Czech 'arks' help preserve Ukraine's cultural heritage

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, officials said on Friday. 

Officials presented the plan at a meeting of a panel of experts, who approved the proposal, the industry ministry said on its website.

"Given the current situation in the Middle East affecting fuel prices, we believe that uncertainty regarding future LNG procurement is increasing," an industry ministry official said at the meeting, which was broadcast online.

"We think it will be necessary, by increasing the operation of coal-fired power plants, to... ensure the reliability of stable supply," he said.

Power suppliers have previously 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.

But the government now intends to allow the full operation of older, less efficient coal-fired plants, for a year from the new fiscal year starting April, according to the plan presented at the meeting.

Japan relies on thermal power plants to generate around 70 percent of its electricity needs, with coal constituting 30 percent of their fuel.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) accounts for another 30 percent, and oil comprises seven percent.

The emergency measure to boost reliance on coal is estimated to "result in an LNG savings effect of approximately 500,000 tonnes", the official added.

But Yoko Mulholland of climate think-tank E3G told AFP that the plans to lift coal power restrictions "deepen the risk that Japan will not meet its goal of phasing out inefficient coal plants by 2030". 

Not only threatening climate health, the move can also "lock Japan into a vicious cycle of fossil-fuel dependence" and delay progress toward Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's stated goal of 100 percent domestic energy self-sufficiency, she said. 

"This crisis has laid bare the risks of relying on imported fossil fuels, and now is the time for Japan to shift course to fully embrace renewable energy as a strategic national asset."

Since the Middle East war prompted Iran to partially close the crucial Strait of Hormuz trade route and target energy facilities in the Gulf, many Asian nations have pivoted towards coal to power their economies.

South Korea plans to lift a cap on coal-powered generation capacity while also increasing nuclear plant operations.

The Philippines also intended to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down as the war wreaks havoc with gas shipments.

Japan is the fifth-biggest importer of oil with more than 90 percent of it coming from the Middle East.

Around 10 percent of its LNG imports are also from the region.

Tokyo purchases nearly 80 percent of its coal imports from Australia and Indonesia, according to the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.

Japan on Thursday said it had also started to release another part of its strategic oil reserves, as it faced supply challenges to its oil imports.

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The Mexican Navy was searching on Friday for two boats that went missing while transporting humanitarian aid to crisis-hit Cuba, authorities and the convoy organizers said.

The vessels set sail last Friday from Isla Mujeres in Mexico's southeastern state of Quintana Roo, with nine crew of different nationalities on board, Mexico's navy said Thursday in a statement.

But communication with the crew was lost, it added. 

The Nuestra America Convoy said earlier that it would use air, land and sea to deliver food, medicine and supplies to the communist island which has risked being plunged into darkness since US President Donald Trump vowed in January to starve it of oil.

"Mexican authorities have activated their search and rescue protocol for two sailboats en route to Havana as part of the Convoy, which have not yet arrived," a spokesperson for the convoy told AFP. 

"The captains and crews are experienced sailors, and both vessels are equipped with appropriate safety systems and signalling equipment," the spokesperson said.

While the convoy appealed for information on sightings of the vessels, it said it remains "confident in the crews' ability to reach Havana safely."

"Based on the speed of the vessels reported to the Cuban maritime authorities, the window for arrival for the boats in Havana should be between the night of Friday 27 March and midday of Saturday 28 March," they explained. 

The Mexican Navy said on Thursday that there had been neither "communication nor confirmation of their arrival" in Cuba and that it had alerted naval commanders in the region and its search and rescue stations.

The navy said earlier that the boats were due to arrive between Tuesday and Wednesday. 

- Cuba in crisis -

Since last week, activists from several countries have left Mexican ports on vessels loaded with food and other supplies for the communist-led island, which faces a humanitarian crisis in the face of a US-imposed fuel embargo.

The navy did not specify the identities or nationalities of the crew members on the missing boats, but said it was maintaining communication with rescue agencies in Poland, France, Cuba and the United States.

