As the White House has soured on Israel's war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, U.S. President Donald Trump has shocked many in the region by pushing an alternative: Let Syria fight the Iran-backed militant group instead.

He has suggested that the battle-hardened and Islamist-led insurgents who overthrew Syria's autocratic President Bashar Assad a year and a half ago and formed a new government would do a better job of rooting out Hezbollah than the Israeli army.

Iran again launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday following new U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic Republic, and threatened a "complete halt" in negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks.

Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iran's oversight has sparked days of crossfire. A multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Saturday it would expand a route near Oman for inbound and outbound traffic.

Every few minutes, the mortuary owner's phone rings. Since a record-smashing heat wave started taking lives and storage space for bodies in Paris and beyond, the funeral directors and mourning families calling him mostly have the same question: Do you have room for one more?

With all 32 places in his cold room taken, Zouhaeir Hertelli reluctantly has to gently say "Non," over and over and over again.

Hezbollah's leader has criticized a framework agreement that Israel and Lebanon have signed to end months of conflict between the Iran-backed group and Israel, raising concerns about its effectiveness.

The agreement signed Friday in Washington links Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon to Hezbollah's disarmament, something the group rejects.

A cargo ship moving through the Strait of Hormuz on a route backed by the United Nations was hit by a projectile Thursday, the British military said, as several tankers made their way out of the channel using the same path.

It was unclear who launched the projectile or the type of vessel that was targeted. The report of a strike came hours after Iran threatened vessels to stop using the route through the strait without Tehran's permission.

U.S. gasoline prices decreased an average of 49 cents a gallon in the last month as expectations rose for an end to the war with Iran. But they're not falling fast enough for President Donald Trump.

Trump, who wants to stave off the economic fallout of the war ahead of midterm elections, is now pointing at oil companies as the culprit. The president said on social media early Wednesday that he had tasked the Justice Department with investigating whether "customers are being 'gouged."

Much of western Europe has been baking under a "heat dome" this week, with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in many places.

The extreme conditions have come in June, earlier in the summer than is usual. Records are tumbling by day and by night. Add in the humidity and it's more tropical than temperate.

A series of tankers made their way out of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday despite threats to shipping from Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, using a new route close to Oman's shore that has been promoted by a U.N. maritime agency.

The development comes as Iran and the United States are increasingly debating the terms of the interim deal signed last week aimed at permanently ending the Iran war — from getting ships through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf to the future of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

A powerful earthquake struck off the northern coast of Japan during rush hour on Thursday morning, but the country's meteorological agency said there was no danger of a tsunami and no serious injuries were reported.

The temblor shook dozens of towns across northeastern Japan and was even mildly felt in the capital, Tokyo. It hit in an area where strong earthquakes have repeatedly been reported in recent months, including one that triggered a weeklong mega-quake caution advisory in December.

It's halftime at the World Cup. Take a break, everyone.

Wednesday marked the midpoint of the 104-match tournament — technically, just past the midpoint, with 54 matches now in the books and 50 remaining before a World Cup champion is crowned in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19.