How the world sees Greece
The Greek revolution of 1821 was the result of European and Greek Enlightenment and a carrier of modern values of freedom with social justice, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in his message ahead of the Greek Independence Day on Friday. “In ...
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… sent a cable to Greek President Karolos Papoulias congratulating him on his … day. The King wished the Greek president continued good health and …
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… Gouda, Netherlands. With the win, Greece improves to 3-0 and Canada … led Greece with five goals. Roumpesi was part of the Greek women … Shanghai. Greece previously beat Spain 14-11 and South Africa 16-2. Greece is …
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Last week, Joey Fatone revealed that his character in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" would come out as gay in the upcoming movie. As it turns out, the *NSYNC star had no idea about the plot twist when he first signed on to the film sequel. Vardalos, the star ...
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The Greek government will table in parliament on March 30 a draft bill that will address issues relating the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal, the head of Greece’s coordinating body for the management of the refugee crisis said on Thursday.
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It's been 14 years — and one failed TV spinoff — since Nia Vardalos' My Big Fat GREEK Wedding became an unlikely pop phenomenon, grossing $241 ...
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"We are at war," said Francois Hollande last November, after the attacks in Paris. The images from Brussels -- the bombed airport, the bodies at the metro station, the empty streets, the dead city --- reproduce a stereotypical image of war. But, if we are at war, who is the enemy? Where is the front? Who are the members of the opposing army? If the European democracies have to fight to survive, where must that battle be fought? In the neighborhoods of European cities, like Brussels' Molenbeek, where the two brothers Abdeslam ran a small café, in which they served tea, sold drugs and recruited young, first and second generation immigrants, before they themselves became involved in the attacks on Paris? Or in Syria, where ISIS has installed a reign of terror, is gaining power and inspiring a maniacal dream of the revival of the caliphate? "Most analyses lead to the first choice: The battle must be fought -- they say -- in the self-same European cities." WE MUST FIND THE ANSWER. What leads young children, 16-17 years old, brought up either in the multicultural model of British cities or in the ghettos of Paris and Brussels, into the arms of those who seek death and violence? What could explain their rapid radicalization? Where did Western Europe fail in winning over these young people? WE MUST ALSO FIND SOLUTIONS. How may the battle be fought successfully against such a shadow army? How to penetrate networks of familial and friendly support, such as those who managed to hide for 125 whole days the most wanted man in all of Europe from daily police raids, just a few meters away from his mother's house? And if despite the arrest of Abedslam (or as a reaction to it) they were able to execute such a hit while Brussels already was on high alert, how can the repetition of such murder and mayhem be prevented, anywhere and at any time? > The monster that threatens the West, the enemy that the West has to > fight is largely a product of criminal errors and inexcusable > failures in the Middle East. But there are also voices which support the second approach. That the battle must be fought and won, primarily in the Middle East, and secondarily in the European mainland. This is a view which is for instance supported by Patrick Cockburn, a veteran correspondent of major media in the region and perceptive analyst of the ISIS phenomenon. What is ISIS? According to Cockburn's analysis, it is a product of a triple failure of the West in the Middle East. The failure of the war in Iraq, the failure of peace in Iraq and the failure in Syria. Thus, a core of gunpowder smoked warriors who combine ideology with religious fanaticism and military experience formed an organization that sprang to life in Iraq. The outbreak of the civil war in Syria made them sought after there and provided them with territory, fans and easy victories. They were then able to transfer over to Iraqi soil against a ghost-army that the Americans had put together, spending untold sums from which emerged hundreds of super-corrupt officers but not one warrior soldier. Born in the violence and of the violence of war they dominate through the most extreme and perversely ostentatious violence. And they offer billions of Sunnis in the Middle East, as well as in Europe, a victorious standard (for the first time) of a Sunni force that excites the imagination and a dream of reviving the caliphate, and recruits people ready to sacrifice themselves for a crazy idea. If this analysis is correct, the root of the problem is in the Middle East, not in Europe itself. The monster that threatens the West, the enemy that the West has to fight is largely a product of criminal errors and inexcusable failures in the Middle East. And if the West can not defeat it there, no matter how many policing measures it may take in European cities, no matter how many surveillance systems it installs, even if it abolishes the Schengen Area or shuts the refugees who frighten it in ghettos, or turns Greece into Europe's Ellis Island, the problem will recur. The front at which the West should fight this battle is primarily in Syria. After three failures, the West needs a success -- the success of the peaceful transition of Syria into the next age and the operational squashing of Islamofascism. _This post first appeared on HuffPost Greece. It has been translated into English and edited for clarity._ -- 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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GREECE vs Montenegro Live Streaming Info: International Friendly 2016 Score; Football Match Preview – 24th March – GRE v MON: The national ...
