Foreign News
Asante Gold: UK to loan back Ghana’s looted ‘crown jewels’
The UK is sending some of Ghana’s “crown jewels” back home, 150 years after looting them from the court of the Asante king.
A gold peace pipe is among 32 items returning under long-term loan deals, the BBC can reveal.
The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) is lending 17 pieces and 15 are from the British Museum.
Ghana’s chief negotiator said he hoped for “a new sense of cultural co-operation” after generations of anger.
Some national museums in the UK – including the V&A and the British Museum – are banned by law from permanently giving back contested items in their collections, and loan deals such as this are seen as a way to allow objects to return to their countries of origin. But some countries laying claim to disputed artifacts fear that loans may be used to imply they accept the UK’s ownership.
Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A, told the BBC that the gold items of court regalia are the equivalent of “our Crown Jewels”.
The items to be loaned, most of which were taken during 19th-Century wars between the British and the Asante, include a sword of state and gold badges worn by officials charged with cleansing the soul of the king.
Mr Hunt said when museums hold “objects with origins in war and looting in military campaigns, we have a responsibility to the countries of origin to think about how we can share those more fairly today. “It doesn’t seem to me that all of our museums will fall down if we build up these kind of partnerships and exchanges.”
However, Mr Hunt insisted the new cultural partnership “is not restitution by the back door” – meaning it is not a way to return permanent ownership back to Ghana.
The three-year loan agreements, with an option to extend for a further three years, are not with the Ghanaian government but with Otumfo Osei Tutu II – the current Asante king known as the Asantehene – who attended the Coronation of King Charles last year. The Asantehene still holds an influential ceremonial role, although his kingdom is now part of Ghana’s modern democracy.
The items will go on display at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, the capital of the Asante region, to celebrate the Asantehene’s silver jubilee.
The Asante gold artifacts are the ultimate symbol of the Asante royal government and are believed to be invested with the spirits of former Asante kings.
They have an importance to Ghana comparable to the Benin Bronzes – thousands of sculptures and plaques looted by Britain from the palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in modern-day southern Nigeria. Nigeria has been calling for their return for decades.
Nana Oforiatta Ayim, special adviser to Ghana’s culture minister, told the BBC: “They’re not just objects, they have spiritual importance as well. They are part of the soul of the nation. It’s pieces of ourselves returning.” She said the loan was “a good starting point” on the anniversary of the looting and “a sign of some kind of healing and commemoration for the violence that happened”.
UK museums hold many more items taken from Ghana, including a gold trophy head that is among the most famous pieces of Asante regalia.
The Asante built what was once one of the most powerful and formidable states in west Africa, trading in, among others, gold, textiles and enslaved people.
The kingdom was famed for its military might and wealth. Even now, when the Asantehene shakes hands on official occasions, he can be so weighed down with heavy gold bracelets that he sometimes has an aide whose job is to support his arm.
Europeans were attracted to what they later named the Gold Coast by the stories of African wealth and Britain fought repeated battles with the Asante in the 19th Century.
In 1874 after an Asante attack, British troops launched a “punitive expedition”, in the colonial language of the time, ransacking Kumasi and taking many of the palace treasures.
Most of the items the V&A is returning were bought at an auction on 18 April 1874 at Garrards, the London jewellers who maintain the UK’s Crown Jewels.
They include three heavy cast-gold items known as soul washers’ badges (Akrafokonmu), which were worn around the necks of high ranking officials at court who were responsible for cleansing the soul of the king.
Angus Patterson, a senior curator at the V&A, said taking these items in the 19th Century “was not simply about acquiring wealth, although that is a part of it. It’s also about removing the symbols of government or the symbols of authority. It’s a very political act”.
The British Museum is also returning on loan a total of 15 items, some of them looted during a later conflict in 1895-96, including a sword of state known as the Mpomponsuo.
There is also a ceremonial cap, known as a Denkyemke, richly decorated with gold ornaments. It was worn by senior courtiers at coronations and other major festivals.
The British Museum is also lending a cast-gold model lute-harp (Sankuo), which was not looted, to highlight its almost 200-year-old connection with the Asantehenes.
