The north and south towers of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris reopened to the public on Saturday, six years after a devastating fire ravaged the cathedral on 15 April 2019, destroying the roof and spire and inflicting major damage.
French President Emmanuel Macron presided over the inauguration, allowing visitors to ascend the 424 steps to experience restored terrace views and the cathedral’s iconic gargoyles once more.
Visitors can start tours from the south tower, climbing into the belfry before emerging onto terraces that offer sweeping panoramic views of Paris. The route includes viewing the two main bells and then descending via the north tower.
Tickets cost €16 per person and must be bought online in advance. Capacity is strictly limited, only 19 people are allowed in at any one time.
The restoration effort has been massive, involving stabilisation of the structure, safety upgrades, cleaning of stonework, repair of damage from heat and smoke, and reconstruction of wood and roof elements. While this reopening marks a major milestone, further repair work remains, especially in the apse on the cathedral’s eastern end.
Restoration is estimated to have cost several hundred million euros, financed through donations and overseen by specialised heritage and restoration teams. The project also included improvements to visitor pathways and safety systems.
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The U.S. military's Central Command said on Tuesday that Iran has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones in its retaliatory attacks throughout the Middle East so far.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a full U.S. trade embargo on Spain on Tuesday after the European and NATO ally refused to let the U.S. military use its bases for missions linked to strikes on Iran.
An Israeli strike on a four-storey residential building has killed at least four people and wounded six others in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek with rescue teams working to pull families from beneath the rubble, state news agency NNA said on Wednesday.
Kazakhstan has vowed to speed up its investigation into the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) crash near Aktau, as mounting diplomatic pressure and geopolitical tensions push the disaster further into the international spotlight.
The Kremlin is utilising the recent United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran to validate its ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian officials are pointing to the escalation in the Middle East as evidence that Western nations do not adhere to international rules.
Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Saudi Aramco closed its Ras Tanura refinery on Monday following an Iranian drone strike, an industry source told Reuters as Tehran retaliated across the Gulf after a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iranian targets over the weekend.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
Türkiye raised its security level for Turkish-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz to Level 3 on Sunday (2 March). The development follows Iranian restrictions on shipping after U.S. and Israeli strikes and confirmation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov following recent military strikes carried out by the United States and Israel on targets in Iran, as tensions in the Middle East continue to rise.
Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and is capable of sustaining military action indefinitely, as the conflict with Iran entered its fourth day.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
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