Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/658018
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 27 MARCH 2016 39 This Week THE Għaqda tal-Malti – Univer- sità and the National Book Coun- cil, are organising the third edition of the University Book Festival, known better as the Campus Book Fest. The Festival will take place from April 5 to 7 – opening from 09:00 till 14:00 and from 16:00 till late. Several publishers and distribu- tors will be participating in this year's edition of the Festival with their own stand space and selec- tion of books such as BDL, EDE, Inizjamed/Edizzjoni Skarta, Fa- raxa, Horizons, Sensiela Kotba Soċjalisti (SKS) and the Students Philosophical Society, with a wide range of philosophy books. Present along with the above, the Għaqda tal-Malti and the National Book Council will also be present in the Festival tent to answer queries and give out tokens to the first hun- dred who visit the Festival. During the Festival several activi- ties will be put up, ranging from workshops to films, from readings to discussion, and so on. The activ- ities are held by Mark Scicluna and Moira Zahra, ESO, Insite, Faraxa Books, KSU (Education Commis- sion), Highlight Arts, Inizjamed, Glen Calleja, Għaqda tal-Malti, Trevor Żahra, Fat Lady Produc- tions, The National Council for the Maltese Language, Akkademja tal- Malti, Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb, TAĦŻIŻ, Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, Miriam Calleja, EDE, Mistura, Michael Spagnol, Graphic Novels Library, and DESA. On the three days of the Festi- val, the University Library will be opening its doors to students and visitors with a series of activities and tours to less accessible areas of the library. The Għaqda tal-Malti will be exhibiting the photos sub- mitted for the competition 'Ħudli Ritratt', which is open till April 1. Matthew Schembri will also be set- ting up an art installation, namely Ixorbu l-Kotba. This year's special festival guest is the Icelandic writer Gerdur Kristny, who will be joining us on Campus for special events sched- uled on each of the three days. On April 6, Kristny will be giving a workshop related to the re-writing of Norse Mythology and on April 7 the festival will be closing off with a reading of her work followed by a Q&A session. The Festival is open to all free of charge. Publishers, authors and associations celebrate book culture on campus from April 5 to 7 Two major development finance companies involved in the construction of the controversial Agua Zarca dam announced they would suspend activities in response to the violence against activists in Honduras, in the wake of two new shootings. Following the murder of Goldman Environmental Prize winner Berta Cáceres and wounding of Gustavo Castro, director of Friends of the Earth Mexico earlier this month, two activists were shot in separate incidents. Nelson Garcia was a member of the organization Berta Cáceres co-founded (COPINH). He was reportedly shot four times at his home. Mauricio Alegría was reportedly shot on the streets of the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) and the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund) have now confirmed that they are suspending their financing for their projects in Honduras, including the Agua Zarca dam. FMO, one of the main financiers of Agua Zarca project, finally declared it is suspending all its activities and disbursements to projects in Honduras, and Finnfund has taken similar actions. Friends of the Earth International is now demanding that these financiers pull out permanently. Sinohydro, a Chinese state- owned hydropower engineering and construction company, cited conflicts between the company (DESA) and local communities for leaving the project in 2013. Some days ago there was a flurry of people lining the fence along the runway at the airport, armed with binoculars and cameras. Were they aircraft enthusiasts ogling a rare plane that just landed? Well, they were enthusiasts and they were ogling a rare winged object that had landed but it was no airplane. It was a smallish, sand-coloured bird that ran about on thin spindly legs, chasing insects and snapping up grubs in the low-cut vegetation bordering the runway. It was a cream- coloured courser, a 'lifer' (= first sighting of a rare species) for several birdwatchers, especially the younger ones. Although technically a shorebird, the cream-coloured courser (M: nankina) prefers flat, sub- desert regions than lakes and shores. The species doesn't venture much into Europe and is not seen every year in Malta either. So it was a nice Easter present for all who enjoyed it for the few days it spent here. GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 402: SIGN THE PETITION: Help us secure Gustavo's safety. As a witness to the murder we feel it is very dangerous for him to be in Honduras. The government is preventing him from leaving the country, and he has taken sanctuary in the Mexican embassy – http://www.foemalta.org/links/freegustavo Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text Victor Falzon Photo Aron Tanti 499. CREAM-COLOURED COURSER Development financiers suspend Honduras operations after latest murder Poet and novelist Gerdur Kristny (Iceland) Icelandic author headlines Campus Book Fest French Embassy heritage garden opens for visitors FOR its first 2016 edition of the Heritage Homes events, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA), French Ambassador Béatrice le Fraper will be inviting visitors to her garden party in celebration of trees, on April 9 and 16 at 15:00. The venue is at Triq il-Knisja, Zebbuġ (directly behind Zebbuġ Parish Church). The garden of the French Ambas- sador's residence in Zebbug is typi- cal of the Maltese walled gardens which accompanied most fine old country houses. FAA's tree experts will be giving guided tours of the beautiful gardens and their ancient trees. The tours will be followed by a short talk on trees, following which tea and refreshments will be offered. Places are limited there- fore guests are urged to book early. Furthermore, every booked guest will need to provide his/her printed ticket (booked via FAA's Ticketen- gine) and ID card. These docu- ments must be presented at the door due to security considerations. This event is limited to members of Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar. Should you wish to become a mem- ber you can do so at http://new. faa.org.mt/how-to-help/become-a- member/ Tickets may be booked by visiting: https://ticketengine.faa.org.mt/ A €15 donation towards FAA's tree-planting initiative is solicited.