Republicans, buoyed by an unexpectedly strong performance by President Donald Trump in key battlegrounds, grew increasingly confident Wednesday that they could maintain narrow control of the Senate and make a considerable dent in the size of the Democrats’ House majority.

Their chances in the Senate were vastly improved by the come-from-behind victory of Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a New England centrist largely written off as a loss before Election Day. Collins’ resounding performance in a state also carried by former Vice President Joe Biden defied national trends and she avoided a protracted fight involving the state’s ranked-choice voting system by clearing a 50% threshold of support.

Democrats, who had entered the night bullish about their chances, had flipped just two seats, in Colorado and Arizona. And with the loss of Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., they were still two or three seats short of the gains they would need to take control of the chamber.

Their hopes increasingly rested on Georgia, where at least one race was headed for a January runoff with a Democrat as frontrunner. Votes in the state’s other contest were still being counted, but Democrats were hopeful that Sen. David Perdue, a Republican, would have to contend with a runoff as well.

If they prove successful, it would provide Democrats with a shot at fighting Republicans to a draw for control of the Senate in a bloody and expensive rematch just two weeks before Inauguration Day. Two Democratic victories there would split the Senate, 50-50, and if Biden prevailed, his vice president, Kamala Harris, could cast tie-breaking votes to give Democrats de facto control.

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Republicans had scored crucial Senate victories in Iowa, Montana, South Carolina and Texas, where Democratic challengers fell well short of expectations despite spending record-breaking sums. They likewise believed they were strongly positioned to hold on in North Carolina as well, where Sen. Thom Tillis was considered one of the party’s most endangered senators this year, although the race was still too close to call with mail-in ballots streaming in.

“If my math is correct, if we win in North Carolina and Maine, I am still the offensive coordinator,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters Wednesday, referring to his position as majority leader.

The fight carried heavy consequences for whoever wins the White House, given that the Senate holds sway over judicial nominations and the legislative agenda, with the power to advance or frustrate a president’s plans. Even as they continued to game out possibilities, Democrats emerged Wednesday decidedly downcast.

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“I was hoping we would sweep to victory with a number of Senate wins,” John Hickenlooper, Colorado’s former Democratic governor who defeated Sen. Cory Gardner, said on MSNBC. “You know we were cautiously optimistic, but it’s not the level of excitement I was hoping to wake up to.”

In the House, Democrats were on track to secure the 218 seats needed to maintain the majority they established in 2018. But their predictions of a second consecutive wave powered by antipathy for Trump had been dashed by Wednesday morning. Instead, Democrats had lost a handful of historically more conservative rural and suburban seats in Oklahoma, South Carolina, New Mexico and Florida and were praying that a late deluge of mail-in votes would minimize further loses in places they once thought safe.

Republicans’ run of victories also promised to replenish somewhat the number of women in their conference, which was decimated in Democrats’ 2018 sweep.

“I’ve heard for months from the pollsters and the media about how Republicans were going to lose more seats and cling to shrinking coalitions,” Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, said at an upbeat news briefing in Washington promoting the new women in his conference. “We expanded this party that reflects America and looks like America.”

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The accumulating results suggested that McCarthy could wield considerably more leverage in the House next term, particularly if Republicans hold the Senate. He quickly announced a run for minority leader and was expected to consolidate support. A smaller Democratic majority thinned of some moderates could also empower the party’s progressive wing to exercise more force.

In a letter to Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi conceded it had been “a challenging election” but tried to put a positive spin on a clearly disappointing outcome. She predicted victory for Biden and said House Democrats were positioned to work with him “to deliver” health care changes, anti-corruption legislation and “green infrastructure” — although a Republican-controlled Senate would have very little interest in making that possible.

Privately, House Democrats who survived were licking their wounds and contemplating whether leadership changes needed to be made at the party’s campaign committee. The losses stung.

In South Carolina, first-term Rep. Joe Cunningham, a Democrat, was defeated by Nancy Mace, the first woman to graduate from the Citadel, in his Charleston-based district. With Trump making significant inroads among Cuban Americans in Miami, two other Democratic freshmen were ousted by Republicans: Reps. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell lost to Mayor Carlos Gimenez of Miami, and Rep. Donna Shalala was defeated by Maria Elvira Salazar, a former television anchor.

In the increasingly conservative rural Midwest, Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, the Democrat who oversees the Agriculture Committee and has served in the House for three decades, was also toppled.

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The battle for the Senate was being waged on even friendlier turf for Republicans. Although they were defending 23 states, compared with just 12 for Democrats, almost all of them were places that Trump carried in 2016.

Democrats still managed to win in Colorado, a rare liberal-leaning state occupied by a Republican, and Arizona, where Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, beat Sen. Martha McSally, handing her a second Senate defeat in two years. They also narrowly hung on in Michigan, where Sen. Gary Peters beat John James, a Black Iraq war veteran and a Republican.

But Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn football coach, easily won back deeply conservative Alabama from Sen. Doug Jones. In Iowa, Sen. Joni Ernst’s win over Theresa Greenfield, a Democrat with roots in the state’s farming community, scuttled Democrats’ hopes for a key pickup. And in Montana, Steve Daines beat back a challenge from the state’s popular Democratic governor, Steve Bullock.

In North Carolina, Sen. Thom Tillis, had opened a lead of nearly 100,000 votes early Wednesday against Cal Cunningham, a Democrat and Iraq War veteran who had led in polls for much of the year. But the state accepts mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day until Nov. 12, making a final call premature.

Among all the victories for Senate Republicans, Collins’ stood out as the most remarkable. Facing an onslaught of liberal outrage over her 2018 vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court amid accusations of sexual assault, she trailed the Democrat, Sara Gideon, the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, in the race’s closing weeks.

In the end, she proved she was one of the only senators in the country still able to significantly outrun the top of the ticket, winning her fifth term even as Trump lost badly in Maine to Biden.

Still, already eying a 2022 Senate election on more difficult turf for Republicans, McConnell suggested there were reasons for the party to worry as well.

Speaking to reporters after his own commanding victory in Kentucky, he said Republicans had pressing work to do to win back the support of women and college-educated voters, as well as to bolster their fundraising apparatus, which has trailed Democrats’ juggernaut, ActBlue.

“I am disturbed by the loss of support in the suburbs nationwide,” McConnell said.

Democrats still remained hopeful about the races in Georgia. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, was headed for a January runoff against Sen. Kelly Loeffler, the appointed Republican, in a special election to replace Sen. Johnny Isakson, who retired in late 2019, citing health problems. Jon Ossoff, a 33-year-old documentary filmmaker, was in a tight race to unseat Perdue, which could also end up in a runoff if neither cleared the 50% threshold required under Georgia law to win outright.

Democrats had one other outstanding target, Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, but it was considered a stretch.

Republicans, buoyed by an unexpectedly strong performance by President Donald Trump in key battlegrounds, grew increasingly confident Wednesday that they could maintain narrow control of the Senate and make a considerable dent in the size of the Democrats’ House majority.

