Big profits keep Afghan farmers hooked on opium poppies

While most people stayed at home as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged New York, Ghanaian national Paul Ninson sifted through storage containers and struggling bookshops in order to build what he says has become the world's largest collection of African photography books. His collection now consists of more than 30,000 books. He plans to bring them back to Ghana and open a photography museum with help from a crowdfunding campaign that raised more than a million dollars in two days.

Germany, the Czech Republic and the UK are the latest countries to confirm cases of the omicron variant. The new strain that was first detected in South Africa has prompted governments around the world to re-introduce travel restrictions.

The World Bank is backing Nigeria’s quest to get rid of fuel subsidy. The Country Director of the World Bank Shubham Chaudhuri, who led his team on a courtesy visit to The Guardian Group on Tuesday, November 30, explained why fuel subsidy is not sustainable. Chaudhuri, nevertheless, advised the Nigerian government to build consensus before its scheduled removal of the controversial subsidy policy.

France is hosting an international conference to help Libya prepare for elections at the end of 2021. The oil-rich nation is ruled by a fragile unity government put in place after nearly a decade of civil war. European leaders are especially keen to stabilize the country.

Architects from Spain have completed a novel design for the upcoming FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Named the 974 Stadium, the 40,000-seater facility it's designed to be relatively easy to disassemble and rebuild, and was constructed using almost 1,000 shipping containers.⁣

Governments have set their eyes on the world's largest tech companies. But why has Big Tech come under so much fire? And how did it get so "Big" in the first place?

Kinshasa residents welcomed on Wednesday UNESCO's decision to add Congolese rumba to its list of global cultural treasures, although some older fans felt the genre lacked the storytelling power it had in the past.

His images capture the universality of the human experience, in expressive portraits, breathtaking landscapes or arresting scenes of photojournalism. Steve McCurry's image of a young Afghan girl made the cover of National Geographic in the 1980s, catapulted him to fame and brought the plight of the country's refugees to the world's attention. As his body of work is brought together for a retrospective at the Musée Maillol in Paris, the photojournalist gives us his take on the current situation in Afghanistan, why children are naturally photogenic and how he finds inspiration in the people he photographs.

With Europe still grappling with Covid-19, Talking Europe speaks to Christa Schweng, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The EESC is the body that brings together European employers, trade unionists and representatives of social, occupational, economic and cultural organisations.

With Europe still grappling with Covid-19, Talking Europe speaks to Christa Schweng, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).

2021 began with the promise of vaccines to the rescue. But as one variant begets another, rich nations talk of boosters and jabs for kids while much of the developing world still waits for first doses.

The future is now: Today, a virtual Mona Lisa or a cat meme can be worth millions. Welcome to the world of NFTs. Fraudulent — or the future of the art world?