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In a surprise news conference on Thanksgiving Day, President Trump took questions from the press for the first time since losing re-electionbut he doubled down on his rigged election claims and appeared to deny the reality that his presidency is ending, saying it will be very hard for him to concede to Joe Biden.I think its not right hes trying to pick a Cabinet, Trump complained after railing against the supposed massive fraud that he claims gave Biden victory.Reiterating his claims of voter fraud in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia despite the fact that state authorities have already certified the election results in those states, Trump appeared to become combative when asked if he would concede if the Electoral College votes for Biden on Dec. 14. Although he eventually did say he would exit the White House if the vote were not in his favor, that answer came after he first repeatedly cast doubt on the Electoral College and election in general. Its going to be a very hard thing to concede. Because we know there was massive fraud, he said when first asked if he would concede. Pennsylvania Certifies Biden as Winner, Driving Stake in Trumps Legal EffortTime isnt on our side this was a massive fraud, this should never take place in this country, were like a third-world country, he said, suggesting that faulty vote-counting machines gave Biden millions of extra votes.Asked a second time if he would concede if the Electoral College votes for Biden, Trump responded, Well if they do they made a mistake, before saying its a possibility and scolding a reporter who pressed him on the issue: Dont talk to me that way, youre just a lightweight.Asked by another reporter if he would leave this building if the Electoral College elects Biden, he said, Certainly, I will.While Trump and his legal team have repeatedly looked to throw out votes in states that Joe Biden carried, none of their challenges have proved successful.Key states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgiaall of which Trump carried in 2016, before flipping blue this yearcertified their results this week, ensuring they will send a Democratic slate of voters to the Electoral College. Wisconsin and Arizona, two more states that flipped to Biden, are set to certify their results next week.Massive fraud has been found. Were like a third world country, Trump said, before launching back into allegations of voter fraud that have been repeatedly rebuffed in court and by state election officials of both parties.I did so well ... that they didnt know what to do, he said at one point of election results in Georgia, claiming that ballots for him were thrown away.I dont know what is going to happen. I know one thing, Joe Biden did not get 80 million votes. And I got 74 million but there were many ballots thrown away, so I got much more than that. But I got 74 million, 74 million is 11 million more than I got last time. And its millions more than Hillary Clinton got.Underneath all of the bravado, Trump at one point slipped up and blasted the Biden administration, apparently inadvertently recognizing Bidens win.While Trump has refused to concede and maintained that somehow, he would win states he had already lost, his administration has relented behind the scenes.Earlier this week, Emily Murphy, the head of the General Services Administrationsa Trump appointeesigned off on a letter officially allowing the presidential transition to begin. Murphy had previously refused to do so, a partisan move from a historically non-partisan agency.Even Trump appeared to have a moment of clarity Thursday regarding a potential COVID-19 cure and his future (or lack thereof) in the White House.Dont let Joe Biden take credit for the vaccine, he said.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria celebrate Thanksgiving under the shadow of COVID-19 - Yahoo News

CRISIS IMPACT OVERVIEW

In October 2020, the federal Government of Iraq (GoI) and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) signed an agreement on the status of Sinjar district, in Ninewa governorate. The agreement details and organises aspects of administration, security, and reconstruction in Sinjar, and aims to restore security and stability in preparation for the return of the displaced populations originating from the district. As there is an upward trend in the number of returnees to Sinjar district, this anal - ysis aims to help inform the humanitarian community about the current and expected living conditions and humanitarian needs of both residents and returnees. The intention is to support evidence-based decision-making around the safe return of and response efforts for the Yazidis and other communities from Sinjar. Main needs identified include social reconciliation, education, health, WASH, protection, and livelihoods.

HUMANITARIAN CONSTRAINTS

Sinjar district falls within the disputed territories of northern Iraq. Although the October 2020 agreement is meant to re - solve tensions between the GoI and KRG in relation to Sinjar, organisations are likely to continue to face administrative and bureaucratic constraints, as access will be coordinated between the two bodies. Ongoing insecurity in the governorate is also likely to limit ther - esponse capacity of some organisations.

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ACAPS Briefing Note: Iraq - The return to Sinjar (20 November 2020) - Iraq - ReliefWeb

Three UN Special Rapporteurs expressed alarm Friday at reports that approximately 50 prisoners convicted of terrorism-related crimes in Iraq would be executed on Monday.