Republicans, buoyed by an unexpectedly strong performance by President Donald Trump in key battlegrounds, grew increasingly confident Wednesday that they could maintain narrow control of the Senate and make a considerable dent in the size of the Democrats’ House majority. Their chances in the Senate were vastly improved by the come-from-behind victory of Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a New England centrist largely written off as a loss before Election Day. Collins’ resounding performance in a state also carried by former Vice President Joe Biden defied national trends and she avoided a protracted fight involving the state’s ranked-choice voting system by clearing a 50% threshold of support. Democrats, who had entered the night bullish about their chances, had flipped just two seats, in Colorado and Arizona. And with the loss of Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., they were still two or three seats short of the gains they would need to take control of the chamber. Their hopes increasingly rested on Georgia, where at least one race was headed for a January runoff with a Democrat as frontrunner. Votes in the state’s other contest were still being counted, but Democrats were hopeful that Sen. David Perdue, a Republican, would have to contend with a runoff as well. If they prove successful, it would provide Democrats with a shot at fighting Republicans to a draw for control of the Senate in a bloody and expensive rematch just two weeks before Inauguration Day. Two Democratic victories there would split the Senate, 50-50, and if Biden prevailed, his vice president, Kamala Harris, could cast tie-breaking votes to give Democrats de facto control. Also Read | Australian bookies shell out $23 milion early on Joe Biden win over Donald Trump Republicans had scored crucial Senate victories in Iowa, Montana, South Carolina and Texas, where Democratic challengers fell well short of expectations despite spending record-breaking sums. They likewise believed they were strongly positioned to hold on in North Carolina as well, where Sen. Thom Tillis was considered one of the party’s most endangered senators this year, although the race was still too close to call with mail-in ballots streaming in. “If my math is correct, if we win in North Carolina and Maine, I am still the offensive coordinator,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters Wednesday, referring to his position as majority leader. The fight carried heavy consequences for whoever wins the White House, given that the Senate holds sway over judicial nominations and the legislative agenda, with the power to advance or frustrate a president’s plans. Even as they continued to game out possibilities, Democrats emerged Wednesday decidedly downcast. × “I was hoping we would sweep to victory with a number of Senate wins,” John Hickenlooper, Colorado’s former Democratic governor who defeated Sen. Cory Gardner, said on MSNBC. “You know we were cautiously optimistic, but it’s not the level of excitement I was hoping to wake up to.” In the House, Democrats were on track to secure the 218 seats needed to maintain the majority they established in 2018. But their predictions of a second consecutive wave powered by antipathy for Trump had been dashed by Wednesday morning. Instead, Democrats had lost a handful of historically more conservative rural and suburban seats in Oklahoma, South Carolina, New Mexico and Florida and were praying that a late deluge of mail-in votes would minimize further loses in places they once thought safe. Republicans’ run of victories also promised to replenish somewhat the number of women in their conference, which was decimated in Democrats’ 2018 sweep. “I’ve heard for months from the pollsters and the media about how Republicans were going to lose more seats and cling to shrinking coalitions,” Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, said at an upbeat news briefing in Washington promoting the new women in his conference. “We expanded this party that reflects America and looks like America.” Also Read | US Presidential elections: What matters for India? The accumulating results suggested that McCarthy could wield considerably more leverage in the House next term, particularly if Republicans hold the Senate. He quickly announced a run for minority leader and was expected to consolidate support. A smaller Democratic majority thinned of some moderates could also empower the party’s progressive wing to exercise more force. In a letter to Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi conceded it had been “a challenging election” but tried to put a positive spin on a clearly disappointing outcome. She predicted victory for Biden and said House Democrats were positioned to work with him “to deliver” health care changes, anti-corruption legislation and “green infrastructure” — although a Republican-controlled Senate would have very little interest in making that possible. Privately, House Democrats who survived were licking their wounds and contemplating whether leadership changes needed to be made at the party’s campaign committee. The losses stung. In South Carolina, first-term Rep. Joe Cunningham, a Democrat, was defeated by Nancy Mace, the first woman to graduate from the Citadel, in his Charleston-based district. With Trump making significant inroads among Cuban Americans in Miami, two other Democratic freshmen were ousted by Republicans: Reps. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell lost to Mayor Carlos Gimenez of Miami, and Rep. Donna Shalala was defeated by Maria Elvira Salazar, a former television anchor. In the increasingly conservative rural Midwest, Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, the Democrat who oversees the Agriculture Committee and has served in the House for three decades, was also toppled. Also Read | The Hail-Mary Keep-Counting US Presidential Election The battle for the Senate was being waged on even friendlier turf for Republicans. Although they were defending 23 states, compared with just 12 for Democrats, almost all of them were places that Trump carried in 2016. Democrats still managed to win in Colorado, a rare liberal-leaning state occupied by a Republican, and Arizona, where Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, beat Sen. Martha McSally, handing her a second Senate defeat in two years. They also narrowly hung on in Michigan, where Sen. Gary Peters beat John James, a Black Iraq war veteran and a Republican. But Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn football coach, easily won back deeply conservative Alabama from Sen. Doug Jones. In Iowa, Sen. Joni Ernst’s win over Theresa Greenfield, a Democrat with roots in the state’s farming community, scuttled Democrats’ hopes for a key pickup. And in Montana, Steve Daines beat back a challenge from the state’s popular Democratic governor, Steve Bullock. In North Carolina, Sen. Thom Tillis, had opened a lead of nearly 100,000 votes early Wednesday against Cal Cunningham, a Democrat and Iraq War veteran who had led in polls for much of the year. But the state accepts mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day until Nov. 12, making a final call premature. Among all the victories for Senate Republicans, Collins’ stood out as the most remarkable. Facing an onslaught of liberal outrage over her 2018 vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court amid accusations of sexual assault, she trailed the Democrat, Sara Gideon, the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, in the race’s closing weeks. In the end, she proved she was one of the only senators in the country still able to significantly outrun the top of the ticket, winning her fifth term even as Trump lost badly in Maine to Biden. Still, already eying a 2022 Senate election on more difficult turf for Republicans, McConnell suggested there were reasons for the party to worry as well. Speaking to reporters after his own commanding victory in Kentucky, he said Republicans had pressing work to do to win back the support of women and college-educated voters, as well as to bolster their fundraising apparatus, which has trailed Democrats’ juggernaut, ActBlue. “I am disturbed by the loss of support in the suburbs nationwide,” McConnell said. Democrats still remained hopeful about the races in Georgia. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, was headed for a January runoff against Sen. Kelly Loeffler, the appointed Republican, in a special election to replace Sen. Johnny Isakson, who retired in late 2019, citing health problems. Jon Ossoff, a 33-year-old documentary filmmaker, was in a tight race to unseat Perdue, which could also end up in a runoff if neither cleared the 50% threshold required under Georgia law to win outright. Democrats had one other outstanding target, Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, but it was considered a stretch.

Republicans tighten hold on Senate, but control could be decided in runoffs

A security guard in a state-run National Bank in Pakistan's Punjab province shot a senior manager on Wednesday over allegations of 'blasphemy'. Malik Imran Hanif, manager of the mulitinational commercial bank's Quaidabad tehsil was shot by Ahmed Nawazn, the security guard and a retired Army person. However, family of the bank manager said that it was a 'cold blooded murder' that was carried out out of personal grudge. The manager was shifted to a hospital in Lahore but he succumbed to his injuries on Thursday.

A senior police officer Tariq Wilayat was mentioned by PTI as saying Nawaz made the allegation of blasphemy against the bank manager. The security guard's claim has yet not been verified.

"Police are probing the matter from all the aspects including the statement of the deceased's family that Nawaz killed him to settle a personal grudge against him,"&nbsp;the officer said.

Hanif's family said that Nawaz was fired a few months ago but he was subsequently reinstated. He nursed a grudge against Hanif over his sacking and both had a heated argument recently.

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Muhammad Razzak, another guard of the bank, told the police that after completing his nightshift, he was changing his uniform when he heard the gunshots.

I rushed towards the bank office where I found Hanif in a pool of blood and Nawaz fleeing,? he said. 
In a video posted on the social media, Nawaz can be heard saying he killed the bank manager because he had committed blasphemy.

Nawaz was seen being greeted by a crowd of supporters who also raised religious slogans and roamed in the city streets. Later, he surrendered himself before the police.

Leaders of some religious groups addressed the mob from the rooftop of the police station where he surrendered himself. Police officials were seen standing helplessly. No case was registered immediately.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often prompting mob violence. Anyone convicted or even just accused of insulting Islam risks a violent and bloody death at the hands of vigilantes.

Pakistan has extremely strict laws against defaming Islam, including the death penalty, and rights campaigners say they are often used to settle personal disputes in the Muslim-majority country.

In July, an American-Pakistani, who was facing blasphemy allegations, was shot dead in a courtroom by a teenager in Peshawar.

(With PTI inputs)

A security guard in a state-run National Bank in Pakistan's Punjab province shot a senior manager on Wednesday over allegations of 'blasphemy'. Malik Imran Hanif, manager of the mulitinational commercial bank's Quaidabad tehsil was shot by Ahmed Nawazn, the security guard and a retired Army person.

A security guard in a state-run National Bank in Pakistan's Punjab province shot a senior manager on Wednesday over allegations of 'blasphemy'. Malik Imran Hanif, manager of the mulitinational commercial bank's Quaidabad tehsil was shot by Ahmed Nawazn, the security guard and a retired Army person. However, family of the bank manager said that it was a 'cold blooded murder' that was carried out out of personal grudge. The manager was shifted to a hospital in Lahore but he succumbed to his injuries on Thursday. A senior police officer Tariq Wilayat was mentioned by PTI as saying Nawaz made the allegation of blasphemy against the bank manager. The security guard's claim has yet not been verified. "Police are probing the matter from all the aspects including the statement of the deceased's family that Nawaz killed him to settle a personal grudge against him," the officer said. Hanif's family said that Nawaz was fired a few months ago but he was subsequently reinstated. He nursed a grudge against Hanif over his sacking and both had a heated argument recently. Also Read | Pakistan rules out complete lockdown despite surge in COVID-19 cases Muhammad Razzak, another guard of the bank, told the police that after completing his nightshift, he was changing his uniform when he heard the gunshots. I rushed towards the bank office where I found Hanif in a pool of blood and Nawaz fleeing,? he said. In a video posted on the social media, Nawaz can be heard saying he killed the bank manager because he had committed blasphemy. Nawaz was seen being greeted by a crowd of supporters who also raised religious slogans and roamed in the city streets. Later, he surrendered himself before the police. Leaders of some religious groups addressed the mob from the rooftop of the police station where he surrendered himself. Police officials were seen standing helplessly. No case was registered immediately. Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often prompting mob violence. Anyone convicted or even just accused of insulting Islam risks a violent and bloody death at the hands of vigilantes. Pakistan has extremely strict laws against defaming Islam, including the death penalty, and rights campaigners say they are often used to settle personal disputes in the Muslim-majority country. In July, an American-Pakistani, who was facing blasphemy allegations, was shot dead in a courtroom by a teenager in Peshawar. (With PTI inputs)

Pakistan National Bank manager shot dead by security guard over 'blasphemy'

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US election results 2020 LIVE: No winner yet; vote counting continues in tense presidential race Check out the latest info on US Election 2020...Read More Biden, flipping Michigan and Wisconsin, says it’s ‘clear’ he will reach 270 The Trump campaign, whose path to victory was narrowing, said that it would seek a recount in Wisconsin and that it had filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the vote count in Michigan, moves that could further delay the moment when a victor can be declared.

US election results 2020 LIVE: No winner yet; vote counting continues in tense presidential race Check out the latest info on US Election 2020...Read More Biden, flipping Michigan and Wisconsin, says it’s ‘clear’ he will reach 270 The Trump campaign, whose path to victory was narrowing, said that it would seek a recount in Wisconsin and that it had filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the vote count in Michigan, moves that could further delay the moment when a victor can be declared....Read More Netizens ridicule Melania Trump after 'removal truck' spotted outside White House Melania's husband Donald Trump is trailing behind his Democratic rival Joe Biden in the US presidential election...Read More Russia submits bill to grant ex-presidents immunity from prosecution The bill, published on a government website, is one of several being introduced following constitutional reforms that, among other things, allow President Vladimir Putin to run again when his term ends in 2024...Read More End to 'kafala slavery': Saudi Arabia announces major labour reforms Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 reform plan is a package of economic and social policies designed to free the kingdom from reliance on oil exports.... Read More Kosovo President Thaci resigns after being indicted over war crimes It comes as a dramatic downfall for a politician who has dominated the former Serbian province for over a decade...Read More France to double security forces on borders in wake of Nice attack Macron also called for a strengthening of border controls in the European Union's Schengen zone following recent Islamist attacks in France and Austria...Read More Ethiopia MPs back state of emergency in Tigray amid military campaign The move is part of an attempt by Abiy, winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, to assert federal control over a region whose ruling party has openly defied him for months and brands him as illegitimate... Read More New study explains 'long COVID', or persistence of coronavirus symptoms The COVID-19 pandemic is raging across the world, and a new study sheds light on why someone experiences “long COVID”, whereby people continue to experience symptoms for a long period, more than the average period of 14-15 days...Read More Brucellosis outbreak infects over 6,000 people in China According to the World Health Organization, humans get brucellosis with flu-like symptoms through direct contact with infected animals, by eating or drinking contaminated animal products, or by inhaling airborne agents...Read More

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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday declared his support for US President Donald Trump and said he hoped that Trump won US presidential election 2020. Bolsonaro, who has been dubbed 'tropical Trump' has cultivated a close relationship with the Republican president and has not been shy about endorsing his bid for reelection. As he supported Trump, Jair Bolsonaro lashed out at Democratic nominee Joe Biden

"You know where I stand, I've been clear. I have a good relationship with Trump. I hope he'll be reelected," Bolsonaro told supporters outside the presidential palace in Brasilia.

Bolsonaro denied backing Trump amounted to interference in US election process.

"Who are we to interfere anyway?" he asked.

"How do you want me to interfere? Economically? Militarily? A cyber attack?" he joked.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-donald-trump-criticises-surprise-ballot-dumps-for-lagging-behind-joe-biden-340569">US election 2020: Donald Trump criticises 'surprise ballot dumps' for lagging behind Joe Biden</a>

Bolsonaro, a far-right leader has received global condemnation for presiding over surge deforestation and wildfires since taking office in 2019. Biden has criticised Bolsonaro's approach in past.

"If you don't, then you're going to have significant economic consequences," Biden had said.

On Wednesday, Bolsonaro lashed out at Biden for his 'interference' in Brazilian affairs.

"The Democratic candidate has spoken twice about the Amazon. Is that what you want for Brazil? Now that's what I call interference," he said.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday declared his support for US President Donald Trump and said he hoped that Trump won US presidential election 2020.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday declared his support for US President Donald Trump and said he hoped that Trump won US presidential election 2020. Bolsonaro, who has been dubbed 'tropical Trump' has cultivated a close relationship with the Republican president and has not been shy about endorsing his bid for reelection. As he supported Trump, Jair Bolsonaro lashed out at Democratic nominee Joe Biden "You know where I stand, I've been clear. I have a good relationship with Trump. I hope he'll be reelected," Bolsonaro told supporters outside the presidential palace in Brasilia. Bolsonaro denied backing Trump amounted to interference in US election process. "Who are we to interfere anyway?" he asked. "How do you want me to interfere? Economically? Militarily? A cyber attack?" he joked. Also Read | US election 2020: Donald Trump criticises 'surprise ballot dumps' for lagging behind Joe Biden Bolsonaro, a far-right leader has received global condemnation for presiding over surge deforestation and wildfires since taking office in 2019. Biden has criticised Bolsonaro's approach in past. "If you don't, then you're going to have significant economic consequences," Biden had said. On Wednesday, Bolsonaro lashed out at Biden for his 'interference' in Brazilian affairs. "The Democratic candidate has spoken twice about the Amazon. Is that what you want for Brazil? Now that's what I call interference," he said.

I hope Trump wins, says Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro

Democrats were on track early Wednesday to maintain a firm grip on the House, but their path to seizing the Senate majority from Republicans was rapidly narrowing as the two parties continued to fight for control of the levers of power in Congress with the fate of the presidency still uncertain.

Partial results suggested that House Democrats were running strong in many of the competitive districts they swept up in 2018, but they were struggling to make further inroads into the Republican-leaning suburbs, where they had expected a surge powered by discontent with President Donald Trump.

Instead, as votes continued to be counted, Republicans were newly optimistic they could claw back seats, particularly in rural areas and traditionally conservative strongholds in places like Oklahoma City and Staten Island.

The Senate outcome rested on a handful of states where Democrats still hoped to topple incumbent Republicans, but their pickup opportunities were dwindling fast on an unusually large battleground that stretched from Maine to Alaska and could tilt with the presidential results.

At stake was the ability of the next president to fill his Cabinet, appoint judges and pursue his agenda, and the two parties had waged a pitched battle to the end, pummeling voters with advertising backed by record sums of money, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

Republicans scored crucial wins in Iowa, Alabama and Montana, and were running stronger than expected in North Carolina and Maine, where the results were still too close to call early Wednesday.

Democrats needed a net gain of three or four seats to take Senate control — depending on whether former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, won the presidency, which would allow his vice president, Kamala Harris, to cast tiebreaking votes.

They flipped seats in Colorado, where John Hickenlooper, the former Democratic governor, easily defeated Sen. Cory Gardner, and in Arizona, where Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, beat Sen. Martha McSally.

But Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn football coach, easily won back deep-red Alabama from Sen. Doug Jones. In Iowa, the victory by Sen. Joni Ernst over Theresa Greenfield, a Democrat with roots in the state’s farming community, scuttled Democrats’ hopes for a key pickup. And in Montana, Sen. Steve Daines beat back a challenge from the state’s popular Democratic governor, Steve Bullock.

That left both sides closely watching Maine, North Carolina and Georgia, where partial returns showed exceedingly tight races between Republican incumbents and their Democratic challengers.

Earlier, Republicans had breathed a sigh of relief when Sen. John Cornyn was declared the winner in Texas, despite a record turnout, and again when Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump’s, won reelection in South Carolina after a tougher-than-expected race.

In Kentucky, Sen. Mitch McConnell, the top Republican, secured a seventh term, although it was unclear whether he would remain majority leader.

“Tonight, Kentuckians said, ‘We’re not finished yet,’” McConnell told supporters in Louisville. “Kentucky wants more of the policies that built the best economy in our nation’s modern history — not socialism.”

At least one Senate race taking place in Georgia, an unexpectedly competitive battleground this year, was headed for a winner-takes-all January runoff that could decide the balance of the Senate only weeks before Inauguration Day if Tuesday’s contests did not. The state’s other race could also end up in a runoff, but it was too early to be certain.

In the fight for the House, Democrats began the night more clearly on the offensive, bolstered by a stunning fundraising advantage, Republican recruitment failures and Trump’s eroding support in America’s cities and suburbs.

Two years after gaining 41 seats to reclaim the majority, Democrats were trying to push into suburban districts that Republicans had not lost in decades around St. Louis, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Phoenix, Omaha and even once ruby-red parts of Texas.

But while strategists in both parties had said a second blue wave could wash out 10 to 20 Republicans, by Wednesday morning, returns indicated that no such sweep had materialized. A handful of Republican incumbents in newly competitive suburban districts held onto their seats, and some Democrats who had been confident of victories were vanquished, including first-term Rep. Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, who was defeated by Nancy Mace, the first woman to graduate from the Citadel, in his Charleston-based district.

At the same time, Democrats fell short of snatching victories in solidly red districts that the party had hoped to make competitive, and lost more ground in the increasingly conservative rural Midwest, with the defeat of Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, chairman of the Agriculture Committee, who served three decades in Congress.

“We have held the House and now, when — after all the votes are counted, we’ll see how much better we will do than that,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday night. But she also tried to play down Democrats’ lackluster performance.

“It’s not just about the quantity,” she added. “It’s about the quality of leadership that they provide for our country.”

