Electoral college confirms Joe Biden's presidential victory

Members of the US electoral college have affirmed Joe Biden's presidential election victory, one of the final steps required for him to take office.

The Democrat won November's contest with 306 electoral college votes to Republican Donald Trump's 232.

Under the US system, voters actually cast their ballots for "electors", who in turn, formally vote for candidates weeks after the election.

Despite this process, President Trump is not expected to accept the result.

Normally the electors do not get that much attention but this year, due to Mr Trump's persistent efforts to question and overturn the results - involving legal challenges which have been rejected by courts across the country - the state-by-state vote was in the spotlight.