The rising prices causing winces of pain at gasoline pumps are due, in large part, to the impact of the Iran war on the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passageway for oil and gas from the Persian Gulf. The narrow waterway off Iran's coast, now effectively closed by the war, is so vital for the global economy that governments are working on blueprints to speedily reopen it to shipping when the shooting stops.

In Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron is leading an international effort to unblock the energy chokepoint, so oil, gas and goods could flow freely again "when circumstances permit." He envisages countries using warships to escort tankers and container vessels through the strait when fighting is no longer raging so intensely, whenever that maybe.

The Lebanese mother of two had just awakened to prepare the pre-dawn meal before another day of fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when Israeli warplanes began attacking southern Lebanon in retaliation for rockets and drones launched by Hezbollah.

The family quickly packed up and headed toward Beirut, seeking safety from another deadly war between Israel and Hezbollah. With tens of thousands of others fleeing on that March 2 day, the usually one-hour trip from the southern city of Nabatiyeh took 15 hours.

Iran attacked commercial ships on Wednesday across the Persian Gulf and targeted Dubai International Airport, escalating a campaign of squeezing the oil-rich region as global energy concerns mounted and American and Israeli airstrikes pounded the Islamic Republic.

Two Iranian drones hit near Dubai International Airport, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates and the world's busiest for international travel. Four people were wounded but flights continued, the Dubai Media Office said.

While Iran hits back against U.S. and Israeli attacks with missiles and drones, it is also fighting a propaganda war with a Lego-style animation video complete with toy renditions of Donald Trump, bombs and warplanes.

Iran's state-run Revayat-e Fath institute released its video on state television following the February 28 U.S.-Israeli attacks that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggered the Middle East war.

Russian and Ukrainian officials are making contradictory claims of battlefield successes in their 4-year-old war, with Ukraine saying it has pushed Moscow's forces back in some places on the front line but the Kremlin insisting that Russia's invasion of its neighbor is making progress.

At the same time, Russia's almost daily aerial attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine continue, with overnight drone strikes on two cities injuring at least 14 people, including two children, emergency services said Tuesday.

The war with Iran is doing collateral damage to the world economy.

The conflict is driving up energy and fertilizer prices; threatening food shortages in poor countries; destabilizing fragile states such as Pakistan; and complicating options for the inflation fighters at central banks like the Federal Reserve.

Iran launched new attacks on Tuesday at Israel and Gulf Arab countries as it kept up pressure on the Middle East in a war that has sent oil prices surging and stunned global economies. Five pro-Iranian militiamen were killed in an airstrike in northern Iraq.

Incoming missile sirens sounded early in the morning in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and in Bahrain, while Saudi Arabia said it had destroyed two drones over its oil-rich eastern region and Kuwait's National Guard said it had shot down six drones.

The military court in Beirut ordered three Hezbollah members released on a $20 bail each, judicial officials said Monday.

The Lebanese government last week declared Hezbollah’s military activities illegal and ordered the country’s security forces to detain those who were behind the strikes on Israel.

In southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said it launched a "targeted and limited raid" to "locate and eliminate" Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure using a brigade combat team under the command of the 36th Division.

The military said before they initiated the operation, its forces launched a combined air and ground attack in the area.

Parliament on Monday postponed legislative elections, initially due to be held in May, by two years, according to a statement from the parliament speaker, due to the war between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

MPs convened on Monday including Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, even as Israeli warplanes flew above the nearby southern suburbs of Beirut.