Yemen's internationally recognized government pressed world leaders anew Thursday for help defeating the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, saying that their new perch along one of the world's busiest waterways presents an international economic risk.

The Houthis — who have controlled Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and much of the country's north for over a decade — stormed down Yemen's coast this month and seized the crucial port city of Mokha and key Red Sea islands. That gives them better surveillance of ships passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, at the sea's southern end. About 12% of the world's trade usually passes through the waterway.

Starbucks plans to close 250 North American stores later this week.

It is the second big round of store closures under Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in 2024. Last September, Starbucks closed 627 stores in North America and Europe.

Wars in the Middle East and Ukraine are driving governments across Europe to craft subsidies, taxes and policy revisions that might shield their economies, companies and increasingly aggrieved citizens from record gasoline and diesel prices.

Countries around the world have intervened to limit the economic impact of diminished energy supplies and soaring fuel prices since the start of the Iran war, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Seven of the 10 nations working most actively to contain the economic damage are in the European Union, the OECD said in a report published Wednesday.

Hundreds of trucks idle along the road into Iran from Turkey's mountainous eastern border. Bustling even in normal times, the countries' largest crossing is now a make-or-break economic lifeline for Tehran as the U.S. navy blockades its ports.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has pressed to accelerate overland trade as the blockade limits the vast majority of imports while cutting off the oil and gas sales that largely keep the economy alive.

When Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the war, choking off sea passage for some 15 million barrels of oil a day, many feared that prices would skyrocket, cratering the world economy.

Instead, nearly seven months on, oil is expensive but not exorbitant, and analysts say there's enough oil available to meet current global needs, even as the higher prices cause political problems for U.S. President Donald Trump and others.

The European Union on Thursday slammed a possible U.S. diesel export ban backed by President Donald Trump as a "bad idea" that would hurt both sides.

"We believe this is a bad idea," European Commission spokesman Olof Gill told a press conference in Brussels. "We believe it potentially can have a negative impact on both sides. We're making that point to our U.S. counterparts at the highest level."

The most powerful venture capital firm in Silicon Valley is starting a two-year private school for young people intended to replace college, as some U.S. tech elite question the benefits of a classical university education.

President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday met with an official Syrian delegation comprising the ministers of economy, tourism, agriculture, and transport, as well as the heads of the investment and aviation authorities and the head of the Lebanese-Syrian Business Council.

Syrian Economy Minister Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar spoke first, conveying the greetings of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to Aoun, the Lebanese government and the “brotherly Lebanese people.”

Stock markets advanced Tuesday as oil prices fell further on speculation the United States and Iran could make progress on talks to end the Mideast war this week, with enthusiasm about Meta's new AI agent fanning a tech rally.

Several Iraqi travel agencies said on Tuesday the U.S. ban on Iranian airlines could severely disrupt their business, forcing them to explore alternatives, such as hours-long land routes to Iran.