Leros

New refugee and migrant arrivals in Greece will soon be able to move around the country freely without being restricted to the islands of the eastern Aegean where they arrive from neighboring Turkey, according to a Council of State ruling that emerged on Tuesday and upends a 2016 decision by the Greek asylum service that forced them to remain in so-called hotspots until their asylum application

The Economy and Development Ministry has announced funding to the tune of 3 million euros for islands in the southeast and northern Aegean that receive migrant and refugee inflows.

The money, drawn from national and European funds, will be used to cover waste management needs, which have increased drastically due to the increased arrivals of migrants and refugees.

Attacks by organized groups against migrants, refugees and activists have been creeping up in Greece, the Athens-based Racist Violence Recording Network (RVRN) said on Wednesday, and it called for zero tolerance towards racist violence.

A sailing boat with 73 refugees and migrants on board was intercepted by a coast guard vessel in the sea area between the Dodecanese islands of Leros and Leipsoi in the southeastern Aegean Tuesday.

According to reports, the boat was towed to Leros, while two men, an Italian and a Ukrainian, were arrested on people-smuggling charges.

A court in northern Greece has convicted a Syrian refugee of having been a fighter with the Islamic State group in Syria, and sentenced him to eight years' imprisonment.

The Komotini court acquitted the man Monday of murder and explosives-related charges concerning his alleged activities with the group, his lawyer said.

A group of undocumented migrants who arrived on the eastern Aegean islet of Farmakonisi on Friday were transferred on Saturday to a reception center on Leros, one of the few islands where state facilities are not excessively overcrowded.

A nasty surprise awaited many people living on the islands of Northern and Eastern Aegean who applied for the so-called "special supplementary social dividend", as the owners of a non-professional fishing boats are deprived of the handout. The reason is that their boat is considered as evidence of luxurious living.

More than 4,150 migrants and refugees have been transferred from the islands to the Greek mainland between November 27 and December 27, according to data released by the Migration Ministry. 

Moreover,  2,323 arrivals to the islands of the eastern Aegean  were recorded  in the same four week period.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday urged the Greek government to speed up transfers from refugee and migrant camps on the Aegean islands to the mainland, warning that overcrowded facilities on Lesvos, Chios, Leros, Samos and Kos were ill-equipped to deal with the coming of winter.

Some eastern Aegean island households will receive an extra 500-2,100-euro handout as part of the "social dividend," aimed at offsetting the blow they will suffer due to the abolition of the 30 percent discount on value-added tax as of January 1.