The navy is also in contact "with the diplomatic missions of the crew members' countries of origin" to cooperate and exchange information in real time, the statement said.

It said it was using aircraft to search the route between Isla Mujeres and Havana.

It appealed to seafarers and maritime authorities in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico to report any information or sightings of the missing vessels to the nearest naval authority. 

Trump imposed a de facto oil blockade on Cuba in January after the US ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, whose government had been its principal source Cuba's fuel supplies.

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G7 allies were on Friday pressing US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for clarity on American plans for Iran almost one month into the war in the Middle East, as concern intensifies over the damage to the global economy from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Having skipped the first day of the meeting at the historic monastery turned luxury hotel complex outside Paris, Rubio arrived at the Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey for a full day of talks with counterparts from leading industrialised democracies.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said ahead of the talks that allies needed to know "how the US will proceed" in the conflict which began with the air strikes on February 28 that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

US President Donald Trump had repeatedly declared talks are in progress with Iran but details remain murky. 

"Our colleague Rubio can today perhaps explain this more precisely," Wadephul told Deutschlandfunk radio, calling on allies to come to a "joint position" with the US.

Trump on Thursday pushed back his deadline for strikes on Iran's energy assets to April 6 in the latest twist in Washington's plans.

While all G7 nations are close US allies, none have unambiguously offered support for the assault on Iran, angering Trump.

- 'For the world' -

The UK's foreign minister Yvette Cooper on Friday urged a "swift resolution to this conflict that restores regional stability".

She echoed concerns over the ongoing de-facto blockade by Iran of the key Strait of Hormuz which has driven up global oil prices and left vessels queueing up to enter the energy bottleneck.

"Frankly, Iran cannot be able to just hold the global economy hostage as a result of a Strait which is about international shipping routes and the freedom of navigation," she said.

Before leaving for France, Rubio said Thursday that it was in the "interest" of all G7 nations to push for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

On talks with Iran, he said "there are intermediary countries that are passing messages, and progress has been made."

It is Rubio's first trip abroad since the United States and Israel launched the war.

Defending the war, he said: "The president is not just doing a favour to the United States and to our people. This is for the world."

- 'Did not give in to any pressure' -

In contrast to usual protocol, and in a sign of the distance between the United States and its allies, there is to be no joint communique at the end of the meeting.

Instead, the G7 presidency, which France holds this year, will issue a statement, a diplomatic source said, asking not to be named.

With Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in attendance, European ministers are keen to emphasise support for Kyiv must not be forgotten over four years after Russia's full-scale invasion.

France is eager to broaden the scope of the elite G7 club -- whose origins go back to the first G6 summit held in the nearby Chateau de Rambouillet in 1975 -- and which now comprises Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, UK and United States.

It has invited foreign ministers from key emerging markets Brazil and India, as well as Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

The event is leading up to a G7 summit in the French Alpine lakeside resort of Evian in June to be chaired by President Emmanuel Macron.

The South African presidency Thursday alleged Washington urged Paris to disinvite President Cyril Ramaphosa from that summit. But French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Kenya -- rather than South Africa -- had been invited and "we did not give in to any pressure".

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Iran's Revolutionary Guards urged civilians across the Middle East Friday to stay away from areas near US forces, ramping up its threats despite President Donald Trump's claim talks to end the month-long war were "going well".

The Guards' warning came after Trump again extended a deadline for Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy assets, pushing it from Friday to April 6.

Trump said he did so at Tehran's request, insisting the Islamic republic wanted "to make a deal" to end the war engulfing the region since the United States and Israel first attacked Iran on February 28.

But the Iranian side, which has made it clear it wants to end fighting on its own terms, indicated no let up in reprisal attacks against Israel and targets across the Gulf.

Accusing "cowardly American-Zionist forces" of resorting to "human shields", the country's powerful Guards issued a stark warning to civilians.

"We recommend that you urgently leave locations where American forces are stationed so that no harm comes to you," they said -- hours after Iran's military threatened to target hotels housing US soldiers across the region.

The warning came as Kuwait said its main commercial port was damaged in a drone attack at dawn.

