EgyptAir hijacker demands prisoners’ release - reports

The Greek media earlier said the hijacker's motives might have been personal as he demanded a meeting with his ex-wife, a resident of Cyprus

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They Came For Me But Mustafa Was Killed Instead

_TODAY MARKS THE SECOND DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF MUSTAFA WHO DIED IN AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON ME. THE INCIDENT TOOK PLACE IN LAHORE WHERE 72 PEOPLE DIED YESTERDAY IN A SUICIDE BOMBING. MY MOURNING CONTINUES... _ - On the 28th of March, 2014, I lost a close associate, an employee, and a friend. After I miraculously escaped a carefully planned dénouement, there was much to celebrate: the chance to live, the experience of having defied death. But this living has come with a death at its very center. [2016-03-16-1458123034-9310012-01.jpg] © CREATIVE FRONTIERS Young Mustafa, who had still to experience life, was deprived of that. What can it be called? An accident? An assassination? Crossfire? Or the sheer randomness of death? In 2008, on returning to Pakistan after a stint with the Asian Development Bank, I hired Mustafa. I was a little hesitant to hire someone so young but during the various tests, he proved to be a responsible driver and immediately endeared himself to my family, including my young children, who later became his friends. [2016-03-16-1458123261-4976032-02.jpg] © CREATIVE FRONTIERS Mustafa, a resident of Kasur, was the eldest child of a landless, working-class family. They had to stock wheat after every harvest lived in a house that sustained damage after every monsoon, and faced the brutal marginalization of being who they were in the essentially classist rural society of Punjab. [2016-03-16-1458123341-9561166-03.jpg] © CREATIVE FRONTIERS Mustafa's venturing out to the city, therefore, added a bit of pride in addition to financial support for the family. He was choosing not to be a manual labourer, but opting instead for better-paid "high"-skill-based employment. I found out about all these nuances as we spoke about his village and the dynamics therein. Within a year of working for us, Mustafa's ailing father, paralysed after an accident, passed away. This made him even more worried about his family and the frequency of his visits to the village increased. His mother was next: after a year or so, she too died. Here was a twenty-something responsible for the household and his young siblings. Before she passed away, his mother had arranged his marriage to a distant cousin. It was a marriage of his choice as well: he had known his young wife-to-be since childhood. [2016-03-16-1458124272-3089903-04.jpg] © CREATIVE FRONTIERS His village dargah of a local saint and Kasur's famous shrine of Bulleh Shah were the two centres at which annual rituals were performed and I too contributed to the ceremonies. There was a rock-solid belief in peaceful, non-violent ideas that the Sufi legacy continues to inspire among so many people in Pakistan. It is not a coincidence that those who consider Sufi shrines spaces for infidels (and their ilk actually bomb them) reportedly killed him. Mustafa, too, albeit indirectly, was a victim of that ideology. [2016-03-16-1458124428-1425798-05.jpg] © CREATIVE FRONTIERS All these years, Mustafa was not an ordinary employee. He was more than a family member a playmate of my children, an administrative associate who helped me negotiate two cities, two homes, multiple careers and travels. He knew where my papers were and where my bills, forms and the entire daily grind was located. He was an ever-smiling, gentle shadow over my logistical existence. More than that, he was emotionally supportive in his own way. If I had yelled on the phone, he would bring me a glass of water. If I had not gone for my daily walk, he would remind me to. He would buy me snacks - corn on the cob, bananas, jamuns and yogurt - between multiple appointments so that I could eat. So we were friends - as far as the hierarchy could allow. I trusted him more than many I knew. [2016-03-16-1458124516-2524733-06.jpg] © CREATIVE FRONTIERS He was also my companion when I visited Sufi shrines as a regular feature of my Lahore life. Even on the night of 28 March 2014, we had planned a trip to Data Darbar. It was a special Friday night and it was he who had reminded me that day. He had, despite my protests, displayed a poster of the saints on the back window of the car. He shared my enthusiasm for discovering old buildings, for random signs, rickshaw posters and other forms of pop art. He would slow down and ask me to take a picture of an outlandish advert or a painting on a truck. But he was taken away. [2016-03-16-1458124843-5731696-07.jpg] © CREATIVE FRONTIERS A part of me, too, has died. I live with a haunting, gnawing hole in my being. There is not a day that his face does not appear while I am awake or asleep. [2016-03-16-1458124911-4630111-08.jpg] © CREATIVE FRONTIERS This is accentuated by my being away from home, being afraid to risk another tragedy. More than my mortality, I am now obsessed with the idea that someone else might get hurt or even receive a minor injury on my account. Why I threw conformity to the winds and whether it was all it is worth, is something I need to figure out. [2016-03-16-1458125115-204630-09.jpg] © CREATIVE FRONTIERS After I had left, the police arrested the alleged gunmen and Mustafa's family had to undergo another ordeal: threats, pressure, and inducements. We remained in touch but I let them decide what they deemed best. I could neither insist on them giving false evidence, nor stop them, for the entire system of justice is the stuff of Greek tragedies. And the most recent jolt. Mustafa's younger brother was arrested last week by the police as a "suspect" in a local case of dacoity. They took him to the police station and tortured him for a night. A police official who lives in the area had apparently decided to teach them a lesson for not acting like the landless peasants they are. [2016-03-16-1458125444-5153313-10.jpg] © CREATIVE FRONTIERS For the poor of our country, there is simply no protection. The torture has left Mustafa's brother maimed. Medical care is poor in Kasur and so another transaction, another layer of exploitation - healthcare - has been added to the miseries of the family. I am a remote participant, sometimes effective and at other times not so useful. This is how it is. [2016-03-16-1458125536-8949525-11.jpg] © CREATIVE FRONTIERS A new report states that Pakistan has lost 80,000 people during the ongoing war on terrorism. Mustafa is a mere footnote in this sordid saga. I could have been a digit too. Human life and dignity, those meaningless, abstract terms one had learned, stand mocked and hung upside down where injustice prevails. The masked gunmen who fired at my car and killed Mustafa are unrecognizable. If the ones in jail are hanged, will this be justice? Perhaps in that vengeful moment or in a limited sense. But thousands of Mustafas remain vulnerable at the hands of the same mind-set unless the state cuts the umbilical cord that gives the killers their strength, their impunity. [2016-03-16-1458125620-2229539-12.jpg] © CREATIVE FRONTIERS In the meantime, I mourn Mustafa, celebrate his short, beautiful life, and pray that his family remains safe. I also pray that I might get over the image of his dead body as I tried to pull him out from the bullet-riddled car amid a melee unwilling to help. One day, all this will change, I hope. But nothing will bring Mustafa back. _The text was first published in The Friday Times last year. CFX Comics illustrated it with these powerful graphics._ -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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European policy is driving refugees to more dangerous routes across the Med

