"We are elevating our relationship to a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership, in recognition of the strength and potential of our bilateral defense ties," Hegseth said in a statement on X.

"I certainly think that in some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality... and let the President United States stick to dictating American public policy," Vance told Fox News's "Special Report with Bret Baier."

Merz also expressed his "grave concern" about developments in the Palestinian territories in a telephone conversation with Netanyahu and demanded that there "must be no de facto partial annexation of the West Bank", the German government spokesman said.

The strait, through which a fifth of global oil and gas flows, has become a key flashpoint as the US and Iran attempt to gain leverage over each other during ceasefire negotiations.

Egypt, a BRICS member, is the largest importer of Russian wheat, while Russia also exports food to China and India, the bloc's two biggest economies.

Meeting Putin for the second time in less than six months, Prabowo said ahead of closed-door talks that he intended to “personally supervise” key strategic cooperation with Moscow, highlighting the urgency of closer ties in an increasingly uncertain global climate. 

US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February sparked a region-wide war and brought to a near standstill traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and gas shipments.

Beyond immediate security concerns, ASEAN highlighted the broader implications of the conflict on regional stability, especially on energy and food supplies.

"Europe's heart is beating stronger in Hungary tonight," she posted on X, in English and in Hungarian.

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to Brunei and Malaysia to discuss energy and food security, his office said on Sunday, continuing regional efforts to shore up fuel supplies for a nation reliant on imports.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that an Israeli tank rammed peacekeeping vehicles on Sunday in the country's south where Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since last month.

President Donald Trump said the United States Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after marathon talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardizing a fragile two-week ceasefire.

President Prabowo Subianto is set to depart for Russia, the Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday, as he seeks to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in search of fuel amid disruptions to global oil supplies caused by the United States-Israeli war on Iran.

The presidency in Jakarta confirmed to AFP that Prabowo would leave Sunday evening.

China on Sunday unveiled 10 new incentive measures for Taiwan, including easing tourist curbs, allowing in "healthy" television dramas and facilitating food sales, following a visit by the island's opposition leader.

Filipinos like their pares (traditional beef stew) served hot -- but the soaring cost of liquefied petroleum gas has made that prospect increasingly difficult since war erupted in the Middle East.

Police in London said they had arrested more than 500 pro-Palestinian protesters at a demonstration in support of the banned group Palestine Action on Saturday.

"The Iranian delegation negotiated continuously and intensively for 21 hours in order to protect the national interests of the Iranian people; despite various initiatives from the Iranian delegation, the unreasonable demands of the American side prevented the progress of the negotiations. Thus the negotiations ended," IRIB said on Telegram.

Vance boarded Air Force Two at 7:08 am (0208 GMT) and waved to Pakistani officials from the top of the stairs.

Pope Leo has urged world leaders to end what he called the "madness of war," in an impassioned appeal as senior US and Iranian officials met in Pakistan to discuss ending the six-week conflict.

The talks in Islamabad were the first direct US-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Roscosmos chief said the Soyuz-5 would be the first new launch vehicle developed in Russia since 2014.

Artemis II was the inaugural crewed mission of NASA's program aiming to install a sustained presence on the Moon.

In a break with precedent, Iranian and US officials were meeting directly, alongside Pakistan, and not speaking through mediators who shuttled between rooms.

Around 20 percent to 25 percent of Indonesia's crude oil imports are sourced from the Middle East and the government has said it is boosting imports from other places such as Angola and Nigeria to ensure enough supply at home.

For the US-Iran talks, Islamabad, a city of more than 2 million people, was locked down with thousands of paramilitary personnel and army troops on the streets.