Networks call Georgia for Biden as security officials say vote was ‘secure’
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Your support makes all the difference.As Donald Trump continues to refuse conceding the 2020 presidential race to Joe Biden, the president-elect was said to have spoken with Senate Republicans who have begun to admit he should at least receive intelligence briefings that have so far been denied.
On Friday afternoon most networks called Georgia for Mr Biden and North Carolina for Mr Trump bringing their respective electoral college vote totals to 306 to 232.
US federal and state cybersecurity officials, meanwhile, have delivered a direct rebuke to Donald Trump, who continues to allege irregularities and widespread fraud without evidence.
Chris Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said the 3 November vote was “the most secure in history" in a report published Thursday, and added that Americans should trust the result. His agency had not find any evidence of ballots being lost, deleted or altered, he said.
US reports another record increase in coronavirus cases
The United States has reported a record increase in coronavirus cases for a fourth consecutive day with at least 131,420 new infections, bringing the country’s total caseload to about 9.91 million.
Seventeen states reported a record one-day increase on Saturday, while 14 states reported record daily numbers of hospitalised patients.
The number of deaths nationwide was more than 1,000 for a fifth consecutive day on Saturday, according to a Reuters tally.
Based on a seven-day average, the US is reporting over 100,000 new cases daily, more than the combined average for India and France, two of the worst affected countries in Asia and Europe.
Palestinian president congratulates Biden
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has congratulated Joe Biden in a statement issued from his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
"I congratulate president-elect Joe Biden on his victory as president of the United States of America for the coming period," the statement said, adding: "I look forward to working with the President-elect and his administration."
WHO chief looking forward to working with Biden and Harris
"My WHO colleagues and I look forward to working with you and your teams. Crises like the #COVID19 pandemic show the importance of global solidarity in protecting lives and livelihoods. Together!"
Next US government ‘should compensate for Trump’s mistakes’
The president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, has told a TV interview the next US government should compensate for Donald Trump’s mistakes.
Trump Jr still at war with CNN
It’s business as usual on the Twitter feed of Donald Trump Jr, where the president’s son just called CNN journalist Don Lemon “a clown.”
UK prime minister will reach out to Biden ‘soon’
It looks as though UK prime minister Boris Johnson will be reaching out to president-elect Joe Biden soon after giving him some “time and space”.
Asked whether the UK government had contacted the Biden campaign team, foreign secretary Dominic Raab told the BBC: "Funnily enough, I exchanged messages with Senator Coons (tipped to be the next US secretary of state), our embassy are in touch with the campaign and I'm sure there will be a call between the president-elect and the prime minister shortly in due course.
"In the immediate aftermath there are plans to put in place, we want to give them the time and space to do that, but it is clear we are excited about the opportunities of working together."
Iran calls on Biden to rejoin 2015 nuclear deal
Iran's president has apparently called on president-elect Joe Biden to "compensate for past mistakes" and return the US to Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, a state-run news agency has reported.
"Now, an opportunity has come up for the next US administration to compensate for past mistakes and return to the path of complying with international agreements through respect of international norms," the state-run IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.
Under Donald Trump, tensions between the US and Iran have escalated, reaching fever-pitch earlier this year. One of Mr Trump's signature foreign policy moves was unilaterally withdrawing the US from Iran's nuclear deal in 2018, which had seen Tehran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Key election news
If you’re just joining us this morning and want to quickly get the lowdown on key US election news, my colleague Rory Sullivan has pulled together this piece on the highlights you might have missed:
US election news you missed overnight: Biden reaches out to Trump supporters in victory speech
New president-elect calls on Americans to set aside their political differences
Turkey says US relations will not change
Turkey has given an impassive first reaction to Joe Biden's presidential win, with vice president Fuat Oktay saying it would not change relations between the old allies, although Ankara will keep pressing Washington on Syria and other policy differences.
Speaking to broadcaster Kanal 7, Mr Oktay said that while the friendship between Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan and Donald Trump had helped the countries tackle several of their issues, communications channels between Ankara and Washington would operate as before.
"Nothing will change for Turkey," he said. "The channels of communication will work as before, but of course there will be a transition period."
Analysts say Turkey-US ties could suffer under a Biden presidency. The lira, which is already trading at a record low against the dollar, could come under more pressure.
President Erdogan has not yet commented on Mr Biden’s victory.
Biden will have ‘no greater ally’ than UK
British foreign secretary Dominic Raab has said Joe Biden will have no closer ally than the UK.
He told Sky News: "I am very confident from climate change to cooperation on coronavirus and counter-terrorism there is a huge bedrock of underlying interests and values that binds us very closely together.
"He (Biden) will have no greater ally, no more dependable friend than the United Kingdom."
Conservative MP Sajid Javid echoed the sentiment, calling the election the "best outcome" for Britain and predicting that UK prime minister Boris Johnson had a much better chance of sealing a trade deal under Mr Biden rather than the "protectionist" Mr Trump.
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