Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Trump, Biden predict victory in knife-edge US election

DEMOCRAT Joe Biden claimed Wednesday(4) said he was winning America's knife-edge election, but president Donald Trump shot right back by predicting his own victory and accusing his opponent of trying to "steal" the vote.

Appearing before supporters in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, after midnight, Biden said "we believe we're on track to win this election."


"Keep the faith, guys, we're going to win this."

But Biden, 77, warned that because of unprecedented use of mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic getting final results would "take a while."

Seconds later, Trump tweeted his rebuttal, saying: "We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election."

The Republican president, who was watching results come in with staff at the White House, said he would shortly deliver a public statement.

"A big WIN!" he tweeted.

The dramatic clash, which stoked fears of electoral chaos, came after early results showed the two candidates largely retaining states already in their column, but without delivering the kind of knock-out blow that could decide the final tally quickly.

Results confusion

Adding to the tension was confusion over the reporting of key results in the US media.

All night after polls closed Tuesday(3), the two men traded state for state -- Trump retaining the giant prizes of Florida and Texas, while Biden kept Virginia and easily won New Hampshire, where Hillary Clinton only just eked out victory four years ago in her eventual loss to Trump.

But as both sides held on to states they were expected to win, the number of remaining states yet to declare dwindled, pointing to an ever-tighter end game and growing potential for disputes to end up in the courts.

At times, US media organizations that analyze the data and pronounce winners added to the sense of uncertainty.

There was huge buzz over Fox News' announcement that Biden had won previously Trump-held Arizona.

If confirmed it would be a real shift in the overall race's momentum. However, no other US media made the Arizona call and the Republican governor of the state, Doug Ducey, said "it's far too early" to announce a result.

Hours passed before media groups were able to agree on calling Florida for Trump. And the results in crucial North Carolina and Georgia remained unclear into Wednesday, even with 95 percent and 85 per cent of votes counted respectively.

No landslide

What seemed likely was that Americans would at least not see a landslide that Democrats had dreamed they might pull off if they could open with a win in Florida.

Instead, analysts said the tit-for-tat victories in states across the huge country could finally whittle down a final fight over just a handful of swing states -- especially Pennsylvania.

However, Pennsylvania and Georgia were among states where vote counting was going more slowly, complicated this year by the huge number of mail-in ballots. In many states, ballots that were postmarked by the election but being delivered by the postal service after are still legal, making it likely that poll workers will be still tabulating results for several days.

Trump has long targeted such votes, which are more likely to come from Democrats. He falsely claims that they are illegal and that only votes counted on Election Day itself can be valid.

"Votes cannot be cast after Poles are closed!" he tweeted Tuesday, wrongly spelling "polls," and wrongly characterizing the post-election arrival of such ballots.

Twitter flagged this tweet for violating its rules on misleading the public.

Race for Congress

Networks projected the Democrats to have maintained control of the House of Representatives, as widely expected, but their hopes of winning back the Senate met headwinds.

The Democrats flipped one Senate seat from the Republicans in Colorado, with former governor John Hickenlooper projected to triumph, but were also expected to lose an especially vulnerable senator in Alabama.

One notable win in the Senate was for the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, who easily fended off a challenge in Kentucky.

And in Georgia, Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene -- a political newcomer who has promoted the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory -- won a seat in the US House of Representatives, giving the widely debunked movement a voice in Congress.

Outside the White House, a boisterous, peaceful protest in a plaza renamed for the Black Lives Matter movement turned heated as the night wore on, with scuffling after a person appeared to throw a gas cannister.

In Portland, the centre of confrontations this summer between leftist protesters and police, some 400 people marched toward the downtown under a watchful eye of state police.

More For You

Iran-Israel-Getty

Smoke rises from a location allegedly targeted in Israel's wave of strikes on Tehran, Iran, on early morning of June 13, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Israel strikes Iran nuclear sites, top military officials killed

ISRAEL carried out a series of airstrikes on Iran on Friday, targeting nearly 100 locations, including nuclear sites and military command centres. The strikes killed senior officials, including the armed forces chief and top nuclear scientists, according to Iranian reports.

In response, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel would face a "bitter and painful" outcome. The Iranian military said there would be "no limits" to its response.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air-India-crash-site-Getty

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel inspect the site after Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad, on June 13, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Air India crash: Rescue teams search site where at least 265 died

RESCUE teams with sniffer dogs searched the crash site on Friday after an Air India flight heading to London crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad, killing at least 265 people on board and on the ground.

The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 passengers and crew, crashed on Thursday. One person survived the crash, which left the tail of the aircraft lodged in the second floor of a hostel housing medical staff from a nearby hospital.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jamie and Fiongal Meek

Known for their calming presence and warm guidance

Instagram/ wellnessfoundry

Air India crash: Spiritual guides Jamie and Fiongal among victims

Jamie Meek and his husband Fiongal Greenlaw‑Meek, both based in London, are believed to be among the victims of the Air India Express flight that crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon.

The couple, well known within the UK’s spiritual and LGBTQ+ communities, had been travelling in India and had built a strong following through their work at The Wellness Foundry – a platform offering tarot readings, energy healing, and spiritual development. Their gentle presence and guidance had earned them deep respect from followers across the country.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan, Iran step up Afghan expulsions; UN voices concern

Afghan families wait in Takhta Pul after returning from Pakistan last Wednesday (4)

Pakistan, Iran step up Afghan expulsions; UN voices concern

MORE than 200,000 Afghans have left Pakistan since the government renewed a deportation drive in April, with Iran also stepping up expulsions of Afghans.

Generations of Afghans have fled to neighbouring Pakistan and Iran during decades of successive wars, seeking safety and better economic opportunities.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer’s India trip to cement landmark UK-India trade deal

David Lammy meets prime minister Narendra Modi in Delhi last Saturday (7)

Starmer’s India trip to cement landmark UK-India trade deal

FOREIGN secretary David Lammy has said prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s upcoming visit to India paves the road for “a very, very exciting new era” as both leaders are expected to formally sign the free trade agreement (FTA).

Lammy visited India last Saturday (7), when he met prime minister Narendra Modi and foreign secretary S Jaishankar in Delhi. The foreign secretary previously travelled to Pakistan in May, following the attack in Indian Kashmir in April.

Keep ReadingShow less