Paris

More delivery delays for troubled Airbus superjumbo

More delivery delays for troubled Airbus superjumbo Paris - The schedule of deliveries of the Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft to its customers will have to be revised for a fifth time, the weekly Le Journal du Dimanche reported on Sunday.

Citing an Airbus source close to the A380 programme, the newspaper said that only 10 A380 planes will be delivered this year, instead of the 12 announced previously.

In 2009, the discrepancy could be even greater, with only 15 aircraft delivered instead of the planned 21, the report said.

Two dead in Paris boat accident

Two dead in Paris boat accidentParis - Two people have died after a private yacht sank in the Seine River in the heart of Paris, French radio reported Sunday.

The boat was carrying 12 people, six of them children, when it began taking water and sank late Saturday near the Archeveche Bridge, not far from the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

Rescue workers were able to pluck 10 of the passengers out of the water, but two people, a 45-year-old man and a boy of six, were trapped in the boat. They were taken to hospital in critical condition, and died early Sunday.

Pope in Lourdes remembers victims of terrorism, poverty

Pope in Lourdes remembers victims of terrorism, povertyParis/Lourdes, France  - Following a torchlight procession late Saturday through the pilgrimage site of Lourdes in southern France, Pope Benedict XVI ended his second day in the country with a plea not to forget victims of violence, hatred and poverty.

"This procession is a time of great ecclesial joy but also a time of seriousness: the intentions we bring emphasize our profound communion with all those who suffer," he told the tens of thousands of marchers who braved the unseasonable cold and rain to take part.

Pope tries to woo secular French back to the Church

Pope tries to woo secular French back to the ChurchParis - Pope Benedict XVI spent the first day of his four-day visit to fiercely secular France trying to revive Catholicism in a country known traditionally as "the Church's eldest daughter."

Addressing 10,000 young people gathered late Friday in the square in front of Notre Dame Cathedral while tens of thousands of others watched the event on large screens erected around the venerable church, the 81-year-old Pontiff resurrected a phrase used by his popular predecessor John Paul II: "Do not be afraid!"

Channel Tunnel could reopen Saturday

Channel Tunnel could reopen Saturday Paris  - Traffic in the fire-damaged Channel Tunnel could resume as early as Saturday, but the Eurostar service linking Paris and London will depend on a green light from an intergovernmental safety commission, the French rail network SNCF said Friday.

"(Eurostar) traffic will only resume in the tube not damaged by the fire," the SNCF said in a statement issued in Paris.

"This traffic will be very reduced the entire weekend, with longer than normal transit times."

Pope says denial of God is unreasonable

Pope says denial of God is unreasonableParis  - The search for God is the foundation of European culture and a fundamental expression of human reason, Pope Benedict XVI said Friday in Paris.

"Creation is rational," the pope said in a speech delivered on the first day of his four-day visit to France.

"A purely positivistic culture which tried to drive the question concerning God into the subjective realm, as being unscientific, would be the capitulation of reason... and hence a disaster for humanity."

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