benin Archives

An initiate Kokou, a traditional warrior deity, covers herself with a mixture of red vegetable oil mixed with corn flour as festivities get under way

World

Benin’s women, pillars of voodoo celebrations

Clad in white and pink, Deborah Bossou, 25, blends vibrant song with dance as she immerses herself with fellow practitioners in Vodun, traditional voodoo...

AFPJanuary 11, 2025

Part of the Niger-Benin dispute is over their mutual border, which Niamey has kept closed

Business

What’s behind the dispute between Benin and Niger?

Benin and Niger are locked in a growing diplomatic row that has damaged their economies and seen Niger’s military rulers switch off a key...

AFPJuly 2, 2024

Demonstrators hold up placards during a march against the high cost of living in Cotonou, last April 27, 2024

Business

In Benin, tensions soar over cost of living

In the heart of Cotonou’s large Dantokpa market, Diane Makpenon’s family corn shop is less busy than usual these days. The business run by...

AFPMay 10, 2024

US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit that Benin 'has offered up to 2,000 troops' for a multi-national security force meant to help overwhelmed Haitian police regain control

World

Caribbean summit host hails possible Benin troop deployment to Haiti

Guyana, hosting a summit of Caribbean countries, on Tuesday welcomed an announcement that Benin was mulling a 2,000-strong troop contribution to a UN security...

AFPFebruary 27, 2024

The fallout from sanctions against Niamey over the July coup included trucks stuck at Benin's closed border with Niger in September

World

Benin’s president urges renewal of ties with coup-hit Niger

Benin President Patrice Talon on Thursday called for relations to be swiftly re-established between his country and neighbouring Niger, which is now controlled by...

AFPDecember 21, 2023

Benin traders long took advantage of neighbouring Nigeria subsidised fuel prices to make a profit selling at home.

Business

Benin feels the pinch as neighbouring Nigeria ends fuel subsidies

Sitting on top of a yellow jerry can of fuel, Jeannine waits for customers on a sidewalk in Benin’s economic capital Cotonou, but business...

AFPJune 16, 2023

Rwandan President Paul Kagame (C) arrived in Benin to discuss relations including military suppoort for Benin in its northern border

World

Rwanda, Benin talk military cooperation over border security

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame met Saturday with his Benin counterpart Patrice Talon, promising military support to help the country contain spillover from jihadist conflict...

AFPApril 15, 2023

Ivory Coast last year inaugurated a training school for West African militaries fighting jihadism -- the International Academy for Combating Terrorism (AILCT)

World

Jihadists spread from the Sahel to coastal West Africa

Their campaign began in northern Mali a decade ago, advanced into the country’s powder-keg centre and from there into neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso....

AFPAugust 17, 2022