The former US President and reality TV star, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>, has been sued by Capitol police officers for inciting the riots that took place on January 06 in the US Capitol building.

Two officers, James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, have claimed to have suffered "physical and emotional injuries" during the riot and have blamed Trump for the horrifying memories.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/joe-biden-set-to-end-trump-era-ban-on-temporary-foreign-workers-374388">Joe Biden set to end Trump-era ban on temporary foreign workers</a>

"The insurrectionists were spurred on by Trump’s conduct over many months in getting his followers to believe his false allegation that he was about to be forced out of the White House because of massive election fraud," the officers said in the suit filed.

Capitol police officers believe Trump had incited violence on lawmakers and police officers.

"The insurrectionist mob, which Trump had inflamed, encouraged, incited, directed, and aided and abetted, forced its way over and past the plaintiffs and their fellow officers, pursuing and attacking them," they added.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/us-lawmakers-grill-tech-ceos-on-capitol-riot-getting-few-direct-answers-373400">US lawmakers grill tech CEOs on Capitol riot, getting few direct answers</a>

Sidney Hemby, who has been serving for the past 11 years suffered knee and hand injuries after he was crushed against Capitol building doors. He also claimed that he was sprayed in his face and body by chemical attacks, during the riots.

"Officer Hemby normally has a calm demeanour but has struggled to manage the emotional fallout from being relentlessly attacked," the legal suit reads.

Similarly, James Blassingame, a 17-year- veteran of the force, said he suffered injuries on his head and back. Blassingame has also claimed to have suffered emotionally due to the horrifying memories from the riot.

Blassingame, an African-American officer, was also subjected to racist attacks during the riots, he claimed.

Trump has been accused of directing, motivating and abetting assault and battery and emotional distress, incitement to riot, and violating public safety statutes.

The two officers have demanded compensatory damages of a minimum of $75,000 each and an unstated amount in punitive damages.

The former US President and reality TV star, Donald Trump, has been sued by Capitol police officers for inciting the riots that took place on January 06 in the US Capitol building.

The former US President and reality TV star, Donald Trump, has been sued by Capitol police officers for inciting the riots that took place on January 06 in the US Capitol building. Two officers, James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, have claimed to have suffered "physical and emotional injuries" during the riot and have blamed Trump for the horrifying memories. Also read | Joe Biden set to end Trump-era ban on temporary foreign workers "The insurrectionists were spurred on by Trump’s conduct over many months in getting his followers to believe his false allegation that he was about to be forced out of the White House because of massive election fraud," the officers said in the suit filed. Capitol police officers believe Trump had incited violence on lawmakers and police officers. "The insurrectionist mob, which Trump had inflamed, encouraged, incited, directed, and aided and abetted, forced its way over and past the plaintiffs and their fellow officers, pursuing and attacking them," they added. Also read | US lawmakers grill tech CEOs on Capitol riot, getting few direct answers Sidney Hemby, who has been serving for the past 11 years suffered knee and hand injuries after he was crushed against Capitol building doors. He also claimed that he was sprayed in his face and body by chemical attacks, during the riots. "Officer Hemby normally has a calm demeanour but has struggled to manage the emotional fallout from being relentlessly attacked," the legal suit reads. Similarly, James Blassingame, a 17-year- veteran of the force, said he suffered injuries on his head and back. Blassingame has also claimed to have suffered emotionally due to the horrifying memories from the riot. Blassingame, an African-American officer, was also subjected to racist attacks during the riots, he claimed. Trump has been accused of directing, motivating and abetting assault and battery and emotional distress, incitement to riot, and violating public safety statutes. The two officers have demanded compensatory damages of a minimum of $75,000 each and an unstated amount in punitive damages.

Capitol police sues Trump for 'physical and emotional' damage in Capitol riot

UK, US, Australia and 11 other countries have come together to criticise WHO's report on <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus">coronavirus</a> origin and have accused China of not providing full information on the pandemic. Meanwhile, Germany has decided to&nbsp;halt the use of the AstraZeneca <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus-vaccine">vaccine</a> for the elderly amid reports of a rare disorder.

Click on headlines to read more

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-uk-along-with-12-countries-criticise-whos-report-on-covid-origin-374383" hreflang="en">US, UK, along with 12 countries, criticise WHO's report on COVID origin</a>

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2021/03/31/189651-us-uk-who.jpg?itok=FVOqiqm6" />

The statement, issued by 14 countries, has criticised the delay in the investigation and has demanded timely access for independent experts in future pandemics.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-orders-non-essential-diplomats-in-myanmar-to-return-state-department-374378">US orders non-essential diplomats in Myanmar to return: State Department</a>

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2021/03/18/187724-mm1.jpg?itok=Kyl3Fx2q" />

Considering the rising violence in the country, the US State Department had earlier, in mid-February, authorised a 'voluntary departure of non-emergency US government employees and their family members'.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/germany-halts-use-of-astrazeneca-vaccine-for-elderly-amid-reports-of-rare-disorder-374381" hreflang="en">Germany halts use of AstraZeneca vaccine for elderly</a>

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2021/03/12/186850-astrazeneca.jpg?itok=KJqdQd91" />

Germany is set to limit the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine among people aged 60 and above following reports of a rare brain blood disorder.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-shoes-with-human-blood-in-their-sole-374373">Gravitas: Shoes with human blood in their sole</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-shoes-with-human-blood-in-their-sole-374373/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo">&nbsp;</div>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-no-india-pakistan-bilateral-in-tajikistan-374375">Gravitas: No India-Pakistan bilateral in Tajikistan</a></div>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo">&nbsp;</div>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-no-india-pakistan-bilateral-in-tajikistan-374375/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

UK, US, Australia and 11 other countries have come together to criticise WHO's report on coronavirus origin and have accused China of not providing full information on the pandemic.

UK, US, Australia and 11 other countries have come together to criticise WHO's report on coronavirus origin and have accused China of not providing full information on the pandemic. Meanwhile, Germany has decided to halt the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for the elderly amid reports of a rare disorder. Click on headlines to read more US, UK, along with 12 countries, criticise WHO's report on COVID origin The statement, issued by 14 countries, has criticised the delay in the investigation and has demanded timely access for independent experts in future pandemics. US orders non-essential diplomats in Myanmar to return: State Department Considering the rising violence in the country, the US State Department had earlier, in mid-February, authorised a 'voluntary departure of non-emergency US government employees and their family members'. Germany halts use of AstraZeneca vaccine for elderly Germany is set to limit the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine among people aged 60 and above following reports of a rare brain blood disorder. Gravitas: Shoes with human blood in their sole Gravitas: No India-Pakistan bilateral in Tajikistan

Morning news brief: US and UK question WHO, Germany halts AstraZeneca vaccine and more

Wondering what Donald Trump is up to? On Saturday, he gatecrashed a wedding & instead of toasting the couple, Trump used the opportunity to make political attacks

Gravitas: Trump is back, at a wedding

A close ally of former US president, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>, has denied accusations against him stating he had relationships with underage girls.

Matt Gaetz, a Republican in Congress, said his lawyers have been informed that he is the subject of an investigation for "sexual conduct with women". However, he has also claimed that he is not the target of this ongoing investigation.

He has been accused of having sexual relationships with underage girls. Gaetz, however, has denied these accusations, describing them to be "as searing as they are false".

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/capitol-police-sues-trump-for-physical-and-emotional-damage-in-capitol-riot-374427" hreflang="en">Capitol police sues Trump for 'physical and emotional' damage in Capitol riot</a>

Gaetz opened up about this a little after the New York Times reported that the Trump ally was under investigation by the justice department to find out if he violated federal sex trafficking laws.

He has also been accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 17-year-old who was allegedly paid to travel with him.

Calling it a planned criminal extortion plan, he said in a statement, "Over the past several weeks my family and I have been victims of an organised criminal extortion involving a former DoJ [Department of Justice] official, seeking $25m while threatening to smear my name."

He has also claimed that his father has been wearing a recording device on the FBI's order "to catch these criminals". He has urged the justice department to release those recordings.

"No part of the allegations against me are true, and the people pushing these lies are targets of the ongoing extortion investigation," he said.

After he opened up about the investigation, he accused the US Department of Justice of purposely trying to make his conduct look criminal.

"I believe that there are people at the Department of Justice who are trying to criminalize my sexual conduct, you know, when I was a single guy," he said in an interview with Axios.&nbsp;

"I have definitely, in my single days, provided for women I’ve dated," he added. "You know, I’ve paid for flights, for hotel rooms. I’ve been, you know, generous as a partner. I think someone is trying to make that look criminal when it is not."

A close ally of former US president, Donald Trump, has denied accusations against him stating he had relationships with underage girls. Matt Gaetz, a Republican in Congress, said his lawyers have been informed that he is the subject of an investigation for "sexual conduct with women".

A close ally of former US president, Donald Trump, has denied accusations against him stating he had relationships with underage girls. Matt Gaetz, a Republican in Congress, said his lawyers have been informed that he is the subject of an investigation for "sexual conduct with women". However, he has also claimed that he is not the target of this ongoing investigation. He has been accused of having sexual relationships with underage girls. Gaetz, however, has denied these accusations, describing them to be "as searing as they are false". Also read | Capitol police sues Trump for 'physical and emotional' damage in Capitol riot Gaetz opened up about this a little after the New York Times reported that the Trump ally was under investigation by the justice department to find out if he violated federal sex trafficking laws. He has also been accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 17-year-old who was allegedly paid to travel with him. Calling it a planned criminal extortion plan, he said in a statement, "Over the past several weeks my family and I have been victims of an organised criminal extortion involving a former DoJ [Department of Justice] official, seeking $25m while threatening to smear my name." He has also claimed that his father has been wearing a recording device on the FBI's order "to catch these criminals". He has urged the justice department to release those recordings. "No part of the allegations against me are true, and the people pushing these lies are targets of the ongoing extortion investigation," he said. After he opened up about the investigation, he accused the US Department of Justice of purposely trying to make his conduct look criminal. "I believe that there are people at the Department of Justice who are trying to criminalize my sexual conduct, you know, when I was a single guy," he said in an interview with Axios. "I have definitely, in my single days, provided for women I’ve dated," he added. "You know, I’ve paid for flights, for hotel rooms. I’ve been, you know, generous as a partner. I think someone is trying to make that look criminal when it is not."

Trump's ally under investigation for sexual relationship with underage girls

Former United States President Donald Trump recently spoke at a wedding ceremony at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Staying true to form, Trump made the congratulatory speech about himself, and made attempts to berate the incumbent US President Joe Biden.

"Do you miss me yet?”, Trump who was decked up for the wedding asked the attendees at the function, a video of which was shared by TMZ.

He used the moment to attack Biden over multiple issues, ranging from the border with Mexico, to China, and even Iran.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/trump-lashes-out-at-biden-administration-over-us-migration-crisis-372197" hreflang="en">Trump lashes out at Biden administration over US migration crisis</a>

"We were ready to make a deal [with Iran], they were ready to do anything, they would have done anything. And this guy [Biden] goes and drops the sanctions and then he says we'd like to negotiate now," Trump is heard saying in the video.

"What's happening to the kids? They are living in squalor, they are living like nobody has ever seen," Trump said, while referring to the kids at border. "The border is not good. It's the worst that it has ever been," he said.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/former-top-us-virus-official-slams-trumps-pandemic-response-citing-needless-deaths-374033" hreflang="en">Former top US virus official slams Trump’s pandemic response, citing needless deaths</a>

Ironically, Trump administration had divided children from their families at the border and had kept kids in prison-like conditions at the border, for which his administration had received a lot of flak.

In what was expected, Trump again made his unproven claims of a stolen election. "They said get 66 million votes, sir, and the election is over. I got 75 million votes, and you saw what happened," he said.

Former United States President Donald Trump recently spoke at a wedding ceremony at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Staying true to form, Trump made the congratulatory speech about himself, and made attempts to berate the incumbent US President Joe Biden.

Former United States President Donald Trump recently spoke at a wedding ceremony at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Staying true to form, Trump made the congratulatory speech about himself, and made attempts to berate the incumbent US President Joe Biden. "Do you miss me yet?”, Trump who was decked up for the wedding asked the attendees at the function, a video of which was shared by TMZ. He used the moment to attack Biden over multiple issues, ranging from the border with Mexico, to China, and even Iran. Also read: Trump lashes out at Biden administration over US migration crisis "We were ready to make a deal [with Iran], they were ready to do anything, they would have done anything. And this guy [Biden] goes and drops the sanctions and then he says we'd like to negotiate now," Trump is heard saying in the video. "What's happening to the kids? They are living in squalor, they are living like nobody has ever seen," Trump said, while referring to the kids at border. "The border is not good. It's the worst that it has ever been," he said. Also read: Former top US virus official slams Trump’s pandemic response, citing needless deaths Ironically, Trump administration had divided children from their families at the border and had kept kids in prison-like conditions at the border, for which his administration had received a lot of flak. In what was expected, Trump again made his unproven claims of a stolen election. "They said get 66 million votes, sir, and the election is over. I got 75 million votes, and you saw what happened," he said.

