No, Masonic symbols were not added to Notre-Dame during its restoration

THE WERE ALREADY THERE 

Paris's Notre-Dame Cathedral will soon reopen its doors to the public, five years after a devastating fire nearly destroyed it. Ahead of the opening, a number of social media accounts with links to the far right or to Russia began posting claims on November 29 that satanic and Masonic symbols were secretly added to the cathedral during the renovations. However, the features that they have pointed to are all exact restorations of the originals.


Issued on: 05/12/2024 - 
FRANCE24/OBSERVERS

Social media users with links to Russia or the far right have been claiming since November 29, 2024 that Masonic and satanic symbols were added to Notre-Dame Cathedral during its renovations. But the architectural features that they have pointed to are all exact restorations of originals. © X

By:Quang Pham

"Notre-Dame or the triumph of Freemasonry!” reads one of the many posts that have been circulating widely on X in recent days. In short, a number of accounts with ties to Russia or the far right have been claiming that satanic and Masonic symbols were added to Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral during the five years of restoration work that followed a devastating fire.

These posts have garnered nearly two million views on X in the lead-up to the cathedral reopening its doors on December 7. However, there is no basis to these claims, according to Alexandre Gady, an art historian and expert in French cultural heritage.

Here’s a look at the most viral fake news stories about secret symbols being added to the cathedral.

Was the floor of Notre-Dame replaced by a Masonic checkerboard?

One social media user – who has shared conspiracy theories in the past – claimed that Notre-Dame’s original flooring had been replaced by a black-and-white checkerboard pattern, which, in their opinion, proved Masonic involvement in the renovations.

The term Freemason (in French, "franc-maçons") refers to a series of fraternal orders that began centuries ago. There are persistent suspicions and many conspiracy theories that Freemasons exert powerful, hidden influence on society.

To illustrate their claims, this social media user shared a screenshot of footage recorded by French media outlet LCI during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the cathedral on November 29.
This social media user claimed that the flooring of Notre-Dame Cathedral has been replaced by a checkerboard pattern common in Masonic lodges. In fact, this flooring is the same as the original. © X © X

Many Masonic lodges do feature checkered tile flooring, known as “mosaic pavement”. This pattern has special moral significance for the community, with black and white representing good and evil. However, Notre-Dame’s floor wasn’t replaced with new Masonic tiling. Instead, the floor was restored to its original appearance.

"The [black and white] pattern on the floor tiles in the nave are from 1769–1774, during the reign of King Louis XV,” says Gady. This flooring was placed “at the clergy’s request”, Gady says, during work carried out by Jacques-Germain Soufflot, the cathedral’s chief architect.

As shown in this photo of the cathedral taken after the fire in 2019 and before its restoration, the black and white tiling was already present before the renovation.

At left is a photo of Notre-Dame after the fire in 2019. The flooring pattern is visible. At right is a photo of the renovated cathedral from 2024. Our team added the red outline. © Alexis Lamenda, compte YouTube de l'Élysée

You can see more about the restoration work carried on the liturgical platform, where the altar is located, on the website of the stone-cutting company who carried out the renovations.
Is a painting on one of Notre-Dame’s vaults actually a Masonic symbol?

The starry blue background of a painting on the cathedral is actually a “symbol of [Masonic] lodges” – or so says pro-Russian influencer Camille Moscow. Their post features a video of the oculus, a circular form located at the apex of one of Notre-Dame’s vaults that is painted with an image of a starry blue background and a figure on it.

Social media user Camille Moscow claims that the starry painting at the apex of one of Notre-Dame’s vaults is a symbol of Freemasonry. It is actually a common symbol in Parisian religious structures. © X

In reality, the figure on the oculus isn’t a Masonic symbol at all, it is a Virgin Mary and her child surrounded by cherubs. The image was painted around 1728-1729. This photo of the vault taken before the fire proves that the oculus wasn’t added during renovations.

"The starry sky is a common symbol and decoration,” Gady added. “We see it in a number of religious buildings in Paris.”

For example, the same starry sky appears on the vaults of Sainte-Chapelle as well as the church in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in Paris's 6th arrondissement.

Cyclone Chido inflicts 'catastrophic' damage on French island territory Mayotte

Mayotte is France's poorest territory


Cyclone Chido caused devastating damage to the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on Saturday, a senior local official said. The archipelago was hit in some places by powerful winds of at least 226 kilometers per hour, resulting in the deaths of at least two people.


Issued on: 14/12/2024 -
By: NEWS WIRES

The island of Grande Terre in February 2024. © Julien de Rosa, AFP

At least two people were killed Saturday as fierce winds from Cyclone Chido lashed French Indian Ocean territory Mayotte, with authorities warning of severe damage and residents fearing the worst.

The two confirmed deaths came on Petite-Terre, the smaller of Mayotte's two major islands, a security source told AFP.

Also on Petite-Terre, the Pamandzi airport "suffered major damage, especially to the control tower," acting Transport Minister Francois Durovray said on X.

Air traffic "will be restored initially with military aid planes. Ships are on the way to ensure resupply," he added.

Across Mayotte, France's poorest department 500 kilometres (310 miles) east of Mozambique, "many of us have lost everything," said prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville.

Chido had proved to be "the most violent and destructive cyclone we've seen since 1934," he added.

France's newly-installed Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who has yet to name his cabinet, will hold a crisis meeting in Paris on Saturday evening, his office said.

Mayotte is France's poorest territory. © Julien de Rosa, AFP

Mayotte's alert level has been lowered from violet -- the highest -- to red to allow emergency responders to leave their bases.

But "the cyclone is not over," prefect Bieuville warned, urging Mayotte's roughly 320,000 people to remain "locked down".

Communications with Mayotte are largely interrupted.

A resident on the main island of Grande Terre, Ibrahim Mcolo, had earlier described fallen electricity masts, roofs ripped off homes and trees uprooted as the first gusts struck.

"There is no more electricity," he told AFP from his home, where he had barricaded himself in.

"Even in our house, which is well protected, the water is getting in. I can feel it trembling."

"It is a time of emergency," President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X, telling Mayotte residents that "the whole country is by your side" and thanking emergency responders.

Acting Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau posted that 140 fresh troops and firefighters would be sent to the scene on Sunday to help with recovery, more than doubling the deployment sent earlier in the week.
Clearing the roads

Retailleau's office said he had spoken to the prefect by phone and ordered "full mobilisation" of police and security services to help residents and "prevent any possible looting".

Around 1,600 police are on the ground in Mayotte, they added.

"Technical services are clearing the roads so that emergency responders can get through," said Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, mayor of Mayotte's capital Mamoudzou in the north-east of major island Grande-Terre.

"We have enormous material damage," he told the BFM news channel.

Authorities had turned more than 70 schools and gyms into shelters, urging the 100,000 residents assessed as living in the most vulnerable homes to use them.

Locals have been stocking up on bottled drinking water. © Julien de Rosa, AFP

Mayotte's many shanty towns, built on exposed slopes, were especially vulnerable to the high winds, fire union chief Abdoul Karim Ahmed Allaoui told BFM.

The eye of Cyclone Chido swept across the north of the archipelago from east to west on its way towards Mozambique on the African mainland.

It brought gusts of at least 226 kilometres per hour to some places, although weather conditions have "improved rapidly" since the cyclone moved away in late afternoon, weather authority Meteo France said.

Chido remains "extremely dangerous for the coming 18 to 24 hours" and could threaten Mozambique, it added.

More than 15,000 homes in Mayotte were without electricity, acting Environment Minister Agnes-Pannier-Runacher posted on X.

The violet alert posted on X by the local prefecture had ordered "strict lockdown for the whole population, including emergency services" from 7:00 am (0400 GMT), with road traffic also banned and the archipelago's main airport Dzaoudzi closed.

(AFP)

UPDATED

Unidentified drones seen over US military base, industrial site in Germany

NOT JUST IN NJ

Unidentified drones have been sighted flying over the US military's Ramstein Air Base in Germany and facilities belonging to German arms maker Rheinmetall, German magazine Der Speigel reported on Friday, citing security services.


Issued on: 13/12/2024 - 
By: NEWS WIRES

The entrance to the US military's Ramstein Air Base in Germany. © Jean-Christophe Verhaegen, AFP


German authorities said Friday that unidentified drones had been spotted flying over sensitive military and industrial sites including the US Ramstein airbase.

The reports come after German officials have repeatedly voiced alarm about the threat of Russian spying as the Ukraine war heightens tensions between Moscow and NATO.

However, police did not say who they thought had launched the unmanned aerial vehicles.

“In recent days, several drone flights have been detected over critical infrastructure in Rhineland-Palatinate state,” a regional police spokesman told AFP.


The UAVs were first sighted at German company BASF’s plant in Ludwigshafen, known as the world’s biggest chemicals complex, the spokesman said.

“This was followed in the course of this week by drone overflights over the US airbase in Ramstein,” he added.

The drones were detected at dusk and were “larger than the usual commercial hobby drones”, the spokesman said.

05:39© FRANCE 24

Police in Rhineland-Palatinate have set up a special investigative unit to look into the incidents.

There is “no concrete danger to the facilities concerned”, the spokesman said.

The sightings in Ramstein were on December 3 and 4, according to Der Spiegel magazine.

Unidentified drones have also been sighted over facilities belonging to German arms maker Rheinmetall, Der Spiegel reported, citing security services.

A source with knowledge of the matter confirmed to AFP that suspicious drones had been spotted near Rheinmetall’s largest ammunition production site at Unterluess, Lower Saxony.

Unidentified drones were also reported in August over the Bruensbuettel industrial area in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the time said the devices were surely “not there to observe the beautiful local landscape, but because there is a chemical park there and a... storage facility for nuclear waste nearby”.

Media reports said officials believed those drones were Russian reconnaissance devices.

However, investigations into the Bruensbuettel sightings have so far shown no indications of espionage, according to a report from the ARD broadcaster on Friday.

German officials have repeatedly raised the alarm in recent months about Russian spying and “hybrid warfare”, including acts of sabotage and disinformation in the campaign towards February general elections.

(AFP)

Drones Follow U.S. Coast Guard Boat Off New Jersey

 IT USED TO BE UFO'S

File image (iStock / George Almanza)

Published Dec 11, 2024 3:36 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

Police in Asbury Park, New Jersey have reported a huge cluster of drones arriving from offshore, including more than a dozen that appear to have tracked a Coast Guard motor lifeboat.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) reported Tuesday that about 50 drones arrived from seaward over Asbury Park on Sunday night. As many as 30 additional drones followed a 47-foot USCG fast response boat as it operated just off the coast, he said. 

Gov. Phil Murphy has assured the public that the drones pose no threat, but in questioning before a congressional panel on Tuesday, a top FBI official said that law enforcement has no knowledge of who the operator of the drone swarm might be. "We just don't know, and that's the concerning part," assistant FBI director Robert Wheeler told the panel. 

