As it happened: Joe Biden defeats Donald Trump, elected 46th President of The United States, Kamala Harris first woman elected Vice-President

Watch President-elect Joe Biden address supporters in Wilmington, Delaware.

Good morning - if you're just joining us now, Joe Biden is President-elect of the United States and Kamala Harris will be the first woman, and black woman to be Vice-President.

The historic announcement was made just before 3.30am AEDT, when a crucial bunch of ballots in the swing state of Pennsylvania were counted, pushing Biden to an unbeatable lead in the state.

Our US correspondent Matthew Knott has this report: Joe Biden wins US presidency after defeating Trump in Pennsylvania.

Networks and media outlets, including The Associated Press, called the result for Biden and Harris within minutes. Fox News was the last in line to declare the result.

Harris, who appears to have been out exercising at the time of the announcement, tweeted this video of herself sharing the news with Biden.

Biden will address the nation around midday AEDT.

Trump was golfing when the news broke. He issued an angry statement, refusing to concede and vowing to take the outcome to court.

However, his refusal to accept the result mattered little to Biden's supporters – there was jubilation in the streets. From New York to Philadelphia to Chicago, people celebrated at the prospect of having a new president.

Read more: Crowds in New York, Washington erupt in celebration as Biden beats Trump

Barack Obama led congratulations but warned of the challenges Biden faces after he is inaugurated in January, and urged Americans to give his former vice-president a chance to do their part to overcome the partisanship that has torn America apart.

Hillary Clinton said America had turned a new page, and that the result was a "repudiation of Trump".

Around the world, leaders issued their congratulations.

And that's it from me. It's been an incredible night and wonderful to share it with you. I'm handing over to Megan Levy who will keep you updated with developments throughout this extraordinary day.

Before I sign off, a quick shout-out to Megan and Lyn Eyb, without whom this blog would not happen.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden has secured enough Electoral College votes to defeat Donald Trump after being declared the winner in the critical state of Pennsylvania.

According to the Associated Press election count, Biden has won 284 Electoral College votes – more than the 270 required to take the White House.

US correspondent Matthew Knott has just filed this report: Joe Biden wins US presidency after defeating Trump in Pennsylvania

The win will make Biden the 46th president of the United States and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, the first female vice-president.

There has been no response yet from President Donald Trump's campaign team. The President has repeatedly – and without evidence – cast doubt on the integrity of the election.

That's all we have for this blog, thanks again for following along tonight as we followed the reaction to President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the US election.

We won't be slowing up on our coverage so please keep an eye out for our Monday live blog which the awesome Latika Bourke will have up and running soon after midnight.

You can follow our coverage here: US election LIVE updates: Donald Trump yet to offer concession speech as Joe Biden becomes the 46th president of the United States

Thanks so much for all your comments and kind words, it's a pleasure to bring all this news to you.

Please have a lovely evening. Bye for now.

Australian fund managers say the US election result is the perfect outcome for markets, as President-elect Joe Biden will provide a steady pair of hands while the Republican-controlled Senate will block anti-business reform.

Atlas Funds Management chief investment officer Hugh Dive said the split government was the "best outcome" for investors, who had already priced in a Biden victory. "It's a constrained Biden administration," Mr Dive said. "The divided Congress will stop some of the outlandish policies like the Green New Deal, replacing all the buildings, all that wish list stuff."

President Donald Trump has signalled he will refuse to concede the presidency, filing lawsuits across four states after falsely claiming there had been voter fraud. However, Mr Dive said this was unlikely to cause any long-term volatility in the markets.

"It will create a lot of noise and play well to his base but this is not Nicaragua, this is not a country where you can cling to power," he said. "That stuff will fade out."

Click here to read the story.

This is TIME magazine's commemorative cover for the Biden/Harris win.

Congratulations are due to Joe Biden. As a two-time loser in the Democratic nomination race (in 1988 and 2008) who placed badly in this year’s early primaries (he came fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire), he has made a great political comeback to become America’s next president.

Biden, who turns 78 this month, is by all counts a decent bloke. During his long political career, he has been able to forge alliances across the political divide.

The great hope is that the former vice-president and veteran senator will bring these personal qualities to power, mediate policy disputes, work with both parties to end Washington’s toxic polarisation and at the same time improve America’s image abroad.

When all the remaining votes are counted and the result is certified, the Electoral College result will be the virtual inversion of Donald Trump’s showing four years ago: Biden 306 to Trump 232. Not the “blue wave” as some observers (including this columnist) expected (or in my case, feared). Nonetheless, Biden’s 2020 win will go down in history at least as emphatic a victory as Trump’s 2016 success.

Click here to read the story.

Australia will face mounting international pressure to commit to increased long-term emissions cuts after US President-elect Joe Biden vowed to rally America's allies for greater action and integrate climate change into his foreign policy and national security strategies.

Mr Biden’s incoming administration is poised to make climate commitments that will outstrip Australia’s, pledging the US will eliminate carbon emissions from the electricity sector by 2035 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

He will also recommit the US to the Paris Agreement on climate change when he officially takes office on January 20, after President Donald Trump withdrew from the international treaty.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday that Australia looked forward to collaborating with the US on technology to "practically confront the challenge of climate change", and said targets alone were not the answer.

Click here to read the story.