'Miss me yet?': Donald Trump shocks everyone by making wedding speech about himself

Donald Trump is not in the White House anymore, but there are things still on his mind. But the selection of the right stage to say it all could keep&nbsp;him safe from online trolling.

The former US president took to stage to wish a couple getting married at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

It must have been a great moment for the couple to have a former US president speak at their&nbsp;wedding. But Trump went on a rant, talking about Iran, China, the border migrant crisis&nbsp;and Joe Biden.

"We were ready to make a deal [with Iran], they were ready to do anything, they would have done anything. And this guy [Biden] goes and drops the sanctions and then he says we'd like to negotiate now," Trump is heard saying in a video circulating online.&nbsp;

This was an apparent reference to Biden's effort to engage with Iran in order to re-enter the nuclear deal the US struck in 2015 under Barack Obama, and Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018.

Trump also spoke about the domestic situation in the US. "The border is not good. It's the worst that it has ever been," he said.

Trump had strived hard to&nbsp;build a wall along the US-Mexico border, one of his key campaign promises in&nbsp;2016.

Trump then went on to speak&nbsp;about his election loss to Biden in 2020. "They said get 66 million votes, sir, and the election is over. I got 75 million votes, and you saw what happened," he said.

Trump still maintains that he did not lose the elections and that there was widespread voting fraud. His claims have been refuted by US Supreme Court and election officials. Joe Biden got 80 million votes, 5 million more than what Trump bagged.

At the very end of his 400-word long address, Trump said, "It's an honour to have you at Mar-a-Lago, you are a beautiful couple...have fun".

The video has been posted online by TMZ.

Donald Trump is not in the White House anymore, but there are things still on his mind. But the selection of the right stage to say it all could keep him safe from online trolling.

Donald Trump is not in the White House anymore, but there are things still on his mind. But the selection of the right stage to say it all could keep him safe from online trolling. The former US president took to stage to wish a couple getting married at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. It must have been a great moment for the couple to have a former US president speak at their wedding. But Trump went on a rant, talking about Iran, China, the border migrant crisis and Joe Biden. "We were ready to make a deal [with Iran], they were ready to do anything, they would have done anything. And this guy [Biden] goes and drops the sanctions and then he says we'd like to negotiate now," Trump is heard saying in a video circulating online. This was an apparent reference to Biden's effort to engage with Iran in order to re-enter the nuclear deal the US struck in 2015 under Barack Obama, and Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018. Trump also spoke about the domestic situation in the US. "The border is not good. It's the worst that it has ever been," he said. Trump had strived hard to build a wall along the US-Mexico border, one of his key campaign promises in 2016. Trump then went on to speak about his election loss to Biden in 2020. "They said get 66 million votes, sir, and the election is over. I got 75 million votes, and you saw what happened," he said. Trump still maintains that he did not lose the elections and that there was widespread voting fraud. His claims have been refuted by US Supreme Court and election officials. Joe Biden got 80 million votes, 5 million more than what Trump bagged. At the very end of his 400-word long address, Trump said, "It's an honour to have you at Mar-a-Lago, you are a beautiful couple...have fun". The video has been posted online by TMZ.

Trump takes mic to wish a couple at wedding, starts talking about foreign policy

Dr.&nbsp;Deborah&nbsp;Birx, who coordinated the White House coronavirus task force under President Donald Trump, believes the COVID-19 death toll in the United States would have been substantially lower if the government had responded more effectively.

In an interview with CNN, parts of which were released before broadcast later on Sunday,&nbsp;Birx&nbsp;said there was an "excuse" for the initial surge of deaths last year as the government grappled with the start of the pandemic.

"There were about 100,000 deaths that came from that original surge,"&nbsp;Birx&nbsp;said. "All of the rest of them, in my mind, could have been mitigated or decreased substantially."

More than 542,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States,&nbsp;and almost 30 million have been infected.

Trump downplayed the outbreak in its early stages, resisted mitigation efforts and criticized harsh lockdown measures imposed to stop the spread of the virus. He repeatedly eschewed guidance on mask-wearing that health experts say prevents the spread of the disease.

Birx, who has since left the government, said in the interview that she received a "very uncomfortable" call from Trump after describing how widespread the virus was in an interview with CNN in August, during which she told people living in rural areas that they were not immune.

Trump, who tested positive for and then recovered from the virus in October, was running for re-election at the time.

"Everybody in the White House was upset with that interview and the clarity that I brought about the epidemic,"&nbsp;Birx&nbsp;said.

"I got called by the president," she said. "It was very uncomfortable, very direct, and very difficult to hear."

Birx&nbsp;at times faced criticism for not standing up more forcefully in public to Trump's misinformation about the pandemic, including his dangerous suggestion that Americans could consume bleach to kill the virus.

Trump went on to hold large rallies in the final months of the presidential election campaign despite public health guidance warning against large gatherings. He lost to Democrat Joe Biden, who campaigned largely on a promise to take the pandemic more seriously than his opponent.

Birx&nbsp;became sidelined in the final months of Trump's administration, and White House briefings about the pandemic largely ceased.

She was not offered a position in Biden's White House and now works in the private sector.

Dr. Deborah Birx, who coordinated the White House coronavirus task force under President Donald Trump, believes the COVID-19 death toll in the United States would have been substantially lower if the government had responded more effectively.

Dr. Deborah Birx, who coordinated the White House coronavirus task force under President Donald Trump, believes the COVID-19 death toll in the United States would have been substantially lower if the government had responded more effectively. In an interview with CNN, parts of which were released before broadcast later on Sunday, Birx said there was an "excuse" for the initial surge of deaths last year as the government grappled with the start of the pandemic. "There were about 100,000 deaths that came from that original surge," Birx said. "All of the rest of them, in my mind, could have been mitigated or decreased substantially." More than 542,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States, and almost 30 million have been infected. Trump downplayed the outbreak in its early stages, resisted mitigation efforts and criticized harsh lockdown measures imposed to stop the spread of the virus. He repeatedly eschewed guidance on mask-wearing that health experts say prevents the spread of the disease. Birx, who has since left the government, said in the interview that she received a "very uncomfortable" call from Trump after describing how widespread the virus was in an interview with CNN in August, during which she told people living in rural areas that they were not immune. Trump, who tested positive for and then recovered from the virus in October, was running for re-election at the time. "Everybody in the White House was upset with that interview and the clarity that I brought about the epidemic," Birx said. "I got called by the president," she said. "It was very uncomfortable, very direct, and very difficult to hear." Birx at times faced criticism for not standing up more forcefully in public to Trump's misinformation about the pandemic, including his dangerous suggestion that Americans could consume bleach to kill the virus. Trump went on to hold large rallies in the final months of the presidential election campaign despite public health guidance warning against large gatherings. He lost to Democrat Joe Biden, who campaigned largely on a promise to take the pandemic more seriously than his opponent. Birx became sidelined in the final months of Trump's administration, and White House briefings about the pandemic largely ceased. She was not offered a position in Biden's White House and now works in the private sector.

Former top US virus official slams Trump’s pandemic response, citing needless deaths

India’s western neighbourhood, stretching from Iran to Turkey, has been in perpetual turmoil over the past several years. The developments in this region are of great&nbsp;&nbsp;concern to the foreign policy making of many nations, especially the United States.

From Barack Obama and Donald Trump to now Joe Biden, the occupant of the White House has time and again invested in the development and peace deals of the West Asia region.

Israel and the UAE established ties in 2020 in a deal known as the Abraham Accords, a diplomatic coup for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and brokered by his staunch ally, former US president Donald Trump. Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco have since followed suit with normalistation/ formalisation of ties with Israel.

Trump, often questioned for his demeanour, on Wednesday however found a likely support from his former aide at the WION Global Summit in Dubai.

Jason D Greenblatt, former White House Middle East envoy and part of Trump's team, defended the peace agreements.

"While some in this audience may not appreciate Donald Trump's tweets or his manner of speaking, they understand that speaking directly is key to solving issues," Greenblatt said.

The power in the US has changed. And so have the dynamics that work around the deal. But there's no reason&nbsp;that the current US President, Joe Biden, should not support the pact, the panelists at the WION Global Summit said.

"I don't see why Biden administration would not continue to support Abraham Accords. It has created momentum. We are at a stage where people are building peace," Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Deputy Mayor - Jerusalem and a prominent policy maker, said at the first&nbsp;session of the summit on Peace Deals and the Shifting Sands of West Asia.

Ibrahim Shukralla, Head of English Language News at WAM News, also batted for a continuance of the peace process, an absence of which&nbsp;he said would obstruct any peace in the future also.

"There should be a desire for peace by the Biden Adminstration and the Israelis. Resuming annexation plans would really obstruct any peace in the future," Shukralla said.

Fleur Hassan-Nahoum spoke about how the peace deal worked in favour of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has claimed victory in the recently held national polls, however, with no majority in exit polls in sight.

"The Abraham Accords have been a huge win for PM Netanyahu - something that has been absolutely appreciated by the citizens of the state of Israel. It was one of his key campaign issues," she said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/netanyahu-claims-victory-in-israel-election-but-majority-uncertain-372641">Also read |&nbsp;Netanyahu claims victory in Israel election but majority uncertain</a>

True to his campaign promise, Trump withdrew the US from the Iran deal in May 2018.

The peace deal was perhaps Trump’s single-most critical decision that had drastically changed the trajectory of American policy towards the Middle East region.

In this regard, Mustapha Noman, Former Deputy Foreign Minister of Yemen, said, "I have always said that the Iranians have not shown their willingness to be a peaceful government. We see them in Yemen, in Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon. It's all over the place."

"I think, not just US, but every country in this region should be at the negotiating table with Iran. I think the Europeans are far less relevant," Greenblatt added.

India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Japan's State Minister of Defence Nakayama Yasuhide, former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and former US National Security Advisor John Bolton are among leaders who addressed WION Global Summit 2021.

Panelists focussed their attention on issues at the intersections of global politics, economy, diplomacy and our daily lives in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

India’s western neighbourhood, stretching from Iran to Turkey, has been in perpetual turmoil over the past several years. The developments in this region are of great concern to the foreign policy making of many nations, especially the United States.

India’s western neighbourhood, stretching from Iran to Turkey, has been in perpetual turmoil over the past several years. The developments in this region are of great concern to the foreign policy making of many nations, especially the United States. From Barack Obama and Donald Trump to now Joe Biden, the occupant of the White House has time and again invested in the development and peace deals of the West Asia region. Israel and the UAE established ties in 2020 in a deal known as the Abraham Accords, a diplomatic coup for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and brokered by his staunch ally, former US president Donald Trump. Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco have since followed suit with normalistation/ formalisation of ties with Israel. Trump, often questioned for his demeanour, on Wednesday however found a likely support from his former aide at the WION Global Summit in Dubai. Jason D Greenblatt, former White House Middle East envoy and part of Trump's team, defended the peace agreements. "While some in this audience may not appreciate Donald Trump's tweets or his manner of speaking, they understand that speaking directly is key to solving issues," Greenblatt said. The power in the US has changed. And so have the dynamics that work around the deal. But there's no reason that the current US President, Joe Biden, should not support the pact, the panelists at the WION Global Summit said. "I don't see why Biden administration would not continue to support Abraham Accords. It has created momentum. We are at a stage where people are building peace," Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Deputy Mayor - Jerusalem and a prominent policy maker, said at the first session of the summit on Peace Deals and the Shifting Sands of West Asia. Ibrahim Shukralla, Head of English Language News at WAM News, also batted for a continuance of the peace process, an absence of which he said would obstruct any peace in the future also. "There should be a desire for peace by the Biden Adminstration and the Israelis. Resuming annexation plans would really obstruct any peace in the future," Shukralla said. Fleur Hassan-Nahoum spoke about how the peace deal worked in favour of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has claimed victory in the recently held national polls, however, with no majority in exit polls in sight. "The Abraham Accords have been a huge win for PM Netanyahu - something that has been absolutely appreciated by the citizens of the state of Israel. It was one of his key campaign issues," she said. Also read | Netanyahu claims victory in Israel election but majority uncertain True to his campaign promise, Trump withdrew the US from the Iran deal in May 2018. The peace deal was perhaps Trump’s single-most critical decision that had drastically changed the trajectory of American policy towards the Middle East region. In this regard, Mustapha Noman, Former Deputy Foreign Minister of Yemen, said, "I have always said that the Iranians have not shown their willingness to be a peaceful government. We see them in Yemen, in Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon. It's all over the place." "I think, not just US, but every country in this region should be at the negotiating table with Iran. I think the Europeans are far less relevant," Greenblatt added. India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Japan's State Minister of Defence Nakayama Yasuhide, former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and former US National Security Advisor John Bolton are among leaders who addressed WION Global Summit 2021. Panelists focussed their attention on issues at the intersections of global politics, economy, diplomacy and our daily lives in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At WION Global Summit, leaders look forward to Joe Biden's peace initiatives in West Asia

Biden, who took office on January 20, has faced criticism from Republicans for reversing some of the hard-line policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Joe Biden to visit Mexican border ‘at some point’

Former US President Donald Trump is planning to launch his own social media platform, his senior advisor told Fox News on Sunday. Trump has been banned from Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites after January 6 attack on Capitol Hill

Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump's 2020 campaign, told the network that Trump would re-enter the social media space with a new platform of his own that would "completely redefine the game."

