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151. Cyprus scrambles to reduce asylum backlog

Interior Minister Nicos Nouris says the government is moving forward with rejections of asylum applications under new, faster procedures to clear a system backlog, with Europe seeking a comprehensive solution and a commissioner calling on Cypriot authorities to investigate illegal pushbacks...

152. Minister points finger at north over barbwire

Cypriot Interior Minister Nicos Nouris has fired back at critics in the north over the south’s decision to install barbwire near the UN buffer zone to halt illegal crossings, blaming the need for a fence on lack of action on the part of Turkish Cypriot authorities...

153. Brussels concerned over Pournara refugees

The Republic of Cyprus’ handling of asylum seekers at Pournara camp remains on Brussels’ radar, with a host of different challenges raising questions over how the European Union and some member states can get on the same page without resorting to legal battles...

154. Violent brawl breaks out at Pournara

A large-scale violent confrontation between groups of asylum seekers erupted at Pournara camp on Monday night, with police calling for backup and two dozen ending up in the Emergency Room...

155. Britain and EU publish Brexit trade agreement

Britain and the European Union on Saturday published the text of a narrow trade agreement just five days before the United Kingdom exits one of the world’s biggest trading blocs in its most momentous global shift since the loss of empire ...

156. Council of Europe report critical of Greece's migrant pushbacks, detention conditions

A Council of Europe report, released Thursday, calls on Greece to stop pushbacks of migrants and calls out the country on the conditions in several migrant detention centers....

157. Let’s keep Akamas clean

This year, for the 6th consecutive year, the action #Akamascleanup, an initiative of “Kathimerini” newspaper, Alphamega supermarkets, and Latchi Watersports, was crowned an absolute success....

158. Thousands protest after Greek refugee camp burns down

Thousands of protesting refugees and migrants left homeless on the Greek island of Lesbos after fires destroyed the notoriously overcrowded Moria camp gathered on a road leading to the island's main town Friday, demanding to be allowed to leave....

159. Homeless Moria camp residents to be moved into boats, tents

Thousands of refugees and migrants left homeless by a fire at Greece’s biggest camp on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos, will be temporarily housed in a ferry boat, two navy ships and tents, Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis told a press conference on Wednesday, confirming that no deaths or injuries have been reported as a result of the blaze....

160. ECHR asks Cyprus to explain boat incidents

The European Court of Human Rights has asked the government of the Republic of Cyprus to answer questions concerning recent refoulement of undocumented travelers at sea, in response to a request of an interim measure from a local attorney handling another case...

161. EU calls on Cyprus to manage migration flows in line with EU law

The EU said Tuesday that it acknowledges the difficulties faced by the Republic of Cyprus in terms of the flow of refugees it is called to deal with, but stressed that basic principles and EU legislation must be respected....

162. Cyprus defends blocking migrant boats

A police task force from the Republic of Cyprus is hoping to hash out a plan with Lebanese authorities to deter “economic migrants” from traveling to the island, as government and state officials rush to respond to criticism over a decision to send back undocumented migrants to the neighbouring country...

163. Police say party boat did not violate rules

Police say there were no health protocol violations on a crowded vessel off Protaras on the weekend, following concerns that passengers on a party boat had exceeded the legal threshold...

164. North commemorates Tylliria bombing

Busloads of Turkish Cypriots crossed into Cyprus’ “other ghost town” on Saturday to commemorate Turkish bombing in Tylliria during intercommunal clashes on the island in 1964, but the gathering was not without political controversy...

165. Divided Cyprus slammed over refugee pushback

Two dozen groups around the world have condemned authorities on both sides of divided Cyprus after 175 Syrian refugees were denied the right to seek asylum...

166. Future for rescued refugees in north unknown

The fate of 175 Syrian refugees, trapped in the north of the island amid the coronavirus pandemic, remains unknown while a human rights group is calling on Greek Cypriot authorities to take them in...

167. 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....

168. EU vessels will no longer have automatic access to UK fishing waters

The automatic right of EU vessels to fish in British waters, in accordance with the EU’s common fisheries policy, is to be ended under the fisheries bill introduced to parliament on Wednesday....

169. Large boat with refugees reaches Cyprus

Over a hundred presumptive refugees from Syria reached the eastern coast of Cyprus on Tuesday, including women and young children...

170. Pachyammos bombsite dug up 55 years later

Experts in the Republic of Cyprus exhumed human remains in the northwest some 55 years after Turkish planes bombed a Greek Cypriot stronghold in Pachyammos...

171. Child dies after Greek coast guard rams boat

The lifeless body of a child was pulled from the water off the Greek island of Kos on Wednesday morning, following an incident where a Coast Guard boat rammed a rubber dinghy carrying 34 people on board...

172. Turkish ships disturb Cypriot waters

Nicosia and Athens are calling on Turkey to back off following Ankara’s decision to send more ships off the southern coast of Cyprus...

173. Greece sends Frontex new request for assistance with inflow surge

Amid the recent surge in migrant flows to the islands of the eastern Aegean, the Greek coast guard has sent a new request – the second within three weeks – for additional assistance from Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, according to sources. ...

174. Standstill over 'disputed waters' in Akamas

A recent boating incident has highlighted a local controversy in Akamas, where a leisure boat captain is at odds with visitors and authorities over his speedboats pulling too close to bathers...

175. Britain begins escorting all UK vessels through Hormuz Strait

Britain has started sending a warship to accompany all British-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a change in policy announced on Thursday after the government previously said it did not have resources to do so. ...

176. Ayia Napa marina full speed ahead

Despite considerable progress on the Ayia Napa Marina construction so far, a July completion is being pushed back as more work on infrastructure is necessary...

177. Teen critical after water emergency

A 16-year-old male is in critical condition at Nicosia General Hospital following a boating incident when friends spotted the teen unconscious in the water in Cape Greco...

178. EU may freeze customs union talks with Turkey over Cyprus drilling

179. Turkey conducts its biggest ever naval exercise

180. Illegal migrant arrivals fall but stronger borders needed, says Frontex chief

The number of illegal migrants entering the European Union fell sharply for the third year in a row in 2018 but arrivals remain high and stronger border controls are needed, the head of the EU's border control agency Frontex said Wednesday....