The Guards also said the Strait of Hormuz was "closed" to vessels travelling to and from enemy ports, and that they had turned back three ships seeking to cross the transit point.

"This morning, following the lies of the corrupt US president claiming that the Strait of Hormuz was open, three container ships of different nationalities... were turned back after a warning from the IRGC Navy," the Guards said on their Sepah News website.

- 'Hostage' -

Oil prices and stocks were mixed Friday after Trump pushed back for a second time his ultimatum for Iran to lift its choke on Hormuz shipping, which has sent energy prices soaring and threatens lasting damage on the global economy.

In the latest sign of the fallout, a Japanese official said the government plans to temporarily lift restrictions on coal-fired power plants to face the energy crunch, while Vietnam temporarily waived a fuel tax.

Trump's top diplomat Marco Rubio was in France on Friday for talks with his G7 counterparts, with UK foreign minister Yvette Cooper calling for a "swift" conflict resolution and an end to Iran's block on Hormuz.

"Iran cannot be able to just hold the global economy hostage," Cooper said ahead of the meeting.

Trump's reprieve over Hormuz capped days of conflicting signals on peace talks with Tehran, but his envoy Steve Witkoff spoke Thursday of "strong signs" it was ready to negotiate.

Negotiations revolve around a 15-point US "action list", relayed via Pakistan, to which Tehran has reportedly replied -- and is awaiting a response.

Iran's Tasnim news agency said Tehran was demanding war reparations and respect for its "sovereignty" over the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran also called for an end to US and Israeli attacks on Iran as well as on groups in the region aligned with it, the report said -- a reference to Lebanon's Hezbollah, among others.

The UN's rights chief Volker Turk urged Washington Friday to wrap up its probe into a deadly strike on an Iranian elementary school on the first day of the war, demanding justice "for the terrible harm done".

According to a preliminary US military probe reported by The New York Times, a US Tomahawk cruise missile hit the school due to a targeting mistake.

Since the start of the war, a senior Tehran cultural official said US and Israeli strikes have damaged at least 120 museums and cultural and historic sites nationwide, including the capital's UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace.

- Israel 'stretched to limit' -

Local media confirmed fresh strikes in the Iranian capital Friday, as well as the holy city of Qom further south, and in Urmia in the northwest, after Israel's military announced "wide-scale" hits on infrastructure in Tehran.

The new attacks came a day after Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid warned the war was taking too high a toll, with the military "stretched to the limit and beyond."

Military spokesman Effie Defrin for his part said more combat soldiers were needed to establish a "defensive" buffer zone in southern Lebanon -- drawn into the war after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel.

Lebanese state media reported a new airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs Friday, while Hezbollah said it had launched rockets at northern Israel, where air raid sirens sent residents to shelters.

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A humpback whale stranded on Germany's Baltic Sea coast since early this week has freed itself and swum into deeper waters, rescuers said Friday.

A flotilla of vessels were following the weakened animal at a distance, hoping to help guide it into the North Sea and toward the Atlantic Ocean, its natural habitat.

The roughly 10-metre- (33-foot-) long sea mammal was first spotted on Monday stuck in shallow water close to Niendorf near the northern city of Luebeck.

That set off days of intensive efforts using boats to make waves, then excavators to dig up sand and free the whale, as fears grew for its life.

Rescue teams from Thursday used earth moving equipment on a pontoon to dredge a channel through the sand to allow the animal to escape.

Then, overnight to Friday, the whale "gathered its forces" and "freed itself using its own strength", marine biologist Robert Marc Lehmann said.

"Whale rescue successful," he wrote on his Instagram profile.

However, he cautioned against excessive optimism and said the animal is "very ill" and had a long way to go before reaching "its real home, the Atlantic".

The whale had been entangled in a fishing net, most of which rescuers managed to remove.

Lehmann said the whale was "zigzagging" in the water and could become stranded again.

Experts from the marine conservation group Sea Shepherd also warned that the whale is suffering from a skin disease. 

The animal was being escorted by, among others, two vessels from the Schleswig-Holstein state water police, a spokesperson from its headquarters in Kiel told AFP.

