​ Oil prices plunge and shares jump on US-Iran ceasefire plan. 48 minutes ago. Osmond Chiaand. Peter Hoskins,Business reporters. Anadolu via Getty Images. Global oil prices have fallen sharply and stock markets have jumped after the US and Iran agreed to a conditional two-week ceasefire deal that includes the reopening of the key Strait of Hormuz waterway.. The price of benchmark Brent crude fell by about 13% to $94.80 (£70.73) a barrel, while US-traded oil was more than 15% lower at $95.75.. But oil prices remain higher than before the conflict started on 28 February. At the time, it was trading at around $70 a barrel.. The cost of energy has jumped as oil and gas supplies from the Middle East have been severely disrupted after Iran threatened to attack ships trying to use the strait in retaliation to US and Israeli airstrikes.. Stock markets in Europe opened higher following sharp rises in Asia. London’s FTSE 100 share index jumped by 2.53% in opening trade. In France, the Cac gained 4% while Germany’s Dazx rose by nearly 5%.. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained by 5% while South Korea’s Kospi jumped by nearly 6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up by 2.8%, while the ASX 200 in Australiagained 2.7%.. US stock market futures also pointed to a higher open for Wall Street.. Futures contracts are an agreement to buy an asset for a set price at a later point in time. In the case of US stock futures, they can indicate the direction of the market before it opens.. In a social media post on Tuesday evening, Trump said: “I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks… subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz”.. He had set a deadline for 20:00 EDT on Tuesday (00:00 GMT on Wednesday), threatening that “a whole civilisation will die tonight” if no deal was reached.. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media that Tehran will agree to a ceasefire “if attacks against Iran are halted”, adding that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz “will be possible”.. Iran ceasefire deal a partial win for Trump – but it comes at a high cost. Tracking recent US-Israeli strikes on Iranian infrastructure. Despite his threats, Trump was likely to be wary about letting energy prices “skyrocket” by escalating the conflict, said Xavier Smith from market research firm AlphaSense.. That could have led to a “self-inflicted economic wound” that few would risk, especially given the looming pressure of approval ratings on Trump’s leadership, said Smith, a research director.. More oil tankers stranded near the strait may be able to pass through the waterway during the ceasefire, providing some relief for markets in the coming weeks, said analyst Saul Kavonic from financial services firm MST Marquee.. Despite the conflict, some ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, although far fewer than usual.. Asian countries – including India, Malaysia and the Philippines – have  

​ Iran ceasefire deal a partial win for Trump – but at a high cost. 4 hours ago. Anthony ZurcherNorth America correspondent. Getty Images. In the end, cooler heads prevailed – at least for now.. At 18:32 Washington time, President Donald Trump posted on his social media website that the US and Iran were “very far along” with a “definitive” peace agreement and that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire to allow negotiations to proceed.. It wasn’t exactly the last minute, but with Trump’s looming 20:00 EDT (00:00 GMT on Wednesday) deadline to reach a deal or the US would launch massive strikes against Iranian energy and transportation infrastructure, it came pretty close.. All of this is contingent on Iran also suspending hostilities and fully opening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping traffic, which the regime says it will do, while insisting it still exerts “dominion” over the waterway.. The deal allowed Trump to extricate himself from what was shaping up to be a treacherous choice – either escalating with his promise that a “whole civilisation will die tonight” or backing down and undermining his credibility. The US president may have only bought himself a temporary reprieve, however.. The US and Iranians now will engage in negotiations over the next two weeks, buying some time to try to reach a permanent settlement. It is likely to be a bumpy ride, but in after-hours trading, the price of a barrel of oil dropped below the $100 mark for the first time in days and US stock futures soared. There appears to be a sense of optimism that the worst is over.. Follow the latest developments live. Even this kind of progress was far from certain as recently as Tuesday morning, when Trump threatened the death of Iranian civilisation, “never to be brought back again”.. Whether such a jaw-dropping threat from an American president pressured Iran to agree to the kind of ceasefire they had previously rejected is uncertain. What is clear is that Trump’s astounding, inflammatory declaration – just two days after a similar obscenity-laced Truth Social demand – is unlike anything a modern US president has ever levelled or hinted at.. And even if the two-week ceasefire does result in a permanent peace, the Iran war – and Trump’s recent words – may have fundamentally altered the way the rest of the world views the US.. Tracking recent US-Israeli strikes on Iranian infrastructure. Trump condemned over threat that Iran’s ‘civilisation will die’. A nation that once styled itself as a force for stability around the globe is now shaking the foundations of the international order. A president who has seemingly relished shattering norms and traditions in domestic politics is now doing the same on the world stage.. Democrats were quick to condemn Trump’s words on Tuesday, with some going so far as to call for his removal.. “It is clear that the president has continued to decline and is not fit to lead,” wrote Congressman Joaquin Castro on X.. Chuck Schumer  

