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PM Modi has wider reach on Twitter than Trump; 2nd most followed leader

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. (File)

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is known for his robust outreach to masses through his social media presence, has twice as many as followers on Twitter than US President Donald Trump, according to the new 2020 Twiplomacy rankings.

As per the rankings, PM Modi has become the second most followed world leader on Twitter after the US President. PM Modi, with over 57.9 million followers, has seen his followers grow by 21 per cent year on year.

The Indian Prime Minister’s account reaches on average 40 million followers, or 70 percent of his followers with his tweets, twice as many as President Trump who only reaches an audience of 20 million or a quarter of his followers, according to this year’s Twiplomacy rankings.

PM Modi has moved up into the second position with 57.9 million followers, ahead of Pope Francis who has 51 million followers on his nine different language accounts.

According to the rankings, President Trump is also the most effective world leader on Twitter, since each one of his tweets garners on average 24,000 retweets, which is slightly better than Saudi King Salman who garners 23,573 retweets per tweet.

For the fourth year running, the US President is the most followed world leader on Twitter, with 81.1 million followers on his @realDonaldTrump account which has grown by 33 percent year-over-year.

The heads of state and government of 163 countries and 132 foreign ministers maintain personal accounts on the platform. As of June 1, 2020, all 1,089 personal and institutional Twitter accounts of world leaders had a combined total of more than 620 million followers.

The Twiplomacy rankings have come up with many other interesting findings. For instance, among the foreign ministries, the US State Department is by far the most followed foreign ministry with 5,843,040 followers on Twitter. The foreign ministry of Saudi Arabia and the foreign ministry of India complete the top three with 2,708,727 and 1,461,097 followers, respectively.

Apart from that, as the novel coronavirus spread globally, COVID has become the most tweeted topic by world leaders during the first three months of 2020, as per the rankings by leading global communications agency BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe).

Heads of state and foreign ministers took to Twitter to share critical coronavirus information and encourage their citizens to “stay home” and “stay safe.”

Many leaders have been leading by example and updating their Twitter profiles, wearing a face mask and participating in the #SafeHands challenge. World leaders and diplomats also had to adapt to working from home and have been thrust into video conferences, making diplomacy truly digital.

The BCW Twiplomacy study 2020 focuses on how world leaders have tweeted during the coronavirus pandemic and how Twitter has tried to keep the chatter clean from disinformation.

“The coronavirus has been the main topic on Twitter for the past three months, and due to the worldwide lockdown Twitter has seen increased interest,” said Chad Latz, Chief Innovation Officer, BCW.

“It is therefore vital for world leaders to use channels like Twitter to reach out to their followers to spread critical health warnings and keep their followers abreast of the latest COVID-19-related information. As the pandemic abates in some countries, world leaders will find themselves with an expanded audiences for future engagement,” he added.

In other findings of 2020 edition of Twiplomacy, the governments and leaders of 189 countries had an official presence on the social network, representing 98 percent of the 193 UN member states. The governments of only four countries do not have a Twitter presence, namely Laos, North Korea, Sao Tome and Principe and Turkmenistan.

For the first time the Icelandic Foreign Ministry (@MFAIceland) tops the rankings of the best-connected foreign offices, mutually following 147 other foreign ministries and world leaders. The European External Action Service (@EU_eeas), the UK Foreign Office and the Russian Foreign Ministry are in second place mutually following 145 foreign ministries and world leaders.

-ARK

Amarnath Yatra cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic

Amarnath Cave (File pic)

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): This year’s Amarnath Yatra has been cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic as a decision in this regard was taken today by Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) in a meeting, headed by J&K Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu.

The Shrine Board said that after taking suggestions from all the quarters, it won’t be advisable to conduct the annual pilgrimage this year in the wake of the deadly pandemic.

The official announcement in this regard was made after LG Murmu chaired a crucial meeting through video conferencing in Srinagar in which all the members of SASB participated and put forth their views. NVI was first to report that LG Murmu was supposed to chair a crucial meeting this afternoon in which a final call whether to conduct the Yatra will be taken.

J&K Official spokesman, in a statement issued here, said that the Board deliberated the considered views of the Government on whether to conduct the Yatra. “The Government made reasoned observations supported by facts which suggested that it would not be advisable to conduct the pilgrimage 2020 and it would be advisable to cancel it this year in larger public interest,” the statement read.

