By Fasih Ahmed

Lahore -Reactions in Pakistan to America’s historic presidential elections run the gamut from enthusiastic approval, especially among the country’s educated young, to outraged disbelief, especially among Pakistanis who remember Obama as the presidential candidate who vowed to send troops into Pakistan if Osama Bin Laden were pinpointed and the Pakistani government failed to capture or kill him.

"I am really happy and excited for America today!” said Anum Sohail, a social worker. “It’s commendable what they’ve done, it’s history we can all learn from.” She said it was unfortunate that Obama didn’t allow himself to be photographed with Muslims on the campaign trail. “But anti-Islam sentiment is so high there that I guess he had to be careful,” she said. She did not expect U.S. policy toward Pakistan to change under President Obama. “It’s shameful how our leaders have made us so dependent on the U.S.,” said Mujeeb Shah, 38, a bookstore checkout clerk. “Obama will not change the U.S. policy of invading and killing Muslims,” he said. “America should leave us alone and respect our sovereignty!”

Nairobi- Barack Obama’s victory was greeted with unbridled joy in Kenya, the east African country that has claimed him as one of their own. From the lakeside village where his late father grew up and many of his relatives still live, to the capital, Nairobi, Kenyans stayed up all night to watch the results, which were broadcast on state television. The victory celebrations, which began at 7am local time when the polls closed on the west coast, continued all day.

The new president’s step-grandmother, Sarah Obama, told reporters she might visit Washington for the inauguration but hoped that her life would not change too much.Despite visiting the country on just three occasions, Obama has become Kenya’s biggest star. His toothy grin beams out from the back of Nairobi’s matatus, the ramshackle 14-seater minivans used for public transport. Street hawkers peddle home-made Obama merchandise including t-shirts bearing the slogan ‘Yes we can’ and dollar bills emblazoned with the President-elect’s face.

Crocker addressed the question many Iraqis, as well as American troops and expatriates, have: “What will Obama do about Iraq?” In America, the ambassador assured, “We have one president at a time” and George W. Bush will be president for the next two and a half months. “We will have full continuity of unity and purpose as we move through our transition.” In other words, it will be, at least for now, business as usual – in this case nation-building in Iraq. The reassurance was vague and general, but few expected more. In Baghdad, the landmark election of Obama is being celebrated by most, but few are under any illusions that it will change much of anything.

By Karen MacGregor

Durban - People across Africa danced with jubilation as Barack Obama swept to victory in yesterday’s remarkable election, and were moved to tears by the victory speech of the man who will soon become America’s first black president. From Cape Town to Timbuktu, people sat up overnight watching television and huddling around radios, or woke at dawn to learn that the man they claim as a son of Africa had become the worlds most powerful leader.

In Kenya, people celebrated in the streets of Nairobi and in the western village of Kogelo, home of Sarah Obama, grandmother of the man they consider a hero, and whose face graces billboards and busses. President Mwai Kibaki declared Thursday a public holiday so that people could celebrate the first Kenyan in the White House. “This is a momentous day not only in the history of the United States, but also for those living in Kenya,” Kibaki said.

Seoul- South Koreans have mixed feelings about Obama’s election. On the one hand, they expect Obama to reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula by engaging in dialogue with North Korea, as he promised many times during his campaign. Unlike President Bush who refused to talk to Pyongyang during the first six years of his term, Obama is likely to try and resolve the North’s nuclear weapons program. On the other hand, they worry that Obama’s protectionist stance could hurt the Korean economy, which depends heavily on trade. The Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement has to be ratified by the U.S. Congress as well as the Korean National Assembly, and experts in Seoul fear the new Democratic administration in Washington may not be enthusiastic it. Obama has said the FTA is unfair in that Korea exports hundreds of thousands of cars to the United States and buys only a few thousand American cars every year.

