Paris’s Louvre Museum extends shutdown over coronavirus fears

The omicron variant is driving case numbers in parts of China to levels not seen since coronavirus first emerged. But keeping case numbers at near zero means continued disruptions and lockdowns.

Even as it said Germany likely passed the peak of omicron infections, the Robert Koch Institute warned coronavirus cases remained high. Despite this, the country is considering relaxing quarantine rules.

Most people in Germany support the government's coronavirus policies. But a small, yet vocal, minority rejects vaccinations, masks and distancing rules — and denies the existence of the virus. The conflict has changed Germany's social climate.

We take a look at a new season of art and exhibitions as Stockholm's "Youseum" offers influencers and selfie enthusiasts a temple for the 21st century's favourite form of self-expression. Meanwhile, a museum in the French city of Rouen says "please do touch the art", as a new show encourages a sensory experience of sculptures on show. Plus, visitors to the Quai Branly in Paris get a chance to plunge themselves into Bamiléké society, with traditional ritual objects and artefacts on display thanks to a Franco-Cameroonian partnership.

The WHO chief has urged countries to ramp up testing to accurately reflect global transmission trends. Meanwhile, Mexico said it is transitioning from pandemic to endemic.

More than 20 looted objects from Namibia — including jewelry, tools, fashion and dolls — are being sent back to the country. The loan is the latest move by Germany to address its colonial past.

To mark the opening of its new exhibition "On the Road to Chiefdoms of Cameroon", Paris's Musée du Quai Branly gave multidisciplinary Cameroonian artist Blick Bassy carte blanche. His first move was to invite Cameroonian musicians Kareyce Fotso, Ami Yerewolo and Poundo to put on a concert. For him, these three women represent the contemporary African new wave, with a dynamic vision of how to celebrate African culture around the world – including an important role for fashion.

After some short-lived optimism that the worst of the COVID pandemic might be over, health experts are warning that the peak of the seventh wave has yet to arrive.

In southwest Nigeria, West Africa's only natural history museum serves as a world class facility for conservation of thousands of natural resources. Built in 1973 as part of the zoology department at Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria's Natural History Museum was left abandoned for over 30 years before it was renovated and reopened in 2011.

London’s Horniman Museum and Gardens has agreed to return 72 looted objects to the Nigerian government. All objects were taken from the Kingdom of Benin, now part of southern Nigeria, during a British military operation in 1897.

The Guggenheim opened its museum in Bilbao 25 years ago, turning a struggling industrial town into a cultural metropolis. The building designed by Frank Gehry is now the city's landmark.

Among the damaged objects were Egyptian statues, images of Greek gods, sarcophagi, and the frames of 19th-century European paintings. Contrary to initial reports, the vandalism did not directly affect paintings.