It said that this would enable the Health, Civil and Police Administrations to focus on the immediate challenges facing them rather than diverting resources, manpower and attention to the conduct of the pilgrimage.

The statement further said that based on the circumstances, the Board decided that it is not advisable to hold and conduct this year’s Yatra.

“The Board is aware of and respects the sentiments of millions of devotees and to keep the religious sentiments alive, the Board shall continue the Live Telecast/Virtual Darshan of the morning and evening Aarti,” the official statement said.  “Further, the traditional rituals shall be carried out as per past practice. Also, the Chhadi Mubarak shall be facilitated by the Government.”

The official spokesman said that the health concerns are so serious that the strain on the health system, along with the diversion in resources to the Yatra, will be immense. “This would also unnecessarily put the Yatris at risk of catching the COVID-19,” he said in the statement.

The spokesman further said that LG Murmu, Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), presided over 39th Board meeting of the SASB in which the Board members participated virtually through video conference to discuss the conduct of the Yatra 2020.

The meeting was attended by BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary, Bipul Pathak, CEO SASB, Anup Kumar Soni, Addl CEO SASB & senior officers of Shrine Board. Threadbare discussion was held on the current circumstances of COVID-19 pandemic and its likely impact on the Yatra.

The Board was informed that the arrangements were on track since February 2020, but due to nationwide lockdown and pandemic, State Executive Committee, J&K has still continued to keep religious places and places of worship closed for the public. These prohibitions continue till 31st July.

“The Board further discussed that pandemic has put the health administration system to its limit. The spike has been particularly very sharp in July. Health Workers and Security Forces are also getting infected and the focus of the entire Medical, Civil and Police Administration at the moment is on containing the local transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement said.

-ARK

12 Pakistanis among 27 Taliban terrorists killed in Kandahar

New Delhi (NVI): 27 Taliban terrorists including 12 Pakistani nationals have been killed by security forces, in different parts of Kandahar in Afghanistan, according to the Police Chief of the province.

The Taliban militants were killed in a security forces operation in Maruf and Arghistan districts of Kandahar, TOLO News quoted provincial chief Tadeen Khan as saying.

Pakistani ID cards were also recovered from their possession, the news portal reported.

They were killed in an airstrike by NATO Rescue Support in the Takht-e-Pol town of Kandahar province of Afghanistan last night, according to reports. The Taliban has, however, not yet commented on the incident.

Colonel Rahman Rahmani, an Afghan pilot also tweeted on the development. “Breaking: huge number of Taliban, 27 including 12 Pakistani citizens were killed in different parts of Kandahar as per @GenTadeenKhan the police chief of Kandahar. Pakistani & other foreign terrorists r still fighting alongside the Taliban. They r not adhering to the DEAL!,” he said in a tweet.

-ARK

Covid-19 has exacerbated existing humanitarian challenges in Africa: WHO

New Delhi (NVI): The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated existing humanitarian challenges, particularly with regards to access to health services in many countries in Africa, WHO has observed while calling for greater COVID-19 health services in the continent’s humanitarian settings.

According to the global health organization, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to over 26 per cent of the world’s refugees. Long-running conflicts in regions like the Sahel have led to the closure of health facilities and the flight of health workers.

In Burkina Faso, 110 health facilities have been closed due to insecurity while services have been impaired in 186 others, leaving around 1.5 million people without adequate health car.  Similarly, in Mali’s central and northern regions, health services have been paralysed by persistent attacks.

In 2019 alone, 18 attacks on health facilities were reported.  So far this year, one health centre has been attacked, WHO said.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said, “COVID-19 has exacerbated existing humanitarian challenges, particularly with regards to access to health services in many countries in the region.”

“With the pandemic, we have seen some humanitarian operations delayed due to lockdowns, curfews and the restrictions of movement for both personnel and cargo vital for COVID-19 response.”

WHO said crowded settings such as displacement camps can heighten the risk of COVID-19 transmission due to difficult access to clean water, leading to inadequate hygiene, and where physical distancing is almost impossible.

Meawhile, the United Nations system has activated health clusters in eight countries where the humanitarian situation requires support from the international community,

including Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Niger and South Sudan.

So far, information on COVID-19 transmission in humanitarian settings remains limited. As many as 18,00 COVID-19 cases have been reported in seven of these countries among the displaced, refugees, migrants or in areas affected by humanitarian crises. Due to the limited detection and testing capacity, the number is likely to be an under-estimate.

