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PARIS, LELEMUKU.COM - The fire that tore through Notre-Dame cathedral was probably caused by accident, French prosecutors said on Tuesday after firefighters doused the last flames in the ruins overnight and the nation grieved for the destruction of one of its symbols.

More than 400 firemen were needed to tame the inferno that consumed the roof and collapsed the spire of the eight-centuries-old cathedral. They worked through the night to extinguish the fire some 14 hours after it began.

Paris public prosecutor Remy Heitz said there was no obvious indication the fire was arson. Fifty people were working on what would be a long and complex investigation. One firefighter was injured but no one else was hurt in the blaze which began after the building was closed to the public for the evening.

From the outside, the imposing bell towers and outer walls, with their vast flying buttresses, still stood firm, but the insides and the upper structure were eviscerated by the blaze.

Firefighters examined the gothic facade and could be seen walking atop the belfries as police kept the area in lockdown.

Investigators will not be able to enter the cathedral's blackened nave until experts are satisfied its stone walls withstood the heat and the building is structurally sound.

The fire swiftly ripped through the cathedral's timbered roof supports, where workmen had been carrying out extensive renovations to the spire's wooden frame.

The Paris prosecutor has opened an investigation into "involuntary destruction by fire." Police on Tuesday began questioning the workers involved in the restoration, the prosecutor's office said.

Hundreds of stunned onlookers had lined the banks of the Seine river late into the night as the fire raged, reciting prayers and singing liturgical music in harmony as they stood in vigil.

"Yesterday we thought the whole cathedral would collapse. Yet this morning she is still standing, valiant, despite everything. It is a sign of hope," said Sister Marie Aimee, a nun who had hurried to a nearby church to pray as the fire spread.

It was at Notre-Dame that Napoleon was made emperor in 1804, Pope Pius X beatified Joan of Arc in 1909 and former presidents Charles de Gaulle and Francois Mitterrand were mourned.

Messages of condolence flooded in from around the world.

Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, was praying for those affected, the Vatican said, adding: "Notre-Dame will always remain - and we have seen this in these hours — a place where believers and non-believers can come together in the most dramatic moments of French history."

Britain's Queen Elizabeth expressed deep sadness while her son and heir Prince Charles said he was "utterly heartbroken."

Vow to rebuild 

President Emmanuel Macron promised to rebuild Notre-Dame, considered among the finest examples of European Gothic architecture, visited by more than 13 million people a year.

Notre-Dame is owned by the state. It has been at the center of a years-long row between the nation and the Paris archdiocese over who should finance badly needed restoration work to collapsed balustrades, crumbling gargoyles and cracked facades.

It was too early to estimate the cost of the damage, said the heritage charity Fondation du Patrimoine, but it is likely to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The rival billionaire owners of France's two biggest luxury fashion empires, Francois-Henri Pinault of Kering and Bernard Arnault of LVMH, pledged 100 million euros and 200 million euros to the restoration respectively. Oil company Total pledged 100 million. The city of Paris said it would provide 50 million.

Paolo Violini, a restoration specialist for Vatican museums, said the pace at which the fire spread through the cathedral had been stunning.

"We are used to thinking about them as eternal simply because they have been there for centuries, or a thousand years, but the reality is they are very fragile," Violini said.

Human chain

The company carrying out the renovation works when the blaze broke out said it would cooperate fully with the investigation "All I can tell you is that at the moment the fire began none of my employees were on the site. We respected all procedures," Julien Le Bras, a representative of family firm Le Bras Freres.

Officials breathed a sigh of relief that many relics and artworks had been saved. At one point, firefighters, policemen and municipal workers formed a human chain to remove the treasures, including a centuries-old crown of thorns made from reeds and gold, and the tunic believed to have been worn by Saint Louis, a 13th century king of France.

"Notre-Dame was our sister, it is so sad, we are all mourning," said Parisian Olivier Lebib. "I have lived with her for 40 years. Thank God that the stone structure has withstood the fire." (VOANews)

LONDON, LELEMUKU.COM -United Kingdom (UK) Police say they have arrested more than 120 people after climate change protesters blocked major bridges and intersections in central London, bringing traffic to a standstill.

The group Extinction Rebellion is organizing several weeks of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change.

Chief Supt. Colin Wingrove said police were dealing with a number of demonstrations in central London which had had a significant impact on public transit. He said 55 bus routes had to be shut down and roughly 500,000 people had been affected.

"At this time, ongoing demonstrations are causing serious disruptions to public transport, local businesses and Londoners who wish to go about their daily business," he said, adding that police expect the protests to last several weeks.

On Monday, demonstrators blocked sites including Waterloo Bridge over the River Thames, the busy Oxford Circus intersection and Parliament Square, and vandalized the headquarters of oil company Shell.

After hours of disruption, police ordered the group to confine protests to Marble Arch, beside Hyde Park. Scores of demonstrators who refused to move were arrested – 122 by early Tuesday afternoon – and traffic movement was slowed in several parts of central London.

Extinction Rebellion said "over 100 brave rebels" had been arrested. It said protests would continue. (AP-VOAnews)

NEW YORK, LELEMUKU.COM - Is there anything firefighters could have done to control the blaze that tore through Paris' historic Notre Dame Cathedral sooner?

Experts say the combination of a structure that's more than 850 years old, built with heavy timber construction and soaring open spaces, and lacking sophisticated fire-protection systems left firefighters with devastatingly few options Monday once the flames got out of control.

