Author: France 24

Conflict across the Middle East continues to rage, and Israel is fighting a war on several fronts all at once, but for how long? Since it attacked Iran, Israel has endured regular strikes, forcing widespread air raid alerts, school closures and the mobilisation of reservists. How much longer can Israel sustain itself financially if the conflict were to last? 

Olympique Lyonnais could only manage a 0-0 draw on the road against Le Havre. Lyon (4th) has fallen behind Marseille (3rd) and is seeing Lille (5th) close in.

Global benchmark prices for oil fell, and stocks rose, on the back of US President’s comments signalling the war in Iran could be nearing some form of conclusion. Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz is still effectively closed to tanker traffic, and Washington is weighing its options both to clear the bottleneck and ease pressure on consumers back home. Also in this edition, Venezuela prepares to open up its mining sector to US companies.

‘Sinners’ and ‘One Battle After Another’ are both front-runners in the race for the coveted Best Picture Oscar on Sunday. Meanwhile, the acting prizes could throw up some surprises, with the best actor category expected to be an especially tight race.

Israel says it’s carrying out fresh strikes on western Iran – as the war enters its third week. Israeli officials say the bombing campaign is wide-scale and targeting regime infrastructure. This comes as the IDF says it has detected missiles fired from Iran. Details by Hoda Abdel-Hamid, journalist in Doha.

Thanks to Endrick’s lucky goal in the final minutes of the game, Lyon still have a chance of qualifying for the Europa League quarter-finals when they play at home next week. Meanwhile, Lille conceded a goal against Aston Villa and now need a miracle to continue their European adventure.

Lebanon’s health ministry said Saturday that Israeli strikes had killed 26 paramedics and wounded 51 others since conflict erupted between Israel and Hezbollah. The ministry statement also accused Israel of repeatedly “targeting ambulance crews while they were performing rescue duties”, after the Israeli military on Saturday accused Hezbollah of using ambulances militarily. Details and analysis by Iva Kovic-Chahine, head of L’Orient Today in Beirut.

The European Union is facing an “almost existential moment” as it seeks to weather global turmoil. That is the warning from Ireland’s Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris. He says the current conflict in the Middle East serves as “a stark reminder of how Europe must become much more energy independent and much more economically resilient.”

Winners of a Grammy Award in 2011, Tinariwen are back with their 10th album, “Hoggar”, marking a career that spans 45 years. The album is a return to their roots for these passionate defenders of nomadic culture and their people. Sonia Patricelli and Aurore Dupuis report.

An overnight Israeli strike killed a dozen medical staff at a clinic in south Lebanon, health authorities said earlier Saturday, after Iran-backed Hezbollah’s leader Naim Qassem said his group was ready for a long confrontation with Israel. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when the militant group attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes. Details and analysis by Dr. Shawky Amine Eddine, humanitaian affairs coordinator at ICRC Lebanon in Beirut.