Experts hope it will swim back to the North Sea through the straits between Germany, Denmark and Sweden and on to the Atlantic Ocean. 

"Now we just have to hope that it finds its way out," state premier Daniel Guenther said on local radio, thanking the rescue volunteers. 

"I think they were all happy that all their digging had finally paid off."

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On a farm in South Africa's semi-arid south, herds of angora goats foraged across open land stretching to the horizon, their pale fleeces glinting in the harsh sun.

Linked by dirt tracks and dotted with remote farms, the sparsely populated Karoo region sits at the heart of the global mohair trade, supplying more than half of the world's output of the fibre prized for its sheen and softness.

A Cape Dutch-style gable in one corner of the farm bears the inscription "Wheatlands 1912." 

"This is the newest house on the property," said Lloyd Short, who grew up on the 7,700-hectare (19,000-acre) family farm.

But Wheatlands owes its reputation not to architecture or rural charm, but to its goats with drooping ears, curved horns and lustrous golden fleeces.

Their silky curls can fetch up to 900 rands ($53) per kilogramme and are used in knitwear, often blended with wool. 

The Italian mill Vitale Barberis Canonico, renowned for luxury suit fabrics, is among those sourcing South African mohair for their yarn.

"The first two shearing are the most valuable," said Short, a seventh-generation farmer, who collects an average of between one and 1.5 kilogrammes per animal. Output rises slightly with age, but the fibre loses value over time.

Short and his brother each have around 2,000 goats and supply a major French fashion house exclusively, allowing it to trace its sourcing and protect its brand.

The industry's reputation was tested in 2018, when animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released footage of a goat killed after an artery was accidentally cut during shearing -- an incident farmers say is rare.

Brands, including Swedish H&M, American Gap, Zara and Topshop, swiftly dropped mohair.

Confidence only began to recover after the introduction of an independently audited animal welfare certification.

"Farmers go through annual audits, so they get visited once a year by their brokers and then they also get third-party audited," said Marco Coetzee, director of the sector's representative organisation, Mohair South Africa.

- 'Specialised fibre' -

South Africa accounted for 56 percent of global production in 2024, according to industry figures.

The sector supports around 30,000 jobs, including hundreds in the Karoo, an unlikely new home for a breed originally from Turkey.

How the goats arrived in the 19th century remains unclear. Accounts differ whether they were a gift from an Ottoman dignitary or imported by a British officer. 

More than one and a half centuries later, angoras thrive on the region's succulent plants.

"It's an incredibly healthy area, there are wonderful veld species, sweet plants. Almost everything is palatable," said Sean Hobson, whose family has raised angoras on his farm since 1865.

More humid regions are less suitable due to parasites and ticks, he explained.

To protect the animals, farmers dip them between the twice-yearly shearings, followed by a conditioning rinse to help the fibres form their distinctive curl.

"The world buys mohair, firstly because of the lustre," said Pierre van der Vyver, chief executive of broker House of Fibre, adding it "is very strong, doesn't break or shrink."

The smell of a shearing shed hangs in the air at his warehouse near the port city of Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth, where hundreds of bales await shipment.

Alongside South African rival OVK, the company controls more than 70 percent of global supply, with neighbouring Lesotho accounting for another 16 percent.

Almost all buyers, except Vitale Barberis Canonico, purchase mohair in bales. Processing is dominated by two South African firms, Samil and Stucken, which also handle fibres from Australia and the United Kingdom.

"The Chinese want to compete with us, but fortunately, there is a lot of technique involved in mohair processing," said van der Vyver. 

"It's a far slower process than for wool processing. It is a specialised fibre."

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The US Senate moved Friday to end a budget standoff that has forced thousands of airport security staff to work without pay and caused long delays at airports.

A lapse in government funding has left Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff -- who screen passengers, baggage and cargo --  working without pay since mid-February.

Airports in several cities have warned travelers to arrive hours earlier than usual because of long security lines.