The sankuo was presented to the British writer and diplomat Thomas Bowdich in 1817, who said it was intended as a gift from the Asantehene to the museum to demonstrate the wealth and status of the Asante nation.
Can you loan objects back to a country that says you stole them?
It’s a solution to UK legal restrictions that may not be acceptable to countries which say they want to right a historic wrong.
The issue of the Parthenon Sculptures, or Elgin Marbles as they were named in the UK, is the best-known example.
Greece has long demanded the return of these classical sculptures that are displayed in the British Museum. Its chair of trustees, George Osborne, recently said that he was looking for a “practical, pragmatic and rational way forward” and was exploring a partnership that, in essence, puts the question of who actually owns the classical sculptures to one side.
This agreement with the Asantehene is another version of that; a compromise that works for the Asante king and is possible within the parameters of British law.
Just as Nigeria would be unlikely to accept a loan of the Benin Bronzes, it would have been difficult for Ghana’s government to accept this kind of agreement.
But Mr Hunt said the deals between the V&A, the British Museum and the Manhyia Palace Museum “cut through the politics. It doesn’t solve the problem, but it begins the conversation”.
Ms Oforiatta Ayim, the Ghana culture minister’s adviser, said “of course” people will be angry at the idea of a loan and they hoped to see items eventually returned permanently to Ghana. “We know the objects were stolen in violent circumstances, we know the items belong to the Asante people,” she said.
The British government has a “retain and explain” stance for state-owned institutions, which means contested objects are kept and their context is explained.
Neither the Conservative nor Labour parties have signalled any interest in changing current legislation. The British Museum Act of 1963 and the National Heritage Act of 1983 prevent museum trustees at some high-profile institutions from “deaccessioning” items in their collections.
Mr Hunt is advocating a change in the law. He would like to see “more freedom for museums, but then a kind of backstop, a committee where we would have to appeal if we wanted to restitute items”.
Some have raised concerns this would mean British museums losing some of their most prized items in future. Or as a previous culture secretary, Michelle Donelan, put it to me in relation to a return of the Parthenon Sculptures, that it would “open the gateway to the question of the entire contents of our museums”.
But Mr Hunt said the ownership of very few of the V&A’s collection of 2.8 million items has been disputed.
Another fear is that contested items that go on loan will never be returned.
Ghana’s chief negotiator Ivor Agyeman-Duah scotched that. “You stick to agreements that you have, you don’t go against them,” he said.
There are other beautiful Asante gold items in the UK. The Wallace Collection includes the trophy head which is among the most famous Asante treasures. It too was taken by British forces and bought at the 1874 auction.
The Royal Collection also holds objects including another gold trophy head in the form of a mask. This type of item represented defeated enemies; the trophies were attached by a hoop to ceremonial swords in the state regalia.
Will they ever be on show in Ghana in future? Mr Adyeman-Duah is taking it one step at a time.
But as Britain is increasingly confronting the cultural legacy of its colonial past, these types of agreements may be a diplomatic and practical way to address the past and create better relationships in the future – if both sides can accept the terms.
(BBC)
MI5 is devoting more resource to countering state threats than during the Cold War, the head of the intelligence service has said.
Sir Ken McCallum said threats from foreign adversaries had quadrupled in the last decade, with Russia “aggressor number one” as well as increased Iran-linked aggression against Jewish sites and military bases.
At an annual speech in London, MI5’s chief said Russia was waging hybrid warfare at a time when AI was “supercharging the cyber-security contest between attackers and defenders”.
He also warned of rising threats from “extreme right-wing terrorism” and said MI5 had “caught terrorists seeking to exploit AI,” including by integrating the technology with drones.
He said the biggest threat from the misuse of AI was extremist groups using the technology to harness new and existing bioweapons.
However, he noted that work countering terrorism and state threats was now “pretty much of equal scale” which he described as a “huge shift” in recent years.
Sir Ken said Russia had stopped short of “conventional conflict” against Nato and is instead trying to unsettle European countries while its progress in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine is “minimal and horrifically costly”.
