Black Christian leaders in Britain have hailed the election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States as a defining moment in the history of most powerful nation in the world and a great symbol for black people globally.

Kenyan church leaders have hailed the election of Senator Barack Obama as the 44th president of the USA, saying they hope it is a positive turn for Africa that can help steer good governance on the continent.

The director of a leading nonviolent US task force for lesbian and gay people, which includes many religious believers, has said that the election of Barack Obama is “a day of blessing seasoned by loss,” given the bigotry of some local issue votes.

Barack Obama’s election victory is a “momentous day” for the international community and offers renewed hope to millions of people around the world who live in poverty, Catholic development agency Progressio has declared.

UK Conservative leader David Cameron pipped Labour PM Gordon Brown in the quest for a brush with 'Obama magic' by hailing the new US president-elect as the first of a fresh, pioneering generation of world leaders.

In a powerful speech to his supporters in Chicago which has been beamed across the world, US president-elect Barack Obama has said that his victory at the polls "is not the change, but the opportunity to make that change."

Barack Obama has been elected president of the United States of America, the first African-American to hold the post. Celebrations have begun in the USA and across the world for what is seen as a moment of historic change.

The geopolitical dynamics and instability in the Middle East makes that region an important element of any US president’s foreign policy, says Timothy Seidel. But the major parties are still trading in stereotypes, not solutions.