Zanzibar -- The Dark Side of Paradise is a twenty minute news documentary which looks at the causes and consequences of the longest blackout in history. The film assesses how unremitting power problems in the Spice Islands are putting their fragile economy at great risk, whilst also denying their impoverished population a safe water supply. It also provides a background of Zanzibar's current political situation and their dependence on tourism in order to illustrate why the power cuts are only serving to aggravate an already dire situation.

Regreening the planet looks at the profit that comes from the recovery of ecosystems in Spain, Egypt and India. Restoring ecosystems does not only generate ecological profit but also economic. In Regreening the desert, the makers of VPRO Backlight showed that the greening of deserts is very well possible. They followed the American-Chinese cameraman and ecologist John D. Liu.He filmed how an inhospitable dry mountain area as large as the Netherlands was transformed into a lush green oasis. The greening caused not only ecological recovery but also economic growth of the region. Since then, John D. Liu has traveled the world to inspire people in other countries to follow this example.Dutch ecologist Willem Ferwerda was inspired by Liu and decided to work together with him.

This cooperation has grown into a new organization, Commonland, a foundation with a clear mission: to restore the ecosystems on a large scale worldwide. The point of departure is that restoring landscapes not only yields ecological profits but also money, work and hope for the people living there.We can see that this works in Egypt: in 1977 Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish SEKEM, experimented to green the desert at Cairo. In 2014, SEKEM has grown to be the leading supplier of ecological products in Egypt and far beyond. Dr. Abouleish has built not only a flourishing business in the desert but a complete community with schools and their own medical and cultural facilities.

A better proof that greening and social innovation go hand in hand is almost impossible to find.That all areas can grow alive, even if they are completely eroded by erosion, also appears from the special story of Indian Jadav "Molai" Payeng. When he was 17, he worked for a replanting project in Assam province. After the project was completed and the other laborers had disappeared, he decided to continue propagating wood by hand. Now, Molai forest is 300 acres and populated by elephants, Bengal tigers, deer, rhino and numerous birds. Payeng is also called The Forest Man in India because he has been able to create a jungle singlehandedly.That is something that Spain might well use. Large areas in Spain are dry and abandoned due to misused agricultural subsidies, unintentional water and land use and large-scale erosion.

The population is turning its back on the countryside and moves to the cities, but there is also unemployment there. In Ayoo de Vidriales, a graying village in the middle of Spain, agricultural engineer Pedro Alonso Fernandez has begun to recover land. He wants to show that the Spanish silted and eroded soils are in fact Green Gold.Originally broadcasted by VPRO in 2014.

© VPRO Backlight Octobre 2014On VPRO broadcast you will find nonfiction videos with English subtitles, French subtitles and Spanish subtitles, such as documentaries, short interviews and documentary series.VPRO Documentary publishes one new subtitled documentary about current affairs, finance, sustainability, climate change or politics every week. We research subjects like politics, world economy, society and science with experts and try to grasp the essence of prominent trends and developments.

Credits:Directed by: Rob van Hattum & Gijs Meyer SwanteeProduction: Helen Goossens Senior editors: Henneke Hagen & Frank WieringEnglish, French and Spanish subtitles: Ericsson.French and Spanish subtitles are co-funded by European Union.

In this episode of Travelogue, CGTN's Tianran travels to the desert tracts in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The region has registered remarkable progress in the recent years including doing the impossible by growing rice paddies and vineyards in the desert land. Join us and explore the secret behind this miraculous transformation.

Travelogue is a 30-minute features program on CGTN that takes viewers on unforgettable adventures across China. It airs on Sundays at 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. BJT (00:30 & 09:30 GMT), with repeats on Mondays at 2:00 a.m. (Sunday 19:00 GMT) and Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. (06:30 GMT).

Sunday, February 12th 1961.

Footage of African students angered by reports of the death of former Congolese Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba.

Reuters Text:

"The Belgian Embassy in Cairo, United Arab Republic, was littered with bricks and broken glass February 12 after a mob of some 300 African students, shouting "Murderers of Lumumba", attacked the building.

Police prevented the students - enraged after hearing of the death of deposed Premier Patrice Lumumba - from climbing over the railing and arrested four of them.

Belgian Ambassador, M. Maurice d'Eeckhoutte, had been sitting in his first-floor study with his wife when bricks were hurled through the window.

M. d'Eeckhoutte said "They started throwing things and my wife and I left the room. ..as soon as I heard the word Lumumba I knew who they were. I shall be protesting to the United Arab Republic Foreign Ministry about this.

Katanga Minister of the Interior, Mr. Munongo, said Feb 13 that Mr. Lumumba and two companions were "massacred" by villagers after escaping from custody in Katanga."

Source: Reuters News Archive.

Note:

Lumumba was not "massacred" by villagers after escaping from custody in Katanga. He was executed by a firing squad commanded by a Belgian officer and his body later dissolved in sulphuric acid by two Belgian police officials.

During her life time over 30 million trees were planted. She did not relent even at the blink of death. Wangari Maathai was awarded the 2004 Noble Peace Prize due to her fight for the environmental conservation and standing against governments which worked towards destroying natural habitats. But who was Wangari Maathai and how did her passion for environmental conservation start? Walk in the journey of the 'Eco Warrior' and learn more.