"Very often when you're confronted with something like this, there's not much you can do," said Glenn Corbett, a professor of fire science at John Jay College.

Fire hoses looked overmatched — more like gardening equipment than firefighting apparatus — as flames raged across the cathedral's wooden roof and burned bright orange for hours. The fire toppled a 300-foot (91-meter) spire and launched baseball-sized embers into the air.

While the cause remains under investigation, authorities said that the cathedral's structure — including its landmark rectangular towers — has been saved.

Some of the factors that made Notre Dame a must-see for visitors to Paris — its age, sweeping size and French Gothic design featuring masonry walls and tree trunk-sized wooden beams — also made it a tinderbox and a difficult place to fight a fire, said U.S. Fire Administrator G. Keith Bryant.

With a building like that, it's nearly impossible for firefighters to attack a fire from within. Instead, they have to be more defensive "and try to control the fire from the exterior," said Bryant, a former fire chief in Oklahoma and past president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

"When a fire gets that well-involved it's very difficult to put enough water on it to cool it to bring it under control," Bryant said.

And while there's a lot of water right next door at the Seine River, getting it to the right place is the problem, he said: "There are just not enough resources in terms of fire apparatus, hoses to get that much water on a fire that's that large."

Because of narrower streets, which make it difficult to maneuver large ladder fire trucks, European fire departments don't tend to have as large of ladders as they do in the United States, Bryant said.

And what about President Donald Trump's armchair-firefighter suggestion that tanker jets be used to dump water from above on Notre Dame?

French authorities tweeted that doing so would've done more harm than good. The crush of water on the fire-ravaged landmark could've caused the entire structure to collapse, according to the tweet.

Other landmark houses of worship have taken steps in recent years to reduce the risk of a fire.

St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, built in 1878, installed a sprinkler-like system during recent renovations and coated its wooden roof with fire retardant. The cathedral also goes through at least four fire inspections a year.

Washington National Cathedral, built in 1912 with steel, brick and limestone construction that put it at less risk of a fast-moving fire, is installing sprinklers as part of a renovation spurred by damage from a 2011 earthquake.

That cathedral faces fire inspections every two years, but D.C. firefighters stop by more often to learn about the church's unique architecture and lingo — so they'll know where to go if there's a fire in the nave, or main area of the church — for instance.

"It's really important for us to make sure that those local firefighters are aware of our building and our kooky medieval names that we use for all the different spaces and that they know where to go," said Jim Shepherd, the cathedral's director of preservation and facilities.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the New York Archbishop who often visited the Notre Dame Cathedral while studying in Europe, saw significance in the fact that the fire broke out at the beginning of Holy Week, when Christians there and around the world prepare to celebrate Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

"Just as the cross didn't have the last word, neither — for people of faith in France — will this fire have the last word," Dolan said. (AP-VOANews)

PARIS, LELEMUKU.COM - The Paris Fire Brigade said Tuesday the structure of the famed Notre Dame cathedral has been saved, along with the site's main works of art, after 400 firefighters spent more than nine hours battling a fire that caused massive damage.

The building's two iconic towers and stone structure were standing Tuesday, but absent were the 12th-century cathedral's roof and spire, which collapsed in the blaze.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo thanked firefighters and police officers for helping to save holy objects and major works of art from the cathedral.

She said Notre Dame is a place where "the soul of Paris resonates."

The fire brigade said two policemen and one firefighter were injured during the effort to put out the fire.

"The worst has been avoided, even if the battle has not been totally won yet," French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters at the cathedral shortly before midnight local time. He said he would launch a national fundraising campaign to rebuild the cathedral, and called on the world’s “greatest talents'' to help with the effort.

Hours later, French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault pledged $113 million to help the reconstruction effort, followed shortly by another French billionaire Bernard Arnault saying his family and company would contribute $226 million.

It is not clear what caused the blaze, although French media reported that fire officials said the blaze could be "potentially linked" to renovation work being done at the building.

Several sections of the building had been under scaffolding and officials say bronze statues were removed last week for the renovation.

The Paris prosecutor's office said it had launched an inquiry into the fire and said it was treating the blaze as an "involuntary" fire.

The Vatican released a statement expressing shock and sadness and called Notre Dame a "symbol of Christianity in France and in the world."

The fire came during Catholic Holy Week commemorations, and less than a week before Easter. An Easter Mass had been planned at the cathedral on Sunday.

Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit invited priests across France to ring church bells in a call for prayers.

Firefighters in Paris evacuated buildings nearby Notre Dame and cleared the area around the cathedral as ash fell over the surrounding blocks.

Thousands of onlookers lined bridges over the River Seine late into the night to watch the scene and others gathered at the nearby Saint Julien Les Pauvres church to sing hymns and say prayers.

The medieval Catholic cathedral is one of the most visited historical monuments in Europe, welcoming millions of people each year. It is famous for featuring in Victor Hugo's classic novel, "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame."

Situated on the Ile de la Cite, an island in the River Seine, the building is known for its stone gargoyles, stained glass windows and the iconic flying buttresses that hold up its walls. (VOANews)

MOSCOW, LELEMUKU.COM - The lower chamber of Russia's parliament has passed in the third and final vote a controversial bill that critics say is part of efforts by President Vladimir Putin to expand government control over the internet.

Lawmakers in the State Duma on April 16 voted 307 to 68 to pass the proposed legislation that critics fear could herald a new era of widespread censorship.

The second reading is when amendments are finalized. The bill must now go to the upper house, the Federation Council, before being signed into law by Putin.

