In one of the most stunning election results in modern democratic history, Republican candidate Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the race to become the 45th president of the United States. Winning the world's most powerful job in his very first run for public office, the 70-year-old real estate tycoon and television reality star defeated his Democratic rival, who had served as First Lady, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State in the first term of outgoing President Barack Obama.

• The Trump win was an echo of the surprise victory in June of the so-called Brexit referendum, calling for the UK to leave the European Union. Voters in both cases defied the establishment and polling institutes to deliver a result that will possibly change the world as we know it.
• The latest confirmed figures show 279 electoral votes for Trump against 218 for Clinton in the state-by-state contest, as the Republican went past the 270 votes needed to win with surprise victories in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Several states are still counting their ballots and too close to call. The Republicans will also retain their majorities in both houses of the Congress, with 51 senators and at least 236 representatives.
• Trump, who had been repeatedly underestimated since announcing his candidacy on June 16, 2015, won sizable majorities among men and whites without a university degree, The New York Times reports. Hillary Clinton's edge from minorities and women was not enough to take her over the top in key swing states in the Midwest.
• In his victory speech, Trump stroke a unifying tone after a divisive campaign, as he vowed to "begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation." "Now it's time for America to bind the wounds of division [...] I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It's time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me."
• Trump began by saying he had "just received a call from Secretary Clinton" to congratulate him. This came despite Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta saying earlier that the Democratic candidate "isn't done yet." Clinton is expected to offer a concession speech later today.
• A series of spontaneous protests were reported around the U.S. following confirmation of the Trump victory.
• Several foreign leaders were quick to congratulate Trump for his victory. Among them was Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said "Russia is ready and wants to restore full-format relations with the United States," even though he admitted it would be "a difficult path considering the current degradation" of bilateral relations.
• The Guardian notes that far-right politicians were the first ones to congratulate the Republican candidate, including France's Marine Le Pen who tweeted even before Trump's victory speech.
• Observers are now trying to analyze how it all went so wrong for Clinton. But according to Politico, her team saw the defeat coming and believed her chances were "always fragile."
• Asian markets tumbled as Trump's victory appeared more and more likely during the night, and Dow futures fell by as much as 800 points but recovered some ground later. Reuters however reports that the U.S. dollar, Mexican peso and world stocks "began to steady in the European morning."