Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1303831
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 28 OCTOBER 2020 NEWS Today 100 best recipes Today 100 best recipes FOOD Saying it aS it iS SAVIOUR BALZAN Volume I In volume 1 of 'Saying it as it is', Saviour Balzan tells the story of his journey from being an active environmentalist, to becoming a teacher, a politician, a journalist and finally, the owner of a media house. In his uncouth and abrasive style, he speaks frankly about the thankless job of being an investigative reporter and what running a media house truly entails. But perhaps more interesting, however, are the anecdotes and inside stories also embedded in the narrative, which pick up on key happenings over the past few years. The book also has a semi-autobiographical streak, as Balzan reminisces over the incidents that ended up having an effect on his writings. He uncovers the political networks and the friends and foes of the politicians who dominated the Maltese political scene for the past 35 years. Zoning in on events which he believes left a lasting impact on readers, Balzan expands on the background behind important news stories. In 'Saying it as it is', what emerges most clearly is that scandals have no political boundaries. Saviour Balzan takes us through a brief journey of his journalistic work. He also underscores the influence of politics and politicians in Malta, and the challenges of independent journalism. MediaToday Co. Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann. SGN 9016, Malta www.maltatoday.com.mt Saying it aS it iS Volume I SAVIOUR BALZAN SAVIOUR BALZAN was born in Birkirkara, Malta in 1963. He was a biology and environmental science teacher for eight years and a part-time journalist during that time. He was active in the environmental lobby and later co-founded the Green Party in 1989 but left politics altogether in 1997. He worked for the newspapers il-Fehma, Alternattiva, The People, and The Independent. He was appointed editor of MaltaToday in 1999 and today co-owns that same newspaper, as well as the independent media company MediaToday based in San Gwann. At MaltaToday he built a reputation for running the most daring, investigative and independent newsroom. He hosted the TV discussion programme Reporter for seven years on PBS until his programme was stopped in 2009. He now hosts the same daily discussion programme on Favourite Channel. He lives in Naxxar with his wife and two children. €30 ISBN 978-99957-0-427-8 20mm All round Bleed DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES OF THE MALTESE ISLANDS DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES OF THE MALTESE ISLANDS Charles Gauci Dragonflies are large, oen brightly coloured, insects which few people would not notice actively flying over water, whether it is while walking along water reservoirs in valleys or while visiting gardens where water features are present. However, these are only one stage in their life cycle aer having spent a much longer period living under water as larvae. Most species of dragonflies and damselflies are highly habitat specific in both their larval and adult stages. e Maltese Islands lack most types of riparian habitats and as a result the number of species found locally is very small. is is compensated for by the high concentration of these insects at most water bodies. is book describes each of the nineteen species recorded in the Maltese Islands and each species is amply illustrated by photographs which, for the commoner species, illustrate most or all the stages in their life cycle. It is hoped that besides being of help and interest to nature lovers, it will also raise a much needed awareness among the general public about biodiversity and nature conservation,. e author spent fourteen years teaching Integrated Science and Biology at secondary State schools before moving to the Għadira Nature Reserve where he was Managing Warden until his retirement twenty four years later. He has been interested in dragonflies for the last ten years. Having been an avid bird watcher since his early teens, he co-authored a number of ornithological books – Bird Studies on Filfla, L-Agħsafar, A Guide to the Birds of Malta, A New Guide to the Birds of Malta and e Breeding Birds of Malta. He also co-authored several ornithological papers and was the editor of BirdLife Malta's scientific journal 'il- Merill' from 1986 to 1994. Since his initial interest in dragonflies in 2008 he has been so fascinated by these wonderful insects to the extent that they now oen take precedence over birds. ISBN: 978-99957-894-0-4 CHURCHES IN MALTA maltatoday PART 1 TOWERS, FORTS & BATTERIES IN MALTA maltatoday MALTATODAY ©2017 in collaboration with the MTA TOWERS, FORTS & BATTERIES IN MALTA maltatoday CHURCHES PART 2 maltatoday MALTATODAY ©2019 in collaboration with the MTA IN GOZO maltatoday CHURCHES IN GOZO No one injured as fire breaks out at WasteServ plant in Marsa KURT SANSONE & LAURA CALLEJA NO one was injured during a large scale fire which broke out at the Wasteserv plant in Marsa on Tuesday morning. The fire which started at 7:30am was brought under control by firefighters after around two hours. Posting to social media, Wasteserv said that the fire had started at a yard where autoclave material was stored. Wasteserv said that all workers at the plant were accounted for and no inju- ries have so far been reported. A medical team was also on-site, as well as police who cordoned off the ar- ea. Wasteserv has an incinerator plant that burns animal waste Statement from the Civil Protection Department In a statement, the CPD warned res- idents of Paola, Fgura, Tarxien and St. Lucia to keep the windows of their res- idences closed for the time being until the fire was controlled. CPD warned that the fumes were considered toxic. "Civil Protection Department workers are working to put out the fire as well as evacuating residents from homes near the area, The public is asked to cooper- ate in this work," they said. Several fire engines were deployed after the fire started at 7:30am A couple from Marsascala have been jailed after a court found them guilty of taking advantage of a vulnerable man and swin- dling him out of a staggering €46,600. 41-year-old Joanne Ellul and 34-year-old Reno Azzopardi were convicted of fraud and misappropriation by magistrate Ian Farrugia. Ellul was jailed for two and a half years, whilst her partner, Azzopardi was sen- tenced to three years of imprisonment. The court heard how the victim had moved in with the accused, after separat- ing from his wife in 2004. The couple were drug users and Ellul would at times resort to prostitution to finance her habit. As time passed, he had started to trust them and had eventually rented a pastizzi shop, leaving the running of the business to the couple, whilst he financed the oper- ation. All of this was done by verbal agree- ment. Starting in 2006, Azzopardi had start- ed asking the victim for large amounts of money without an explanation, and the vic- tim had obliged. It later emerged that Az- zopardi had bought a motorcycle and two cars with the money. The couple had also convinced their vic- tim that they needed LM4,500 (€10,482) for a promise of sale on a premises in Paola. None of this was true, however. Over time and on various false premises, the victim said, he had given the couple around €46,600. They had also withheld his ID card and bank cards with the excuse that he would probably lose them. He said he had never asked for the money back but had later filed a police report on the insist- ence of his family members. He explained that he had felt unable to live alone and had lived with the couple, who would cook for him. They had taken a sum of money to buy a property in which they would take care of him but instead had used it to purchase the vehicles. In its sentence, the court took into account the fact that the accused had been addicted to drugs and Ellul had been trapped in a cy- cle of prostitution but also said that it could not ignore the serious abuse of the man's vulnerability. Joanne Ellul was condemned to two and a half years in prison, whilst Reno Azzopar- di was jailed for three years, as he had also breached a court order. Inspector Maurice Curmi prosecuted. Couple jailed for swindling vulnerable man out of €46,600