BEIRUT, March 24 (Reuters) - Lebanese state media said on Tuesday that an air strike hit a Christian town north of Beirut, an area that had not yet been targeted in the expanding war between Israel and armed group Hezbollah.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the town of Sahel Alma. Witnesses in the area told Reuters they heard several blasts and saw white smoke emanating from the town.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily;Editing by Alison Williams)

March 25 (Reuters) - Drones targeted a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, causing a fire but no casualties, Kuwait's Civil Aviation Authority said on Wednesday.

Emergency procedures were activated immediately, with firefighting teams responding to the blaze, it said, adding that initial reports indicated only material damage.

(Reporting by Enas Alashray and Yomna Ehab; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

By Karen Lema

MANILA, March 25 (Reuters) - The Philippines is working with Washington to secure waivers and exemptions that will allow it to obtain oil from U.S.-sanctioned countries and guarantee supplies, its ambassador to the United States said.

The Philippines, which relies heavily on imported fuel, declared a state of national energy emergency on Tuesday to deal with the fallout from the Middle East war, including the disruptions to oil procurement.

March 26 (Reuters) - Win Zaw is among five of a Myanmar family who fan out on motorcycles most nights from their small village in the rice-growing Irrawaddy delta to queue at fuel depots that might yield a few jerry cans of diesel for his tractor.

"Some even sleep there overnight," said the farmer, adding that lines of buyers on motorcycles and tractors formed as early as 3 a.m. "This is a total waste of manpower and time."

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned Wednesday that the Middle East war presented a "far worse" scenario than the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

"This is not the same scenario as the illegal war in Iraq. We are facing something far worse. Much worse. With a potential impact that is far broader and far deeper," he told parliament.

"This time, it's an absurd and illegal war. A cruel one that sets us back from achieving our economic, social, and environmental goals."

By Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee

TAIPEI, March 25 (Reuters) - Taiwan fears China will exploit the distraction of the United States by its war in the Middle East, with state media citing examples from the conflict to cast doubt on the efficiency of U.S. weapons the island would use to repel any invasion.

One of the world's biggest potential flashpoints, democratically governed Taiwan faces growing military pressure from China, which views the island as its own territory, around which Beijing held its latest war games in December.

March 25 (Reuters) - Countries across Asia are weighing up work-from-home policies and stimulus measures enforced during the COVID pandemic, as they scramble to respond to global fuel shortages triggered by the Iran war.

Asia is at the frontline of the fuel crisis, buying more than 80% of the crude that transits the Strait of Hormuz, which has been almost totally blocked by Iran since the war broke out on February 28.

No country in the region has enforced work-from-home measures yet, but some have said they are on the table.

By Lisa Baertlein and Jonathan Saul

LOS ANGELES/LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - The Western allies trying to negotiate a way to protect the Strait of Hormuz for energy shipping face a stark reality: a similar effort in the Red Sea that started years earlier cost billions of dollars and ultimately failed against Yemen's Houthis.

US President Donald Trump is ready to "unleash hell" if Iran does not accept a deal to end the nearly four-week Middle East war, the White House warned Wednesday, but a defiant Tehran said it did not intend to negotiate.

The ramped-up rhetoric dashed hopes of any imminent de-escalation as violence on the ground showed no sign of abating, with Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia all coming under fire.

March 25 (Reuters) - The United States is negotiating with itself, an Iranian military spokesman said according to state media on Wednesday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said Tehran wants to make a deal to end the war in the Middle East.

A 15-point plan aimed at putting an end to the conflict was drafted by Washington and sent to Tehran, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.