Twitter last week said it would seek public input on when and how it should ban world leaders, saying it was reviewing policy and considering whether the leaders should be held to the same rules as other users.

Twitter, Facebook and others have been under scrutiny for the way they handle accounts of politicians and government officials after their ban of Trump for inciting violence.

Facebook, which indefinitely suspended Trump in January, has asked its independent oversight board to decide whether the ban should stand.

Former US President Donald Trump is planning to launch his own social media platform, his senior advisor told Fox News on Sunday. Trump has been banned from Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites after January 6 attack on Capitol Hill Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump's 2020 campaign, told the network that Trump would re-enter the social media space with a new platform of his own that would "completely redefine the game.

Former US President Donald Trump is planning to launch his own social media platform, his senior advisor told Fox News on Sunday. Trump has been banned from Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites after January 6 attack on Capitol Hill Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump's 2020 campaign, told the network that Trump would re-enter the social media space with a new platform of his own that would "completely redefine the game." Twitter last week said it would seek public input on when and how it should ban world leaders, saying it was reviewing policy and considering whether the leaders should be held to the same rules as other users. Twitter, Facebook and others have been under scrutiny for the way they handle accounts of politicians and government officials after their ban of Trump for inciting violence. Facebook, which indefinitely suspended Trump in January, has asked its independent oversight board to decide whether the ban should stand.

Trump planning to return to social media with own platform, says his advisor

Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida, was partially closed Friday after some staff members tested positive for the coronavirus, two people familiar with the events confirmed.

The closure affected service in the dining room and at the beach club, according to The Associated Press. The two people familiar with the events confirmed that was the case; they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The Associated Press cited an email that went to members of the club, which also serves as Trump’s permanent residence. The moves were taken out of “an abundance of caution,” and some workers were quarantined, according to the email.

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. A woman who answered the phone at Mar-a-Lago said “no comment” and hung up when asked if the club was open.

The Florida Department of Public Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The club is set to host events during the Republican National Committee spring retreat in Florida next month. It has been Trump’s post-presidency base of operations, where he has hosted Republican officials.

Coronavirus cases have been declining for weeks in Florida, which reopened businesses months before much of the nation. But the state is still averaging about 5,000 new cases a day, according to a New York Times database.

Dr. Alina Alonso, director of the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County, said this week that cases had been declining locally, and she was “cautiously optimistic” about the course of the virus. But she warned the public that it was too early to declare victory over the pandemic.

Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida, was partially closed Friday after some staff members tested positive for the coronavirus, two people familiar with the events confirmed.

Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida, was partially closed Friday after some staff members tested positive for the coronavirus, two people familiar with the events confirmed. The closure affected service in the dining room and at the beach club, according to The Associated Press. The two people familiar with the events confirmed that was the case; they were not authorized to speak publicly. The Associated Press cited an email that went to members of the club, which also serves as Trump’s permanent residence. The moves were taken out of “an abundance of caution,” and some workers were quarantined, according to the email. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. A woman who answered the phone at Mar-a-Lago said “no comment” and hung up when asked if the club was open. The Florida Department of Public Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The club is set to host events during the Republican National Committee spring retreat in Florida next month. It has been Trump’s post-presidency base of operations, where he has hosted Republican officials. Coronavirus cases have been declining for weeks in Florida, which reopened businesses months before much of the nation. But the state is still averaging about 5,000 new cases a day, according to a New York Times database. Dr. Alina Alonso, director of the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County, said this week that cases had been declining locally, and she was “cautiously optimistic” about the course of the virus. But she warned the public that it was too early to declare victory over the pandemic.

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club partially closed after positive COVID tests

US elections 2020 are not the only thing that the former reality star <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> lost. The coronavirus pandemic hit his fortunes, bringing a decline in his net worth.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the former US president's net worth dropped by nearly $700 million and reached $2.3 billion.

The decline in his net worth was observed after Trump's office buildings, hotels and resorts reported loss in revenues and a decline in value. Trump's favoured golf courses and a fleet of planes also saw a decline in the value.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-asks-his-supporters-to-get-covid-vaccine-remains-non-committal-about-political-future-371014" hreflang="en">Trump asks his supporters to get Covid vaccine, remains non-committal about political future</a>

Bloomberg analysed Trump's financial documents and other filings between the period of May 2016 and January 2021, which revealed Trump's wealth before and after he became the US president.

The report has estimated a decline of 26 per cent in the value of Trump's main commercial property holdings.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/recording-of-trump-calling-georgia-election-officials-found-in-trash-370589" hreflang="en">Recording of Trump calling Georgia election officials found in 'trash'</a>

The decline in the value of Trump's golf courses has come as a surprise as the love for the game has seen an increase during the pandemic as a socially distanced outdoor sport.

Adding to the declining value, the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) of America also ended its agreement to host the 2022 championship tournament in Trump's gold course after the Capitol riots, which tarnished Trump's image.

In addition to this, Trump also owns a fleet of planes that are decades old and have seen a decline in value over the years, as per the financial disclosures seen by Bloomberg.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chinese-entrepreneur-selling-donald-trumps-buddha-statue-at-this-price-369704" hreflang="en">Chinese entrepreneur selling Donald Trump's Buddha statue at this price</a>

This has come after several experts reported that Trump's businesses may not be able to recover from his presidency ever.&nbsp;

"Trump will exit the presidency with a brutal set of targets surrounding the heart of his brand, which will be a danger to his survival economically and that of his children, and likely will lead to excruciating pain of the type he has really never faced," Eric Schiffer, a public relations expert told Insider.

His financial records have been a well-kept secret for the past few years while he was in the White House. However, last month, the Supreme Court ordered Trump to hand over his tax returns to New York prosecutors, which have now revealed the decline in his value.

US elections 2020 are not the only thing that the former reality star Donald Trump lost. The coronavirus pandemic hit his fortunes, bringing a decline in his net worth.

US elections 2020 are not the only thing that the former reality star Donald Trump lost. The coronavirus pandemic hit his fortunes, bringing a decline in his net worth. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the former US president's net worth dropped by nearly $700 million and reached $2.3 billion. The decline in his net worth was observed after Trump's office buildings, hotels and resorts reported loss in revenues and a decline in value. Trump's favoured golf courses and a fleet of planes also saw a decline in the value. Also read | Trump asks his supporters to get Covid vaccine, remains non-committal about political future Bloomberg analysed Trump's financial documents and other filings between the period of May 2016 and January 2021, which revealed Trump's wealth before and after he became the US president. The report has estimated a decline of 26 per cent in the value of Trump's main commercial property holdings. Also read | Recording of Trump calling Georgia election officials found in 'trash' The decline in the value of Trump's golf courses has come as a surprise as the love for the game has seen an increase during the pandemic as a socially distanced outdoor sport. Adding to the declining value, the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) of America also ended its agreement to host the 2022 championship tournament in Trump's gold course after the Capitol riots, which tarnished Trump's image. In addition to this, Trump also owns a fleet of planes that are decades old and have seen a decline in value over the years, as per the financial disclosures seen by Bloomberg. Also read | Chinese entrepreneur selling Donald Trump's Buddha statue at this price This has come after several experts reported that Trump's businesses may not be able to recover from his presidency ever. "Trump will exit the presidency with a brutal set of targets surrounding the heart of his brand, which will be a danger to his survival economically and that of his children, and likely will lead to excruciating pain of the type he has really never faced," Eric Schiffer, a public relations expert told Insider. His financial records have been a well-kept secret for the past few years while he was in the White House. However, last month, the Supreme Court ordered Trump to hand over his tax returns to New York prosecutors, which have now revealed the decline in his value.

Donald Trump's net worth dropped by $700m during presidency

Former US president Donald Trump has encouraged his Republican supporters -- one of the main groups resistant to Covid-19 vaccines -- to get their shots.

This was Trump's most explicit endorsement for the national mass vaccination campaign since he left office in January. The former president has notably been a naysayer, and was rarely seen wearing masks while in office.

Trump also remained non-committal about seeking to recapture the presidency (in 2024) following his one term in office.

Trump spoke a day after the White House suggested he shouldn't be waiting for an "engraved invitation" to join the public campaign encouraging Americans to take Covid-19 vaccines.

"I would recommend it," Trump said during an interview on Fox News. "I would recommend it to a lot of people that don't want to get it and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly," he said.

"It's a great vaccine, it's a safe vaccine and it's something that works."

Polls show that Republican men, who are overwhelmingly supporters of Trump and his "Make America Great Again" or MAGA platform, are the leading vaccine skeptics.

And while all other living former presidents, including Democrat Barack Obama and Republican George W Bush, have delivered high profile public service announcements, Trump has largely been silent while the man who defeated him, President Joe Biden, masterminds the vaccine rollout.

When asked about his political future, Trump said, "Based on every poll, they want me to run again. But we're going to take a look and we'll see."

Trump hoped Meghan Markle would run for president in 2024 to make his decision on whether to run for a second term much easier.

Asked on Fox News about the Duchess meeting with Democrat operatives to consider entering politics, Trump said he was “not a fan”.

“Well I hope that happens because if that happened I think I’d have an even stronger feeling toward running,” Trump said.

“I’m not a fan of hers. I think that what she talks about the Royal family and the Queen, and I happen to think, I know the Queen as you know, I met with the Queen and I think the Queen is a tremendous person and I am not a fan of Meghan.”

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-teases-2024-presidential-run-in-cpac-2021-speech-366953">Also read |&nbsp;Donald Trump teases 2024 presidential run in CPAC 2021 speech</a>

Former US president Donald Trump has encouraged his Republican supporters -- one of the main groups resistant to Covid-19 vaccines -- to get their shots. This was Trump's most explicit endorsement for the national mass vaccination campaign since he left office in January.

Former US president Donald Trump has encouraged his Republican supporters -- one of the main groups resistant to Covid-19 vaccines -- to get their shots. This was Trump's most explicit endorsement for the national mass vaccination campaign since he left office in January. The former president has notably been a naysayer, and was rarely seen wearing masks while in office. Trump also remained non-committal about seeking to recapture the presidency (in 2024) following his one term in office. Trump spoke a day after the White House suggested he shouldn't be waiting for an "engraved invitation" to join the public campaign encouraging Americans to take Covid-19 vaccines. "I would recommend it," Trump said during an interview on Fox News. "I would recommend it to a lot of people that don't want to get it and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly," he said. "It's a great vaccine, it's a safe vaccine and it's something that works." Polls show that Republican men, who are overwhelmingly supporters of Trump and his "Make America Great Again" or MAGA platform, are the leading vaccine skeptics. And while all other living former presidents, including Democrat Barack Obama and Republican George W Bush, have delivered high profile public service announcements, Trump has largely been silent while the man who defeated him, President Joe Biden, masterminds the vaccine rollout. When asked about his political future, Trump said, "Based on every poll, they want me to run again. But we're going to take a look and we'll see." Trump hoped Meghan Markle would run for president in 2024 to make his decision on whether to run for a second term much easier. Asked on Fox News about the Duchess meeting with Democrat operatives to consider entering politics, Trump said he was “not a fan”. “Well I hope that happens because if that happened I think I’d have an even stronger feeling toward running,” Trump said. “I’m not a fan of hers. I think that what she talks about the Royal family and the Queen, and I happen to think, I know the Queen as you know, I met with the Queen and I think the Queen is a tremendous person and I am not a fan of Meghan.” Also read | Donald Trump teases 2024 presidential run in CPAC 2021 speech

Trump asks his supporters to get Covid vaccine, remains non-committal about political future

A few hours after a US intelligence report claimed that the Russian President Vladimir Putin likely directed meddling in US election 2020, the current US President<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden"> Joe Biden</a> has said he agrees that Putin is a 'killer'.

"He will pay a price. You'll see shortly," Biden said during an interview with an international media house, ABC News.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/putin-likely-directed-meddling-in-2020-us-election-report-claims-371004">Putin likely directed meddling in 2020 US election, report claims</a>

"I know him [Putin] relatively well," Biden said, recalling his conversation with Russian ruler in January 2021. "The most important thing dealing with foreign leaders in my experience [...] is just know the other guy," he added.

