PARIS: A crane hoisted massive oak trusses from a barge and onto Notre Dame Cathedral on Tuesday in a spectacular operation to rebuild the fire-ravaged monument and bring it back to life by December 2024.
With trusses weighing 7 to 7.5 tons, the delicate operation drew crowds along a bridge over the Seine River and on its banks.
“I think it’s a magical moment for a lot of Parisians this morning,” said Transport Minister Clement Beaune, noting that the Seine will be at the center of the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.
Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, appointed by French President Emmanuel Macron to oversee Notre Dame’s reconstruction, said that even the heavy traffic expected during the summer Games won’t stop work on the world-renowned cathedral.
“We will work for the cathedral during the Olympics in order to be ready in December 2024,” he said. “This is our goal.”
Notre Dame, which oversees old Paris from an island on the Seine, was consumed by flames in 2019, and it was decided to rebuild the monument using methods of yore.
Expert carpenters used Medieval methods to construct the trusses — measuring 14 to 16 meters (46 to 52 feet) wide and 12 to 13 meters (39 to 43 feet) high.
Guided by ropes, they were being placed on the roof around the area of the iconic spire, which crumbled in cinders during the fire, and the two arms of the transept, the wooden skeleton of Notre Dame. A statement said the silhouette of Notre Dame, now enmeshed in scaffolding, should emerge on the skyline as work advances.
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Crane at fire-ravaged Notre Dame in Paris hoists giant wood trusses to the cathedral’s roof
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Crane at fire-ravaged Notre Dame in Paris hoists giant wood trusses to the cathedral’s roof
- With trusses weighing 7 to 7.5 tons, the delicate operation drew crowds along a bridge over the Seine River and on its banks x
- With trusses weighing 7 to 7.5 tons, the delicate operation drew crowds along a bridge over the Seine River and on its banks “I think it’s a magical moment for a lot of Parisians this morning,” said Transport Minister Clement Beaune
Cuba says attacking speedboat had nearly 13,000 rounds of ammunition
- Firefight took place at a range of 20 meters, Cuba says
- Incoming crew originally set out on two vessels but ditched one
HAVANA: A commando of Cuban exiles who intended to infiltrate Cuba on a speedboat was armed with nearly 13,000 rounds of ammunition, 13 rifles and 11 pistols, Cuban officials said on Friday, providing new details about Wednesday’s deadly exchange of gunfire at sea. The government in Havana has said 10 Cuban nationals coming from the United States entered Cuban waters and opened fire on a border guard vessel, leading Cuban forces to return fire killing four and wounding six others, who were taken into custody.
In an attempt to dispel doubts about its account to date, senior Cuban Interior Ministry officers displayed the captured armaments from the studio on a special television program, including bins full of at least some of the 12,846 recovered rounds. They also showed pictures of the vessels, each peppered with bullet holes from the firefight they said took place at a range of 20 meters (66 feet).
The confrontation took place at a fraught moment in US-Cuban relations, with US President Donald Trump pressuring the island by imposing a virtual oil blockade after capturing and ousting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a crucial Cuban ally, on January 3.
Cuba has identified the assailants as Cuban exiles, some of whom had been previously placed on a list of accused terrorists, who came from the United States with the intent to sow chaos and attack military units on the Communist-ruled island.
“The intent of this group is to infiltrate, to promote public disorder. To incite the people to unite. To carry out something violent. Attack military units in order to incite social unrest and to unite the people in order to steal the revolution. That has been duly proven,” said Col. Victor Alvarez of the Interior Ministry.
Cuba says response ‘proportional’
US politicians have expressed skepticism over Cuba’s version of events. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday said his government would independently investigate, adding that it was not a US operation and that no US government personnel were involved.
