PM Gilani congratulates Obama
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's premier congratulated Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on his US presidential election victory Wednesday, saying he hoped the Democrat would promote "peace and stability" in the troubled region around Afghanistan.
"I hope that under your dynamic leadership, the United States will continue to be a source of global peace and new ideas for humanity," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said in a statement.
"I look forward to more opportunities to discuss ways to further strengthen Pakistan-US relations and to promote peace and stability in our region and beyond," added Gilani.
Gilani said in his message to Obama that Pakistan and the United States "share common interests and objectives".
"I am pleased that during my visit to the United States last July, we had an opportunity to discuss issues with you pertaining to our bilateral relationship," he said.
The Pakistani premier added that Obama's election "marks a new chapter in the remarkable history of the United States".
World leaders congratulate Obama
WASHINGTON: Indian Premier Manmohan Singh congratulated US president-elect Barack Obama on his "extraordinary" victory Wednesday and invited him to visit India at the earliest opportunity.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd praised US president-elect Barack Obama for turning Martin Luther King's dream into a reality after the African-American won his country's highest office.
Israeli-US relations face "a bright future," Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Ygal Palmor said in reaction to Barack Obama's election to the White House.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso congratulated Barack Obama on his victory in the US presidential election, pledging to work with the new leader to strengthen relations.
Asia celebrates Obama's historic win
MANILA: Champagne corks popped across Asia as former schoolmates in Indonesia, the Japanese town of Obama and thousands of American expats Wednesday celebrated Barack Obama's historic election as US president.
Bars were packed in cities from Beijing to Sydney as election fever gripped the region amid the Democratic candidate's win over Republican John McCain.
The champagne also flowed in the Philippines, where a group of Democrats celebrated Obama's victory in a modest home in up market Manila.
An ocean away from the United States, the ancient Japanese fishing town of Obama rejoiced with hula dancers, ecstatic chanting and some rock 'n' roll in honour of its namesake.
In the Japanese capital Tokyo, people spoke of their hopes for the future after Obama's win.
In Hong Kong, cheers erupted at the packed Foreign Correspondents' Club as Obama was declared the winner. Guests were glued to US tv for hours awaiting the results.
In Afghanistan, where tens of thousands of US soldiers are still fighting Al-Qaeda remnants and the Taliban, about 150 Americans, Afghans and US embassy staff watched the results come in at the upmarket hotel -- targeted by bombers in January.
Democrats surge to new gains in US Senate
WASHINGTON: Democrats surged to a 56-seat majority in the US Senate, wresting five seats from the Republicans as voters approved a mandate for change with the election of Barack Obama as president.
Leading lawmakers hailed their expanded control of the Senate as the start of a new chapter in history, even as they fell short of a 60-seat margin that would have given them power to block Republican delaying tactics.
Prior to Tuesday's vote, Democrats held 49 seats in the 100-member Senate but enjoyed a relative majority thanks to the support of two independents.
Kenya erupts in joy as Obama takes White House
KOGELO: Hundreds of villagers in Kogelo, Barack Obama's Kenyan family homestead, erupted into song and dance at the news that the nation's favourite son had won the US presidential election.
Swinging twigs and chairs in the air, men cheered and clapped while women ululated and shouted "Obama! Obama!" in the village where his grandmother lives and where his late Kenyan father was born.
Wild celebrations woke the sleepy village, people hugged each other as others ran aimlessly in the muddy streets after spending a chilly night glued to a giant screen watching results unfold on the US networks.
The residents had braved a heavy downpour and deafening thunderbolts overnight, dancing and singing to choruses belted out by a live band at a local dispensary. Children and youths gyrated to the songs.
Barack Obama elected America's first black president
WASHINGTON: Americans emphatically elected Democrat Barack Obama as their first black president Tuesday, in a transformational election, which will reshape US politics and the US role on the world stage.
Obama, 47, will be inaugurated the 44th US president on January 20, 2009, and inherit an economy mired in the worst financial crisis since the 1930s, two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and a nuclear showdown with Iran.
His presidency also marks a stunning social shift, with Obama, the son of Kenyan father and white mother from Kansas, the first African American president of a nation still riven by racial divides.
So far Obama had won 27 states including his home turf of Illinois for 338 electoral votes. McCain had won 156 but had not broken out of the Republican heartland and the south.
In the Senate, Democrats wrested control of five Republican seats including in the traditionally Republican state of Virginia, followed by New Hampshire, North Carolina and New Mexico.
Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell clung on in Kentucky, meaning Democrats were unlikely to win the 60 seats they need in the 100-seat chamber needed to frustrate Republican obstruction tactics.
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Barack Obama wins presidential election: media projection
WASHINGTON: As polls closed on the West coast, the Illinois senator was projected to receive enough electoral votes to pass the 270-vote threshold.
Obama is projected to win California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii.
He also is projected to win Virginia, a state that hasn't voted for a Democratic president since 1964.
As Obama built up a commanding lead over Sen. John McCain, senior aides to the Arizona senator were growing pessimistic about his chances.
US television earlier projected that Obama will win Ohio, a key battleground state with 20 electoral votes.
No Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio. Going into the election, polls showed Obama with a 3-point lead there.
Obama and McCain are running a tight race in Indiana as results are tallied in the battleground state.
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President Zardari felicitates Obama on victory
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari congratulated Barack Obama on Wednesday on his victory in the U.S. presidential election.
According to reports, in his message President Zardari congratulated first black president in U.S. history Barack Obama and vice president Joe Biden and conveyed good wishes for them.
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McCain concedes defeat in U.S. vote
PHOENIX: Republican White House hopeful John McCain on Tuesday conceded defeat to Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential election, saying he had congratulated his opponent in a phone call.
"The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love," he told his supporters.
