France grounded a charter flight headed to Nicaragua carrying 303 Indian passengers on Friday to conduct a judicial investigation.The Airbus A340, belonging to Romanian charter company Legend Airlines, had flown in from the United Arab Emirates, and had landed at Vatry airport in eastern France for a technical stopover. The airport is 150 kms from Paris, and is mostly used by budget airllines.
Authorities stepped in and grounded the plane after an anonymous tip-off that some of the passengers on board were “victims of human trafficking”, the Paris prosecutor said.
Two men have been detained and are being questioned by a unit specialising in organised crime.
Liliana Bakayoko, who said she was a lawyer for Legend Airlines, told AFP the company believed it had done nothing wrong, had committed no offence “and is at the disposal of the French authorities”. But the airline would take legal action if the prosecutors file charges, she added.
India has been granted consular access to those onboard the flight and officials have reached the spot to investigate and ensure the well-being of the passengers.
“French authorities informed us of a plane with 303 people, mostly of Indian origin, from Dubai to Nicaragua detained on a technical halt at a French airport. The embassy team has reached and obtained consular access. We are investigating the situation, also ensuring the well-being of the passengers,” the Indian Embassy in France said in a post on X.
According to news agency AFP, officials suspect that the passengers might have planned to travel to Central America in order to attempt illegal entry into the United States or Canada.
After landing in France, they were first kept on the aircraft, but then let out and given individual beds in the terminal building. “The reception hall at Vatry airport was transformed into a waiting area with individual beds to provide passengers with the best possible reception conditions,” the prefect’s office said.
The 303 Indians spent the night at the airport and officials are yet to give an update on when they will be allowed to fly out.
Border police can initially hold a foreign national for up to four days if they land in France and are prevented from travelling on to their intended destination. French law allows for that period to be extended to eight days if a judge approves it, then another eight days in exceptional circumstances, up to a maximum of 26 days.

A black woman in Los Angeles dialled 911, the emergency helpline number in the US, on December 4, to report domestic violence. The Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responded to the distress call and arrived at her house, but a confrontation at her house resulted in the fatal killing of the black woman by the cop.

911 Distress Call

On the evening of December 4, 27-year-old Niani Finlayson dialled 911 to report a case of domestic violence in which she alleged that her boyfriend “would not leave her alone and then screaming and sounds of a struggle could be heard,” the LA County Sheriff’s department said.

The LA County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the apartment in East Avenue, Lancaster and heard people arguing and yelling. The cops forced open the door and found the woman holding a large kitchen knife. The cops claimed that the woman told them that she would stab her boyfriend for pushing her nine-year-old daughter. She rushed inside the apartment where her boyfriend was sitting and grabbed him while holding the large eighth-inch blade knife. The confrontation resulted in the fatal shooting and the woman received multiple gunshot wounds in front of her daughter.

The woman was taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead. The homicide investigators responded to the incident and an investigation is underway.

Family Contest Police’s Claims

The woman dialled 911 and reported that she was inside with her nine-year-old daughter and had been injured by her ex-boyfriend and wanted him removed, the Guardian reported quoting the family’s attorney.

Sheriff’s deputy Ty Shelton allegedly killed a person under similar circumstances. In 2020, Ty Shelton, along with other deputies, responded to a 911 call reporting domestic violence on West Avenue. A confrontation between the deputy and the suspect, Michael Thomas, resulted in the fatal shooting of the man, who “refused to cooperate with the cops and tried to grab their gun while they were trying to handcuff him.”

“The police lied that my mom was threatening them,” Xaisha, her daughter, also a witness to her mother’s shooting, said at a press conference on Thursday alongside her grandparents, calling for Shelton to be prosecuted. “She was my best friend. She was always there for me. It’s unbelievable that she’s gone and she’s not coming back. I miss my mom,” the nine-year-old said.

The girl said her two-year-old sister continues to ask where their mother is and she doesn’t know how to respond.

Her family filed a legal claim against the county and sheriff’s department alleging wrongful death, assault and civil rights violations and have started a $30,000 fundraiser in her memory.

A drone strike caused an explosion and fire on a merchant ship in the Indian Ocean on Saturday but no casualties were reported, a maritime agency said. Another maritime agency has also said that the Liberia-flagged tanker was Israel-affiliated, news agency AFP reported.

The unclaimed attack off the coast of India caused a fire on board, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations and maritime security firm Ambrey, which said the “Liberia-flagged chemical/products tanker… was Israel-affiliated”. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said the attack was by an Uncrewed Aerial System and authorities are investigating it.