SNCF: an “act of suicide” by a train driver at the origin of the Christmas Eve disruptions
On Tuesday, Christmas Eve evening, around ten TGVs were delayed, affecting more than 3,000 travelers. Some trains were up to 5 hours late, but none were canceled. “The first findings seem to suggest an act of suicide by the driver of a TGV train,” said the Melun public prosecutor’s office (Seine-et-Marne). “Automatic rail safety procedures ensured the train stopped.” According to a source close to the investigation, the driver of a train jumped off in the early evening. His lifeless body was discovered a little later. South-east TGV traffic gradually resumed on Wednesday morning.
Pope calls to “silence the guns in martyred Ukraine”
“Overcoming divisions” and “silence the guns”: Pope Francis launched a call for world peace on Wednesday for Christmas celebrations, during his traditional message “Urbi et Orbi” (“to the city of Rome and to the world”). He thus called to “silence the weapons in martyred Ukraine” and urged “gestures of dialogue” with a view to a “just and lasting peace”, while Russia launched more than 70 missiles in the morning on the Ukrainian energy network on Christmas Day. In front of thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, the 88-year-old Pope, his voice out of breath, once again denounced the “disastrous humanitarian situation” in Gaza and renewed his calls for a ceasefire and to the release of Israeli hostages in the hands of Hamas.
Notre-Dame de Paris celebrates Christmas for the first time since the fire
The Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich presided over the Christmas Day mass at Notre-Dame de Paris, celebrating for the first time since the fire of April 2019. The day before, the cathedral attracted many faithful during several services, in particular for the traditional Midnight Mass. “Joy in heaven, peace on earth, Merry Christmas to all of you who are here in this cathedral to celebrate the feast of Christmas,” said Mgr Ulrich. He had earlier paid tribute in a message to the “talents deployed on the restoration site” which allowed “the pain of the fire and the five years of separation to be erased to leave only the joy of reunion, the joy of 'to live together again in this common house, the house of God'.
Massive Russian attacks on Ukraine on Christmas Day
Massive Russian missile attacks have damaged energy facilities and injured at least three people in Ukraine, on the day the country celebrates Christmas on December 25 for the second time in its history. An air alert is in effect throughout Ukraine on Wednesday morning. The Air Force reports launches of Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea and the authorities in Kharkiv announce the fall of several ballistic missiles on this large city in the east of the country.
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Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane with 67 people on board crashes in Kazakhstan
An Azerbaijan Airlines airliner, which was operating a flight between Baku, the Azerbaijani capital, and Grozny, capital of the Russian Caucasian republic of Chechnya, with 67 people on board, crashed in Kazakhstan. “According to initial information, there are 25 survivors, of whom 22 were hospitalized,” the ministry said in a statement on Telegram, specifying that 150 rescuers had been dispatched to the crash site.