The funding dispute centered on demands by opposition Democrats for reforms of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authority, which has faced nationwide criticism of its aggressive tactics against undocumented immigrants and for the killings of two US citizens this year.

Senators voted in favor of a bill shortly after 2:00 am (0600GMT) to fund all of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) -- which is the TSA's parent agency -- except ICE and Border Patrol, for 2026. 

The bill would provide funding for the TSA, the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, among other agencies.

It must now be passed by the House.

More than 300 TSA staff have quit and unscheduled absences have surged since the shutdown began, leading to extended travel delays and airports struggling to screen travelers.

The federal government began deploying ICE agents to assist in providing security, drawing sharp criticism from Democrats, rights activists and some Republicans, who warn ICE personnel are not trained for such work and that it risks escalating tensions in already stressed environments.

President Donald Trump, who promised on Thursday to pay airport security officers, previously said he would not sign a funding deal unless Congress also passes a contentious bill to overhaul how citizens register to vote in US elections.

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Two Bengal tiger cubs born in Indonesia's Bandung Zoo last year have died from a viral infection, a conservation official told AFP on Friday. 

The cubs, two males named Huru and Hara, were born last July to tigress Jelita, who remains in good health.

According to the conservation agency of West Java province, the cubs were infected at birth with the Feline Panleukopenia virus (FPV), which can sicken wild and domestic cats and is particularly dangerous for young animals.

Hara died on the 24th, two days after falling ill, and despite veterinary efforts to save him, Huru followed two days later, agency spokesman Eri Mildrayana told AFP.

The cubs had suffered from diarrhoea, vomiting and lethargy in the days before they died.

Bandung mayor Muhammad Farhan, in a social media post Thursday, said the news had left him "very sad."

"This is an important lesson for us. The step that we can take right now is to improve biosecurity," he wrote on Instagram.

The US National Institutes of Health says FPV is also referred to as "cat plague" or "feline distemper" and usually occurs in unvaccinated or improperly vaccinated captive felines.

The Bandung Zoo in West Java has been closed for months due to what officials have described as internal management problems.

In 2017, activists demanded the zoo's closure after skeletal sun bears were pictured begging for food from visitors and eating their own dung.

AFP was unable to reach Bandung city authorities in charge of running the zoo.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Bengal tiger is an endangered species, with fewer than 4,000 still in the wild -- mostly in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

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Bradley Rowen Liu, 11, wonders what he will do with himself once Indonesia's social media ban for under-16s enters into force on Saturday. As things stand, he spends most of his free time on TikTok.

The primary schooler is one of about 70 million children the government is hoping to shield from the threats of cyberbullying, pornography and internet addiction.

Several countries have proposed teen social media bans since Australia's landmark move in December to stop users under 16 from holding accounts on many popular platforms.

But Indonesia is among the first to act as concerns grow over the impact of such apps on kids' mental and physical wellbeing.

YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox -- deemed "high-risk" platforms by authorities in the Southeast Asian nation -- will from Saturday start deactivating underage accounts.

Liu, who says he can easily spend five hours a day on TikTok at weekends, told AFP he worries the ban will leave him driftless.

"Maybe I'll do some other activities," he shrugged, without much conviction.

"But I think I'm going to ask my dad or my mom to help me access" the video-sharing app, the boy said after class at a private academy in Jakarta where he learns computer coding.

- Onus on platforms -

"Parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm," communications minister Meutya Hafid said when she announced the ban three weeks ago.

Like in Australia, the Indonesian rules place the onus on platforms to regulate teen access.

Non-compliance of the ban, which will be phased in over time, will put defaulters at risk of a fine or even a suspension.

Indonesia has not said how it plans to monitor implementation, and the communications ministry did not respond to AFP's requests for comment.

It is part of a global reckoning over the potential harms of social media for minors.

A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman through the "addictive design" of their platforms, ordering the companies to pay $6 million in damages.

Britain's upper house of parliament voted this week in favour of banning children from social media, piling pressure on the government to follow suit.

- 'Brain rot' -

Though annoyed about the looming interdiction, Liu concedes even he is worried about screen addiction.