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No migrants have arrived in GREECE over the past 24 hours - for first time since EU-Turkey deal on migration entered into force, Kathimerini news daily ...
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Especially if you're Princess Olympia of GREECE, a freshman at New York University who is vacationing on Harbor Island in the Bahamas with her ...
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Lakeview resident Lilly Apostolou left behind her corporate job a few months ago to pursue a full-time career in the arts and immediately landed a role that seemed made for her in Strangeloop Theatre’s production, Mitera. Apostolou plays Dimitra, a Greek ...
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Over the years it has become increasingly tougher for Ian (John Corbett) and Toula (Nia Vardalos) to juggle parenting and marriage. Their relationship has lost much of the spark it once had, and they also have to deal with their rebellious daughter Paris ...
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Apostolo Giannou says his eye-catching debut for the Socceroos justified the decision to turn his back on his native Greece. Giannou earnt two penalties and recorded two goal assists in Australia's 7-0 demolition of Tajikistan in a World Cup qualifier in ...
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Lilly Apostolou left behind her corporate job a few months ago to pursue a full-time career in the arts and immediately landed a role that seemed made for her in Strangeloop Theatre’s production, Mitera. Apostolou, whom residents may recognize as a host ...
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The migrant agreement between Turkey and the EU officially went into effect on Sunday. And Greece's coast guard says no migrants crossed the Aegean Sea between Turkey and the Greek islands for the 24 hours ending at 2 p.m. EST today. Joanna Kakissis ...
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"My Big Fat GREEK Wedding 2" stars Reading native Michael Constantine, who is reprising his role as the family's patriarch, Gus Portokalos.
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[najim]Belgian Federal Police PARIS (Reuters) - A brother of Brussels suicide bomber Najim Laachraoui on Thursday condemned his actions, saying he had no contact with him since he left for Syria. It was the first public reaction from a family member of one of the Brussels attackers. Security sources have told local media that Najim Laachraoui, a 25-year-old Belgian, was one of Tuesday's airport suicide bombers. He had left Brussels for Syria in February 2013. His brother Mourad is a taekwondo athlete who has represented Belgium in European and world competitions, one of Belgium's taekwondo federations, the ABFT, said on its website. "Mr Mourad Laachraoui firmly condemns his elder brother's actions and the attacks in which he was involved in Belgium and in France," the statement published by ABFT said. Mourad Laachraoui was due to give a news conference on Thursday evening. Najim Laachraoui, a veteran Islamist fighter in Syria also suspected of making explosive belts for November's Paris attacks, was a model student in a Brussels Catholic high school, its director told Reuters. "Najim Laachraoui was a very good student," said Veronica Pellegrini, the director of the Institut de la Sainte Famille d'Helmet, a Catholic school in the ethnically mixed east Brussels borough of Schaerbeek. "He never failed a class," Pellegrini said of Laachraoui, who studied at the school for six years, until graduating in 2009. "We haven't heard from him since," she said. Prosecutors said Laachraoui's DNA was found in houses used by the Paris attackers last year. Local media have said he has technical training that could mean he was the armorer of the operation. Traveling under the false name Soufiane Kayal, he was documented driving from Hungary into Austria in September in a car driven by Salah Abdeslam, the prime suspect in the Paris attacks who was arrested in Brussels last week. [Brussels Belgium attacks]Belgian Federal PoliceThere is speculation Laachraoui had just returned from Syria, possibly by sea with refugees. Catholic religion classes are part of the school's curriculum for all students independent of their religion, and Laachraoui would have attended those classes as any other student, Pellegrini said. While the school offers technical studies in fields such as chemistry, and Belgian media say Laachraoui had studied electromechanics, Pellegrini said he did not take such courses in her school, where he only pursued general studies. The school's motto is a verse from the Bible (John 3:14–18): "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other ... Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." It is not uncommon for Muslim pupils in Belgium to go to Catholic schools, which can be seen as more conservative or more exclusive than state schools. The Paris attacks' suspected mastermind, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian killed during a raid in Paris suburb St Denis on Nov. 18, had at 12 won a scholarship to an elite Catholic school. NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster
