Students dressed in traditional costumes put make up on during a march called by the National Federation of Revolutionary Students to demonstrate against the return to classrooms and demand to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus disease before doing so, in Mexico City on May 24, 2021. (Photo: AFP)

The total number of deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has increased to 3,496,303 with the global confirmed cases reaching 167,104,468 as of 9:30 am BJT on Tuesday, according to a tally by the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.

Current status (data as of 9:30 am BJT, May 25):

The COVID-19 pandemic is being perpetuated by a "scandalous inequity" in vaccine distribution, the head of the World Health Organization said on Monday as he set new targets for protecting people in the poorest countries.

The United States warned its citizens Monday not to travel to Olympic host Japan, citing the growing risk of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Asian nation just two months before the Games begin.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday called for a return to in-person school classes, even though some regions of the country have reported new COVID-19 outbreaks.

Malta's Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Monday that 70 percent of the country's adult population have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Saudi Arabia extended on Monday the validity of residency permits for expatriates who are outside the kingdom, as well as exit and re-entry visas for visitors, Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.