Latest news with #LaDepeche
Daily Mirror
19-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Ongoing travel chaos at European hotspot as dozens of flights cancelled
Paris-Orly airport has been hit by flight cancellations and delays after the air traffic control systems suffered a malfunction, which caused widespread disruption A glitch with air traffic control systems has caused havoc at Paris-Orly airport. On Sunday thousands of passengers found themselves stuck on planes that were about to take off only to be cancelled at the last minute at the French airport. The chaos has continued today, with dozens of planes grounded. "The situation is improving," the DGAC assured, while instructing airlines to cut Monday's flights by 15%, an improvement from Sunday's 40% slash. "Despite these preventive measures, delays are expected," they warned in a fresh alert to passengers. The DGAC held back from explaining the cause of the system failure. According to La Depeche, the air traffic control issue relates to a radar malfunction. In order to ensure maximum safety, the civil aviation authority has asked airlines to reduce their flight schedules by 15% at Orly. This allows air traffic controllers to space out flights further. In addition to these cancellations, the DGAC also indicates that "despite these preventive measures, delays are to be expected." It advises all affected passengers to contact their airlines to find out the status of their flights. The situation at the French travel hub was considerably worse on Sunday than it is today. Yesterday, roughly 130 flights were cancelled, with a roughly 50:50 split on arrivals and departures. Agnes Zilouri was one of those who was caught up in the chaos. The 46-year-old was trying to find a seat for her 86-year-old mother and six-year-old son after her flight was grounded. The family had been travelling to Morocco for a funeral, Mail Online reported. Many found themselves about to take-off only to be told their flights had been cancelled last minute. "We were on the plane, all seated and belted up, ready to leave, when they made us disembark and collect our luggage... Then we had to struggle," Azgal Abichou, a 63-year-old business owner, told AFP. "The only solution is a 300-euro flight, but there's only one seat left, and there are two of us. And we're not sure it'll take off," 22-year-old student Romane Penault lamented. So, "for now, we're going home." Others took to X to share tales of their aviation woes. One wrote: "My 7.45pm flight to Orly from Dublin was cancelled. It's been almost two hours, and still no email that informs me of a cancellation. It's ridiculous to have to find out right as I walk into the airport." Paris-Orly, the capital's secondary hub, deals with both domestic and international destinations, including to other European nations and the USA. A specific hit has been taken by flights bound for Italy, Spain, Portugal, and southern France, which saw numerous cancellations on Monday. Flight Aware, which tracks delays and cancellations across airports globally, notes that 37 flights to and from Orly have been cancelled in the past 24 hours up to 11am on Monday. Last year's passenger figures show more than 33 million voyagers passed through Paris-Orly, less than half of the traffic seen at Paris' leading airport, Charles-de-Gaulle, data from Aeroport de Paris revealed.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
France cuts prison activities to smooth facial massage outcry
France's powerful justice minister on Monday announced the government was restricting nearly all recreational activities for prisoners after it emerged inmates from one institution had been offered facial massages. Gerald Darmanin, a former interior minister who revels in taking a hard line on law and order issues, said that all special activities for prisoners would be halted if they did not concern education, the French language or sport. The FO Justice union had last week angrily denounced the offering of facial massages to prisoners at a prison in the southern city of Toulouse. According to the newspaper La Depeche, which first reported the information, around twenty prisoners benefited from a facial massage. This reportedly came a week after "country dancing" was on their activities menu. "There is no question of having any recreational activities that shock all our fellow citizens. It shocked me deeply when I found out that this free activity proposed locally had been accepted," Darmanin said on a visit to a new high-security prison in western France. "I asked the director of the prison administration... that instructions be given to all prison directors so that we limit ourselves absolutely to academic support and the French language, to work-related activities and to sports activities inside the prison," he told journalists. "We must now completely stop these activities, whose existence no one understands," he added, saying they would be halted from Monday. The government is under pressure to take a hard line on law and order issues due to the rise of the far right and against the background of intensifying drug-related crime in France. Last month, a detainee took advantage of a trip to a Paris museum to escape his supervisors, prosecutors said, adding they had objected to him taking part in the first place. cor-ban-sjw/ah/yad
Sky News
08-02-2025
- Sky News
Musician and actor Callum Kerr tells of family mourning over deaths of Dawn and Andrew Searle - as investigation details emerge in France
