SYDNEY/KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Reuters) - A fifth member of the Iranian women's soccer team has withdrawn her claim for asylum in Australia, Australian media reported on Monday, and will be rejoining the rest of the squad in Malaysia.

The latest withdrawal leaves only two people of the original six players and one support staff member who sought asylum in Australia last week fearing possible persecution if they returned home. Concerns over their safety came after the players failed to sing the national anthem at a women's Asian Cup match earlier this month.

By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS, March 16 (Reuters) - The disruption to energy markets caused by the Iran war is an "abject lesson" in the risks of relying on fossil fuels, and underscores the case for governments to wean their economies off oil and gas, the U.N. climate secretary will tell EU policymakers on Monday.

While geographically far from the crisis in the Middle East, the European Union has felt its disruption through surging global energy prices. European gas prices have jumped by 50% during the two-week war.

By Tim Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw

TOKYO/PALM BEACH, Florida, March 16 (Reuters) - Japan and Australia said on Monday they were not planning to send navy vessels to the Middle East to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, after U.S. President Donald Trump called on allies to create a coalition to reopen the vital waterway.

Iranian activist Farhad Sheikhi fights back tears as he recalls the crack of gunfire and his fellow protesters falling under a hail of bullets. Now, having fled to Iraq, he watches from afar as American and Israeli strikes pound his country.

"I literally saw hell," said the 34-year-old Iranian Kurd in Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan's second city, as he showed AFP photos he took during recent anti-government protests of bodies lying on the bloodied ground.

But his biggest worry today is for the safety of his family back home.

Oil prices retreated and equities rose Monday as investors remained focused on the Strait of Hormuz, with US allies pushing back against President Donald Trump's demands to help reopen the key waterway to oil and natural gas tankers.

As the US-Israel war on Iran entered its third week, Wall Street and most European stock markets climbed after Asian stocks mainly dipped.

International benchmark Brent North Sea crude dropped back 2.8 percent to $100.21, while the main US contract West Texas Intermediate fell 5.3 percent to $93.50.

By Kenrick Cai

SAN FRANCISCO, March 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday accused Iran of using artificial intelligence as a “disinformation weapon” to misrepresent its wartime successes and support.

“AI can be very dangerous, we have to be very careful with it,” Trump said to reporters on Air Force One shortly after he made a post on his Truth Social platform where he accused Western media outlets without evidence of “close coordination” with Iran to spread AI-generated “fake news.”

By Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES, March 15 (Reuters) - The darkly comic thriller "One Battle After Another" claimed the coveted best picture prize at the Oscars on Sunday, winning a close contest with the vampire story "Sinners" at the highest honors in the film business.

Michael B. Jordan earned the best actor trophy for his dual roles as twin brothers in "Sinners." Jessie Buckley won best actress for playing the wife of William Shakespeare, Agnes Hathaway, in "Hamnet."

March 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump called on allies over the weekend to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian forces continue attacks on the vital waterway amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, now in its third week.

Trump said his administration has already contacted seven countries, but declined to identify them. In an earlier social media post, he said that he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would participate.

March 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is working to assemble a coalition of countries to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and is hoping to announce it later this week, Axios reported on Sunday citing four sources.

(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

TOKYO, March 16 (Reuters) - Japan does not currently plan to dispatch naval vessels to escort ships in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday, after U.S. President Donald Trump called on allies to help escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

"We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done within the legal framework," Takaichi told parliament.