Moeti further said that, “WHO urges the humanitarian community and member states to increase support to the millions of people in dire need of assistance in the region.

“If we don’t step up health services, including testing, tracing, isolation, and care for people already living in precarious settings and displacement camps, COVID-19 could spark untold tragedy,” he added.

Apart from this, WHO has developed guidance on adapting COVID-19 mitigation in camp or camp-like settings, recommending health screenings for people arriving at collective sites and temporary isolation centres for suspected cases.

It advises that activities like food distribution or education be adjusted to limit mass gatherings and strengthen infection prevention and control.

Therefore, WHO is working with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and other operational partners.

It is to raise awareness about COVID-19 among vulnerable populations, distribute medical supplies and implement preventive measures such as handwashing stations.

These efforts are also underway to strengthen surveillance, train health workers, establish telehealth centres, and test and care for people who contract the disease.

Whereas, the United Nations is implementing the Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19 to fight the pandemic in countries facing humanitarian situations.

-ARK/RJV

Heavy rains lash parts of Delhi-NCR, traffic alert issued

Cloudy sky in Gurugram after heavy rain

New Delhi (NVI): A fresh spell of heavy rain followed by strong winds and thunderstorm lashed Delhi and parts of NCR this afternoon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

According to the Met department, moderate to heavy rains were also witnessed in Noida and Ghaziabad region.

In a tweet, IMD said, thunderstorm with moderate to heavy intensity rain with wind speed of 25-55 Kmph would occur over and adjoining areas of many places of Delhi, Farukhnagar, Manesar, Gurugram, Sohna, Nuh, Palwal, Faridabad, Ballabhgarh, Noida, Greater Noida, Karnal.

The Met department further predicted that rain and thundershowers will cover remaining parts of Delhi during the next few hours.

Thereafter, according to IMD, the intensity of rainfall is likely to decrease.

“Light to moderate rain/thundershowers continuing over south and southwest Delhi NCR region since last 1 hour. Rain/thundershowers will cover remaining parts of Delhi during next 2 hours,” the IMD said.

Yesterday, the weather department had predicted heavy rains for Delhi at isolated places and had issued Orange Alert.

Meawhile, there were reports of many low-lying regions being waterlogged. So, traffic movements were also disrupted in many parts of the city and neighbouring areas.

-RJV

COVID-19: Centre warns against use of N-95 masks with valved respirators

New Delhi (NVI): The Central Government has warned against the use of N-95 masks, especially with valved respirators, as it does not prevent the virus from escaping out of the mask.

Director General of Health Services Rajiv Garg in a letter to all the states and union territories said, “It is to bring to your knowledge that the use of valved respirator N95 masks is detrimental to the measures adopted for preventing the spread of coronavirus as it does not prevent the virus from escaping out of the mask.”

Garg also encouraged people to use homemade face masks .

He also referred to the advisory on the use handmade protective cover for face and mouth available on the website of Health Ministry.

Valved masks are typically used in industrial settings, where a user needs protection from the environment. While the masks filter in air that the user inhales, the valves help release exhaled air back into the environment.

When used to prevent the spread of COVID-19, valved masks would protect the user but could potentially end up harming others near them.

-CHK

Iran denies excluding India from Chabahar rail project

New Delhi (NVI): In contrast to recent reports which claimed that India had been ousted by Iran from Chabahar-Zahedan railway projects, Iran’s Railway Minister has said that “vested interests” were behind these reports and both the countries are cooperating on the projects.

In this regard, India’s ambassador to Iran, Gaddam Dharmendra was yesterday invited by Saeed Rasouli, Deputy Minister Roads & Head of Iran Railways to review ongoing co-operation on Chabahar-Zahedan railway. Saeed clarified Iran’s position on the projects and rejected the recent reports on the same.

“Amb Gaddam Dharmendra was today invited by HE Saeed Rasouli Dy Minister Roads & Head of Iran Railways to review ongoing co-op on Chabahar-Zahedan railway. HE Rasouli stated that vested interests were behind recent reports that Iran excluded India from Chabahar-Zahedan railway,” the Indian Embassy in Iran said in a tweet.

This comes days after India dismissed as speculative the reports which claimed that it had been ousted by Iran from the projects of Chabahar Port and the Chabahar-Zahidan railway line in the Persian country.

External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava told a media briefing on July 16 that India and Iran have a longstanding commitment since 2003 regarding the Chabahar Port which was finally operationalised in 2016 during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran.