Large-scale drone sightings have been reported all over New Jersey in recent weeks, including some at sensitive military sites and near critical infrastructure. Bystanders have reported flying unmanned craft of unusually large size, exceeding the scale of normal commercial UAVs. 

The drones do not come from any nearby military base, officials at Naval Weapons Station Earle and the Picatinny Arsenal have confirmed. The Pentagon has not announced plans to shoot down any of the flying objects, and is presently watching and waiting. 

"At this time we have no evidence that these drones are coming from a foreign entity or the work of an adversary. We will continue to monitor what is happening, but at no point were our installations threatening," said Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.  

U.S. Northern Command - responsible for air defense for the U.S. mainland - also indicated that it has no plans to intervene. "USNORTHCOM conducted a deliberate analysis of the events, in consultation with other military organizations and interagency partners . . . at this time we have not been requested to assist with these events," the command said. 

Open-source intelligence analysts have noted that some of the largest reported "drones" display marking lights that are identical to those on known aircraft, like the F-35B and the AgustaWestland AW-139 helicopter - both capable of hovering in midflight and maneuvering like a quadcopter. 

In an interview on Fox, Congressman Jeff Van Drew claimed to have knowledge that the drones were Iranian, and that they came from a "mothership" located off the East Coast. Iran does possess an array of drone systems, and it has created two dedicated drone motherships - but both of these vessels are visible on satellite imaging in the anchorage at Bandar Abbas, 6,000 nautical miles east of Asbury Park (and much further by navigable routes). 

 

‘Alarming’ US mystery drones confound officials, scare locals

By AFP
December 12, 2024

Drones, like the one pictured in this file image from 2015, are permitted for both business applications and recreational use, but are regulated Federal Aviation Administration rules - Copyright AFP FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI

Gregory Walton, with W.G. Dunlop at the Pentagon

A rash of unexplained drone sightings in the skies above New Jersey has left locals rattled and sent US officials scrambling for answers.

Breathless local news reports have amplified the anxious sky-gazing and wild speculation — interspersing blurry, dark clips from social media with irate locals calling for action.

For weeks now, the distinctive blinking lights and whirling rotors of large unmanned aerial vehicles have been spotted across the state west of New York.

But military brass, elected representatives and investigators have been unable to explain the recurring UFO phenomenon.

Sam Lugo, 23, who works in the Club Studio gym in New Jersey’s Bergen county, one of the corners of the state that has seen several drone sightings, called the reports “crazy”.

“It’s pretty concerning they were sighted… without explanation. It can be alarming,” he said.

Officials including the governor have called on people not to be alarmed but have not yet offered an explanation for the aerial activity.

“I’ve seen them every night since Thanksgiving, they’re smaller than my Jeep,” wrote X user Gus Seretis.

“They hover just about tree height or a little higher,” he added, describing them as like aircraft too small for a pilot and vowing to “shoot at one if it comes low enough”.

New Jersey congressman Chris Smith wrote to the Pentagon on Tuesday demanding answers.

“There have been numerous instances of unmanned aerial systems flying over New Jersey, including in close proximity to sensitive sites and critical infrastructure, to include military installations located in my district,” he wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

– ‘Get abducted’ –

Smith said he had been told that more than a dozen drones pursued a coastguard lifeboat over the weekend.

The lawmaker then spent “hours” monitoring the night sky with the sheriff of Ocean County, the location of a number of sightings, according to his office.

The Pentagon, the nerve center of the US military, insists the objects are not “US military drones”.

“Our initial assessment is that this is not the work of a foreign adversary or a foreign entity,” said deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh.

Singh also rejected claims by Republican lawmaker Jeff Van Drew on Fox News that Washington’s foe Tehran was behind the spate of sightings.

“There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there’s no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States,” she said.

New Jersey native Joseph Boutros, 21, said he had seen the reports of drone activity on social media. “But I’ve not seen them myself,” he said.

“It’s not something that worries me as long as they aren’t carrying weapons,” said the suited local as he collected takeout from a Bergen county strip mall as night fell.

In the cloudy skies above, the only aerial vehicles with flashing lights were passenger jets on approach to New Jersey’s Newark airport.

The FBI told AFP it was aware of the sightings “in multiple locations over the past several weeks” and said it was working with other agencies on the issue.

But the agency would not confirm reports of a crisis meeting between various government departments over the mounting concern.

Drones are permitted for both business applications and recreational use but are regulated by Federal Aviation Administration rules.

Witnesses stress that the unexplained aerial objects are larger than those commonly used by drone enthusiasts.

“I don’t want to get abducted or anything like that,” said Lugo with a smile.

'We're all in danger!' Marjorie Taylor Greene unloads profane freak out over N.J. drones

David Edwards
December 12, 2024 

X/screen grab

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) warned that everyone in the United States was "in danger" after unidentified drones were spotted flying over New Jersey.

In an angry rant on Thursday, Greene demanded the resignation of Pentagon officials for not revealing the source of drones that were recently seen in the Garden State.

"I'm going to call it total bulls--- that no one knows what these are," Greene said. "They can track down a guy that just killed a CEO, but they can't identify what nightly drones are and where they're coming from."

"Secondly, if they're telling the truth, then this country is in horrible shape," she continued. "We're all in danger!"

"I mean, seriously, if our great government can't identify what these drones are, they're flying every single night, the people are sitting out there videoing with their cell phones, then no American is safe."

Greene insisted that Pentagon officials were "a bunch of liars."

"And I think they're full of s---," she asserted. "If they don't know, they need to resign in shame."

On Wednesday, Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey claimed that an Iranian "mothership" was launching the drones.

