Africa hosts military bases within reach of Iranian missiles and is feeling the impact of rising oil prices and threats to shipping, as the continent again suffers from events largely beyond its control.

The continent is "structurally exposed" to the Middle East war, said Hubert Kinkoh, senior researcher at the CARPO think tank.

"Energy imports, foreign military bases, and its proximity to maritime chokepoints mean the war's effects reach African shores quickly."

- Targets -

GALLE, Sri Lanka, March 5 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka is trying to "safeguard lives" on another Iranian ship off its coast, the country's cabinet spokesperson said on Thursday, adding that the vessel was in the economic zone beyond the South Asian island nation's territorial waters.

"We are doing our utmost to safeguard lives," spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa said.

(Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe, writing by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by YP Rajesh)

Here are the latest main events related to the war in the Middle East:

- Sisi says Egypt in 'state of near-emergency' -

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said his country was in an economic "state of near-emergency" as he warned of runaway inflation.

At a military academy event, Sisi added that price-gouging traders could be tried in military courts, according to a statement from his spokesman.

- NATO raises missile defence posture -

The raging Iran war, which has spread across the Middle East and beyond, entered its seventh day Friday after Israeli forces announced a "next phase" in the conflict and bombed Beirut's southern suburbs.

The Israeli military had earlier issued an unprecedented evacuation warning for the entire area -- "save your lives and evacuate your residences immediately" -- that sent residents fleeing in panic.

By Allison Lampert, Lisa Baertlein and Julie Zhu

March 5 (Reuters) - Shipments ranging from fresh produce to airplane parts are in limbo as an escalating Middle East conflict reduces the world's air cargo capacity by more than one-fifth and pushes up freight rates, with executives bracing for backlogs of goods.

The U.S. and Israeli air war against Iran has grounded passenger and freighter flights across the region, including in key global air cargo hubs Doha and Dubai.

By Parisa Hafezi, Pesha Magid and Tuvan Gumrukcu

DUBAI/JERUSALEM/ANKARA, March 5 (Reuters) - Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday, sending millions of residents into bomb shelters as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran entered its sixth day and just hours after moves to halt the U.S. air assault were blocked in Washington.

By Uditha Jayasinghe

GALLE, Sri Lanka, March 5 (Reuters) - Iranian sailors who survived a U.S. submarine strike in the Indian Ocean were recovering at a hospital in the Sri Lankan port city of Galle, authorities said on Thursday, a day after at least 87 were killed in the attack.

Authorities at the National Hospital in Galle and navy sources said 87 bodies were brought in by military rescuers who responded to an early-morning distress call from the IRIS Dena on Wednesday.

March 4 (Reuters) - A Pakistani man accused of planning to kill President Donald Trump told jurors on Wednesday that he did not willingly work with Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to devise the plot, media said.

The Justice Department accused Asif Merchant of trying to recruit people in the United States in the plan targeting Trump and other U.S. politicians in retaliation for Washington's killing of the Corps' top commander, Qassem Soleimani.

By Ismail Shakil

March 4 (Reuters) - The impact of the Iran conflict on energy markets will be temporary and a "small price" to pay for U.S. military goals, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox News on Wednesday.

U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent response by Tehran have widened regional tensions and paralyzed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting vital Middle East oil and gas flows and sending energy prices higher. Oil prices rose on Thursday in Asia amid growing concern over the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz. [O/R]

LOS ANGELES, March 4 (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Wednesday identified two more soldiers who were killed in the war against Iran.

The two Army Reserve soldiers died on Sunday in a drone attack on a U.S. military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait that also killed four other reservists.

The Pentagon said Major Jeffrey O'Brien, 45, of Iowa, was killed in the attack and announced the "believed death" of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California. Positive identification of Marzan will be completed by the medical examiner, the Pentagon said.