Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 5 april 2018

France puts 78,000 security threats on vast police database

PARIS (AP) — France has in 2017 alone, according to
flagged more than 78,000 the director of the EU-LISA
people as security threats agency, Krum Garkov.
in a database intended to But a relatively unknown
let European police share provision in European law
information on the conti- allows countries to flag
nent's most dangerous resi- people for the "discreet
dents — more than all other checks" — allowing law en-
European countries put to- forcement in one country to
gether — according to an quietly notify counterparts
analysis by The Associated elsewhere of a person's lo-
Press. A German parlia- cation and activities. Use
mentarian, Andrej Hunko, of the system — intended
was the first to raise the for individuals who pose a
alarm about potential mis- threat to national security
use of the Schengen Infor- or public safety — has ex-
mation System database in panded enormously since
a question to his country's Islamic State extremists at-
Interior Ministry about "dis- tacked Paris and Brussels in
creet checks" — secret in- 2015 and 2016, from 69,475
ternational checks on peo- in 2015 to 134,662 last year,
ple considered a threat to In this file photo taken on Jan. 23 2018, a solider watches code lines on his computer screen at according to data from EU-
national security or pub- the French Defense ministry stand during the International Cybersecurity forum in Lille, northern LISA and Germany. If some-
lic safety. He questioned France. one is flagged for a check,
whether and why different Associated Press their name will come up for
countries seemed to apply any law enforcement offi-
very different criteria. response to his query. possible that the measure is to the Europol database cial who has stopped them
"The increase in alerts can- That response included a being used on a large scale and far more widely used anywhere in Europe —
not be explained by the spreadsheet detailing for for combatting other crimi- — forms the backbone whether trying to cross an
threat of Islamist terrorism the first time how many nal activity," Hunko said. of European security, al- external border or running
alone. Europol reports a people were flagged for The number of French en- lowing police, judicial au- a red light. But vast dispari-
four-digit number of con- checks by each European tries by police and intelli- thorities and other law en- ties in its use by individual
firmed foreign fighters, yet country last year — more gence agencies "indicates forcement to immediately countries raise questions
the increase of SIS alerts in than 134,000 in all. a misuse" of the system in- check whether a person is about both the effective-
2017 is several times that," "This could mean that fami- tended to monitor danger- wanted or missing, or a car ness of the tools and the
Hunko said in a statement lies and contacts of these ous criminals, he added. is stolen, or a firearm is legal, criteria countries are using
late last month when he re- individuals are also being The overall Schengen da- for example. The database to enter people into the
leased the Interior Ministry secretly monitored. It is also tabase — which is separate was checked 5 billion times system.q

Russia ends search of missing Argentina submarine

By ALMUDENA CALATRAVA of deep seafloor searches. But relatives of the crew say
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina "The Russians have with- it's not enough.
(AP) — Argentina's navy drawn ... and the Argen- "Our government is spin-
says Russia has ended its tine ships don't have the ning its wheels," Tagliapi-
help in the search for an technology to find it," Luis etra said. "We're in a state
Argentine submarine that Tagliapietra, the father of of apathy." The San Juan, a
disappeared in the South 27-year-old crew member German-built TR-1700 class
Atlantic with 44 crew mem- Alejandro Tagliapietra, told submarine, vanished as it
bers aboard. the AP. was sailing from the south-
Russia was the last of more Tagliapietra has joined a ju- ernmost port of Ushuaia to
than a dozen foreign coun- dicial investigation into the Mar del Plata after a patrol.
tries that assisted in search- sub's disappearance as a The navy says that the
ing some 1,500 square miles plaintiff. He said that other captain reported on Nov.
(4,000 square kilometers) of relatives of the crew are 15 that water entered the
the South Atlantic for the In this undated file photo provided by the Argentina Navy shows also asking Argentina's gov- snorkel and caused one of
ARA San Juan. The mul- the ARA San Juan, a German-built diesel-electric submarine, ernment to hire a private the sub's batteries to short-
tinational search for the near Buenos Aires, Argentina. company based in Miami, circuit. The captain later
submarine employed some Associated Press Florida, to carry on with the communicated that it had
of the latest technology in deep-ocean search. been contained.
one of the largest efforts of Argentine Navy spokesman nas will carry on with the President Mauricio Macri Some hours later, an explo-
its kind. Enrique Balbi confirmed the search. has vowed a full investiga- sion was detected near the
An explosion occurred end of Russia's collabora- Families of the crew gath- tion and offered a $5 mil- time and place where the
near the time and place tion to The Associated Press ered outside the Russian lion reward for information sub was last heard from.
where the sub went missing late Tuesday. He said that Embassy in Buenos Aires to find the vessel. Argen- The navy says the blast
on Nov. 15. Argentina has that Russia's Yantar ocean- earlier this year asking Rus- tina is also probing whether could have been caused
given up hope of finding ographic research ship will sia to continue searching there were irregularities in by a "concentration of hy-
survivors, but the navy has return to the port of Buenos for their loved ones with sub's midlife retrofitting that drogen" triggered by the
continued searching for Aires on April 7, and the ships that carry remotely was carried out between battery problem reported
the vessel. Argentine ship Islas Malvi- operated vehicles capable 2008 and 2014. by the captain.q