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Do you like K-pop?

Increasingly, the chances are that you do, given the massive growth of K-pop fandom around the world, with megabands like BTS and Blackpink building huge audiences, and each becoming cultural forces within themselves.

That fandom is most significantly present on Twitter, which has become a key hub for K-pop enthusiasts. K-pop tweeters are now so prominent that they even have the power to quash controversial hashtag movements, by banding together to flood the streams with K-pop-related tweets instead.

Its amazing to see, and today, Twitter has shared some new insights into the rising K-pop conversation, which got even bigger, once again, in 2021.

As explained by Twitter:

With a massive 7.8 billion global Tweets in 2021,#KpopTwitteronce again showed its power by breaking its previous record of 6.7 billion Tweets in 2020. Registering a notable 16% increase in Tweet volume globally,#KpopTwitterconversations became more diverse and vibrant in 2021.

So where, exactly, is K-pop discussion trending, and who are the big bands of note? Check out the below insights from Twitter which also includes a list of rising K-pop stars if you want to get ahead of the curve.

Read more here:
Twitter Shares New Insights into the Rising K-Pop Discussion in the App [Infographic] - Social Media Today

Twitters set to continue its tradition of unique Super Bowl promotions, this time through a new activation which will see selected tweets showcased, in wide-screen, across the roof of SoFi Stadium.

As you can see in this example, Twitters Super Bowl push will see tweeted predictions about Super Bowl LVI displayed across SoFis amazing LED roof. That will enable regular Twitter users to get their name up in lights, and have their Twitter handle projected to the world for all to see. Well, all of those in a helicopter, I guess.

SoFi stadium also has a range of digital screens inside the facility as well, so the chosen tweets will likely be displayed internally and externally. And that could give fans a huge boost, seeing their name on the big screen, with Twitter putting out a call for predictions here in order to potentially be featured.

As noted, Twitter is gradually building a tradition of innovative Super Bowl promotions. Over the last two years, Twitter has printed peoples tweets onto the confetti which has rained down on the winning players at the end of the game.

Last years iteration of this push included messages of thanks for frontline workers, amid the ongoing pandemic, adding another angle to the confetti messages.

Twitter has also implemented various team emojis and in-app activations to facilitate Super Bowl discussion, while its also long been involved in the NFL media push around the Super Bowl, further solidifying its links to the event.

This new initiative takes things to another level literally which will ideally help to further cement Twitter as the place to be for Super Bowl discussion and engagement.

Its a crucial event for tweet engagement. Throughout this past season, there were more than 4 billion video views on NFL-related tweets, while NFL post-season discussion jumped almost 400% versus the previous regular season.

Given this, it makes sense for Twitter to make a grand gesture in support of the event, and showcasing tweets on one of the biggest screens possible is certainly one way to do just that.

Read more:
Twitter Will Showcase Super Bowl Prediction Tweets on the Roof of SoFi Stadium in New Promo Push - Social Media Today

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyencannot repeat often enough how close stepping up climate action is to her heart.

She described the European Green Deal as "Europe's man on the moon moment."She has called climate neutrality "our European destiny."And she solemnly proclaimed that no effort will be spared for Europe to become the world's first continent with net-zero emissions.

But as often, the devil is in the detail.

The big question is how exactly the European Union intends to achieve its goals.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen paints herself as a friend of the climate

One measure being put into place is a so-called taxonomy, "a classification system, establishing a list of environmentally sustainable economic activities,"according to the EuropeanCommission.

This taxonomy could be described as the EU's green investment rulebook, intended to serve the goal of allowing the continent to become climate neutral by 2050.

Critics say the objective of climate neutrality could be under threat, as the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, decided to give nuclear energy and natural gas a green label under this taxonomy.

In a proposal presented this Wednesday, the EU Commission stated that certain strings remained attached. For example, gas plants could only be considered green if the facility switched to low-carbon or renewable gases, such as biomass or hydrogen produced with renewable energy,by 2035.

Nuclear power plants would be deemed green if the sites can manage to safely dispose of radioactive waste. So far, worldwide, no permanent disposal site, has gone into operation though.

