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By Anthony Zurcher BBC North America reporter Analysis - It's been days since the White House race was called for Democrat Joe Biden, but Donald Trump has yet to concede - or show any signs of acknowledging his defeat. Joe Biden has claimed the election but Donald Trump has yet to concede. Photo: AFP Instead, he is making unproven allegations of widespread voter fraud, which he says tipped the race to Biden. The maths, however, are daunting - he trails by tens of thousands of votes in several states he would have to overturn in order to succeed. Most see it as a lost cause. Trump's position, in defiance of political norms and traditions, is sending tremors throughout the nation, as public officials and American voters react to a situation that, while telegraphed for months in advance, is still travelling uncharted terrain. Here's a look at how some key groups are handling these days of uncertainty. And how it might all play out. Republican leaders Should Donald Trump concede? Not yet. "The president has every right to look into allegations and request recounts under the law." - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell The real story Over the past four years, Republican politicians - from congressional leadership to most of the rank and file - have fine-tuned a strategy for responding to Trump at his most controversial. They bite their tongues, wait and let the storm pass. Their calculation is simple. Few Republicans want to draw the ire of a man who can unleash the wrath of his base with the flick of a Twitter finger. So despite the president's electoral defeat, Republicans appear content to stand aside and let the president insist he won with the "legal votes", until the seemingly futile legal challenges are resolved and the results certified. Republican politicians have to think about their future, both in working with the incoming Democratic administration and in winning moderates in elections to come. Unlike the president, they're in no mood for scorched-earth tactics. Their political timeline is measured in years, not days or weeks. So the name of the game is patience. They accept that the president has a right to make his claims, give him time to vent his frustration, but figure that there will be no evidence of sufficient magnitude to change the election results. Through their actions, if not their words, they're acknowledging that come January, there will be a new president. Trump, too, shall pass. Attorney General Bill Barr Should Donald Trump concede? Unclear. "While serious allegations should be handled with great care, specious, speculative, fanciful or far-fetched claims should not be a basis for initiating federal inquiries." - Barr in a Justice Department memo The real story On Monday, in a departure from longstanding practice, Attorney General Bill Barr issued a memorandum to his senior staff opening the door for election fraud investigations at the Justice Department to begin immediately, rather than after vote results are certified by the states. The document gives Donald Trump confirmation that the government is looking into unproven claims of widespread electoral illegalities in multiple states he lost by tens of thousands of votes. The attorney general, however, couches the memo with plenty conditions and cautions. Despite including plenty of caveats, Barr's memo will provide fodder to Trump and his supporters, who insist that the election was stolen from them (never mind that other Republican candidates had fairly successful results). There are safeguards in place to prevent political meddling in criminal investigations, particularly around elections. Barr has now removed some of those safeguards. Will it be enough to mollify the president looking for hard evidence to back up his claims of fraud? William Barr and Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on 26 November 2019 in Washington, DC. Photo: AFP / 2019 Getty Images Trump's inner circle Should Donald Trump concede? No! (Maybe?) "I just spoke with President Trump and told him I love him and am so proud of him for standing firm for the rule of law, the constitution and our American system." - Trump legal adviser Jenna Ellis, via Twitter Real story Publicly, the president's closest aides and associates - particularly those who have been with him the longest, like Rudy Giuliani - are rallying to his side as he continues to contest the 2020 election results. Part of this is practical. If the president leaves office, they lose their jobs (or, at least, access to the conduits of power). For some, like Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, this has translated into a firm insistence that their side will prevail ("This election is not over. Far from it."). Kayleigh McEnany said the election "is not over". Photo: AFP For others, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the recourse is bone-dry humour ("There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration."). Part of it is personal. Trump's two eldest sons, Don Jr and Eric, have vociferously and repeatedly defended their father and amplified his claims of election fraud. It's their family name, and brand, on the line. Behind the scenes, however, some doubt - or, perhaps, even certainty - has crept in. Presidential