Boat at Eftalou on the northern coast of Lesvos, with Turkey in the distance Heaven Crawley It is estimated that in 2015, more than a million people crossed the Mediterranean to Europe in search of safety and a better life. 3,770 are known to have died trying to make this journey during the same period. This so-called “migration crisis” is the largest humanitarian disaster to face Europe since the end of World War II. That’s why we’ve been working to examine the conditions underpinning this recent migration across, and loss of life in, the Mediterranean. Our first research brief , based on interviews with 600 people, including 500 refugees, shines a light on the reasons why so many risk everything on the dangerous sea crossing. It also offers an insight into why the EU response has been so ineffective. One of the main problems with the current approach to this crisis is the assumption that refugees and migrants are drawn towards particular countries because they offer employment, welfare, education or housing. This ignores the fact that in 2015 over 90% of those arriving by sea in Greece came from the world’s top-ten refugee producing countries, 56% from Syria. The ‘migration crisis’ is in fact a crisis of refugee protection. Of course those who have lost everything want to live somewhere they can rebuild their lives. But the assumption that people are drawn to particular countries presupposes that people know and understand the nuances of asylum policy and practice across a wide range of countries before arriving in the EU. It is clear from speaking with refugees that those on the move have only partial information about these matters. Decisions about where to go are made _ad hoc_ along the way. More often than not they are based on variables and opportunities that arise on the journey or are communicated to them by agents and smugglers. Our research suggests politicians will fail in their attempts to stem the flow of refugees if they continue to make assumptions about what drives people into the boats in the first place. Shutting down borders without providing protection, resettlement or humanitarian assistance will not stop people from travelling across the sea, it will simply drive demand for the services of smugglers who can facilitate access and increase the risks for those travelling into and across Europe. LEARNING FROM THE PAST Our research also suggests that there is a relationship between the decisions made in Europe and deaths at sea. Data shows that 2,892 people died crossing the Mediterranean from Libya in 2015 – one person for every 53 arrivals. Across the Aegean route from Turkey to Greece, the death count for 2015 is significantly lower, both in absolute and relative terms: 806 dead or missing against 845,852 arrivals. That’s one person dead or missing out of every 1,049 arrivals. ARRIVALS AND DEATHS BY ROUTE TAKEN TO EUROPE IN 2015 Arrivals and deaths by route taken to Europe in 2015. Data: IOM; Elaboration: www.medmig.info This can be partly explained by the fact that the crossing between Turkey and the Greek islands – around 10km – is much shorter than the distance between Tripoli and Sicily in Italy, which is around 600km. But it doesn’t explain the very significant variations now seen in the same route. Since the beginning of 2016, the death toll in the Aegean has increased rapidly, with one person dead or missing for every 409 people who arrive safely. Changing weather conditions may be partly to blame, but there are other factors to consider – most notably border patrols and search and rescue efforts. Much can be learned from what happened previously in the central Mediterranean route from Libya to Italy. A closer look at deadly incidents there shows that deaths were much higher in the first four months of 2015, with a single incident causing more than 800 victims in April. This pattern was quite different from the one seen in 2014 when just 17 migrants died in the first four months of the year. The crucial difference between 2014 and 2015 was the reduced presence of search and rescue operations. In 2014, Mare Nostrum, the well-resourced operation led by the Italian navy was still running. This went out into international waters to help boats in trouble. By the end of 2014, Mare Nostrum had been replaced by Triton, a smaller operation, with no mandate to rescue people. This was led by the European border agency Frontex. The decision to end Mare Nostrum was partially fuelled by the assumption that rescuing people at sea would encourage more to make the dangerous sea crossing. Hundreds of people lost their lives as a result of this assumption. Following the tragic April incident, Triton was revamped. It was provided with more resources and expanded into rescue missions. This produced an immediate effect on the death toll, which went from an average of 422 deaths per month between January and April 2014, to 150 per month for the rest of the year. INCREASED BORDER CONTROLS, INCREASED RISKS So could a change in the nature of patrols in the short stretch of sea between Turkey and Greece explain the recent increase in death rates seen in the Aegean? ARRIVALS AND DEATHS BY ROUTE TAKEN TO EUROPE IN 2016 Certainly the period since January 2016 has seen a noticeable change in the way the authorities handle irregular sea crossings. NATO vessels have been brought in and borders patrolled more aggressively. The official policy is now that anyone arriving by sea between Turkey and Greece will be sent back. Our research suggests the death rate is likely to increase as a result of this approach. The demand – and need – for access to protection continues and, as long as it does, smugglers will simply send their overcrowded boats across the Aegean using different, longer routes to evade the authorities. Back in October when we were undertaking fieldwork in Lesbos, there were already signs that this was starting to be the case. Boats were being sent across at night, when the chances of detection were lower – but also the chances of rescue. It also seems likely that other routes will start to open up, or that the use of other more dangerous routes (such as from Libya to Italy) will once again increase. At the moment this is largely speculative, but even a cursory look at the figures suggests that this might already be starting to happen. Between March 10 and 17, there was a 47% decrease in the number of arrivals to Greece but a 518% increase in the number of people who were picked up off the coast of Libya. Only time will tell whether this becomes a trend. The fact is that the vast majority of people migrating across the Mediterranean to Europe do so because they believe their lives are in danger and that there is no future for them – or their children – in their home countries or the countries through which they have travelled. The failure of politicians to acknowledge this and to provide alternative ways for refugees to access protection means that many will continue to risk their lives crossing the sea. And that increasing numbers will die trying. [The Conversation] _Heaven Crawley has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. She is a Trustee of Migrant Voice and a Patron of the Baobab Centre for Young Survivors in Exile_ _Nando Sigona receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council._ _Franck Düvell works for the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society at University of Oxford. He receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, UK. He is affiliated with the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants. This article does not reflect the views of the research councils. _

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Bumpy kick-off for EU-Turkey migration deal

Some NGO as well as UNHCR distanced themselves from the EU-Turkey migration deal by saying that the reception facilities in Greece have turned into detention camps. The EU Commission played down possible problems on the ground. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) announced on March 22 that they will no longer get involved […]

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Pentagon: F-16 fighter jet crashes in Afghanistan, pilot safe

[Aggressors F 16]Staff Sgt. Shawn Nickel / US Air Force The Pentagon says that an F-16 fighter jet has crashed at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook says the pilot safely ejected and is being evaluated by medical personnel. Cook says the jet crashed during takeoff at the base outside Kabul on Tuesday. The pilot is part of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram. NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster

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France's soccer team returned to the national stadium for the first time since the Paris attacks

[French police officers stands guard outside the Stade de France stadium prior to the international friendly soccer match between France and Russia in Saint Denis, north of Paris, France, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)]http://syndication.ap.org/AP.Distro.ContentBroker2/ContentBroker.aspx?contentid=d49a31c020e49210940f6a7067009ca4&iid=3b4a97ccfb894dcc9953ba30d7862c02&rsn=0&recordid=3b4a97ccfb894dcc9953ba30d7862c02&filingId=d952d4a6ef1e418190e90bc014553c23&role=Preview&reldt=2016-03-29T18:02:24&media=Photo&sz=&dest=ak&trF=REB102&ofn=France%2bRussia%2bSoccer.JPEG&fmt=jpg&relativeUrl=jpg/2016/201603/29/d49a31c020e49210940f6a7067009ca4.jpg&s3Key=preview.jpg&authToken=eNotizEOwyAMAF8EssGGMiD1KwlQyUNDFILawY8vQ5db7k7bNwfPidFzpAgAhI60SK6UNo8FjINGJjkEkwheJmwRwgpT2Ui71LUDe50jl37cl%2bzz7td47nPI0cbCkNouW%2fpbp6wYIXg9P%2fkvkEHlzOxssA6dffAPUtMs1g%3d%3d SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — A calm atmosphere surrounded the Stade de France on Tuesday evening as France's soccer team returned to its national stadium for the first time since last November's attacks in Paris. Security had been tightened ahead of the game, with police cars patrolling around the arena in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, while fans gathered at drinks stalls a couple of hours before France took on Russia in a friendly game. With police sirens wailing in the distance, families slowly walked along the main esplanade as a rare ray of light broke through the clouds, while a group of supporters raised the Russian flag and took selfies. "I'm not afraid, life goes on," said Benoit Guyot, who traveled from the eastern region of Alsace to watch the game. Guyot told The Associated Press he had never seen France playing at its home stadium before and said the high level of alert in the French capital did not frighten him. "I've never seen as many security forces at a sporting event," he said. "I'm reassured." Those measures follow the bombings on Nov. 13, when 130 people were killed on a night of attacks in Paris. Suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the stadium during France's friendly against Germany, killing one bystander. Though Tuesday's game at the stadium where France won the 1998 World Cup is the first for the soccer team since those attacks, France has played three Six Nations rugby matches there without incident. Security measures in place on Tuesday were similar to those deployed during the rugby tournament, including increased checks on public transportation and the area around the stadium. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters at the stadium that 575 police officers and 1,200 privately-hired security guards were there, on patrol. Cazeneuve added that the stadium's parking lots were checked by bomb disposal units and that all vehicles entering the arena were searched. It took a bit longer than usual for fans to reach the stadium from downtown Paris because of slow-downs on the subway network. Once they had made it to Saint-Denis, a first safety perimeter was set up near the stadium, where private security guards made body searches under the watchful eyes of armed policemen. Fans were then searched and had their tickets checked again once they reached the turnstiles. The deputy head of the Paris public order and road traffic authority, Laurent Simonin, said earlier this week that snipers, as well as members of the elite unit of the French national police known as RAID, would be ready to intervene if needed. Security measures are expected to be even tighter when France hosts the European Championship from June 10-July 10. About 2.5 million fans are set to attend matches in the 10 host cities being used for the soccer tournament. NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster

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Cyberattacks exposed taxpayers' personal information more than 700,000 times last year

[A hacker, who requests not to have his name revealed, works on his laptop in his office in Taipei July 10, 2013. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang ]Thomson Reuters Back in February 2015, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen disclosed that unauthorized individuals or groups had illegally gained access to sensitive taxpayer information such as Social Security numbers, birthdates and street addresses. In all, Koskinen said, about 100,000 tax accounts from its “Get Transcript” application were tampered with by criminals. But an August update found that the number of taxpayer accounts violated was closer to 114,000. But there was yet another caveat: It seems an additional 220,000 accounts had been “inappropriately accessed,” which brought the overall total to 330,000 accounts. A February 2016 “update” showed that another 390,000 accounts had been inappropriately accessed, bringing the new grand total to 720,000 – at least for now. The seemingly endless breaches of some of the most sensitive data the government keeps of its citizens, including its tax records, Social Security numbers and other personal identity, was highlighted in a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) progress report released on Monday. The 36-page study provided an update on how well the often beleaguered agency is performing in trying to fortify the protection of key finance and tax processing systems and networks in order to combat fraud and identity theft, prevent disruptions of agency operations and ward off malicious and destructive cyber-attacks from outsiders. RAW Embed   To be sure, the IRS has made some progress in implementing information security controls, the GAO acknowledged. It cited, for example, steps the agency has made to tighten access to key financial applications and to develop “multi-factor authentication processes” throughout the agency to safeguard data. “However, weaknesses in the controls limited their effectiveness in protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of financial and sensitive taxpayer data,” the report states. For instance, the IRS has not always applied proper password settings for identifying and authenticating users. It has also failed to take appropriate steps to restrict access to servers. And it hasn’t done enough to insure that “sensitive user authentication data were encrypted.” “An underlying reason for these weaknesses is that IRS has not effectively implemented elements of its information security program,” the report complained. “The agency had a comprehensive framework for its program, such as assessing risk for its systems, developing security plans, and providing employees with security awareness and specialized training. However, aspects of its program had not yet been effectively implemented.” The IRS has daunting tasks and often operates under tight budgetary strictures imposed by Congress. It collects taxes, processes tax returns, audits business and individual taxpayers, enforces U.S. tax laws and, most recently, assists in implementing the Affordable Care Act to make sure individuals seeking government health care subsidies meet the income requirements. The IRS -- like most other major government departments -- depends on computerized systems to support its mission and to protect sensitive financial and tax data from hackers. The GAO has criticized other agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management, for breaches of their computerized records by hackers. Just last week, the GAO outlined numerous security vulnerabilities in an Obamacare Internet data “hub” that links the Obamacare website to the IRS, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies. In response to the latest GAO report, Koskinen asserted that while the “integrity of IRS’s financial systems continues to be sound,” the agency is in the process of adding many additional safeguards and is reviewing GAO’s latest batch of recommendations. However, as GAO cautioned, “Until IRS takes additional steps to (1) address unresolved and newly identified control deficiencies and (2) effectively implement elements of its information security program, including, among other things, updating policies… and testing and evaluating procedures, its financial and taxpayer data will remain unnecessarily vulnerable to inappropriate and undetected use, modification, or disclosure.” NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster

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Young women are getting abducted off the streets of Mexico's 2nd-largest city

