TOP HEADLINES 

• Malta will on Monday reach its target of giving 70 percent of adults at least one dose, the health minister announced. The Mediterranean island, which has a population of around 500,000, declared it had reached "herd immunity" – although the EU's definition for such a milestone is tougher.

• United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared the world "at war" with COVID-19, as India's death toll crossed 300,000 and Japan opened its first mass-vaccination centers – just two months before the start of the Tokyo Olympics.

• Switzerland signed a deal with the World Health Organization (WHO) to host a global repository for viruses with pandemic potential to bolster international defences against emerging threats.

• New research has found that dogs can be trained to detect more than 90 percent of COVID-19 infections, even when patients are asymptomatic. Researchers from the London School of Tropical Medicine say they hope such dogs could eventually replace the need for travelers to quarantine. 

• All Italian regions turned to "yellow" on Monday, indicating a low risk of contagion, and the lowest level of anti-COVID-19 restrictions, according to national health authorities.

• The World Health Assembly began as the international community strives to speed up vaccination in developing countries, which are far behind their wealthier counterparts.

•  Spain has lifted all restrictions on travelers from the UK, New Zealand, South Korea and China in an attempt to boost its ailing tourism sector.

• Germany says it is on track to start outdoor concerts again in August as Health Minister Jens Spahn confirmed plans to test people before they enter and to try to maintain social distancing.

•  Public Health England data released this weekend showed that both AstraZeneca's and Pfizer's vaccines offer a good level of protection against the variant first discovered in India after two doses.

• Cyprus's health authority has launched an investigation into the death of a 39-year-old British woman from blood clotting to see if it was linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine that was administered to the patient 18 days ago.

ACROSS EUROPE

Paul Barber in London 

The UK is bracing for important data on the spread of the B.1.6172 variant of coronavirus first identified in India as pressure builds on the government to confirm a full reopening of the country on June 21. 

Meanwhile, a pilot scheme for helping people self-isolate and get tests in places with higher COVID-19 infection rates starts in nine locations across England. It includes increasing social care support for vulnerable adults and alternative accommodation for people living in overcrowded conditions. 

The suppressing of cases and increases in protections threatens to be overshadowed by politics. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under fire from his former chief adviser Dominic Cummings, who has said the UK's early response to COVID-19 was a "disaster." Cummings gives evidence to parliamentarians on Wednesday. 

Penelope Liersch in Budapest 

Many of Hungary's remaining restrictions have been eased after the country reached 5 million vaccination doses over the weekend. 

Masks no longer have to be worn in public and the overnight curfew has been abolished. Shops' opening hours are no longer restricted, group sports can take place in public areas and there can be private events hosting up to 50 people. Weddings can take place with up to 200 people, and open-air events are allowed with up to 500 people. 

Music and dance events will require vaccine certificates like many other businesses and services that have already reopened.

World Health Assembly in Geneva  

France's President Emmanuel Macron attended the WHO's annual assembly in Geneva. Speaking alongside the WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus among others, Macron called on the WHO to be empowered to rapidly visit countries in case of outbreaks. 

Ghebreyesus called for a massive global effort to ensure that 10 percent of the population in every country is vaccinated against by September. Ghebreyesus went on, hailing front-line workers and detailing how more than 100,000 healthcare workers have died, paying "the ultimate price in the service of others." 

In separate pre-recorded remarks to the assembly, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel called for the United Nations' funding to be improved and backed the idea of a new international treaty to prevent pandemics, a move supported by Macron.

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CGTN Europe has been providing in-depth coverage of the novel coronavirus story as it has unfolded.