• Angelique Kidjo becomes the third artist from Africa to be awarded prestigious music prize
• France to give Abomey Palace artifacts back to Benin
• Benin moves to save part of West Africa's last big wildlife refuge

• Benin: More than 40,000 children trafficked each year

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Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Angelique Kidjo becomes the third artist from Africa to be awarded prestigious music prize
9 April 2023 - Five-time Grammy winner Angelique Kidjo has been announced as one of three 2023 Polar Music Prize recipients, putting the Benin-born singer-songwriter in rare company. Founded in 1989 by ABBA manager Stig 'Stikkan' Anderson, the Sweden-based Polar Music Prize has been awarded since 1992 and is considered to be among the most prestigious honors in the music industry. (more)

France to give Abomey Palace artifacts back to Benin
9 October 2021 - France will give back to Benin artworks that were taken from the former French colony's Royal Palaces of Abomey, which has since become a UNESCO World Heritage site, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday [8 October]. Macron said that 26 works will be given back to Benin at the end of October in the presence of Benin President Patrice Talon. (more)

Benin moves to save part of West Africa's last big wildlife refuge
1 June 2017 - Benin is hiring scores of extra park rangers and bringing in conservation scientists to rehabilitate a part of West Africa's largest wildlife reserve, which contains big cats and thousands of elephants that have largely died out elsewhere in the region. The W-Arli-Pendjari (WAP) complex is the region's biggest remaining expanse of savannah, covering more than 30,000 sq km of Benin, Niger, and Burkina Faso. (more)

In Benin, a new stove turns rice waste into clean fuel
5 May 2016 - Rice is a staple food in Benin, and parboiling the grain requires a lot of heat, which means a lot of wood. The process is a major culprit behind Benin's worrisome deforestation rate and a big contributor to health problems due to the inhalation of wood smoke. But researchers at the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), a pan-African rice research group, aim to tackle those problems with a stove that runs on a free, sustainable, and abundant fuel: rice husks. AfricaRice's stove is fed by a solar-powered fan and is designed to burn off most of the gas released by the burning husks. Compared with a wood-burning stove, the clean stove produces fewer emissions and heats water faster. (more)

Organic farm in Benin, an example for Africa
24 June 2014 - With his pilgrim's staff and panama hat, Father Godfrey Nzamujo nips up and down the paths of Songhai, the organic farm he created nearly 30 years ago to fight poverty and rural migration in Africa. The small farm covered barely a hectare when it was set up in Porto Novo in 1985 but has since become a pilot project for the rest of the continent badly in need of new ideas to maximize yields. Songhai in tiny Benin has big plans for Africa. It already has similar operations in Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone and wants to set up shop in 13 more west and central African countries. (more)

Benin blazes a trail for African modern art with opening of museum in Ouidah
6 January 2014 - A new museum of contemporary art opened in November 2013. This would hardly count as news in China or the United States, but this one is in Ouidah, Benin, and it is the first museum devoted to African contemporary art to open in sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa. (more)

UN welcomes successful staging of first round of Benin's Presidential ballot
14 March 2011 - On Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended the 'peaceful and orderly' conduct of the first round of Presidential elections in Benin, saying the West African country had set a positive example by organizing the ballot without major incident. (more)

Republic of Benin economic achievements help improve credit ratings
19 December 2007 - Standard and Poor's Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Benin to positive from stable due to ongoing economic improvements in the context of continued prudent fiscal policies. Standard and Poor's credit analyst stated that the positive outlook reflects the government's economic achievements in less than two years in office, notably a rebound in economic growth, and the restoration of a sustainable budget deficit. (more)

Benin's President leads 'green march' to finance schools and hospitals
18 July 2007 - Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi has taken his anti-corruption drive onto the streets of the West African nation, leading several thousand supporters on an 8-km (5-mile) 'green march' through the economic capital Cotonou. The anti-corruption drive will help finance more schools and hospitals for the country's 9 million people. (more)

Benin: Drive to get girls into school
31 July 2006 - In Benin, where 21 per cent more boys go to school than girls, the country is raising the public's awareness of the importance of girl's education. Educated girls play a bigger role in developing their families, their community, and the nation. (more)

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Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Benin: More than 40,000 children trafficked each year
5 March 2008 - A new study released jointly by the Ministry of Family and Children and the UN in Benin shows that more than 40,000 children aged between 6 and 17 were trafficked in 2006. (more)