Author: France 24

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.

French rowers Noam Mouelle and Tobias Bernard will captain University of Cambridge and University of Oxford in the men’s Boat Race on the River Thames next month, marking the first time both crews are led by French-born captains.

Brent crude has once again topped $100 a barrel as energy markets brace for the Iran conflict to drag on. US President Donald Trump says he is less concerned about high oil prices than about stopping Iran, while his energy secretary has confirmed the military cannot yet escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Also, Indian households and businesses are facing high prices and shortages of cooking fuel, linked to disruptions in the Gulf.

She’s played the blushing bride in “Mamma Mia!” and the sidekick to the high-school bully in “Mean Girls”. Now Amanda Seyfried takes on the role of Ann Lee, the 18th-century religious leader who founded the Shaker movement in the United States. Eve Jackson hears from Seyfried about the role at the Paris premiere of The Testament of Ann Lee. We also check in with ambassadors of Tuareg culture, Tinariwen, as they return with their 10th album and embark on a European tour. And, we hear from the team behind a powerful new animation telling the story of a child soldier…

As Israel steps up its bombing campaign on Lebanon, many hospitals have had to close, leaving only a handful of healthcare facilities still operating. For patients with chronic illnesses — and the doctors and nurses treating them — every trip to the hospital now carries the risk of death. FRANCE 24 visited the Sacré-Cœur hospital near Beirut as it prepares its staff for the worst.

Iran’s participation in the World Cup seems to be slipping further away on Thursday, with US President Donald Trump saying that Team Melli players would not be “safe” if they came to the United States.

As he takes on the presidency of PEN America, Dinaw Mengestu explains why defending a plurality of voices is crucial at a time of censorship and revisionism. He also discusses how the organisation is working to rebuild its credibility after criticism over its failure to condemn the war in Gaza in 2023. The award-winning author’s fourth novel, “Someone Like Us”, has just been published in France, and Mengestu tells us about the personal elements he has woven into this story of an Ethiopian-American grappling with his identity. We also discuss the immigrant experience in the United States and why notions…

In his first message since he was appointed Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei ordered the vital Strait of Hormuz oil shipping lane to remain closed and called on Gulf Arab states to “shut down” US bases. It was a message of defiance and continuity, explains FRANCE 24’s Leela Jacinto.