Foreign News
Notre Dame Bell Rings out Across Empty Paris on Anniversary of Fire
The biggest bell in Notre Dame rang out on Wednesday evening across a Paris under coronavirus lockdown to mark the anniversary of the fire that devastated the cathedral last year.
The cathedral, now roofless and windowless, has stood silent and fenced-off by the bank of the Seine river since mid-March, when the lockdown forced restoration works to end.
Only on Good Friday was Archbishop Michel Aupetit allowed to enter, with just six companions, for a brief ceremony broadcast by video to the faithful.
But President Emmanuel Macron said he still hoped to have the cathedral restored within the ambitious five-year deadline he set after the blaze.
“I do not believe that waiting around or disarray are a response to the challenge of the times,” he insisted.
The reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral was a “symbol of our people’s resilience,” Macron said in a video message to mark the anniversary.
Aupetit, for his part, repeated his words from the day after the fire.
“Its stones bear witness to the invincible hope that, through the genius and faith of its builders, raised up this lacework of stone and glass,” he wrote on Twitter.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the city and national governments were working to reopen the square in front of the 12th century Gothic cathedral to the public as soon as possible.
The fire had touched “the geographical, spiritual and cultural heart of Paris, the symbolic heart of our country,” Hidalgo wrote on Twitter.
Notre Dame is still topped by a warped, partly melted scaffolding erected for planned restoration work on its 93-metre-high spire, which collapsed into the flames on April 15 last year.
Removing that scaffolding is the first major step in the restoration programme, with experts warning that it still poses a risk to the stability of the structure.
Investigators are still looking into what sparked the blaze, which apparently started in the roof.
An electrical fault or a badly extinguished cigarette smoked by one of the people working on the spire were among the possible causes under investigation, Paris prosecutor Remi Heitz said last year.
Macron paid tribute to the firefighters whose “heroic spirit of courage saved the cathedral from the flames,” as well the reconstruction workers and those who donated towards its restoration.
“You have paved the way for these better days that are coming, when the French people will once again find the joy of being together and the spire of Notre Dame will reach once more towards the sky,” he said. (dpa/NAN)
Foreign News
Earthquake Shakes Western Greece
A strong earthquake has shaken western Greece on Friday morning, but no casualties reported.
The Greek Geodynamic Institute in Athens, said the 5.8 magnitude quake occurred at 9:12 am (0812 GMT) local time.
The epicentre of the quake was about 20 kilometres below the seabed off the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula near the islet of Stamfani, also known as Strofades.
It was preceded by a smaller quake with a magnitude of 4.
1.Greece’s Civil Defence organisation did not initially say whether there were any casualties or damage to buildings.
A tsunami warning was not issued.
“We felt the tremors very strongly,” a resident of the nearby Olympia region said, adding that
“everyone here is on the streets.
”Local media reported that many schools had been evacuated as the quake was felt throughout western Greece, and on the tourist island of Zakynthos and as far away as Athens, about 300 kilometres away.
The deepest point of the Mediterranean Sea is located between western Greece and Sicily in Italy, with a depth of over 5,000 metres.
The African and European tectonic plates meet in this region, which make it prone to strong earthquakes. (dpa/NAN)
Foreign News
Russian Army Fires Ballistic Missiles at Kiev from Crimean Peninsula
The Russian Army has hit the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, with ballistic missiles, injuring four people and damaging an uninhabited three-storey building, according to officials.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that two of the injured people were in a central neighbourhood and had been taken to hospital.
Rocket debris also fell in two other neighbourhoods.
According to the Ukrainian air force, two ballistic missiles were fired at the city of millions, from the Russian-controlled Crimea Peninsula.
Both were shot down.Half a dozen explosions from anti-aircraft missiles had previously been heard in the city centre.
The air raid warning was only triggered a few seconds beforehand, it said.
Ukraine has been facing Russian invasion for over two years.
Since then, the Ukrainian air defence system has been massively reinforced with Western systems. (dpa/NAN)
Foreign News
Cambodia Arrests 2 Foreigners for Smuggling 2.27 kg Narcotics
Cambodian customs police at the Phnom Penh International Airport said they have arrested two South Korean nationals for an attempt to smuggle 2.27 kg narcotics to South Korea.
The duo, a man and woman, were caught Sunday night while they checked in for a ZA215 flight bound for Seoul.
The General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia said in a news release on Monday.
In their body searches, our customs officials found many packs of drugs wrapped around their waists, the news release said.
“As a result, some 1.29 kg of crystal methamphetamine and 0.98 kg of ketamine were seized from the two suspects’ possession.’’
The Southeast Asian country has no death sentence for a drug trafficker.
Under its law, someone found guilty of trafficking more than 80 grammes of illicit drugs could be jailed for life.
According to the country’s Anti-Drug Department (ADP), Cambodia nabbed 3,899 drug-related suspects, including 106 foreigners, in 1,659 cases from Jan. 1 to March 3, 2024.
According to the report they confiscated a total of 2.79 tonnes of narcotics.
Most of the seized drugs were ketamine, crystal methamphetamine, methamphetamine tablets, heroin, ecstasy, and cocaine. (Xinhua/NAN)