Fire has spread to the left rectangular tower of the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been ravaged by a massive blaze. The historic building has had its spire and roof completely collapse.

LATEST: Notre Dame towers ‘saved’ from the blaze, French firefighters hope

Smoke can be seen billowing from the left rectangular tower of the cathedral, prompting fears that the blaze has actually spread to the few parts of the 13th-century building left untouched by the fire.

The towers are the oldest part of the cathedral, which has lived through several renovations and received ‘new’ additions in the 17th and 18th centuries. The towers house the bells of the cathedral. Its largest bell is actually the namesake of the incumbent French president and goes by the name of ‘Emmanuel’.

The firefighters, who are still struggling to contain the fire, said they are reluctant to call in aerial support, such as firefighting helicopters. A massive haul of water, poured on the ancient structure, might collapse the entire building.

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French President Emmanuel Macron has extended his sympathies to all Catholics and all citizens of France as “part of us burns,” referring to the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris) in central Paris.

“Our Lady of Paris is in flames,” the president tweeted on Monday evening, as the church’s spire and roof collapsed. “My thoughts are with all the Catholics and all the French. Like all our compatriots, I am sad tonight to see this part of us burn.”

Built starting in the 12th century, the Gothic architecture jewel was undergoing repairs. The scaffolding around the roof and the spire of the church caught fire on Monday, and firefighters have struggled to contain the blaze.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

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The world watched in horror as Paris’ historic Notre Dame Cathedral erupted in flames Monday. It was the second fire to hit a historic French Catholic church in under a month.

Editor’s note: The initial version of this article contained information about vandalism in French churches. The author believed it necessary to include it to point out the troubles that have recently plagued the Catholic churches of France. The text stressed that vandalism had nothing to do with the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. Upon review, we believe that although the article was factually correct, some readers may have found it insensitive. That was not what RT was aiming for. Like the rest of the world, we grieve for the partial loss of the architectural masterpiece that is Notre Dame.

While Notre Dame is undoubtedly the most well-known landmark to be affected, Paris’ second largest church, Saint-Sulpice, briefly burst into flames on March 17. The fire damaged the church’s doors and stained glass windows on the building’s exterior, but firefighters managed to bring it under control before anybody was hurt.

The fire that hit Saint-Sulpice reportedly started in a pile of clothes left outside the cathedral, before climbing up the door and to the stained glass. The clothes are believed to have been left there by a homeless person. Police said the fire was “not accidental,” but the pastor of Saint-Sulpice argued it was not an anti-religious attack.

Unlike in the Notre Dame fire, the damage to Saint-Sulpice was relatively minor. The church, founded in the 17th century, houses three paintings by 19th century Romantic artist Eugene Delacroix, none of which were damaged.

Fortunately, many of the relics in Notre Dame escaped the fire unscathed. The ancient Crown of Thorns and the tunic of St. Louis were transported safely to the Paris City Hall. The cathedral frame itself also remained intact, though its roof and spire collapsed.

Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral, which caught fire on Monday, had reached a “tipping point” and required an expensive makeover after deteriorating for years, experts had previously warned.

The iconic Paris landmark was hit with a major fire just days after the new restoration work had begun on the building. The fire caused the collapse of the church’s famous spire, which was made of wood and covered with lead. Parts of the roof of the building also collapsed as the fire continued to ravage the Gothic structure.

The peak of the church had been undergoing a major €6 million renovation — and the fire is thought to be linked to the revamp, French media reported, quoting the Paris fire brigade.

Structural problems have plagued the old building for years, including dangerously eroded stone, broken gargoyles and fallen balustrades, André Finot, the cathedral’s spokesperson, told the New York Times in 2017. Finot told the newspaper the situation was “spinning out of control.”

Despite the deterioration, tourists still flocked to the famous landmark, unaware of just how desperately a major makeover was needed.

The Friends of Notre Dame foundation has even been seeking to raise a massive €150 million ($180 million) from French citizens and Francophiles in the US to help foot the bill for a major facelift. The French government itself allocates about €2 million each year for upkeep of the building.

While experts said that the cathedral was not at risk of sudden collapse, many will now be fearing the worst, as parts have already collapsed.

Notre Dame, built in the 12th and 13th centuries, has seen more than one overhaul in its time, with one of the most major happening between 1844 and 1864 when its spire and flying buttresses were revamped.

“When you look at [the cathedral] from the front, there is no problem,” Friends of Notre-Dame head Michel Picaud told the Times. “But when you go behind the scenes, that’s when things start to go downhill.”

