The priceless artworks were seized by the British during a punitive expedition by its forces in 1897. The military action led by Admiral Harry Rawson was in response to the defeat by the Bini people of a previous British-led invasion force, which had left all but two men dead. Rawson’s troops captured, burned, and looted Benin City, bringing to an end the West African Kingdom of Benin. As a result, much of the country's art, including the Benin Bronzes, were looted and relocated to Britain.

The Swiss town of Winterthur will once again play hosts to artists from Africa, Europe and the Caribbean and provide a unique theatre for the meeting of Africa and its Diaspora. Afro-Pfingsten World Music Festival in Winterthur is back this year! The biggest African cultural jamboree in Switzerland, which was missing on the calendar last year, is staging a come-back …

Forbes Africa has released its list of Richest African musicians. The list was put together using factors such as endorsement value, popularity, show rates, sales, awards, YouTube views, appearance in newspapers, investment, social media presence, influence and others. The top 10 are; AKON, SENEGALESE-AMERICAN Akon has over 35 million albums sold worldwide. He has won numerous awards including five Grammy Award …

Afrobeat master Femi Kuti may have broken the world record for the longest single note held on a saxophone. He is said to have attained the feat on Sunday (7 May) at the New Africa Shrine in Lagos as shared by his sister, Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti, on her Instagram page @yenikuti. “This evening 7th May at the New Africa Shrine, Femi …

More than 200 migrants are feared to have drowned in the Mediterranean over the weekend trying to reach European shores, according to testimony from survivors. The UN refugee agency UNHCR says it recorded more than 6,000 people crossing the Mediterranean to reach Italy from Friday to Sunday. But the perilous journey in rickety, overcrowded boats means many of those risking …

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU has won a decisive victory over its Social Democrat rivals in an election in Germany’s northern state of Schleswig-Holstein on Sunday. The CDU won with 33 per cent of the vote compared to the SPD’s 26 per cent, down from 30 per cent. The result is a boost for Merkel, who is seeking a fourth …

The world’s largest travel advisory and booking website TripAdvisor has released the result of its survey of travellers’ choice of destinations in Africa for 2017. Winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews and ratings for hotels, restaurants and attractions in destinations, gathered over a 12-month period, as well as travellers’ booking interest …

Germany’s minister of economic co-operation and development, Dr Gerd Müller, is presently promoting a plan to redesign the country’s relationship with Africa. Launched in Berlin early this year, the plan proposes new planks in German-African ties with the aim of promoting sustainable political stability and economic growth in Africa. ‘Marshall Plan with Africa’, in a nutshell, is a way to …

The wife of Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, has spoken out about the health of her husband, stating that “his health is not as bad as it’s being perceived.” Aisha Buhari took to Twitter yesterday apparently in response to the growing anxiety in the country over the health of its leader. She also thanked Nigerians for their “concern, love and prayers …

A 28-year-old man has won 221 Kenyan Shillings (US$2 million) after perfectly predicting the scores of 17 matches last weekend in a football betting jackpot. This is one of the biggest wins in Africa and for Kenya’s largest online sports betting service SportPesa. The jackpot winner, Samuel Abisai, was picked up on Tuesday in a white limousine together with his friends …

A group of leading civil society activists in Nigeria has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take an official leave and hand over his office to his deputy, Vice-President Yemi Osibajo. Buhari returned from the UK, where he was on medical vacation, on 10 March and since his return, he has only made a few public appearances. The activists’ call …

Ghana and Pescara’s  player Sulley Muntari confronted racism boldly on Sunday during a Serie A match  involving his club in Cagliari. The 32-year-old midfielder complained to the referee about racist chants of Cagliari fans but was punished for his complaints, prompting him to take action himself by leaving the pitch in protest. The Ghana international had appealed to the referee …

Even as many countries in the developing world have stepped up their commitment to improving and expanding education opportunities, education has remained chronically underfinanced, with funding levels far below what is needed to achieve education benchmarks

An opening ceremony was held for the construction of 45 sports fields for socially disadvantaged youth in Namibia recently. In the future, nearly 14,000 young Namibians across the country will be able to use the sports fields for free to play football or other sports. Germany’s development ministry has teamed up with prominent partners for the project. They include partners …

In response to the many reports of the maltreatment of sub-Saharan migrants in Libyan detention centres, the International Organization for Migration, IOM, has begun training officials in five facilities on human rights. These are “the first trainings inside detention centres since 2014”, the United Nations Support Mission for Libya (UNSMIL) announced. In the pilot project, IOM is targeting five centres …

Pope Francis has urged Muslim leaders to unite in renouncing religious extremism during the first day of his 2-day trip to Egypt. The visit, amid tight security, is aimed at promoting better ties between Muslim and Christian leaders and comes after two deadly attacks on Egyptian Coptic churches this month which left 45 people dead. The Pope paid a courtesy …

The 28 EU Member States granted protection status to 710,400 asylum seekers last year, more than double that of 2015, Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, reported on Wednesday. Some 57 per cent of those granted asylum were Syrians. Iraqis (9% of the total), Afghans (9%), Eritreans (5%) and Iran and Somalia (2%) were the next major recipient-nationalities. Germany gave asylum …

Retailers, manufacturers, distributors, representatives of trade and industry and musicians and music fans from all over the world came together at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre for this year’s Musikmesse (Music Fair). From 5 to 8 April 2017, visitors from 119 countries attended the event to discover the latest developments in the market, make contacts and participate in the extensive …

The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) has asked the descendants of the victims of the OvaHerero and Nama genocide in Namibia during the German colonial rule of the country for forgiveness. “As the successor organisation of the former Prussian Evangelical High Church Council (Oberkirchenrat), we expressly confess our guilt today towards the entire Namibian people and before God,” says the …

Ethiopian journalist and blogger, Eskinder Nega, has been named the winner of a top press freedom award despite being in jail since 2011. The International Press Institute (IPI) on Tuesday (25 April) named him as the winner of the ‘World Press Freedom Hero for this year. Nega was imprisoned reportedly after criticizing his country’s abuse of anti-terror laws to silence …