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[khalid el bakaroui]Belgian Federal Police BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Brussels suicide bomber Khalid El Bakraoui violated the terms of his parole last May by maintaining contacts with past criminal associates but a Belgian magistrate released him, De Morgen newspaper said on Thursday. The report emerged as the interior and justice ministers offered to resign over the failure to re-arrest Bakraoui's brother Brahim, also convicted of a violent crime, when he was sent back from Turkey and in apparent breach of his parole. Brahim El Bakraoui, 29, was one of two men who blew themselves up at Brussels airport on Tuesday, while Khalid El Bakraoui, 26, detonated a bomb at Maelbeek metro station in the city center. The paper quoted prosecutor Christian Henry in the southern city of Mons as saying that on May 13, 2015, Khalid El Bakraoui drew police attention because he parked his car in a one-way street facing in the wrong direction. It then turned out he was sitting in the car with a former criminal associate, in violation of his 2013 parole. But he was released again by the court, because he had strictly complied with the other parole conditions, like seeking a job and reporting regularly for checks with the assistant prosecutor. He showed no signs of being radicalized then. The prosecutors office was not available for comment. Things changed from Oct. 22, the paper quoted prosecutor Henry as saying, shortly before the Paris attacks on Nov. 13. Khalid El Bakraoui missed four scheduled meetings with the assistant prosecutor and moved out from his old address without informing the authorities. This was a violation of his parole, which was subsequently revoked last month. NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster
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[donald trump]Reuters/Jim Bourg Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has again stirred the pot by dismissing NATO as "obsolete." Trump has contended that the 28-nation military alliance needs to be radically rethought and framed away from its Cold War structure towards an organization more capable of fighting threats like ISIS. This argument ignores the multiple operations that NATO has conducted to bring stability to Europe after the Cold War and also in the fight against terrorism. Below, we have explained why NATO continue to be important and how its global reach is as important as ever for both Europe and the wider world. MEMBER NATIONS RNGS Reuters First formed in 1949, NATO was originally composed of just 12 members: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. In the following decades, NATO continued to expand to now include 28 member nations throughout almost all of North America, Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, and a foot in the Middle East with Turkey. And NATO is now moving towards a new expansion by welcoming Montenegro into the alliance. Although the Balkan country is not yet a member, it has begun accessions talks. Additionally, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Macedonia are aspiring members of the military alliance. GLOBAL REACH NATO Although NATO is based almost exclusively in Europe, and was primarily formed as a military alliance against the Soviet Union, it has a global reach and has participated in military operations throughout the world. Globally, NATO is playing a role in combating Somali piracy off the Horn of Africa. Operation Ocean Shield, launched in 2009, has helped to drastically cut down on piracy and has helped stabilize shipping lanes in the region. Close by in Ethiopia, NATO bases its support to the African Union. The operation helps provide training and operational capacities at the Union's request. And in Afghanistan, NATO continues to lead Resolute Support, a non-combat mission that provides training to the Afghan military. From the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 to 2014, NATO also played a key role in combat operations in the country. From August 11, 2003 to 2011, NATO led the International Security Assistance Force. And NATO is likely to play a major role in helping to combat ISIS, especially now following the terror attacks in member nations Brussels and Turkey. A majority of the nations that are part of the anti-ISIS coalition are already NATO members. FUNDING NATO NATO's military capabilities are expected to be collectively paid for by every member state. Ideally, each member state is expected to spend at least 2% of its annual GDP on defense spending. However, following the end of the Cold War and two decades of relative peace, the vast majority of NATO states do not meet their budgetary goals. In this regard, Donald Trump is slightly right to question the ongoing worth of the NATO alliance. According to NATO's latest annual report released on June 22, 2015, only Estonia, Poland, the UK, Greece, and the US were projected to meet the 2% spending threshold in 2015. This problem in spending caused then NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to warn member nations against becoming "free-riders" under the umbrella of US military protection. But the gap in military spending is not the largest problem facing NATO. Instead, Lisa Aronsson, a visiting fellow at the Atlantic Council, argued that "duplication, poor readiness, and a lack of deployability," are the biggest problems facing European militaries, and that increased spending won't necessarily solve them. SEE THE REST OF THE STORY AT BUSINESS INSIDER
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As the European Union (EU) bowed down to Turkish demands and brought Turkey's accession talks with the union a step closer, Armenia's President ...