daughter Ivanka Trump has been silent since the election, and there are reports that both she and her husband, Jared Kushner, believe it's time for the president to concede. Meanwhile, more junior members of Trump administration staff - who will be unemployed in a matter of months - are in limbo, reportedly being told by director of personnel John McEntee that they will be immediately terminated if he learns they are job-searching. Failure to start looking for a soft landing spot at this point, however, verges on career malpractice. Trump's base Should the president concede? Heck no! "I have come here to show my love and support for our president, Donald Trump. It's total fraud. There's so many votes that haven't been counted yet, they're all fake, dead people." - Trump supporter in Houston, Texas, to BBC Newsbeat Real story Heading into last week's election, many Trump supporters were convinced that, despite polls indicating otherwise, their man was going to prevail. Given the surprising 2016 results, where Hillary Clinton was favoured right up until she lost, their continued confidence may not have been entirely misplaced. And it turns out the 2020 results were much closer than final head-to-head matchups predicted. Although the votes have been tabulated and the race called for Biden, at least some conservatives continue to stick with the president. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted over the weekend, roughly 40 percent of Republicans do not believe that Biden has won the presidency (among the general population, that number stands at 21 percent). The Trump campaign is planning "Stop the Steal" rallies across the country, including one in Washington, DC on Saturday. There have also been reports that the president is considering holding campaign-style rallies in the days ahead, although no formal plans have been announced. As has been clear for a long time, if Trump has the will to fight, his base will stick with him. Joe Biden Should Donald Trump concede? Yes. "I just think it's an embarrassment, quite frankly... How can I say this tactfully? I think it will not help the president's legacy." Real story Since being projected the winner of the 2020 election on Saturday, Joe Biden and his transition team have done what they can to convey the appearance of a presidential transition process that is proceeding smoothly and methodically. He held a meeting with his coronavirus task force on Monday and took questions from reporters on Tuesday, where he promised to announce high-level administration appointments in the coming weeks. Biden dismissed concerns that the president's decision not to concede is adversely impacting his work, saying a delay in access to the funds and government information normally provided to the president-elect's representatives is not a major setback. Republicans, he said, would come around to accepting his victory, even if they were "being mildly intimidated by the sitting president". For the moment, Biden and the Democrats are taking the rhetorical high road in the face of Trump's social media fusillade - although their lawyers are vigourously contesting things in court. They're of the opinion that time, and the vote count, are on their side, and they'll have a successful outcome regardless. Donald Trump Should Donald Trump concede? Just read his tweets for an answer... "People will not accept this Rigged Election!" Real story Only Donald Trump knows why he has yet to concede to Biden, despite trailing in multiple states by tens of thousands of votes. Perhaps, as a consumer of right-wing media, he truly believes that there has been yet-to-be-proven voter fraud on a scale large enough to convince multiple courts and swing the election. Cynics will say it's a combination of the president trying to muddy the waters to protect his personal brand from the stain of losing - or to continue fund-raising from a base that still believes he has a chance, if only he were to have enough donations for a protracted legal fight. A flurry of campaign solicitations, with fine print indicating much of the money raised will go toward retiring campaign debt and other non-related purposes, lends credence to this. At some point, however, reality will intrude. States must certify their election results in the coming weeks and, barring a historic reversal of fortune, Joe Biden will have a majority of the 538 presidential electors to secure the presidency. On 14 December, those electors will gather in state capitals to officially cast their ballots for the president and vice-president. In January, Congress will receive and approve the results. The outlook for Trump is bleak Photo: AFP Set aside toothless norms and traditions. Those are cold, hard deadlines. After that, all that's left is for Biden to be sworn in at noon on 20 January, and the Trump presidency will be over, whether he likes it or not; whether he concedes or doesn't. Trump could always run again in 2024, of course. The US Constitution does not preclude two non-consecutive presidential terms. He could also serve as a party kingmaker, paving the way for a presidential bid by one of his children or political acolytes. This may be the endgame of the 2020 election, but the political manoeuvring will never stop. - BBC