At a news conference in Brussels, Mairead McGuinness, the EU commissioner responsible for financial services, said her institution was not guilty of "greenwashing," as gas and nuclear were labeled as "transitional" energy sources in the taxonomy. "Our credibility is still strong," McGuinness added.

Natural gas can be liquified, allowing it to be shipped relatively easily via tanker

Environmental organizations most certainly see this critically, saying the proposal could jeopardize the EU's aim to reach climate neutrality by 2050. The Climate Action Network Europe wrote that theEU Commission"sacrifices the scientific integrity of the taxonomy on the altar of fossil gas and nuclear lobbies"and failed to "reorient financial flows towards genuinely climate-positive investments."

And it's not justclimate activists: Also a group of experts advising the EU on the matter had announced how they are worried about "the environmental impacts that may result," for example the consequences of a nuclear accident. Building new nuclear plants would also take too long to contribute to the 2050 neutrality goals, they believe.

The proposal was preceded by a heated debate among EU countries. While some consider nuclear to be agood bridging technology, others are strongly opposed, andprefer gas instead.

Germany has opted to use gas as a bridge away from more polluting fossil fuels and toward zero-carbon energy sources

France, which derives about 70 percent of its electricity from nuclear plants, is unsurprisingly heading up the pro-nuclear fraction. It is supported by a group of EU states including Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Finland.

Especially France wants to invest in new nuclear power plants, particularly innew generation, so-called small modular reactors.

Energy expert Nicolas Mazzucchi,who works for the Foundation of Strategic Research think tank in Paris, supports the French government's plans. "These reactors can be produced on an industrial level at factories, as automated as possible, to make it cheaper and guarantee quality,"Mazzucchi toldDW.

Germany, however, has argued against nuclear power also unsurprisingly, as it decided to shut down all its nuclear power plants by the end of 2022 following the Fukushima disaster in 2011.

Denmark, Austria and Luxembourg share this view, highlighting the controversial point ofwhere to safely store highly radioactive nuclear waste.

In a letter to the EuropeanCommission, Germany's current governing coalition hasclearly said that gas is needed as an interim energy sourceuntil enough renewables are available.

To avoid a clash with its EU neighbor France, German Chancellor Olaf Scholzdownplayed the importance of the taxonomy at an EU leaders' meeting last year, saying the debate was "completely overrated."

Georg Zachmann, a senior fellow at the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank, has been following the EU's energy and climate policy for years. He said that, in the end, he was relatively sure no decision would be taken in Brussels to prevent France, for example, from investing in and building new nuclear reactors.

The Commission is keen to have the taxonomyviewed as the "gold standard" forguidingprivate investmenttowardmeasures that help fight climate change.

But in Zachmann's view, no investor would be interested in nuclear or gasif the EU "invested political capital"in getting member states to substantially expand their renewable energy production.

"We know that onshore wind and solar power are not very costly in most European countries,"he pointed out.

Nuclear versus gas: French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

The European Commission's taxonomy proposal will now be reviewed by the 27 EU member states and by the European Parliament.

As the EU's executive opted for a delegated act, a type of fast-track legislative procedure, only a total of 20 EU countries, or a majority of EU lawmakers at the European Parliament,would be able to reject it.

While EU states are not likely to turn down the taxonomy, a win in the European Parliament is not yet certain. Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum have expressed anger over the inclusion of fossil gas and nuclear power in the EU taxonomy.

Green lawmaker Rasmus Andresen said he was "disappointed" by the proposal, adding that the Green parliamentary fraction would fight hard to gather a majority against the taxonomy.

German Social Democrat Joachim Schuster told DW he thought it possible that the EuropeanParliament could vote against the act.

And even if lawmakers were to supportit, there is another threat looming:Austria and Luxembourg have already threatened to sue the European Commission over the taxonomy rules.

Edited by: Sonya Diehn

See the original post here:
European Commission declares nuclear and gas to be green - DW (English)

DAMASCUS, 1 February 2022 3,996,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnsons Janssen COVID-19 vaccine arrived on 26 of January to Syria donated by Italy through the COVAX facility.

In May last year, as chair of the G20, Italy hosted The Global Health Summit alongside the European Commission, which saw many European countries pledge to share millions of vaccine doses to priority countries like Syria, boosting short-term supplies.