Republicans began the cycle hoping to grab onto Trump’s coattails and a booming economy to wrest back the 30 or so districts he won in 2016 that Democrats claimed two years later. But those hopes were dashed by the pandemic, which has left the economy in tatters and the nation counting more than 230,000 deaths to date.

Still, they found some unexpected bright spots Tuesday night. With Trump making significant inroads among Cuban Americans in Miami, Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a first-term Democrat, was edged out by Carlos Gimenez, the Miami mayor, and Rep. Donna Shalala lost to Maria Elvira Salazar, a former television anchor.

Republican veterans Ann Wagner of Missouri, Steve Chabot of Ohio and Rodney Davis of Illinois also held off stiff challenges, and Republicans were on track for better-than-expected result in a handful of Texas House races where Democrats had sought pickup opportunities.

The battle for the Senate was being waged on even friendlier turf for Republicans. Although they were defending 23 states, compared with just 12 for Democrats, almost all of them were places that Trump carried in 2016 — creating a real possibility that voters could render a split decision Tuesday, dividing power between the White House and Senate.

For the second election season in a row, Democrats ran with an almost singular focus on health care, blistering Republicans for their campaign to overturn the Affordable Care Act. The law, and its protections of preexisting conditions, took on further resonance in the face of a public health crisis unlike any the nation has seen in generations and the confirmation just a week before Election Day of a Supreme Court justice, Amy Coney Barrett, who Democrats argued would strike down the law.

In race after race, Republicans’ chances appeared to hinge on the unexpected strength of Trump, a polarizing leader who has enraptured their core supporters even as his inflammatory style and unorthodox policy positions have frustrated them and alienated crucial voting blocs. A few Republicans, like Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who was battling for political survival in the race of her career, were willing to wag their fingers at the president, but most knew they could not risk his ire, or the support of his loyal base, if they were to have any shot at reelection.

Worried about Trump’s chances, though, many Republicans closed their campaigns with warnings to voters of the risks posed by putting the White House and Congress under full Democratic control.

In North Carolina, Cal Cunningham, a telegenic Iraq War veteran who led for much of the year, was at grave risk of falling short in his effort to oust Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. Tillis had a lead of nearly 100,000 votes early Wednesday, but North Carolina accepts postmarked mail-in ballots until Nov. 12, making a final call premature.

The race in Maine has been just as steady, with the Democrat, Sara Gideon, the speaker of the state Legislature, threatening to unseat Collins, a four-term Republican and one of the last centrists left in her party. After easily winning reelection in 2014, Collins struggled to stay afloat as her race became a national referendum on the Republican Party, and she was battling to win a majority to avoid activating the state’s newly enacted ranked-choice voting system, which could badly hurt her chances.

“We’ve never given up because that is what we Mainers do — we work hard, we show up for work every day and we get the job done,” Collins told her supporters, addressing them in a snowy parking lot in Bangor. “I wish that I could thank each of you by name, that would take all night — on the other hand, we may be here all night.”

Democrats remained hopeful about two races in Georgia, where Jon Ossoff, a 33-year-old documentary filmmaker, had mounted a strong challenge to Sen. David Perdue, and the Rev. Raphael Warnock was challenging Sen. Kelly Loeffler in a special election to replace the retired Republican senator Johnny Isakson. With multiple Democratic and Republican candidates splitting the vote, Loeffler was headed to a runoff with Warnock, after Republican Rep. Doug Collins conceded. Ossoff and Perdue could end up in a runoff, too, but were both still jockeying to clear the 50% required under Georgia law to win outright.

McConnell, 78, handily beat back a challenge from Amy McGrath, a former fighter pilot. Democrats poured $100 million into the contest, but McGrath never commanded the kind of support in the solidly Republican state to make the incumbent nervous.

Both parties had other targets, but they were considered stretches. For Republicans, the best option was Michigan, where John James, a Black Iraq War veteran who ran for the Senate unsuccessfully in 2018, was trying to unseat Sen. Gary Peters. Democrats believed they had an outside shot of defeating Dan Sullivan in Alaska.

The outcome of the Senate contest promised to heavily shape the next two years in Washington. If Democrats were able to grab control of the House, Senate and White House at once for the first time since 2010, they could abolish the legislative filibuster — the last major vestige of minority rights in the Senate — and push through an ambitious slate of bills on voting rights, gun safety, policing and prescription drug prices. They would most likely reserve much of their political capital for expanding the Affordable Care Act and raising taxes on the wealthy to offset that and other new programs.

Nodding to the possibility of all-Democratic control, McConnell warned during his victory speech: “This is no time to declare war on our institutions because one side is angry that the framers made it hard to achieve radical change.”

But Democrats feared that even if Biden were to win, they could fall short in the Senate, saddling the incoming president with a Republican majority ready to oppose him on nearly every front, dashing liberal hopes and swiping his agenda off the table. Facing a Senate led by McConnell, Biden could even have an uphill battle winning its approval to fill his Cabinet, and he would certainly face opposition to liberal nominees to the federal courts.

Similarly, if Trump were reelected and Democrats controlled both the House and Senate, his second term could be a frustrating exercise in stalemate.

Democrats were on track early Wednesday to maintain a firm grip on the House, but their path to seizing the Senate majority from Republicans was rapidly narrowing as the two parties continued to fight for control of the levers of power in Congress with the fate of the presidency still uncertain.

Democrats were on track early Wednesday to maintain a firm grip on the House, but their path to seizing the Senate majority from Republicans was rapidly narrowing as the two parties continued to fight for control of the levers of power in Congress with the fate of the presidency still uncertain. Partial results suggested that House Democrats were running strong in many of the competitive districts they swept up in 2018, but they were struggling to make further inroads into the Republican-leaning suburbs, where they had expected a surge powered by discontent with President Donald Trump. Instead, as votes continued to be counted, Republicans were newly optimistic they could claw back seats, particularly in rural areas and traditionally conservative strongholds in places like Oklahoma City and Staten Island. The Senate outcome rested on a handful of states where Democrats still hoped to topple incumbent Republicans, but their pickup opportunities were dwindling fast on an unusually large battleground that stretched from Maine to Alaska and could tilt with the presidential results. At stake was the ability of the next president to fill his Cabinet, appoint judges and pursue his agenda, and the two parties had waged a pitched battle to the end, pummeling voters with advertising backed by record sums of money, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. Republicans scored crucial wins in Iowa, Alabama and Montana, and were running stronger than expected in North Carolina and Maine, where the results were still too close to call early Wednesday. Democrats needed a net gain of three or four seats to take Senate control — depending on whether former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, won the presidency, which would allow his vice president, Kamala Harris, to cast tiebreaking votes. They flipped seats in Colorado, where John Hickenlooper, the former Democratic governor, easily defeated Sen. Cory Gardner, and in Arizona, where Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, beat Sen. Martha McSally. But Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn football coach, easily won back deep-red Alabama from Sen. Doug Jones. In Iowa, the victory by Sen. Joni Ernst over Theresa Greenfield, a Democrat with roots in the state’s farming community, scuttled Democrats’ hopes for a key pickup. And in Montana, Sen. Steve Daines beat back a challenge from the state’s popular Democratic governor, Steve Bullock. That left both sides closely watching Maine, North Carolina and Georgia, where partial returns showed exceedingly tight races between Republican incumbents and their Democratic challengers. Earlier, Republicans had breathed a sigh of relief when Sen. John Cornyn was declared the winner in Texas, despite a record turnout, and again when Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump’s, won reelection in South Carolina after a tougher-than-expected race. In Kentucky, Sen. Mitch McConnell, the top Republican, secured a seventh term, although it was unclear whether he would remain majority leader. “Tonight, Kentuckians said, ‘We’re not finished yet,’” McConnell told supporters in Louisville. “Kentucky wants more of the policies that built the best economy in our nation’s modern history — not socialism.” At least one Senate race taking place in Georgia, an unexpectedly competitive battleground this year, was headed for a winner-takes-all January runoff that could decide the balance of the Senate only weeks before Inauguration Day if Tuesday’s contests did not. The state’s other race could also end up in a runoff, but it was too early to be certain. In the fight for the House, Democrats began the night more clearly on the offensive, bolstered by a stunning fundraising advantage, Republican recruitment failures and Trump’s eroding support in America’s cities and suburbs. Two years after gaining 41 seats to reclaim the majority, Democrats were trying to push into suburban districts that Republicans had not lost in decades around St. Louis, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Phoenix, Omaha and even once ruby-red parts of Texas. But while strategists in both parties had said a second blue wave could wash out 10 to 20 Republicans, by Wednesday morning, returns indicated that no such sweep had materialized. A handful of Republican incumbents in newly competitive suburban districts held onto their seats, and some Democrats who had been confident of victories were vanquished, including first-term Rep. Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, who was defeated by Nancy Mace, the first woman to graduate from the Citadel, in his Charleston-based district. At the same time, Democrats fell short of snatching victories in solidly red districts that the party had hoped to make competitive, and lost more ground in the increasingly conservative rural Midwest, with the defeat of Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, chairman of the Agriculture Committee, who served three decades in Congress. “We have held the House and now, when — after all the votes are counted, we’ll see how much better we will do than that,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday night. But she also tried to play down Democrats’ lackluster performance. “It’s not just about the quantity,” she added. “It’s about the quality of leadership that they provide for our country.” Republicans began the cycle hoping to grab onto Trump’s coattails and a booming economy to wrest back the 30 or so districts he won in 2016 that Democrats claimed two years later. But those hopes were dashed by the pandemic, which has left the economy in tatters and the nation counting more than 230,000 deaths to date. Still, they found some unexpected bright spots Tuesday night. With Trump making significant inroads among Cuban Americans in Miami, Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a first-term Democrat, was edged out by Carlos Gimenez, the Miami mayor, and Rep. Donna Shalala lost to Maria Elvira Salazar, a former television anchor. Republican veterans Ann Wagner of Missouri, Steve Chabot of Ohio and Rodney Davis of Illinois also held off stiff challenges, and Republicans were on track for better-than-expected result in a handful of Texas House races where Democrats had sought pickup opportunities. The battle for the Senate was being waged on even friendlier turf for Republicans. Although they were defending 23 states, compared with just 12 for Democrats, almost all of them were places that Trump carried in 2016 — creating a real possibility that voters could render a split decision Tuesday, dividing power between the White House and Senate. For the second election season in a row, Democrats ran with an almost singular focus on health care, blistering Republicans for their campaign to overturn the Affordable Care Act. The law, and its protections of preexisting conditions, took on further resonance in the face of a public health crisis unlike any the nation has seen in generations and the confirmation just a week before Election Day of a Supreme Court justice, Amy Coney Barrett, who Democrats argued would strike down the law. In race after race, Republicans’ chances appeared to hinge on the unexpected strength of Trump, a polarizing leader who has enraptured their core supporters even as his inflammatory style and unorthodox policy positions have frustrated them and alienated crucial voting blocs. A few Republicans, like Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who was battling for political survival in the race of her career, were willing to wag their fingers at the president, but most knew they could not risk his ire, or the support of his loyal base, if they were to have any shot at reelection. Worried about Trump’s chances, though, many Republicans closed their campaigns with warnings to voters of the risks posed by putting the White House and Congress under full Democratic control. In North Carolina, Cal Cunningham, a telegenic Iraq War veteran who led for much of the year, was at grave risk of falling short in his effort to oust Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. Tillis had a lead of nearly 100,000 votes early Wednesday, but North Carolina accepts postmarked mail-in ballots until Nov. 12, making a final call premature. The race in Maine has been just as steady, with the Democrat, Sara Gideon, the speaker of the state Legislature, threatening to unseat Collins, a four-term Republican and one of the last centrists left in her party. After easily winning reelection in 2014, Collins struggled to stay afloat as her race became a national referendum on the Republican Party, and she was battling to win a majority to avoid activating the state’s newly enacted ranked-choice voting system, which could badly hurt her chances. “We’ve never given up because that is what we Mainers do — we work hard, we show up for work every day and we get the job done,” Collins told her supporters, addressing them in a snowy parking lot in Bangor. “I wish that I could thank each of you by name, that would take all night — on the other hand, we may be here all night.” Democrats remained hopeful about two races in Georgia, where Jon Ossoff, a 33-year-old documentary filmmaker, had mounted a strong challenge to Sen. David Perdue, and the Rev. Raphael Warnock was challenging Sen. Kelly Loeffler in a special election to replace the retired Republican senator Johnny Isakson. With multiple Democratic and Republican candidates splitting the vote, Loeffler was headed to a runoff with Warnock, after Republican Rep. Doug Collins conceded. Ossoff and Perdue could end up in a runoff, too, but were both still jockeying to clear the 50% required under Georgia law to win outright. McConnell, 78, handily beat back a challenge from Amy McGrath, a former fighter pilot. Democrats poured $100 million into the contest, but McGrath never commanded the kind of support in the solidly Republican state to make the incumbent nervous. Both parties had other targets, but they were considered stretches. For Republicans, the best option was Michigan, where John James, a Black Iraq War veteran who ran for the Senate unsuccessfully in 2018, was trying to unseat Sen. Gary Peters. Democrats believed they had an outside shot of defeating Dan Sullivan in Alaska. The outcome of the Senate contest promised to heavily shape the next two years in Washington. If Democrats were able to grab control of the House, Senate and White House at once for the first time since 2010, they could abolish the legislative filibuster — the last major vestige of minority rights in the Senate — and push through an ambitious slate of bills on voting rights, gun safety, policing and prescription drug prices. They would most likely reserve much of their political capital for expanding the Affordable Care Act and raising taxes on the wealthy to offset that and other new programs. Nodding to the possibility of all-Democratic control, McConnell warned during his victory speech: “This is no time to declare war on our institutions because one side is angry that the framers made it hard to achieve radical change.” But Democrats feared that even if Biden were to win, they could fall short in the Senate, saddling the incoming president with a Republican majority ready to oppose him on nearly every front, dashing liberal hopes and swiping his agenda off the table. Facing a Senate led by McConnell, Biden could even have an uphill battle winning its approval to fill his Cabinet, and he would certainly face opposition to liberal nominees to the federal courts. Similarly, if Trump were reelected and Democrats controlled both the House and Senate, his second term could be a frustrating exercise in stalemate.

Democrats battle for Senate control as they maintain grip on House majority

In a big revelation, Austria's interior minister said on Wednesday that Austria's domestic intelligence service had received warning that the Islamic State sympathiser wanted to procure ammunition. The man later went on to carry out a deadly shooting in Vienna. Austria's interior minister said that the Austrian domestic intelligence had received the warning from neighbouring Slovakia.

"In the last few hours information has come to light that some time prior to the terror attack, Slovakian intelligence informed (Austria's domestic intelligence service) the BVT about the attacker. The information was that he wanted to get ammunition," Karl Nehammer told a press conference.

Four people were killed when Kujtim Fejzulai, described as a 20-year-old IS sympathiser who had spent time in prison, opened fire with a Kalashnikov in a busy area of the Austrian capital the day before the country went into a new coronavirus lockdown.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/austria-thanks-india-for-standing-in-difficult-times-says-will-defend-our-open-societies-340064">Austria thanks India for standing in difficult times; says will defend our open societies</a>

Police shot the gunman dead on Monday and later swooped on 18 different addresses and made 14 arrests as they looked for possible accomplices and sought to determine if he had acted alone.&nbsp;

The Vienna terror attack has been claimed by Islamic State (IS). It said on Tuesday that "soldier of the caliphate" was responsible for the carnage, according to its propaganda agency. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called for a European response to "political Islam".

(With AFP inputs)

In a big revelation, Austria's interior minister said on Wednesday that Austria's domestic intelligence service had received warning that the Islamic State sympathiser wanted to procure ammunition.

In a big revelation, Austria's interior minister said on Wednesday that Austria's domestic intelligence service had received warning that the Islamic State sympathiser wanted to procure ammunition. The man later went on to carry out a deadly shooting in Vienna. Austria's interior minister said that the Austrian domestic intelligence had received the warning from neighbouring Slovakia. "In the last few hours information has come to light that some time prior to the terror attack, Slovakian intelligence informed (Austria's domestic intelligence service) the BVT about the attacker. The information was that he wanted to get ammunition," Karl Nehammer told a press conference. Four people were killed when Kujtim Fejzulai, described as a 20-year-old IS sympathiser who had spent time in prison, opened fire with a Kalashnikov in a busy area of the Austrian capital the day before the country went into a new coronavirus lockdown. Also Read | Austria thanks India for standing in difficult times; says will defend our open societies Police shot the gunman dead on Monday and later swooped on 18 different addresses and made 14 arrests as they looked for possible accomplices and sought to determine if he had acted alone. The Vienna terror attack has been claimed by Islamic State (IS). It said on Tuesday that "soldier of the caliphate" was responsible for the carnage, according to its propaganda agency. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called for a European response to "political Islam". (With AFP inputs)

Vienna terror attack: Austria was warned about the attacker, says minister

The Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee began meeting Wednesday, a spokesperson said, hours after polls closed in the US presidential election which remains undecided.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is not expected to address the election in its two-day regularly scheduled meeting, nor is it predicted to change interest rates that were slashed to near-zero earlier this year as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the US economy.

However analysts will be watching the committee's statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference on Thursday to see if central bank leaders again make their case that the world's largest economy needs more stimulus to aid its recovery after Congress failed to pass a spending bill before the election.

"We expect the FOMC will maintain its extremely accommodative monetary policy stance at its policy meeting... holding off any new initiatives," Oxford Economics said in a research note.&nbsp;

"The overlap between the meeting and the US election and the deteriorating health situation will favor a wait-and-see approach given the uncertain fiscal policy outlook."

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/us-stocks-open-higher-as-markets-eye-tight-presidential-vote-340558">US stocks open higher as markets eye tight presidential vote</a>

Voters on Tuesday went to polls to decided whether to give President Donald Trump a second term in office or replace him with his Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

Results thus far show Biden ahead in electoral votes even as Trump prematurely declared victory and sought Supreme Court intervention to stop vote-counting.

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Also on the ballot were Senate races in several states, which could reconfigure the Republican-controlled body and perhaps break the months-long deadlock with Democrats over the stimulus bill.

