Meji Alabi: Behind the scenes cover shoot for GuardianLife

Following the drowning of 27 people in the English Channel, France says it is preparing a new post-Brexit deal on migration. But Paris also asked the UK to stop "double speak."

A new chapter of the Covid-19 pandemic opens with a new variant emerging from southern Africa. It has been named Omicron by the World Health Organization. The WHO's director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the issue of vaccine equity will be key to getting through this new wave. Our guests discuss the threat and what to do about it.

When Gambia's president Adama Barrow came to power in 2016, he promised to step down after three years. His decision to extend his term from three to five years - and seek another - has unsurprisingly divided the country. Edith Kimani meets young Gambians in the heat of the election campaign to hear from both sides.

Opposition leader and former president Mikheil Saakashvili says charges against him for his role in suppressing a 2007 protest are "trumped up." Amnesty International called his arrest "political revenge."

Barbados declared hit singer Rihanna a national hero at its republican celebrations in her hometown of Bridgetown. Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced that the 33-year-old would be conferred with the honor of National Hero of Barbados to cheers. Rihanna was called up before the crowds to be congratulated by Mottley.