An exemption for Australian steel and aluminium exports to the United States is "under consideration" by US President Donald Trump, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. 

Mr Albanese spoke with the US leader on Tuesday morning, in a call that was scheduled before Mr Trump announced new 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the US. 

Also, two new scientific reports call for a rethink of the targets under the Paris Climate Agreement because of modelling showing that the 1.5 degree threshold could be breached earlier than predicted and as soon as the end of this decade.

The Greens have vowed to push for stronger action on climate change if Labor ends up needing their support in the event of a hung parliament. That's after the party dropped its demand for a climate trigger in new national environment laws, which have been shelved anyway in the face of opposition from the WA mining industry.

And the delicate ceasefire agreement between Israel and the militant group Hamas is facing a major test this morning after Hamas announced it would delay the next planned release of hostages from Gaza.

Hamas made the statement overnight, accusing Israel of breaching the deal by preventing the return of displaced people to the north of Gaza and limiting aid. But Israel says it's Hamas breaking the agreement, with Defence Minister Israel Katz warning he's moved the Israeli Defence Force to the highest level of alert.

And Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania have disconnected from the Russian power grid and merged their systems with Europe's.

The EU's foreign policy chief described the move as a "victory for freedom", saying Russia will no longer be able to use grid access to blackmail the Baltic States.

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