December 1960.

Footage of Patrice Lumumba, the deposed Prime Miinister of Congo at the time of his arrest by troops loyal to Colonel Joseph Mobutu.

Source: Reuters News Archive.

Sunday, July 24th 1960.

Congolese Premier Patrice Lumumba flew into New York's Idlewild Airport July 24 for talks with Mr Dag Hammarskjoeld, United Nations Secretary-General, Waiting to greet him were some 50 African officials and representatives from the United Nations.

In an interview at the Airport he said: "We came here to make direct contact with the Secretary-General to arrange a speedy solution to the problem of the Congo." Speaking in French he added that the peace of the Congo Republic "is conditioned on the immediate departure of Belgian troops and we thank the United Nations for the resolution it adopted in that sense."

Mr Lumumba met Mr Hammarskjoeld that afternoon, and described the 2 1/2-hour talk as "very fruitful". The next day he was invited to attend a luncheon conference given by Mr Hammarskjoeld with the chief delegates of the II Security Council members and the nine African Assembly member states. So far there were no plans for the Congolese Prime Minister to address a meeting of the Security Council.

The United Nations announced July 23 that it would have more than 12,000 troops in the Congo Republic by the following weekend. They would comprise 14 battalions and five companies.

Source: Reuters News Archive.

Note:

Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations died in a mysterious plane crash in September 1961 while flying from Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) to the Republic of Congo (now the DRC) to mediate in the Congo Crisis.

He is one of only four persons to be awarded a Nobel Prize posthumously. President John F. Kennedy described him as "the greatest statesman of our century."

Thursday, June 13th 1974.

Footage of Samora Machel, the leader of FRELIMO (Frente de Libertação/Mozambique Liberation Front), the African guerrilla movement then seeking independence from Portugal rejecting a peace proposal from the new Portuguese government, a military regime which had overthrown the right-wing authoritarian Estado Novo regime on April 25th 1974.

Speaking at an OAU Summit in Mogadishu, Somalia, Machel described Portuguese colonialism in southern Africa as "the most decadent and corrupt form of foreign domination."

Reuters Text:

The leader of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), Mr. Samora Machel, rejected the proposals out of hand. He said the portuguese proposals - which include a referendum and the pledge of self-determination -- were insults to the people of Mozambique.

Mr. Machal described Portugal's policies in Mozambique as "the most decadent and corrupt forms of foreign domination", and he claimed conditions were now favourable for their destruction. The guerrilla leader said constant work by Frelimo had alerted the masses to the justice of their cause and their battle against the Portuguese. Although the territory was still under military occupation, " the manifestations" in all urban centres had demonstrated the solidarity of the Mozambique people.

Without distinction, the people - of all races, ethnic groups, religious beliefs and social origins - were demanding national independence and total adherence to the principles and programmes of Frelimo. Mr. Machel said the determination and unity was forged in clandestine battle, in suffering and in torture, in prison and in concentration camps". He said the ten-year guerrilla war, directed by Frelimo, had strengthened the determination and unity of the Mozambique people against "colonialist aggression." Later in his speech, Mr. Machel referred to the dialogue now under way between Frelimo and the Portuguese Government.

He said it could not develop into proper negotiations until Portugal recognised Mozambique's right to total and absolute independence. He added that Frelimo would also have to be recognised as the Mozambique people's legitimate representative.

Source: Reuters News Archive.

A large portion of the Namibian rangeland has been incised by erosion gullies down which much of the rainwater flows away, leaving the rangeland drier and less productive than in the past. Application of grazing management is usually insufficient on its own to restore protective grass cover where gullies dry the landscape. Therefore, various restoration techniques have been applied in different sites, relying mainly on local resources.

In arid Tete province of Mozambique, rural community-built sand dams store water for vegetable gardens that transform the lives of farm families.

Most parts of Northwestern Somaliland are arid or semi-arid. Water is scarce, acutely so during the summer months.

This has impeded the regions development for several decades in various ways: Agricultural productivity has been low, public health has suffered, and a big part of the workforce (largely women) has not been gainfully employed as they have to spend several hours every day just sourcing water.

Under its Integrated Community Development Program (ICDP), IFAD has supported the construction of 15 sand dams in the region since 2005. The sand dams substantially increased water availability in the region-- more than 1 million cubic metres of water is now available to over 6300 households, shallow wells in the area have been recharged, and agriculture has been boosted from a subsistence activity to a commercially profitable sector.

More info: http://www.ifad.org/bffs/proje....cts/somalia/communit
Produced by: MetaMeta
Year: 2014
Language: Somali and English
Region: East Africa, Horn of Africa

The Experience of Mr. Phiri in Improving Dry Land Management
Featuring Zephaniah Phiri Maseko, Cleopas Banda, and Julious Piti

A Film by Frank Löwen
Camera - Frank Löwen
Editor - Reiner Krausz

Contrary to the original version of the film about Mr. Phiri's experience, the uploaded YouTube version contains some weaknesses in the image quality. For people interested to get a copy of the original film version, they can contact Frank Löwen at info@down-to-earth-consult.com.

⁣Every Rain Drop Counts: Women champions in promoting rain water harvesting and sanitation in Uganda.

See more information at permaculturenews.org

Geoff Lawton looking at Industrial Agriculture and explaining the difference between it and Permaculture. From his DVD Permaculture Soils available at www.permaculturenews.org.