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2581. Fatal stabbing suspect caught in the north

The second suspect in last month’s fatal stabbing in old Nicosia has been arrested in the north two days after he fled the south through the buffer zone...

2582. Checkpoint closures to be extended until Monday

The closure of four crossing points last Saturday, in what the Government said would be a one-week temporary precaution against coronavirus outbreak, will be extended until Monday, the National Council agreed on Thursday....

2583. Turkey deploys 1,000 police at Greek border to stem pushback of migrants

Turkey is deploying 1,000 special police forces along its border with Greece on Thursday to halt the pushback of migrants toward its territory, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said, adding that 164 migrants had been wounded by Greek authorities....

2584. Mixed reviews on anti-money laundering

A US State Department anti-money laundering report on Cyprus includes fewer negative references but still points to vulnerabilities in the island’s financial services and gaming sectors...

2585. Protesters march for checkpoint closings

A large group of protesters flocked to downtown in old Nicosia on Wednesday, condemning a recent barricade breach at Ledra checkpoint and calling for crossings on the divided island to be shut down on a permanent basis...

2586. Akinci tells UNFICYP head coronavirus has nothing to do with checkpoint closures

The Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci met with UNFICYP head Elizabeth Spehar on Wednesday to discuss the move by the Greek Cypriot Government to shut four crossings along then UN-controlled Buffer Zone last week....

2587. Syllouris and Mitsotakis agree on Greece-Cyprus mutual support

The mutual support between Greece and Cyprus is even more urgent in the current difficult period, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cyprus House President Demetris Syllouris agreed during their Athens meeting on Wednesday....

2588. Greek forces use tear gas to repel migrants

Greek riot police and troops used water cannon and tear gas on Wednesday against hundreds of migrants as they made another attempt to cross the border from Turkey into Greece....

2589. Μeasures needed to curb flow of migrants through Green Line, Anastasiades tells Akinci

President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades expressed grave concern about the “organised and increasing illegal flow of migrants through the Green Line” and told the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, that measures need to be taken. ...

2590. North to bar entry from 'high-risk' countries

The north will stop accepting people from countries deemed ‘high-risk’ due to the spread of coronavirus, the Bicommunal Technical Committee on Health agreed on Tuesday....

2591. Turkish FM alleges three migrants killed trying to cross Greek border

A war of words between Ankara and Athens over the migrant crisis escalated on Tuesday when Turkey’s foreign minister said without providing evidence that Greek soldiers had killed three migrants attempting to enter the country, a claim denied by Greece....

2592. President says increasing migrant flows from Turkey distorting demographic

President Nicos Anastasiades expressed concern over the flow of immigrants from Turkey, which he said is an attempt to distort the demographic character of Cyprus....

2593. UN: EU needs to stop bickering, support Greece on refugees

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Tuesday urged European Union countries to give more resources and support to Greece as it faces a new wave of migrants and refugees from Syria and other parts of the Middle East....

2594. EU Commission notified of checkpoint closures

The European Commission has been informed of the temporary closing of four checkpoints, and said it would continue monitoring the situation closely in order to ensure that each closure and health checks remain in accordance with the Green Line Regulation....

2595. Greek army, police dig in along Turkey border after migrant clashes

Greek troops and riot police remained on high alert on Tuesday along the land border between Greece and Turkey, the main flashpoint in an escalating row between the EU and Ankara over how to deal with a new wave of migrants and refugees....

2596. Guards use tear gas to disperse hundreds of migrants at Greek-Turkish border

Guards on Greece’s northeastern land border with Turkey made “deterrent use” of tear gas to disperse some 500 refugees and migrants trying to enter the country and the European Union after Ankara loosened controls on migrant flows....

2597. Shutting checkpoints not part of the deal, Akinci says

Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci said that unilateral actions by either community for coronavirus protection, such as the closing of checkpoints, had not been agreed upon by the two leaders during the Bicommunal Technical Committee on Health meeting they co-chaired earlier in February, but stressed there is no need for panic....

2598. Greek border crackdown amid concerns over Turkey

Greek government sources on Friday stressed that authorities are boosting security at the country’s border following reports that Turkey will no longer stop Syrian refugees from traveling to Europe....

2599. Two die after hospital fire in north Nicosia, President Anastasiades offers help

A fire broke out at a hospital in north Nicosia, with reports pointing to at least two deaths after officials ordered the evacuation of an entire unit with heart patients...

2600. EU bans two Turks over drilling off Cyprus

The European Union has imposed sanctions on two Turkish nationals in connection with their company’s drilling activities off Cyprus...

2601. Support for solution widespread though many undecided, survey shows

Support for a solution remains strong, contact between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots is at its uppermost level and demand for economic contact between the two communities is high, the latest, the February 2020 Pulse survey showed....

2602. Position on Varosha 'very clear' and unchanged, Security Council President says

The position of the Security Council on Varosha is very clear and has not changed, said Ambassador Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve, the Permanent Representative of Belgium presiding over the UN body this month....

2603. More Cypriots quarantined in coronavirus scare

More women who traveled to Italy have been quarantined in Cyprus as a precautionary measure, assessed as high risk cases for the coronavirus after coming into contact with confirmed cases...

2604. 14 EU countries demand Syria govt, Russia return to 2018 ceasefire deal

Foreign ministers from 14 European countries, including France and Germany, demanded on Wednesday that Syrian government forces and their Russian backers end their offensive in Idlib province and return to the terms of a 2018 ceasefire deal....

2605. Bulgaria wants in on EastMed energy cooperation

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said on Tuesday that his country wishes to cooperate within the framework of the trilateral mechanism among Cyprus, Greece, and Israel in the energy field, adding that Bulgaria is geographically a natural continuation of these three countries....

2606. Woman in the north tests negative for coronavirus

Samples taken from a suspected coronavirus carrier in the north were sent to Turkey for examination, as per the request of the World Health Organization, Turkish Cypriot ‘Health Minister’ Ali Pilli said on Monday. The results came back negative, Turkish Cypriot media reported....

2607. Christodoulides talks Turkish activity in EEZ, Varosha with UNSG

Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Geneva on Monday....

2608. France stands by Greece and Cyprus, says French Defense Minister

France will stand by Greece and Cyprus, supporting both in their disputes with Turkey over maritime zones in the Mediterranean, French Defence Minister Florence Parly was quoted saying in a Greek newspaper on Sunday....

2609. Cyprus and Norway prepare to sign energy MoU

Cyprus and Norway began preparations on Friday to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on energy issues, that will contain provisions for the exchange of expertise in relation to the national hydrocarbon fund (sovereign fund), among other things....

2610. Pressed in Syria, Turkey ups the ante in the East Med