The US President also added a subtle "I do" when asked if he believes his Russian counterpart is a 'killer'.&nbsp;

This statement has come after a 15-page report, released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday, claimed that the Russian President likely directed efforts to try and sabotage Biden's chances of winning the US election 2020 against <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump.</a>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/wion-fineprint-biden-says-putin-is-a-killer-and-will-pay-a-price-371217">Watch |</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/wion-fineprint-biden-says-putin-is-a-killer-and-will-pay-a-price-371217/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"Putin had purview over the activities of Andriy Derkach," the report said. "Other senior officials also participated in Russia's election influence efforts - including senior national security and intelligence officials who we assess would not act without receiving at least Putin's tacit approval."

However, these claims were <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-calls-us-allegations-over-putin-directed-election-meddling-baseless-371074">dismissed by Russia</a>. "The document prepared by the US intelligence community is another set of groundless accusations against our country of interfering in American internal political processes. The conclusions of the report on Russia conducting influence operations in America are confirmed solely by the confidence of the intelligence services of their self-righteousness. No facts or specific evidence of such claims were provided," &nbsp;the Russian Embassy in Washington said on Wednesday.

Immediately after Biden's statement,&nbsp;Russia's lower house of parliament denounced the US President for agreeing that Putin is a 'killer'. Claiming that attacks on Putin are attacks on Russia, State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel that "Biden insulted the citizens of our country with his statement".

A few hours after a US intelligence report claimed that the Russian President Vladimir Putin likely directed meddling in US election 2020, the current US President Joe Biden has said he agrees that Putin is a 'killer'.

A few hours after a US intelligence report claimed that the Russian President Vladimir Putin likely directed meddling in US election 2020, the current US President Joe Biden has said he agrees that Putin is a 'killer'. "He will pay a price. You'll see shortly," Biden said during an interview with an international media house, ABC News. Also read | Putin likely directed meddling in 2020 US election, report claims "I know him [Putin] relatively well," Biden said, recalling his conversation with Russian ruler in January 2021. "The most important thing dealing with foreign leaders in my experience [...] is just know the other guy," he added. The US President also added a subtle "I do" when asked if he believes his Russian counterpart is a 'killer'. This statement has come after a 15-page report, released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday, claimed that the Russian President likely directed efforts to try and sabotage Biden's chances of winning the US election 2020 against Donald Trump. Watch | "Putin had purview over the activities of Andriy Derkach," the report said. "Other senior officials also participated in Russia's election influence efforts - including senior national security and intelligence officials who we assess would not act without receiving at least Putin's tacit approval." However, these claims were dismissed by Russia. "The document prepared by the US intelligence community is another set of groundless accusations against our country of interfering in American internal political processes. The conclusions of the report on Russia conducting influence operations in America are confirmed solely by the confidence of the intelligence services of their self-righteousness. No facts or specific evidence of such claims were provided," the Russian Embassy in Washington said on Wednesday. Immediately after Biden's statement, Russia's lower house of parliament denounced the US President for agreeing that Putin is a 'killer'. Claiming that attacks on Putin are attacks on Russia, State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel that "Biden insulted the citizens of our country with his statement".

Russia dismisses US reports on poll meddling as Biden doubles down on allegations

Russian President Vladimir Putin likely directed efforts to try to swing the 2020 US presidential election to Donald Trump, an American intelligence report has claimed.

Democrat Biden defeated Republican Trump and became president in January.

The 15-page report, released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday, will likely trigger US sanctions on Russia. According to Reuters, Washington is now expected to impose sanctions on Moscow as soon as next week because of the allegations.

The report named Derkach, who met Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani in 2019, as someone whose movements were tracked, if not directed, by Putin. It added heft to longstanding allegations that some of Trump's top lieutenants were playing into Moscow's hands by amplifying claims made against then-candidate Joe Biden by Russian-linked Ukrainian figures in the run-up to the November 3 election. It also added new findings that Putin either oversaw or at least approved of the election meddling to benefit Trump.

The said report has concluded that Russia-backed figures such as Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach enlisted unnamed US political figures in their campaign to smear Biden and his son Hunter.

"Putin had purview over the activities of Andriy Derkach," the report said. "Other senior officials also participated in Russia's election influence efforts - including senior national security and intelligence officials who we assess would not act without receiving at least Putin's tacit approval."

US intelligence agencies and former Special Counsel Robert Mueller had previously concluded that Russia also interfered in the 2016 election to boost Trump's candidacy with a campaign of propaganda aimed at harming his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kremlin-accuses-us-of-meddling-in-affairs-but-says-ready-to-talk-359012">Also read |&nbsp;Kremlin accuses US of meddling in affairs, but says ready to talk</a>

Mueller found extensive contacts between Trump's campaign and Russia. Trump while president also faced questions about ties by his associates with Russia and Russia-linked figures in Ukraine. The US House of Representatives impeached Trump in 2019 - the first of two times - on charges arising from his request that Ukraine investigate the Bidens.

The US intelligence report also found other foreign attempts to sway American voters in 2020 including a "multi-pronged covert influence campaign" by Iran intended to undercut Trump. As president, Trump pulled the United States out of a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran and imposed fresh sanctions.

The report also punctured a counter-narrative pushed by Trump's allies that China was interfering on Biden's behalf, concluding that Beijing "did not deploy interference efforts."

"China sought stability in its relationship with the United States and did not view either election outcome as being advantageous enough for China to risk blowback if caught," the report said.

US officials said they also saw efforts by Cuba, Venezuela and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to influence the election, although "in general, we assess that they were smaller in scale than those conducted by Russia and Iran."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-russia-and-iran-call-meddling-claims-groundless-337188">Also read |&nbsp;US election 2020: Russia and Iran call meddling claims 'groundless'</a>

A key role was played by another man with Russian intelligence ties, Konstantin Kilimnik, according to the report. It said Kilimnik and Derkach met and gave materials to Trump-linked people to push for formal investigations, and Derkach released four audio recordings seeking to suggest Biden tried to protect his son Hunter from a corruption probe in Ukraine. Giuliani was among those promoting such claims.

Kilimnik was an associate of Paul Manafort, who served as Trump's 2016 campaign chairman. Trump last year pardoned Manafort for a criminal conviction stemming from Mueller's investigation.

(with inputs)

Russian President Vladimir Putin likely directed efforts to try to swing the 2020 US presidential election to Donald Trump, an American intelligence report has claimed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin likely directed efforts to try to swing the 2020 US presidential election to Donald Trump, an American intelligence report has claimed. Democrat Biden defeated Republican Trump and became president in January. The 15-page report, released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday, will likely trigger US sanctions on Russia. According to Reuters, Washington is now expected to impose sanctions on Moscow as soon as next week because of the allegations. The report named Derkach, who met Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani in 2019, as someone whose movements were tracked, if not directed, by Putin. It added heft to longstanding allegations that some of Trump's top lieutenants were playing into Moscow's hands by amplifying claims made against then-candidate Joe Biden by Russian-linked Ukrainian figures in the run-up to the November 3 election. It also added new findings that Putin either oversaw or at least approved of the election meddling to benefit Trump. The said report has concluded that Russia-backed figures such as Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach enlisted unnamed US political figures in their campaign to smear Biden and his son Hunter. "Putin had purview over the activities of Andriy Derkach," the report said. "Other senior officials also participated in Russia's election influence efforts - including senior national security and intelligence officials who we assess would not act without receiving at least Putin's tacit approval." US intelligence agencies and former Special Counsel Robert Mueller had previously concluded that Russia also interfered in the 2016 election to boost Trump's candidacy with a campaign of propaganda aimed at harming his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Also read | Kremlin accuses US of meddling in affairs, but says ready to talk Mueller found extensive contacts between Trump's campaign and Russia. Trump while president also faced questions about ties by his associates with Russia and Russia-linked figures in Ukraine. The US House of Representatives impeached Trump in 2019 - the first of two times - on charges arising from his request that Ukraine investigate the Bidens. The US intelligence report also found other foreign attempts to sway American voters in 2020 including a "multi-pronged covert influence campaign" by Iran intended to undercut Trump. As president, Trump pulled the United States out of a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran and imposed fresh sanctions. The report also punctured a counter-narrative pushed by Trump's allies that China was interfering on Biden's behalf, concluding that Beijing "did not deploy interference efforts." "China sought stability in its relationship with the United States and did not view either election outcome as being advantageous enough for China to risk blowback if caught," the report said. US officials said they also saw efforts by Cuba, Venezuela and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to influence the election, although "in general, we assess that they were smaller in scale than those conducted by Russia and Iran." Also read | US election 2020: Russia and Iran call meddling claims 'groundless' A key role was played by another man with Russian intelligence ties, Konstantin Kilimnik, according to the report. It said Kilimnik and Derkach met and gave materials to Trump-linked people to push for formal investigations, and Derkach released four audio recordings seeking to suggest Biden tried to protect his son Hunter from a corruption probe in Ukraine. Giuliani was among those promoting such claims. Kilimnik was an associate of Paul Manafort, who served as Trump's 2016 campaign chairman. Trump last year pardoned Manafort for a criminal conviction stemming from Mueller's investigation. (with inputs)

Putin likely directed meddling in 2020 US election, report claims

According to a US intelligence report released on Tuesday, Russia and Iran both carried out operations to try to interfere in the 2020 presidential election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

US: Russia and Iran tried to interfere in US Elections 2020

Former US President Donald Trump has said that he would decide whether to run for the White House in the year 2024. He also said that his supporters are ready to back him again if he runs for President.

Donald Trump to decide on 2024 Presidential run

About two years ago I did something foolish: I wrote an optimistic column arguing that a polarizing issue was ripe for deescalation and compromise.

The issue was voting rights, where Republicans have long championed voter ID laws as a bulwark against alleged voting fraud, while Democrats have countered that such restrictions unfairly burden many Americans, racial minorities especially, in the exercise of their hard-won right to vote.

The good news, I said back then, was that lots of studies suggest that voter ID laws don’t do either thing. They don’t prevent much (or any) fraud, but they also don’t have much (if any) effect on turnout, for minorities or any other group. So conservatives could stop pushing them, liberals could stop freaking out about them, and without either side losing anything substantial, compromise and conciliation could rule the day.

Naturally since then the voting wars have only burned hotter, thanks to the exigencies of the coronavirus era and the arson of Donald Trump. The virus prompted a vast expansion of mail-in voting in the name of public health, Trump blamed vote-by-mail fraud (among other conspiracies) for his defeat, and soon a large swathe of conservatives became convinced corrupt balloting had stolen the election.

Now Republicans all over the country are advancing bills that answer the “theft” of 2020 with new ID requirements and new limits on absentee and early votes, while Democrats are advancing a national bill that would essentially federalize election law and make certain Republican restrictions impermissible. And each side is talking like this is an existential fight, with the very concept of a fair democratic election hanging in the balance.

But the facts continue to suggest otherwise, with two new studies adding to the case for compromise and calm.

The first study, from the Democracy and Polarization Lab at Stanford University, looks at the effects of “no-excuse absentee voting” on the 2020 election — the kind of balloting that a lot of states expanded and that many Republican state legislators now want to roll back. Contrary to liberal expectations, easing the voting rules this way seemed to have no effect on turnout: “States newly implementing no-excuse absentee voting for 2020 did not see larger increases in turnout than states that did not.”

Then contrary to Republican fears, the easement didn’t help Democrats at the GOP’s expense: “No-excuse absentee did not substantially increase Democratic turnout relative to Republican turnout.” Overall the authors argue that what drove higher turnout in 2020 was simply “voter interest” in the election, not the major voting rule change, which “mobilized relatively few voters and had at most a muted partisan effect.”

The second study comes from a doctoral candidate at the University of Oregon, and it looks further back in time to assess the effects of Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court revision of the Voting Rights Act that made it easier for states to impose voter ID laws and other restrictions. Using data from six federal elections, the author finds no post-Shelby divergence between white and African American turnout in states affected by the ruling. Indeed, if anything, the jurisdictions saw African American turnout rise relative to white turnout in the 2016 election, suggesting that new obstacles to voting prompt swift mobilization in response.

So rule changes favored by Democrats that make it modestly easier to vote probably didn’t help Democrats win the 2020 elections, and rule changes favored by Republicans that make it modestly harder to vote probably haven’t suppressed minority votes. Great news! I’m sure that &lt;em&gt;now&lt;/em&gt; we can call off the voting war and just find a sensible compromise instead.

For instance, my own preferred grand bargain would limit absentee voting but increase funding for polling places and make Election Day a national holiday. This would address reasonable Republican concerns about the civic benefits of having most people vote together, on the same day with the same information, while also answering Democratic concerns about long lines and working-class access to the polls. But there are other possible compromises as well …

No, ha-ha, just kidding, we aren’t going to compromise, not when there’s an apocalypse to fundraise off. And to be clear, Republicans are much more at fault for the needless escalation here. Democrats are guilty of rhetorical exaggeration and policy excess (their big voting rights bill, for instance, includes various traducements of free speech), but Republicans instigated the policy battle and thanks to Trump they’ve gone deepest into paranoia. At their most sincere, they can seem clueless about how the history of Jim Crow shadows these debates; at their most cynical or Trumpy, they’re just indulging a racialized fear of mobs in cities stealing elections from decent white suburbanites. And the deeper they dig in against reasonable critiques, the more the primal conservative suspicion of mass democracy, a “lower turnout is good, actually” mentality, has a way of coming out.

