Greece: Rescue Operation for Hundreds on Drifting Boat 

Migrants are escorted upon their arrival on an inflatable boat at Lesbos island where local residents will later prevent them from disembarking. (File/AFP)
Migrants are escorted upon their arrival on an inflatable boat at Lesbos island where local residents will later prevent them from disembarking. (File/AFP)
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Greece: Rescue Operation for Hundreds on Drifting Boat 

Migrants are escorted upon their arrival on an inflatable boat at Lesbos island where local residents will later prevent them from disembarking. (File/AFP)
Migrants are escorted upon their arrival on an inflatable boat at Lesbos island where local residents will later prevent them from disembarking. (File/AFP)

Greek authorities say a major rescue operation is underway off the coast of the southern island of Crete after a boat believed to be carrying hundreds of migrants lost steering and was drifting in rough seas. 

The coast guard said Tuesday that passengers on the boat had made a distress call to an emergency number during the night to alert authorities.  

According to the passengers, there were around 400-500 people on board the vessel, the coast guard said, but added that the figure could not immediately be confirmed. 

A Greek navy frigate, two Italian fishing vessels, a tanker and two cargo ships were participating in the rescue operation, but the strong winds and rough seas meant it had not been possible to transfer any of the passengers from the stricken vessel by the morning, the coast guard said. 

It was not immediately known where the boat carrying the migrants had set sail from, what its intended destination was or what the nationalities of those on board were. 

Tens of thousands of people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa try to make their way into the European Union each year via perilous sea journeys, with most attempting to reach Greece from neighboring Türkiye or taking a longer route to Italy. 



Cyprus Says US Decree on Security Affirms Island's Stabilizing Role in Region

Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images
Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images
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Cyprus Says US Decree on Security Affirms Island's Stabilizing Role in Region

Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images
Nicosia, Cyprus | Photo: Getty Images

Cyprus on Thursday hailed a US memorandum allowing military sales, including arms, to the island as a milestone affirming recognition of the island as a pillar of stability in the east Mediterranean region which has been fraught with conflict.
US President Joe Biden boosted security ties with Cyprus on Wednesday by issuing a memorandum that makes the island eligible to receive American defense articles, military sales and training.
Cyprus has over the years played a key role in evacuating people out of conflict zones and established a maritime corridor for aid to war-ravaged Gaza last year.
"This (memorandum) is a clear recognition of the Republic of Cyprus as a pillar of stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean, with the potential to further contribute to peace and the management of humanitarian challenges," the Cypriot presidency said in a statement.
Cyprus was close to Russia for decades, but there has been a marked shift in allegiances in recent years, Reuters said.
For many in Cyprus, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has drawn parallels to Türkiye’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974, and Cyprus, an EU member state, has followed its peers in adopting sanctions on Moscow. It is now getting FBI expertise in countering illicit finance.
Access to the US programs would enable greater interoperability to respond to regional humanitarian crises, counter malign influence, and combat terrorism and transnational organized crime, the US embassy in Nicosia said.
Deepening US-Cyprus relations are closely followed by Türkiye, which in September criticized the signing of a roadmap to boost defense co-operation between the United States and Cyprus.
Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion following a brief Greek-inspired coup in 1974, following years of sporadic violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots which triggered the collapse of a power-sharing administration in 1963.