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/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/comment/opinion/from-bismarck-to-merkel
'Turks and Germans loved each other for a long time,' Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a visit to Berlin in 2018. He was citing the historic words of Germany’s first chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, which still seem to determine Berlin’s policy on Ankara. We should recognize this reality as we enter a new geopolitical era, without succumbing to sentimentalism and spasmodic reactions....
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/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-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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/eu-leaders-weigh-sanctions-over-turkey-s-med-drilling-work
Concerned that their credibility is at stake, European Union leaders are set Thursday to give the green light to the expansion of sanctions against Turkey over its exploration of gas reserves in Mediterranean waters claimed by EU members Greece and Cyprus....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/eu-greece-sign-agreement-for-new-migrant-center-on-lesvos
The European Commission on Thursday signed a memorandum outlining a detailed plan agreed by Greek authorities and EU agencies to establish a new, up-to-standard reception center on the island of Lesvos by early September 2021. This is a key step in resolving the situation following the fires that destroyed the Moria camp in September. It is the result of the work of European Taskforce that was created at that time....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/systems-tested-by-slaughterhouse-outbreak
A company that owns a slaughterhouse in rural Nicosia has until Monday to explain how 79 people were found working without proper authorization, following a coronavirus outbreak on the premises and days after the firm hinted that government officials were supplying asylum seekers for manual labour through backchannels...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/greece-finalizes-plan-to-build-wall-on-border-with-turkey
Greece's government says it has finalized plans to extend a wall along its northeast border with Turkey, over concerns that migrants may try to stage mass crossings into the European Union country....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/carrot-and-stick-approach-to-turkey-failing-eu-envoys-say
The European Union's latest strategy to defuse tensions with Turkey is unravelling, two weeks after it was sealed, raising the risk of conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean, diplomats, officials and experts said....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/spanish-fm-stresses-solidarity-with-cyprus-importance-of-dialogue
Spain’s Foreign Affairs Minister Arancha González Laya expressed her country’s solidarity and support for Cyprus in the face of tensions with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/another-refugee-boat-intercepted-off-cyprus
Syrian refugees on a boat that was blocked from disembarking were eventually on their way to Pournara migrant camp after reaching shore Wednesday morning, with one child hospitalized for unspecified reasons...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/divided-europe-seeks-to-overhaul-defunct-migration-policies
The European Union's executive proposed on Wednesday overhauling the bloc's broken migration and asylum rules, seeking to end years of feuds and bitterness over the many people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/coronavirus-measures-bring-sharp-drop-in-eu-asylum-applications
First-time asylum applicants in the EU recorded a sharp drop of almost 70% during the second quarter of 2020, mainly as a result of coronavirus emergency measures imposed by member states from March, Eurostat figures showed Wednesday....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/number-of-infection-chains-increasing-in-cyprus
10 new coronavirus cases were detected on Thursday, when 1,951 tests were conducted, raising total known cases in the Republic of Cyprus to 1,558....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/ep-adopts-resolution-condemning-turkey-s-eastmed-activities
With 601 votes in favour, 57 against and 36 abstentions, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution condemning Turkey’s activities in the EEZ of Greece and Cyprus, ahead of next week’s extraordinary European Council summit that will focus on the heightened tensions in the eastern Mediterranean....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/berlin-to-take-in-1-553-refugees-from-greece
As Germany indicated on Tuesday that it would take in more than 1,500 refugees from Lesvos and other Greek islands, the Greek government welcomed the move, indicating however that it should not be seen as rewarding irregular immigration. ...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/eu-solidarity-to-go-beyond-words-michel-tells-anastasiades
In a meeting with the European Council President Charles Michel on Wednesday, the President of the Republic of Cyprus expressed hope that EU member states will show a united front during next week’s extraordinary European Council summit on Turkey....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/new-driver-permit-rules-stiffer-for-non-residents
The Cypriot transport ministry has issued tougher rules for some foreigners seeking to obtain a driver’s permit, essentially linking visa status to eligibility while barring refugees with pending applications as well as introducing stricter criteria...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/fires-erupt-at-moria-refugee-camp
Thousands of migrants fled a camp under COVID-19 lockdown after multiple fires gutted much of the site on the Greek island of Lesvos, authorities said early Wednesday...