World hails Obama's 'brilliant' victory
World leaders hailed Barack Obama's triumph Wednesday in the US presidential election as the start of a new era but there were also calls for the global superpower to change the way it does business.
Celebrations erupted in capitals around the world. A national holiday was declared in Kenya -- where Obama's father was born -- to welcome the first black US president.
"Your brilliant victory rewards a tireless commitment to serve the American people. It also crowns an exceptional campaign whose inspiration and exaltation have proved to the entire world the vitality of American democracy," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a letter to Obama.
"By choosing you, the American people have chosen change, openness and optimism," added Sarkozy as a flood of congratulatory messages went to the 47-year-old senator on his historic victory over Republican candidate John McCain.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown praised Obama's "energising politics... his progressive values and his vision for the future". German Chancellor Angela Merkel reinforced the importance her government put on "our transatlantic partnership."
China's President Hu Jintao said in a written message: "In a new historical era, I look forward to... taking our bilateral relationship of constructive cooperation to a new level."
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso pledged to work with the new US leader to strengthen relations.
Indian Premier Manmohan Singh called it an "extraordinary" victory and invited Obama to visit India and Mexican President Felipe Calderon urged Obama to visit the United States' southern neighbour.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Obama's victory was a landmark for equality.
"Forty-five years ago Martin Luther King had a dream of an America where men and women would be judged not on the colour of their skin but on the content of their character," Rudd told reporters. "Today what America has done is turn that dream into a reality."
But European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso called for the election to usher in a "new deal" between the United States and the rest of the world to tackle the global financial crisis and other troubles.
"This is a time for a renewed commitment between Europe and the United States of America," Barroso said in a statement. "We need to change the current crisis into a new opportunity. We need a new deal for a new world."
With wars in Iraq and Afghanistan heading White House priorities abroad, there were also calls for a change of tack on the US "War on Terror" launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
"Our demand is the repetition of demands we have had since long ago and that is a change of the strategy of the war against terrorism," said Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The "'War on Terror' cannot be fought in Afghan villages... Afghanistan is the victim of terrorism," Karzai said.
Obama's election would not lead to a quick US disengagement from Iraq, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said.
"We don't think there will be change in policy overnight. There won't be quick disengagement here. A great deal is at stake here," Zebari told AFP, adding that Baghdad was looking for a "successful partnership" with Obama.
Israeli-US relations have "a bright future," Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Ygal Palmor said. But Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas urged Obama to speed up efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.
Election parties were held in major capitals around the world bringing together expatriate Americans and people anxious over events in the United States.
Hundreds of villagers in Kogelo, Obama's Kenyan family home, erupted into song and dance. President Mwai Kibaki declared a national holiday on Thursday to mark Obama's victory.
Swinging branches and chairs in the air, men cheered and clapped while women shouted "Obama! Obama!" in the village where his grandmother lives and where his late Kenyan father was born.
In Obama, an ancient fishing town on the Sea of Japan -- Obama means small shore in Japanese -- residents dressed in Hawaiian skirts did a hula dance in celebration, embracing Hawaiian-born Obama as one of their own.
"I'm so excited because Obama shares our town's name. But even if the town was called McCain I would still support Barack Obama," said 44-year-old dancer Masayo Ishibashi.
