The Cyprus News Digest

We are warned not to disturb turtles during the nesting season: umbrellas and sunbeds are forbidden close to nests; boats are banned from turtle beaches and swimming too close and feeding them are also against the law; Cyprus fails to join other nations calling for aid to be allowed unimpeded into Gaza; Systema Cyprus issues an appeal for unused musical instruments.

We follow an activist who is on a 5-day hunger strike sitting in an olive tree in Nicosia to highlight the plight of starving Palestinians in Gaza.

We have a water crisis because of political expediency and years of a lack of proper planning; the Akrotiri Festival takes place this weekend.

In a landmark decision for environmental protection, the Administrative Court has issued an interim order halting the construction of a new port in Pentakomo close to a protected area.

The gender pay gap in Cyprus is going UP: why do some companies pay their female staff less than men for doing the same job? Processionary caterpillars defoliate our pine trees, but they don't kill them; will there be water rationing this summer?

The Hotel Association asks for more time to comply with safety regulations; a variety of guided tours of Nicosia start this weekend and run until December.

Is Cyprus still doing pushbacks? Why do we not have a clear picture of what happened to migrant boats in our seas last week? 70 former state officials are receiving multiple pensions and 28 serving officials are taking a salary AND a pension from a previous post.

The cost of the Vassiliko project goes up AGAIN, but while the government assures us it's doing everything to reduce sky-high electricity bills, how honest is it being? From April 2nd, you may need an Electronic Travel Authorisation to enter the UK.

We talk - yet again - about multiple pensions for government employees when ordinary citizens are struggling to pay their bills; the flamingo population in the Akrotiri wetland has dropped dramatically since development was allowed in surrounding areas.

An open discussion next week will examine growing police repression and the right to peaceful assembly and protest in Cyprus; carnival celebrations have a huge environmental impact: what can we do to make it more sustainable?