Hunter Biden, the son of President-elect Joe Biden, announced he is facing a federal probe into his taxes, without elaborating further, but insisting he has done nothing wrong.

The younger Biden’s business dealings abroad provided fodder for the Trump campaign this year.

“I learned yesterday for the first time that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs,” Hunter said in a statement on Wednesday.

“I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately,” the younger Biden said.

In a brief statement, the president-elect said his son had faced “vicious personal attacks” in recent months.

(dpa/NAN)

With U.S. President Donald Trump refusing to concede in the recently concluded presidential election to President-elect Joe Biden, First Lady Melania Trump ‘wants to go home,’ the Washington Post reports.

It said, while Melania “publicly agrees” with the president’s sentiment, “the first lady tasked an emissary with discreetly finding out what was available to her in terms of budget and staff allocation for post-White House life.”

“She just wants to go home,” the tabloid quoted a source familiar with Melania’s mindset, adding that it might not “go over well” if the soon-to-be-former president announces his bid to clinch the White House again in 2024.

The media outlet reported that while there are ‘presidential perks’ for such things for the outgoing commander in chief, budgets to set up an official office and staff and cover some travel costs, there is nothing from the government for any first lady.

A first lady, it says, is entitled to a paltry $20,000-a-year pension, which is paid out only if her husband dies.

The first lady is said to be focused on her legacy and she is considering a book, though it would not be a memoir but “is toying” with the idea of writing a photo-centric book.

“Mrs. Trump is focused on her role as the first lady. Monday she unveiled her most current effort in preserving the White House by announcing the completion of the tennis pavilion.

“She also recently unveiled a new piece of art in the newly renovated Rose Garden. Her office just revealed this year’s Christmas decor.

“Her schedule remains full with her duties as a mother, wife and first lady of the United States,” the first lady’s chief of staff Stephanie Grisham told CNN.

A source said that she is now focused on Mar-a-Lago “ensuring a smooth transition out of Washington for herself and her 14-year-old-son, Barron.”

The source further said that the First Lady is “already overseeing shipments of personal items to Mar-a-Lago from both the White House and her Trump Tower penthouse in New York City.”

Biden is being projected as the winner of the Presidential elections in the U.S. after he clinched the state of Pennsylvania to take him past the required 270 Electoral College-vote mark.

NAN

Ghana’s opposition has rejected the presidential and parliamentary election results after President Nana Akufo-Addo was announced the winner with 51.59 per cent of the vote.

“Overwhelming evidence available makes it impossible for us to accept this spurious and hurried conclusion,” Haruna Iddrisu, a member of parliament for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party said late on Wednesday.

NDC’s leader, former president John Mahama, secured 47.36 per cent the votes, according to the results announced.

“We intend to take decisive and concrete steps, both with the presidential and parliamentary results, to overturn this brazen and shameless attack on our democracy,” said Iddrissu, speaking at a press conference in the capital, Accra.

The results followed a contentious poll that both candidates had said they were leading based on their parties’ tallies.

Election-related violence

The Ghana Police Service said it recorded more than 60 incidents at Monday’s vote, in which Akufo-Addo ran for re-election against his main rival Mahama and 10 other candidates.

Five people have been killed in election-related violence since Monday, police said, marring what observers said was a well-organised vote.

The West African country is known for its stable democracy, but tensions rose on Tuesday after Mahama claimed to have won a parliamentary majority and warned Akufo-Addo, of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), against stealing the vote.

Mahama, 62, charged that Akufo-Addo, 76, had harnessed the military in a bid to sway the outcome, a claim the government said was false.

“You cannot use the military to try and overturn some of the results in constituencies that we have won. We will resist any attempts to subvert the sovereign will of the Ghanaian people,” Mahama said.

In a victory speech on Wednesday, the president-elect addressed his jubilant supporters, calling for peace.

“Now is the time, irrespective of political affiliations, to unite, join hands and stand shoulder to shoulder,” Akufo-Addo said.

Ghana has had seven peaceful transitions of power since the return of democracy almost 30 years ago, as post-electoral grievances have until now been pursued through the courts – a rarity in the troubled region.