The Pentagon said there was no evidence that a foreign adversary controlled the drones.

"At this time, according to the FBI, there are no known specific or credible threats related to these sightings," the DHS informed lawmakers at a meeting on Wednesday.

Watch the video below or click the link here.

'Shoot them down!' Trump weighs in on mystery drone incidents

Matthew Chapman
December 13, 2024 


Donald Trump. (Photo credit: Gage Skidmore)

President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on the mysterious drone incidents happening in parts of the country in a short post to Truth Social on Friday evening.

"Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country," wrote Trump. "Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!"

The drones, whose purpose is unknown, were first identified flying around New Jersey, alarming local officials and residents alike. Some witnesses have said the drones are the size of cars and are in prime position to spy on people's property.

Trump is not the first public official to comment on the matter. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has assured people the matter is under investigation, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) burst out in a fury over the incident.

"I'm going to call it total bulls--- that no one knows what these are," she posted. "They can track down a guy that just killed a CEO, but they can't identify what nightly drones are and where they're coming from."

'Shoot. These. Things. Down.' Trump fans seek open season on drones — which may be planes

Sarah K. Burris
December 13, 2024 

A drone flying over a field. (Photo credit: Vaakim / Shutterstock)

President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on the drone sightings Friday — arguing they ought to be shot down — after several days of reporting sightings in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and, as of Thursday night, parts of Maryland.

When writing about them on TruthSocial, however, he seemed to have trouble on his first pass — deleting the first post and reposting a revised version — leading some to ask if something was wrong.

"Was he having a medical event while typing this?" asked independent journalist Aaron Rupar on Blue Sky.

Influencer Harry Sisson told his 131,000 followers on Blue Sky, "Trump just put out this statement on the drone sightings and it’s riddled with spelling errors and mistakes. Is he… ok?"

ALSO READ: Marjorie Taylor Greene questions if UFOs and aliens are really angels: 'Honestly, I've looked into it'

Among Trump's suggestions was to shoot down the drones, which is a federal offense and could land folks in jail, according to USA Today.

"'Shot' down actual airplanes because MAGA doesn't know the difference between them and 'mystery drones?'" commented X Spaces host Art Candee. "Donald Trump is the dumbest man ever elected into the Oval Office."

One of her followers joked, "They’re eating the cats, they’re shooting the drones."

Trump's allies agreed with him. Fox News contributor Joe Concha, for example, posted on X, "Trump is right: Shoot. These. Things. Down."


"President Trump sounds off on the drone sightings off the coast of New Jersey and New York saying he doesn’t believe the government doesn’t know who or what is behind them. “Otherwise, shoot them down now!!!” Agreed," wrote Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on X.

"Shoot the drones down!!!" exclaimed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on X.

Notably, reports have indicated some drones may be as large as a car.

Cape Flats farmers fight to preserve a South African breadbasket eyed by developers

Cape Flats, South Africa – In the middle of Cape Town’s Cape Flats lies the Philippi Horticutural Area, an agricultural zone that produces more than half of the city’s fresh produce. It sits on top of an aquifer that allows for “drought-proof” farming in a region where intensifying droughts have become the norm. But due to rezoning proposals by developers, the land is under threat.


Issued on: 14/12/2024 - 
By: Tom CANETTI

FRANCE 24

Max and Mike, locals from the Cape Flats, working at Sonday's farm.

 © Tom Canetti, FRANCE 24

Achmad Binkhuis’s father was not allowed to buy his own farm under Apartheid rules. After the fall of the regime, Binkhuis turned two chickens into 35,000 and now runs a poultry and vegetable vendor, Chamomile Farm. Now, proposed rezoning threatens his land.

“Before, it was based on the colour of your skin. Now it’s economic,” Binkhuis said.

Chamomile Farm is situated in the Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) in the heart of Cape Flats, about 20km from Cape Town. Almost five million people live in the Cape Flats, often in densely populated townships plagued by gang violence and unemployment.

It is home to all of the workers at Binkhuis’s farm, where they are provided food, a salary and a safe place for their kids while they work.

Achmad Brinkhuis at Chamomile Farm with one of the locals he employs. © Tom Canetti, FRANCE 24

“Chamomile means to be strong under adversity,” Binkhuis said, while the young son of a worker plays with an injured bird.

“I always tell my boys not to grow faster than the community you reside in. You must grow with the community.”

The PHA is the most productive region for horticulture on a per-hectare basis in South Africa.

Developers are now trying to rezone what is left of the 3,000-hectare PHA agricultural zone to build houses and mining facilities. But the PHA sits on top of an aquifer, a unique reservoir of underground water conserved by rock formations and sand. Building or mining could destroy the aquifer, which provides fertile land for farmers to grow more than half of Cape Town’s fresh produce.

The young son of one of the local farmers holds an injured bird at Chamomile Farm. © Tom Canetti, FRANCE 24
Grassroots battle

A few minutes' drive down the road, Nazeer Sonday runs a small sustainable farm on one hectare of land. He has banned together with other farmers to form the PHA Food & Farming Campaign, which teaches locals from the townships how to farm and fights against rezoning.

“This area is so important for climate resilience,” Sonday said. “For water and local food production.”

The aquifer allows the PHA to resist against droughts, which have been intensifying in Southern Africa due to climate change.

The 2015-2020 Cape Town water crisis saw Western Cape province implement drastic water restrictions due to drought, with residents forced to halve their consumption. In 2017, Cape Town narrowly avoided “Day Zero”, which would have made it the first major city in the world to run out of water in the municipal supply.

