La Paz - Bolivian President Evo Morales saluted Wednesday the "historic" triumph of Barack Obama, who was elected to become the first African-American president in US history.

"Mr. Obama's triumph is really historic. We congratulate him on that triumph and we await the improvement in our (bilateral) relations in the future," Morales said as he arrived at the presidential palace in La Paz for a ministerial meeting.

Morales himself achieved a historic electoral feat when he was elected to become the first president of indigenous descent in Bolivia's history in 2006.

Chicago (US), Nov. 5 : U. S. President-elect Barack Obama promised Tuesday that "change is coming to America" as he gave a victory speech after becoming the first African-American to be elected to the White House.

"It''s been a long time coming. But tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change is coming to America," he said in front of a crowd of 65,000 people.

Obama called on Americans to back a spirit of unity to attack the country''s pressing challenges.

Kathmandu - The Maoist-led Nepalese government Wednesday hailed the victory of Barack Obama in the US presidential election, describing it as a positive change that hopefully will lead to improved bilateral ties.

In a message, Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda, said he hoped the change in US leadership would lead to improved bilateral relations between the two countries.

Tel Aviv, Ramallah, Gaza  - While Israelis reacted with a mixture of excitement and trepidation to the election of Barack Obama as US president Wednesday, enthusiasm was noticeably lacking among Palestinians.

"American policy is very clear and will not change. It is totally biased toward Israel," said Mohammed Midyeh, a mathematics lecturer in the West Bank city of Ramallah, expressing a common opinion.

Paris - As black French civil rights activists and their friends began celebrating Barack Obama's election early Wednesday in a private club in Paris, one reveler sounded a sobering, and largely unappreciated, note of caution.

"Obama is an American politician and he will govern like an American president," said Cameroonian journalist Paul Heutching. "Let's not jump to unrealistic conclusions just because he looks like us."

Madrid  - Nobel Literature laureate Portuguese author Jose Saramago on Wednesday urged