Obama wins US election
President Barack Obama last night won a second term in the White House, prevailing despite dissatisfaction over the US economy to secure victory over Republican candidate Mitt Romney.
The Democrats retained a majority in the Senate, while the House of Representatives remained in Republican control.
Obama scored impressive victories across the US, so much so that the big build-up over Ohio, Virginia and Florida fizzled. Obama reached the 270 electoral votes needed for election even without those three states, rolling up wins in Democratic strongholds and carrying Nevada, Iowa and Colorado.
The President now faces the difficult task of tackling $1 trillion (£624bn) in annual deficits, reducing a $16 trillion national debt, overhauling expensive social programmes and dealing with a gridlocked Congress that kept the same partisan makeup.