Hybrid warfare or hybrid attacks are loose terms which tend to describe non-military methods, for example cyber-attacks, sabotage or misinformation, designed to exert pressure and destabilise an adversary.
These are quite often employed using proxies, but Russia always denies involvement in such attacks despite growing evidence to the contrary.
Sir Ken said MI5 successes in identifying and expelling Russian spies from the UK had left the Kremlin dependent on paying proxies for attempted attacks.
“With its traditional covert footprint eviscerated by almost 1,000 expulsions since the invasion, the Kremlin’s global toolkit is weak, he said.
“So we see them scrambling to pay criminals to do their bidding.”
He added: “These are not the actions of a great power with the strategic upper hand.”
His comments come as a growing number of leaders across Europe have warned Russia may be preparing attacks to test their commitment to supporting Ukraine.
Asked after the speech about Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s recent comments that Russia interfered with the Brexit referendum, Sir Ken said it was “not new news” that there had been attempts from Moscow but distinguished between “interference attempted” and “outcome achieved”.
He said it was a matter of public record that there were pieces in Russian media and “so-called internet trolls and bot farms” seeking to influence the Brexit debate, but also stressed that the result of the 2016 referendum was “not in dispute”.
He added that he was “worried” about the the ongoing debate on Russian interference.
“I am a little bit anxious that we don’t play into our adversaries’ hands by making these trolls look 10ft tall,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Sir Ken warned that Iran is also expanding a hybrid campaign in the UK.
The intelligence chief said there had been 50 arrests in the last year over Iran-linked activities.
Much of this Iranian aggression has been aimed at Jewish communities, Sir Ken added, and also at “harder targets, like military sites”.
Sir Ken did not mention arrests at RAF Fairford directly during his speech, but told reporters afterwards the incident was “not unique”.
He added: “We have seen Iranian interest beyond RAF Fairford in the UK.”
The incident at the airbase in Gloucestershire, where three suspicious vans were seen parked nearby, has seen seven people arrested and bailed by counter-terrorism police.
Burnham has said the incident was “almost certainly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard”.
The MI5 head said in his speech: “What I can say is that those who seek to cause mayhem on British streets – whether hired thugs here or their paymasters overseas – will meet an unflinching response.”
Sir Ken added that the National Security Act – a 2023 law designed to target people working against UK interests for foreign powers – is in heavy use, and has been employed to tackle threats from China as well as Iran and Russia.
On the emerging threat posed by AI, Sir Ken said: “It can produce propaganda and radicalising material tailored to the individual.
“We’ve caught terrorists seeking to exploit Al to improve their reconnaissance and attack methodologies, with Al-enabled drones adding a new twist.”
Sir Ken said the bioweapons threat posed by AI was “not yet realised” but warned the technology has the “potential to change the stakes”.
“These risks are real. The UK Intelligence Community – MI5, GCHQ, MI6 – is working closely with the UK’s globally respected AI Security Institute to take them on.”
Sir Ken said AI poses unknown threats, telling Thames House: “Put at its simplest, human history has given us no experience of facing an actor which is smarter than we are”.
He announced MI5 had launched an AI Threat Assessment Centre, which he said would assess sources and “separate the bluster from the realities”.
In April, the UK’s terrorism threat level was raised to severe for the first time in five years, meaning an attack is highly likely.
Sir Ken said Islamist groups like Al Qaeda and so-called Islamic State both continue to direct and inspire attacks, while the increased risk was also driven “in significant part” by extreme right-wing terrorism.
He continued: “Over the last year the most marked trend has been an increase in cases where extremist versions of anti-immigration and anti-Muslim grievance are tipping into terrorist intent.”
Sir Ken said extreme right-wing terrorism tended to “skew young”, driven by the internet – adding that MI5 had in recent months investigated a “radicalised extreme right-wing 13-year-old here in the UK”.
He said: “That investigation generated insight that enabled one of our international partners to prevent a lethal attack on their soil.”