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It also follows the worsening toll on migrants' health after the withdrawal on Wednesday of aid agencies from camps in GREECE to protest the recent ...
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Oceans formed an alternative universe, complete with exotic peoples and monstrous life forms — the kind of realm we moderns locate in outer space.
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This Syrian refugee was swimming for her life a few months ago. But now she's using her skills in hopes of making a splash on the Olympic scene. Yusra Mardini, an 18-year-old Syrian refugee who fled Damascus with her sister last year, endured hours ...
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Greece said Thursday that no migrants had landed on the country’s shores in the past 24 hours, for the first time since the recent deal between the European Union and Turkey to stem the inflows.
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Investing.com – Greece stocks were higher after the …
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powered by Live Mar. 24, 2016 - 6:44 - FOX411: Joey Fatone talks reuniting with the cast of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2' and fellow 90s boy bands for 'Dead 7' Fox Business Channel Finder Find the Fox Business Network in your area.
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… family in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Nia Vardalos has only … sequel. Yup, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 sees her character … for hosting a really good Greek bash – in our exclusive interview … Greek Wedding 2 trailer MORE: First look at My Big Fat Greek …
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… Ilham Aliyev has congratulated his Greek counterpart Prokopis Pavlopoulos on the … , and the friendly people of Greece everlasting peace and prosperity.”
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… says its relationship with the Greek government has significantly improved since … billion, mainly related to its Greek assets. The company also announced … its gold development projects in Greece Eldorado Gold also has operating …
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… Women Tennis Tournament in Heraklion (Greece). The match lasted 90 minutes …
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Vodafone Greece launched a new Vodafone Thank …
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… Early in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, devoted daughter Toula … comfort in knowing that this Greek-immersion experience is painless – and also … music signalling them like a Greek take on Seinfeld’s funky … opa! I quote a great Greek philosopher: “Shut up and eat …
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… refugee detention centres on the Greek islands, in protest at the … . The centres on the five Greek islands had previously been “open … ,” Panos Navrozidis, the IRC’s Greece country director said. The European …
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Ever since Adam and Eve came upon a second tree in the Garden of Eden, mankind has been intrigued by counterprogramming. Sure, there's an appealing option right in front of us, but maybe the other one is a little better? That stretches, in a rather ...
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In one sense, this long-awaited (or feared) sequel to a staggering sleeper hit – the first Fat Wedding is the highest-grossing romantic comedy in US history – looks like perfect complementary counter- programming to Batman hates Superman. Whereas that ...
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We have already established that “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is the story of basically every Jewish family everywhere. But did you know that the movie’s heart and soul is actually Jewish? Lainie Kazan brings a familiar nudgey, yet loving, maternal ...
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Ibrahim Esmael Ibrahim is a 26-year-old nattily dressed guy from Baghdad. When I met him, he was standing on the platform at the train station in Idomeni, Greece — though there are no trains running now. Ibrahim speaks good English; as a teenager he ...
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LESBOS, Greece – Aid workers on the island of Lesbos Thursday protested planned deportations of migrants and refugees from Greece, as the government said the process would not start for at least another 10 days. Blowing whistles and banging aluminum ...
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I am addicted to their big GREEK salad. The quality of their produce is to die for! It has tomatoes, romaine, green peppers, red onions, feta cheese, and ...
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As many will remember, 2002's My Big Fat GREEK Wedding was a fun, feminist, funny story that encouraged viewers to follow their dreams and be their ...