A musician and actor has shared a statement about his family's grieving following the deaths of a British couple in rural France. Dawn and Andrew Searle, who have not been officially identified but have been named by French news sites, were found at their home in the hamlet of Les Pesquies, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, on Thursday. Investigations into how they died are still ongoing. Country musician and former Hollyoaks star Callum Kerr shared a statement about his mum on Instagram on Saturday. "At this time, Callum Kerr and Amanda Kerr are grieving the loss of their mother, Dawn Searle (nee Smith, Kerr), while Tom Searle and Ella Searle are mourning the loss of their father, Andrew Searle," the statement said. It went on to ask for privacy "during this difficult period" and said further updates would be provided "as appropriate". Several local media outlets have reported Ms Searle's body was found outside their home, while Mr Searle's body was discovered inside. Ms Searle was seen by a neighbour, according to La Depeche and Midi Libre. La Depeche also reports she was naked, with jewellery found scattered nearby. A source "close to the investigation" told Midi Libre she had suffered a major head wound. The neighbour who found her initially thought she was unwell, it said, before calling emergency services. Mr Searle was found hanged inside the house and had been gagged, both publications reported. Investigators are reportedly looking at whether the British couple were killed during a burglary, but all lines of inquiry are said to remain open following the discovery of their bodies on Thursday. Mr Searle is said to have previously worked as an organised crime financial investigator in the UK. A LinkedIn profile in his name says he retired in 2015 after working for Barclays and Standard Life, and was "enjoying life in rural France". His page talks about "over 20 years experience specialising in Financial Crime Prevention (AML, Fraud and Anti-Bribery) with a high profile in the industry and an extensive network of contacts". The mayor of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Jean-Sebastien Orcibal, who also lives in Les Pesquies, told broadcaster France 3 the deaths were"something criminal, a homicide very clearly". However, the public prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller said that while both "died violent deaths... all hypotheses remain open" while investigations continue. Postmortems are expected to take place on Monday.
Sky News
08-02-2025
- Sky News
Investigation details emerge following deaths of British couple in France
More details have emerged about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of a British man and woman in a rural area of southwest France. French news sites have named the couple as Dawn and Andrew Searle, although the identities of the victims have not been officially released. Several local media outlets have reported Ms Searle's body was found outside their home in the hamlet of Les Pesquies, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, while Mr Searle's body was discovered inside. Ms Searle was seen by a neighbour, according to La Depeche and Midi Libre. La Depeche also reports she was naked, with jewellery found scattered nearby. A source "close to the investigation" told Midi Libre she had suffered a major head wound. The neighbour who found her initially thought she was unwell, it said, before calling emergency services. Mr Searle was found hanged inside the house and had been gagged, both publications reported. Investigators are reportedly looking at whether the British couple were killed during a burglary, but all lines of inquiry are said to remain open following the discovery of their bodies on Thursday. Mr Searle is said to have previously worked as an organised crime financial investigator in the UK. A LinkedIn profile in his name says he retired in 2015 after working for Barclays and Standard Life, and was "enjoying life in rural France". His page talks about "over 20 years experience specialising in Financial Crime Prevention (AML, Fraud and Anti-Bribery) with a high profile in the industry and an extensive network of contacts". Ms Searle is believed to be the mother of actor and musician Callum Kerr. The mayor of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Jean-Sebastien Orcibal, who also lives in Les Pesquies, told broadcaster France 3 the deaths were"something criminal, a homicide very clearly". However, the public prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller said that while both "died violent deaths... all hypotheses remain open" while investigations continue. Postmortems are expected to take place on Monday.
Sky News
07-02-2025
- Sky News
British couple found dead at house in southern France
A British couple have been found dead at a house in rural southwest France. Investigators are reportedly looking at whether they were killed during a burglary but all lines of inquiry are said to remain open. The identities of the victims have not been officially released but French news site La Depeche named them as Dawn and Andrew Searle. Their bodies were discovered on Thursday in the hamlet of Les Pesquies, near Villefranche-de-Rouergue, in the Aveyron department. French media reported they moved to the area about 10 years ago and were active in the local community. Mr Searle is said to have previously worked as an organised crime financial investigator in the UK. A LinkedIn profile in his name says he retired in 2015 after working for Barclays and Standard Life and was "enjoying life in rural France". His page talks about "over 20 years experience specialising in Financial Crime Prevention (AML, Fraud and Anti-Bribery) with a high profile in the industry and an extensive network of contacts". Police, gendarmerie, forensics officers and the public prosecutor were at the scene on Thursday, France3 reported. It said a neighbour discovered their bodies and quoted the local mayor as saying they were a popular couple who had dogs and got on with everyone. A Foreign Office spokesperson told Sky News: "We are supporting the family of a British couple who died in France and are liaising with the local authorities."