Srivastava had said that an Indian company has been operating the Port since 2018 and has steadily scaled up the traffic at the Port.

Since December 2018, 82 vessels have been handled there, including 52 in the last 12 months alone, he said, adding the port handled 12 lakh tonnes of bulk cargo and 8200 containers.

“Proactive measures are currently underway to increase the usage of Chabahar Port, both for Afghanistan and Central Asia,” the MEA spokesman said.

-ARK

Meghalaya floods: Shah expresses grief

New Delhi (NVI): Union Home minister Amit Shah expressed his grief over the loss of precious lives due to the floods in West Garo Hills, Meghalaya.

Union Home Minister, in a tweet said, “I have spoken to the Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and assured him of all possible help from the Central Government to him”.

Shah added that, “The Nation stands resolutely with the people of Meghalaya in these trying times”.

At least five people have lost their lives and over a lakh have been affected due to the floods in the plain belt of West Garo Hills in Meghalaya. Most victims hail from Tikrikilla community.

The area has witnessed a surge in water levels since the last one week, with most areas submerged under the flood, caused by the backflow of the Brahmaputra river.

As many as 175 villages have been affected by the flood, according to media reports.

-CHK

Hizbul module busted in J&K’s Budgam, 3 held

Terrorist arrested
Representational image

Srinagar (NVI): Security forces today busted a Hizbul Mujahideen module in Central Kashmir’s Budgam district and arrested three militant associates while recovering arms and ammunition from their possession.

J&K Police in a statement issued here said that based on a credible input, Budgam police along with Army’s 53RR and 181 BN CRPF arrested three militant associates from Pakherpora area at a checkpoint in Budgam district.

“The arrested trio were identified as Mehraj-ud-din Kumar, Tahir Kumar both residents of Pakherpora, Budgam and Sahil Hurram, a resident of Tilsarah, Budgam,” the statement said.

Police said that incriminating materials, arms and ammunition including 20 live rounds of AK-47, two detonators and 15 posters of Hizbul were recovered from the possession of arrested trio. “All the recovered materials have been taken into case records for further investigation and to probe their role and complicity in other terror crimes,” the statement said.

Police said that as per records, the three persons arrested were involved in providing logistic support and shelter to the active militants of proscribed militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen who are operating in Budgam district. They were active in the area for the last few months, police said.

It said that the case FIR No. 83/2020 under relevant sections of law stands registered in Police Station Charar-e-Sharief, Budgam and further investigation into the case is underway.

-ARK

Sero-prevalance study shows over 23% population in Delhi has COVID-19 antibodies

Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): A serological study conducted across Delhi shows that on an average 23.48 per cent of the population has the prevalence of IgG antibodies, the Union Health Ministry said.

The study was conducted by National Centre of Disease Control (NCDC) across 11 districts of the national capital, also indicates that a large number of infected persons remain asymptomatic, a statement of Health Ministry said. The study was conducted from June 27 and July 10.

In a official statement ministry said that, it has been commissioned a sero-surveillance study in Delhi. This study has been done by the NCDC in collaboration with Delhi state government, following a rigorous multi-stage sampling study design from June 27 July 10, across 11 districts of Delhi.

Moreover, blood samples were collected from selected individuals after taking written informed consent and then their sera were tested for IgG antibodies and infection using COVID KAVACH ELISA approved by Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).

The ministry also informed that, with 21,387 samples collected it is one of the largest sero-prevalence studies conducted in the country using the ELISA testing.

Therefore, the tests done help in identification of presence of antibodies in the general population. These test performed is not a diagnostic test but only provides information about past infection due to SARSCoV-2 in individuals who test positive.

“Antibody testing repeatedly done over time i.e. sero-surveillance, generates important evidence for assessing the spread of the pandemic from time to time,” the ministry said.

The statement further mentions, “Nearly six months into the epidemic, only 23.48 per cent of the people are affected in Delhi,which has several pockets of dense population.”

“This can be attributed to the proactive efforts taken by the government to prevent the spread of infection including prompt lockdown,effective containment and surveillance measures, including contact tracing and tracking, as well as citizen’s compliance to COVID appropriate behaviours,” it added.

The ministry, however, said the results show that a significant proportion of the population is still vulnerable to the virus.

“Containment measures need to continue with the same rigour. Non-pharmacological interventions such as physical distancing, use of face mask or cover, hand hygiene, cough etiquette and avoidance of crowded places etc.,must be followed strictly,” it added.

-RJV

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