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_The dangerous sea and land crossings that Syrian refugees are making to Europe have been well-documented, but less well known are the equally perilous journeys people take to leave Syria itself. In this first installment of a two-part series, Syria Deeply examines the illegal journey from Damascus to Turkey._ When asked about the trek her family made between Damascus and the border with Turkey before heading to Europe, Amal, a 28-year-old Syrian-Palestinian is blunt: the journey with her children and younger brother, she said, "was one of the hardest experiences, if not the hardest of all.” Syria remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Nearly half of the population has been internally displaced or has fled to other countries and the war has claimed the lives of close to half a million people. Over the past five years, Syrians have devised countless ways to escape the killing and violence. Reasons differ as to why many choose to head to Turkey, rather than the neighboring Arab countries of Lebanon, Jordan or Iraq. For Amal, the reason was her nationality. A Palestinian-Syrian, Amal knew she would never be granted residency in any neighboring country other than Turkey. After all she had witnessed, she decided she would risk the journey at any cost. “And since all the surrounding countries won’t grant Palestinians a visa, leaving in an illegal way to Turkey became the best – and probably the only – option, considering that Turkey is the entrance gate to Europe,” she said. While residents of towns and cities in northern Aleppo, Idlib and Latakia have relatively easy access to Turkey, the journey for those who live in the country’s center or south is much more dangerous. Syrians traveling out of Damascus must cross dozens of active battle lines and navigate hundreds of government and armed opposition checkpoints before they reach the Turkish border. The danger and difficulty of the journey has increased dramatically since the autumn of 2015, when Turkish authorities sealed the border with Syria. And while most international media outlets focus intensely on refugee travelling by sea from Turkey into Europe, they have overlooked the similarly dangerous, and illegal, journey from Syria into Turkey and other neighboring countries, a trip that often results in detention and, sometimes, death. Others make the trip because they are wanted by the Syrian government, either because of an arrest warrant issued by one of the security branches or for mandatory military service – which means the person cannot legally leave Syria. “An agreement with the smuggler on the destination of the trip is not enough at this point,” said Ahmad, a 22-year-old from the capital. “The deal must include guarantees of no ID checks on government checkpoints." Ahmad told Syria Deeply that despite multiple attempts, he had been refused another permit to delay his obligatory military service after graduating from the Commerce Institute of Damascus. “I couldn’t imagine myself as a combat officer in the army that has committed war crimes against my people. I had to risk [the journey]. It was a choice between life and death,” he said. The cost of the trip differs depending on the nature of the journey and the person being smuggled. While Amal’s trip with her brother and her two little daughters cost nearly $1,800, the same journey cost Ahmad, who is wanted by the Syrian government, about $2,500 because the bribes he needed to pay at various government checkpoints were significantly higher. The smugglers usually take the roads that lead from Damascus to the border through Idlib, Aleppo and Hassakeh. But there is also a more expensive, and less-traveled, air route from Damascus Airport to Qamishli Airport, with the smuggler responsible for getting the “client” into Turkey after arriving at Qamishli Airport. Other routes cost more or less depending on the situations of the smugglers and the passengers, as well as ever-changing battle lines. While overall costs may fluctuate, the people interviewed for this story said there has been a surge in the cost due to the newly imposed visa regime for Syrians wishing to travel to Turkey. Adib, 33, made the journey from Damascus to Qamishli. It was his third attempt to leave the country. His first attempt failed after the smuggler suddenly apologized and told him he couldn’t finish the trip. “He was a good man, though; he returned the $1,000 fee for the trip,” said Adib. The second attempt cost him a three-week detention in the government’s military security branch in Hama Province. “I am a Palestinian-Syrian. I’ve never been politically active and I am not wanted by government forces. I finished my military service a decade ago,” he said. For Adib, the reasons for his detention still escape him: “I was traveling with around eight other people, mostly Palestinians. As soon as the officer on the checkpoint saw our IDs, he asked us if we were intending to escape to Turkey, and said he would be taking us somewhere else." “The three weeks I spent there made me confident in my decision to leave the country. Therefore I chose to leave from Qamishli Airport, which is comparatively safer, knowing that it was the most expensive route,” said Adib, now safely in