Yesterday was quite a big news day in the international sphere. The death toll stemming from an earthquake in China was nearing 100. The eurozone’s government debt figures hit record highs, Syria’s rebels captured a strategic town as the number of people killed continue to rise. Pope Francis, meanwhile, was on his way to Brazil on his first overseas visit (aside from Italy) and continued to draw praise for his humble ways. Scientists have also made progress in finding a cure for blindness through stem cell research.

Even locally, the news was lively as the immigration issue and the grisly murder of Mario Camilleri and his son was again brought up as police continue to try and piece together the puzzle.

But at the end of the day, it was the Royal birth (which had not yet happened at the time of writing), which dominated the headlines.  At 5.30 am (or thereabouts), Princess Kate was admitted to hospital in the early stages of labour.  By 6pm, 12 hours later, she was still in there and in an “advanced” stage.

The whole world – whether they love or hate the Royal family – were waiting for news. Even those who did not want to hear about it went into overdrive on social networking sites. So interested or not, everyone was hooked on the story of the day.

It does boggle the mind. We appreciate that people do not always want to hear the macabre and bad news that often floods in. But it does, at the same time, jar when there is loss of life around the world.

When one sums it up, the arrival of a baby is always news to rejoice to. For whatever reasons, people always rejoice all the more when it is the baby of a celebrity, as is the case here. But it really ought to shake us up.  Sometimes news is relative, and in this fast paced world, things are very quickly forgotten as attention is diverted elsewhere. But it is up to us, as humans, to put things into perspective. People who follow the news ultimately get the content that they demand, which is why most (and obviously in the UK) 24-hours news channels dedicated a full day’s coverage to the event. It is the arrival of a child, to the most famous Royal Family in the world, and of course, we wish them well. But we also hope that people take this into its own context. People are dying around the world, and important scientific discoveries are being made. We should remember that.