[mexican woman monterrey]REUTERS/Daniel Becerril When 19-year-old Denisse Velasco left school earlier this month in Guadalajara, Mexico's second biggest city, she walked as she always does to a bus stop on Avenida Americas. It was 11am on March 7, and there was no one else around when a taxi pulled up beside her. "Get in, they sent me for you," the driver told her. Unconvinced that anyone would have called her a taxi without letting her know, Velasco chose to ignore him. "Then he started shouting rude words and telling me to get in," she recalled. "In that moment I heard a voice over the taxi radio say: 'Get out and grab the bitch.'" The driver was slim, with light skin, blue eyes, and gray hair, and he stood about 5 feet 6 inches. When she saw him getting out of the car, Velasco fled and took refuge in a nearby pharmacy. "I was in shock but when I explained what had happened to the people inside they told me the taxi was no longer there," she said. It was one of many similar attempted abductions of young women in recent weeks across Guadalajara, the capital of the western state of Jalisco. Yet local authorities have sought to downplay the problem, and many of the victims have encountered difficulties when they tried to report what happened to the police. The attempted kidnappings highlight a concerning trend in Jalisco, where the number of women reported missing has risen steadily in each of the last four years, peaking at 1,161 disappearances in 2015. Another 187 women were reported missing here in the first two months of this year, prior to the surge of cases in March that has drawn greater attention to this issue.  Having narrowly avoided becoming another statistic, Velasco immediately called an emergency police hotline to report the attempted abduction. The officer on duty told her she must have misinterpreted the situation, and that surely a family member had called the taxi for her. Velasco insisted, but when she admitted not knowing the taxi's license plate, the officer told her she would not be able to file a complaint. Besides, she recalled the cop saying, "attempted kidnapping is not a crime." Incredulous and indignant, Velasco went to the attorney general's office to make a formal complaint two days later. After filling out a form and waiting nearly four hours, police eventually told her that the person who was supposed to handle her case would not be coming. They said she provided insufficient evidence to file a report, and that she should return in 15 days to check for an update. The day after the taxi incident, on International Women's Day, Velasco read a post on Facebook by Guadalajara Mayor Enrique Alfaro in which he dismissed recent reports warning of attempts to kidnap local women. The stories circulating on social media were mere "rumors" spread by "those who want to generate fear," Alfaro said. He affirmed that the local authorities had received "no recent reports of cases of attempted kidnappings of women." The same day, the attorney general's office in Jalisco sent out a tweet urging the public to ignore "false messages" about missing women in the city. It said that these were intended to "create psychosis." Outraged, Velasco replied to Alfaro's post. If victims were unable to file reports with the police, she said, they would continue to talk about their cases on social media and none of these cases would ever be solved. She did not receive a response. The spate of disappearances and attempted abductions comes at a time of growing concern over all kinds of violence against women in Jalisco. Last year, state authorities officially reported that 1,161 women — the vast majority of them under age 18 — had officially gone missing. Authorities say just 158 remain unaccounted for, but an unspecified number of the 1,003 who were said to have been "located" were found dead. Of the 187 women who have been reported missing in the first two months 2016, there is still no trace of 70. It's also unclear how many of these missing women have been found murdered. [GUADALAJARA, MEXICO]REUTERS/DANIEL BECERRIL Altogether, 150 women were murdered in the state last year, the second highest figure on record, according to the Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences. In total, 1,344 women were murdered in Jalisco from 1997 to 2015, with over half of those killings committed in the last five years.  Dozens of accounts similar to Velasco's have been posted on social media throughout March, including several that detailed attempted abductions in broad daylight in downtown Guadalajara, or in the city's trendy Americana neighborhood. The reports drew considerable attention from the local press, and the mounting pressure eventually led the authorities to change their stance. On March 17, nine days after he dismissed the kidnapping stories as malicious rumors, the mayor held a press conference to affirm that his government was taking the issue seriously. "We will act firmly and responsibly," Alfaro said. "We cannot and will never ignore a problem that is clearly affecting the quality of life of the city's inhabitants, particularly women." Alfaro said the attorney general's office had received four formal reports about women who had gone missing in recent weeks, and claimed that three of the victims had since been found. Neither he nor the attorney general has revealed the circumstances under which these women disappeared, or whether any arrests were made. Alfaro said another five attempted kidnappings had been formally reported in the past two weeks, and that his office had logged informal reports on social media of attempts to abduct another 19 young women across the metropolitan area. 'SHE'S LIKE WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR' Municipal authorities were providing seven of these victims with psychological, medical and legal support, he said, adding that from now on, all female victims of crime would receive assistance filing reports with state authorities. In a separate press conference, Jalisco Attorney General Eduardo Almaguer said there was no evidence that a single band of kidnappers was behind the phenomenon, although he did note certain similarities in the cases. Most involved one or two aggressors driving in a truck who tried to grab a young woman off the street and pull her into their vehicle. Whenever passersby have intervened, the assailants have backed off and driven away, he said. Darwin Franco, an independent investigative journalist who has spent the last five years documenting disappearances in Jalisco, believes the current wave of abductions may be linked to instability within the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which has grown rapidly into one of Mexico's most powerful criminal organizations over the past five years. Franco speculated that recent arrests of cartel leaders may have caused smaller criminal cells to break away from the cartel and seek fresh revenue streams from human trafficking. Another possibility, he said, was that separate groups of human traffickers had moved into the region to take advantage of the power vacuum. Franco recently published a series of interviews with several victims of attempted kidnappings, and he told VICE News the majority of those targeted have been short, slim, and fair-skinned brunettes in their late teens or early 20s. He suspects the kidnappers thought they would be easier to force into cars. In one case, Ana Karen, a 19-year-old student who narrowly escaped when two men tried to force her into their black Ford Windstar at midday on March 5, told Franco she heard one of her aggressors say "she's like what we're looking for." Another young woman who evaded abduction in Guadalajara that week was 20-year-old Daniela Martínez. After leaving work at the Jalisco state government's family welfare agency shortly after 3pm on March 11, she dozed off on the bus ride home and woke up a couple of blocks past her usual stop. Martínez had barely walked half a block along Avenida María Guadalupe when a blue truck pulled up alongside her. The driver, a plump, bearded man whom she judged to be in his 30s, asked for directions. Startled, Martínez said she couldn't help him and kept walking. Another fat, bald, and bearded man, who looked about 50 years old, jumped out and grabbed her by the arm, telling her, "Get in the car now, bitch." Martínez began to scream for help, but her cries were drowned out by loudspeakers blaring advertisements for a pawn shop across the road. She struggled and screamed louder, but her aggressor covered her mouth with his hand. Then the workers at the pawn shop noticed what was happening. "They came running across the road shouting, 'Hey assholes, let her go!' and one of them punched the man who had hold of me by both arms," Martínez said. "He fought back but as soon as he let go of me I punched him in the face and ran across the street." [MEXICO MARRIED BRIDE]REUTERS/DANIEL BECERRIL The two assailants drove off, but Martínez, who was still in shock, didn't get their license plate number. The pawn shop workers declined to formally testify at the attorney general's office, and there were no other witnesses around. As a state government employee, Martínez said she is well aware of the level of impunity and the difficulties that victims face when reporting such crimes. She called a friend who works at the attorney general's office, but he told her that with so little proof she would not be able to formally report what happened. Martínez said she felt "great impotence" when she read the mayor's comments dismissing accounts such as hers. She decided that her only real option was to report what happened on Facebook, in a bid to warn friends who commute through the same area. In February, the state government declared a gender alert in eight municipalities, including the entire Guadalajara metropolitan area, triggering the release of federal funds and the adoption of heightened security protocols. These are supposed to include immediate search operations for missing women and children, and more police patrols in high-risk areas. 'Instead of denying, criminalizing or stigmatizing women, they should at least approach them and listen to what happened to them in order to see what can be done to help' Authorities declared the alert because of the high level of violence against women, yet within weeks the Jalisco attorney general and Guadalajara mayor downplayed the significance of the attempted abductions of local women. The situation has led Franco, the local investigative journalist, and others to point to a culture of victim-blaming among police and government officials. On March 16, after three adolescent girls were held at gunpoint by two older men, Guadalajara police repeatedly emphasized that they had "decided to skip school" and go to a party by "their own free will." Franco said it's hard to imagine the situation improving until authorities change their attitude. "The first thing they should do is very simple: they should listen to them," he said, "Instead of denying, criminalizing or stigmatizing women, they should at least approach them and listen to what happened to them in order to see what can be done to help." NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster

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The Navy's $2.7 billion submarine is stuck in limbo because of defective parts

[navy attack submarine]Reuters/US Navy Handout A $2.7 billion attack submarine, the USS Minnesota, has been out of commission for more than a year because of a defective pipe joint near the ship’s nuclear-powered engine. The defective part, which is worth about $10,000, was installed near the ship’s nuclear power plant. Engineers discovered the poorly welded steam pipe in early 2015, and ongoing repairs have led to the ship being stuck in overhaul ever since, according to _Navy Times_. The submarine was considered a great success just a few years ago. It was delivered to the Navy 11 months ahead of schedule and commissioned in September 2013. But the ship has spent only a few days at sea, and its crew has been waiting for more than two years to get underway. Repairs are supposed to be completed this summer, but the process has taken so long that some of the current crew, who typically serve in three-year rotations, may never sail on it . The Minnesota isn’t alone, either: Navy officials say two other subs have been affected by the same shoddy pipe joints, and engineers are now scouring aircraft carriers and other ships for similar problems. Justice Department investigators are gathering evidence for possible criminal charges against the contractors responsible for the work. The news comes at a critical time for the Navy. On Monday the service released a “Submarine Unified Build Strategy” (SUBS) for concurrent production of its Ohio-class replacement ballistic missile submarine and Virginia-class attack submarine through at least 2023. The Navy wants to buy 12 boats to replace the existing force of 14 Trident Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, which entered into service in the early 1980s. Service officials have pegged the cost of the Ohio replacement program, also known as the SSBN(X), at around $139 billion dollars. The effort’s lifetime cost will come in at roughly $347 billion. With so much taxpayer money at stake, the SUBS plan is meant to show that the Navy is serious about keeping the SSBN(X) effort and the ongoing program to build 48 Virginia-class vessels like the Minnesota on cost and on schedule. The strategy calls for defense giant General Dynamics to lead design and delivery of the 12 SSBN(X) vessels, while Huntington Ingalls designs and builds major assemblies and modules. General Dynamics will also remain the prime contractor for work on the Virginia-class subs, which are also built by both companies. But since the Ohio-class successor is a top priority, the Navy plan states that Huntington Ingalls will assume responsibility for building additional Virginia-class submarines as needed, though it doesn’t give an exact number. Both firms agreed to the Navy’s plan. Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, said he was glad that the plan stipulates keeping up the present pace of building two Virginia-class subs a year through at least 2023. Connecticut is home to Electric Boat, a subsidiary of General Dynamics. The Navy previously said it would construct just one sub in 2021, the first year the service is supposed to buy an SSBN(X). The service is facing a submarine shortfall starting in about 2025, and building a second attack sub in 2021 could help ease the burden on the underwater fleet. NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster

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This is the strategy that won back Palmyra