Some suspicion of pure democracy is essential to conservatism. But a high-minded case for lower turnout assumes that a smaller electorate will be more politically engaged and therefore more civic-minded. The evidence of recent American history, though, is that highly engaged, high-information voters tend to be zealous and blinkered hyperpartisans, in desperate need of balancing by more chilled-out and conflicted low-information votes.

The cynical conservative case for lower turnout, meanwhile, assumes that conservatism is the natural party of the responsible, always-registered-to-vote upper middle class. But as the GOP’s base has become more populist and working-class, the American right more anti-establishment, this self-interested logic is crumbling. If voter ID rules or absentee ballot limits did reduce turnout among occasional voters, a lot of those no-shows might be Trump supporters.

This is part of why the conservative fixation on hypothetical voter fraud is so exasperating. If the Trump era proved anything, it’s that Republicans can hold their ground as turnout rises, that they can be competitive with low-propensity voters and minority voters as well. But instead of taking that as an opportunity to actually reach for majorities again, under the influence of #StoptheSteal the party is effectively telling potential supporters that it doesn’t want high turnout, which is basically a way of saying, we don’t want your votes.

Then on the Democratic side, the focus on voting rules feeds a persistent misapprehension about the true constraints on liberal power. Liberals are disadvantaged in the American system at the moment, but it is long-standing constitutional structures, the Electoral College and the Senate above all, that give Republicans a modest advantage, not recent innovations in vote suppression. There isn’t a vast nonvoting majority that would sweep the left into power if only it were easier to vote, and the push for voter ID on the right isn’t actually a replay of Jim Crow. It’s a sideshow, fed by conservative paranoia, to the real struggle for power in America.

The shrewder left-wing analogy, offered by Corey Robin a few days ago in The New Yorker, isn’t to the Reconstruction-era South but to “Britain in the years before the Reform Act of 1832,” when it was antique constitutional structures that stifled democracy, not some sort of dramatic fascist putsch. From a conservative perspective I like this analogy, because it implies that today’s Republicans could learn something from Benjamin Disraeli, the opportunistic 19th-century Tory who leaned into democratization and proved the right could win mass working-class support.

But even Robin’s analogy exaggerates the structural limits on liberal power in the United States today. Those limits certainly exist; they delivered Trump the White House in 2016 with a minority of the popular vote. But the Democratic Party of 2021 has power that’s only marginally out of proportion to its popular support: Democrats won the national House vote by roughly 51% to 48% and the presidential popular vote by roughly 51% to 47%, and the fulcrum of power in Joe Biden’s Washington, a 51-50 Senate, is awfully close to those popular-vote splits.

This suggests that like the Republican minority, the Democratic majority runs a risk of letting a fixation on the structures of democracy become an excuse to shirk the more important work of a political party — which is to persuade the largest possible majority, not just a bare 51%, to vote its way. And the intensity of the debates over rules and structures, IDs and absentee ballots, reflects a bipartisan dynamic where neither coalition seems able to imagine being other than what it’s become in the last 10 years — a blocking minority for Republicans, a super-slim majority for Democrats.

Again, I don’t expect a compromise to emerge out of this stalemate. Instead, I expect the election rules of the future to be written by the party that recognizes that the surest way to make certain your opponents can’t win unfairly is to make sure the election isn’t close.

About two years ago I did something foolish: I wrote an optimistic column arguing that a polarizing issue was ripe for deescalation and compromise. The issue was voting rights, where Republicans have long championed voter ID laws as a bulwark against alleged voting fraud, while Democrats have countered that such restrictions unfairly burden many Americans, racial minorities especially, in the exercise of their hard-won right to vote.

About two years ago I did something foolish: I wrote an optimistic column arguing that a polarizing issue was ripe for deescalation and compromise. The issue was voting rights, where Republicans have long championed voter ID laws as a bulwark against alleged voting fraud, while Democrats have countered that such restrictions unfairly burden many Americans, racial minorities especially, in the exercise of their hard-won right to vote. The good news, I said back then, was that lots of studies suggest that voter ID laws don’t do either thing. They don’t prevent much (or any) fraud, but they also don’t have much (if any) effect on turnout, for minorities or any other group. So conservatives could stop pushing them, liberals could stop freaking out about them, and without either side losing anything substantial, compromise and conciliation could rule the day. Naturally since then the voting wars have only burned hotter, thanks to the exigencies of the coronavirus era and the arson of Donald Trump. The virus prompted a vast expansion of mail-in voting in the name of public health, Trump blamed vote-by-mail fraud (among other conspiracies) for his defeat, and soon a large swathe of conservatives became convinced corrupt balloting had stolen the election. Now Republicans all over the country are advancing bills that answer the “theft” of 2020 with new ID requirements and new limits on absentee and early votes, while Democrats are advancing a national bill that would essentially federalize election law and make certain Republican restrictions impermissible. And each side is talking like this is an existential fight, with the very concept of a fair democratic election hanging in the balance. But the facts continue to suggest otherwise, with two new studies adding to the case for compromise and calm. The first study, from the Democracy and Polarization Lab at Stanford University, looks at the effects of “no-excuse absentee voting” on the 2020 election — the kind of balloting that a lot of states expanded and that many Republican state legislators now want to roll back. Contrary to liberal expectations, easing the voting rules this way seemed to have no effect on turnout: “States newly implementing no-excuse absentee voting for 2020 did not see larger increases in turnout than states that did not.” Then contrary to Republican fears, the easement didn’t help Democrats at the GOP’s expense: “No-excuse absentee did not substantially increase Democratic turnout relative to Republican turnout.” Overall the authors argue that what drove higher turnout in 2020 was simply “voter interest” in the election, not the major voting rule change, which “mobilized relatively few voters and had at most a muted partisan effect.” The second study comes from a doctoral candidate at the University of Oregon, and it looks further back in time to assess the effects of Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court revision of the Voting Rights Act that made it easier for states to impose voter ID laws and other restrictions. Using data from six federal elections, the author finds no post-Shelby divergence between white and African American turnout in states affected by the ruling. Indeed, if anything, the jurisdictions saw African American turnout rise relative to white turnout in the 2016 election, suggesting that new obstacles to voting prompt swift mobilization in response. So rule changes favored by Democrats that make it modestly easier to vote probably didn’t help Democrats win the 2020 elections, and rule changes favored by Republicans that make it modestly harder to vote probably haven’t suppressed minority votes. Great news! I’m sure that now we can call off the voting war and just find a sensible compromise instead. For instance, my own preferred grand bargain would limit absentee voting but increase funding for polling places and make Election Day a national holiday. This would address reasonable Republican concerns about the civic benefits of having most people vote together, on the same day with the same information, while also answering Democratic concerns about long lines and working-class access to the polls. But there are other possible compromises as well … No, ha-ha, just kidding, we aren’t going to compromise, not when there’s an apocalypse to fundraise off. And to be clear, Republicans are much more at fault for the needless escalation here. Democrats are guilty of rhetorical exaggeration and policy excess (their big voting rights bill, for instance, includes various traducements of free speech), but Republicans instigated the policy battle and thanks to Trump they’ve gone deepest into paranoia. At their most sincere, they can seem clueless about how the history of Jim Crow shadows these debates; at their most cynical or Trumpy, they’re just indulging a racialized fear of mobs in cities stealing elections from decent white suburbanites. And the deeper they dig in against reasonable critiques, the more the primal conservative suspicion of mass democracy, a “lower turnout is good, actually” mentality, has a way of coming out. Some suspicion of pure democracy is essential to conservatism. But a high-minded case for lower turnout assumes that a smaller electorate will be more politically engaged and therefore more civic-minded. The evidence of recent American history, though, is that highly engaged, high-information voters tend to be zealous and blinkered hyperpartisans, in desperate need of balancing by more chilled-out and conflicted low-information votes. The cynical conservative case for lower turnout, meanwhile, assumes that conservatism is the natural party of the responsible, always-registered-to-vote upper middle class. But as the GOP’s base has become more populist and working-class, the American right more anti-establishment, this self-interested logic is crumbling. If voter ID rules or absentee ballot limits did reduce turnout among occasional voters, a lot of those no-shows might be Trump supporters. This is part of why the conservative fixation on hypothetical voter fraud is so exasperating. If the Trump era proved anything, it’s that Republicans can hold their ground as turnout rises, that they can be competitive with low-propensity voters and minority voters as well. But instead of taking that as an opportunity to actually reach for majorities again, under the influence of #StoptheSteal the party is effectively telling potential supporters that it doesn’t want high turnout, which is basically a way of saying, we don’t want your votes. Then on the Democratic side, the focus on voting rules feeds a persistent misapprehension about the true constraints on liberal power. Liberals are disadvantaged in the American system at the moment, but it is long-standing constitutional structures, the Electoral College and the Senate above all, that give Republicans a modest advantage, not recent innovations in vote suppression. There isn’t a vast nonvoting majority that would sweep the left into power if only it were easier to vote, and the push for voter ID on the right isn’t actually a replay of Jim Crow. It’s a sideshow, fed by conservative paranoia, to the real struggle for power in America. The shrewder left-wing analogy, offered by Corey Robin a few days ago in The New Yorker, isn’t to the Reconstruction-era South but to “Britain in the years before the Reform Act of 1832,” when it was antique constitutional structures that stifled democracy, not some sort of dramatic fascist putsch. From a conservative perspective I like this analogy, because it implies that today’s Republicans could learn something from Benjamin Disraeli, the opportunistic 19th-century Tory who leaned into democratization and proved the right could win mass working-class support. But even Robin’s analogy exaggerates the structural limits on liberal power in the United States today. Those limits certainly exist; they delivered Trump the White House in 2016 with a minority of the popular vote. But the Democratic Party of 2021 has power that’s only marginally out of proportion to its popular support: Democrats won the national House vote by roughly 51% to 48% and the presidential popular vote by roughly 51% to 47%, and the fulcrum of power in Joe Biden’s Washington, a 51-50 Senate, is awfully close to those popular-vote splits. This suggests that like the Republican minority, the Democratic majority runs a risk of letting a fixation on the structures of democracy become an excuse to shirk the more important work of a political party — which is to persuade the largest possible majority, not just a bare 51%, to vote its way. And the intensity of the debates over rules and structures, IDs and absentee ballots, reflects a bipartisan dynamic where neither coalition seems able to imagine being other than what it’s become in the last 10 years — a blocking minority for Republicans, a super-slim majority for Democrats. Again, I don’t expect a compromise to emerge out of this stalemate. Instead, I expect the election rules of the future to be written by the party that recognizes that the surest way to make certain your opponents can’t win unfairly is to make sure the election isn’t close.

Can anything end the voting wars?

Russia on Wednesday refuted US intelligence allegations that President Vladimir Putin had likely directed efforts to try to swing the 2020 presidential election in&nbsp;Donald Trump's favour, terming them baseless.

A 15-page American intelligence report, released on Tuesday, said several Trump's top lieutenants played&nbsp;into Moscow's hands by amplifying claims made against then-candidate Joe Biden by Russian-linked Ukrainian figures in the run-up to the November 3 presidential&nbsp;election.

"The document prepared by the US intelligence community is another set of baseless accusations against our country for interfering in American domestic political processes," Russia's embassy in the United States said in a statement on Facebook.

"The conclusions of the report on Russia conducting influence operations in America are confirmed solely by the confidence of the intelligence services of their self-righteousness. No facts or specific evidence of such claims were provided."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/putin-likely-directed-meddling-in-2020-us-election-report-claims-371004">Also read |&nbsp;Putin likely directed meddling in 2020 US election, report claims</a>

Washington is expected to impose sanctions on Moscow as soon as next week because of the allegations. Those sanctions could also address the cyber hack blamed on Russia that used US company SolarWinds Corp to penetrate American government networks.

Russia has already denied any involvement in that hack.

The United States imposed sanctions on four senior Russian officials earlier this month over Moscow's treatment of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, something Moscow cast as unacceptable meddling in its domestic affairs.

Russia's US embassy in Washington on Wednesday, to this end, accused the United States of seeking to besmirch Russia's image and of blaming others for its own problems.

"We state that Washington continues to practice 'megaphone diplomacy, with the main goal to maintain a negative image of Russia. To blame external players for destabilising the situation inside the country," the embassy said in the same statement.

"This attitude of the administration hardly corresponds to our proposed equal and mutually respectful expert dialogue in search of solutions to the most pressing issues. Washington's actions do not lead to the normalisation of bilateral relations."