But mobilising to fight against developers is a difficult prospect for the PHA Food & Farming Campaign. Sonday said “landless farmers” do not have a lot of resources and their day-to-day life is “taking care of tomorrow's food”.

Nazeer Sonday, a first-generation sustainable farmer and member of the PHA Food & Farming Campaign. © Tom Canetti, FRANCE 24

Susanna Coleman, a Cape Town optometrist, has been involved in the fight for the last 15 years. She said there are different ways to assess the true value of the land.

“One is, How much can I sell it for? The other is, What can I get from the land?”

Coleman said some farmers sell land zoned for agriculture for “triple its value” to developers who hope to rezone it.

“All of a sudden it becomes an irreversible project," said Coleman, explaining that land that was used to grow food for the city for the last 150 years is now being repurposed.

The PHA Food & Farming Campaign has successfully stopped four developments in the PHA, Coleman said. But there are still some ongoing applications, including a 25,000-unit residential development and an open-cast silica sand mining proposal.
Capitalising on the land

Coleman said the city of Cape Town favours the redevelopment of agricultural zones simply to make more money.

“It’s to make more levy-paying occupants for the city,” she said. “It’s worth much more to them as a piece of land that gives them 25,000 levy-paying houses per month than a piece of open land that feeds half a million people.”

Susanna Coleman, a Cape Town optometrist, with maps of the proposed rezoning that threatens PHA farmers. © Tom Canetti, FRANCE 24

Cape Town's Deputy Mayor Eddie Matthews said that “every development management application is considered on merit”.

“Some development proposals also require other authorisations to be granted in terms of other legislation," he told FRANCE 24. "Therefore, the city of Cape Town might not be the only decision-making authority, depending on the development proposal submitted for consideration.”

He added that residents have the right to object to any proposed redevelopments.

“Applications are advertised to provide the public and interested and affected parties the opportunity to comment, and if there are objections, the application [goes] before the Municipal Planning Tribunal for decision,” he said.

Cape Town is also experiencing a housing crisis, with more than 600,000 on the waiting list for affordable homes. The city of Cape Town has tried to address this, including with a project in Manenberg in the Cape Flats where 42 families who qualified received free title deeds.

But building on top of an aquifer is a complex and expensive process. It requires a geotechnical assessment, specific pile foundations and waterproofing, making it impossible to build affordable housing in the PHA, according to Coleman.

“You can’t do that in the PHA, simply because the water table is too high,” she said. “You can’t put low-cost housing here.”

Due to the expense, houses built on rezoned agricultural land in the PHA would be sold for higher prices – and are thus unlikely to serve those on the waiting list for low-cost homes.

ANOTHER COP OUT

Negotiators fail to secure drought deal at Saudi-hosted UN talks

Parties from 196 countries and the European Union failed on Saturday to reach an agreement on how to respond to drought at UN talks in Saudi Arabia.

Issued on: 14/12/2024 -
By: NEWS WIRES

A COP16 delegate walks past a giant poster of a Saudi archaeological site at the start of the UNCCD talks. © Fayez Nureldine, AFP

Negotiators failed to produce an agreement on how to respond to drought at Saudi-hosted UN talks, participants said on Saturday, falling short of a hoped-for binding protocol addressing the scourge.

The 12-day meeting of parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), known as COP16, concluded early on Saturday morning, a day later than scheduled as parties tried to hammer out a deal.

Prior to the talks, UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw said the world expected negotiators "to adopt a bold decision that can help turn the tide on the most pervasive and the most disruptive environmental disaster: drought".

But addressing the plenary session before dawn, Thiaw acknowledged that "parties need more time to agree on the best way forward".


A press release on Saturday said the parties -- 196 countries and the European Union -- had "made significant progress in laying the groundwork for a future global drought regime, which they intend to complete at COP17 in Mongolia in 2026".

The Riyadh talks came after the partial failure of biodiversity talks in Colombia, the failure to reach a UN deal on plastics pollution in South Korea, and a climate finance deal that disappointed developing nations at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Growing threat

Droughts "fuelled by human destruction of the environment" cost the world more than $300 billion each year, the UN said in a report published on December 3, the second day of the talks in Riyadh.

Droughts are projected to affect 75 percent of the world's population by 2050, it said.

A delegate at COP16 from a country in Africa, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, told AFP that African nations had hoped the talks would produce a binding protocol on drought.

That would ensure "every government will be held responsible" for devising stronger preparation and response plans, the delegate said.

"It's the first time I've seen Africa so united, with a strong united front, with respect to the drought protocol."

Two other COP16 participants, also requesting anonymity, told AFP that developed countries did not want a binding protocol and instead were pushing for a "framework", which African countries deemed inadequate.

Indigenous groups were also pushing for a protocol, said Praveena Sridhar, chief technical officer for Save Soil, a global campaign backed by UN agencies.

This would allow for better monitoring, early warning systems and response plans, she said.

Yet the absence of a protocol from COP16 "shouldn't delay progress", as national governments can still allocate "budgets and subsidies to financially support farmers in adopting sustainable soil and land management".
Funding needs

Ahead of the Riyadh talks, the UNCCD said 1.5 billion hectares (3.7 billion acres) of land must be restored by decade's end and that at least $2.6 trillion in global investments was needed.

The first week saw pledges of more than $12 billion from bodies such as the Arab Coordination Group, a collection of national and regional institutions, and the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, which is meant to mobilise public and private money to help at-risk countries.

Activists accused Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, of trying to water down calls to phase out fossil fuels at last month's COP29 UN climate talks in Baku.

