US Election result goes to wire as Trump falsely claims fraud

The outcome of the US presidential election is on a knife-edge, with Donald Trump and his rival Joe Biden neck and neck in key swing states.

Trump, a Republican, claimed to have won and vowed to launch a Supreme Court challenge, baselessly alleging fraud.

Earlier Biden, a Democrat, said he was "on track" to victory.

Millions of votes remain uncounted and no candidate can credibly claim victory as yet. There is no evidence of fraud.

More than 100 million people cast their ballots in early voting before election day on Tuesday - setting the US on course for its highest turnout in a century.

With the nation on edge, the final result may not be known for days.

Live results as of 17:08 BST (Bangladesh Standard Time)

Electoral votes (270 to win out of 538):

Senate votes (Tally includes 65 seats not up for election; 50 to win):

House of Representatives votes (218 to win):

(Data source: The New York Times)

What are the presidential results so far?
The president is projected to have held the must-win state of Florida - a major boost to his re-election bid.

But Biden could snatch Arizona, a once reliably conservative state. Fox News and the Associated Press have projected Biden will win that state and CBS News, the BBC's US partner, said it was leaning the Democrat's way.

A loss for Trump in that once reliably Republican state would be a potentially serious setback.

Other key states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina are toss-ups.

The BBC projects Trump will win another conservative sunbelt state, Texas, where the Biden campaign had dreamed of an upset victory.

The Rust Belt battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin - which propelled Trump to the White House four years ago - still look as though they could tip either way.

Pennsylvania, along with Florida, is considered a must-win for Trump if he is to stave off defeat.

Cliffhanger counts are also underway in two more critical swing states on the East Coast, Georgia and North Carolina.

No surprises have emerged yet in the other states.

Trump will keep hold of Ohio and Missouri, known as bellwether states because they have so often predicted the eventual winner, according to the BBC's projection.

The BBC also projects Trump will win Florida, Iowa, Montana, Alabama, Mississippi, Idaho, Wyoming, South Carolina, Kansas, Nebraska, Utah, Louisiana, Indiana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas and West Virginia, all as expected.

Trump is also projected by the BBC to win Nebraska, though Biden picked up one vote there in the electoral college, which could turn out to be crucial.

Biden will retain his home state of Delaware and the battleground state of Minnesota for Democrats, along with California, Virginia, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Mexico, Colorado, Vermont, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington DC, according to BBC projections.

CBS projects Nevada, Maine and Hawaii were also trending towards Biden.

National opinion polls before election day gave a firm lead to Biden but pointed to a closer race in the handful of states that are likely to decide the outcome.

Projections of state wins are based on a mixture of exit poll data and, in most cases, actual votes counted - and are only made where there is a high degree of certainty.

In the US election, voters decide state-level contests rather than an overall, single, national one.

control of Congress is also at stake. As well as the White House, Republicans are vying to hang on to a Senate majority.

Republicans have lost a Senate seat in Colorado but gained one in Alabama.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, and Trump ally Lindsey Graham have both been re-elected.

The House of Representatives is expected to stay in Democratic hands.