan, a key competitor in the car and manufacturing industries, secured a 15% tariff rate with the US this week.

The deal, which will also see Seoul invest $350bn (£264.1bn) in the US, has been touted as a success in South Korea - especially given the record trade surplus of at least $56bn with the US last year, according to BBC.

US officials said on Wednesday that they will sanction Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, accusing him of authorising "arbitrary pre-trial detentions" and suppressing "freedom of expression".

Judge Moraes has been leading the investigation into allegations that Brazil's former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies plotted a coup after he lost the 2022 election, BBC reported.

Bolsonaro has denied those allegations and has called Judge Moraes a "dictator".

Shortly after the sanctions were announced, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that raised tariffs on Brazil to 50%.

As Canada joins France and the UK in announcing plans to recognise a Palestinian state, the US is standing firmly with Israel - but does Trump have a long-term plan for Gaza's future?

Of all history's declarations about the Middle East, one that may be less prominent in the global collective memory was in Tokyo in November 2023.

Then-US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken laid out a series of principles for the "day after" the war in Gaza at a meeting of the G7, a group of the world's most powerful countries, BBC reported.

He travelled there from Tel Aviv, after meeting Israel's leadership a month after the Hamas attacks on October 7, during the ensuing Israeli offensive on Gaza.