‘Russia tried to influence people close to Trump’

Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised influence operations to help Donald Trump in last Novemberrsquos presidential election according to a declassified intelligence assessment that found broad efforts by the Kremlin and Iran to shape the outcome of the race but ultimately no evidence that any foreign actor changed votes or otherwise disrupted the voting processThe report released on Tuesday from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence represents the most detailed assessment of the array of foreign threats to the 2020 electionThese included efforts by Iran to undermine confidence in the vote and harm Trumprsquos reelection prospects as well as Moscow operations that relied on Trumprsquos allies to smear Joe Biden the eventual winnerDespite those threats though intelligence officials found ldquono indications that any foreign actor attempted to interfere in the 2020 US elections by altering any technical aspect of the voting process including voter registration ballot casting vote tabulation or reporting resultsrdquoThe report is the latest official affirmation of the integrity of the election even as Trump supporters continue to make false claims of interference from foreign or domestic actors and refuse to accept Bidenrsquos victoryMultiple courts and even Trumprsquos own Justice Department refuted claims of widespread fraud The document makes clear that even while Trump has cried foul about the legitimacy of the election intelligence officials believe Russia sought to influence people close to Trump as a way to tip the election in his favourThe report rejected by Russia as ldquounsubstantiatedrdquo wades into the politically charged task of ferreting out which foreign adversaries supported which candidates during the 2020 election an issue that dominated headlines last yearPhilippines suspends entry of foreignersThe Philippines has announced that it will temporarily suspend the entry of foreigners and some citizens as the Southeast Asian country battles a renewed spike in COVID19 cases In a statement the Philippinesrsquo Coronavirus task force said foreign citizens and returning nationals who had not been working overseas will not be able to enter the country from March 20 to April 19 under the banMortality rate dips in Europe the USMortality rates between the first and second waves of COVID19 in Europe and the United States fell further a joint AustralianChinese study said on Wednesday According to the study lower mortality rates occurred in countries with more socialised and equitable health systems Researchers noted there were exceptions including in Germany and Sweden which saw a much smaller decrease than comparable countries such as the NetherlandslsquoIndoPacific region to get a positive visionrsquoDescribing the recentlyconcluded virtual Quad summit as a ldquohistoricrdquo moment a senior American diplomat has said the fournation grouping including India is uniquely positioned to help lead the strategicallyvital IndoPacific region towards a more positive vision Known as the ldquoQuadrilateral Security Dialoguerdquo the Quad grouping comprises the United States India Australia and Japan203407No of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours120831732Total no of cases worldwide2672959Total no of deaths worldwideSource WHOJohns HopkinsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever