- Iran turns back ships -

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Friday that they had turned back three ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz, saying the route was closed to vessels travelling to and from ports linked to countries aiding the US-Israeli attacks.

Energy market intelligence firm Kpler said Friday it had identified two container ships belonging to Chinese firm COSCO that had attempted to leave the Gulf by crossing the narrow waterway, but had turned around.

- Kuwait says port damaged -

Kuwait's main commercial port was damaged in a drone attack, authorities said, as Iran pressed its campaign in the Gulf in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes.

The Shuwaikh port was targeted at dawn "by enemy drones, preliminary reports revealed material damage but no human casualties", the Kuwait port authority said on X.

- Oil rises -

Oil prices rose Friday even as US President Donald Trump pushed back a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Wall Street's main stock indices were lower in midday trading while European markets were mostly lower.

- Ukraine, Saudi deal -

Ukraine and Saudi Arabia signed an air-defence agreement during President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the kingdom, two senior officials told AFP Friday.

Details of the accord were not announced. Kyiv has sought to leverage its expertise in downing Russian drones to help Gulf nations, under attack from the same kind of Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia fires on Ukraine.

- 'Significant slowdown' in Spain -

Spain's economy could face a "significant slowdown" due to the Middle East war, the Bank of Spain said Friday, warning of potential "episodes of financial market instability".

Separately, Spain's annual inflation jumped to 3.3 percent in March from 2.3 percent the previous month, driven by higher costs for petrol and heating oil, preliminary data showed Friday.

- Iran all in on crypto -

Iran has witnessed massive cryptocurrency flows since the start of the Middle East conflict.

Experts say they are being used to circumvent sanctions placed on Iran's Revolutionary Guards as well as a financial safe haven by civilians hit by soaring inflation.

- Fewer flights cancelled -

The percentage of Middle East flights cancelled has dropped considerably since the early days of the war, according to an aviation data firm, but the number of scheduled also fell.

Only 13 percent of flights to and from the region were cancelled on Friday, according to Cirium, compared to more than 65 percent in the first days of the war.

- Germany to keep coal online longer -

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday that if the energy crisis sparked by the Middle East war dragged on and caused shortages, Germany might have to keep running coal-fired power plants longer than planned.

"I am not prepared to jeopardise the core of our industry just because we have decided on phase-out plans that have become unrealistic," he said.

- Japan to ease coal restrictions -

Japan's government plans to temporarily lift restrictions on coal-fired power plants as it seeks to ease an energy crunch caused by the Middle East war, an official told AFP.

Power suppliers have until now been required to keep the operating rate of coal-fired thermal power stations that emit large amounts of carbon dioxide at or below 50 percent.

- Egypt imposes business curfew -

Egypt has ordered shops, restaurants and shopping malls to close at 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) from Saturday, hoping to curb energy bills that have more than doubled because of the Iran war.

- Overnight queues -

Ethiopians said Friday they slept in their cars in hours-long queues for petrol as shortages caused by the Middle East war began to take their toll.

The Horn of Africa country is particularly vulnerable as it imports all its petrol, primarily from the Gulf.

- Tea stuck in Kenya -

Between 6,000 and 8,000 tonnes of tea, worth around $24 million, is stuck at Kenya's port of Mombasa because of the war in the Middle East, trade officials said Friday.

Around 65 percent of the east African tea market has been affected by the war that began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, EATTA director George Omuga said.

As a result, "six to eight million kilos" are stuck in Mombasa, he told AFP.

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