However Democratic candidates were behind in several races, narrowing their chances of gaining control of the chamber and pushing through a stimulus package when the new Congress is inaugurated in January

The Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee began meeting Wednesday, a spokesperson said, hours after polls closed in the US presidential election which remains undecided.

The Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee began meeting Wednesday, a spokesperson said, hours after polls closed in the US presidential election which remains undecided. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is not expected to address the election in its two-day regularly scheduled meeting, nor is it predicted to change interest rates that were slashed to near-zero earlier this year as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the US economy. However analysts will be watching the committee's statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference on Thursday to see if central bank leaders again make their case that the world's largest economy needs more stimulus to aid its recovery after Congress failed to pass a spending bill before the election. "We expect the FOMC will maintain its extremely accommodative monetary policy stance at its policy meeting... holding off any new initiatives," Oxford Economics said in a research note. "The overlap between the meeting and the US election and the deteriorating health situation will favor a wait-and-see approach given the uncertain fiscal policy outlook." Also Read | US stocks open higher as markets eye tight presidential vote Voters on Tuesday went to polls to decided whether to give President Donald Trump a second term in office or replace him with his Democratic challenger Joe Biden. Results thus far show Biden ahead in electoral votes even as Trump prematurely declared victory and sought Supreme Court intervention to stop vote-counting. × Also on the ballot were Senate races in several states, which could reconfigure the Republican-controlled body and perhaps break the months-long deadlock with Democrats over the stimulus bill. However Democratic candidates were behind in several races, narrowing their chances of gaining control of the chamber and pushing through a stimulus package when the new Congress is inaugurated in January

Federal Reserve begins meeting as US vote yet to be decided

World stocks moved higher on Wednesday despite the US election outcome being clouded by huge uncertainty that could end up in court.

Wall Street opened with gains as both President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden still had a path of victory with a handful of states still up for grabs.

The Dow climbed&nbsp;0.9 percent while the broader S&amp;P 500&nbsp;rose 1.6 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.7 percent.

European stock markets, which opened sharply lower after President&nbsp;Donald Trump said he would go to the Supreme Court to dispute the US vote count, turned higher in late morning deals and in afternoon trading they were all posting gains of over 1 percent.

Around 1330 GMT, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 1.0 percent, while the pound fell 0.7 percent against the dollar.

In the eurozone, the Frankfurt stock market&nbsp;rose 0.9&nbsp;percent and Paris climbed 1.3 percent.

The euro was down around a tenth of a percent versus the dollar, while oil prices surged over 2 percent.

Asian indices mostly closed up but that was ahead of Trump declaring he would dispute the election.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-result-live-update-donald-trump-joe-biden-votes-tally-president-predictions-begins-vote-count-how-to-follow-the-2020-us-election-results-from-india-Trump-wins-Kentucky-joe-Biden-Vermont-340293">Click here for latest on US Election 2020</a>

The US election was plunged into chaos early Wednesday as Trump prematurely declared victory and sought Supreme Court intervention to stop vote-counting -- &nbsp;even as his Democratic rival Joe Biden voiced confidence in his own chances.

"With Donald Trump already claiming victory even though millions of votes are still uncounted, investors may have to belt up and brace themselves for some volatile sessions of trading ahead," noted Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

In a divisive election cast under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 230,000 lives in the United States, Trump appeared to have avoided a Democratic wave predicted by some polls but he still needs key states to secure another four-year term.

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"The polls got it wrong," said OANDA analyst Edward Moya. "Wall Street hoped for election certainty and what they will end up getting over the next couple days is recounts and lawsuits."

Biden's White House campaign slammed Trump's threat to try to stop the election vote count as "outrageous", saying its legal team was ready to prevent such an "unprecedented" act.

'Nightmare situation'

"The US election has become a mess," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Avatrade.

"Basically, we are seeing a nightmare situation come true because now we are talking about legal battles. This uncertainty is going to keep traders on edge."

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/us-election-2020-historical-firsts-in-the-presidential-election-340498#four-consecutive-two-term-presidencies-340478">US election 2020: Historical firsts in the presidential election</a>

Aslam added that investors still saw the dollar as a safe bet amid the volatility on stock markets.

Before Wednesday's shock turn of events, world equities had rallied this week as traders piled bets on Biden winning, with opinion polls showing him with a big national lead though with slim advantages in battleground states.

While Tuesday was formally Election Day, in reality, Americans have been voting for weeks. The Covid-19 pandemic caused a huge expansion in mail-in and early voting, and nearly 100 million people had already cast their ballots.

While a failure for Biden and the Democrats would jolt markets, the general consensus is that whoever wins will still push through a major stimulus package for the struggling US economy as it battles the virus.

Key figures around 1330 GMT

New York - Dow: UP 0.9&nbsp;percent at 27,731.20

London - FTSE 100: UP 1.0 percent at 5,842.38 points

Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.9 percent at 12,195.65

Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.3 percent at 4,866.88

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.9 percent at 3,125.44

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 23,695.23 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.2 percent at 24,886.14 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,277.44 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1701 from $1.1711 at 2115 GMT

Dollar/yen: UP at 104.48 yen from 104.52 yen

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2964 from $1.3035

Euro/pound: UP at 90.25 pence from 89.82 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.3 percent at $38.53 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.3 percent at $40.64 per barrel

World stocks moved higher on Wednesday despite the US election outcome being clouded by huge uncertainty that could end up in court. Wall Street opened with gains as both President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden still had a path of victory with a handful of states still up for grabs.

World stocks moved higher on Wednesday despite the US election outcome being clouded by huge uncertainty that could end up in court. Wall Street opened with gains as both President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden still had a path of victory with a handful of states still up for grabs. The Dow climbed 0.9 percent while the broader S&P 500 rose 1.6 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.7 percent. European stock markets, which opened sharply lower after President Donald Trump said he would go to the Supreme Court to dispute the US vote count, turned higher in late morning deals and in afternoon trading they were all posting gains of over 1 percent. Around 1330 GMT, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 1.0 percent, while the pound fell 0.7 percent against the dollar. In the eurozone, the Frankfurt stock market rose 0.9 percent and Paris climbed 1.3 percent. The euro was down around a tenth of a percent versus the dollar, while oil prices surged over 2 percent. Asian indices mostly closed up but that was ahead of Trump declaring he would dispute the election. Click here for latest on US Election 2020 The US election was plunged into chaos early Wednesday as Trump prematurely declared victory and sought Supreme Court intervention to stop vote-counting -- even as his Democratic rival Joe Biden voiced confidence in his own chances. "With Donald Trump already claiming victory even though millions of votes are still uncounted, investors may have to belt up and brace themselves for some volatile sessions of trading ahead," noted Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. In a divisive election cast under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 230,000 lives in the United States, Trump appeared to have avoided a Democratic wave predicted by some polls but he still needs key states to secure another four-year term. × "The polls got it wrong," said OANDA analyst Edward Moya. "Wall Street hoped for election certainty and what they will end up getting over the next couple days is recounts and lawsuits." Biden's White House campaign slammed Trump's threat to try to stop the election vote count as "outrageous", saying its legal team was ready to prevent such an "unprecedented" act. 'Nightmare situation' "The US election has become a mess," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Avatrade. "Basically, we are seeing a nightmare situation come true because now we are talking about legal battles. This uncertainty is going to keep traders on edge." Also Read | US election 2020: Historical firsts in the presidential election Aslam added that investors still saw the dollar as a safe bet amid the volatility on stock markets. Before Wednesday's shock turn of events, world equities had rallied this week as traders piled bets on Biden winning, with opinion polls showing him with a big national lead though with slim advantages in battleground states. While Tuesday was formally Election Day, in reality, Americans have been voting for weeks. The Covid-19 pandemic caused a huge expansion in mail-in and early voting, and nearly 100 million people had already cast their ballots. While a failure for Biden and the Democrats would jolt markets, the general consensus is that whoever wins will still push through a major stimulus package for the struggling US economy as it battles the virus. Key figures around 1330 GMT New York - Dow: UP 0.9 percent at 27,731.20 London - FTSE 100: UP 1.0 percent at 5,842.38 points Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.9 percent at 12,195.65 Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.3 percent at 4,866.88 EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.9 percent at 3,125.44 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 23,695.23 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.2 percent at 24,886.14 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,277.44 (close) Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1701 from $1.1711 at 2115 GMT Dollar/yen: UP at 104.48 yen from 104.52 yen Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2964 from $1.3035 Euro/pound: UP at 90.25 pence from 89.82 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.3 percent at $38.53 per barrel Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.3 percent at $40.64 per barrel

US stocks open higher despite US vote uncertainty

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-result-live-update-donald-trump-joe-biden-votes-tally-president-predictions-begins-vote-count-how-to-follow-the-2020-us-election-results-from-india-Trump-wins-Kentucky-joe-Biden-Vermont-340293">US election 2020 result LIVE updates: The world holds its breath for the outcome</a>

Check out latest on US Election 2020

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"We won Ohio, we won Texas by 700,000 votes, they don't even include tabulations," Trump said...<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-result-2020-they-will-never-be-able-to-catch-us-we-have-already-won-says-trump-340435">Read More</a>