By Andrew Greene, ABC Defence Correspondent A special investigator will be appointed to prosecute allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan as the government prepares to release a long-awaited report into the conduct of special forces during the conflict. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says a new office will consider prosecutions. Photo: AFP Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there were a "significant number" of incidents and issues to look into, and the investigation would be "inherently complex". He warned the process would "[require] us to deal with honest and brutal truths where expectations and standards may not have been met". "Given the likely allegations of serious and possibly criminal misconduct, the matters raised in the inquiry must be assessed, investigated and, where allegations are substantiated, prosecuted in court," he said. "The Office of the Special Investigator will address the criminal matters made in the Inspector General's report and investigate those allegations, gather evidence and, where appropriate, refer briefs to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration." Since 2016, the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) has examined allegations of unlawful killings and other possible breaches of the law of armed conflict committed mainly by elite soldiers during their lengthy deployment in Afghanistan. The prime minister said the office of the investigator would be set up within the Department of Home Affairs. Morrison also announced a new panel will be established to drive cultural change inside Australia's SAS and 2nd Commando Regiment. "The oversight panel will report directly to the Minister for Defence on the implementation of the inquiry's recommendations and their consideration of any wider implications and actions in response to the inquiry," he said. "It is the environment, it is the context, it is the rules, it is the culture and the command that sat around those things, and if we want to deal with the truth of this we have to deal with the truth of that. "I am also very keen to stress there is some disturbing conduct here but we cannot then take that and apply it to everyone who has pulled on a uniform." Stripping soldiers of medals on the table, Defence Minister says Morrison confirmed that a redacted version of the Inspector-General's report prepared by New South Wales Justice Paul Brereton would be released on Thursday next week. "This will be difficult and hard news for Australians, I can assure you," Morrison said about the content of the report. "It is going to be very difficult for our serving community and our veteran community. "It is going to be difficult for all of us, but what we are seeking to do as a government, I think what we have to do as a country, is to absorb this in a way that enables us to uphold the integrity of our justice system, uphold the integrity of our defence forces." Defence Minister Linda Reynolds echoed the prime minister's comments, saying she had "no doubt" it would be distressing. She urged anyone who felt they needed help to contact ADF support services. "Particularly so for those who are vulnerable and those who are risk," she said. When Senator Reynolds was asked if there was a possibility that soldiers found guilty of crimes could be stripped of their medals, she said Defence Chief Angus Campbell was considering all options. "There are many options and recommendations for action," she said. "It is my expectation that [he] would consider each and every one of those recommendations, which may well include what you just said." - ABC

As Covid-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths surge across the United States, more signs emerged that a second wave could engulf areas of the Northeast, which managed to bring the pandemic under control after being battered last spring. People line up outside a Covid-19 testing site in New York on 11 November. Photo: AFP In New Jersey, one of the early US hotspots, a spike in cases in Newark, the state's largest city, prompted Mayor Ras Baraka to implement aggressive measures, including a mandatory curfew for certain areas, to contain the spread of the virus. New York state and city officials also reported a worrying rise in the seven-day average infection rate that raised the specter of stricter mitigation measures adopted at the height of the pandemic. "This is our LAST chance to stop a second wave," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio wrote on Twitter on Wednesday as he announced the seven-day average positivity rate citywide was 2.52 percent. The city's public school system, the largest in the country, would have to shut down if that figure reached 3 percent. "We can do it, but we have to act NOW," he said. The United States as a whole reported more than 1450 deaths on Tuesday, the highest single-day count since mid-August, according to a Reuters analysis. US Covid-19 cases climbed for seven days straight to reach more than 136,000 as of late Tuesday while hospitalisations, a key metric of the pandemic, crossed 60,000 for the first time since the pandemic began. In Newark, the positivity rate hovered at 19 percent, more than double the state's 7.74 percent seven-day average, Baraka said in a statement released on Tuesday. "Stricter measures are required in the city's hotspots in order to contain the virus and limit the spread," he said. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced some restrictions on Monday in response to a rise in Covid-19 cases in the state, and outbreaks among bartenders. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a press release on Tuesday that New York's positivity rate had climbed above 3 percent for the first time in weeks. In Maryland, where the positivity rate stood at 5.6 percent on Wednesday, officials warned about rising Covid-19 hospitalisations. More than 800 people were being treated for the coronavirus at state hospitals as of Wednesday, according to Mike Ricci, the communications director of Governor Larry Hogan, the highest daily count since April, a Reuters tally showed. A record number of people died of coronavirus in several Midwest and western states on Tuesday, including in Alaska, Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Officials in states hardest-hit by the virus pleaded with residents to stay home as much as possible and heed the advice of experts by wearing masks, washing their hands and social distancing. "It's not safe to go out, it's not safe to have others over - it's just not safe. And it might not be safe for a while yet," Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said during a primetime address on Tuesday. "So, please, cancel the happy hours, dinner parties, sleepovers and playdates at your home." - Reuters

Four opposition pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong have been disqualified with immediate effect. From left to right Kwok Ka-ki, Kenneth Leung, Alvin Yeung and Dennis Kwok meet the press in Legco just moments after their disqualifications were announced. Photo: AFP It came moments after China's decision-making body passed a resolution allowing for the disqualification of lawmakers found to have supported the city's independence. The move is being seen as another attempt by China to restrict Hong Kong's freedoms. Other pro-democracy lawmakers are expected to resign in protest. The new resolution passed by China's National People's Congress Standing Committee says that lawmakers should be disqualified if they support Hong Kong independence, refuse to acknowledge China's sovereignty, ask foreign forces to interfere in the city's affairs or in other ways threaten national security. It comes after China in July introduced a controversial and far-reaching national security law in Hong Kong that criminalised "secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces". The law was introduced after years marked by waves of pro-democracy and anti-Beijing protests. It has already led to several arrests of activists and has largely silenced protesters. The four unseated lawmakers are Alvin Yeung, Kwok Ka-ki and Dennis Kwok of the Civic Party and Kenneth Leung of the Professionals Guild. They were among 12 legislators who were earlier barred from standing in a legislative election before the polls were postponed to next year. Hong Kong's pro-democracy legislators have 19 seats in the 70-seat legislature. Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997 when it was returned to Chinese control. Under the principle of "one country, two systems" the territory was supposed to maintain more rights and freedoms than the mainland until 2047. As a Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong was to have its own its own legal system, multiple political parties, and rights including freedom of assembly and free speech. - BBC

US President-elect Joe Biden will not be sworn in until January, but President Donald Trump is still refusing to accept the outcome of the US election. [embedded content] Trump has already "terminated" his secretary of defence. In the US there is speculation he could use his presidential powers to pardon himself, as he faces accusations of tax fraud. University of Wisconsin-Madison law school professor Robert Yablon told Checkpoint that Trump has the same power he always has had as president and can do what he wants, "within the standard bounds of the US Constitution and the law". "... but in terms of running the government, issuing executive orders, issuing pardons, any of that kind of thing. He can do the day after the election what he could do the day before the election. "Executive orders can be fairly significant. The president has quite a bit of leeway to act unilaterally. When we're creating law in the United States, Congress needs to be involved. But the president, in the interstices of the law, can do a lot to direct how the government functions. "He is the head of the executive branch, which employs hundreds of thousands of individuals, and he can direct policy within that branch through executive orders. "By law in the United States, there is a presidential transition process. Now, the current president has to facilitate that process and so far President Trump has refused to do so. "But normally as soon as the election is over the incoming president will form a transition team. That transition team will have access to the existing government and this is meant to facilitate a smooth transfer of power, so we do have that legal device. "And then there are informal norms, about what you would expect the president to do or not do in the final weeks of his presidency. So you wouldn't