"Sometimes I have to remember to keep track of time... Like when it's a holiday, I kind of get really attached to my phone."

A fellow pupil, 15-year-old Maximillian, said he spends too much time on social media, leaving him feeling "unproductive". He supports the ban.

Some want the government to go even further.

Randi Putra Chaniago, who teaches at the academy, said social media -- including the surreal AI-generated clips known as brain rot -- was a distraction in class.

"It's concerning, really, because some of this 'brain rot' content is weird and can disturb children's way of thinking," he said.

The 23-year-old, who uses YouTube to teach some classes, said the ban would challenge teachers to find better educational tools.

The P2G Indonesian Teachers' Association, for its part, wants the government to ban cellphones in classrooms altogether.

- 'Unhealthy use' -

YouTube parent company Google said the two platforms have already introduced features allowing parents to limit scrolling time.

It said AI tech will be launched in Indonesia by next year to determine a user's age.

But "blanket account restrictions... will deprive young people accessing YouTube of the protections, parental controls, and security features we've integrated into supervised accounts", it argued in a statement.

TikTok said it would work with the government to ensure "teens can continue to access safe online spaces".

And gaming platform Roblox pledged to introduce "additional controls" for minors.

Karina Adistiana, an Indonesian educational psychologist, told AFP several studies have shown that intensive social media use is harmful for young people.

"Intensive in the sense that social media becomes the child's main world. That's where the danger lies," she said.

"Depression, difficulty concentrating, trouble sleeping, anxiety, constantly wanting to check notifications -- those are clearly signs of unhealthy use in children."

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Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Kuwait's main port hit -

Kuwait's main commercial port was damaged in a drone attack at dawn.

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

- Iran warning to US soldiers -

Iran's military has warned that hotels housing US soldiers across the region would be targets.

"When all the Americans (forces) go into a hotel, then from our perspective that hotel becomes American," armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi told state television.

- UN Security Council meeting -

The UN Security Council will hold closed-door consultations on Friday to discuss strikes on Iran at Moscow's request, Russian state media reported.

"The Russian Federation has requested closed-door consultations with the UN Security Council due to the ongoing strikes on civilian infrastructure in Iran, including educational and healthcare facilities," said Evgeny Uspensky, spokesman for Russia's envoy to the United Nations, according to state news agency TASS.

- Japan to boost coal-fired power -

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, officials said.

Power suppliers have previously 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.

But the government now intends to allow the full operation of older, less efficient coal-fired plants, for a year from the new fiscal year starting April.

- India slashes fuel taxes -

India has reduced taxes on diesel and petrol by 10 rupees ($0.11) a litre.

The South Asian nation, one of the world's largest crude oil importers, relies on foreign suppliers for more than 85 percent of its oil needs -- with Russia being the biggest supplier.  

- Israeli strikes on Beirut -

Lebanese media reported an Israeli strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs early Friday, as AFP correspondents heard several explosions from the Hezbollah stronghold that Israel has repeatedly struck since war erupted this month.

Israel has previously issued sweeping evacuation warnings for the area, but provided no specific warning in advance of the strike on Tahouitet al-Ghadir.

- Saudi Arabia intercepts drones -

The Saudi defence ministry said it had "intercepted and destroyed" four drones over the kingdom's east.

- Rubio to join G7 meeting -

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in France to join a meeting of G7 foreign ministers on Friday, an AFP correspondent said.

Rubio, who skipped the first day of the talks outside Paris, said before departing that it was in the "interest" of all G7 nations to push for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

- Guards claim missile, drone attacks -

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out missile and drone strikes on Thursday targeting sites in Israel and military facilities in the Gulf used by US forces.

A maintenance facility for US air defence system Patriot was targeted in Bahrain, the Guards said in a statement carried by Iranian news agencies.

- Israel strike Tehran -

Israel's military said its forces carried out "a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran" early Friday.

- Trump pushes back deadline -

US President Donald Trump said he would not yet strike Iranian power plants as previously threatened after a request from Tehran, adding that talks with the Islamic republic were "going very well."

"I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

"Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well."

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