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As early results come in, US media has projected Joe Biden to win from New Mexico in the US elections 2020. Biden is also projected to win New Hampshire...<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-result-2020-we-are-on-track-to-win-the-elections-says-joe-biden-340407">Read More</a>

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Kanye West may have conceded defeat as a presidential candidate in the US elections, the rapper was not spared on Twitter...<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/are-kanyes-lawyers-ready-to-challenge-the-results-twitter-reacts-as-west-concedes-defeat-in-us-elections-2020-340523">Read More</a>

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Dillon assured the voters in his statement that no matter what the counting of votes cannot be halted as it is against the laws and the American constitution to do so, even for a President...<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/counting-will-not-stop-joe-bidens-campaign-reacts-after-donald-trump-calls-us-election-results-fraud-340474">Read More</a>

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The Grey Wolves are seen as a wing of a party allied to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been feuding with French President Emmanuel Macron on a number of geopolitical flashpoints and recently also France's fight against radical Islam...<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/france-disbands-turkish-ultra-nationalist-group-grey-wolves-for-inciting-hatred-340546">Read More</a>

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<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/north-korea-building-two-submarines-capable-of-firing-ballistic-missiles-340529">North Korea building two submarines capable of firing ballistic missiles</a>

North Korea has a large submarine fleet but only one known experimental submarine capable of carrying a ballistic missile...<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/north-korea-building-two-submarines-capable-of-firing-ballistic-missiles-340529">Read More</a>

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The $600 million deal would be the first such sale since US policy on the export of sophisticated and closely guarded drone technology was loosened by the Trump administration...<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-accuses-us-of-sending-wrong-signals-to-taiwan-with-drone-deal-340519">Read More</a>

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&nbsp;

US election 2020 result LIVE updates: The world holds its breath for the outcome Check out latest on US Election 2020 US Election Result 2020: They will never be able to catch us, we have already won, says Trump "We won Ohio, we won Texas by 700,000 votes, they don't even include tabulations," Trump said.

US election 2020 result LIVE updates: The world holds its breath for the outcome Check out latest on US Election 2020 US Election Result 2020: They will never be able to catch us, we have already won, says Trump "We won Ohio, we won Texas by 700,000 votes, they don't even include tabulations," Trump said...Read More US Election Result 2020: We are on track to win the elections, says Joe Biden As early results come in, US media has projected Joe Biden to win from New Mexico in the US elections 2020. Biden is also projected to win New Hampshire...Read More 'Are Kanye's lawyers ready to challenge the results?' Twitter reacts as West concedes defeat in US Elections 2020 Kanye West may have conceded defeat as a presidential candidate in the US elections, the rapper was not spared on Twitter...Read More 'Counting will not stop': Joe Biden's campaign reacts after Donald Trump calls US election results fraud Dillon assured the voters in his statement that no matter what the counting of votes cannot be halted as it is against the laws and the American constitution to do so, even for a President...Read More France disbands Turkish ultra-nationalist group Grey Wolves for inciting 'hatred' The Grey Wolves are seen as a wing of a party allied to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been feuding with French President Emmanuel Macron on a number of geopolitical flashpoints and recently also France's fight against radical Islam...Read More North Korea building two submarines capable of firing ballistic missiles North Korea has a large submarine fleet but only one known experimental submarine capable of carrying a ballistic missile...Read More China accuses US of sending 'wrong signals' to Taiwan with drone deal The $600 million deal would be the first such sale since US policy on the export of sophisticated and closely guarded drone technology was loosened by the Trump administration...Read More Militants shot students 'one by one' in Afghan university attack: Survivor At least 22 people, mostly students, were killed and another 27 wounded when three gunmen stormed the university on Monday, spraying classrooms with bullets in an assault claimed by the jihadist Islamic State group...Read More Khalilzad seeks Pak military help to push Afghan peace forward During the meeting, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt General Faiz Hameed and other senior officials were also present...Read More

Top 10 world news: US Election, France disbands Turkish group, and more!

A Palestinian man was killed by Israeli soldiers in return fireafter he shot at them. Israel's army made an announcement in this regard. The incident took place in West Bank.

"Troops who were at a military post adjacent to the southern exit of the city of Nablus spotted an assailant driving out of the city armed with a pistol who fired at them, and responded with fire ... The assailant has been neutralised," a statement said.&nbsp;

Israeli soldiers were not injured. The identity of the killed Palestinian man is not yet known.

Israeli forces, who have occupied the West Bank since 1967, are regularly targeted in the Palestinian territory.&nbsp;

Typically young Palestinians use knives, cars and -- less frequently -- guns to attack Israeli troops.&nbsp;

(With AFP inputs)

A Palestinian man was killed by Israeli soldiers in return fireafter he shot at them. Israel's army made an announcement in this regard. The incident took place in West Bank.

A Palestinian man was killed by Israeli soldiers in return fireafter he shot at them. Israel's army made an announcement in this regard. The incident took place in West Bank. "Troops who were at a military post adjacent to the southern exit of the city of Nablus spotted an assailant driving out of the city armed with a pistol who fired at them, and responded with fire ... The assailant has been neutralised," a statement said. Israeli soldiers were not injured. The identity of the killed Palestinian man is not yet known. Israeli forces, who have occupied the West Bank since 1967, are regularly targeted in the Palestinian territory. Typically young Palestinians use knives, cars and -- less frequently -- guns to attack Israeli troops. (With AFP inputs)

Palestinian killed after shooting at Israeli soldiers

German Defence Minister on Wednesday disapproved of US President Donald Trump's assertion saying that he had already won US Presidential Elections 2020. Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said that US was facing a "very explosive situation" as a result of President Donald Trump's assertion.&nbsp;

"This election has not been decided... votes are still being counted," Kramp-Karrenbauer told public broadcaster ZDF. She further said that Trump could create a constitutional crisis in the USA.

Donald Trump on Wednesday addressed his supporters with his wife and First Lady Melania Trump and said that he believed that he had won the election.

"This is a major fraud on our country so we are going to Supreme Court as far as I am concerned we have already won it," said Trump.

German Defence Minister focussed on this very assertion and said that a constitutional crisis that may unfold was "something that must deeply concern us"

The minister, who is also head of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party, said it appeared "the battle over the legitimacy of the result, however it turns out, has begun".

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-result-live-update-donald-trump-joe-biden-votes-tally-president-predictions-begins-vote-count-how-to-follow-the-2020-us-election-results-from-india-Trump-wins-Kentucky-joe-Biden-Vermont-340293">Click here for LIVE updates on US Election 2020</a>

Donald Trump has repeatedly alleged in the past the US Election 2020 was "rigged". He had also said that he would declare victory if early trends during the vote count favoured. He is seemed to have followed up on this although the race was close between him and Joe Biden when counting of votes began.

German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer admitted that German-US relationship had faced "a tough test in the past four years" with fierce Trump criticism of Berlin over trade and military spending.

However, she said, "this friendship is more than a question of which administration is currently in the White House", saying she dismissed calls in Germany to "decouple ourselves from the United States".

But Kramp-Karrenbauer stressed that regardless of the ultimate outcome of the US vote, Europe would need to become more self-sufficient.

"We will have to do a lot more for our own interests -- both as Germany and in particular with the other Europeans," she said.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz echoed the sentiment, saying that given the developments in the United States, Europe needed to strengthen its own "sovereignty" so that "a rules-based global order can exist".

"That is why we need to take this opportunity to make Europe strong," he told reporters in Berlin.

(With AFP inputs)

German Defence Minister on Wednesday disapproved of US President Donald Trump's assertion saying that he had already won US Presidential Elections 2020. Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said that US was facing a "very explosive situation" as a result of President Donald Trump's assertion.

German Defence Minister on Wednesday disapproved of US President Donald Trump's assertion saying that he had already won US Presidential Elections 2020. Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said that US was facing a "very explosive situation" as a result of President Donald Trump's assertion. "This election has not been decided... votes are still being counted," Kramp-Karrenbauer told public broadcaster ZDF. She further said that Trump could create a constitutional crisis in the USA. Donald Trump on Wednesday addressed his supporters with his wife and First Lady Melania Trump and said that he believed that he had won the election. "This is a major fraud on our country so we are going to Supreme Court as far as I am concerned we have already won it," said Trump. German Defence Minister focussed on this very assertion and said that a constitutional crisis that may unfold was "something that must deeply concern us" The minister, who is also head of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party, said it appeared "the battle over the legitimacy of the result, however it turns out, has begun". Click here for LIVE updates on US Election 2020 Donald Trump has repeatedly alleged in the past the US Election 2020 was "rigged". He had also said that he would declare victory if early trends during the vote count favoured. He is seemed to have followed up on this although the race was close between him and Joe Biden when counting of votes began. German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer admitted that German-US relationship had faced "a tough test in the past four years" with fierce Trump criticism of Berlin over trade and military spending. However, she said, "this friendship is more than a question of which administration is currently in the White House", saying she dismissed calls in Germany to "decouple ourselves from the United States". But Kramp-Karrenbauer stressed that regardless of the ultimate outcome of the US vote, Europe would need to become more self-sufficient. "We will have to do a lot more for our own interests -- both as Germany and in particular with the other Europeans," she said. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz echoed the sentiment, saying that given the developments in the United States, Europe needed to strengthen its own "sovereignty" so that "a rules-based global order can exist". "That is why we need to take this opportunity to make Europe strong," he told reporters in Berlin. (With AFP inputs)

German minister warns of 'explosive situation' after Trump's declaration of victory

Voting for US Presidential Elections is going on and everyone is eager to know the results. Millions of Americans have voted already. However, the election day has its own aura and excitement. Although we are eager to know the results, there is still time for that. The voting in various states closes at different time and different states have different rules as to the permissible time limit for postal votes to be accepted.