EU and its Member States are so far the biggest donor of COVID-19 vaccines in the world, having shared over 350 million doses for donation to countries around the world, via COVAX (around 300 million) and bilaterally (over 45 million).

Italy is donating doses to COVAX on top of the USD 470 million it has pledged to the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (Gavi COVAX AMC) and this donation in particular will allow a large number of people in Syria to access vaccines now, said the Italian Charge dAffaires a.i., Massimiliano DAntuono. Italy stands by the Syrian population and, in cooperation with the EU humanitarian aid, UNICEF and WHO, supports the efforts in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and in general the consequences of the dire humanitarian situation across the country, he continued.

The roll out of the vaccines donated by Italy and the awareness campaign will be funded by EU humanitarian aid and implemented by WHO. The EU, in particular, is providing humanitarian support to WHO in Syria to help the health system deal with the ongoing pandemic and reach the target of 70% people vaccinated by mid-2022. EU humanitarian funding allows for vaccine roll-out and the deployment of vaccination teams. Humanitarian aid is essential at a time when vulnerable Syrians and caregivers are not only threatened by COVID-19, but also by the consequences of continued conflict, economic decline and harsh winter conditions.

The Charg daffaires a.i. of the European Union to Syria, Dan Stoenescu, stated: "As part of our #TeamEurope humanitarian pledge to the Syrian people, the EU supports the vaccination efforts in Syria, where immunization against COVID-19 is lower than in other countries. The European Union is working hard with COVAX and vaccine manufacturers, with donors and other partners, to accelerate the delivery of doses worldwide, including in Syria. Our aim is to ensure that most of Syria's population is vaccinated by the end of this year. The generous donation of Italy is timely and will further help us reach this goal."

The vaccine coverage in Syria is among the lowest globally.

Vaccine supply to Syria has been slow. While we aimed to vaccinate 20 per cent of the population by end of December 2021, the available vaccines by then were only enough to cover 13 per cent of the population. This consignment generously donated by the Government of Italy will reach additional 20 per cent of the population with life-saving COVID-19 vaccines, said Akjemal Magtymova, Head of Mission and WHO Representative in Syria. Availability of vaccines is an important step in ensuring equitable vaccination, but so are vaccine administration and demand generation. We need to step up our concerted efforts to continue building public trust in COVID-19 vaccines to reach the national vaccination target of 40 per cent by April this year and at least 70 per cent by end of the year 2022, Dr Magtymova added.

The donated vaccines can be stored and transported using standard equipment for routine vaccines. This enables distribution to remote areas and provides an opportunity to the hardest to reach populations in the country to be protected with a single dose. Frontline workers, elderly, people with pre-existing conditions and eligible people continue to be prioritized with the vaccination.

This donation from the Government of Italy is incredibly timely and important in our fight against the pandemic. Unless we protect health workers and other frontline workers, health systems will continue to be overstretched and the most vulnerable women and children will lose access to life-saving services, jeopardizing years of progress and culminating in the poorest children falling behind, said UNICEF Syria Representative, Bo Viktor Nylund.

UNICEF and WHO will continue to support efforts to deliver the vaccines safely through cold chain management; supporting vaccinators in fixed facilities and mobile teams; increasing testing and lab capacity to detect COVID-19 cases and prevent the further spread of the pandemic; and boosting public knowledge and confidence in vaccines.

Notes to editors

Just over 2,2 million doses of vaccines against COVID-19 have been administered in Syria to date. As of 24 January 2022, only 5.1 per cent of the total population have been fully vaccinated, most with two doses, and 10 per cent have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The numbers above do not include the figures from northwest of Syria. In the northwest, more than 287,000 people have received their first dose and nearly 146,500 people their second one.

