India's economy grew by a record 20.1 percent between April and June, compared to the same period last year when the country was experiencing a deep recession. The strong growth comes despite India seeing a surge in Covid-19 cases during that period. Also today, we hear how French luxury giants saw tens of billions of euros wiped off their market value after a warning that China's rich may have to pay more tax.

Swab tests in Brunei are carried out in a drive-through Covid-19 testing programme amid a rapidly growing outbreak.

Africa has vaccinated more than 50 million people against COVID. However, that figure is way below other continents. As a result, countries such as Kenya and Rwanda are pushing for partial vaccination mandates.

One of America's largest events -- Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago -- is underway this weekend, to the delight of fans and to the despair of others. The four day music festival is expected to draw more than 100,000 people to downtown Chicago each day, at a moment when coronavirus cases are on the rise and vaccinations have plateaued. Lollapalooza has said their policy is for unvaccinated people to wear masks and show a recent negative Covid test.

In a clinic in a remote Myanmar town, some of the few doctors still working after the coup emptied hospitals are battling to keep their Covid-19 patients alive as the virus resurges. AFPTV footage from inside a clinic in the northwestern town of Kalay shows patients slumped in makeshift beds, oxygen canisters at their feet. Dozens of blue oxygen cylinders waiting to be refilled stretched along a street in Kalay, a town of 130,000, with rugged hills to the east and west. Meanwhile, on the edge of town a team unloads a coffin into a cemetery of white Christian crosses standing out against the deep green of the hills.

Many people in India have lost their jobs and life savings during the pandemic. This has forced parents to marry off their daughters at an early age to reduce the financial burden.

India leads the world in daily number of new infections, now accounting for more than one-third of global COVID-19 cases. What is behind the surge?

Buyers and sellers gather on the trading floor in Zimbabwe's capital to bid on bales of dried tobacco leaves as the marketing season kicks off. According to the industry regulator, the country is on track to produce 200,000 tonnes of tobacco this year, up from 184,000 in 2020.

The second COVID-19 wave has started in South Africa, earlier than expected. After Christmas, another lockdown was announced – but the consequences of the holiday celebrations are now being felt in the country.

The government declared a 15 day state of emergency after rebels attempted to blockade the capital. The country's UN envoy has also urged for more peacekeepers to be deployed.

Senegal is preparing its vaccine strategy and is rushing to deliver more beds for coronavirus patients as infections soar and a lack of capacity means doctors are only able to admit the most severe cases, health officials said.

China's Hebei province is carrying out mass testing drives and has banned public gatherings. China is experiencing its biggest surge in five months. All the latest developments here: