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1831. Athalassa national park in troubled waters

State authorities are warning the public to avoid contact with the water at the lake in Athalassa National park, following reports of dead fish floating upside down at the surface...

1832. EU foreign affairs chief asks for ‘space to work with Turkish leadership’

The European Commission’s vice president in charge of foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, on Tuesday urged leaders meeting later in month at an emergency European Council summit on Turkey and recent developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, “to create the urgently needed space to work with the Turkish leadership, to achieve a de-escalation that will allow to pursue lasting solutions to the underlying problems of today’s crisis.”...

1833. 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....

1834. 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....

1835. 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...

1836. Passports under the watchful eye of the Commission

1837. AG announces makeup of new committee to probe passports scheme

Attorney General George Savvides announced the members of the newly-established four-member committee tasked with probing the entire length of the Cyprus Investment Program, which was introduced in 2007....

1838. Joint Cyprus-UK SAR exercise conducted off Limassol

The first Cyprus-UK joint search and rescue exercise in 2020 was successfully conducted off the coast of Limassol on Monday, a press release by the British High Commission said....

1839. Cabinet throws ball in attorney general’s court

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades is calling on the state’s attorney general to appoint yet another committee to probe golden passport applications to settle a dispute between the auditor general’s office and the interior ministry over the “Cyprus Papers”...

1840. Golden passports scheme to remain as is

The citizenship-by-investment program will not be terminated, nor will it be suspended for a short period as a way of managing the crisis developing crisis, the government decided during its Tuesday morning coffee at the Presidential Palace. What was strongly tabled was that a potential freezing or termination of the investment program at this point in time would send a message that the government is acting in light of the Al Jazeera publications, and that by extension, that it accepts them....

1841. Fierce battle over ‘Cyprus papers’

A fierce battle over documents has began following Al Jazeera’s “Cyprus papers” on golden passports, with the audit office demanding to examine specific files and the interior ministry refusing to hand them over...

1842. Boat carrying refugees pushed back by Cyprus, ends up in UN area

A boat carrying 21 refugees from Lebanon and Syria that reached the Paralimni shore on Monday was pushed back by marine and port police, only to disembark in a nearby UN-controlled area on Tuesday....

1843. Curtain rising for citizenship-by-investment program

The Presidency has before it four scenarios for dealing with the issue of purchased citizenships. The most likely possibility is that of suspending the investment program for a short period, as revealed by Kathimerini on Sunday....

1844. EU mulls legal action against Cyprus 'golden passports'

The foreign media network Al Jazeera, that has this week been publishing a series of articles and videos on the murky side of the Cyprus ‘golden passports’ program after it was leaked classified documents, reported that the European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders is looking into the possibility of legal action against Cyprus....

1845. EU reaches vaccine deal with AstraZeneca

The Cyprus-born EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety announced Thursday the EU’s first vaccine deal, reached with the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, for a quantity of up to 400 million doses of the vaccine under development....

1846. Nigerian students say north is safe

Following danger warnings and criticism against Turkish Cypriot colleges, Nigerian student representatives in the north have refuted reports of mysterious and unsolved killings of fellow countrymen on the island...

1847. Cyprus takes a stab at Al Jazeera 'propaganda'

The daily publication of reports by the foreign media network Al Jazeera targeting the Cyprus citizenship-for-investment programme after gaining possession of over 1,400 leaked documents has sent the Cyprus government rushing to set the record straight....

1848. Cyprus police looking into Al Jazeera document leak

Cyprus law enforcement officials have been investigating since June 3 how the foreign media network Al Jazeera, that has this week published a series of articles and videos on the island’s citizenship-by-investment program, got hold of the leaked documents on which it built its exposé....

1849. Borrell to present options for sanctions against Turkey at Gymnich

The European Commission confirmed Tuesday that the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is set to present a list of potential options for sanctions against Turkey during the Gymnich in Berlin on Thursday, with all options expected to be discussed by the 27 EU leaders during a summit in September....

1850. Nigerian students urged to avoid north

Nigeria is warning its citizens not to send their children to study in the northern part of Cyprus, citing lack of “conclusive investigations” in a number of student killings who were enrolled in Turkish Cypriot universities...

1851. EU keeps expanding future vaccine portfolio

EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said the European Commission has concluded exploratory talks with CureVac to purchase a potential vaccine against COVID-19...

1852. Commissioner says not involved in biometrics

The Commissioner for personal data in the Republic of Cyprus says her office was not involved in the process of implementing a biometric requirement for Cypriot citizens, citing EU regulations that applied directly in the entire bloc...

1853. Borrell calls extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council meeting

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council meeting Friday afternoon....

1854. Dendias to meet Pompeo in Vienna

Athens says it will not accept a fait accompli in the Eastern Mediterranean, with reports saying Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is set to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Vien on Friday....

1855. Leaders of Cyprus, Greece talk strategy

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades was briefed on Tuesday by the Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the situation in Greece’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone, where Turkey’s seismic exploration vessel is currently stationed, with the two leaders agreeing on coordinated action....

1856. Cyprus aid for Lebanon en route to Beirut

The first batch of dry and canned foodstuffs collected in Cyprus in response to a campaign launched by national authorities for the provision of immediate relief to the Lebanese public was loaded on Tuesday on-board a Greek military ship docked at the Limassol port....

1857. First batch of food donations ready to be shipped to Lebanon

Twenty tonnes of dry food have been collected so far in Cyprus, that are set to be distributed among the Lebanese public whose lives were overturned last week by the blasts that ripped through the capital, Beirut....

1858. Cyprus President urges public to generously donate to Beirut relief campaign

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has called on the Cyprus public, companies and businesses to contribute to the relief campaign collecting dry and canned foods for the Beirut population that was brought to its knees by the deadly blasts earlier this week....

1859. Cyprus lends a hand to frantic Beirut search and rescue efforts

A Cyprus search and rescue team departed for neighbouring Lebanon on Wednesday afternoon to contribute to ongoing frantic efforts to locate missing persons and survivors of the massive blasts that rocked Beirut on Tuesday afternoon....

1860. Ozersay says Varosha opening certain

Varosha could be opened to its former residents under Turkish Cypriot administration, says Kudret Ozersay, adding that the process of reviving Cyprus’ ghost town after the pandemic crisis cannot be halted...