Turkey. That route, he said, costs about $2,000 in total. The illegal journey out of Damascus and into Turkey is well known for being difficult. According to Ahmad, originally from Damascus, the scariest moments were when they were stopped at government checkpoints on the way toward the border. “Every time we stopped at a checkpoint, I felt my heart skip a beat. Even though we passed through open conflict zones and areas where there was shelling, particularly in northern Hama, the moments when we were stopped at government checkpoints were definitely still the hardest,” he said. Ahmad, now in the Netherlands, recalled the journey with unease. At one point during his three-day trip to the border, they passed by the remains of a minibus that was “transporting passengers just like us. Most of them died when a mortar shell hit it,” he said. Not all of the members of his group completed the journey. Some gave up halfway through, and one fellow passenger died from an asthma attack after the group had been forced to hike a long distance across the border. Amal’s clandestine journey from Damascus to Turkey took over 48 hours, nearly five times longer than the trip used to take before the war. Her group, consisting of dozens of people, moved from a stable to an abandoned coal factory, spending a night in the home of one of the smugglers before moving back out into the open. “We walked a lot. Sometimes we rode in minibuses, at other times we were transported in covered trucks,” she said. They had to adapt to different opposition-controlled areas, Amal said. On approaching a checkpoint manned by the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front, she was told to don the hijab. “I’ve never done that in my entire life,” she said. Amal said her group’s journey was handled by a network of smugglers, not just one person. They were handed over from one smuggler to another. “It’s a booming trade that is dependent on the smugglers, government institutions and some of the opposition factions,” she said. Amal’s 48-hour journey was filled with horror: government checkpoints, arrests, snipers. When passing through Maarat al-Numan, a city in Idlib controlled by al-Nusra Front, she said the once thriving city now looked like a “ghost town.” “The hardest part, though, was the nine-hour walk before reaching the Turkish border, interrupted by bullets every now and then,” said Amal, now in Germany. “We stood before a massive mountain and had to cross it on foot. We ran out of water halfway through. I was carrying my two-month-old child. Without the help of my brother and the other passengers, I would have given up and collapsed,” she said. Both Amal and Ahmad, who have since taken the journey by sea from Turkey to the Greek islands, agreed that the journey out of Syria was the hardest part. And while no statistics or accurate numbers exist on the number of people who fail to complete the dangerous journey out of Syria, the stories of those who do make it serve to highlight the horrors of these illegal, forgotten trips. _This article originally appeared on Syria Deeply. For weekly updates about the war in Syria, you can sign up to the Syria Deeply email list._ -- 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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One of Digital Journal’s most active contributors recently penned his 5,000 article. He spoke to Digital Journal about the milestone. Greek American journalist Markos Papadatos has been getting his work published, in print and online, for 10 years and ...
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Nia Vardalos has such a warm, alert energy that’s impossible to hate “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2,” even as it’s impossible to like it, even a little. In a series of close-ups, she is radiant with graciousness and humanity, such that the movie is ...
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1/2 can of Hearts of Palm (found in the canned vegetable section, usually next to the artichokes) thinly sliced Layer tomatoes, avocado, hearts of palm, olives, peppers, onions, basil and feta cheese on a large platter. To make the vinaigrette, pour the ...
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In 2015, international tourist arrivals to Greece grew by 7% to reach 23.6 million, while exports generated by the sector increased by 6% to euro 14.2 billion. Meeting Minister of Tourism of Greece Elena Kountoura at the side-lines of ITB to discuss the ...
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Border closures have led to about 5,000 refugees trapped in Piraeus amid ‘appalling conditions’, says Human Rights Watch Aid agencies in Greece have warned that “appalling” conditions for thousands of stranded refugees are becoming increasingly explosive. In an excoriating indictment of official efforts to handle the emergency, Human Rights Watch said a humanitarian crisis was unfolding in the Athens port of Piraeus that needed urgently to be addressed. “Thousands of asylum seekers and migrants … face appalling conditions as the crisis for people trapped in Greece due to border closures intensifies,” a report released by the group said on Thursday. Related: Refugee crisis: key aid agencies refuse any role in 'mass expulsion' Continue reading...