​ Trump-backed Republican Clay Fuller wins election to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene. 6 hours ago. Sareen Habeshian. Republican Clay Fuller is projected to have won Georgia’s runoff election to replace former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a once-staunch ally of Donald Trump who resigned earlier this year after breaking with the president.. Fuller won the election to replace her on Tuesday, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner. He is a Trump-endorsed candidate who won against Democrat Shawn Harris, and whose victory keeps the strongly conservative district in Republican hands.. The win shores up the party’s razor-thin 217-214 majority in the House of Representatives.. Fuller, a lieutenant colonel in the Georgia Air National Guard, will serve out the rest of Greene’s term, which ends next January.. He said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday night that Trump’s endorsement was “the key factor in us winning”.. “He was the difference-maker,” Fuller said. “He made all the difference in the world. It was the honour of my lifetime to be able to get his endorsement.”. A special election was held on 10 March where Harris performed marginally better than Fuller, in part because a crowded Republican field split the vote. No single candidate won a majority that night, requiring Tuesday’s run off election.. In order to hold the seat in Congress beyond next January, Fuller will have to immediately start campaiging again, this time for the midterm elections this November. It’s possible he will face off with Harris again.. Harris indicated on social media that he plans to run.. “This wasn’t the result we wanted, but the message is clear — people here are ready for leadership that puts them first,” he said. “The fight continues. On to November!”. Fuller, who was a White House fellow during Trump’s first term, is closely aligned with the president’s agenda, particularly on curbing illegal immigration and enacting mass deportations.. He rose to the top of a crowded Republican primary field in large part due to Trump’s endorsement. Washington closely followed the race from afar for indications of Trump’s sway with his base ahead of the midterm elections.. “In general, part of President Trump’s strategy in endorsing Fuller was this recognition that the most red meat, MAGA-affiliated candidate in this particular instance, might be off-putting to voters in the middle,” said Andra Gillespie, a professor of political science at Emory University. “This was an attempt to not lose those voters.”. Reuters. The president doubled down on his support for Fuller on Monday night, writing on social media ahead of election day: “I am asking all Republicans, America First Patriots, and MAGA Warriors, to please GET OUT AND VOTE for a fantastic Candidate, Clay Fuller, who has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”. Harris had bet on the unpredictable dynamics of the run-off – which occurs outside a typical election cycle when voter turnout may be low – hoping it w  

​ Top Australian soldier charged with war crimes to remain in jail on remand. 8 hours ago. Lana LamSydney. Ben Roberts-Smith – Australia’s most-decorated living soldier – will remain behind bars after his lawyers did not seek bail over charges of alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.. Roberts-Smith, 47, was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday and charged with five counts of the war crime of murder before being transferred to a police cell.. On Wednesday, lawyers for the Victoria Cross recipient did not immediately apply for bail. Roberts-Smith denies all wrongdoing, previously calling the claims “egregious”.. The criminal case comes after a defamation judgement in 2023 found the former corporal in Australia’s Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) killed several unarmed Afghans between 2009 and 2012.. The years-long defamation proceedings – initiated by Roberts-Smith – marked the first time in history that any court had examined claims of war crimes by Australian forces.. Roberts-Smith’s lawyers argued that the alleged killings were either legal, as they took place during combat, or did not happen at all.. Defamation cases are typically dealt with in the civil court system which requires a lower burden of proof.. The judge in the defamation case found that, on the balance of probabilities, there was substantial truth to allegations of war crimes by Roberts-Smith, who received Australia’s highest military honour for bravery in 2011.. In the criminal case, Roberts-Smith faces one charge of the war crime of murder, one of jointly commissioning a murder, and three of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring a murder. The maximum penalty for the charges is life in prison.. Earlier, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed the case had involved a complex and thorough investigation.. “It will be alleged the victims were shot by the accused or shot by subordinate members of the ADF [Australian Defence Force] in the presence of, and acting on the orders of, the accused,” AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said on Tuesday.. She added that the allegations of misconduct were confined to a “very small section” of the ADF and that the majority of the country’s armed forces “do our country proud”.. Roberts-Smith is due back in court on 17 April, and will appear via a video link.. War in Afghanistan (2001-2021). Afghanistan. Australia  

​ US journalist Shelly Kittleson released after kidnap in Iraq, officials say. 5 hours ago. Amy Walker. Getty Images. A US freelance journalist who was kidnapped in the Iraqi capital Baghdad a week ago has been released, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.. Iran-backed militia group Kataib Hezbollah said earlier on Tuesday that it would release Shelly Kittleson, who was taken on 31 March, on the condition that she leave Iraq immediately.. Rubio said the release “reflects the Trump Administration’s steadfast commitment to the safety and security of American citizens, no matter where they are in the world”.. He thanked Iraqi officials for help securing her release and said the US is now “working to support her safe departure from Iraq”.. At the time of the 49-year-old’s abduction, the Iraqi government said security forces had chased the suspects in a pursuit that led to one of the kidnappers’ cars overturning and the arrest of one person.. Last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani ordered security forces to pursue those responsible for abducting foreigners.. In a separate post, Assaf said the group would release a recording showing Kittleson’s “role and activities in Iraq”, without providing further details.. The abduction came amid ongoing attacks by Iran and its allied Iraqi Shia militias on US-associated targets across Iraq and the region since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran.. Kittleson’s friend and emergency contact, CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas, said he had seen the “alleged statement” about her release, but added “we have no official confirmation from the United States government that this is true”.. It is understood that US officials had contacted Kittleson a number of times before she was kidnapped to warn of threats against her.. Plitsas previously told CBS, the BBC’s US news partner, that Kittleson had been warned by the US government about a specific threat to her from Iran-backed paramilitaries.. He said Kittleson had been told her name was on a list in the possession of Kataib Hezbollah, which was said to be plotting to kidnap or kill female journalists.. Kittleson, based in Rome, Italy, has covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. According to her bio on X, she has worked for numerous publications.. The US state department has warned citizens not to travel to Iraq.. US journalist Shelly Kittleson kidnapped in Baghdad. US names six crew killed in refuelling plane crash in Iraq. Shetland man’s lucky escape after drone attacks in Iraq. Middle East. Baghdad. Iraq