[BBC]
Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung cancer but had successful surgery to remove a lower lobe of his right lung, the Vatican has said in a medical bulletin.
The 71-year-old underwent a 90 minute surgery on Tuesday at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and was subsequently diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma.
“After the operation, the Pope awoke normally and returned after a brief period of observation to his room on the 10th floor,” the Vatican said in a statement.
The lump was first detected during what the Vatican has described as “routine checks”.
Earlier, large crowds gathered outside the hospital to greet the Pope, with some waiting for several hours.
They cheered greetings and well wishes as he passed, while he waved and smiled back through the lowered back window of his car.
He was then met by staff on the hospital steps. “I’m sorry,” one of them commiserated, to which the Pope gave a smile and a shrug. “We’re here for you,” he was assured.
In its statement, the Vatican said the whole lower lobe of the Pope’s right lung was removed “to ensure the procedure was radical”.
A Vatican source told Agence France-Presse news agency further tests were being carried out to see if there was any sign the cancer had spread.
It was Leo XIV himself who on Sunday announced news of his operation to the world, speaking from the balcony in St Peter’s Square after delivering the traditional Angelus blessing.
He said the nodule, or growth, on his lung was “contained” and had been found “at a very early stage”, but that doctors had advised him to have it removed.
Gemelli’s thoracic surgery team operated on the Pope, whose schedule has already been cleared until 20 October to give him time to recover.
Nodules are quite common and not necessarily cancerous, but after it was examined the medical team confirmed it was pulmonary adenocarcinoma, “as suspected by pre-operative tests”, the Vatican said.
The Vatican has stressed that the pontiff, who is generally thought to be fit, had no symptoms of infection or illness.
Cardinal Kikuchi Tarcisio Isao of Tokyo wrote on social media that he’d had an audience with Pope Leo on Monday, and said the pontiff felt “nothing wrong” physically.
He said the Pope had decided to check in for surgery as soon as possible because he was due to travel to Latin America in early November, and was keen to stick to that plan.
The trip is particularly significant because it includes a visit to Peru, where the pontiff was a missionary and then a Bishop for many years.
Despite all the reassurances, the news has shaken Catholics all over the world.
“Am I worried? Yes, because I certainly wasn’t expecting anything like this,” Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin told journalists on Tuesday.
He agreed that the news was like a “bolt from the blue”, but said the cardinals had been struck by the Pope’s “serenity” and were confident in his recovery.
Outside Gemelli Hospital, which has treated several popes and is home to a large statue of John Paul II, a few Catholics lingered after the pontiff was admitted.
Carla had come specially, wanting to be close.
“He seems calm, so we are calm too – even though illness is always unpleasant,” she told the BBC. “We will wait here and pray.”
[BBC]
At least 139 people, including 15 children, have died and 84 are missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti, according to the United Nations migration agency.
In a statement on Sunday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) quoted survivors as saying that the incident happened near Guhere off Djibouti’s eastern coast in the Gulf of Aden near the Bab al-Mandeb strait from Thursday night to before dawn on Friday.
The boat was heading from Djibouti to Yemen with more than 300 people on board. More than 80 people – all Ethiopians – survived the shipwreck while Djiboutian search and rescue operations continued.
“Our teams are on the ground alongside local authorities to provide emergency assistance,” IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti Alexandre Coissac said, lamenting the “devastating loss of life”.
That number only includes those buried by authorities in Djibouti. Others have been buried by the migrants themselves but they won’t be added to the official count until authorities can verify the bodies, Alexandre Coissac, IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti, told the Associated Press.
“This tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by migrants along this migration corridor as they seek economic opportunities,” Coissac added.
[Aljazeera]
AgriConnect Sri Lanka’ to be launched on 30 October to Modernise the Agricultural Sector Through Digitalisation
57th Annual Saints’ Quadrangular Tournament on Saturday and Sunday
Showers or thundershowers will occur at most parts of the island
Prison rules to be revised over monks’ attire
AC President recuses himself from hearing prison attire case pertaining to Gnanasara Thera
Court orders steps to obtain INTERPOL Red Notice against Basil
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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