By Kevin Peraino and Nuha Musleh

Jerusalem- For Israelis, Obama’s victory was bittersweet. At a number of key moments over the past eight years—including during the second intifada and the 2006 Lebanon war—the Bush Administration stood squarely behind the Jewish state. Despite increasing disillusion with Bush’s “freedom agenda,” many Israelis were unwilling to turn on what they saw as a steadfast ally in the Republican party. “Bush was very good for [Israel],” says Shai Bazak, a former aide to Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu. “I know they don’t like him in the States, but he’s very popular here.” Still, he added, “I don’t think this president is going to change a lot. Israel is the least of his problems.” Reaction in the Israeli press was mixed; at least some government officials grumbled that Obama was an unknown quantity and worried that he might soften the American position toward Iran. For the most part, though, Israelis took the news in stride. “It’s safe to assume that Obama will not abandon Israel,” wrote Aluf Benn in Wednesday’s editions of Israel’s Ha’aretz newspaper.

By Tracy McNicoll and Ginny Power

Paris- The reaction to Obama’s victory among the political classes and people on the street was one of explicit joy, hope, and a sort of open affection for American founding values that had gone into hiding through the Bush years. Some people did, however, wonder aloud whether Obama could live up to the exceptional hopes vested in him worldwide.

By Tracy McNicoll and Ginny Power

After eight years of George W. Bush, the French press could be forgiven for going overboard the day after Barack Obama's victory in the polls.

The left-leaning daily Libération’s chief Laurent Joffrin published a fawning editorial: “At last, hope! Out of thanks, for an hour, for a day, let’s not be blasé, or prudent, or skeptical.” “After this already historic November 4, let us admit that we are, almost all, taken by a sentiment of happiness. For an hour or a day, let speak this enthusiasm that is spreading across the planet. For a few hours now, Americans have had hope; for a few hours now, the entire world has felt better. Happiness? A new idea in America.”

By Barrett Sheridan and Fred Guterl 

The most common reaction across the world to Barack Obama’s Tuesday night victory was a simple one: “Thank you.” It was a sentiment directed not at the president-elect himself, but at the American people. Having felt abandoned by the United States for so long, and especially after the 2004 reelection of George W. Bush, people across the world saw Obama’s victory as an affirmation that yes, America still does represent something special. Nelson Mandela, in a congratulatory letter to Obama, perhaps summed it up best: “Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place.” It was also a good excuse to celebrate. Kenya, the home of Obama’s father, declared a national holiday, and Brazilians proclaimed a new era of "esperanza". The few disappointed by the final tally—a dour-looking Tory in London, some security-conscious Israelis—did little to dampen the global celebration.

Parisians reacted with enthusiasm and relief to the news, some of them turning on a dime to become Amero-philes. And the French newspapers, after 8 years of George W. Bush, might perhaps be forgiven for getting a little tipsy on Obama.

Our team of foreign correspondents has cavassed the globe for the morning-after reaction to this historic election. The event was cause for celebration and contemplation in London, Paris, Jerusalem, Seoul, Durban, Lahore, Tokyo and Rio.

London - The hot ticket in London last night was the Election Night party at the American embassy, and there was plenty of competition elsewhere, with festivities at pubs, clubs and restaurants, especially ones with an American theme in a town with 250,000 expats.   Some 1,500 guests packed into the crowded chancery on Grosvenor Square.  The embassy staged a determinedly bipartisan affair, but efforts to divide the crowd into Republicans Abroad and Democrats Abroad—both groups are active in Britain—were swamped by a preponderance of Obama followers.

There was plenty of Americana on display, and no small amount of  kitsch.  Once past the concrete bomb barriers, guests were greeted with a group of cheerleaders doing acrobatics and assembling human pyramids; they were the called the Eagles, and actually hailed from East London.  Inside, wine was dispensed at half a dozen bars and by squads of waiters who oozed through the crowd.  Cartloads of Budweiser were rolled in and before long the well-lubricated crowd was making such a din that it was impossible to hear most of the many plasma TV monitors placed throughout three floors.  One lady worked the crowd dressed as the Statue of Liberty, and a young man with a carefully trimmed Mohawk had an American flag painted on the right side of his head.  A “barbershop choir” of a couple dozen ladies—traditionally embassy and American military wives, but nowadays mostly Brits—sang bravely but hardly a note could be heard.  In the basement, a folk rock band, also British, sang Bob Dylan numbers, and between songs made rude remarks about  George Bush and Dick Cheney.  At the opposite end of the room, Burger King was tossing Whoppers into the crowd faster than anyone could eat them, and Subway so many sandwiches ready there wasn't even a queue.