Nearly $1 billion has already poured in from ordinary worshippers and high-powered magnates around the world to restore Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after a massive fire.

Construction teams brought in a huge crane and a delivery of planks of wood to the site Wednesday morning.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri expressed sadness over the fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in France that he described as a "heritage and humanitarian disaster."

Hariri added in a tweet late Monday that Lebanon expresses strong solidarity with the "friendly French people."

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó has met obstacles at nearly every turn since he declared presidential powers in a bid to end socialist President Nicolas Maduro's rule, and his visit to this once-thriving oil center was no different.

He was forced to take a boat to outmaneuver police roadblocks and reach throngs of supporters waiting to hear him speak in the sweltering heat in Maracaibo, a city now infamous for its blackouts.

The president isn't waiting. As Washington counts down the final hours until publication of the redacted special counsel report — now expected Thursday — Donald Trump stepped up his attacks in an effort to undermine potential disclosures on Russia, his 2016 campaign and the aftermath.

He unleashed a series of tweets Monday focusing on the previously released summary of special counsel Robert Mueller's conclusions — including a crucial one on obstruction of justice that Trump again misrepresented — produced by Attorney General William Barr.

A fire swept across the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral while the soaring Paris landmark was under renovations Monday, collapsing its spire and threatening one of the world's greatest architectural treasures as locals and tourists watched aghast from the streets.

The French president pledged to rebuild a cathedral that he called "a part of us" and appealed for help to do so. The 12th-century church is home to relics, stained glass and other incalculable works of art and is a leading tourist attraction, immortalized by Victor Hugo's 1831 novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."

After decades of conflict, Iraq is seeking to reclaim a leadership role and status in the Arab world with a centrist policy and a determination among the country's top leaders to maintain good relations with both Iran and the United States.

A flurry of recent diplomatic activity and high-profile visits to the Iraqi capital, including this month's re-opening of a Saudi Consulate in Baghdad — for the first time in nearly 30 years — points to a new era of openness as the nation sheds its war image and re-engages with the world.

President Donald Trump's longtime confidant, Roger Stone, asked a federal judge Friday to compel the Justice Department to turn over a full copy of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Russia investigation as part of discovery in his criminal case.

Stone has pleaded not guilty to charges he lied to Congress, engaged in witness tampering and obstructed a congressional investigation into possible coordination between Russia and Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. In a court filing late Friday night, his lawyers said Stone is entitled to see the confidential report — which was submitted to the attorney general late last month — because it would help prove their allegation that there are constitutional issues with the investigation.

More than 70 British lawmakers have urged their government to prioritise any extradition bid Sweden might make for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is also wanted in the United States.

Assange was arrested on Thursday at Ecuador's London embassy on allegations of skipping bail, and on a US extradition warrant related to a huge leak of official documents.

As a symbol of the woes of Britain's Brexit-era democracy, it could hardly be bettered. Lawmakers had to be sent home in mid-debate last week when water from a burst pipe began gushing into the House of Commons chamber.

The image perfectly illustrates Parliament's problem as it tries to solve the puzzle that is Brexit. On the outside, the U.K. institution is resplendent, a world-famous symbol of democracy sitting majestically on the River Thames. On the inside, it's decrepit and increasingly unfit for use.

The decision to seek the extradition of Julian Assange marked a dramatic new approach to the founder of WikiLeaks by the U.S. government, a shift that was signaled in the early days of the Trump administration.

President Barack Obama's Justice Department had extensive internal debates about whether to charge Assange amid concerns the case might not hold up in court and would be viewed as an attack on journalism by an administration already taking heat for leak prosecutions.