This planned mass execution is not the first occurrence. Last month 21 prisoners on death row at Nasiriyah central prison were executed. On November 16 an additional 21 prisoners were executed. According to the UN experts, hundreds of deaths are now imminent after [the prisoners] execution orders had been signed-off.

The UN experts worry that the mass executions are part of a plan to execute all prisoners currently on death row in Iraq, which amounts to approximately 4,000 people.

According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), the Iraqi Anti-Terrorism Law no.13 raises serious human rights concerns due to its vague and overly broad definition of terrorism. The OHCHR states that under the law, an individual can be charged with terrorism and sentenced to death for a non-violent crime committed without intent to terrorize the population. Additionally, the law does not distinguish between different levels of participation, involvement and responsibility in terrorist acts, nor is any assessment made based on the severity of the act.

The UN experts state that under this law, trials have been marked with alarming irregularities. The UN experts noted that defendants are often denied adequate legal representation. Additionally, the UN experts state that defendants have alleged torture and ill-treatment during interrogations, which has not yet been investigated.

Due to these irregularities and the overly broad application of the law, the UN experts strongly urge the Iraqi Government to respect its international legal obligations and to immediately halt further plans to execute prisoners.

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UN rights experts urge Iraq to halt mass executions - JURIST

Overview

With the suspension of household visits in 2020 as a result of COVID-19 movement restrictions and preventative measures, UNHCR initiated the remote protection monitoring exercise as an alternate modality for UNHCR and partners* to conduct targeted, systemized protection monitoring for the refugee and asylumseeker population in Iraq. The survey was designed to provide an overview of how COVID and COVIDrelated measures have affected protection concerns of refugees and asylum-seekers over time and the continued impact on their access to rights, services, and coping mechanisms during the course of the year.

The exercise was initiated in August 2020, covering all governorates of Iraq and surveying Syrian households (HH) and HH of other nationalities. A total 1,605 HH were interviewed in Round 2 (1-28 October 2020), complementing the 1,653 HH interviewed for Round 1 (August-September 2020).

This report is a summary of Round 2 findings, highlighting the impact of COVID on the protection situation of refugees and asylum-seekers across Iraq.

Round 1 findings are available at: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/82842.

Most HH surveyed continue to feel well informed about COVID, sourcing information from media andclose acquaintances, with the highest degree of trust resting in government sources.

Consistent with Round 1, nearly all HH (94%) surveyed own at least one smart device, with slightlyfewer able to access internet (84%). Nevertheless, access to smart devices within a HH is restrictedto just over half of spouses, and fewer than a quarter of children.

Overall evictions and impacts of movement restrictions remained low, with 27 total evictions in Round2 and 86 in Round 1, due largely to the inability to pay rent.

Consistent with Round 1, over half of HH reported reducing overall consumption of food, taking onfurther debt, and/or restricting movement in response to COVID, thus impacting access to livelihoods.

From Round 1 to Round 2, there was a sharp increase in the percentage of HHs reporting turning tochild marriage (42%), child labor (17%), and/or selling household items (17%) to generate funds.

Consistent with Round 1, of boys and girls enrolled in formal primary and secondary school prior toCOVID, fewer than half continued schooling at home after physical school closures, with most parentsstill feeling unable to support childrens at-home learning as the 2020-2021 academic year begins.

Hesitations accessing non-COVID related healthcare persist. Of PwSN requiring care, an increasingpercentage (nearly 40%) had not received any. Financial constraints and pre-existing issuesaccessing care superseded discontinuation of care as primary reasons in Round 2.

Compared to Round 1, the percentage of respondents reporting feeling anxious due to the situationdropped below 50%, while one-fifth reported their psychological state impeded their daily routine ascompared to one-third in Round 1, suggesting general improvement in adaptation and coping.

From Round 1 to Round 2, there was no significant change in intentions to return to country of origin(CoO) in the next 12 months, with most HHs (85%) reporting no intent

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Iraq: Protection Monitoring of Refugees in Response to COVID-19 Round 2 (October 2020) - Iraq - ReliefWeb

The projected election of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States has been met with mixed reactions in war-torn Iraq, where nearly 3,000 American troops remain to help the country's forces fight the remnants of the Islamic State terror group.

While Iraqi leaders from across the political spectrum have welcomed Biden's victory, some Iraqis fear the return of the Democrats to power may translate into greater influence for Iran and its violent proxy groups in the oil-rich country.

"Some welcome the end of the disruptive and unpredictable policies and tactics of the past four years," Bilal Wahab, an Iraq expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told VOA. "Others fear that Biden would ease the pressures on Iran and its proxies in Iraq to the detriment of gains made by last year's protest movement."

Anti-IS operations

Following a visit to Washington by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the Trump administration in September lowered the number of U.S. troops in the country from 5,000 to 3,000.

The Pentagon says the job of the remaining American military personnel is not to engage in combat operations but to train and advise Iraqi forces to destroy IS sleeper cells, a policy that is expected to continue under the Biden administration.

"In the war against ISIS, the U.S. has found a new formula to fight terrorism that does not involve U.S. boots on the ground. I expect the alliances with local partners in this fight to continue," Wahab said, using another acronym for Islamic State.

Pro-Iran militias

Under the current circumstances, observers say, the incoming administration is unlikely to increase U.S. troop levels in the country, where opposition to foreign troops appears to have increased following recent military moves by the Trump administration.

In addition to being accused of involvement in bloody crackdowns on Iraq's peaceful anti-government protesters, pro-Iran militia groups, including most notably the Kataib Hezbollah (KH), have been viewed as the primary suspect in attacks on U.S. bases in the country resulting in the death of at least one American.

In January, the U.S. responded forcefully by killing Iran's powerful military general, Qassem Soleimani, in a drone strike near the Baghdad airport. KHleader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis also was killed in the attack. Subsequently, the Iraqi parliament passed a nonbinding resolution to expel all U.S. troops from the country.

"Trump's era was a very negative one, a period of demolition," said KH spokesman Mohammad Mohyi in a recent interview with Agence France-Presse. "We hope the new administration will resolve this, by ending the crisis and withdrawing its troops."

The militiaman's hopefulness is largely caused by the belief the U.S. will rejoin the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which could, in turn, mean less confrontation with the Islamic Republic and its proxies throughout the wider Middle East, according to experts. In May 2018, the Trump administration withdrew from the deal.

"This optimism voiced by the militia groups that are linked and loyal to Iran comes from Iran's optimism in the first place," Hussein Ali Allawi, a professor of national security at Nahrain University in Baghdad, told VOA by phone.

Following continued rocket attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq, media reports suggested U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a phone call with Iraqi President Barham Salih, had recently threatened to close his country's large embassy in Iraq if the country failed to rein in the militia groups. Subsequently, Iraqi leaders reportedly pressured KH to end its attacks on U.S. interests.

Hours after Biden's projection as the winner Saturday, Iraq's prime minister went on Twitter to send his congratulations.

"I look forward to working with you on strengthening the strategic ties that bind Iraq and the United States, building on common values between our nations to overcome challenges together," Kadhimi posted.

The Kurds and the mountains

Biden's victory is particularly welcomed by Iraqi Kurds, who see him as a longtime friend of their people who suffered a genocide under Saddam Hussein. A 2002 video of then-Senator Biden addressing the autonomous Kurdistan Region's parliament has resurfaced on social media.

"The mountains are not your only friends," Biden reassures the Kurds in the video.

Prominent Kurdish leaderMasoud Barzani, who served as the region's president until 2017, called Biden a friend.

"I express my heartfelt congratulations to you, my friend, President-elect @JoeBiden, for your victory," Barzani tweeted.

What made Biden more popular among Kurds was his 2006 proposal to divide Iraq into three autonomous regions for the country's main components, namely, the Kurds, the Sunnis and the Shiites. The Kurds, however, appeared to be the only group to welcome his controversial plan.

Biden later explained his proposal had been misinterpreted as it had never called for the partition of the country into three independent states but saw decentralization of power in the multiethnic country as the answer to instability.

One of Iraq's prominent Sunni leaders, who vehemently opposed Biden's plan when it was announced, was Misha'an al-Juburi. In a tweet welcoming Biden's election, Juburi announced that he has now changed his mind about the notion.

"We congratulate the American people for their choice, and President[-elect]Biden on his victory and all those who are happy with this victory, ourselves included," al-Juburi said.

He added that after the destruction by Iran-backed militias in his country, "we now look forward to implementing his plan on Iraq, which we opposed previously."

Even though Wahab, the Iraq scholar, does not expect Iraq to be a centerpiece of Biden's foreign policy, he says the incoming administration's approach might be a reason for celebration by pro-democracy forces in the country.

"The change might be in Biden's approach to Iraq, who promised to reinject values into U.S. foreign policy and lead with diplomacy. For the youth movement that wants to make inroads in Iraq's next elections, this might be good news," he added.

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Iraqis Voice Mixed Reactions to Biden's Election - Voice of America