The Ukrainian leader planned to use the grand reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral to lobby the president-elect and other world leaders attending the ceremony.

The country was thrown into deeper uncertainty after the governing party changed its stance and refused to oust him. Protesters vowed to keep the pressure on.

President Yoon Suk Yeol survived an opposition-led attempt to remove him by getting his party members to back him. But his troubles could now become theirs too.

Two war monitoring groups said Syria’s military had pulled out of a number of Damascus suburbs where anti-government protests erupted. The movements could not immediately be confirmed.

World leaders are in Paris for ceremonies as the 12th-century Gothic cathedral opens its doors after a monumental renovation.

The longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is facing threats from rebellions on multiple fronts and his key ally, Iran, is paring back support.

In a region “already on fire,” analysts say, rebels’ advance toward Damascus is a barometer of the shifting power dynamics that also affect nations like Iran, Turkey, Russia and the United States.

Hadrian’s Aqueduct supplied water to Greece’s capital for centuries but was then largely abandoned. It’s being revived to ease water scarcity amid global warming.

President Yoon Suk Yeol said he would not seek to impose martial law again and that he would leave his fate to his party. Lawmakers will vote on whether to impeach him later on Saturday.

The rebels’ gains prompted Lebanon and Jordan to close border crossings and Iran to begin withdrawing personnel from Syria.