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[Jan Jambon Koen Geens belgium interior justice minister]REUTERS/Francois Lenoir Belgium's interior and justice ministers offered to resign on Thursday over the failure to track an Islamic State militant expelled twice by Turkey as a suspected fighter last year and who blew himself up at Brussels airport this week. Ibrahim El Bakraoui was one of three identified suspected suicide bombers who hit the airport and a metro train, killing at least 31 people and wounding some 270 on Tuesday in the worst attack in Belgian history. At least one other man seen with them on airport security cameras is on the run and a fifth suspected bomber filmed in the metro attack may be dead or alive. Interior Minister Jan Jambon and Justice Minister Koen Geens tendered their resignations to Prime Minister Charles Michel, who asked them to stay on. "In time of war, you cannot leave the field," Jambon, a right-wing Flemish nationalist, said. The security lapses in a country that is home to the European Union and NATO have drawn international criticism of an apparent reluctance to tackle Islamist radicals effectively. Turkish officials said Bakraoui, 29, had been expelled last July after being arrested at Gaziantep near the Syrian border and again in August after he returned to Antalya. Belgian and Dutch authorities had been notified of Turkish suspicions that he was a foreign fighter trying to reach Syria. At the time, Belgian authorities replied that Bakraoui, who had skipped parole after serving less than half of a 9-year sentence for armed robbery, was a criminal but not a militant. [Brussels suspects]REUTERS/Francois Lenoir "You can ask how it came about that someone was let out so early and that we missed the chance to seize him when he was in Turkey. I understand the questions," Jambon said. "In the circumstances, it was right to take political responsibility and I offered my resignation to the prime minister." Investigators are convinced that the same jihadist network was involved in the deadly Paris attacks last November. Islamic State posted a video on social media on Thursday calling the Brussels blasts a victory and featuring the training of Belgian militants suspected in the Nov. 13 shootings and suicide bombing rampage in Paris that killed 130 people. PRESSURE ON EU [European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker attends an extraordinary meeting with EU commissioners on Portugal's budget in Brussels, Belgium, February 5, 2016. REUTERS/Yves Herman]REUTERS/Francois Lenoir With pressure mounting on Europe to improve cooperation against terrorism, EU interior and justice ministers were meeting in Brussels on a joint response to Tuesday's bombings. Before that, King Philippe, Prime Minister Michel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker attended a memorial event outside at the Belgian parliament, while hundreds of ordinary Belgians observed a minute's silence at a makeshift shrine with candles and flowers outside the Brussels bourse. "The cries of distress and pain, the sirens and the apocalytic images will remain forever engraved in us," Michel said. "Our country is in shock, but we are strong. No one will bring down this democracy." French Prime Minister Manuel Valls demanded a "strong European response", but officials say many states, including France, withhold their most cherished intelligence despite a mantra of willingness to share information. [French Prime Minister Manuel Valls delivers a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, February 13, 2016. REUTERS/Michael Dalder ]REUTERS/Francois Lenoir The chief surviving suspect linking the Paris and Brussels attacks, French national Salah Abdeslam, 26, arrested in the Belgian capital last week, was remanded in custody until April 7 with two other suspects. His lawyer, Sven Mary, who requested the adjournment, said Abdeslam had not been aware of the plan to attack Brussels that was carried out four days after his arrest by men who had shared hideouts with him. "Salah Abdeslam has asked me to inform you that he wishes to leave for France as quickly as possible," Mary told reporters at the courthouse, saying his client "wants to explain himself". Bakraoui's brother Khalid, 26, a fellow convict, killed about 20 people at Maelbeek metro station in the city center. Security sources told Belgian media the other suicide bomber at the airport was Najim Laachraoui, a veteran Belgian Islamist fighter in Syria suspected of making explosive belts for November's Paris attacks. The third suspect captured on airport security cameras pushing a baggage trolley into the departures hall is now the target of a police manhunt. He has not been named. The bespectacled man wearing a cream jacket and a black hat ran out of the terminal, federal prosecutors said, and a third suitcase bomb, the biggest of the three, exploded later as bomb disposal experts were clearing the area, causing no casualties. US CRITICISM [U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter attends a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington February 29, 2016. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas]REUTERS/Francois Lenoir US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the bloodshed in the Belgian capital showed Washington's European allies should do more to fight Islamic State alongside American efforts in the Middle East. Democratic US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton criticized the lack of cooperation among European countries, saying the EU lacked a system for exchanging air passenger data or a joint intelligence center to share information. Opinion polls suggest support in Britain for leaving the European Union in a referendum set for June 23 is gaining ground since the Brussels attacks, which fanned security fears that some politicians have linked to immigration. US Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, who has suggested torture could be used on militant suspects, said he expected Britain would vote to leave the EU because of concerns about high levels of migration. Casualties from Tuesday's attacks came from about 40 nations, drawing an international outpouring of support for Brussels during three days of mourning. Washington said Secretary of State John Kerry would visit Belgium on Friday. Facebook Embed: https://www.facebook.com//posts/493220427517673:0 Post by: Ian Bremmer The case highlighted Belgium's problem with some 300 locals who have fought in Syria, the biggest contingent from Europe in relation to its national population of 11 million. At the time of the Paris attacks, its security service had fewer than 600 staff. The government has since raised spending on police and intelligence. Brussels airport said there would be no flights before Monday at the earliest, with the departure hall sealed off by investigators. Travelers on the busy Easter weekend were diverted to Antwerp, Liege and the northern French city of Lille. NOW WATCH: IAN BREMMER: Greece is headed for a humanitarian disaster
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