Niamey, Niger | AFP | The leaders of Benin and Niger have given their backing to Chinese involvement in a controversial major rail infrastructure project set to span several countries. “We have taken stock of the railway issue (and) we tried to see which measures could be taken to move …
Read More »Public sector workers strike in Benin over right to strike
Cotonou, Benin | AFP | Civil servants in Benin walked out on Wednesday, calling for the repeal of a new law banning them from taking industrial action. The three-day strike, called for by seven trade unions representing public sector workers in areas such as health and the justice system, began on …
Read More »Benin encouraged by Macron’s pledge on African heritage
Cotonou, Benin | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron made a surprise announcement during his recent African tour, saying in Burkina Faso’s capital that one of his priorities was to restore African cultural treasures. African cultural heritage “should be highlighted in Paris, but also in Dakar, Lagos, Cotonou”, Macron told a …
Read More »MTN looks to cut ‘excessive’ licence fee in Benin
Cotonou, Benin | AFP | South African mobile phone giant MTN is in talks with Benin’s telecoms regulator after its subsidiary was slapped with a bill of more than $200 million. The regulator (Arcep) wants MTN Benin to pay 134.4 billion CFA francs — the equivalent of $213 million (205 million …
Read More »Beauty is skin deep for Benin’s pineapples
Allada, BENIN | AFP | From his chair in the middle of a pile of pineapples, Jean-Xavier Satola supervises cutting and packaging, as Benin — Africa’s fourth-biggest exporter of the fruit — starts trading again after an eight-month self-imposed absence. The fields of Allada in southern Benin are a hive of …
Read More »Mama mia! Benin shock Nigeria in CHAN
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Benin shocked Nigeria 1-0 Sunday in African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifying to complete a rare weekend of football celebrations for the tiny west coast country. On Saturday, Beninese Steve Mounie scored twice for promoted Huddersfield Town in a 3-0 triumph at Crystal Palace that …
Read More »Football: Benin league resumes after two-year break
Cotonou, Benin | AFP | Top-flight football resumed in tiny west African nation Benin Saturday after a two-year absence due to power struggles between officials. Among those who attended a league fixture involving Atlantic Sharks and US Seme-Krake were state president Patrice Talon and CAF boss Ahmad Ahmad from Madagascar. Disagreements …
Read More »Benin admits president had surgery while in Paris
Cotonou, Benin | AFP | Benin President Patrice Talon underwenttwo surgeries during a prolonged stay in Paris, one procedure due to doctors finding a lesion in his prostate, his office said Monday. The admission comes weeks after Talon’s absence, which lasted nearly a month, had been a hot topic in …
Read More »Benin’s defence minister quits over constitutional reform
Cotonou, Benin | AFP | Benin’s defence minister announced his resignation on Monday to protest President Patrice Talon’s plans to overhaul the constitution. Candide Armand-Marie Azannai wrote on his Facebook page that he had decided to quit because of “recent developments in this country’s politics”. Businessman Talon, who was elected last …
Read More »‘No risk’ in Benin after truck with chemical for nuclear production crashes
Paris, France | AFP | The French nuclear group Areva said Tuesday a truck carrying a chemical used in the uranium fuel process had tipped over in Benin, but there was “no risk” of contamination. The accident occurred in the West African country on Sunday near Dassa, about 200 kilometres …
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