Biden vows immediate, science-based action on virus

*Thousands gather to hear Biden give victory speech in Wilmington

*Some world leaders silent on Biden win

As many world leaders rushed to send President-elect Joe Biden congratulations on his victory over Donald Trump, others were noticeable in their silence on Sunday.

*Biden vows immediate, science-based action on virus

Biden vowed immediate action to contain the United States’ coronavirus crisis, signaling science would dominate the national response once Donald Trump leaves the White House.

Biden’s pledge, in his first national address since defeating Trump, followed three days of record infections in the United States and came as the nation’s death toll surpassed 237,000

*Netanyahu congratulates Biden and thanks Trump

Zionist regime's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated US President-elect Joe Biden on his election victory.

Netanyahu tweeted early Sunday and said he had shared a “warm relationship” with Biden for nearly 40 years and described him as a “great friend” of the Israeli regime.

“I look forward to working with both of you to further strengthen the special alliance between the US and Israel,” he wrote in the tweet, which was addressed to both Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

He also thanked Donald Trump "for recognizing Jerusalem and the Golan, for standing up to Iran, for the historic peace accords and for bringing the American-Israeli alliance to unprecedented heights."

Netanyahu’s message came hours after many world leaders and some Israeli ministers had congratulated Democrat Biden, even as Trump refused to concede and pressed ahead with legal fights against the outcome.

*Trump campaign files fresh lawsuit in Arizona

The Trump campaign and Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit Saturday in Arizona that seeks the manual inspection of potentially thousands of in-person Election Day ballots in metro Phoenix that they allege were mishandled by poll workers and resulted in some ballot selections being disregarded.

*Australia wishes Biden, Harris ‘every success’

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison wished Biden and Harris “every success” in a tweet.

“The Australia-US Alliance is deep and enduring and built on shared values. I look forward to working with you closely as we face the world’s many challenges together,” he said.

*Biden says voters delivered ‘convincing victory’

Biden is addressing the nation from Wilmington, Delaware.

“Folks the people of this nation have spoken. They delivered us a clear victory, a convincing victory, a victory for `We the People’,” Biden said, claiming a popular vote mandate.

“We’ve won with the most votes after cast for a presidential ticket in the history of the nation,” he said.

“Our work begins with getting COVID under control,” Biden said, adding that he will announce on Monday a task force and a plan to deal with the pandemic.

Biden said he is proud of the diverse society that elected him and Kamala Harris the first woman vice president.

“I am proud of the coalition we put together, the broadest and most diverse coalition in history,” Biden said, singling out the support from Black voters who gave his campaign new momentum during the Democratic primaries.

*VP-elect Kamala Harris addresses country

Harris addressed the crowd in Wilmington, Delaware.

“You chose hope and unity decency, science and yes, truth. You chose Joe Biden as the next president,” Harris said.

*Mexico’s president won’t congratulate Biden until ‘legal proceedings’ conclude

Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said that he can not congratulate a winner of the US presidential election until all legal proceedings are concluded, calling his decision “politically prudent”.

*Pro-Trump protests continue in Maricopa County election centre as vote continues

Supporters of Trump continued protests for a third day outside an election centre in Arizona’s capital, while the state’s Maricopa County said there were around 90,000 ballots left to count.

Demonstrators claim that what they see as slow ballot counting is part of an effort to steal the election from Trump.

Trump himself has made similar claims on Twitter and during press briefings, saying without evidence that supposedly illegal votes had been cast and that the Democrats had rigged the election.

Some elections department employees had to be escorted out by security guards as the demonstrators rallied.

*‘I ain’t buying it’: Trump voters protest US election call

As thousands of people are rallying across the United States to celebrate the projected victory of Democrat Joe Biden, some of President Donald Trump’s staunchest supporters are insisting that the presidential contest is not over yet.

*Trump campaign files lawsuit over rejected vote claims in Arizona

The Trump campaign has said it has filed suit in Arizona, alleging the Southwestern state’s most populous county incorrectly rejected votes cast by some voters.

The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court in Maricopa County, said poll workers told some voters to press a button after a machine had detected an “overvote.”

The campaign contended that decision disregarded voters’ choices in those races, saying new voting machines were used on Tuesday. The lawsuit suggested those votes could prove “determinative” in the state’s outcome.

The campaign has filed a swath of lawsuits challenging counts in several key states as they have baselessly alleged widespread fraud.

*No plans for Trump to speak, but the president tweets grievance

US President Donald Trump will not give a concession speech, the White House communications office indicated, calling a news and photo “lid” for the day. The president did, however, tweet his grievances about the election.

“71,000,000 Legal Votes. The most EVER for a sitting President!” Trump said.

A second tweet claiming Republican observers were not allowed in count rooms was flagged by Twitter for making a disputed claim. In fact, observers were allowed in counting rooms.

*Macron hopeful over projected Biden victory

French President Emmanuel Macron has tweeted his congratulations to Biden and Harris saying that he looks forward to working with them on some of today’s challenges