For more information, please contact:

Press and Information team of the EU Delegation to Syria, DELEGATION-SYRIA-PRESS-INFO@eeas.europa.eu

Eva Hinds, UNICEF Syria, ehinds@unicef.org, +963 950 044 304

Gulalek Soltanova, WHO Syria, soltanovag@who.int, +963 953 888 477

View original post here:
Italy joins other European Union member states to increase pledge of COVID-19 vaccines to Syria [EN/AR] - Syrian Arab Republic - ReliefWeb

The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, visited Ukraine in January 2022 amidst continuously soaring tensions along the Russia-Ukraine border, conveying a strong message of support to Kyiv. This came at a time when a series of security talks between Russia and the US, NATO, and the OSCE were scheduled to take place from January 10, 2022. The EU put forth its genuine concerns about its exclusion in the talks on the European security architecture and its portrayal as a neutral spectator. Borrell urged that any discussion about European security must happen in coordination with and participation of EU. After all, whatever happens in its neighbourhood affects the EU and its member-states security.

Since the crisis emerged at the Russia-Ukraine frontier in 2014, the EU has majorly assisted Ukraine in sharply reducing the latters economic dependence on its hostile neighbour Russia by supporting with over EUR 17 billion. The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement of 2014 has resulted in the EU becoming Ukraines largest trading partner surpassing Russia. But, what has cast a shadow on the budding EU-Ukraine bonhomie is the EU-Russia economic equation.

The EU is Russias biggest trading partner with 37.3% of the countrys total trade in goods in 2020. Thus, to its advantage, the bloc has attempted to use instrument of economic sanctions to deter Russia from any further misadventures in Ukraine and its neighbourhood. This policy of hitting the bear where it hurts the most has not dissuaded Russia from lessening tensions on its border with Ukraine. Thus, the EU has vowed to impose further stricter sanctions in response by warning Russia: aggression comes with a price tag. Critics, including Ukraine, have not shied away from lambasting the EUs Russia appeasement policies for its failure to define this price tag.

The question remains what hinders a stronger economic response from the bloc to avert Moscows belligerence in its neighbourhood? The crisis in the EUs eastern neighbourhood is exacerbated by a deepening energy crisis at home. Both point towards a common cause: Russia, the main supplier of crude oil, natural gas, and solid fossil fuels to the bloc. The EUs energy dependence on Russia has soared in recent times and Kremlin attempts to exploit Brussels energy insecurity to its advantage. This geoeconomics of energy trade, largely in favour of Russia, makes Brussels position frail in dealing with Kremlin.

Moreover, Nord Stream 2, an offshore natural gas Baltic Sea pipeline running between Russia and Germany, has further added to the question of the EUs dependence on Russia for energy security. If German regulators approve the project, the pipeline would transport 55 billion cubic metres of natural gas from Russia to Europe each year. With this development, possibilities of abandoning the existing Russian energy supply routes to the EU energy market, namely the Ukrainian transit line and the Belarusian-Polish gas pipeline, cannot be denied. This carries a huge economic cost for transit countries like Ukraine and Poland that fear losing out on revenues along with jeopardising their national security.

Nord Stream 2, to see the light of the day, remains in Russias economic interests. Whether Germany, to the EUs advantage, should play the Nord Stream 2 card and list it down overtly as the price for further Russian aggression have divided the member-states.

The EU has fallen short of projecting its influence in the conflict zone in its neighbourhood. In December 2014, the bloc had initiated a civilian support mission, the EUAM Ukraine, aimed to reform law-enforcement and rule of law institutions. On the security front, Brussels plans to support Ukraines armed forces with EUR 31 billion in times to come through the instrument of the European Peace Facility.

But what remains missing is an EU-led military support mission to Ukraine even after almost eight years of the Russian annexation of Crimea and escalating tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border in the blocs neighbourhood. As the crisis is predominantly military, Ukraine has been calling for NATO assistance in case of attempts of invasion from its eastern border, seldom relying on EU military help.

The centrality of the bloc in European security has been questioned by its absence from any meaningful dialogue on the European security architecture surrounding the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The EUs response is still taking shape when Russia is further amassing troops on its western border. Thus, for Brussels, the question should not be what if Russia invades Ukraine?, but how to deter Russia from further misadventures in Ukraine?. Unless it has a strong deterrence package against Moscow, Brussels would continue to be seen as an uninvolved spectator.

Go here to read the rest:
Opinion The European Union's Status in the Russia-Ukraine Crisis - E-International Relations