(with inputs from agencies)

Russia on Wednesday refuted US intelligence allegations that President Vladimir Putin had likely directed efforts to try to swing the 2020 presidential election in Donald Trump's favour, terming them baseless.

Russia on Wednesday refuted US intelligence allegations that President Vladimir Putin had likely directed efforts to try to swing the 2020 presidential election in Donald Trump's favour, terming them baseless. A 15-page American intelligence report, released on Tuesday, said several Trump's top lieutenants played into Moscow's hands by amplifying claims made against then-candidate Joe Biden by Russian-linked Ukrainian figures in the run-up to the November 3 presidential election. "The document prepared by the US intelligence community is another set of baseless accusations against our country for interfering in American domestic political processes," Russia's embassy in the United States said in a statement on Facebook. "The conclusions of the report on Russia conducting influence operations in America are confirmed solely by the confidence of the intelligence services of their self-righteousness. No facts or specific evidence of such claims were provided." Also read | Putin likely directed meddling in 2020 US election, report claims Washington is expected to impose sanctions on Moscow as soon as next week because of the allegations. Those sanctions could also address the cyber hack blamed on Russia that used US company SolarWinds Corp to penetrate American government networks. Russia has already denied any involvement in that hack. The United States imposed sanctions on four senior Russian officials earlier this month over Moscow's treatment of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, something Moscow cast as unacceptable meddling in its domestic affairs. Russia's US embassy in Washington on Wednesday, to this end, accused the United States of seeking to besmirch Russia's image and of blaming others for its own problems. "We state that Washington continues to practice 'megaphone diplomacy, with the main goal to maintain a negative image of Russia. To blame external players for destabilising the situation inside the country," the embassy said in the same statement. "This attitude of the administration hardly corresponds to our proposed equal and mutually respectful expert dialogue in search of solutions to the most pressing issues. Washington's actions do not lead to the normalisation of bilateral relations." (with inputs from agencies)

Russia calls US allegations over Putin-directed election meddling 'baseless'

Huawei&nbsp;Technologies announced royalty rates for the use of its 5G phone technology for the first time, in a move its chief legal officer said was an effort to increase transparency at an event on Tuesday.

The company was put on an export blacklist by former US&nbsp;President Donald Trump in 2019 and barred from accessing critical technology of US&nbsp;origin, affecting its ability to design its own chips and source components from outside vendors.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-huawei-faces-tough-times-ahead-301211/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

But,&nbsp;Huawei&nbsp;is looking to showcase its own research achievements, with the company expecting to receive around $1.3 billion in revenue from patent licensing between 2019 and 2021, according to its head of IP, Jason Ding.

For every phone that uses&nbsp;Huawei's 5G technology, which are capable of working the company will receive up to $2.5 in royalties, Ding said.

Along with rivals Samsung Electronics, Nokia, Ericsson, and chipmaker Qualcomm,&nbsp;Huawei&nbsp;is one of the leaders in 5G patents, although studies about which company is ahead in the race vary.

Huawei&nbsp;achieved positive growth for both 2020 revenue and net profit, the company's founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei had said in February, adding that the company continued to see significant levels of confidence from its customers.

Yet, the company's smartphone business remains under intense pressure due to the US&nbsp;ban.&nbsp;Huawei's consumer business made up 54.4 per cent&nbsp;of the company's revenues in 2019.

The company is expected to reveal full 2020 figures at the end of the month.

By the end of 2020,&nbsp;Huawei&nbsp;held more than 100,000 active patents in over 40,000 patent families worldwide, the company said. Its R&amp;D investments totalled 131.7 billion yuan ($20.27 billion) in 2019.

Huawei Technologies announced royalty rates for the use of its 5G phone technology for the first time, in a move its chief legal officer said was an effort to increase transparency at an event on Tuesday.

Huawei Technologies announced royalty rates for the use of its 5G phone technology for the first time, in a move its chief legal officer said was an effort to increase transparency at an event on Tuesday. The company was put on an export blacklist by former US President Donald Trump in 2019 and barred from accessing critical technology of US origin, affecting its ability to design its own chips and source components from outside vendors. But, Huawei is looking to showcase its own research achievements, with the company expecting to receive around $1.3 billion in revenue from patent licensing between 2019 and 2021, according to its head of IP, Jason Ding. For every phone that uses Huawei's 5G technology, which are capable of working the company will receive up to $2.5 in royalties, Ding said. Along with rivals Samsung Electronics, Nokia, Ericsson, and chipmaker Qualcomm, Huawei is one of the leaders in 5G patents, although studies about which company is ahead in the race vary. Huawei achieved positive growth for both 2020 revenue and net profit, the company's founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei had said in February, adding that the company continued to see significant levels of confidence from its customers. Yet, the company's smartphone business remains under intense pressure due to the US ban. Huawei's consumer business made up 54.4 per cent of the company's revenues in 2019. The company is expected to reveal full 2020 figures at the end of the month. By the end of 2020, Huawei held more than 100,000 active patents in over 40,000 patent families worldwide, the company said. Its R&D investments totalled 131.7 billion yuan ($20.27 billion) in 2019.

Huawei to start charging royalties to smartphone makers using its patented 5G tech

A recording of former US President Donald Trump urging a state investigator to look for voter fraud in certain countries was recently found in the “trash” of the officer’s computer.

Trump had urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger office’s lead investigator Frances Watson on December 23 to look for voter fraud in specific counties, reportedly telling her that she would receive praise after the “right answer” is out in public domain.

The existence of a recording was first reported by The Washington Post in January, following which The Wall Street Journal published the audio last week. During the emergence of the first report of a recording in January, state officials said no such recording existed.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/trump-downgrade-former-us-president-travels-in-run-of-the-mill-plane-twitter-explodes-370521" hreflang="en">Trump downgrade: Former US president travels in 'run-of-the-mill' plane, Twitter explodes</a>

Officials told The Washington Post that the recording was located on the trash folder of Watson’s device and was found while responding to a request for public records.

In the November elections, Trump lost the state of Georgia by almost 12,000 votes but continued to claim that the vote was rigged, and that the election was stolen - without offering any evidence.

Trump asked Watson to check signatures on mail-in ballot envelopes and compare them to signatures from two years ago, especially in Fulton County.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/biden-admin-to-reconsider-objections-to-h1b-visas-during-trump-regime-370100" hreflang="en">Biden admin to reconsider objections to H1B visas during Trump regime</a>

Trump allegedly&nbsp;intended to inflate the number of non-matching signatures in an area led by Democrats. In 2018, many ballots in Georgia and Florida were rejected when officials matched signatures and found that the signatures of the voters had evolved.

Watson reportedly told Trump that she was “honoured” but also “shocked” at him taking the time to do it. Trump’s supporters defend his actions by saying that the former president was simply attempting to check in on legitimate concerns of voter fraud - which have never been proven.

A recording of former US President Donald Trump urging a state investigator to look for voter fraud in certain countries was recently found in the “trash” of the officer’s computer.

A recording of former US President Donald Trump urging a state investigator to look for voter fraud in certain countries was recently found in the “trash” of the officer’s computer. Trump had urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger office’s lead investigator Frances Watson on December 23 to look for voter fraud in specific counties, reportedly telling her that she would receive praise after the “right answer” is out in public domain. The existence of a recording was first reported by The Washington Post in January, following which The Wall Street Journal published the audio last week. During the emergence of the first report of a recording in January, state officials said no such recording existed. Also read: Trump downgrade: Former US president travels in 'run-of-the-mill' plane, Twitter explodes Officials told The Washington Post that the recording was located on the trash folder of Watson’s device and was found while responding to a request for public records. In the November elections, Trump lost the state of Georgia by almost 12,000 votes but continued to claim that the vote was rigged, and that the election was stolen - without offering any evidence. Trump asked Watson to check signatures on mail-in ballot envelopes and compare them to signatures from two years ago, especially in Fulton County. Also read: Biden admin to reconsider objections to H1B visas during Trump regime Trump allegedly intended to inflate the number of non-matching signatures in an area led by Democrats. In 2018, many ballots in Georgia and Florida were rejected when officials matched signatures and found that the signatures of the voters had evolved. Watson reportedly told Trump that she was “honoured” but also “shocked” at him taking the time to do it. Trump’s supporters defend his actions by saying that the former president was simply attempting to check in on legitimate concerns of voter fraud - which have never been proven.

Recording of Trump calling Georgia election officials found in 'trash'

There is an increase in the number of hate crimes against the Asian American population in the United States. Racism and isolation are the effects on the population which has become a major point of suffering.

Asian Americans face hate crimes owing to Anti-China rhetoric

The Labour Department announced two moves Thursday to reverse rules issued under the Trump administration that narrowed the protection of federal law for millions of workers.

One of the rules was likely to have deemed millions of workers in industries like construction and transportation — many of them gig workers — to be contractors rather than employees.

The department had finalized the rule in January, two weeks before President Joe Biden’s inauguration. But the Biden administration has delayed the rule’s effective date until May, a step toward rescinding it. The rule would probably have made workers like Uber drivers ineligible for the federal minimum wage and overtime pay, which apply only to employees.

Industry officials have estimated that treating gig workers as employees can raise labour costs by 20% to 30%, and Uber and other gig companies have fought on multiple fronts over the years to classify workers as contractors.

In November, voters in California approved a ballot initiative freeing gig companies from a state law that had effectively required them to treat workers as employees, a campaign in which Uber, Lyft and DoorDash invested tens of millions of dollars. Biden opposed the effort to scale back the law, although some prominent supporters and advisers to him and Vice President Kamala Harris have ties to the gig companies.

In its proposal to rescind the Trump rule, the Labour Department said the rule had improperly narrowed the list of factors that courts have traditionally relied on to determine employee status.

The department said it was also moving to undo a second rule enacted by the Trump administration, this one governing when a company should be considered a so-called joint employer alongside franchisees or contractors that directly employ a worker.

Franchisees and contractors often have limited resources to pay legal penalties related to violations of minimum-wage and overtime laws, so a more expansive joint employer rule makes it more likely that employees can be made whole if a violation has occurred.

The Trump rule had narrowed the circumstances under which a company could be considered a joint employer. In September, a federal judge struck down most of the Trump rule, arguing that the administration had arbitrarily departed from the statute governing federal minimum-wage and overtime rules.

The public will have until April 12 to comment on the moves announced Thursday, after which the Labor Department can finalize them.

The Labour Department announced two moves Thursday to reverse rules issued under the Trump administration that narrowed the protection of federal law for millions of workers.

The Labour Department announced two moves Thursday to reverse rules issued under the Trump administration that narrowed the protection of federal law for millions of workers. One of the rules was likely to have deemed millions of workers in industries like construction and transportation — many of them gig workers — to be contractors rather than employees. The department had finalized the rule in January, two weeks before President Joe Biden’s inauguration. But the Biden administration has delayed the rule’s effective date until May, a step toward rescinding it. The rule would probably have made workers like Uber drivers ineligible for the federal minimum wage and overtime pay, which apply only to employees. Industry officials have estimated that treating gig workers as employees can raise labour costs by 20% to 30%, and Uber and other gig companies have fought on multiple fronts over the years to classify workers as contractors. In November, voters in California approved a ballot initiative freeing gig companies from a state law that had effectively required them to treat workers as employees, a campaign in which Uber, Lyft and DoorDash invested tens of millions of dollars. Biden opposed the effort to scale back the law, although some prominent supporters and advisers to him and Vice President Kamala Harris have ties to the gig companies. In its proposal to rescind the Trump rule, the Labour Department said the rule had improperly narrowed the list of factors that courts have traditionally relied on to determine employee status. The department said it was also moving to undo a second rule enacted by the Trump administration, this one governing when a company should be considered a so-called joint employer alongside franchisees or contractors that directly employ a worker. Franchisees and contractors often have limited resources to pay legal penalties related to violations of minimum-wage and overtime laws, so a more expansive joint employer rule makes it more likely that employees can be made whole if a violation has occurred. The Trump rule had narrowed the circumstances under which a company could be considered a joint employer. In September, a federal judge struck down most of the Trump rule, arguing that the administration had arbitrarily departed from the statute governing federal minimum-wage and overtime rules. The public will have until April 12 to comment on the moves announced Thursday, after which the Labor Department can finalize them.

Labour Department reverses two Trump-era rules

A digital artwork sold for nearly $70 million at Christie's on Thursday, in the first ever sale by a major auction house of a piece of art that does not exist in physical form.

"Everydays: The First 5,000 Days" is now the most expensive "non-fungible token" piece ever sold, a sign of longterm confidence in the burgeoning market that creates collectible digital assets by transforming virtual work into something ownable.

Beeple -- an artist from Charleston, South Carolina, whose real name is Mike Winkelmann -- is now among the top three most valuable living artists, Christie's said.

"Everydays" is based on a long-term project: beginning on May 1, 2007, when he was still a bored web designer, he sought to create a work of art each day, without interruption, in order to progress in drawing and graphic design.

Now, 5,062 consecutive days later, "Everydays" brings together in digital form his first 5,000 pieces, beginning with a simple image of his Uncle Jim and ending on a detailed graphic portrait of characters from Donald Trump to Buzz Lightyear to Michael Jackson, depicted as dystopian muses around a child drawing.

Since 2007 Beeple has accumulated nearly two million Instagram followers and collaborated with major brands and famous musicians, attracted by his graphic universe.

But he had never sold any work under his own name until recently, when a new technology catapulted him into orbit as one of the most fashionable artists in the world.

NFTs are collectible digital assets that use blockchain technology to turn virtual work into something unique, with a documented provenance that cannot be altered, guaranteeing authenticity and making the work ownable.

That goes for pretty much anything on the internet where, previously, content by its nature was easy to duplicate.

At the end of February another of his works, "Crossroads," was resold for $6.6 million on the platform Nifty Gateway, which specializes in virtual works. Beeple received 10 percent.&nbsp;

And an animation that he himself had sold at the end of October last year for a symbolic dollar was recently acquired for $150,000.

A digital artwork sold for nearly $70 million at Christie's on Thursday, in the first ever sale by a major auction house of a piece of art that does not exist in physical form.

A digital artwork sold for nearly $70 million at Christie's on Thursday, in the first ever sale by a major auction house of a piece of art that does not exist in physical form. "Everydays: The First 5,000 Days" is now the most expensive "non-fungible token" piece ever sold, a sign of longterm confidence in the burgeoning market that creates collectible digital assets by transforming virtual work into something ownable. Beeple -- an artist from Charleston, South Carolina, whose real name is Mike Winkelmann -- is now among the top three most valuable living artists, Christie's said. "Everydays" is based on a long-term project: beginning on May 1, 2007, when he was still a bored web designer, he sought to create a work of art each day, without interruption, in order to progress in drawing and graphic design. Now, 5,062 consecutive days later, "Everydays" brings together in digital form his first 5,000 pieces, beginning with a simple image of his Uncle Jim and ending on a detailed graphic portrait of characters from Donald Trump to Buzz Lightyear to Michael Jackson, depicted as dystopian muses around a child drawing. Since 2007 Beeple has accumulated nearly two million Instagram followers and collaborated with major brands and famous musicians, attracted by his graphic universe. But he had never sold any work under his own name until recently, when a new technology catapulted him into orbit as one of the most fashionable artists in the world. NFTs are collectible digital assets that use blockchain technology to turn virtual work into something unique, with a documented provenance that cannot be altered, guaranteeing authenticity and making the work ownable. That goes for pretty much anything on the internet where, previously, content by its nature was easy to duplicate. At the end of February another of his works, "Crossroads," was resold for $6.6 million on the platform Nifty Gateway, which specializes in virtual works. Beeple received 10 percent. And an animation that he himself had sold at the end of October last year for a symbolic dollar was recently acquired for $150,000.

Artist Beeple's digital work fetches nearly $70 million in auction

Iran slammed the United States on Thursday for continuing to follow former president <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump's </a>policy of applying "maximum pressure".&nbsp;

"US claims it favours diplomacy; not Trump's failed policy of 'maximum pressure'," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter.

"Yet (US Secretary of State Antony Blinken) boasts abt (about) blocking Korea from transferring our OWN money to the Swiss Channel -- only used for food &amp; meds."&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/russia-urges-us-iran-to-step-up-efforts-on-nuke-deal-369301/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

He said sticking to the same approach will not "yield new results" for the US.&nbsp;

The Iranian foreign minister's comments came hours after Blinken hinted of the US continuing to oppose the release of Iranian funds worth billions of dollars until Tehran commits to full compliance with a nuclear deal.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
South Korea, an ally of the US, last month said it agreed on a way to release the Iranian money from oil sales but was waiting for Washington's nod.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/irans-zarif-to-offer-constructive-plan-amid-hopes-of-informal-nuclear-talks-368392">Iran's Zarif to offer 'constructive' plan amid hopes of informal nuclear talks</a>

"...unless and until Iran comes back into compliance, they won't be getting that relief," Blinken said.&nbsp;

US President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden </a>has insisted Iran to comply with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a nuclear deal that was scrapped by Trump which further raised tensions between Tehran and Washington.&nbsp;

Iran slammed the United States on Thursday for continuing to follow former president Donald Trump's policy of applying "maximum pressure". "US claims it favours diplomacy; not Trump's failed policy of 'maximum pressure'," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter.

Iran slammed the United States on Thursday for continuing to follow former president Donald Trump's policy of applying "maximum pressure". "US claims it favours diplomacy; not Trump's failed policy of 'maximum pressure'," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter. "Yet (US Secretary of State Antony Blinken) boasts abt (about) blocking Korea from transferring our OWN money to the Swiss Channel -- only used for food & meds." Watch | He said sticking to the same approach will not "yield new results" for the US. The Iranian foreign minister's comments came hours after Blinken hinted of the US continuing to oppose the release of Iranian funds worth billions of dollars until Tehran commits to full compliance with a nuclear deal. South Korea, an ally of the US, last month said it agreed on a way to release the Iranian money from oil sales but was waiting for Washington's nod. Also read | Iran's Zarif to offer 'constructive' plan amid hopes of informal nuclear talks "...unless and until Iran comes back into compliance, they won't be getting that relief," Blinken said. US President Joe Biden has insisted Iran to comply with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a nuclear deal that was scrapped by Trump which further raised tensions between Tehran and Washington.

Iran slams US, says Trump's policy of 'maximum pressure' won't do any good

Former US President Donald Trump has requested a mail-in ballot ahead of a local Municipal Election in Florida. The request has been made nearly a week after the deadline.

After crying 'fraud' for months, Trump requests mail-in ballot in Florida

Former US President Donald <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/biden-got-the-vaccine-rollout-humming-with-trumps-help-369503">Trump</a> has requested mail-in ballot ahead of&nbsp;local municipal elections in Florida, voting again by mail despite his frequent attacks on voting by mail.

Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/rnc-defends-right-to-use-donald-trumps-name-in-fundraisers-369273/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The request was made nearly a week after the deadline to have a ballot be sent by mail. During the US presidential elections last year, Trump had repeatedly promoted false claims of election fraud without evidence.

The records from the Palm Beach county supervisor of elections show that a mail-in ballot was mailed to the former president’s permanent residence at Mar-a-Lago.

The completed ballot was received on Monday, ahead of Tuesday’s election.

The latest request by<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-hungry-for-power-tries-to-wrestle-away-gop-fundraising-369381"> Trump</a> is yet another instance in which the former president’s actions has contrasted with his rhetoric on vote by mail.

After he lost the 2020 election, Trump incorporated his attacks on mail-in voting into a conspiracy theory that the election was stolen from him.

The former US president's&nbsp;attempts to dispute the election were shot down dozens of times in court but he kept pushing his claims. 
It is at least the third time Trump has voted by mail in recent years.

Former US President Donald Trump has requested mail-in ballot ahead of local municipal elections in Florida, voting again by mail despite his frequent attacks on voting by mail.

Former US President Donald Trump has requested mail-in ballot ahead of local municipal elections in Florida, voting again by mail despite his frequent attacks on voting by mail. Watch: The request was made nearly a week after the deadline to have a ballot be sent by mail. During the US presidential elections last year, Trump had repeatedly promoted false claims of election fraud without evidence. The records from the Palm Beach county supervisor of elections show that a mail-in ballot was mailed to the former president’s permanent residence at Mar-a-Lago. The completed ballot was received on Monday, ahead of Tuesday’s election. The latest request by Trump is yet another instance in which the former president’s actions has contrasted with his rhetoric on vote by mail. After he lost the 2020 election, Trump incorporated his attacks on mail-in voting into a conspiracy theory that the election was stolen from him. The former US president's attempts to dispute the election were shot down dozens of times in court but he kept pushing his claims. It is at least the third time Trump has voted by mail in recent years.

Now, Trump requests mail-in ballot in Florida

A Chinese&nbsp;entrepreneur is selling a pensive statue of former US President Donald Trump sitting cross-legged and with his eyes closed in a zen position, draped in a robe, a pose associated with Buddha.

The Trump Buddha statue is being sold on a Chinese e-commerce platform called Zaobao, which is owned by the Alibaba group. The smaller size, which measures 1.6 metres tall is being sold for 999 Chinese Yuan or $150. While the bigger size is being sold for&nbsp;3,999 yuan or $610.

China's state-owned Global Times first&nbsp;reported on the product and spoke to the owner of the&nbsp;statue who is promoting the product with the slogan, “Make Your Company Great Again’’, a wordplay on Trump’s election slogan “Make America Great Again”.&nbsp;

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/now-trump-requests-mail-in-ballot-in-florida-369550">Now, Trump requests mail-in ballot in Florida</a>

The statue, with Trump’s hands folded in his laps, thumbs pointing outwards, is a pose from Buddhist art that signifies meditation and contemplation, something the 74-year-old has had more time for since leaving the White House in January for his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida.

China’s commercial websites have&nbsp;taken advantage of Trump to increase their&nbsp;profit. Previously, Taobao has offered an array of products, including toilet paper rolls with Trump’s face printed on them, a toilet brush shaped like Trump’s signature messy orange hair, and T-shirts printed with satirical cartoons of him.&nbsp;

Trump had&nbsp;made getting tough on China a key part of his campaign for re-election on November&nbsp;3.&nbsp;

The US-China relations soured during Trump's administration as he had&nbsp;vowed that in future his administration would prohibit federal contracts with companies that outsource to China and hold Beijing accountable for allowing the coronavirus, which began in China, to spread around the world.

A Chinese entrepreneur is selling a pensive statue of former US President Donald Trump sitting cross-legged and with his eyes closed in a zen position, draped in a robe, a pose associated with Buddha.

A Chinese entrepreneur is selling a pensive statue of former US President Donald Trump sitting cross-legged and with his eyes closed in a zen position, draped in a robe, a pose associated with Buddha. The Trump Buddha statue is being sold on a Chinese e-commerce platform called Zaobao, which is owned by the Alibaba group. The smaller size, which measures 1.6 metres tall is being sold for 999 Chinese Yuan or $150. While the bigger size is being sold for 3,999 yuan or $610. China's state-owned Global Times first reported on the product and spoke to the owner of the statue who is promoting the product with the slogan, “Make Your Company Great Again’’, a wordplay on Trump’s election slogan “Make America Great Again”. Also read| Now, Trump requests mail-in ballot in Florida The statue, with Trump’s hands folded in his laps, thumbs pointing outwards, is a pose from Buddhist art that signifies meditation and contemplation, something the 74-year-old has had more time for since leaving the White House in January for his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida. China’s commercial websites have taken advantage of Trump to increase their profit. Previously, Taobao has offered an array of products, including toilet paper rolls with Trump’s face printed on them, a toilet brush shaped like Trump’s signature messy orange hair, and T-shirts printed with satirical cartoons of him. Trump had made getting tough on China a key part of his campaign for re-election on November 3. The US-China relations soured during Trump's administration as he had vowed that in future his administration would prohibit federal contracts with companies that outsource to China and hold Beijing accountable for allowing the coronavirus, which began in China, to spread around the world.

Chinese entrepreneur selling Donald Trump's Buddha statue at this price

The Republican National Committee is defending its right to use former US President Donald Trump’s name in fundraising appeals after he demanded they put an end to the practice.

RNC defends right to use Donald Trump's name in fundraisers

When President Joe Biden pledged last week to amass enough vaccine by late May to inoculate every adult in the United States, the pronouncement was greeted as a triumphant acceleration of a vaccination campaign that seemed to be faltering only weeks earlier.

And it is true that production of two of the three federally authorized vaccines has sped up in part because of the demands and directives of the new president’s coronavirus team.

But the announcement was also a triumph of another kind: public relations. Because Biden had tamped down expectations early, the quicker timetable for vaccine production conjured an image of a White House running on all cylinders and leaving its predecessor’s effort in the dust.

A closer look at the ramp-up announced last week offers a more mixed picture, one in which the new administration expanded and bulked up a vaccine production effort whose key elements were in place when Biden took over for President Donald Trump. Both administrations deserve credit, although neither wants to grant much to the other.

The Biden administration has taken two major steps that helped hasten vaccine production in the near term. Even before Biden was inaugurated, his aides determined that by invoking the Korean War-era Defense Production Act, the federal government could help Pfizer obtain the heavy machinery it needed to expand its plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Trump administration had repeatedly invoked that law, but its order for Pfizer only covered single-use supplies like plastic liners, not durable factory equipment.

