Nov 25 - Every week, Reuters journalists produce scores of multimedia features and human-interest stories from around the world.
Below are some stories from this week selected by our editors, as well as explanatory context and background to help you understand world headlines. For a full schedule of news and events, please go to our editorial calendar on Reuters Connect https://www.reutersconnect.com/planning.
London's Big Ben to show fresh face to ring in New Year
LONDON - Big Ben's dials will emerge from a shroud of scaffolding in time for the world-famous clock to perform its most important annual role - ringing in the New Year for thousands on the streets of London and millions more watching on television. (BRITAIN-BIGBEN/RESTORATION (TV, PIX), 528 words)
Pandemic hobby grows into plan for Africa's largest photography library
NEW YORK CITY - Since the pandemic forced many U.S. bookshops to close or slash prices, Ghanaian New Yorker Paul Ninson has amassed 30,000 African photo books for a library he hopes will inspire the next generation of photographers back home. (GHANA-PHOTOGRAPHY/NEW-YORK (PIX, TV), 413 words)
After a century and a half, Ethiopian artifacts return home
ADDIS ABABA - After a century and a half hidden in private collections, 13 stolen Ethiopian artifacts have finally returned home following months of negotiations. (ETHIOPIA-ARTEFACTS/ (PIX, TV), 490 words)
Last Christmas was grim, Bethlehem hopes this year will be better
BETHLEHEM, West Bank - The trickle of tourists is sometimes scarcely enough to fill a manger, let alone an inn, but Bethlehem's Palestinians are hopeful that numbers will rise in the month before Christmas. (CHRISTMAS-SEASON/BETHLEHEM-TOURISM (TV, PIX), 370 words)
Lights, camera.. anyone? Film studios can't get the crew
PRAGUE - Hollywood flocked to central Europe during the pandemic when film producers there were allowed to keep the cameras rolling, making the region an irresistible draw for streaming giants captivated by castles and tax breaks. Now, though, some production companies may have bitten off more than they can chew. (EASTEUROPE-FILM/WORKERS (TV, PIX), 829 words)
African nations mend and make do as China tightens Belt and Road
NAIROBI - Deep in Kenya's Great Rift Valley, members of the National Youth Service tirelessly swing machetes to clear dense shrubs obscuring railway tracks more than a century old. It's a distinctly low-tech phase for China's Belt and Road drive in Africa to create the trade highways of the future. (CHINA-AFRICA/LENDING (INSIGHT, PIX), 1,293 words)
Italian street artist battles racism by turning swastikas into cupcakes
VERONA, Italy - Swastikas on the wall become giant cupcakes with purple icing, and the words "my Hitler" are transformed into "my muffins." All in a day's work for the Italian street artist who fights racism by turning nasty graffiti into food. (ITALY-ART/CIBO (TV, PIX), 355 words)
Made in Canada: Factories see silver lining in supply chain woes
Global shipping and supply chain bottlenecks are encouraging Canadian firms to bring production back home. (SUPPLY-CHAIN/CANADA (ANALYSIS, PIX), 658 words)
Gold rush draws hundreds of dredging rafts to Amazon tributary
AUTAZES, Brazil - Hundreds of dredging rafts operated by illegal miners have gathered in a gold rush on the Madeira River, a major tributary of the Amazon, floating hundreds of miles as state and federal authorities dispute who is responsible for stopping them. (BRAZIL-ENVIRONMENT/MINING (PIX, TV), 345 words)
Einstein notes with sketches of relativity theory sold in Paris auction for $13 mln
PARIS - A manuscript co-authored by Albert Einstein, offering a rare insight into the legendary physicist's thinking leading up to his general theory of relativity, was sold in an auction for 11.7 million euros ($13.17 million). (FRANCE-AUCTION/EINSTEIN MANUSCRIPT (PIX), 359 words)
EXPLANATORY CONTENT
Global vaccination tracker https://tmsnrt.rs/39xWS94
Global COVID-19 cases and deaths https://tmsnrt.rs/32CyMHu
U.S. COVID-19 cases and deaths https://tmsnrt.rs/2WTOZDR
FACTBOX-Countries vaccinating children against COVID-19
FACTBOX-The charges in the Ahmaud Arbery case
FACTBOX-Timeline of the Ahmaud Arbery case (Compiled by Patrick Enright and Mark Porter)