[palmyra]Reuters/Handout Syrian Army units have taken back the ancient city of Palmyra from Islamic State. The units are now also trying to extend their control to include al-Qaryatain, to the south west of Palmyra, and Sukhnah, to the north east. There are indications that the damage done to the ancient world heritage site which lies just outside Palmyra has been much less than feared. It may even have been limited to the destruction of two or three individual ruins – certainly important in their own right but just a small part of a huge complex that stretches over scores of hectares. It is already becoming clear that the entire operation would not have been possible without considerable air support from Russia. It also gives the lie to president Vladimir Putin’s claim that the Russian air force has largely completed its operations. Despite very public proclamations that Russian pilots have been withdrawn from Syria, the reality is that operations continue. Only about a third of Russian front-line strike aircraft have been withdrawn so far – and the size of the Russian helicopter force has actually been increased. There is clear evidence that Russia has been directing its most recent airstrikes at opponents of the Assad regime in north west Syria, rather than targeting IS. This is not surprising given that IS has scarcely been involved in the opposition to Assad. One major effect of the Russian campaign has been to strengthen the regime as a prelude to a negotiated settlement. This would have significant Russian involvement which, from Moscow’s standpoint, would ensure that post-war Syria would have considerable Russian influence. Now that Putin has seen that policy reasonably on track, the Russian forces have had time to turn their attention to supporting Assad’s advance on Palmyra, an IS outpost since May 2015. Its loss was a major symbolic blow. Within a short time, IS fighters made a great show of wantonly destroying ancient ruins in the town. In taking the city back, Putin can now claim to be doing the west’s job for it. The Palmyra triumph is further proof of Russia’s power and influence – a message that will go down very well with domestic audiences. Russia Today is already reporting that experts from the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg have offered their services in the restoration process. Assad, meanwhile, will now say that he has been right all along in his claim that he has been facing a terrorist threat for the past five years. He will remind the world that he has been fighting terrorists rather than genuine protesters and that he, and only he, can defeat IS in Syria. What makes it even sweeter for him is that western capitals, including Washington, have welcomed the retaking of Palmyra from IS. This is an extraordinary change for the west to digest. Less than four years ago, Barack Obama was on the point of bombing the Assad regime, and now he is giving a guarded welcome to the Syrian advance.[palmyra soldiers]Reuters/Handout WHERE NEXT FOR IS? The loss of Palmyra is a setback for IS – particularly since it also has had to cede control of the important city of Ramadi in Iraq. But we should be careful about saying that IS is beginning to face defeat. For one thing, it took five months for Ramadi to fall, and there are reports that IS paramilitaries are still active in and around the city, harrying Iraq troops. The Iraqi government has done little to engage with the country’s Sunni minority, meaning there is still support for IS. The radical group appeals to people who fear the consequences as the largely Shi’a national army and its Iranian-backed militia associates take over large Sunni towns and cities. IS now also has at least 5,000 paramilitaries in northern Libya, and is preparing to expand its war with western states with the influence gained there. Meanwhile, the west mistakenly assumes that recent attacks in Europe are a sign that IS is facing defeat in the Middle East  and suddenly feels the need to show force. But it is now becoming clear that these attacks had been planned for some time. They may even have been developed as a tactic as long as two years ago. The idea that IS was fixated on controlling territory to establish a caliphate may have been a misreading of its strategy. A second element as important as territorial presence seems to be its determination to take the war to the “far element”, a determination reinforced by the 20-month coalition air war in Syria. Brussels, Paris and probable future attacks – which will almost certainly include incidents in Russia – are aimed at exacerbating community tensions and heightening anti-Muslim bigotry to Islamic State’s advantage. As the group is restricted in Syria and Iraq, so it expands the war elsewhere, seeking to weaken its enemy from within. With all this in mind, the retaking of Palmyra is still significant, but it is part of a much more complex process. NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster

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Greek Australian sailor at sea in the Middle East

Even though Mediterranean family values are extremely strong and transcend many generations, a Greek Australian sailor has discovered an even bigger, extended family aboard HMAS Darwin. Able Seaman (AB) Marine Logistics - Personnel Kathy Kiryakos, from the ...

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Side Orders: Demand prompts Greek Bake Sale to add second date

Basking in the overwhelming success of November's Greek Bake Sale — which was a near sell-out before lunchtime — members of the Ladies of Philoptocus of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church have decided to add another sale to the calendar, this one ...

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Greece: stranded refugees and migrants clash with police in Idomeni

Tension flared as police officers tried to move people away from the railway tracks, where there have been daily protests calling for the Macedonian government to reopen the border crossing. Some of the protesters threw rocks and stones at the police.

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Refugees In Greece, Waiting For The Unknown

Over the past winter, Abdelkader Tebri had only known stasis. The twenty-one-year-old Algerian woke every morning in Athens, Greece, without a plan. “I’m stuck in here,” Tebri said. “I try many, many, many things. I wait.” Tebri’s struggle is ...

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Estonia gets 7 refugees from Greece under EU relocation plan

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Estonia says it has received from Greece the first seven of up to 550 refugees that the Baltic country has pledged to admit under a European Union relocation plan.

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Greece eyes 2-week turnaround for asylum claims: minister

[Migrants and refugees arrive aboard a Swedish Frontex patrol boat at the port of Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos on March 29, 2016]Greece will be able to process asylum claims within two weeks once a migration deal between the EU and Turkey takes full effect, a senior Greek official said Tuesday.

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Migrant Protests Intensify at the GREEK Border

Police have clashed with some 300 migrants and refugees at the GREEK border with Macedonia, as protests intensified and thousands ignored ...

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For GREEK Life, it may be the end of serenades as they know it

“I decided that it would be best if I took that knowledge and information and tried to create a positive change within our individual GREEK community,” ...

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GREEK President Pavlopoulos urges Israelis to invest in Greece

"Come invest in Greece," GREEK President Prokopis Pavlopoulos told Israel Hayom ahead of his visit to Jerusalem this week. Pavlopoulos said: ...

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'My Big Fat GREEK Wedding 2' News: Creator Talks About Long Wait

Even though it has been more than ten years since the release of "My Big Fat GREEK Wedding," there is still much excitement about the new installment ...

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No refugees and migrants arrived at main GREEK Pireaus port on Tuesday

The inflows of refugees and migrants to the port of Piraeus have been reduced to practically zero, since the two ferries "Ariadni" and "Blue Star 1" that ...

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GREEK Operators Newbuilds to Feature 5% Bunker Saving Propellers

The bunker savings come form company's EnergoProFin solution, a propeller cap with fins that rotates together with the propeller. Wärtsilä has ...

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Ice cream review: Yasso Frozen GREEK Yogurt bars surprisingly tasty

In my weekly search for new flavors I've passed by Yasso frozen GREEK yogurt bars many times. I've never thought to pick up a package, but Big Y had ...