However, desertification is a major issue for the Gulf kingdom.

Along with the drought resilience partnership, Saudi Arabia launched initiatives to promote early warning for sand and dust storms and to get the private sector involved in land preservation, Saudi Environment Minister Abdulrahman AlFadley said in his closing remarks.

Saudi Arabia is dedicated "to working with all parties to preserve ecosystems, enhance international cooperation to combat desertification and land degradation, and address drought", he said.

Sridhar of Save Soil said Saudi Arabia had succeeded in raising the profile of land-related issues, which she described as more "unifying" than the climate talks in Baku.

"Attending to land, agriculture lands, farmers, livestock –- it's not a contested subject. Nobody's going to say 'I don’t want food'," she said.

"The use of fossil fuels or not is a very polarising subject. This is not."

(AFP)

UN report warns increase in permanently dry land is 'redefining life on Earth'

Just over 75 percent of the world's land has been left "permanently drier" over the previous three decades, a UN-backed report has found. The data coincides with Cop16 talks on desertification held in Saudi Arabia until Friday.


Issued on: 10/12/2024 - 

Workers look after trees planted in the "green belt" area, trying to prevent worsening desertification and sand storms, on the outskirt of Kerbala, Iraq 12 May, 2022. 

© REUTERS - ALAA AL-MARJANI

By:RFI

Dry land now covers around 40 percent of the Earth's land mass, excluding Antarctica, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) study found, cautioning the shift could affect up to five billion people by 2100.

"Some 77.6 percent of Earth's land experienced drier conditions during the three decades leading up to 2020 compared to the previous 30-year period," the report said.

It indicates an "existential threat" posed by the seemingly irreversible trends and showed that dry land - regions where agriculture is difficult -- increased by 4.3 million square kilometres between 1990 and 2020, an area a third the size of India.

The warning comes during a 12-day meeting in Riyadh, which began last week, for the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (Cop16) under the UNCCD and seeks to protect and restore land and respond to drought amid ongoing climate change

Aridity, a chronic shortage of water, now extends over 40.6 percent of the Earth's land mass, again excluding Antarctica, compared with 37.5 percent 30 years ago, the report warns.

Unrelenting transformation

It also cautions the areas most affected include the nations bordering the Mediterranean, southern Africa, southern Australia and certain regions of Asia and Latin America.

"For the first time, the aridity crisis has been documented with scientific clarity, revealing an existential threat," said Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary.

"Unlike droughts – temporary periods of low rainfall – aridity represents a permanent, unrelenting transformation," he said.

Saudi Arabia hosts Cop16 to combat desertification crisis

"The drier climates now affecting vast lands across the globe will not return to how they were and this change is redefining life on Earth," he added.

The changes are largely attributed to global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions, which alter rainfall and increase evaporation, the report said.

Jean-Luc Chotte, president of the French Scientific Committee on Desertification, told RFI that the UN report will allow countries to anticipate and react to the effects of desertification in the medium and long term.

Chotte says the new data from the report enables a projection of aridity, in the face of global development and "reinforces the need to find solutions and adapt," be it in terms of agricultural practices and the varieties of plants adapted to drought conditions.

France makes declaration

However, he warns that as new land becomes progressively arid, "today's solutions may no longer be effective tomorrow".

France for the first time, officially declared itself "affected by desertification, land degradation and drought", bringing the total number of nations to 170.

For Thani Mohamed-Soilihi, the Secretary of State for Francophone countries and International Partnerships, France's announcement at Cop16 "sends a message of solidarity to the most vulnerable countries", overriding the view that desertification is predominantly an African issue.

Crippling drought forces drastic water cuts in French territory Mayotte

According to the French scientific committee on desertification, around 1 percent of the country's territory is affected, notably the Mediterranean rim and southern Corsica, as well as the overseas territories of Reunion Island, Guadeloupe and Mayotte.

In Mayotte, where drought has been rife for years, water cuts have been extended to cope with an increase in consumption.

Mainland France notably experienced an unprecedented drought in 2022, with a rainfall deficit of 25 percent, making it the second least rainy year since 1959.

Forced migration to increase

"For the first time, a UN scientific body is warning that burning fossil fuels is causing permanent drying across much of the world," lead UNCCD Chief Scientist Barron Orr said.

He added this could have "potentially catastrophic impacts affecting access to water that could push people and nature even closer to disastrous tipping points".

Nearly 68 million suffering from drought in southern Africa, says regional bloc

The effects of the chronic water shortages include soil degradation, ecosystem collapse, food insecurity and forced migration, according to the scientists.

Already, 2.3 billion people live in expanding dry areas, according to the report, with projections showing a "worst-case scenario" of five billion people living in the conditions as the planet continues to warm.

To counter this trend, the scientists urged members to "integrate aridity metrics into existing drought monitoring systems", improve soil and water management, and "build resilience in vulnerable communities".

(with newswires)

SANGRIA PUTSCH

Brazil's former defence minister arrested in 2022 coup plot investigation


Brazil's federal police arrested former defence minister Braga Netto on Saturday on suspicion of obstructing the investigation into 2022's alleged attempt to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's inauguration. A November police report recommended the indictment of former president Jair Bolsonaro and several dozen allies, including Netto.


Issued on: 14/12/2024 - 
By: NEWS WIRES

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (R) greets then vice presidential candidate Walter Souza Braga Netto during the celebration of Soldier's Day at Army headquarters in Brasilia, August 25, 2022. © Evaristo Sa, AFP

Brazilian authorities on Saturday arrested Braga Netto, a former defense minister and close ally of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, on suspicion of obstructing an investigation into an alleged coup attempt in 2022, a police source told AFP.

