Hundreds of migrants moved to Greek mainland as Crete struggles with Libya arrivals

LAVRIO, Greece (AP) — More than 500 migrants arrived at the port of Lavrio near Athens on Thursday after being intercepted south of the island of Crete, as Greece implements emergency measures to address a surge in Mediterranean crossings from Libya.

The migrants, consisting mostly of young men, were transferred overnight aboard a bulk carrier after their fishing trawler was intercepted by Greek authorities. Service vessels helped bring them ashore at the mainland port. They will be sent to detention facilities near the capital.

More than 200 migrants were brought to the port of Piraeus, also near Athens, in separate transfers from Crete. The transfers to the mainland were ordered because makeshift reception centers on Crete have reached capacity, with around 500 new arrivals per day on the Mediterranean island since the weekend.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Wednesday that Greece would suspend asylum processing for migrants arriving by sea from North Africa for three months. The new measures are due to be voted on in parliament on Thursday as an emergency amendment.

“This is an extreme and urgent situation, and we are taking extraordinary steps, ones that are difficult, tough, and strict. But they send a clear message,” Manos Logothetis, secretary-general at the ministry of migration, told state-run television.

“These measures are a clear statement from the Greek government — and by extension, from Europe — that we can no longer accept migration flows from North Africa,” he said. “People there need to think twice before deciding to pay a large sum of money to come to our country.”

Logothetis said that Greece backed EU initiatives linking financial aid to African countries to their willingness to receive their citizens deported or agreeing to voluntary repatriation from Europe. Greece says more than 7,000 migrants have been detained over the past 10 days after traveling from Libya to Crete — a surge that occurred despite an overall drop in illegal migration to Europe. The European Union's border protection agency, Frontex, on Thursday reported that irregular crossings into the EU dropped by 20% in first half of 2025 on an annual basis though increases were recorded in parts of the Mediterranean. The crisis on Crete coincided with a diplomatic spat between the European Union and Libya over migration cooperation. EU officials earlier this week were turned away from eastern Libya following an apparent disagreement on the format of talks planned on curbing crossings.

Authorities on Crete are struggling to provide basic services, using temporary facilities to house migrants, primarily from Somalia, Sudan, Egypt and Morocco, according to island officials. The New York-based aid organization International Rescue Committee criticized asylum pause in Greece. “Seeking refuge is a human right; preventing people from doing so is both illegal and inhumane,” the group's Martha Roussou said. “People fleeing conflict and disaster must be treated with dignity and provided fair and lawful access to asylum procedures — not detained or turned away.”

Follow the AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Migrants rescued south of Crete wait to be registered on their arrival at the the port of Lavrio, Greece, on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Migrants rescued south of Crete wait to be registered on their arrival at the the port of Lavrio, Greece, on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Migrants rescued south of Crete walk after their arrival at the the port of Lavrio, Greece, on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Migrants rescued south of Crete are transferred on a vessel to the port of Lavrio, Greece, on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Migrants rescued south of Crete walk after their arrival at the the port of Lavrio, Greece, on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Migrants rescued south of Crete wait to be registered on their arrival at the the port of Lavrio, Greece, on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A child looks on as other migrants take shelter in Agia port, Chania, Crete island, Greece, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)

A Greek coast guard gives water to migrants from Africa as they take a shelter in Agia port, Chania, Crete island, Greece, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)

Glenn Hall, a Hockey Hall of Famer whose ironman streak of 502 starts as a goaltender remains an NHL record, has died. He was 94.

Nicknamed “Mr. Goalie,” Hall worked to stop pucks at a time when players at his position were bare-faced, before masks of any kind became commonplace. He did it as well as just about anyone of his generation, which stretched from the days of the Original Six into the expansion era.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Blackhawks confirmed the team received word of Hall’s death from his family. A league historian in touch with Hall’s son, Pat, said Hall died at a hospital in Stony Plain, Alberta, on Wednesday.

A pioneer of the butterfly style of goaltending of dropping to his knees, Hall backstopped Chicago to the Stanley Cup in 1961. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs in 1968 with St. Louis when the Blues reached the final before losing to Montreal. He was the second of just six Conn Smythe winners from a team that did not hoist the Cup.

His run of more than 500 games in net is one of the most untouchable records in sports, given how the position has changed in the decades since. Second in history is Alec Connell with 257 from 1924-30.

“Glenn was sturdy, dependable and a spectacular talent in net,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “That record, set from 1955-56 to 1962-63, still stands, probably always will, and is almost unfathomable — especially when you consider he did it all without a mask.”

Counting the postseason, Hall started 552 games in a row.

Hall won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1956 when playing for the Detroit Red Wings. After two seasons, he was sent to the Black Hawks along with legendary forward Ted Lindsay.

Hall earned two of his three Vezina Trophy honors as the league's top goalie with Chicago, in 1963 and '67. The Blues took him in the expansion draft when the NHL doubled from six teams to 12, and he helped them reach the final in each of their first three years of existence, while winning the Vezina again at age 37.

Hall was in net when Boston's Bobby Orr scored in overtime to win the Cup for the Bruins in 1970, a goal that's among the most famous in hockey history because of the flying through the air celebration that followed. He played one more season with St. Louis before retiring in 1971.

“His influence extended far beyond the crease," Blues chairman Tom Stillman said. “From the very beginning, he brought credibility, excellence, and heart to a new team and a new NHL market.”

A native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Hall was a seven-time first-team NHL All-Star who had 407 wins and 84 shutouts in 906 regular-season games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975, and his No. 1 was retired by Chicago in 1988.

Hall was chosen as one of the top 100 players in the league's first 100 years.

Blackhawks chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz called Hall an innovator and “one of the greatest and most influential goaltenders in the history of our sport and a cornerstone of our franchise.”

“We are grateful for his extraordinary contributions to hockey and to our club, and we will honor his memory today and always,” Wirtz said.

The Blackhawks paid tribute to Hall and former coach and general manager Bob Pulford with a moment of silence before Wednesday night’s game against St. Louis. Pulford died Monday.

A Hall highlight video was shown on the center-ice videoboard. The lights were turned off for the moment of silence, except for a spotlight on the No. 1 banner for Hall that hangs in the rafters at the United Center.

Fellow Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, the league's leader in wins with 691 and games played with 1,266, posted a photo of the last time he saw Hall along with a remembrance of him.

“Glenn Hall was a legend, and I was a big fan of his,” Brodeur said on social media. “He set the standard for every goaltender who followed. His toughness and consistency defined what it meant to play.”

AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen in Chicago contributed to this report.

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FILE - Glenn Hall, second from left, stands with fellow former Chicago Blackhawks players Stan Mikita, former general manager Tommy Ivan, Bobby Hull, Bill Wirtz and Tony Esposito during a pre-game ceremony at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Ill., April 14, 1994. (AP Photo/Fred Jewell, File)

FILE - St. Louis Blues goalie Glenn Hall, top right, is pinned to his net waiting to make a save on a Montreal Canadians shot as Blues' Noel Picard (4) tries to block the puck while Canadiens' John Ferguson (22) and Ralph Backstorm wait for a rebound in the third period of their NHL hockey Stanley Cup game, May 5, 1968. (AP Photo/Fred Waters, File)