The latest developments in the Middle East war:

- US approves arms sales to Qatar, Israel -

The United States said it had approved a $4 billion sale of Patriot missiles to Gulf ally Qatar, as well as the sale of precision weapons systems to Israel for nearly $1 billion.

Both sales were deemed to support US "foreign policy and national security" objectives, the State Department said in a series of notices to Congress, amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

- US to withdraw troops from Germany -

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA, May 1 (Reuters) - The cost of sending some aid to Sudan - the world's largest displacement crisis - has more than doubled due to the Iran war, as shipping disruption pushes up costs and delays the delivery of relief, the U.N. refugee agency said on Friday.

Heightened insecurity around key Gulf shipping routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, as well as congestion at ports, rising fuel prices and higher insurance premiums have all hampered the delivery of aid, particularly in Africa, the agency said.

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy is ramping up its AI capabilities to hunt for Iranian mines in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical shipping lanes, a recently awarded contract shows.

President Donald Trump has said the U.S. Navy is clearing Iranian mines from the strait, a vital sea route for oil shipments, whose disruption is increasingly threatening the global economy. Sweeping for underwater explosives could take months despite a tenuous ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran in their weeks-long war.

By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) - The past weeks have not been reassuring for those who thought Europe could navigate its tricky relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump this week lashed out at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over his criticism of the Iran war, calling him "totally ineffective," and threatened to cut the 36,400 U.S. troops based in Germany.

ATHERINOLAKKOS, Greece, May 1 (Reuters) - More than 100 pro-Palestinian activists aboard aid ships bound for Gaza were taken to the Greek island of Crete on Friday after Israeli forces seized their vessels in international waters near Greece, flotilla organisers said.

The activists were part of a second Global Sumud flotilla, launched in recent months in an attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance. The ships set sail from the Spanish port of Barcelona on April 12.

By Humeyra Pamuk, Ahmed Elimam and Ahmed Tolba

WASHINGTON/DUBAI, May 1 (Reuters) - A senior United Arab Emirates official said on Friday Tehran could not be trusted over any unilateral arrangements it makes for the Strait of Hormuz, in a sign of deep mistrust on all sides as efforts to end the Iran war remained at an impasse.

Dozens of activists on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces off Crete left their boats on Friday, many taken to hospital on the Greek island while others were flown out.

Greek officials said 31 of the roughly 175 activists had been taken to hospital on Crete. Turkish officials said about 60 had arrived by plane in Istanbul on Friday evening.

More than 50 vessels had set sail from ports in France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking the blockade of Gaza and bringing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.

DUBAI, May 1 (Reuters) - Dubai chef Shaw Lash at Mexican restaurant Lila Molino flies in her avocados and tomatillos, small, tart green fruits native to Central America that are a staple of Mexican cuisine and key for her colourful and spicy dishes.

Now the two-month-old war in Iran is making such ingredients harder to source and more expensive, Lash and other chefs said, as the Gulf grapples with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz sea route and spiking jet fuel prices push up air freight costs.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz as well as tensions in the Red Sea are reshaping trade routes, with Africa becoming a hub of global container ship traffic, according to logistics and maritime sources.

Over the past two months, the blockade has also pushed shipowners to find alternative land corridors to deliver foodstuffs and manufactured goods by truck, as they can no longer reach the Gulf's coastal countries by sea.

- What are the alternative routes for delivering to Gulf countries? -

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 soared to fresh records Friday, cheering mostly strong earnings from tech giants and continuing to shrug off the prolonged US-Iran war that has lifted oil prices.

The records came on the heels of upbeat results from Apple, which rose 3.2 percent, extending the positive sentiment on Wall Street on a day when several leading bourses in Europe and Asia were closed.

"The war is not over but the market doesn't care," said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments.