In today’s episode, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou unveiled “a grand plan” aimed at helping migrants integrate in Cyprus.

Elsewhere, there has been an increase in Syrian asylum applications, the interior ministry said on Thursday, while noting that the cases are difficult to deal with as the people concerned cannot be returned home due the fact their country is considered unsafe.

Meanwhile, President Nikos Christodoulides said the Israeli government had not yet approved the docking of the ship initially identified as the British vessel RFA ‘Lyme Bay’, reported by various sources as the first humanitarian aid ship sent from Cyprus to Gaza.

All this and much more in today’s daily news briefing brought to you by the Cyprus Mail.