Cyprus

Cyprus's president is urging fellow European Union member states to revamp existing agreements that will require each country to take in a fairer share of refugees and migrants.

In a move that essentially serves to underline Turkish claims in the Eastern Mediterranean, Ankara has issued three navigational telexes (navtexes 1291/18, 1298/18 and 1299/18) reserving a sea area for naval exercises and seismic surveys by its research vessel Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has urged the European Union to support the Mediterranean island against Turkish threats over its planned drilling activity within the contours of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades will address the European Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg Wednesday as planned.

Late Tuesday, a lone gunman opened fire at the city's Christmas market, an incident which resulted in the deaths of at least three people and the injury of twelve.

News agencies in Europe have joined forces to fight the growing threat posed by fake news. In a resolution adopted last week in Tirana, these commit to developing effective tools and rules to enable journalists and Internet users to fight misinformation as well as to promote reliable media and educate users to surf in the digital environment.

Turkey is not prepared to make the "slightest compromise" with regards to its energy plans around Cyprus, the Aegean or the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay has said.

Attending a Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting in Brussels on Monday, Romania's Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu welcomed the opportunity to discuss the Western Balkans, given the upward trend in their relationships with the EU.

More than 20,000 foreign accounts have been closed by Cypriot banks since 2014 as a result of efforts to enforce the anti-money laundering directives, according to information provided by the Central Bank of Cyprus.

On the final leg of his journey from Iraq to Europe, Hawye Rasool Saleh paid 400 euros ($457) borrowed from his best friend to a smuggler who would help him across the cease-fire line of ethnically split Cyprus.

The transaction was sealed in anonymity.

Cyprus police say 65 people — including 24 children and 18 women — believed to be Syrian migrants are receiving medical check-ups after arriving aboard a boat spotted southeast of the east Mediterranean island nation.

Police said their vessel is believed to have set sail from Lebanon and was escorted by patrol boats into a harbor along Cyprus' eastern coast Thursday.