The so-called "sovereign Internet" bill would require Russian web traffic and data to be rerouted through points controlled by the state, and for the creation of a domestic domain-name system.

Backers of the bill say it will make what they call the Russian segment of the Internet -- known as the RuNet -- more independent. They argue it is needed to guard Russia against potential cyberattacks.

Critics say the bill will deal a large blow to Internet freedom in Russia. The proposed move sparked protests of several thousand people in Moscow last month.

The legislation would require the installation of specialized equipment that would make it easier to block websites banned by the government with greater efficiency.

Last week, the chief of Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor said the bill would in fact target a popular messaging app.

Aleksandr Zharov told the TASS news agency on April 9 that the bill "prevents the spread of banned information."

"It's obvious that one of the elements of this prevention will be fighting against" online resources including the Telegram messaging app, Zharov was quoted as saying.

At least four online news outlets, including the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government daily, deleted his remarks, according to a Telegram channel monitoring efforts by Roskomnadzor to block the messaging app.

In April 2018, Russia blocked Telegram after the popular messaging app refused to comply with a Russian court order to give security services access to users' encrypted messages.

Amnesty International said that blocking Telegram - used by senior government officials and Kremlin foes alike - would be "the latest in a series of attacks on online freedom of expression" in Russia.

Many Russians took to the streets to protest Kremlin efforts to silence the messaging app. (VOA)

GENEVA, LELEMUKU.COM - United Nations aid agencies are expressing deep concern for the safety of civilians in Tripoli as fighting moves closer from the outskirts to the center of the Libyan capital. Troops fighting for renegade general Khalifa Haftar began their battle to seize Tripoli on April 5.

U.N. aid agencies are particularly worried about the situation of some 4,000 refugees and migrants, most from sub-Saharan Africa, who are held in government detention centers in and around Tripoli. Of particular concern are more than 1,500 believed to be trapped in several places of detention close to where the clashes are occurring.

U.N. refugee agency spokeswoman Liz Throssell tells VOA her agency is in contact with Libyan authorities, working to guarantee the safety of those detained near the combat zones.

“This includes advocating with the authorities to allow the relocation of vulnerable individuals to the gathering and departure center," she said. "As you can imagine, this is complicated by the severely restricted access amid the security situation. And, to date, we have facilitated relocation of about 150 vulnerable refugees from the Ain Zara detention center.”

Throssell says the UNHCR has set up a hot line for refugees and internally displaced people stuck in areas of conflict seeking assistance. She says her agency has transferred medicine and medical equipment to the Ministry of Health. This is to support emergency units and hospitals around Tripoli.

The World Health Organization reports the number of people killed since the conflict erupted April 5 now stands at 174, including 14 civilians. More than 750 have been wounded.

Despite the dangerous security situation, the International Organization for Migration reports one bit of good news. It says it was able to organize a humanitarian relief flight Monday to repatriate 136 migrants to Nigeria. (Lisa Schlein-VOA)

PARIS, LELEMUKU.COM - The world reacted with shock, tears and prayers as it watched images of the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral burning in Paris on Monday.

French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation just before midnight. "I tell you solemnly tonight: We will rebuild this cathedral,” he vowed.

He said he would seek international help, including from the "greatest talents'' in the world for the task.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain was ready to help. He called the fire a "catastrophe for France, for Spain and for Europe.''

On the streets of Paris, hundreds gathered, some wept, as they watched the flames engulf the cathedral's spire.

Paris resident Lisa Sussman, originally from Atlanta, in the U.S. state of Georgia, said, "It’s horrible. It really is the center of Paris. I was at the apartment with my friends. It really hurts everyone’s heart — they really feel that connected to it. I feel it, too. It was really tragic to watch the spire fall."

Nearby, another Parisian resident, George Castro, said he was in shock.

"I’m a Christian, a Catholic. I think it’s really, really sad to see this happening right now. Right now, we don’t have many symbols, and this is a huge symbol for the West. It’s very, very sad," he said.

Pope Francis issued a statement late Monday expressing the Vatican’s “shock and sadness” at “the news of the terrible fire that devastated the Cathedral of Notre Dame, a symbol of Christianity in France and in the world.”

Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan prayed at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan for intercession. "God preserve this splendid house of prayer, and protect those battling the blaze,'' Dolan said in a statement.

The Russian Orthodox Church's secretary for inter-Christian relations Hieromonk Stefan called the fire "a tragedy for the entire Christian world and for all who appreciate the cultural significance of this temple,'' the state news agency RIA-Novosti reported.

U.S. President Donald Trump called it a "terrible, terrible fire'' that devastated "one of the great treasures of the world.'' He also had advice for the French on how to fight the fire. "Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!," Trump said on Twitter.

France's Civil Security agency said that wasn't possible. "Hundreds of firemen of the Paris Fire Brigade are doing everything they can to bring the terrible #NotreDame fire under control. All means are being used, except for water-bombing aircrafts which, if used, could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral,'' the agency tweeted in English.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama, in a tweet, called Notre Dame "one of the world’s great treasures, and we’re thinking of the people of France in your time of grief. It’s in our nature to mourn when we see history lost – but it’s also in our nature to rebuild for tomorrow, as strong as we can." He also posted an old photo of himself, his wife Michelle and their two daughters lighting candles in the cathedral.