Cuban officers said the infiltrators set out from Marathon in the Florida Keys on two vessels but ditched one at some point due to technical difficulties. They united on one speedboat, which a US official said was reported stolen in Florida. Cuba said it recovered a drone, radios, knives, a portable power plant, bolt cutters and other materiel. They also found emblems of the November 30th Movement and People’s Self-Defense, anti-communist groups that oppose the Cuban government.
Cuba says a patrol of five border guard members on a 9-meter boat spotted the incoming vessel shortly after 7 a.m., with some members of the incoming crew in the water, about one nautical mile off a cay on the Caribbean island’s northern coast, about 100 miles (160 km) from Marathon.
The infiltrators opened fire at a distance of 185 meters, striking the captain of the Cuban vessel in the abdomen, Cuba said. Bleeding heavily, the wounded captain remained at the helm and steered toward the enemy vessel, leading to a firefight at a distance of about 20 meters, the officers said.
Cuba called its response “proportional.”
“It is a defensive model that practically never uses firearms, and the use of firearms is proportional to the type of action being carried out against our force,” said Interior Ministry Col. Ybey Carballo.
The captured Cuban nationals were receiving medical care and face charges including armed aggression, illegal entry into national territory, crimes associated with terrorist acts, and arms trafficking, prosecutor Edward Robert Campbell told the program. He said they face prison terms of up to 10 to 15 years for the lesser offenses and 20 to 30 years — or even the death penalty — for the more serious charges.
In an attempt to dispel doubts about its account to date, senior Cuban Interior Ministry officers displayed the captured armaments from the studio on a special television program, including bins full of at least some of the 12,846 recovered rounds. They also showed pictures of the vessels, each peppered with bullet holes from the firefight they said took place at a range of 20 meters (66 feet).
The confrontation took place at a fraught moment in US-Cuban relations, with US President Donald Trump pressuring the island by imposing a virtual oil blockade after capturing and ousting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a crucial Cuban ally, on January 3.
Cuba has identified the assailants as Cuban exiles, some of whom had been previously placed on a list of accused terrorists, who came from the United States with the intent to sow chaos and attack military units on the Communist-ruled island.
“The intent of this group is to infiltrate, to promote public disorder. To incite the people to unite. To carry out something violent. Attack military units in order to incite social unrest and to unite the people in order to steal the revolution. That has been duly proven,” said Col. Victor Alvarez of the Interior Ministry.
Cuba says response ‘proportional’
US politicians have expressed skepticism over Cuba’s version of events. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday said his government would independently investigate, adding that it was not a US operation and that no US government personnel were involved.
Cuban officers said the infiltrators set out from Marathon in the Florida Keys on two vessels but ditched one at some point due to technical difficulties. They united on one speedboat, which a US official said was reported stolen in Florida. Cuba said it recovered a drone, radios, knives, a portable power plant, bolt cutters and other materiel. They also found emblems of the November 30th Movement and People’s Self-Defense, anti-communist groups that oppose the Cuban government.
Cuba says a patrol of five border guard members on a 9-meter boat spotted the incoming vessel shortly after 7 a.m., with some members of the incoming crew in the water, about one nautical mile off a cay on the Caribbean island’s northern coast, about 100 miles (160 km) from Marathon.
The infiltrators opened fire at a distance of 185 meters, striking the captain of the Cuban vessel in the abdomen, Cuba said. Bleeding heavily, the wounded captain remained at the helm and steered toward the enemy vessel, leading to a firefight at a distance of about 20 meters, the officers said.
Cuba called its response “proportional.”
“It is a defensive model that practically never uses firearms, and the use of firearms is proportional to the type of action being carried out against our force,” said Interior Ministry Col. Ybey Carballo.
The captured Cuban nationals were receiving medical care and face charges including armed aggression, illegal entry into national territory, crimes associated with terrorist acts, and arms trafficking, prosecutor Edward Robert Campbell told the program. He said they face prison terms of up to 10 to 15 years for the lesser offenses and 20 to 30 years — or even the death penalty — for the more serious charges.
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