Crucially, Biden’s top aides drove another vaccine manufacturer, Johnson &amp;amp; Johnson, to force a key subcontractor into round-the-clock operations so its vaccine could be bottled faster. That company had fallen behind on the production targets laid out in its federal contract. Only after Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House’s chief pandemic adviser, and Dr. David Kessler, who oversees the vaccine effort, demanded the company commit more resources did it publicly pledge to meet a crucial deadline in May.

At the same time, though, Biden benefited hugely from the waves of vaccine production that the Trump administration had set in motion. As both Pfizer and Moderna found their manufacturing footing, they were able to double and triple the outputs from their factories.

Biden had been in office less than a month when Moderna announced that it could deliver 200 million doses by the end of May, a month earlier than scheduled, simply because it had become faster at production. Pfizer was able to shave off even more time, moving up the timetable to deliver its 200 million doses by a full two months, partly because of newfound efficiencies and partly because it was given credit for six doses per vial instead of five.

All this enabled Biden to announce that his administration would have enough doses in hand by the end of May to cover all 257 million adults, two months earlier than he had promised just a few weeks earlier. His aides noted that on Sunday, the nation hit a daily record of 2.9 million shots, 3 1/2 times as many as were given on Inauguration Day.

“Throughout our response, we’ve provided clear timelines based on the available, authorized vaccines,” said Kevin Munoz, a White House assistant press secretary. “We don’t plan to just meet these timelines, but rather to overperform them.”

To Trump administration aides, the new president’s crowing rings off-key. Biden is proclaiming victory off his predecessor’s achievements while wrongly grumbling about a mess he says he inherited, they say.

“They criticize what we did, but they are using our playbook every step of the way,” said Paul Mango, the Trump administration’s deputy chief of staff for health policy and a senior official in the crash vaccine development effort then known as Operation Warp Speed. He said Trump’s team oversaw the construction or expansion of nearly two dozen plants involved in vaccine production and invoked the Defense Production Act 18 times to ensure those factories had sufficient supplies.

The Biden team is “maintaining a very nice trajectory,” Mango said. “But don’t criticize us to make yourselves look better.”

Still, corporate, state and federal officials agree that Biden’s White House has been more active than his predecessor’s in trying to build up the nation’s vaccine stock.

The new administration’s relationship with Pfizer is markedly better. Trump and his aides had accused the company of slow-walking its vaccine development to hurt Trump’s reelection bid. The company announced its vaccine was robustly effective on Nov. 9, nearly a week after Election Day, then filed its application for emergency use authorization on Nov. 20.

Pfizer officials privately suggested that the Trump administration not only was wrongfully bad-mouthing the company but also had refused for months to invoke the Defense Production Act to order suppliers to prioritize Pfizer’s needs, as it did for the other vaccine developers under federal contract.

Biden’s aides started talking to Pfizer executives about what the company needed to make more doses even before Inauguration Day. When Biden traveled to Michigan on Feb. 19 to visit Pfizer’s plant, Dr. Albert Bourla, the company’s chief executive, effusively praised the new administration as “a great ally,” saying officials had helped the company secure critical materials and equipment.

The biggest piece of locking in enough doses to cover the nation’s adults before June was Johnson &amp;amp; Johnson. As recently as two weeks ago, Dr. Richard Nettles, Johnson &amp;amp; Johnson’s vice president for medical affairs in the United States, would say only that the company would supply 20 million doses by the end of March and 100 million doses by the end of June. That fell short of its contract for 37 million doses by the end of March and 87 million by the end of May.

Reuters reported Tuesday that Johnson &amp;amp; Johnson had informed European Union officials that production problems might delay shipments, and Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said that he had heard similar warnings from the company.

In the United States, the company’s biggest worry was getting the vaccine bottled by two subcontractors. That “fill-and-finish” work is divided between a plant in Michigan run by Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing, or GRAM, and a plant run by Catalent in Bloomington, Indiana. The Biden team pushed Johnson &amp;amp; Johnson to order GRAM to move from normal business hours to 24/7 operations, one senior administration official said. Another federal official said Johnson &amp;amp; Johnson was largely on track but did “scale up a bit faster” under pressure.

Officials also brokered an unusual partnership between Johnson &amp;amp; Johnson and a longtime competitor, Merck &amp;amp; Co. The Trump administration repeatedly explored using Merck’s plants to bolster vaccine production but never reached an agreement.

Zients, the pandemic adviser, said Sunday that the new alliance had helped the Biden administration set its new May goal. In fact, though, Merck is likely to bottle only a few million doses of Johnson &amp;amp; Johnson’s vaccine by then, according to people familiar with its operation. The main benefit of the partnership will come later in the year, when Merck will have retooled a huge plant with the capacity to produce as many as 100 million doses of vaccine a month, they said.

Beyond the nuts and bolts of production, Biden’s White House has pursued a starkly different messaging campaign than Trump’s: underpromise, and then try to overdeliver. Trump routinely boasted of imminent achievements, including a vaccine rollout before Election Day, only to fall short. By contrast, health experts complained, at least initially, that Biden was overly cautious.

When the vaccine rollout began in December, Biden vowed that his administration would average 1 million shots a day during his first 100 days in office — enough to vaccinate 50 million people by the end of March.

After less than a week in office, he raised the goal by 50%, to 1.5 million shots per day. The nation passed Biden’s initial target about a month ahead of schedule and is now averaging 2.17 million doses per day.

Carefully calibrated goals “avoid losses,” said David Axelrod, the senior strategist for President Barack Obama’s campaigns in 2008 and 2012. “Certainly they must have learned that lesson from watching Trump.”

“Internally, you drive to the highest possible goal you can make. Externally, you set a floor that you are reasonably confident you can achieve,” he said.

When President Joe Biden pledged last week to amass enough vaccine by late May to inoculate every adult in the United States, the pronouncement was greeted as a triumphant acceleration of a vaccination campaign that seemed to be faltering only weeks earlier.

When President Joe Biden pledged last week to amass enough vaccine by late May to inoculate every adult in the United States, the pronouncement was greeted as a triumphant acceleration of a vaccination campaign that seemed to be faltering only weeks earlier. And it is true that production of two of the three federally authorized vaccines has sped up in part because of the demands and directives of the new president’s coronavirus team. But the announcement was also a triumph of another kind: public relations. Because Biden had tamped down expectations early, the quicker timetable for vaccine production conjured an image of a White House running on all cylinders and leaving its predecessor’s effort in the dust. A closer look at the ramp-up announced last week offers a more mixed picture, one in which the new administration expanded and bulked up a vaccine production effort whose key elements were in place when Biden took over for President Donald Trump. Both administrations deserve credit, although neither wants to grant much to the other. The Biden administration has taken two major steps that helped hasten vaccine production in the near term. Even before Biden was inaugurated, his aides determined that by invoking the Korean War-era Defense Production Act, the federal government could help Pfizer obtain the heavy machinery it needed to expand its plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Trump administration had repeatedly invoked that law, but its order for Pfizer only covered single-use supplies like plastic liners, not durable factory equipment. Crucially, Biden’s top aides drove another vaccine manufacturer, Johnson &amp; Johnson, to force a key subcontractor into round-the-clock operations so its vaccine could be bottled faster. That company had fallen behind on the production targets laid out in its federal contract. Only after Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House’s chief pandemic adviser, and Dr. David Kessler, who oversees the vaccine effort, demanded the company commit more resources did it publicly pledge to meet a crucial deadline in May. At the same time, though, Biden benefited hugely from the waves of vaccine production that the Trump administration had set in motion. As both Pfizer and Moderna found their manufacturing footing, they were able to double and triple the outputs from their factories. Biden had been in office less than a month when Moderna announced that it could deliver 200 million doses by the end of May, a month earlier than scheduled, simply because it had become faster at production. Pfizer was able to shave off even more time, moving up the timetable to deliver its 200 million doses by a full two months, partly because of newfound efficiencies and partly because it was given credit for six doses per vial instead of five. All this enabled Biden to announce that his administration would have enough doses in hand by the end of May to cover all 257 million adults, two months earlier than he had promised just a few weeks earlier. His aides noted that on Sunday, the nation hit a daily record of 2.9 million shots, 3 1/2 times as many as were given on Inauguration Day. “Throughout our response, we’ve provided clear timelines based on the available, authorized vaccines,” said Kevin Munoz, a White House assistant press secretary. “We don’t plan to just meet these timelines, but rather to overperform them.” To Trump administration aides, the new president’s crowing rings off-key. Biden is proclaiming victory off his predecessor’s achievements while wrongly grumbling about a mess he says he inherited, they say. “They criticize what we did, but they are using our playbook every step of the way,” said Paul Mango, the Trump administration’s deputy chief of staff for health policy and a senior official in the crash vaccine development effort then known as Operation Warp Speed. He said Trump’s team oversaw the construction or expansion of nearly two dozen plants involved in vaccine production and invoked the Defense Production Act 18 times to ensure those factories had sufficient supplies. The Biden team is “maintaining a very nice trajectory,” Mango said. “But don’t criticize us to make yourselves look better.” Still, corporate, state and federal officials agree that Biden’s White House has been more active than his predecessor’s in trying to build up the nation’s vaccine stock. The new administration’s relationship with Pfizer is markedly better. Trump and his aides had accused the company of slow-walking its vaccine development to hurt Trump’s reelection bid. The company announced its vaccine was robustly effective on Nov. 9, nearly a week after Election Day, then filed its application for emergency use authorization on Nov. 20. Pfizer officials privately suggested that the Trump administration not only was wrongfully bad-mouthing the company but also had refused for months to invoke the Defense Production Act to order suppliers to prioritize Pfizer’s needs, as it did for the other vaccine developers under federal contract. Biden’s aides started talking to Pfizer executives about what the company needed to make more doses even before Inauguration Day. When Biden traveled to Michigan on Feb. 19 to visit Pfizer’s plant, Dr. Albert Bourla, the company’s chief executive, effusively praised the new administration as “a great ally,” saying officials had helped the company secure critical materials and equipment. The biggest piece of locking in enough doses to cover the nation’s adults before June was Johnson &amp; Johnson. As recently as two weeks ago, Dr. Richard Nettles, Johnson &amp; Johnson’s vice president for medical affairs in the United States, would say only that the company would supply 20 million doses by the end of March and 100 million doses by the end of June. That fell short of its contract for 37 million doses by the end of March and 87 million by the end of May. Reuters reported Tuesday that Johnson &amp; Johnson had informed European Union officials that production problems might delay shipments, and Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said that he had heard similar warnings from the company. In the United States, the company’s biggest worry was getting the vaccine bottled by two subcontractors. That “fill-and-finish” work is divided between a plant in Michigan run by Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing, or GRAM, and a plant run by Catalent in Bloomington, Indiana. The Biden team pushed Johnson &amp; Johnson to order GRAM to move from normal business hours to 24/7 operations, one senior administration official said. Another federal official said Johnson &amp; Johnson was largely on track but did “scale up a bit faster” under pressure. Officials also brokered an unusual partnership between Johnson &amp; Johnson and a longtime competitor, Merck &amp; Co. The Trump administration repeatedly explored using Merck’s plants to bolster vaccine production but never reached an agreement. Zients, the pandemic adviser, said Sunday that the new alliance had helped the Biden administration set its new May goal. In fact, though, Merck is likely to bottle only a few million doses of Johnson &amp; Johnson’s vaccine by then, according to people familiar with its operation. The main benefit of the partnership will come later in the year, when Merck will have retooled a huge plant with the capacity to produce as many as 100 million doses of vaccine a month, they said. Beyond the nuts and bolts of production, Biden’s White House has pursued a starkly different messaging campaign than Trump’s: underpromise, and then try to overdeliver. Trump routinely boasted of imminent achievements, including a vaccine rollout before Election Day, only to fall short. By contrast, health experts complained, at least initially, that Biden was overly cautious. When the vaccine rollout began in December, Biden vowed that his administration would average 1 million shots a day during his first 100 days in office — enough to vaccinate 50 million people by the end of March. After less than a week in office, he raised the goal by 50%, to 1.5 million shots per day. The nation passed Biden’s initial target about a month ahead of schedule and is now averaging 2.17 million doses per day. Carefully calibrated goals “avoid losses,” said David Axelrod, the senior strategist for President Barack Obama’s campaigns in 2008 and 2012. “Certainly they must have learned that lesson from watching Trump.” “Internally, you drive to the highest possible goal you can make. Externally, you set a floor that you are reasonably confident you can achieve,” he said.

Biden got the vaccine rollout humming, with Trump’s help

The US Republican Party is having a clash within itself over fundraisers and the name Donald Trump. The Republican National Committee wants to use the former President's name in the fundraising appeals and campaigns but Donald Trump is not too happy about that.

WION Fineprint: Donald Trump demands Republican Committee to stop using his name

donald-trump

Donald Trump, News on Donald Trump, stories on Donald Trump, articles on Donald Trump, Donald Trump stories at Wion, Donald Trump news, Donald Trump latest news

donald trump