Celebrities also poured their grief and dismay in tweets. American actress Laura Dern said she was moved to tears. “I’m weeping. Our gift of light,” she wrote. “Notre Dame on fire. My heart is breaking. My grandmother’s and mother’s heart home.”

Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote, “Standing here next to you, heartsick for Notre Dame,” (VOA)

PARIS, LELEMUKU.COM - Distraught Parisians and stunned tourists gazed in disbelief on Monday as a monstrous inferno tore through Paris' Notre Dame cathedral, one of the world's best-loved monuments.

Thousands of onlookers lined bridges over the Seine and along the river's embankments, held at a distance by a police cordon as the blaze engulfed the cathedral's roof.

"I'm devastated," said Elizabeth Caille, 58, who lives close to the cathedral. "It's a symbol of Paris. It's a symbol of Christianity. It's a whole world that is collapsing."

As dark fell over the French capital, orange flames rising through the heart of the 12th century Gothic cathedral cast an eerie glow through its stained-glass windows and against its stone towers.

Dumbstruck observers stood rooted to the spot as the scale of catastrophe sunk in, questioning whether the cathedral would survive the night as clouds of acrid-smelling smoke rose into the sky. Some were visibly moved.

"It will never be the same" said 30-year-old Samantha Silva, tears welling in her eyes as she explained how she would always take foreign friends visiting Paris to the cathedral.

Built over a century starting around the year 1160, historians consider Notre Dame to be among the best examples of French Gothic cathedral architecture.

Notre Dame survived being ransacked by rioting Huguenots in the 16th century, pillaging during the French Revolution of the 1790s and being left in a state of semi-neglect until Victor Hugo's 1831 novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," which led to renewed interest in the cathedral and a major restoration which began in 1844.

The cathedral continued to be used as a place for national mourning in modern-day France. World leaders attended memorial services held for former presidents Charles de Gaulle and Francois Mitterrand.

"It's horrible, it's 800 years of history gone up in smoke," said German tourist Katrin Recke.

As fire-fighters raced to save priceless artworks, centuries-old gargoyles and the cathedral's northern tower, world leaders expressed sorrow and grief in messages to the French people.

"Notre Dame belonged to all humanity. What a tragic spectacle. What horror. I share the French nation's sadness," tweeted Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Union's executive Commission.

Former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wrote: "My heart goes out to Paris. Notre Dame is a symbol of our ability as human beings to unite for a higher purpose — to build breathtaking spaces for worship that no one person could have built on their own." (VOA)

PARIS, LELEMUKU.COM - Notre Dame Cathedral went up in flames Monday in a roaring blaze that devastated the Parisian landmark, a searing loss for the city and for France.

Here are five facts on the Gothic masterpiece that celebrated its 850th jubilee in 2013:

* The first stone of the Notre-Dame de Paris ("Our Lady of Paris") cathedral was laid in 1163 in the reign of Louis VII, as the medieval city of Paris was growing in population and importance, both as a political and economic center of the kingdom of France.

* Construction would continue for much of the next century, with major restoration and additions made in the 17th and 18th century. The stonework and stained glass of the edifice recreate images and lessons from the Bible.

* Dominating the structure are its two 13th century bell towers. The so-called "bourdon," the largest bell, goes by the name of "Emmanuel."

* The 387 steps up to the towers take visitors past the gallery of chimeras, mythical creatures typically composed of more than one animal. The most famous of these, the "Stryge" gargoyle sits atop the cathedral watching Paris with its head resting in its hands.

* Victor Hugo used the cathedral as a setting for his 1831 novel, "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame." Quasimodo, the main character, is feared by Parisians because of his deformity but finds sanctuary in the cathedral and is employed as a bell-ringer. Quasimodo has been portrayed by Hollywood actors including Charles Laughton and also in an animated Disney adaptation. (VOA)

ATHENS, LELEMUKU.COM - Repaying earlier expensive International Monetary Fund loans is a significant step for Greece which will create favorable conditions for its economy, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday, promising more relief measures.

"We are gaining points of [economic] freedom," Tsipras said during an interview with Greece's Antenna television. Greece this week plans to file a request to the euro zone's bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), seeking its consent for the early repayment of the loans, sources told Reuters earlier Monday.

The country emerged from its third international bailout since 2010 in August last year.

During the live interview, Tsipras also said his administration would not lower a tax-free threshold, a measure which has been agreed with international lenders and is supposed to take effect next year to broaden the country's tax base.

"The tax free [threshold] will not be reduced as long as Syriza is in government," Tsipras said, referring to his left-wing party in power since 2015.

Elections are due later this year and the leftist leader ruled out an election earlier than that, vowing his government would see through its full term of 4 years.

Greece is expected to meet its fiscal targets again this year and any outperformance will be distributed to the public, Tsipras said.

"After the [Easter] holidays I will meet with the minister of finance to consider what we can offer, not as a pre-election gift but as permanent relief measures because the Greek economy is faring better." (VOA)

PARIS, LELEMUKU.COm - French President Emmanuel Macron express his emotion of a whole nation on seeing Notre-Dame in Paris ablaze.

“Our Lady of Paris is in flames. Emotion of a whole nation. My thoughts are with all Catholics and with all the French people. Like all of our compatriots, I’m sad tonight to see this part of us burn,” Macron say in twitter, he also cancelled an address to the nation that he had been due to give later Monday evening, as a presidential official said Macron was to go to the scene of the Notre Dame fire

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed horror on Monday at the fire engulfing the historic Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

“So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

A large fire has erupted at the famous Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, causing massive damage, officials and witnesses say. The main spire and a part of the roof has completely collapsed.