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Order of Omega, GREEK honors society, inducts 91 new members

Students involved in the Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Council, Multicultural GREEK Council and the National Pan-Hellenic Council were all ...

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Picnic recipe: Crudite With GREEK Goddess Dip

GREEK Goddess Dip: 3/4 cup plain GREEK yogurt. 1 cup sour cream. 1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped. 1 tablespoon mint, chiffonade or shredded.

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Many Things Will be Said Here Today, GREEK PM Tsipras Tells MPs

The GREEK prime minister accused main opposition New Democracy, acting on the pretext of a so-called revelation about a supposed government ...

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Bucks look to break the NBA by turning GREEK Freak into Magic Johnson

Giannis Antetokounmpo is either the future of the NBA—a positionless metaphor who transcends the traditional roles and responsibilities basketball ...

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Refugee crisis 2016: Awaiting GREEK legislation to implement the EU-Turkey refugee deal

The GREEK authorities immediately accelerated the transfer to the mainland of about 8,000 refugees and migrants who arrived on the islands before ...

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Refugees clash with police at GREEK border camp as inflow from Turkey slows

THESSALONIKI, GREECE – Police have clashed with some 300 migrants and refugees at the GREEK border with Macedonia, as protests intensified ...

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GREEK involvement in SGA beneficial

It has often been said that SGA has a heavy GREEK influence and there are many benefits to this. Sudyen Navarette, a sister of Phi Mu, is running for ...

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GREEK Police Clash with Migrants Blocked at Macedonia Border

GREEK police patrolling the country's northern border clashed Tuesday with several hundred migrants — many of them fleeing war in Syria — who ...

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GREEK economy: how do we find our Ithaca? Konstantinos Moutsianas

The GREEK economy has been at the heart of the current European crisis. The sovereign crisis caused significant problems to the smooth functioning of ...

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Visiting Asheville's Sister City in GREECE: Karpenisi

We are in the midst of a bucket list adventure, traveling Europe for a year and have already completed 6 months. Last fall, we wrote an article in the ...

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Hoist Finance plans partnership with Bank of GREECE

Hoist Finance plans partnership with Bank of GREECE ... on Tuesday confirmed discussions regarding a strategic partnership with the Bank of GREECE.

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EU border clampdown sparks resistance in GREECE

Under a new deal between the European Union (EU) and Turkey, refugees who arrived in GREECE after 20 March are to be detained in camps or ...

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GREECE denies obligation to recognise Turkey as a safe “third world country”

The bill follows the recent EU-Turkey agreement facilitating the return of asylum seekers from GREECE to Turkey. Both European Commission and ...

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ND Leader: Today's GREECE Is Far from Being a Normal Democracy

“Today's GREECE Mr. Tsipras is far from being a normal democracy,” he said. “You're not the accuser but the accused in this debate for the worst lies ...

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Scuffles Erupt At GREECE-Macedonia Border Amid Rising Tensions In Refugee Camp

ATHENS, GREECE — Scuffles erupted on Tuesday between Greek police and migrants and refugees at a makeshift tent camp in Idomeni, on the ...

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GREECE is Rich

No, no. Your eyes are not deceiving you. This is not some kind of parallel universe where GREECE is rich, the UK uses the Euro or Germany has ...

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Lecture by Costas Lapavitsas 'The Restoration of Domination in GREECE'

Melbourne's Greek Orthodox Community is organizing a lecture titled “The Restoration of Domination in GREECE” in mid-April, with Costas Lapavitsas, ...

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Richmond volunteer recounts heartbreaking experience in refugee camp in GREECE

A Richmond resident is back home after an inspiring but heartbreaking trip to the Greek-Macedonian border, where she spent 10 days trying to help ...

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Refugees Briefly Clash with Police at GREECE'S Idomeni Camp

Bulgaria: Refugees Briefly Clash with Police at GREECE'S Idomeni Camp Refugees and migrants sit around the fire at the Greek - Macedonian border in ...

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Iceland punishes GREECE'S defensive frailties

GREECE let a 2-0 lead slip and managed to lose 3-2 in Piraeus on Tuesday to an Iceland that exploited the defensive frailties of the Greek national team ...

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How did a goat end up dangling by its horns from power lines in GREECE?

A group of men rescue a goat that was hanging by its horns from power lines in GREECE. Odds are you've heard of a Greek tragedy, but this seems like ...

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From GREECE with love

Since the antiquity, GREECE has a long and strong relationship with Middle East. Trade brought Greeks to this region, a region that piqued their interest ...

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GREECE: Border Protests Intensify

A version of this brief appears in print on March 30, 2016, on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: GREECE: Border Protests Intensify.

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Goat rescued after getting stuck on power lines in GREECE

We have all heard how rescuers have to come to the aid of cats stuck up trees and birds with broken wings, but this operation was a little more ...

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After Refugees, GREECE Now Awaits the Tourists Turkey Is Losing

For GREECE, tens of thousands of refugees started landing on its islands last summer as the entry point to a new life elsewhere in Europe.

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Ex-Iraqi interpreter for US army abandoned, stranded at GREECE'S Idomeni refugee camp

Among thousands of refugees trapped on the Greek and Macedonian (FYROM) border there are some who qualify for asylum more than others.

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Goat dangling from cable by horns rescued in GREECE

A goat dangling precariously from an overhead cable by its horns was rescued by a group of men along a remote road in GREECE. In a first ...

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