expect the president to engage in any large scale policy changes, you wouldn't expect the President to engage in, say, a significant hiring or firing activity. "But we already are seeing some of that on the part of President Trump. He fired his defence secretary, and I suspect that we will see more. Those norms are non-binding and he has been a norm-breaking president." Yalbon said Trump was acting outside what has been typical in previous administrations. "It would be unprecedented for him to pardon himself because it's unprecedented - you can't point to the law that prevents it from happening. "The answer is he could try, and then we would have to see whether that would stick. There are limits to his pardon power. "The pardon power is a power to pardon for federal criminal activity, so he wouldn't be allowed to pardon himself or anyone else, and prevent them from being prosecuted by state-level prosecutors in the US, and he wouldn't be able to pardon anyone, and protect them from civil liability. So he himself would remain subject to civil liability after he leaves office." Yalbon told Checkpoint the Biden team could attempt to go to court and suggest the president is not following the terms of this federal statute - the Presidential Transition Act. "I assume the president's response would be, 'we haven't had you formally certified yet as the winner'. "What President-elect Biden is already doing is he is trying to form a transition team. He's conducting transition activities, even if he's going to be hamstrung by some extent by the Trump administration and maybe not allowed direct access to existing governmental operations. "There are opportunities as from day one when Biden takes office, he can attempt to undo executive orders that [Trump] has issued and he does have the power to do that, to the extent that the president has fired someone that he wants to rehire, [Biden] can attempt to do that. "But the existing outgoing president, if that president is a sore loser, can be quite disruptive, and it does appear that this President is not going to do much to help facilitate a smooth transfer of power. "I hate to contemplate the worst-case scenario, but the president could engage in mischief overseas, foreign policy actions, that sort of thing. Again, there would be nothing legally to stop the president and foreign policy is an area where the president does have quite broad powers."

An investigation into a major online paedophile network has found 16 children from one NSW Mid-North Coast childcare centre were allegedly sexually abused by a former worker. The operation was described as one of Australia's most significant child exploitation cases. Photo: Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said the operation was one of Australia's most significant efforts targeting child exploitation. Investigators identified links through the online forums to alleged child sex offenders residing in Europe, Asia, United States and Canada, and New Zealand, with 146 international referrals made as a result of this investigation, AFP said. The AFP and NSW Police arrested 14 men, who are facing a total of 828 charges for child abuse offences, and are accused of producing and sharing child abuse material to a wide-reaching online network in Australia and overseas. Investigations began in February after the arrest of 30-year-old man Justin Radford from Central Coast north of Sydney, who was charged with 89 offences including sexual touching of a victim under 10, and producing and disseminating child abuse material. In June, 27-year-old Timothy Doyle and his 22-year-old partner Steven Garrad were arrested in the town of Kendall and charged with hundreds of offences. Doyle has been charged with 303 offences relating to the abuse of 30 children, with allegations including sexual intercourse with a child under 10 and the production of child abuse material. "Police will allege the man used his position as a childcare worker, and other deceptive means in his personal life, to gain access to 30 children," the AFP said in a statement. "The man's partner, a 22-year-old man, also allegedly abused children his partner accessed through deceptive means in his personal life." Electronic evidence was seized after police raided the home of a 30-year-old Wyong man. Photo: Australian Federal Police It is believed the childcare centre is not in the town of Kendall and parents of all victims have been notified. A total 46 children are alleged to have been abused in connection with the ring, with ages ranging between 16 months and 15 years. Arrests have also been made in Queensland and WA and three men have also been arrested in the US as a result of the operation. The Australian men arrested were aged 20 to 48 and include volunteer soccer coach Grant Harden, from St Clair in Sydney's west, a disability support worker, an electrician and a chef. Earlier this month, 27-year-old Jake Caldwell was arrested at Seaforth in Sydney's north and charged with four offences related to possessing and accessing child abuse material. AFP Assistant Commissioner, Eastern Command, Justine Gough described the ring as "a complex and inter-related web of criminality". "Search warrants and evidence gathering at every arrest have led to the unravelling of a criminal network, each one leading to the