The blaze began at 6:50 p.m. on Monday and is concentrated on the roof near the bell tower, where renovation work was underway. A part of the roof collapsed and the fire later spread to the main spire, causing it to collapse as well.

Emergency services are at the scene and large crowds have gathered in the surrounding area to watch the fire. “Avoid the area and facilitate the passage of emergency vehicles,” Paris Police said in a tweet. Areas close to the cathedral have been evacuated. The extent of the damage was not immediately known, but it appears to be massive.  (Albert Batlayeri)

PARIS, LELEMUKU.COM - A fire has broken out at the famed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.

Witnesses posted pictures to twitter Monday showing smoke billowing out of the building in France’s capital.

It is not yet clear how serious the blaze is or what caused the fire.

The French news agency reported that fire officials say the blaze could be "potentially linked" to renovation work at the building.

The medieval Catholic cathedral is one of the most visited historical monuments in Europe. (VOA)

BERLIN, LELEMUKU.COM - Chancellor Angela Merkel has received former U.S. President Barack Obama at her office in Berlin for a meeting characterized by German officials as a routine private encounter with a former international peer.

Obama could be seen waving as he left the chancellery alongside Merkel Friday. Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said she has met repeatedly with ex-heads of state and government "with whom she worked together closely and well for a time."

He said the meeting has no implications for current German-U.S. relations. Asked whether it was a signal to President Donald Trump, with whom Germany has a sometimes-complicated relationship, Seibert replied: "I would firmly reject that impression."

Merkel and Obama have already met in Berlin since the former president left office, participating in a discussion at a May 2017 conference. (VOA)

AMSTERDAM, LELEMUKU.COM - Police in the Dutch city of Utrecht say there were One person is dead and multiple injuries in a shooting incident in a tram in residential neighborhood.

Police said that several trauma helicopters had been deployed to the scene to assist the wounded and appealed to the public to stay clear of the area to allow first responders to provide the necessary help.

“The surrounding area has been cordoned off and we are investigating the matter," Utrecht police said.

A police spokesman is quoted as saying that all possibilities are being considered, including a terrorist motive,  the shooter remains at large. They have advised schools in the area to keep their doors closed.

“At 10:45 a.m. local time, multiple shots fired inside a tram near 24 Oktoberplein in Utrecht,” police told Arab News, adding that “there were multiple shots causing multiple, heavy injuries.”

The head of the Dutch national counter-terrorism service, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, said on Twitter that he was having “crisis consultations”, adding: “Terrorist motive not excluded. Information not yet full.

NCTV is monitoring the situation in #Utrecht. In close contact with local authorities. We cannot rule out terrorist motive. Crisis team is activated. Local media reports have said counter-terrorism police were seen at the scene.

“Shooting incident... Several injured people reported. Assistance started,” the Utrecht police Twitter account said. “It is a shooting incident in a tram. Several trauma helicopters have been deployed to provide help.”

Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he was "deeply concerned" about the incident.

The 24 Oktoberplein is a busy Utrecht traffic junction, with a tram stop. Tram traffic was temporarily stopped due to the incident, but the trams are currently running again between Zuilenstein, Nieuwegein and IJsselstein.

Local media have reported that counter-terrorism police were at the scene and showed images of masked, armed police and emergency vehicles surrounding a tram that had stopped near a road bridge. (Albert Batlayeri/VOA)

STOCKHOLM, LELEMUKU.COM - They're angry at their elders, and they're not taking it sitting down.

Students worldwide are skipping class Friday to take to the streets to protest their governments' failure to take sufficient action against global warming.

The coordinated "school strikes," being held from the South Pacific to the edge of the Arctic Circle, were inspired by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who began holding solitary demonstrations outside the Swedish parliament last year.

Since then, the weekly protests have snowballed from a handful of cities to hundreds, driven by social media-savvy students and dramatic headlines about the impact of climate change.

Thunberg, who was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was cheered for her blunt message to leaders at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland this year, when she told them: "I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day."

Friday's rallies are expected to be one of the biggest international actions yet. Protests were under way or planned in cities in more than 100 countries, including Hong Kong; New Delhi; Wellington, New Zealand; and Oulo, Finland.

In Berlin some 10,000 protesters, most of them young students, gathered in a downtown square, waving signs with slogans such as "There is no planet B" and "Climate Protection Report Card: F" before a march through the capital's government quarter. The march was to end with a demonstration outside Chancellor Angela Merkel's office.

Organizer Carla Reemtsma, a 20-year-old university student, said social media had been key in reaching people directly to coordinate the massive protests in so many different locations, noting that she was in 50 WhatsApp groups and fielding some 30,000 messages a day.

"It's really important that people are getting together all over the world, because it's affecting us all," she said.

Critics, supporters

Some politicians have criticized the students, suggesting they should be spending their time in school, not on the streets.

"One can't expect children and young people to see all of the global connections, what's technically reasonable and economically possible," said the head of Germany's pro-business Free Democratic Party, Christian Lindner. "That's a matter for professionals."

But scientists have backed the protests, with thousands signing petitions in support of the students in Britain, Finland and Germany.

"We are the professionals and we're saying the young generation is right," said Volker Quaschning, a professor of engineering at Berlin's University of Applied Sciences.

"We should be incredibly grateful and appreciative of their bravery," said Quaschning, one of more than 23,000 German-speaking scientists to sign a letter of support this week. "Because in a sense, it's incredibly brave not to go to school for once."