Brazil's Federal Police said it had detained "people who would be obstructing" the investigation.

"Braga Netto was arrested in the operation," the source said.

In late November, police released a report recommending the indictment of former far-right president Bolsonaro and several dozen allies for attempting a coup d'état to prevent the inauguration of leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.


The list included Netto, who was also his running mate in the 2022 elections.

Attorney general Paulo Gonet has been examining the allegations to see if evidence supports charges being laid against Bolsonaro and the 36 others named as co-conspirators.

The 884-page report drawn up after a nearly two-year police investigation urges Gonet to indict Bolsonaro and the others for planning an attempted coup and seeking to "violently overthrow the democratic state."

It details alleged collusion between Bolsonaro and some of his officials, including members of his military brass, to claim fraud in the 2022 elections won by Lula and to use decrees to sideline the Supreme Court.

"The then-President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, actively participated in the creation of the coup plan, being directly involved in the drafting of documents and strategies to remain in power, even after the electoral defeat," the report said.

Bolsonaro was also "fully aware" of an alleged plan by elite soldiers to assassinate Lula, his vice president and a Supreme Court judge, said the report.

The plan, called "Green and Yellow Dagger," was allegedly discussed at Netto's home.

It was printed at the Planalto palace, the seat of the Brazilian presidency, according to investigators.

A draft of the coup plan was found at the headquarters of Bolsonaro's Liberal Party among the belongings of one of Netto's advisors.

(AFP)

South Korea's President Yoon impeached over failed martial law bid

South Korean lawmakers on Saturday voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol for his failed attempt to rule by martial law last week. Seoul police said at least 200,000 demonstrators had gathered outside parliament in South Korea's capital ahead of the vote to call for the right-wing president's removal from office.


Issued on: 14/12/2024 -
By: NEWS WIRES

03:40

Protesters calling for the ouster of South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol gather for the outcome of the second martial law impeachment vote outside the National Assembly in Seoul on December 14, 2024. © Anthony Wallace, AFP

South Korean lawmakers on Saturday impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, with the opposition declaring a "victory of the people".

The vote caps over a week of intense political drama in the democratic South following Yoon's failed attempt to impose martial law on December 3.

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Seoul in rival rallies for and against Yoon on Saturday.

In a televised address after the vote, the impeached Yoon said he would "step aside" but did not apologise for his botched bid to impose martial law.

Out of 300 lawmakers, 204 voted to impeach the president on allegations of insurrection while 85 voted against. Three abstained, with eight votes nullified.

With the impeachment, Yoon has been suspended from office while South Korea's Constitutional Court deliberates on the vote.

The court has 180 days to rule on Yoon's future.

South Korea impeachment © John Saeki, AFP

If it backs his removal, Yoon will become the second president in South Korean history to be successfully impeached.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo – now the nation's interim leader – told reporters he would "devote all my strength and efforts to ensure stable governance".

Two hundred votes were needed for the impeachment to pass, and opposition lawmakers needed to convince at least eight parliamentarians from Yoon's conservative People Power Party (PPP) to switch sides.

"Today's impeachment is the great victory of the people," opposition Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae said following the vote.
'We, the people'

A Seoul police official told AFP at least 200,000 people had massed outside parliament in support of removing the president.

Choi Jung-ha, 52, danced in the street after the vote.

"Isn't it amazing that we, the people, have pulled this off together?" she told AFP.

"I am 100 percent certain the Constitutional Court will side with the impeachment."

On the other side of Seoul near Gwanghwamun square, police estimated 30,000 had rallied in support of Yoon, blasting patriotic songs and waving South Korean and American flags.

"Yoon had no choice but to declare martial law. I approve of every decision he has made as president," supporter Choi Hee-sun, 62, told AFP before the vote.

People wave flags of South Korea and the United States as they hold signs reading "Against impeachment... arrest Lee Jae-myung" during a rally supporting South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol at Gwanghwamun in Seoul. © Anthony Wallace, AFP

The Democratic Party said ahead of the vote that impeachment was the "only way" to "safeguard the Constitution, the rule of law, democracy and South Korea's future".

"We can no longer endure Yoon's madness," spokeswoman Hwang Jung-a said.

At the rally outside parliament supporting impeachment, volunteers gave out free hand warmers on Saturday morning to fight the sub-zero temperatures, as well as coffee and food.

K-pop singer Yuri of the band Girls' Generation – whose song "Into the New World" has become a protest anthem – said she had pre-paid for food for fans attending the demonstration.

"Stay safe and take care of your health!" she said on a superfan chat platform.

One protester said she had rented a bus so parents at the rally would have a place to change diapers and feed their babies.

Another said they had initially planned to spend their Saturday hiking.

"But I came here instead to support my fellow citizens," Kim Deuk-yun, 58, told AFP.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol bows while delivering an address at the Presidential Office in Seoul. © Handout - South Korean Presidential Office, AFP

There is precedent for the court to block impeachment, however.

In 2004, then-president Roh Moo-hyun was removed by parliament for alleged election law violations and incompetence, but the Constitutional Court later reinstated him.

The court currently only has six judges, meaning their decision must be unanimous.

Following the vote, parliament speaker Woo Won-shik, said the assembly would seek to nominate three more judges to the court as soon as possible.

"The future of South Korea lies within its people," he said.

Yoon remained unapologetic and defiant as the fallout from his disastrous martial law declaration deepened and an investigation into his inner circle has widened.