All of this can get very chaotic, so we are bringing you a timeline of what will happen next as per Indian Standard Time

<h2>November 4</h2>

3.30 am IST:&nbsp;Edison Research will release preliminary findings from its exit polls, which are based on in-person interviews with voters on Election Day, in-person interviews at early voting centers before Nov. 3, and telephone interviews with people who voted by mail.

The initial data will look at national and state voter sentiment and motivations, but not detailed percentage estimates. Results from ballot questions in individual states will be released after voting ends in the state.

Edison will refine and update its national and state exit poll results through the night, gathering more voter responses and adjusting the weightings to reflect turnout.

4:30-5:30 IST: Some polling stations begin to close in the Republican strongholds of Indiana and Kentucky, the first in the country to close.

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5:30 am IST: Voting ends in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Virginia and Vermont. 
Some polling stations begin to close in Florida, but many remain open until 8 p.m. (local time)

The initial results from Florida could favor Biden due to the high volume of early ballots that the state began to scan more than three weeks ago; opinion polls suggest more Democrats voted early, whereas more Republicans waited until Election Day. If there is a "blue mirage," it will fade as more in-person ballots from Tuesday are tallied.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/live-us-election-2020-donald-trump-joe-biden-more-than-98-million-voted-to-elect-the-next-president-340039">Click here for LIVE updates on US Election 2020</a>

6:00 am: Polls close in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia.

Like Florida, the initial results from North Carolina and Ohio could favor Biden because the states began to scan early ballots weeks before Election Day. A truer picture of the vote will emerge as more ballots are tabulated.

North Carolina counts ballots that arrive as late as Nov. 12 if they are postmarked by Nov. 3. Ohio accepts ballots 10 days after the election if they are postmarked by Nov. 2.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/why-paneer-tikka-was-trending-on-us-election-day-340135">Why Paneer Tikka was trending on US election day</a>

6:30 am IST: Voting ends in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Washington D.C.

Pennsylvania does not begin to process early votes until Election Day and the state will accept mail-in ballots up to three days after the election if they are postmarked by Nov. 3. As a result, the initial vote counts from Pennsylvania may show a "red mirage" favoring Trump until the absentee ballots are counted, experts say.

7 am IST: Reuters expects to publish updated national exit poll results from Edison Research, with percentage estimates of support for Biden vs Trump. 
Polling stations close in Arkansas.

7:30 am IST: Voting ends in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Like Pennsylvania, the early results from Michigan and Wisconsin are expected to favor Trump because ballots cannot be counted before Election Day. (Michigan does allow some ballots to be opened, but they cannot be counted.)

Arizona allows ballots to be scanned 14 days before the election.

8:30 AM IST: Polls close in Iowa, Montana, Nevada and Utah.

Iowa allows ballot envelopes to be opened on the Saturday before the election and tabulating to begin on Monday. Ballots postmarked by Nov. 2 can arrive as late as the Monday after the election.

Nevada allows ballot scanning to begin 14 days before the election, and accepts ballots up to seven days after the election if they are postmarked by Nov. 3.

9:30 am IST: Voting ends in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

10:30 am IST: Polls close in Hawaii.

11:30 am IST: Voting ends in Alaska.

 
This was about closure of polls. Now let's see what is on cards in coming days. IST is ahead of timezones in the US by roughly 10-12 hours. The exact timing and day of the events in India described ahead will vary as per the time they are held in the US.

<h2>December 8</h2>

States have until this date, known as the "safe harbor" deadline under federal law, to resolve any disputes over their vote totals and certify the winner. If a state fails to finalize its vote count by then, Congress is no longer required to accept its results under the Electoral College system.

<h2>December 14</h2>

Members of the Electoral College cast their ballots for president. Under the U.S. system, the winner of each state`s popular vote earns that state`s electoral votes, which are apportioned by population. The candidate who receives a majority of the 538 electoral votes available, or 270, wins the presidency.

<h2>January 6, 2021</h2>

Congress meets at 1 p.m. in Washington to count the electoral votes and declare a winner.

<h2>January 20, 2021</h2>

Inauguration Day. The winner and his running mate are sworn in as president and vice president at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

(With Reuters inputs)

Voting for US Presidential Elections is going on and everyone is eager to know the results. Millions of Americans have voted already. However, the election day has its own aura and excitement.

Voting for US Presidential Elections is going on and everyone is eager to know the results. Millions of Americans have voted already. However, the election day has its own aura and excitement. Although we are eager to know the results, there is still time for that. The voting in various states closes at different time and different states have different rules as to the permissible time limit for postal votes to be accepted. All of this can get very chaotic, so we are bringing you a timeline of what will happen next as per Indian Standard Time November 4 3.30 am IST: Edison Research will release preliminary findings from its exit polls, which are based on in-person interviews with voters on Election Day, in-person interviews at early voting centers before Nov. 3, and telephone interviews with people who voted by mail. The initial data will look at national and state voter sentiment and motivations, but not detailed percentage estimates. Results from ballot questions in individual states will be released after voting ends in the state. Edison will refine and update its national and state exit poll results through the night, gathering more voter responses and adjusting the weightings to reflect turnout. 4:30-5:30 IST: Some polling stations begin to close in the Republican strongholds of Indiana and Kentucky, the first in the country to close. × 5:30 am IST: Voting ends in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Virginia and Vermont. Some polling stations begin to close in Florida, but many remain open until 8 p.m. (local time) The initial results from Florida could favor Biden due to the high volume of early ballots that the state began to scan more than three weeks ago; opinion polls suggest more Democrats voted early, whereas more Republicans waited until Election Day. If there is a "blue mirage," it will fade as more in-person ballots from Tuesday are tallied. Click here for LIVE updates on US Election 2020 6:00 am: Polls close in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia. Like Florida, the initial results from North Carolina and Ohio could favor Biden because the states began to scan early ballots weeks before Election Day. A truer picture of the vote will emerge as more ballots are tabulated. North Carolina counts ballots that arrive as late as Nov. 12 if they are postmarked by Nov. 3. Ohio accepts ballots 10 days after the election if they are postmarked by Nov. 2. Also Read | Why Paneer Tikka was trending on US election day 6:30 am IST: Voting ends in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Washington D.C. Pennsylvania does not begin to process early votes until Election Day and the state will accept mail-in ballots up to three days after the election if they are postmarked by Nov. 3. As a result, the initial vote counts from Pennsylvania may show a "red mirage" favoring Trump until the absentee ballots are counted, experts say. 7 am IST: Reuters expects to publish updated national exit poll results from Edison Research, with percentage estimates of support for Biden vs Trump. Polling stations close in Arkansas. 7:30 am IST: Voting ends in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Like Pennsylvania, the early results from Michigan and Wisconsin are expected to favor Trump because ballots cannot be counted before Election Day. (Michigan does allow some ballots to be opened, but they cannot be counted.) Arizona allows ballots to be scanned 14 days before the election. 8:30 AM IST: Polls close in Iowa, Montana, Nevada and Utah. Iowa allows ballot envelopes to be opened on the Saturday before the election and tabulating to begin on Monday. Ballots postmarked by Nov. 2 can arrive as late as the Monday after the election. Nevada allows ballot scanning to begin 14 days before the election, and accepts ballots up to seven days after the election if they are postmarked by Nov. 3. 9:30 am IST: Voting ends in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. 10:30 am IST: Polls close in Hawaii. 11:30 am IST: Voting ends in Alaska. This was about closure of polls. Now let's see what is on cards in coming days. IST is ahead of timezones in the US by roughly 10-12 hours. The exact timing and day of the events in India described ahead will vary as per the time they are held in the US. December 8 States have until this date, known as the "safe harbor" deadline under federal law, to resolve any disputes over their vote totals and certify the winner. If a state fails to finalize its vote count by then, Congress is no longer required to accept its results under the Electoral College system. December 14 Members of the Electoral College cast their ballots for president. Under the U.S. system, the winner of each state`s popular vote earns that state`s electoral votes, which are apportioned by population. The candidate who receives a majority of the 538 electoral votes available, or 270, wins the presidency. January 6, 2021 Congress meets at 1 p.m. in Washington to count the electoral votes and declare a winner. January 20, 2021 Inauguration Day. The winner and his running mate are sworn in as president and vice president at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (With Reuters inputs)

US Election 2020: A timeline of what's next according to Indian Standard Time

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Zee News Rajasthan

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Manas Joshi

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