Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/163731
33 maltatoday, THIS WEEK SUNDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER 2013 Tropical Circus! Gozo Summer Carnival announced In a faraway land, where Calypso's isle rises from the surrounding blue sea, behold a gathering of magical tribes in a secret Grotto. A grotesque ceremony of colour and magic, where your reality is an illusion and the illusion is a party EVENT producers Provoque have announced Tropical Circus! a contemporary day and night summer carnival to take place on 7 September at La Grotta, Gozo. The group is launching what is to be a yearly staple in the Maltese Islands' entertainment and club- Download the MaltaToday App now bing scene, which has long been in demand by patrons of the yearly winter Gozo Carnival. Headlining this exciting collaboration is Into The Wild, one of Amsterdam's most innovative bi-monthly promotions as well as top Dutch producer and live PA Camiel Daamen. Tropical Circus will feature a first-time collaboration between Malta's most popular and groundbreaking promotions and labels, namely DJ Ruby, Prime Time, WhySoSerious, Duncan F, Electro Swing Malta, Carl Lautier and Full Moon Promo – with over 30 performing musicians and DJs. Tropical Circus! promises to deliver all the fun and colour of the winter carnival during the YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt 367. GREATER FLAMINGO The greater flamingo is one of the most striking birds we see in Malta: big, impossibly long neck, long legs and a spectacular black-red wing plumage that would catch the eye of even the least nature-inclined among us. The flamingo's odd beak seems almost a mistake but it is in fact a cunning tool that helps the bird sift small crustaceans from the shallow lakes where these birds live. We don't have anywhere in Malta large enough where greater flamingoes (M: fjamingu) can stay in any large number, but Sicily and Tunisia do, so their proximity rewards nature lovers with regular, if scarce, annual sightings of flocks of these birds flying past on migration. It is so tragic that Malta is still blighted by many men who still believe that the only good flamingo is a dead flamingo. Have you signed the anti spring-hunting referendum petition? Please write to cashmalta2013@gmail.com. Thanks. Text and photo Victor Falzon warm summer weather. Expect to be enchanted and immersed in a surreal world over five areas and three stages, featuring circus performers, acrobatic displays and the very best in ambient 3D projections, which will transform the environment into a fantasyland of make-believe amid quality music all day (and night) long. The variety of quality producers, live music and arts is sure to provide enough for everyone and will certainly be worth the trip across the channel – especially without the daunting winter carnival ferry queues. Guests are invited to get into character and immerse themselves in Malta's first contemporary summer carnival. Tropical Circus! will be held at La Grotta, Xlendi, Gozo, on 7 September from 1pm to 4am. For more information visit www. GozoSummerCarnival.com or facebook.com/gozosummercarnival or call the ticket and information hotline at 79811508 Glyphosate – Health concerns (...continued) In soy-growing areas of South America, there have been reports of increases in birth defects. One study in Paraguay found that the babies of women living within one kilometre of fields sprayed with glyphosate were more than twice as likely to have birth defects. Lab-based stud ies have shown malformations in frog and chicken embryos exposed to glyphosate-based herbicides. Glyphosate and AMPA have both been shown to be "genotoxic" – that is they interfere with a cell's ability to accurately copy DNA and reproduce, leading to potential genetic mutations and an increased risk of cancer . In Ecuador and Colombia, where glyphosate herbicides have been used to control cocaine production, studies have found genetic damage and increased rates of miscarriage during the spraying period. In the soy-growing Chaco district of Argentina, cancer rates have increased fourfold in the last decade. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us www.foemalta.org. You can also support us by sending a blank SMS donation on 50618070 (€4.66) or 50619223 (€11.65). GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 269 CAR-SHARING - THE WAY TO GO! Car sharing is becoming increasingly popular around the world as a cleaner and cheaper way to travel.