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The massive fire that had erupted at the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is a great tragedy for all Christians and those who value the cultural meaning of the ancient building, the Russian Orthodox Church has said.

The fire erupted at the one of the most well-known Paris landmarks late on Monday. It quickly engulfed the building, causing its spire and most of the roof to completely collapse. The fire is still raging, yet the firefighters express hopes the main structure of the cathedral will remain standing.

The blaze at the cathedral has caused a “great sorrow” within the Orthodox Church, said hieromonk Stephan, spokesman of the Moscow Patriarchate.

“It’s certainly a tragedy for all the Christians and everyone who values the cultural meaning of the cathedral,” the hieromonk told Sputnik. “Yet besides the cultural value, we must remember that the Crown of Thorns, the greatest relic for all the Christians, is kept there. We pray that it will stay safe and that God won’t allow human deaths amid this terrible event.”

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World leaders have been reacting with horror to the devastating fire which has ravaged Paris’ iconic Notre Dame cathedral and caused part of the 800-year-old beloved Gothic structure to collapse.

The building, one of the most important for Christians worldwide, and a major part of France’s cultural heritage, was heavily damaged by the quick-spreading fire on Monday. The fate of the iconic structure is hanging in the balance as firefighters have warned that they are “not sure” whether the fire can be contained.

The spire and roof of the landmark church have already crumbled after being engulfed in the flames, which quickly spread to one of the rectangular towers of the historic building as tourists and Parisians looked on in dismay.

US President Donald Trump, reacting on Twitter, said it was “horrible to watch” the church burn and suggested that “flying water tankers” could be used to put it out. First Lady Melania Trump also offered sympathies, saying her “heart breaks” for the people of France.

The fire is a “catastrophe” for France and all of Europe, the flames ravaging “850 years of history, architecture, painting and sculpture,” tweeted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May tweeted that her thoughts “are with the people of France” and the emergency services still fighting the “terrible blaze,” while German chancellor Angela Merkel said through a spokesperson that she was “deeply saddened” by the fire and was thinking of “our French friends.”

In a statement, the Vatican said the fire had caused “shock and sadness” and that it was praying for the firefighters. “We express our closeness to French Catholics and the population of Paris and we ensure them of our prayers,” Vatican spokesperson Alessandro Gisotti said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pence also tweeted to say it was “heartbreaking to see a house of God in flames” and offered prayers for firefighters and the people of Paris, while former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said the cathedral was “a symbol of our ability as human beings to unite for a higher purpose.”

Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said his country was ready to help their neighbors and send his condolences over the “terrifying fire” at the cathedral.

The blaze at the cathedral has caused a “great sorrow” within the Orthodox Church, spokesman of the Moscow Patriarchate, Hieromonk Stephan told RIA Novosti.
“It’s certainly a tragedy for all the Christians and everyone who values the cultural meaning of the cathedral,” he said. “Yet besides the cultural value, we must remember that the Crown of Thorns, the greatest relic for all Christians, is kept there. We pray that it will stay safe and that God won’t allow human deaths amid this terrible event.”

The cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed, but so far it is thought to be related to recently begun renovations on the structure which was in major need of repairs. Restoration following the fire could take at least ten years, a curators’ representative said.

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Shocked by the roaring blaze that devastated one of France’s iconic landmarks, people have been singing hymns and praying not far from the site where firefighters are still trying to contain the fire consuming the building.

Photos and videos on social media show many French people praying in desperate hope that the cathedral, which has seen its entire roof collapse as a result of the blaze, could still be saved, at least partially.

Some people were seen on their knees on the streets leading to the banks of the River Seine, from where one could see the site of the tragic event. They were praying and singing hymns in chorus.

Others were seen crying or just standing in shock as they apparently could not believe what they were seeing was really happening.

People from all over the world conveyed their condolences to France and the French on social media, adding that their “hearts were broken.”

The Gothic architecture jewel almost completely burned out in about three hours. The cause of the blaze remains unknown.

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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he doesn’t think Benjamin Netanyahu’s election vow to annex the West Bank will have a negative impact on a two-state peace plan, despite the removal of a large part of one state.

Asked whether he thought Netanyahu’s promise to officially annex the West Bank – already riddled with settlements constructed by Israel on occupied Palestinian land in violation of international law – would hurt the peace process, Pompeo said, “I don’t.”

“I think that the vision we’ll lay out is going to represent a significant change from the model that’s been used,” he told CNN.

