The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, blames Iran for the attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman based on the weapons used.

There were no casualties after the attack on the Japanese tanker Kokuka Courageous and the Norwegian tanker Front Altair.

Oil prices have increased as much as 4 per cent after the incident on Thursday.

Kenyan MP Rashid Kassim has been arrested for allegedly slapping fellow MP Fatuma Gedi for not allocating money to his area.

The alleged assault took place in the parliament building car park after confronting her, a picture of Ms Gedi with blood in her mouth was widely spread on Twitter.

MP Sabrina Wanjiru Chege says that plenty of the male MPs make fun of the women colleagues and they should know how to treat men.

Researchers say the fossils of a giant new species of sea creatures found on Kangaroo Island were likely the ‘terror’ of other creatures on the seafloor.

University of Adelaide PhD student James Holmes says the fossils, called Redlichia rex, was named because of its giant size, formidable legs and spines used for crushing and shredding food.

The species was described as one of the most successful animal groups, surviving for almost  270 million years.

Queensland Wildlife Hospital at Wacol in western Brisbane is now one of the busiest facilities of its kind in the world.

The Wacol facility was built to support 10,000 animals each year, but by the end of last year it had cared for almost 21,000.

Sheilla Collecott from Animal Focus RSPCA Queensland said that they have outgrown their hospital and now have to look at how they are going to cope in future.

The Queensland government is investigating the removal of a chimney on the heritage listed Broadway Hotel after the latest fire in September 2018.

An environment department spokesman says the chimney is believed to have been dislodged by the owner whilst removing damaged roof framing and sheeting after the fire.

The hotel has been a major community concern since the fire, with many locals worried that the building is too damaged for restoration.

Jon Stewart speaking in Washington DC, has criticised lawmakers for not funding health care for 9/11 first responders.

Mr Stewart was met with empty seats as he spoke on Tuesday to a House Judiciary subcommittee about a bill to secure funding for ailing 9/11 victims.

He criticised  members of Congress for skipping the hearing by saying  it was an embarrassment to the country and they should be ashamed of themselves.

An arthritis drug owned by Pfizer may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's according to a report by the Washington Post.

However the pharmaceutical giant has decided not to develop the drug, Enbrel, for Alzheimer's.

Critics say this is because the patent on the drug will soon expire and Alzheimer’s trials are long and expensive because the disease progresses slowly.

Police say two men shot by officers near the Victoria-NSW border are on a counter-terrorism watchlist.

The men aged 19 and 30 are believed to have links to outlaw motorcycle gangs, rammed the police car and lunged at the officers with a knife and a tomahawk.

Both men were shot by police and taken to Albury Hospital with serious injuries. The 30-year-old was later flown to Melbourne.