- France deploys helicopter carrier to Mediterranean -

France has sent a helicopter carrier to the Mediterranean in response to the war, the French military told AFP on Friday.

Paris decided to deploy its flagship aircraft carrier and a frigate earlier in the week.

- Lebanon death toll rises, 300,000 displaced -

The death toll in Lebanon rose to 217, the country's health ministry said, as Israeli air strikes battered Beirut's southern suburbs, where Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah holds sway.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has warned that "a humanitarian disaster is looming" as a result of Israeli evacuation orders that are causing a massive population displacement.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said 300,000 people in Lebanon had been forced to flee and questioned the legality of the Israeli orders.

- US oil price soars over 10 percent -

The price of the benchmark US oil contract soared more than 10 percent on fears of extended disruption after President Donald Trump demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender".

West Texas Intermediate surged 10.63 percent to $89.62 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent North Sea crude reached $91.89, the highest level in nearly two years.

- EU, Middle East leaders to talk -

EU chiefs will hold talks with Middle East leaders by video-link on Monday on the war in the region, a spokesperson for the European Council president said.

- Explosions in Iraqi Kurdistan -

Explosions sounded near Erbil airport in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region and an attack forced a US-run oil field to shut production.

AFP journalists reported explosions and grey smoke rising from near the airport area, which hosts US-led coalition troops. Iraqi Kurdish authorities said earlier that oil production at a field operated by US firm HKN Energy had been halted following an attack.

Four drones also struck Basra airport in southern Iraq and two nearby oil facilities, a security official told AFP.

- Iran targets Kuwait -

Iran's army said it had attacked US bases in Kuwait and vowed that it would stage further strikes. Explosions were heard in the Kuwaiti capital, an AFP journalist said, as authorities said they were confronting missile and drone strikes.

Earlier, Kuwait's defence ministry said 67 Kuwaiti army personnel had been injured in the conflict -- the highest number by far of any Gulf military.

- UN says US must probe school strike -

The United Nations rights chief called for answers after a deadly strike on an Iranian elementary school, as a New York Times investigation concluded the United States was most likely responsible.

The February 28 strike hit a school in the southern city of Minab and killed at least 150 people, say Iranian officials. Neither Israel nor the United States has claimed responsibility for the attack, which was close to sites controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

- Europe's mounting war fears -

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the Middle East war must not lead to the collapse of the Iranian state, warning of the potential impact on migration to Europe.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that "loyal cooperation" should prevail over "confrontation" in relations with the United States after tensions over Madrid's opposition to Washington's use of its bases against Iran.

- Ukraine sending drone experts -

Ukraine is preparing to despatch military drone specialists to the Gulf to help them fend off barrages of Iranian drones -- something Kyiv has become expert in as it defends against nightly Russian attacks with hundreds of Iranian-style drones

- Maersk halts further shipping -

Danish shipping giant Maersk said it was suspending two intercontinental transit routes because of the war, its service connecting the Far East to the Middle East, and the route connecting the Middle East to Europe.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the US navy was preparing to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz "as soon as it's reasonable to do it".

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A.P. MOELLER-MAERSK