President Donald Trump’s “vision” for the Middle East has already diverged significantly from the model that’s been used.

This has included a unilateral declaration recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which the United Nations has repeatedly declared illegitimate since Israel officially annexed the Syrian territory in 1981.

It has also seen the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, defying international law that holds the eastern part of the city to be occupied Palestinian territory. It’s hard to see how this vision could do anything other than hurt the peace process.

Pompeo has been noticeably cagey since Netanyahu’s re-election regarding the two-state solution that until very recently represented the official goal of US policy toward Israel and Palestine.

During a Senate hearing on Wednesday, he refused to answer when Democrats asked him to affirm his support for a Palestinian state, instead responding: “Ultimately the Israelis and Palestinians will decide how to resolve this,” and promising that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and his aide Jason Greenblatt would soon unveil a proposal “to resolve a problem that’s been going on for decades and decades that previous administrations couldn’t solve.”

“We’re hopeful that we have some ideas that are different, unique, which will allow the Israelis and the Palestinian people to come to a resolution of the conflict,” Pompeo added.

Trump has been touting Kushner’s “peace plan” for years, though he has yet to reveal its contents and even threatened to withhold it entirely if Netanyahu didn’t win a fifth term. Now that the PM’s future is secure, Trump has said he will unveil the plan in June. It’s unclear how much more of the surrounding area Netanyahu plans to annex before then.

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Leading German media, along with some politicians, attacked Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection Katarina Barley for her interview with RT… despite the fact that she expressed strong pro-EU viewpoints.

Barley wasn’t attacked for anything she said. Instead, her ‘offense,’ according to leading German papers, was the mere fact that the “unsuspecting” minister gave a seven-minute interview to RT Deutsch earlier this week. Barley was “negligent” in talking to the channel and treating it “as if it was a product of normal journalism,” Die Welt fumed.

The paper added that just by speaking to RT, Barley was “playing the game of an authoritarian regime” in Moscow. That was written despite the fact that the minister had expressed absolutely pro-EU opinions during the very same interview, which was aired unedited.

Similar frustration was vented on the pages of Der Spiegel, Handelsblatt, Der Tagesspiegel and other publications.

Some politicians also joined the attempts to shame Barley. “Did you confuse the microphone? That doesn’t fit into a pro-European party,” Tobias Hans, the top official in Saarland, wrote on Twitter. Disgruntled reporters quickly started posting pictures of other prominent German politicians who preferred to ignore the bashing of RT and spoke to the channel just like they would to any other media.

What the critics didn’t do is provide any specific soundbites from Katarina Barley that would sound ‘anti-European.’ On the contrary, when speaking to RT, she advocated for a stronger EU and blasted countries that “seek to weaken it” by pursuing their “selfish national interests.”

She further praised French President Emmanuel Macron, who she said “emphasizes the importance of the European Union.”

Barley voiced support for more integration among member states.

“We must further develop our economic union so it becomes a Europe for its citizens,” she told RT.

The minister said that Berlin maintains “close ties with Russia” and called Moscow “our partner.” However, she also stressed that Germany’s partnership with Moscow “doesn’t mean we won’t take issue with certain things.”

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After extensive political wrangling, the Maltese government revealed on Saturday that more than 60 migrants who were stranded on a German rescue ship for over a week will be taken in by four EU countries.

The Maltese government reached a deal with the European Commission which will see Germany, France, Portugal, and Luxembourg taking in the migrants who were rescued from the Mediterranean by the Alan Kurdi rescue vessel on April 3.

Rescuers initially pulled 64 migrants from the water but two women were taken to Malta for medical treatment. The ship, which is operated by the German NGO Sea-Eye, was denied permission to land in Malta and Italy, whose coalition government has closed its ports to humanitarian ships since last June.

“None of the migrants will remain in Malta,” the government said in a statement. It said that the “smallest member of the European Union” could not “keep shouldering” the burden of taking in migrants.

“It is not fair to point fingers at Malta and say we are not performing our duty,” Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said earlier.

The Alan Kurdi will not be allowed to enter Malta’s ports to release the migrants. Instead, they will be brought to Malta on Maltese vessels before being transferred to the other countries.

In refusing to allow migrant rescue ships to dock in its ports, Malta has argued that the rescue operations in the Mediterranean encourage human traffickers operating in Middle Eastern and African countries.

Sea-Eye said that one crew member was also transferred to Malta suffering from symptoms of exhaustion.

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