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631. Group of Syrian refugees reaches Cypriot soil

About 40 Syrian refugees arrived in the Republic of Cyprus on Friday, including women and children on the way to a migrant facility in rural Nicosia...

632. Farmer refuses to return worker’s passport

A story has emerged involving alleged mistreatment of a foreign worker, after a post shared on Facebook by a local NGO pointed to an old practice by employers unlawfully retaining foreign workers’ passports for leverage...

633. Greek PM proposes fresh talks with Turkey on maritime zones, or World Court

Greece’s Prime Minister reiterated a call for bilateral talks with Turkey on the delimitation of maritime zones in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, adding that if these don’t work, they should refer the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague....

634. Refugees come to standstill off Cape Greco

Fifteen Syrian refugees arrived in Cyprus late Wednesday night, while reports say coast guard officers are in talks with another boat off Cape Greco in an effort to turn ten others back to their country of departure...

635. Reopening of Ledra checkpoint a political decision, Kostrikis says

The reopening of the Ledra street checkpoint is a political decision that rests with the island’s two leaders, member of the government’s advisory committee Petros Karayiannis said Wednesday, noting that the epidemiological situation has remained positive on both sides of the divide....

636. Health minister: Virus-infected migrants may be crossing into south

Asylum-seekers infected with coronavirus could be seeping through the porous Cyprus cease-fire line, the country’s health minister warned Sunday....

637. Health ministry issues decree for asylum seekers

The health ministry has issued a new decree requiring all asylum seekers who are ordered to stay in migrant camps to be tested for COVID-19 before checking in...

638. Eight new cases over the weekend

Eight new coronavirus cases were confirmed over the weekend in the Republic of Cyprus, bringing the total number of known cases to 1021...

639. Two detained refugees shot in the north

Two undocumented migrants were injured in the north after being shot by police officers who attempted to detain them after a total of thirty Syrian refugees arrived at a beach Thursday early morning...

640. Turkey warns it will respond if EU takes fresh measures against it

Turkey will respond with its own steps if the European Union imposes further sanctions on Ankara, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday after meeting the EU’s top diplomat....

641. Officials scramble to halt coronavirus chain

Health officials went on high alert over the weekend after two contacts, who tested positive for the coronavirus, were linked to a traveler who landed in the Republic of Cyprus more than two weeks ago...

642. Aegean tension fueling Berlin concern

With Germany assuming the European Union presidency on Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed concern over developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and Greek-Turkish relations in response to questions from MPs in the Bundestag....

643. Cops criticized over handling downtown clash

Another suspect has been arrested on a court warrant following Sunday’s downtown fatal incident in Nicosia, while critics continue to cry foul over the way officials are handling the situation in the media...

644. UNHCR rep to provide statement on sexual harassment claims at Pournara

The UNHCR representative that raised the alarm regarding incidents of the sexual harassment of minors at the Pournara refugee camp in Kokkinotrimithia was expected to provide police with a statement on Wednesday, the outgoing police chief Kypros Michaelides said....

645. Borrell says EU ‘determined’ to protect external borders

The European Union is “determined” to protect its external borders and Greece’s territory, the bloc’s high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, said during a visit at Greece’s northeastern border on Wednesday....

646. KISA weighs in on downtown clashes

An NGO director in Cyprus is challenging the notion that foreign rival gangs have desolated the historic centre of the capital, saying bad practices by some local employment agencies are often behind many disputes including a fatal incident last Sunday...

647. EU foreign policy chief to hold string of meetings in Cyprus this week

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is set to hold a meetings with top Cyprus government officials including president Nicos Anastasiades on June 25 and 26, the Cyprus News Agency reported Tuesday....

648. Interior minister presents bills for streamlining asylum procedures

The house legal committee discussed on Tuesday a bundle of four bills, submitted by interior minister Nicos Nouris, that seek to streamline procedures for the processing of applications filed by asylum seekers as well as appeal proceedings....

649. Pournara camp lockdown measures to be scrapped Monday

The Interior Ministry announced Friday that lockdown measures at the Pournara camp for refugees and asylum seekers will be scrapped on Monday....

650. Police use tear gas at migrant camp

Police officers responded with tear gas at a group of migrants at the Pournara camp in rural Nicosia, as the debate over detaining asylum seekers continues on Cyprus...

651. Cyprus cries foul over Turkey’s pick at UNGA

Cyprus and Armenia have sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General explaining the reasons why the two countries object to the election by silence procedure of Volkan Bozkir of Turkey as President of the UN General Assembly at its 75 session...

652. Cyprus blocks another boat citing coronavirus

A video showing a Republic of Cyprus coast guard vessel pursuing a boat of undocumented migrants has emerged, with police saying they blocked the boat due to the coronavirus crisis...

653. Deputy mayor draws back racist declaration

Limassol’s deputy mayor Nikos Sykas has issued a statement following widespread criticism over a post on Facebook when he self-identified as a racist...

654. Racism, xenophobia rife in Cyprus, refugees say

A teleconference on Tuesday raised the multifaceted problems faced by refugees and asylum seekers on the island, such as racism and xenophobia, hardships during the coronavirus pandemic, and difficulties with integrating into Cyprus society....

655. Cyprus to launch SMS campaign to stem migrant arrivals

Cyprus is launching a multilingual SMS campaign to head off more migrant arrivals by dispelling the mistaken belief the European Union member country is a gateway to the continent, the Cypriot interior minister said Sunday....

656. Greece to make massive riot police equipment purchase

Greece is planning purchases worth millions of euros to equip the Hellenic Police’s (ELAS) riot force with shields, helmets, uniforms, bullet-proof vests and other supplies, including large quantities of tear gas, in anticipation of a fresh push on the northeastern border with Turkey by undocumented migrants and refugees trying to force their way into the European Union....

657. Greece, Turkey exchange barbs over migrants

Greece on Thursday pushed back on criticism by Turkey that is violating the rights of refugees and migrants attempting to reach the country, saying Ankara has “instrumentalized human suffering”...

658. Mass deportations underway in Cyprus

The Republic of Cyprus has begun expelling foreign nationals who have been turned down for asylum, citing concerns over security threats and changing demographics due to a migration crisis...

659. Demonstration outside refugee camp sparks Government reaction

A demonstration staged outside the Pournara camp in Kokkinotrimithia on Sunday calling for an end to the arbitrary detention of hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers stirred reaction from the Government on Tuesday, with an Interior Ministry announcement claiming it won’t be allowing any further ghettoization of the island....

660. Greek FM insists Evros fence will be completed