Scientists have warned for decades that current levels of greenhouse gas emissions are unsustainable, so far with little effect. In 2015, world leaders agreed in Paris to a goal of keeping the Earth's global temperature rise by the end of the century well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Yet at present, the world is on track for an increase of 4 degrees Celsius, which experts say would have far-reaching consequences for life on the planet.

"As a doctor, I can say it makes a big difference whether you've got a fever of 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 Fahrenheit) or 43 C (109.4 F)," said Eckart von Hirschhausen, a German scientist who signed the call supporting striking students. "One of those is compatible with life, the other isn't."

Other action

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have publicly welcomed the student protests, even as their policies have been criticized as too limited by environmental activists.

In France, activist groups launched legal action this week for failing to do enough to fight climate change, citing a similar successful effort in the Netherlands.

In Germany, environmental groups and experts have attacked government plans to continue using coal and natural gas for decades to come. Activists say that countries like Germany should fully "decarbonize" by 2040, giving less-advanced nations a bit more time to wean themselves off fossil fuels while still meeting the Paris goal globally.

Other changes needed to curb greenhouse gas emissions include ramping up renewable energy production, reining in over-consumption culture now spreading beyond the industrialized West and changing diets, experts say.

"The fight against climate change is going to be uncomfortable, in parts, and we need to have a society-wide discussion about this," said Quaschning.

That conversation is likely to get louder, with several U.S. presidential hopefuls planning to campaign on climate change.

Luisa Neubauer, one of the Berlin group organizing Fridays for Future, said politicians should take note of the young.

"For the European elections in May, we're urging everyone to think about whether they want to give their vote to a party that doesn't have a plan for the future and the climate," she said. (VOA)

LONDON, LELEMUKU.COM - Britain's parliament is holding the first of what could be three days of votes Tuesday in order to decide how to proceed with its divorce from the European Union.

Members are voting Tuesday on Prime Minister Theresa May's latest version of her plan, based on an agreement her government reached with the EU last year.

It initially got little support when first put to a vote, but May made a last-ditch trip to Strasbourg on Monday to secure altered terms in talks with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that she hopes will win over her opponents.

May said Juncker announced "legally binding changes" that in part address the longtime sticking point involving what to do with the border between Britain's Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

The original deal calls for a so-called backstop agreement that keeps Britain and the EU in a customs union until they agree on a new trade agreement. Opponents in Britain's parliament are concerned about being locked into EU rules instead of being able to gain full control of trade policies.

May said the new terms agreed to Monday would ensure the backstop deal is not a permanent part of Britain's exit from the EU.

The opposition Labour Party rejected the plan, saying it still does not go far enough to allay their concerns.

Juncker warned that Britain is running out of options for Brexit, which is set to take place March 29.

"It is this deal or Brexit might not happen at all," he said.

If the Brexit agreement fails the Tuesday vote, another would be held on Wednesday to see if lawmakers approve of exiting the EU at the end of the month with no terms in place. If that fails too, a third vote would come Thursday on whether to ask the EU for more time. (VOA)

JERUSALEM, LELEMUKU.COM - When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has run into political trouble in the past, he has lashed out at the media, the political opposition and Israel's Arab minority with incendiary and divisive language to galvanize his nationalist base.

Ahead of April 9 elections, Netanyahu has zoned in on prominent Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi.

The Israeli leader, slumping in the polls after the dramatic announcement of his pending corruption indictment, is portraying Tibi as a threat to national security in a charged campaign that critics say questions the loyalty of the country's Arab citizens.

Using his own nickname, Netanyahu has been repeating a campaign mantra: “Bibi or Tibi.” The snappy slogan, eagerly parroted by his hard-line allies, highlights Netanyahu's efforts to paint his challengers as weak “leftists” conspiring with Arab Israelis and a hostile media to oust him.

It also shines a spotlight on Tibi — an affable, media-savvy political veteran who speaks fluent Hebrew. Tibi is known for his harsh criticism of government policies toward the country's Arab citizens and toward Palestinians who live under Israeli control in territories Israel captured in 1967.

“Until this week, I didn't know that against my will I was a leading candidate for prime minister,” he said with a smile from his home in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Despite the humor, Tibi said he is concerned about what he views as Netanyahu's attempt to demonize Israel's Arab minority.

“He is delegitimizing the Arab parties, the Arab lawmakers and the Arab public in general,” he said. “He's trying to transmit that it is either me, the supposed patriotic Jewish leader, or the Arabs will take over the country and decide who will be the prime minister. And he portrays this as a nightmare.”

Arabs make up about 20 percent of Israel's 9 million residents. They hold full citizenship rights but have faced decades of discrimination.

The outgoing Netanyahu-led government further stoked tensions by passing a controversial law that defines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. A parliamentary panel recently recommended banning an Arab party from running in the election, while Netanyahu has courted anti-Arab extremists in hopes of improving his re-election chances.

Part of Netanyahu's typical stump speech these days alleges that his prime challenger, ex-military chief Benny Gantz, will be unable to build a ruling coalition without the backing of Arab parties. Arab parties never sat in an Israeli coalition government, and they say they have no interest in doing so now.

Gantz has been quick to reject the association, flaunting his tough military record of pounding Gaza militants and saying he would not rely on the Arab bloc in parliament to stabilize a future government.

The charge nonetheless is part of the Netanyahu campaign playbook that has worked before.

