https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/backchannel-migration-approvals-probed
A man has accused the interior minister of approving visa extensions for a select number of foreign workers while rejecting others including his elderly mother’s helper, with reports pointing to a bigger scandal where rejected cases were being approved fraudulently through a channel involving a high price tag...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/borrell-determined-to-carry-out-euco-mandate-on-turkey
President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades said clarifications about the EU’s role at the informal conference of Cyprus set to take place in Geneva in late April may arise after the visit expected to be paid to Turkey by EU officials....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/eu27-open-up-to-turkey-but-with-caveat
European Union leaders made good on Thursday on a 2016 promise to deepen trade ties with Turkey, but also warned Ankara to expect sanctions if it restarts exploration over disputed hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/fence-wars-break-out-near-buffer-zone
Opposing camps have been making headlines recently over a controversial barbwire fence near the buffer zone, with one group cutting a piece of barbed wire and the other restoring it, with all caught on tape...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/med-5-want-eu-to-act-as-one-on-migration
The interior ministers of the five Mediterranean countries on the front line of mass migration to Europe want their European Union partners to share the burden more equitably...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/anastasiades-stays-focused-on-getting-eu-on-geneva-table
President Nicos Anastasiades delved extensively into the substantive role the EU has to play at upcoming Cyprus peace processes during a teleconference convened Friday by the European Council President Charles Michel with EU leaders....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/eu-frontline-ministers-talk-migration-in-athens
Cypriot Interior Minister Nicos Nouris is in Athens this weekend where he is attending a MED5 meeting on immigration, with some of the bloc’s Mediterranean members tackling issues stemming from Brussels’ new migration proposals that divide the union...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/critics-slam-trump-like-fence-installed-in-nicosia-suburb
The government came under fire on Tuesday over a decision to lay razor wire along a section of the Astromeritis buffer zone in the Nicosia district....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/state-drops-big-marriage-fraud-case
Police in Cyprus were distinctly furious this week after prosecutors dropped charges against nine suspects in a fake marriage case, with the Legal department arguing an amended law linking sham marriage to immigration violations was not retroactive...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-begins-sealing-porous-frontier
The Republic of Cyprus says a barbwire fence currently being set up along a strip adjacent to the UN buffer zone should not be seen as a border between north and south but a way to hold back undocumented migrants...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/borrell-eu-will-never-accept-a-two-state-cyprus-solution
Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side must stay away from two-state solution rhetoric, because such a form of a settlement will never be accepted by the EU, the bloc’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said Friday after meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades in Nicosia....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/syrian-walks-free-after-long-detention
A Syrian man was detained since May 2019 on terrorism charges won his appeal on Thursday, after the Supreme Court ruled that his detention had exceeded any valid period that had previously been justified on national security grounds...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/activists-say-hunters-lead-pellets-threaten-flamingos
Conservationists in Cyprus are urging authorities to expand a hunting ban throughout a coastal salt lake network amid concerns that migrating flamingos could potentially swallow lethal quantities of lead shotgun pellets...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-to-push-for-help-from-brussels-on-migration-issue
The Republic of Cyprus will make its case to Brussels and other international fora, both at the political and technocratic level, over migratory pressure and the need for assistance.
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https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/police-arrest-wrong-‘illegal-immigrant
A foreign national was arrested in Paphos during a health inspection after officers suspected immigration offences, with officials later ordering police to release the suspect as he was not out of status...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/pournara-residents-fired-up-about-leaving
More protests took place at Pournara on Wednesday, after asylum seekers with grievances reportedly set a tent on fire while some camp residents managed to leave camp...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/jordan-supports-cyprus-solution-based-on-un-resolutions-ambassador-says
Jordan’s Ambassador to Cyprus Mohamed El-Fayez affirmed on Tuesday his country’s support for a resolution of the Cyprus Problem on the basis of relevant UN resolutions....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/asylum-seekers-at-pournara-breach-gate
A group of asylum seekers at Nicosia’s Pournara camp got a brief taste of freedom on Wednesday, after residents breached the front gate during a protest against long-term detention at the migration facility...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/president-blames-cip-failure-on-recklessness
Cyprus’ disgraced Citizenship by Investment Programme took a heavy toll after it was 'recklessly promoted' overseas, according to President Nicos Anastasiades, who testified on Tuesday before an independent committee, while telling reporters later that he would not revisit the matter until after probe findings are concluded...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/pournara-residents-protest-harsh-camp-conditions
Asylum seekers living in the Pournara camp located at the outskirts of Nicosia staged a peaceful protest on Monday against the delays in the processing of their applications, as well as against the severe overcrowding and harsh conditions of life in the camp....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/officials-weigh-in-on-pournara-brawl
Eight tenants at Pournara migration facility were placed under arrest on Tuesday, following a violent brawl on camp grounds that erupted between two groups under circumstances still unclear...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/coast-guard-tows-refugee-boat-to-safety
A boat with Syrian refugees arrived in Cyprus around midnight, with coast guard officials allowing women and children to spend the night at the marina while COVID-19 tests have been ordered on all 55 persons...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/two-arrested-after-syrian-refugees-reach-shore
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of people smuggling after over a dozen presumptive refugees from Syria reached Cypriot shores late Tuesday night, while there was still concern over overcrowding concerns at a migrant camp outside the capital...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/syrian-refugees-held-at-police-station
Newly-arrived presumptive refugees were on standby this week, after reports said they were taken to a police station in Famagusta district due to overcrowding conditions at a migrant reception centre in rural Nicosia...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-president-absolutely-satisfied-with-ec-conclusions
President Nicos Anastasiades expressed absolute satisfaction with the Conclusions of the European Council regarding Turkey’s activities in the Eastern Mediterranean....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-migrant-camp-way-over-capacity
The overcrowding situation with refugees and asylum seekers at Pournara camp was back in the news, following an unannounced visit by the state’s Ombudswoman who said she saw some improvements but also some problems still not being addressed such as the right to move freely out of the camp...