World population officially hit the 8 billion mark today

Nov 15 2022

According to World-O-Meter, the current world population has officially hit the 8 billion mark. The fated day of 15th November 2022 saw the world population reach a whopping new record.

The United Nations projected the big milestone, stating that a baby born on this day somewhere around the world will transition the total number of humans on earth beyond the 8 billion mark.

The UN has attributed the growth to human development as people are living longer thanks to improvements in public health, nutrition, medicine and hygiene.

Population growth has however magnified the environmental impacts of economic development. Experts point to the overconsumption of resources, mostly by the globe’s wealthiest people, as a driving issue.

However, United Nations Population Fund chief Natalia Kanem said that the ‘sheer number of human lives is not a cause for fear.’ Not to mention, despite the large amount of people, world population growth has decreased after the 1960s.

Annual growth has fallen from a high of 2.1% between 1962 and 1965 to below 1% in 2020, Rachel Snow of the UN Population Fund told AFP. This could also drop to around 0.5% by 2050 due to decline in fertility rates.

The UN projects population growth to continue to around 8.5 billion by 2030, then 9.7 billion in 2050 and peak at 10.4 billion by the 2080s. Other entities make different predictions however, with the Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation saying that population would reach a peak by 2064 without touching 10 billion and start declining.

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Increase in Maltese flying abroad: still below 2019 levels

Nov 14 2022

According to the National Statistics Office (NSO), the total amount of outbound tourists for the third quarter in 2022 was estimated to be around 180,864.

The total amount of nights spent amounted to 1,343,223. During the July to September 2022 quarter, a total of 125,101 outbound tourist trips were undertaken for holiday purposes.

Meanwhile, 34,456 were undertaken to visit friends and relatives. Most outbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44 years, amounting to 44% of the total.

Those within the 45 to 64 age bracket accounted for 27.9%. Italy retained the top spot as the most popular destination, with a share of 37.0% of total tourists trips.

The largest share of guest nights was spent in rented accommodation establishments (56.3%). The average length of stay of total outbound tourists stood at 7.4 nights.

The total expenditure by outbound tourists between July and September almost reached €169.2 million. This is equivalent to an average of €935 per person.

Total outbound tourist trips between January and September 2022 totalled 408,143. The total nights spent by outbound tourists surpassed 2.9 million. When compared to 2019, which saw a total of 208,206 outbound tourists, 2022 still has a lot of catching up to do.

This was mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing restrictions. Still, 2022 improved the total of outbound tourists over 2021, as the years saw 180,864 and 122,163 respectively. 2020 saw a measly 51,855.

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Weather to change almost daily this week across Malta

Nov 14 2022

According to local weather forecast page ‘It-Temp Madwarna’, the weather for his upcoming week is set to be very dynamic and will change on almost a daily basis.

Today, Monday 14th November, saw an early rainfall followed by a clearing of the sky. However, this trend could continue for the rest of the week as more rain and storms are being forecasted.

Come the weekend, a thunder storm and strong winds are all expected to hit the islands, with UV rays set to drop to around 3. A very similar forecast is corroborated by the Malta International Airpot forecast.

Maximum wind forces are set to reach Force 3 between Monday and Wednesday but increase to Forces 5 and 6 by the end of the week

Maximum temperatures will be set at around 23°C until Wednesday 16th, but will drop as the week progresses till about 20°C. Minimum temperatures will hit around 16°C.

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Maltese personalities recount touching experiences from HopeXchange

Nov 14 2022

A group of young personalities had the opportunity to visit Ghana and experience Africa from a fresh new perspective.

Most of their time in Kumasi was spent at the HopeXchange Medical Centre, set up by the Institute for World Evangelisation, an international association recognised by the Vatican.

The Maltese group was formed by artists, singers, TV personalities and social media content creators and had very positive words for the way the medical centre was professionally run.

Speaking about the hospital, the group from Malta said that it was impressed with the state-of-the- art equipment. One person mentioned the highly sophisticated pathology Laboratory, the Imaging and diagnostic Department, and the Pediatric department as examples.

The HopeXchange Medical Center houses high quality Operating Theaters as well as a modern Ophthalmolgy Department that provides laser treatment apart from other services.

Speaking about their experience at the HopeXchange Medical Centre, TV presenter and Producer Keane Cutajar said that he felt privileged to witness first hand what the Ghana Mission Foundation managed to accomplish throughout the years.

Singer Megan May Caruana highlighted the warm hospitality of the Ghanaians and social media content creator Amy Borg was delighted to have met children who are receiving education through the foundation.

On their end, Kevin Paul Calleja and Daniel Umanah reflected on the African culture add the natural beauty of the area as even a tourist destination, not to mention the many resilient, peaceful, happy people encountered.

Videographer Victor Abela recounted the experience with a group of students he met and how the Maltese group inspired them to study hard and aim towards becoming effective leaders of the future.

Ghana Mission Foundation Development Director, Nikol Baldacchino, from his end, spoke highly of the doctors at the HopeXchange Medical Center, the high quality clinical care, medical and scientific formation and translation research.

The HopeXchange Medical Center has been running since 2016 thanks to a positive collaboration and support from the Government of Ghana and the Catholic Church. The Medical Center aspires to keep growing and serving the wonderful people of the region.

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