His approval rating – never very high – plummeted to 11 percent, according to a Gallup Korea poll released Friday.

The same poll showed that 75 percent supported his impeachment.

(AFP)

Syrian asylum seekers in limbo as European countries suspend claims

The fall of Bashar al-Assad has brought with it uncertainty for Syrian asylum seekers across Europe, as several countries freeze applications from Syrians, arguing that those who fled his regime no longer have reason to fear returning to their homeland.


Issued on: 13/12/2024

Syrians living in France gather on the Place de la République in Paris after the fall of the Syrian government on Sunday, 8 December 2024.

 © Aurelien Morissard / AP

By:RFI

Since Sunday, 8 December, several European countries have suspended the processing of asylum claims from Syrians – the largest group of asylum seekers in Europe.

Sweden, Norway, Italy, Denmark and Germany – which has taken in more than 712,000 Syrian refugees and asylum seekers since the war began in 2011 – are among those that have paused applications.

For Syrians already in these countries, applications will not be processed until Syria’s new leadership and security conditions become clearer.

Austria, the United Kingdom, Greece and Belgium have also suspended the process, arguing that since the majority of Syrian asylum seekers were fleeing Assad's regime, there is no longer justification for not returning to Syria.

France's support for Syrian transition hinges on respect for minority rights

France cautious

France, however, is taking a more measured approach.

While the Interior Ministry says it is working on suspending Syrian asylum applications, the decision ultimately lies with Ofpra, an asylum seekers' protection agency which is under the financial and administrative supervision of the ministry but operates independently of the government.

The organisation is currently reviewing 700 cases, with 45,000 Syrians having sought refuge in France since 2011.

For many long-term Syrian residents in Europe, return seems impossible, despite the changing situation in Syria.

"For me personally, I believe it's too late. I have a good business, I am engaged to a French woman and I have already applied for naturalisation. At my age, I know France better than Syria," Iyad Alzorkan, who arrived in France in 2010, told RFI.

Spainhas chosen to maintain its existing asylum policy, confirming that it will continue processing Syrian applications.

Syrians hold rallies in Paris and across Europe to celebrate fall of Assad

Political divisions

Europe's far-right political parties are pushing for more aggressive measures. Germany’s AfD party argues that Syrians in Germany celebrating Assad’s fall have no reason to stay and should return to Syria. The CDU, Germany’s conservative party, has proposed offering €1,000 to those willing to go back.

In Denmark, far-right leader Morten Messerschmidt said he hoped Syrians living in the country would soon return home, which he said "will improve rape statistics in Denmark".

Meanwhile, the government in Vienna announced plans to review the cases of 40,000 Syrians granted asylum in the last five years, aiming to prepare for potential deportations.

For many refugees, this is an alarming prospect.

"Many Syrians are well integrated here, they work here. I myself have two daughters who were born in Austria, they can't even read Arabic,” said Abdulhkeem Alshater, a 43-year-old who fled Homs and was granted asylum in Austria in 2015.

“And this announcement comes too early, Syria is not yet safe, not yet stable. I find it inhumane to announce this. People are desperate and angry today."

What's driving France's sudden deportation of Kurdish activists?

Lukas Gahleitner-Gertz of the NGO Asylkoordination criticised the Austrian government’s decision as politically motivated, rather than practical.

“If the situation in Syria becomes stable, there could be processes to revoke refugee status. But right now, this is premature and misleading,” he said.
EU response

The European Commission is urging member states to coordinate their approaches.

While asylum policies remain under national jurisdiction, the European Union is working with the United Nations' refugee agency to organise voluntary returns.

“Most Syrians in the diaspora dream of returning home, but the decision must be an individual one,” said Commission spokesperson Anouar El Anouni.

Interior ministers from across the EU are set to meet in Brussels this week, with further discussions scheduled for 16 December among foreign ministers.

France welcomes fall of Syria's Assad, calls for peaceful transition

This story was adpated from RFI's original version in French

Special report: As Syria's prison doors open, a look 'inside Assad’s terror machine'

Less that a week after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the world is seeing the first images of Syria’s gruesome prison system. FRANCE 24's James André, Julie Dunglehoeff and Sofia Amara met with some of the victims and their families.


Issued on: 13/12/2024 - 

By: FRANCE 24
Video by:
Julie DUNGELHOFF
James ANDRE

People look through documents at the Saydnaya prison in Damascus on December 11, 2024. After Assad's overthrow, thousands flocked to Saydnaya prison hoping to find loved ones who disappeared in government jails. © Sameer al-Doumy, AFP

Since the gates of Assad’s prisons have burst open, hospitals have been flooded with ex-captives and families desperately searching for their missing loved ones.

FRANCE 24 reports from inside Sadnaya – the notorious prison nicknamed "the human slaughterhouse" – where anyone suspected of flouting the ruling Baath party line was jailed.

Many of the former inmates appeared completely lost and distraught. One woman repeated the same sentence over and over while another former male prisoner has not spoken since his release.

06:12

‘More than a hero’: Lebanese man returns home after 33 years in Syrian prison

Issued on: 10/12/2024 - 
Video by: Sam BALL

FRANCE24

After 33 years languishing in Syrian jails, including the infamous Sednaya dubbed “the human slaughterhouse”, Suheil Hamawi, a 61-year-old from Lebanon, finally returned home on December 9. He was one of thousands of prisoners freed from Syria’s notorious prison system after Islamist-led rebels seized control of the country. In an emotional homecoming, Suheil’s twin brother hailed him as “more than a hero”.