Fearing a possible loss on election day in 2015, Netanyahu mobilized his supporters by releasing a frantic midday video in which he warned that Arab voters were heading “in droves” to the polls. The move, for which he later apologized, appeared to help turn the tide and secure another term for him.

If he wins again, he's expected to walk back his rhetoric once more, said Yohanan Plesner, president of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute.

Plesner said Netanyahu tends to speak in two voices about the Arab minority.

He said Netanyahu has earmarked unprecedented budgets to Arab communities to try to close the wide economic gaps between Arabs and Jews.

But during election campaigns, Netanyahu attempts to mobilize his base, Plesner said. Netanyahu “recruits the ultimate `other' of Israeli life, which is the Arab minority,” he said. “It is cynical, and it is effective.”

Such rhetoric will encourage more Arab voters to sit out the election, said Thabet Abu Rass, co-director of the Abraham Fund Initiatives, a non-profit dedicated to promoting equality in Israel.

“A lot of people are now saying we cannot continue to play the game and pretend Israel is a state for all its citizens,” he said. “And they'll say we have to highlight this by boycotting the election.”

At the same time, many Israeli Jews, especially among Netanyahu's right-wing base, consider the Arab minority disloyal for sympathizing with the Palestinians and other Arab adversaries. A decade ago, Arab lawmaker Azmi Bishara fled into exile after he was accused of spying for Hezbollah — a charge he denied.

The 60-year-old Tibi illustrates many of the contradictions faced by Israel's Arabs. He's worked as a gynecologist in Israeli hospitals and served for years as a member of parliament, but also advised Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian leader.

For the past two decades, Tibi has advocated for Arab rights in Israel and for a Palestinian state. Hard-line lawmakers frequently brand him a fifth-column in the Israeli legislature.

But he is also considered the most popular Arab lawmaker, even among Israeli Jews. He is a regular on their television screens, known for his witty quips.

In parliament, he's earned praise for his environmental and consumer legislation and for his promotion of Holocaust commemoration that touched many Jews.

In the current election campaign, he has refrained from endorsing any of Netanyahu's challengers, wary of playing into the prime minister's hands. Tibi said he is ill at ease with the leadership of the Blue-and-White party, which includes Gantz and two other former chiefs of what he calls the “occupation army.”

But he makes no qualms about wanting to unseat Netanyahu, whom he accuses of “Arab hatred” and of leading Israel down a dangerous path by deepening control over the occupied West Bank and its millions of Palestinians.

“It's possible that Benjamin Netanyahu is leading us toward a binational state, and then it will either be an apartheid state in which only the Jews can vote or a democratic country in which there is one person, one vote,” he said. “If that happens, tomorrow I will run against Bibi. Then it will really be Bibi or Tibi.” (VOA)

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - The Wall Street Journal reported Friday the U.S.-allied Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has been selling oil from fields that it controls in the east of Syria, despite U.S. economic sanctions. The Syrian government and the Kurds have been discussing possible autonomy conditions with Damascus in light of the expected U.S. pullout from the north of the country in April, and Arab media reports that oil resources are one of the main topics of negotiation.

Arab media reports say Kurdish negotiators from the U.S.-allied SDF in the north of Syria and Syrian government officials, including intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk, have been holding autonomy talks since mid-January, in Damascus and at the Russian Hmeimem Airbase in Latakya.

The Syrian government is reportedly discussing control of oil fields in the northeast of the country, now under Kurdish control, along with Kurdish demands to continue an education program in Kurdish, which Damascus rejects.

The U.S. daily Wall Street Journal reported Friday the Syrian-owned Qatirji Group is purchasing oil from the SDF and refining it for use in areas of the country that it controls. The head of the group was recently placed under U.S. economic sanctions.

University of Paris Professor Khattar Abou Diab tells VOA he thinks the oil sales are mostly "black market" deals and the Islamic State group had also sold oil from the same fields to the Syrian government when they controlled them.

He says U.S. forces are planning to complete their withdrawal by April, and that (all parties) are preparing for that moment in order to fill the void to the east of the Euphrates River. In this race against the clock, he stresses, Turkey is negotiating with both the United States and Russia, while the Kurds are negotiating with the United States and the Syrian government.

American University of Beirut Political Science Professor Hilal Khashan said the parties in the Syrian conflict are involved in "pragmatic business dealings", rather than issues of "morality."

"The war in Syria is a proxy war and everyone there is fighting on behalf of someone else. The Kurds need cash. If they do not get it from the Syrian government through the sale of oil, then they might be asking the United States for the money. So, I do not see any ideological issue for the United States. Politics is about pragmatism. These people are selling oil. If Assad does not get oil from the Kurds, he will get it from another source," said Khashan.

Lebanese economist and former finance minister Georges Corm told VOA he believes the Kurds in the north of Syria have an "interest in establishing a constructive dialogue with the Syrian government," given the "threats by Turkish President Erdogan to set up a security zone in northern Syria."

He said Syria is being aided by powerful countries with economic resources like China, Russia and Iran, so he does not think U.S. economic sanctions will have a major effect on the Syrian government. He also argues the Syrian economy has traditionally been self-sufficient, so it is less dependent on outside forces.

Arab media, however, reported in recent weeks the Syrian currency has lost more of its value to the dollar, currently trading on the black market at between 600 and 700 Syrian lira to the dollar, causing increasing economic hardships for many people.. (VOA)

NDJAMENA, LELEMUKU.COM - When French fighter jets bombarded 40 pickup trucks of suspected insurgents last week in Chad, the former colonial power signaled an unprecedented willingness to engage openly in joint military operations in Northern Africa.

