One of my best friends is stuck in Dubai, caught by a war during what was supposed to be a couple of days' visit. He's sent home what to me looked like worrying videos of drones falling to earth after being taken out by interceptors. He's also sent photos enjoying an iced coffee downtown, reassuring me he feels perfectly safe.

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A newsroom colleague has had to delay travel plans now the normally highly convenient Canberra to Doha flight has become anything but. And the family of our beloved Winter Paralympian Michael Milton have been stranded "missile spotting" instead of being in Italy as he prepares to compete.

These are just grains of sand on a vast beach of inconveniences. But of course they are just that - inconveniences. Nothing compared to the impact on those under the falling bombs. People are losing their lives in the hundreds, including, tragically, scores of schoolchildren.

But this war's ripples are felt everywhere.

Petrol prices are surging. International travel has been thrown into chaos. Previously safe destinations are now marked off-limits.

And here in Canberra, people of Iranian heritage are desperately waiting for news of family and friends, frustrated by an almost complete lack of connectivity since the attacks began.

When Donald Trump returned to........

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