Celine Dion is set to confirm her long-awaited return to live performance today, her 58th birthday, with a residency in Paris this autumn. 

But her ongoing battle with a rare neurological disorder means she may have to perform while seated.

The Canadian icon, who has not done a full concert since March 2020, will announce a ten-show run at Paris’s La Defense Arena, one of Europe’s largest indoor venues with a capacity of 45,000. 

She is set to perform two shows a week, but health concerns surrounding her Stiff-Person Syndrome, a condition that causes severe muscle rigidity and violent spasms, have led insurers to impose strict conditions on the run.

“To insure the gigs, Celine and team have agreed to non-negotiable terms including a performance limit and regular medical checks right up until the final show,” a source said.

The possibility of performing from a chair would put Dion in the company of other music icons who have made similar adaptations in recent years.

Ozzy Osbourne performed seated on a throne at Black Sabbath’s farewell concert last summer, and Phil Collins sat throughout Genesis’s final tour in 2021.

Dion has been open about her determination to get back on stage despite everything her condition has put her through. 

In her 2024 Prime Video documentary I Am: Celine Dion, she was unambiguous about what performing means to her. “If I can’t run, I’ll walk. If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl. I miss it so much,” she said.

Since stepping away from touring, she has made only two brief public appearances, at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony in 2024 and at a fashion show the same year. 

The announcement marks the most significant step yet in her return.

• Iran conflict escalates, Houthis launch attacks on Israel.
• Analysts flag concerns over Saudi exports from Red Sea.
• Iran accuses US of ground assault plans amid offers of talks.

 Oil prices extended gains on Monday, with Brent headed ‌for a record monthly rise, after Yemeni Houthis launched their first attacks on Israel over the weekend, widening the US-Israel war with Iran in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures jumped $3.09, or 2.74%, to $115.66 a barrel ​by 2353 GMT after settling 4.2% higher on Friday.

US West Texas Intermediate was at $102.56 ​a barrel, up $2.92, or 2.93%, following a 5.5% gain in the previous ⁠session.

Brent has soared 59% this month, the steepest monthly jump, exceeding gains seen during the 1990 ​Gulf War, after the Iran conflict effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a ​fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.

The war, launched on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, has spread across the Middle East, with Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday launching their first attacks on ​Israel since the start of the conflict, raising concern about shipping lanes around the Arabian ​Peninsula and the Red Sea.

“The conflict is no longer concentrated in the Persian Gulf and around the Strait ‌of ⁠Hormuz, but now extends into the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb — one of the world’s most crucial chokepoints for crude and refined product flows,” JP Morgan analysts led by Natasha Kaneva said in a note.

Saudi crude exports redirected from the Strait of Hormuz to the Yanbu ​port in the Red ​Sea reached 4.658 ⁠million barrels per day last week, data from analytics firm Kpler showed.

If exports from Yanbu were disrupted, Saudi oil would need to pivot toward ​Egypt’s Suez-Mediterranean (SUMED) pipeline to the Mediterranean, JP Morgan analysts said.

Attacks in ​the region ⁠escalated over the weekend and damaged Oman’s Salalah terminal despite efforts to start ceasefire talks.

Iran said it was ready to respond to a US ground attack, accusing Washington on Sunday of preparing a land assault ⁠even ​as it sought negotiations.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said ​they had covered possible ways to bring an early and permanent end to the war in the region as well ​as potential US-Iran talks in Islamabad.

Britney Spears has shared another glimpse of her family support network, posting photos with her eldest son Preston on Instagram on Sunday, 29 March, continuing a run of reunions following her DUI arrest earlier this month.

In the snaps, Spears, wearing a pink cropped shirt and black sunglasses with her long blonde hair down, stood smiling beside her 20-year-old as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. 

The photos mark her second post since returning to social media after deactivating her account in the wake of the arrest.

Spears was taken into custody in Ventura County, California on the evening of 4 March on suspicion of driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs. 

She was sent to hospital to test her blood alcohol content before being booked and released the following morning. 

Her representative described the incident as “completely inexcusable,” adding that Spears would “take the right steps and comply with the law.” A court date is scheduled for 4 May.

In the days that followed, her rep confirmed that both Preston and his younger brother Jayden, 19, would be spending time with their mother as part of a wider plan by her loved ones to support her wellbeing. 

Since the arrest, Spears is understood to have been sober.

Spears returned to Instagram on Friday, 27 March, with a video alongside Jayden, her first post since the incident. 

“Thank you guys for all your support… spending time with family and friends is such a blessing!!! Stay kind!!!” she wrote. 

Sunday’s photos with Preston followed, rounding out a weekend in which both of her sons have visibly shown up for her.