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The Latest Breaking News from Benin

Woman King is set in Benin but filmed in South Africa - in the process it erases real people's struggles

The latest film by director Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Woman King, is about a legendary all-woman African army in the 1800s, the Amazons of Dahomey. It takes place in what is today the Republic of Benin in west Africa. It wasn’t filmed in Benin, but in South Africa, in the KwaZulu-Natal…

The Conversation

Digital Benin project reunites bronzes looted by British soldiers

Comprehensive database of Benin bronzes held by museums raises questions about where they belong

The Guardian - UK

Climate change means farmers in West Africa need more ways to combat pests

The link between climate change and the spread of crop pests has been established by research and evidence.

The Conversation

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‘It’s been nearly a month and it’s still sold out’: The Woman King takes over Benin’s only cinema

The blockbuster retelling of Benin’s history of elite women warriors has transfixed audiences in the West African country. Our reporter joins the crowds

The Guardian - UK

US returns Benin Bronzes stolen by British colonial forces

Thousands of Benin Bronzes are scattered in museums worldwide after being looted by Britain in the late 19th century.

Al Jazeera

Woman King is worth watching: but be aware that its take on history is problematic

The Hollywood movie The Woman King, released in mid-September, became an immediate box-office success. The triumphs of the Agoodjies, the women warriors of the ancient Kingdom of Dahomey in today’s Benin, west Africa, are as magnificent as the public had anticipated. In this epic historical drama, African women take centre…

The Conversation

Epic starring Benin's Agojie women warriors packs a punch in Hollywood

Benin's historic female warriors known as the Amazons of Dahomey are legendary across West Africa. They are now in the international spotlight thanks to "The Woman King" starring Viola Davis. The big budget Hollywood feature has drawn positive reviews, but has provoked some criticism as it was not filmed in…

Radio France Internationale

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Long-awaited trial over 2009 stadium massacre begins in Guinea

In tonight's edition: Former Guinean dictator Moussa Dadis Camara is finally in court for a long-awaited trial, 13 years after more than 150 people were killed by security forces at a Conakry stadium. Also, authorities in Kenya are trying to prevent the Ebola virus from crossing into the country from…

France 24

Abortion in Kenya and Benin: medical safety isn't enough – women and girls need to feel safe socially too

Safe abortion and post abortion care are essential health services. But until the publication of the 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) abortion care guidelines there was a narrow definition of abortion safety. In previous WHO guidelines, medical safety was the guiding principle of safe abortion. Safety, according the WHO, referred…

The Conversation

Love, determination and risking all to cross the Mediterranean

Sadia’s journey from Benin to Europe would see her brave a deadly migration route, and be separated from her husband.

Al Jazeera

The scourge of sexual violence in West Africa, unveiled

When Zougba’s husband fled the jihadist violence crippling Burkina Faso, she soon found herself with her young son, daughter and other women on the road in a mission to join him. After 10km, four armed men surged into view from the side of the road. Her children bore witness as…

The Conversation

King Salman Receives Credentials of Ambassadors of Several Countries

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz received in Jeddah on Tuesday the credentials of a number of ambassadors of brotherly and friendly countries appointed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, reported the Saudi Press Agency. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of…

Asharq Al-Awsat

‘Inconvenient truths’: Berlin’s Humboldt Forum faces up to its colonial past

The revamped museum fully opened on Friday, its looted Benin bronzes now repatriated to Nigeria. Yet are films, replicas and involvement of indigenous communities more than just window dressing?

The Guardian - UK

‘This is an old story of heroism, of feminism’: the truth behind The Woman King

The historical action epic, starring Viola Davis, tells the story of the Agojie, female African warriors who once reigned supreme

The Guardian - US

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The Conversation

The Woman King is more than an action movie – it shines a light on the women warriors of Benin

The Woman King is a big-budget Hollywood movie that has been anticipated since 2018, when US star Viola Davis was announced as the lead in the story of the “amazons” of Dahomey. Rising South African star Thuso Mbedu also takes a key role in the film, which has premiered at…

Tribune News Service

Movie review: 'The Woman King' an epic that puts women in the middle of the action

When actress Maria Bello visited the West African nation of Benin in 2015, she learned the history of the Agojie, an all-female military regiment from the Kingdom of Dahomey (and the inspiration for Wakanda’s Dora Milaje from “Black Panther”). Recognizing the cinematic potential for this story, she developed the project…

Reuters

Benin in talks with Rwanda over logistical aid to counter Islamist threat

Rwanda may provide logistical support to help Benin tackle a worsening Islamist insurgency that is threatening parts of the West African region, a Benin government spokesperson said on Saturday.

Reuters

Germany signs deal to give ownership of Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

Germany signed an agreement on Thursday to transfer ownership to Nigeria of the Benin Bronzes, among Africa's most culturally significant artefacts which were looted in the 19th century.

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The Conversation

Macron in Africa: a cynical twist to repair the colonial past while keeping a tight grip

In late July 2022 French president Emmanuel Macron concluded a tour of Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau. And he visits Algeria between 25 and 27 August.

France 24

French troop withdrawal from Mali prompts fresh security fears for the region

Mali's relations with Paris deteriorated after a junta took power in an August 2020 coup, eventually triggering the withdrawal of French troops that was completed on Monday. Russian mercenaries may be filling the void left by France's departure amid new fears that jihadists in the Sahel might be expanding their…

France 24

Guinea's opposition group FNDC hits out at military-appointed transitional government

Kenya is still waiting for official news of who its next president will be, this as speculation runs rife online about the outcome of Tuesday's vote. Also in this edition: in Guinea, the main opposition group FNDC has accused the transitional government of operating like a mafia, after the coalition…

Evening Standard

Londoner’s Diary: Return of Benin bronzes turns heat up on the British Museum

In today’s Diary: Pressure on BM over bronzes / How close is Gordon Brown to Starmer? / Bond’s 60th bday / Blenheim and Wilderness parties / Nigel Farage’s right wing weekend

WEKU

A London museum agrees to return more than 70 pieces of looted Nigerian art

The Horniman Museum promised to repatriate a trove of artifacts, which include objects known as Benin bronzes, looted from West Africa during a British military invasion in 1897.

The Guardian - UK

London museum to return 72 Benin treasures to Nigeria

Horniman museum is first government-funded institution to hand back artefacts looted by British forces in 1897

France 24

Senegal legislative elections: Ruling coalition, opposition both claim victory

In tonight's edition: Both Senegal's opposition and ruling coalition claim victory in Sunday's legislative elections. The vote is an important test for President Macky Sall. Meanwhile, ahead of presidential polls next week in Kenya, the electoral commission says lessons have been learned from the troubled 2017 election. Finally, a project…

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