discovery of alleged offenders and more children to be saved from ongoing abuse," she said. Assistant Commissioner Gough said investigators "discovered social media forums where child offenders were producing, sharing and trading aberrant child abuse material with their criminal peers". The investigation began after the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) in February received a report from the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children about an online user allegedly uploading child abuse material. Further electronic items seized during a raid of the Wyong man's home. Photo: Australian Federal Police Police have laid 30 charges against three men in Queensland with one child victim identified, and 221 charges laid against three men with six child victims identified in WA. The operation also resulted in NSW bestiality charges related to four animals. "We've not ruled out further arrests in Australia or offshore, or sadly, the identification of further victims in Australia and offshore," Gough said. "No child should be subjected to abuse and violence from the people they trust - whether that's a family member, a child care worker or a soccer coach," she said. "Sadly and heartbreakingly this has been the case for the victims of Operation Arkstone." NSW Police Force Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said it would be alleged all three NSW men gained access to their victims through their jobs. "One of the key allegations for all three of these offenders is offending in a position of authority," he said. Adam Parks from US Homeland Security Investigations said three people had been arrested in the US in connection with the alleged network. "This is a borderless crime and it requires a borderless response," he said. - ABC

US President-elect Joe Biden says that nothing will stop the transfer of power in the US government, while President Donald Trump pursues lawsuits in several states in a long-shot bid to hold on to power. Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Photo: AFP Trump's campaign said it would file a lawsuit to stop Michigan from officially certifying Biden as the winner there until the state could verify that votes were cast lawfully, the latest in a flurry of lawsuits in battleground states to try to back up Trump's unsupported claims of widespread fraud. Legal experts have said Trump's litigation has little chance of changing the outcome, and state officials have said there were no significant irregularities in the 3 November election. Meanwhile, Trump's supporters faced a possible setback in Pennsylvania. A witness who had raised accusations of ballot tampering recanted his allegations, according to Democrats in Congress who were briefed on the investigation. Trump's accusations of fraud did not appear to be gaining traction with the public. Nearly 80 percent of Americans, including more than half of Republicans, recognise Biden as the winner, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Top Republicans in Congress, including Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, said Trump had a right to challenge Biden's victory, and others echoed the president's unfounded accusations of widespread fraud. Privately, some aides said Trump would need to produce credible evidence soon to retain their support. Biden secured more than the 270 votes in the Electoral College needed to take the presidency by winning Pennsylvania on Saturday after four tense days of counting, which was delayed by a surge in mail-in ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic. Biden said in a speech in Delaware that his team was pushing ahead with forming a new administration to take over on Inauguration Day, 20 January 2021, no matter what. "We're going to be going, moving along, in a consistent manner, putting together our administration, the White House, and reviewing who we're going to pick for the Cabinet positions, and nothing's going to stop that," he said on Tuesday. Biden said it was an "embarrassment" that Trump has not conceded the election. Taking questions from the media for the first time since his victory, Biden was asked what he would say if Trump were watching. He said: "Mr President, I look forward to speaking with you." US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo predicted a "second Trump administration," in comments at odds with congratulatory phone calls from the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Ireland to Biden. Trump installed loyalists in top positions at the Pentagon, one day after firing Defense Secretary Mark Esper, which could potentially make it easier to use US troops to respond to domestic protests. The Biden transition team has been unable to move into federal government office space or tap funds to hire staff, because a Trump appointee who heads the federal office charged with recognizing election results has not yet done so. "The whole Republican Party has been put in a position with a few notable exceptions of being mildly intimidated by the sitting president," said Biden, who chuckled when asked about the Pompeo remarks. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a conservative whose blustery style is often likened to Trump's, said he spoke to Biden on Tuesday by phone about working together on priorities like climate change, promoting democracy and recovering from the pandemic. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also congratulated Biden, a former vice president now heading to take over the White House after almost five decades in politics. 'Theatrics' Judges have tossed out election lawsuits in Michigan and Georgia brought by the Trump campaign. Trump's campaign and Republicans have mostly sued over claims of procedural problems with vote counting and have not presented evidence of fraud in their lawsuits. Bob Bauer, a senior Biden adviser, on Tuesday dismissed the litigation as "theatrics, not really lawsuits". He said statewide recounts since 2000 had resulted in an average of 430 changed votes, not nearly enough to change the outcome in the states where Biden won this year. The law firm Jones Day, which has served as outside counsel for the Trump campaign, said it is no longer working with the campaign or others contesting the election results. The campaign sued in federal court on Monday to block officials in Pennsylvania, one of the hardest-fought states in a deeply divided nation, from certifying results there. Republican state lawmakers in Pennsylvania urged an audit of the election results. "We've just gotten a lot of allegations," State Representative Dawn Keefer told reporters. Some of those allegations rest on a whistleblower report from a US Postal Service worker who claimed that illegal back-dated postmarks may have been added to some late mail-in ballots. However, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said that worker had recanted his allegations, according to the Postal Service's internal watchdog. That office declined to comment. Democrats voted more by mail than Republicans did in much of the country after Trump repeatedly and without evidence called voting by mail unreliable. Attorney General William Barr, a Trump appointee who heads the Justice Department, told federal prosecutors on Monday to pursue "substantial" allegations of election irregularities, in a break from previous policy. Barr told prosecutors they should not pursue "fanciful or far-fetched claims." The Justice Department's top elections official, Richard Pilger, resigned in protest. - Reuters

A Pacific disability civic organisation is advocating for the New Zealand government to include a Ministry for Disabled Peoples. Photo: Supplied / Tōfa Mamao Tōfa Mamao Collective is an independent grassroots community group championing the voices of Pacific disabled people, their families and carers. The Health and Disability System Review report, released this year, recommended the future of disability support services come under the district health boards. That included funding for disability services, which currently sits with the Ministry of Health, be devolved to DHBs. However the national executive officer, Tunumafono Fa'amoetauloa Avaula Fa'amoe, said that recommendation was counter-productive and would undo a lot of advocacy work done by the disability community to get them recognised under the social model. "A long time ago disability was viewed through religious and superstitious eyes, which impacted negatively on disabled people and their families and that evolved into a medical model. "Disabled people were defined by their disability, rather than as citizens that have aspirations and dreams like everybody else, so following from that in the 1990s, thanks to sustained advocacy of many family members and disabled people themselves, the social model was in place and that really answered the aspirations of a lot of disabled people in terms of being recognised as an equal citizen people and require support just like anybody else." Tunumafono wrote a submission letter to Chris Hipkins in July, followed by an online petition asking for the creation of a Ministry for Disabled Peoples following the Health and Disability System Review report. "Having our own ministry is not a new idea. "Tōfa Mamao has volunteered to take some leadership in spearheading this idea that will be catering to all disability communities in New Zealand. We have population-based ministries such as Ministry for Women and Ministry for Pacific Peoples and all of those ministries employ people from those communities with insight and lived experiences that helps design national policies and services to cater to those populations." Tunumafono explained that the DHBs had a lot of responsibilities, which meant a lot of pressures. "We have seen those pressures come to fruition under Covid-19, so if we have disability services under DHBs, we become low priority when the pressures are on and you've got competing interests within a huge organisation." The submission letter cc'd Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, as well as Carmel Sepuloni, Aupito William Sio and Jenny Salesa. He said the submission received an automated response from the MPs at the time, and they still have not heard back from anyone. "We are also mindful that it was during the election campaign, so we had little expectations to be approached by the MPs, but now that the government has formed, we do expect to have some discussions in one form or another regarding the letter. "We are hoping to strike 5000 and more signatures to our petition before we physically act on handing it over," Tunumafono said.