The drum – known as “Djidji Ayokwè”, meaning Panther-Lion in the Atchan language – is more than three metres long and weighs nearly 400 kg, according to Ivory Coast’s culture ministry

International News via Reuters:

Traditional chiefs wearing crowns and gold chains gathered at Ivory Coast’s main airport on Friday to welcome the return of a “talking drum” looted more than a century ago, the first artifact returned to the West African country by former colonial power France. 

The drum – known as “Djidji Ayokwè”, meaning Panther-Lion in the Atchan language – is more than three metres long and weighs nearly 400 kg, according to Ivory Coast’s culture ministry.

It was used by the Atchan people, native to southern Ivory Coast, to alert locals to forced labour operations being carried out by colonizers and to mobilize fighters.

The Ivorian culture ministry is seeking the restitution of 148 artifacts from France, and the talking drum, previously displayed at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris, is the first to make the return journey.

Confiscated in 1916, the talking drum was initially kept at the governor’s palace in Abidjan before being sent to France in 1930, according to the culture ministry.

“This is a historic day, and I am deeply moved,” Françoise Remarck, Ivory Coast’s minister of culture and Francophonie, said during Friday’s ceremony, punctuated by traditional songs and war dances. 

Pressure has grown in recent years for former colonial powers such as France and Britain to return artefacts taken from Africa and Asia.

Donning a traditional loincloth, Gervais Djoman, chief of an Atchan village, told Reuters on Friday that the return of the talking drum was a source of joy and pride for the Atchan people.”We are reclaiming our identity. Psychologically, something had been taken from us,” he said.

Reporting and writing by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet

NATO air defences shot down the first Iranian ballistic missile fired at Turkey on March 4, followed by the shooting down of a second Iranian missile on March 9

International News via Reuters:

NATO air defences in the eastern Mediterranean have shot down a third ballistic missile that was fired from Iran towards Turkey, the Turkish Defence Ministry said on Friday, adding that it was asking Tehran for clarification.

NATO air defences shot down the first Iranian ballistic missile fired at Turkey on March 4, followed by the shooting down of a second Iranian missile on March 9. The ministry has said the first incoming missile was downed en route to Turkish airspace, while the second entered it.

The missiles increasingly pose a test for NATO member Ankara and the alliance. Turkey, NATO’s second-largest army and Iran’s neighbour, has warned Tehran against any more attacks. It also protested to Tehran after every incident, but has not suggested it wants to formally call on alliance members for protection.

“All necessary measures are being taken decisively and without hesitation against any threat directed at our country’s territory and airspace. Consultations are being conducted with the relevant country to clarify all aspects of the incident,” the ministry said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from Iran, but it has so far repeatedly rejected deliberately targeting Turkey amid its war with the United States and Israel.

Following the incidents, NATO has beefed up its ballistic missile defences in the region and deployed a U.S. Patriot air defence system to the southeastern Turkish province of Malatya to increase defence at the Kurecik radar base there used by the alliance.  

Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler, Editing by William Maclean

Output in the 21 nations sharing the euro currency dropped by 1.5% on the month, underperforming expectations for 0.6% growth

International News via Reuters:

Euro zone industrial production unexpectedly fell in January, data from Eurostat showed on Friday, casting doubt on the sector’s long-predicted recovery, especially as the recent surge in energy costs will also weigh on demand.

Output in the 21 nations sharing the euro currency dropped by 1.5% on the month, underperforming expectations for 0.6% growth, while compared to a year earlier, output was down 1.2% against expectations for 1.4% growth in a Reuters poll of economists.

Industry has been broadly stagnant for years and its output is still below its 2021 level as high energy costs, stiffening competition from China, U.S. tariffs, poor productivity growth and low global demand for European cars have all hurt the bloc.

Output in Germany, the euro zone’s biggest country and the bloc’s dominant car maker, is 9% below its 2021 level and has been trending down for years, keeping the overall German economy stagnant for the past three years.

Euro zone industry was expected to recover this year, partly on the German government spending spree on defence and infrastructure, but the recent jump in energy costs has cast a shadow over this rebound.

Oil prices are up around two thirds since the start of the year and natural gas costs are up around 80% on the U.S.-led war in Iran, a double whammy for industry as it raises costs and saps purchasing power.

Europe is a net importer of energy and its industry is especially sensitive to commodity price shocks as the bloc has relatively few natural resources.

Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Toby Chopra