June 2022

Global reported cases of COVID-19 cases and deaths “are near their lowest levels since the beginning of the pandemic,” the World Health Organization director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Friday. Speaking at the GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum, Tedros warned, however, that “It is still far too early to say the pandemic is over. … Increasing transmission, plus decreasing testing and sequencing, plus 1 billion people still unvaccinated, equals a dangerous situation.” “There remains a real and present danger, the WHO chief said, “of a new and more virulent variant emerging that evades our vaccines.” Meanwhile, India’s health ministry reported a slight

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday it was aware of more than 700 cases of monkeypox globally, including 21 in the United States, with investigations now suggesting it is spreading inside the country. Sixteen of the first 17 cases were among people who identify as men who have sex with men, according to a new CDC report, and 14 were thought to be associated with travel. All patients are in recovery or have recovered, and no cases have been fatal. “There have also been some cases in the United States that we know are linked

The amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has shot past a key milestone — more than 50% higher than pre-industrial times — and is at levels not seen since millions of years ago when Earth was a hothouse ocean-inundated planet, federal scientists announced Friday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said its longtime monitoring station at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, averaged 421 parts per million of carbon dioxide for the month of May, which is when the crucial greenhouse gas hits its yearly high. Before the industrial revolution in the late 19th century, carbon dioxide levels were at 280

The Valletta Pageant of the Seas will return to the Grand Harbor on Saturday 25 June with a varied show paying homage to the 80th anniversary of the Santa Marija Convoy’s arrival on August 15 1942. This biannual event, which has now found its place firmly in the Grand Harbour’s calendar, was announced today at a press conference by the Minister for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government Owen Bonnici, together with the Chairman of the Valletta Cultural Agency Jason Micallef. For the first time since the pandemic, the public is invited to watch the live show in the

As of last night, the façades of Sant’Anton Palace and the Verdala Palace have been lit in red in recognition of the thousands of blood donors, and to raise more awareness about the constant need for blood donations. The façades of these Presidential Palaces will remain lit until World Blood Donor Day on the 14th of June. This year’s theme chosen by the World Health Organization is “Donating blood is an act of solidarity. Join the effort and save lives.” The Presidency encourages blood donation and recognises it as an act of solidarity with those in need. ​ Source: Office of