Benin Displays 26 Antiquities Recovered from France for First Time

 French President Emmanuel Macron (L) looks at the doors of
Benin King Glele's palace exhibited at the Quai Branly museum before
being shipped to the West African country, in Paris, France, Oct. 27,
2021. (AFP Photo)
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) looks at the doors of Benin King Glele's palace exhibited at the Quai Branly museum before being shipped to the West African country, in Paris, France, Oct. 27, 2021. (AFP Photo)
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Benin Displays 26 Antiquities Recovered from France for First Time

 French President Emmanuel Macron (L) looks at the doors of
Benin King Glele's palace exhibited at the Quai Branly museum before
being shipped to the West African country, in Paris, France, Oct. 27,
2021. (AFP Photo)
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) looks at the doors of Benin King Glele's palace exhibited at the Quai Branly museum before being shipped to the West African country, in Paris, France, Oct. 27, 2021. (AFP Photo)

Benin President Patrice Talon on Saturday ‘proudly’ inaugurated a valuable historic exhibition about Cotonou. The exhibition displays 26 royal treasures to the public after they were returned by France in November, nearly 129 years after they were looted, according to Agence France Press (AFP).

This exhibition represents "pride and faith in what we once were, in what we are and in what we will be. This is the true Benin,” Talon told reporters.

He added that the recovery of these pieces “has broken a taboo. It’s not important anymore to wonder whether we can make it or not, because we did,” noting that Benin will request France to return more antiquities stolen by its colonial troops.

The exhibition, which kicked off on Feb.20 and runs until May 22, extends over a 2,000-square-metre space in the presidential palace in Cotonou under the theme “Benin Art Yesterday and Today.”

The 26 pieces returned by France after two years of negotiations between Paris and Cotonou, are the first of its kind recovery of important historic antiquities to an African state.

Earlier on Saturday, President Patrice Talon accompanied French minister of culture Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, who was visiting Cotonou, to see the 26 pieces that were formerly exhibited at the Quai Branly Museum in France.

“It’s a wonderful exhibition that adds more value to the creativity, and political, historic, and aesthetic heritage of these 26 pieces,” she said.

The pieces were stolen in 1892 by French colonial forces from Abomey, capital of the former Dahomey kingdom located in the south of modern-day Benin.



Elderly Man Dies as Wildfires Rage in Türkiye, Forcing Evacuations and Road Closures

A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
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Elderly Man Dies as Wildfires Rage in Türkiye, Forcing Evacuations and Road Closures

A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem

Firefighters on Thursday discovered the body of an elderly man after extinguishing a wildfire near a village in western Türkiye, while crews elsewhere continued to battle another blaze that closed a highway and forced some residents to be evacuated from their homes.

The 81-year-old-man died from smoke inhalation in a village near the town of Odemis, Suleyman Elban, the governor for Izmir province, said. His death marks the first fatality in a series of wildfires across the country that have forced thousands to flee.

A total of 37 other villagers were safely evacuated by security forces and emergency teams, Elban said, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, hundreds of firefighters, supported by aircraft and helicopters, were deployed to extinguish a wildfire blazing in the Aegean coastal town of Cesme, a tourism hotspot some 192 kilometers (120 miles) west of Odemis.

That wildfire, which began on Wednesday, forced the evacuation of three neighborhoods and closed roads. Television footage of the blaze showed flames burning through dried vegetation on both sides of a road.

Elban said the wildfires in Izmir province are believed to have been sparked by electrical lines, which ignited dry grass and spread rapidly due to wind.

In the past week, Türkiye has battled hundreds of fires across the country that were fueled by fierce winds, scorching heat and low humidity.

The fires — most of which were brought under control — damaged or destroyed around 200 homes, the majority in İzmir, the Interior Ministry said. Dozens of barns were also destroyed.

As firefighting crews battled the blazes, Türkiye's parliament adopted the country’s first climate law late Wednesday, in a move aimed at reaching net-zero emissions by 2053.

The legislation includes measures to establish a carbon market board to oversee efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission. It also imposes fines on companies that fail to comply with the requirements.

The U.K.-based environmental advocacy group ClientEarth on Thursday welcomed the law’s symbolic importance but said it has several shortcomings.

“The law lacks ambitious, science-based targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the medium-term and offers no commitment to phasing out fossil fuels,” the group said.