Good morning. Maddy Morwood here with Thursdays's AM NewsMail.

In the latest from the Middle East, we have news of the largest release of emergency oil stocks in history, plus Donald Trump brushing off the threat of reprisals at home. Laura Tingle is here again with what you need to know.

Meanwhile, we take a look at the rise of the "mansophere" and its impact in the classroom, an internal inquiry into Australia's adoption program, plus a summer turned winter rivalry between two greats. 

AND REMEMBER: You can now see more ABC News stories in your Google search results.  

I'm ABC global affairs editor Laura Tingle in Dubai. I'm giving you daily updates to help you quickly understand what's going on.

This war increasingly feels like a contest between an "all hardware/no strategy" United States and a "less hardware/lots of strategy" Iran, at least as far as the war of words is concerned.

The United States continues to talk a big game in terms of how many things it has destroyed in Iran — and is clearly regarded as having the far superior "kinetic" power. But what it doesn’t seem to have destroyed yet is Iran’s will to fight or its capacity to continue striking at targets in Israel and the wider Gulf region.

If anything, Iran seems to have become even more aggressive in the past couple of days and in the wake of the election of its new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

It has been demonstrating that it doesn’t actually have to fire lots of missiles — or even hit targets — to cause massive disruption to the global economy and to Donald Trump’s narrative about how the US is completely winning the war.

It sent missiles or drones in the direction of several regional airports on Wednesday — notably Dubai’s massive international airport. While it was only debris that landed in Dubai, and luckily only four people were injured, it caused more disruption and is part of a pattern of ongoing attacks that have resulted in airlines increasingly cancelling their services to the regional hub, and to other regional destinations.

Iran’s threat to banks and the regional offices of big US tech companies hasn't even required a missile or drone strike to have banks close their branches or businesses in financial and tech districts to quietly warn their staff to stay away.

Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, and seen production of oil and gas reduced in Gulf states, mostly by the threat of strikes: insurers won’t insure ships, and shipping companies won't move their vessels through the strait even if Iran isn't shelling them, (though it struck three yesterday).

In a particular humiliation for the US and Gulf countries, the Wall Street Journal reports that "Iran is exporting more oil through the Strait of Hormuz than before the war, showing it is in control of a strategic waterway that it has closed off to the rest of the region’s oil producers".

Thanks for joining me. You can keep track of the latest updates from Iran and around the world throughout the day via our live blog.

• 'They'll kill you': The smiles and joy seen in pictures of the seven members of the Iranian women's football team who sought asylum in Australia only tell part of the story, with many still scared for their families back home — something made clear when one player decided to return to Iran last minute.
• Coalition rebuild: Matt Canavan's rise to the Nationals leadership gives the Coalition a fighter capable of taking on Pauline Hanson, but that is only one part of the opposition's electoral dilemma, writes chief digital political correspondent Clare Armstrong.
• Rising 'manosphere': From the online world into the classroom, there are concerns the manosphere — the community of online influencers and content creators that see men and boys as "victims" of gender equality — is increasingly becoming a part of school life.

• Overturned adoption: A Korean-born Australian who was sexually assaulted growing up is calling for changes to adoption laws after struggling to remove her adoptive parents from her birth certificate. The Australian government is starting a six-month internal inquiry into the adoption program, the ABC can reveal.
• Protest under investigation: Paralympic German silver ‌medallist Linn Kazmaier and her guide Florian Baumann are under investigation for turning their backs on the Russian national anthem and keeping their winter hats on during a cross-country medal ceremony, protesting against Russia's inclusion at the Milano Cortina Games.
• Oil release: Amid fresh attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the International Energy Agency has agreed to the release of 400 million barrels of oil from its 32 member countries, the largest release of emergency oil stocks in history.

- That's Australia's para-cycling and para-triathlon gold medallist Lauren Parker, who finished up eighth in the women's 10km sitting para cross-country skiing at the Milano Cortina Games just nine months after taking up the sport.

Before you go getting ideas about taking up a new sport right before the next Olympics (guilty), it's important to stress the 37-year-old was already a decorated Olympian, having won two medals for Australia at the summer Paralympic Games.

Parker was encouraged to compete in the winter event by US athlete and friend Kendall Gretsch, with whom she has traded blows in an enthralling rivalry off the snow for years, with Gretsch first pipping Parker by a second to take gold in the PTWC triathlon in Tokyo.

So you think you know your Spotlights from your Moonlights, your ScarJos from your Margots, your Fury Roads from your Yellow Brick Roads?

Here's your chance to prove it. This quiz tests your memory of winners and losers from Oscar's last decade, including some glaring oversights we're frankly still not over.

May the performance of the year be yours right here. (Also … don't forget to join us on Monday for full live coverage of this year's ceremony!)

PLUS: Iconic Australian-made pinball machines are being preserved for generations to come.

And that's it for today. Thanks for reading! We'll be back at the same time tomorrow with more.

Maddy and the ABC News Digital team.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation reportedly warns police departments in California that Iran could retaliate to US attacks by launching drones at the US West Coast. Follow live.