France is home to some of the biggest luxury brands in the world. While many everyday businesses have struggled to bounce back from the health crisis, it’s been just the opposite for the most exclusive French labels. Jean-Noël Kapferer, professor emeritus of marketing, talks us through the success of luxury brands bouncing back from the pandemic. We also see how the luxury sector is making its way into the second-hand market, bringing in a whole new clientele.

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

At least one officer was injured and 11 demonstrators were arrested in an unofficial rally in Munich as police described the behavior of protesters as "aggressive."

The pandemic claimed more than 600,000 lives in Brazil. But an effective vaccination campaign has turned the tide. While the pandemic may not be causing the havoc it did in the first half of 2021, it remains a major challenge.

The head of the World Health Organization says rich countries are merely prolonging the pandemic by fueling vaccine inequality. "No country can boost its way out of the pandemic," he says.

Instead, mRNA vaccines use mRNA created in a laboratory to teach our cells how to make a protein—or even just a piece of a protein—that triggers an immune response inside our bodies. That immune response, which produces antibodies, is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies.

The person who died was between the ages of 60 and 79, according to the Robert Koch Institute health body. Germany has also registered a spike in omicron infections in recent days.

Antiviral drugs like Paxlovid could slash hospitalizations and deaths from coronavirus. Treatment would bring us a step closer to the end of the pandemic.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Saturday.⁣

South Africa's trailblazing constitution protects LGTB people, but 25 years on, social attitudes have yet to catch up: A survey by the rights group "Out" revealed that half of black respondents knew someone who had been killed because of their sexual orientation.

One of South Africa's giants in the fight against the apartheid regime in the 20th century, Desmond Tutu remained a critical voice in the country's politics throughout his life.

Flags across the country will be flying at half-staff this week as South Africa prepares to say goodbye to the late archbishop and anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu.