Exactly five years after being ravaged by fire, the first stage of restoration work on the historic Notre-Dame Cathedral in the heart of Paris has been completed and the cathedral is due to open December 8, said the chairman of the public body overseeing its reconstruction. The fire at the Notre-Dame Cathedral, which used to welcome 12 million visitors a year, shocked the world on April 15, 2019. Around 250 companies and hundreds of artisans, architects and other professionals have been working on the extraordinary project to restore the cathedral, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a masterpiece of Gothic art.…
Author: GuruTrends
The highest-ranking Syrian military official to be tried in Europe on Monday appeared before a Stockholm court accused of war crimes during Syria’s civil war. Former brigadier general Mohammed Hamo, 65, who lives in Sweden, is accused of “aiding and abetting” war crimes and could get a life jail sentence. The war between President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and armed opposition groups, including Islamic State, erupted after the government repressed peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2011. It has killed more than half a million people, displaced millions, and ravaged Syria’s economy and infrastructure. Wearing a dark blue shirt, jeans and sneakers, Hamo listened carefully and took notes…
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics planned on the River Seine could be shifted instead to the Stade de France if the security threat is deemed too high. France is on high security alert ahead of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, which are expected to draw millions of visitors to the country. Security concerns are notably high for the exceptional opening ceremony, which involves boats carrying athletes along the Seine on a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) parade and huge crowds watching from the embankments. Speaking to French media BFM-TV and RMC, Macron said France’s law enforcement forces will be mobilized at…
Police in Australia say a man has been arrested after a bishop and three churchgoers were stabbed in Sydney. There are no life-threatening injuries. It occurred during a televised service at the church on Monday evening, police said. The Orthodox Assyrian church streams services online. A video on social media shows a man dressed in black approaching a cleric at the altar identified as the bishop at Christ the Good Shepherd in suburban Wakely and appearing to stab him repeatedly in the head and upper body. Members of the congregation are seen screaming and rushing to the bishop’s aid. The church website identified the…
The DHL Stormers were disappointed to lose in the agonising fashion they did to La Rochelle in the Investec Champions Cup but there are some definite advantages to be had for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship challenge that resumes this week. The Stormers face the Ospreys at DHL Stadium in a round 14 clash on Saturday evening before fronting mighty Leinster at the same venue a week later. There’s one immediate advantage the Stormers get from being knocked out in the round of 16 in the Champions Cup – they will have some of the players who were incapacitated during…
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said on Monday his team’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg clash against Paris Saint-Germain would be similar to the first leg thriller. The five-time champions edged Luis Enrique’s PSG side 3-2 in a Paris blockbuster last week and are aiming to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2019. Xavi said the second leg at Barcelona’s temporary Olympic Stadium home on the city’s Montjuic hill would produce more of the same spectacle. “We’re not a team that will sit on our lead, we want to take the ball off PSG and win the game,” Xavi…
Andre Onana admits to finding it “strange” that fans chose to support him, rather than abuse, during an error-strewn start at Manchester United. The Cameroon international goalkeeper arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2023, with a big-money transfer taking him away from Serie A giants Inter. He was charged with the task of filling the boots of Premier League Golden Glove winner David de Gea. Onana saw costly mistakes creep into his game early on, leading to questions of his value to the collective cause, but has told ESPN of United supporters having his back: “I received a lot of positive messages when I arrived here…
Leverkusen finished runners-up five times in the Bundesliga, but it was not going to be the case in Xabi Alonso’s 18 months in charge of Die Werkself. Bayer Leverkusen have answered the biggest question in Bundesliga and finally knocked Bayern Munich off their throne in German football. After last season’s impressive march under Xabi Alonso from second bottom up to sixth and Europa League qualification, there was already a feel-good factor around the BayArena ahead of a first full campaign under the Spaniard. They have, indeed, exceeded all expectations already breaking Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga record along the way before managing to make it all the way. Here…
Turkish, Jordanian, and Iraqi officials said on Sunday that Iran gave wide notice days before its drone and missile attack on Israel, but U.S. officials said Tehran did not warn Washington and that it was aiming to cause significant damage. Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles on Saturday in a retaliatory strike after a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria. Most of the drones and missiles were downed before reaching Israeli territory, though a young girl was critically injured and there were widespread concerns of further escalation. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Sunday that…
Clark is expected to be drafted by the Indiana Fever on Monday as the first overall pick, launching her highly anticipated WNBA career. In second grade, Caitlin Clark wrote a note to herself, compiling her goals for the future. “Get a basketball scholarship, play in the WNBA,” Clark recalled the note saying. On Monday, her dreams will come true: She is poised to be selected by the Indiana Fever as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft, launching her professional career in the sport she dominated for the last four years as an Iowa Hawkeye, sinking 3-pointers and breaking…
The Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, has donated the sum of ₦3.5 million to the victims of attacks in Kogi. This is contained in a statement issued by the minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Lizzy Okoji, on Sunday in Abuja. Mrs Okoji said that Audu made the donation during his visit to Omala Local Government Area of Kogi to sympathise with the victims over the incident. Recall that bandits had, on April 4, attacked Abejukolo and Agojeju communities in Omala council area of the state during which no fewer than 25 persons were reportedly killed and several others injured.…
Junior Pope Rejected Life Jacket Due to Dirtiness – Movie Producer Adanma Luke Adanma Luke, the producer of the movie Junior Pope was shooting before he drowned, has stated that the late actor was offered a life jacket but declined to wear it. Luke has faced criticism following the tragic incident where actor Junior Pope and three others lost their lives after their boat capsized on the Anam River in Anambra State while returning from the filming location of her movie, ‘The Other Side Of Life.’ Breaking her silence since the incident, Luke Adanma claimed that Junior Pope…
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that he is confident the ceremony will go ahead as planned and be a success, but that he has alternatives in mind for the ambitious showpiece. France’s leader said Monday that the country has alternatives prepared if security threats require changing its plans for a spectacular opening ceremony to the Paris Olympics this summer. The July 26 showpiece is set to be the first not to take place inside a stadium, with the ambitious ceremony to instead feature 160 boats setting off along the Seine as huge crowds line the river’s banks. The French capital’s famous waterway will host a boat…
Justice Ahmad Olanrewaju heartily observed the 2024 Ramadan fast from the first to the last day. Throughout the 30 days, from 10 March to 9 April 2024, as was his tradition, Justice Ahmad Olanrewaju Belgore provided plenty of food and gift items to the poor and the needy and various families and groups. On the last day of Ramadan, just a week before his 71st birthday, after breaking his fast, observing his night prayers and performing Zakat Fitr, the retired Justice of the Court of Appeal answered the call of Almighty God. He could not witness the Eid-Fitr, which was…
Federal agents boarded the 985-foot Dali early Monday with search warrants. The FBI has opened up a criminal investigation into the cargo ship that slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused it to collapse in Baltimore last month, according to two senior law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation. The news was first reported by the Washington Post on Monday morning. Federal agents boarded the 985-foot Dali early Monday with search warrants. Baltimore FBI confirmed Monday that agents were on board “conducting court authorized law enforcement activity.” The investigation will look into the events that led up to when the ship left the…
Everton have lodged a formal appeal against their second points deduction for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules, BBC Radio Merseyside understands. The Toffees had a 10-point deduction reduced to six on appeal in February for the three-year period to 2021-22. The latest appeal process must be concluded by 24 May, five days after the final Premier League game. Sean Dyche’s side sit 16th in the table, two points above the drop zone. The Blues travel to face Chelsea in the league on Monday (kick-off 20:00 BST) aiming to distance themselves from the relegation zone. Profit and sustainability rules (PSR) permit clubs…
The Plateau State Muslim Pilgrim Welfare Board has disclosed that 135 intending pilgrims will miss the 2024 Hajj exercise. The board said that despite making initial deposits, the affected individuals were unable to pay the balance because the payment deadline had expired. In March, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria,NAHCON, increased the fare for the 2024 pilgrimage from N4.9 million to N6.8 million. The commission also set March 28 as the deadline for intending pilgrims to complete their payments. It was gathered that the affected individuals rushed to the state pilgrim welfare board to complete their payments but found no…
Operation Safe Haven, OPSH, a special military task force maintaining peace in Plateau and environs, has dismissed the allegation that its soldiers shot innocent civilians in the recent attacks in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau. Maj. Samson Zhakom, the Media Officer of the operation denied the allegation in a statement on Monday in Jos. The Coalition of Bokkos Ethnic Youth Nationalities, alleged that soldiers shot civilians and compounded the vulnerability of residents of the locality. The group, who called for the removal of the Commander of OPSH Step-Up Headquarters 2 in Bokkos, said that the security agencies failed to…
For the first time ever, Iran has carried out strikes against Israeli territory. In the middle of Saturday night, air raid alerts went off in Israel. Residents were urged to seek shelter, while explosions were heard as air defences were activated. Interceptions lit up the night sky in several places across the country, with many drones and missiles shot down by Israel and its allies before they reached Israeli territory. There is even thought to be at least one case of a ballistic missile being shot down outside the Earth’s atmosphere. At least nine countries were involved in the military…
The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has reacted to the attacks launched on Israel by Iran at the weekend. Guterres issued a statement and also posted a video on the UN X account, urging restraint by all parties and warning that neither the region nor the world could afford another war. Vanguard reported that Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles from its territory toward Israel, with most intercepted on Saturday. Speaking about the latest violence in the Middle East, the UN chief said the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has already wreaked havoc on civilians, thus cautioning those…