But observers, including Chadian opposition leaders, are questioning whether the airstrikes were intended to fight terrorism or prop up President Idriss Deby, who has led Chad for nearly 30 years.

“The French launched the airstrikes themselves, and they did not even try to make it seem as if they were not interfering with Chadian politics,” said Marielle Debos, an associate professor at Paris Nanterre University. Debos, who has researched the country for more than a decade, told VOA in the past the French army’s support has been more discreet.

On February 3, French jets attacked a convoy of heavily armed pickup trucks that had entered Chad from neighboring Libya. The strikes lasted four days.

France said it had responded to a request for assistance from the Chadian government, calling the country an essential partner in the fight against terrorism.

Chadian officials said the attacks were legal and necessary to prevent terrorist activity.

“Both the French and the Chadian governments were portraying this as a decision that they undertook together,” said Alex Thurston, an assistant professor in political science and comparative religion at Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio.

Joint operation

The planes flew from N’Djamena, Chad’s capital, where France headquarters its 4,500-person anti-terror mission, Operation Barkhane.

“There are agreements between states. Operation Barkhane covers a number of countries, and their role is precisely to fight terrorism,” said Mahamat Zen Bada, the secretary general of Chad’s ruling party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement, or MPS.

“If a column [of fighters] enters Chad, and that column is not a column of the Chadian army, it is normal for people to intervene,” VOA’s French-to-Africa service reported Bada as saying.

But others are questioning why France would attack a rebel group on behalf of Chad, an ally with a spotty record on human rights and democracy.

The opposition party denounced the airstrike.

“We condemn the intervention of France in the internal affairs of Chad,” said Célestin Topona, the first vice president of the National Union for Development and Renewal.

“We want a truly inclusive dialogue to know why, 30 years after the MPS took power, the instability continues,”Topona added.

Historical ties

France has intervened on behalf of Deby before.

In 2006 and 2008, when rebels based in Sudan advanced to the capital, France helped the Chadian Army repel the attacks with logistics and intelligence support.

“It’s possible —highly possible — that without French support that he would’ve been overthrown at the time,” Thurston said. “I think the French government sees a strong interest in keeping him in power.”

Although Barkhane has been operational since 2014, France established another military operation in Chad, Épervier, in 1986, under former President Hissène Habré.

At the time, France was backing Habré, before Déby and his supporters threw him from power.

“What is striking in this history is the fact that the French never left Chad. There has been a succession of military interventions in Chad, and Barkhane is the latest of this military intervention,” Debos said.

'French interests'

After years of instability, Chad has gained a newfound stature as an important regional player, especially in joint security operations.

“Chad has long been considered as a very unstable and conflict-ridden country, but for the past eight years, it has acquired a new regional and global status,” Debos said. “It is now considered as a regional power.”

That’s raised the stakes for France.

“The French tend to point to issues of border security and stability and so forth and to say that the Chadian regime should not be overthrown by rebels and that it’s a key partner for them,” Thurston said.

“This does raise questions about what is the French government’s understanding of so-called counterterrorism in the region, and what are the French interests in Chad,” he added. (Andre Kodmadjingar/VOA)

SOFIA, LELEMUKU.COM - Bulgaria will investigate reports that a new suspect in the Skripal nerve agent attack in Britain may also have been involved in a 2015 poisoning in Bulgaria, a ruling party lawmaker said Saturday.

A parliamentary committee will on Thursday seek information from the intelligence services following a new investigation into the attempted poisoning of local businessman Emiliyan Gebrev, said Tsvetan Tsvetanov, the parliamentary leader of the ruling GERB party.

"I am certain that the necessary coordination has already been set up between the Bulgarian, British and European authorities on the case and they are working actively on it," he added.

The statement was the first official reaction in Bulgaria to a report issued last week by the investigative website Bellingcat.

That report identified a hitherto unknown third suspect in last year's attack in Salisbury, England, on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

Russian role alleged

Skripal and his adult daughter were discovered unconscious on a Salisbury park bench after they had been poisoned by the highly toxic nerve agent Novichokin an attack the British government said was "almost certainly" approved by the Russian state.

Although they both recovered, a British woman died last June after her partner picked up a discarded perfume bottle that investigators believe was used to carry the Novichok.

British-based group Bellingcathas already used open-source techniques to identify two Russian military intelligence officers, Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin, accused by Britain of carrying out the attack.

Despite Russian denials that they were involved, both men are now the subject of EU sanctions.

Bellingcat'slatest report identifies a third man — named by his alias "Sergey Fedotov" — as being involved in the British attack, having arrived in Britain two days before the Skripals were poisoned.

They concluded that the same man may also have been involved in the attempted poisoning in April 2015 ofGebrev, a veteran of the Bulgarian arms industry.

Presence in Sofia

"Fedotov" is said to have flown into Sofia from Moscow just days before Gebrevcollapsed at a reception there on April 28, 2015, and fell into a coma with symptoms of severe poisoning.

His son and one of his company executives were treated with similar symptoms, although all three recovered.

On Friday, the Bulgarian weekly newspaper Capital cited Interior Ministry sources as confirming Fedotov's itinerary in Bulgaria.

The Salisbury attack, the first offensive use of chemical weapons in Europe since World War II, caused an international outcry and prompted a mass expulsion of Russian diplomats by Western nations — but not by Bulgaria. (VOA)