The return to Benin of 26 royal treasures soon a reality

It is a ceremony with strong symbolic value which will be held on Wednesday in Paris: France will record the forthcoming restitution to Benin of 26 works of the royal treasures of Abomey, preserved until now at the Quai Branly museum. Emmanuel Macron will preside over the ceremony to be held at 4:00 p.m. at the Parisian museum housing thousands of African works partly looted during colonization. Benin will be represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aurélien Agbenonci, before a possible visit by President Patrice Talon in November. The ceremony will be an opportunity to detail the conditions for the return of the works and the timetable, according to a government source. Among the 26 works of art are totem statues from the former Kingdom of Abomey as well as the throne of King Béhanzin, looted during the sacking of the Abomey Palace by colonial troops in 1892. They are exhibited to the public until Sunday at the Quai Branly museum. The French head of state made a commitment during a speech at the University of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) in November 2017 to make possible within five years the temporary or permanent restitution of African heritage in France.

Covid in Brazil: approval of a damning report for Bolsonaro

The Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (ICC) on the pandemic in Brazil late Tuesday approved the damning report of its six-month investigation, which recommends the indictment of President Jair Bolsonaro for nine crimes, including "crime against humanity". . After dozens of often poignant hearings, the ICC accused the government of having "deliberately exposed" Brazilians to "mass contamination". Seven of the 11 senators who led the work of the commission approved in the evening the text of nearly 1,200 pages which calls for the indictment of the president for, in particular, "crime against humanity", "prevarication", "charlatanism" and " incitement to crime". At the end of the vote, the senators observed a minute of silence in tribute to the more than 606,000 Brazilians who died of Covid-19. The text, which was presented by rapporteur Renan Calheiros last week, also recommends the indictment of some 80 people, including several ministers, ex-ministers, companies, and Bolsonaro's three eldest sons, all elected officials.

IN SHORT

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok was brought home on Tuesday evening and remains "under heightened surveillance" following a coup led by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane and contested by demonstrators who again came under fire from tear gas canisters.

Sharks preying on surfers or swimmers have such poor eyesight that scientists have concluded they likely mistake them for their usual prey, pinnipeds such as sea lions, a study has found.

The French team makes things easy on the road to the World Cup-2023: carried by the doubles of Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Melvine Malard, the Blues disgusted Kazakhstan (5-0) in Nur-Sultan, continuing their fall without a hitch despite this long trip to Central Asia.