NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus and the United Nations agency for refugees on Thursday clashed over allegations that the east Mediterranean island nation continues to engage in so-called pushbacks against boats loaded with migrants departing from neighboring Syria or Lebanon.
The clash, which unfolded on the state broadcaster Thursday, came a few days after Cypriot authorities recovered two survivors and seven bodies in international waters off Cyprus after their boat apparently sank in rough seas.
Emilia Strovolidou, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, told the state broadcaster that Cypriot police intercepted three boatloads of migrants inside Cypriot territorial waters on between March 13-14 but prevented them from disembarking at Larnaca port, making them turn back to Syria from where they departed.
Cypriot Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis vociferously disputed Strovolidou’s claims, saying Cypriot patrol vessels intercepted two – not three - boats near Lebanon’s territorial waters within Cyprus’ search and rescue area of responsibility.
He said Cypriot authorities requested Lebanon’s assistance – in line with a bilateral agreement - to turn the boats back to the Lebanese coast from where they set sail.
Hartsiotis insisted Cyprus does not engage in pushbacks and abides by its international legal obligations, adding that a “serious organization” such as the UNHCR “must substantiate its claims.” He said any relevant information should be forwarded to Cypriot police for a proper investigation.
Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas also said the UNCHR’s claims “don’t stand.”
“We have every right to protect our borders including those at sea,” Hartsiotis said. Cyprus’ get-tough approach to irregular migrant arrivals saw a precipitous drop in such arrivals over the last two years. In 2024, migrant arrivals dropped 64% relative to 2022, while the percentage of migrant departures increased from 43% in 2022 to 179% in 2024.
The Associated Press asked the UNHCR to account for the discrepancies in the two versions. In a written statement, the agency offered no additional details but insisted that the “individuals on board were denied access to Cyprus and are now back in Syria from where they had fled.”
“The international legal principle of non-refoulement prohibits all states … from engaging in conduct that risks sending people back - directly or indirectly - to a place where they would be at risk of persecution or serious human rights violations,” the statement said.
The Cyprus government’s claim that it doesn’t engage in pushbacks is based on its own definition of what constitutes a pushback. Hartsiotis said a key element to a pushback is the use of violence, saying Cypriot authorities don’t resort to such tactics.
Europe’s top human rights court ruled last October that Cyprus violated the right of two Syrian nationals to seek asylum in the island nation after keeping them, and more than two dozen other people, aboard a boat at sea for two days before sending them back to Lebanon.
The row followed Monday’s rescue of two men some 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Cyprus where a boat they were passengers on sank in rough seas.
Officials said the boat was believed to be carrying at least 20 Syrian men between the ages of 25-30. An ongoing search of the area has turned up nothing more.
The sinking sparked media speculation over Cypriot authorities’ alleged inaction, especially after it was learned that the non-governmental organization Alarm Phone had warned authorities a day earlier of a migrant boat in distress somewhere off Cyprus’ southern coast.
This prompted an angry response in which government officials stated that air and sea assets had been dispatched in a search effort covering an area of 1,000 nautical miles without any results.
In a joint statement, the ministers of justice, defense and migration said there’s nothing so far to suggest that the Alarm Phone warning concerned the sunken boat on which the two rescued men were aboard.
“It’s unacceptable for the Cyprus Republic to stand accused of violating human rights,” the ministers said. “the Cyprus Republic has never ignored an appeal for help or a message concerning a search and rescue operation and takes all necessary actions in line with the law.”
FILE - Migrants aboard a Cyprus marine police patrol boat are brought to a harbor after being rescued from their own vessel off the Mediterranean island nation's southeastern coast of Protaras, Cyprus, on Jan. 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.
Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.
U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.
"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”
Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.
“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”
Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.
U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.
Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.
Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.
Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.
"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.
The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.
“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.
“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”
The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
