Brent was $112.96 early Friday (0030 GMT, down 21 cents) after Thursday's roughly 4% surge to its highest settle since May 4; WTI $98.12. The new facts under the price: Saudi Aramco on Thursday ordered the evacuation of its headquarters in Dhahran as Houthi fighting intensified, with the Houthis pushing toward Bab el-Mandeb, and in Libya a shut pipeline valve cut production at the Hamada and Tahara fields feeding Zawiya port (National Oil Corporation, via Reuters). No new EIA diesel average overnight — the pressure on diesel is not easing while Brent sits over $112. Sources: Reuters.

Almost all of Taiwan closed Friday ahead of Champi, a former super typhoon now weakening and not expected to make direct landfall. Still packing gusts of about 191 kph (119 mph) near the center, about 330 km east of Taiwan's southern tip, with a roughly 320 km radius covering most of the island — impact could last nearly two days, with close to a metre of rain possible in the northern mountains. Transport ministry: all 262 domestic flights cancelled Friday, plus 669 international. Financial markets closed; only the Kinmen islands opened schools and offices normally. Track runs just off the northeast coast, then north toward China and southern Japan. Sources: Reuters · Reuters via MyMixFM.

Le Monde's Friday rundown: all Saturday demonstrations banned in Marseille (where the minors' curfew was extended to adults in the center), Lyon, Nice and Montpellier; Paris keeps its nightly curfew around République and Les Halles but authorized one Bastille to Nation march. Macron on Thursday said "illegitimate" protests will be banned in the coming days and blamed "seditious" ultra-left groups and vandals for last weekend's riots — union-organized marches can proceed, possibly rerouted. Justice Minister Darmanin wants voting rights suspended for people who defy protest bans, plus social-media restrictions for violence and looting. Shops in central Paris are boarding up, Art Basel Paris is closed all weekend, and French 10-year yields rose above U.S. Treasuries Thursday for the first time since 2013. Saturday is still the test. Sources: Le Monde · Reuters.

Trump told reporters Thursday he called Musk on Wednesday and asked him to fully reverse any limits on Starshield, the military version of Starlink that guides Ukraine's drones: "The bottom line: he put it back." First reported by the WSJ, confirmed to the NY Post by a White House official; the NYT reported the call Thursday too. What is not settled after a week: who imposed the roughly 100 mph cap that appeared Oct. 14 and broke drone connectivity. Reuters' sources said the White House ordered it; the Telegraph said Musk pitched it and Trump approved; an earlier WSJ report said Musk chose it without consulting the White House. Trump denies ordering it; Musk says limits are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately POTUS. Agreed facts only: a cap existed, it hurt drone ops, and the president now says it is lifted. Sources: NY Post.

The injured count from the magnitude-7 quake in Nagqu, northern Tibet — the strongest to hit China since January 2024 — rose to 65 Friday, local government said, with deaths unchanged at 16. More than 12,000 people have been relocated (Xinhua), more than 300 police are working rescue and relief at the high-altitude epicentre, and 413 aftershocks have been recorded. Sparse population is what is keeping the toll where it is. Sources: Reuters.