Nairobi  - Tens of thousands of Kenyans celebrated Barack Obama's inauguration at parties across the east African nation as images of their favourite son were beamed onto big screens.

Thousands gathered at a public viewing at Nairobi's Kenyatta International Conference Centre, clapping and cheering as President Obama spoke.

In Kogelo, the Western Kenyan village where his late father grew up and where his grandmother still lives, residents slaughtered goats and bulls and feasted in Obama's honour.

Berlin - Germany's president, Horst Koehler, congratulated new US President Barack Obama by telegram Tuesday on his inauguration and invited him to visit Germany soon.

Obama has in effect two counterparts in Germany: Koehler as head of state and Chancellor Angela Merkel as head of government. Merkel had earlier Tuesday welcomed Obama in remarks on German television.

Sana'a, Yemen  - Somalia's former Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, who resigned last month amid an internal power struggle, arrived in the Yemeni capital Sana'a Tuesday seeking political asylum, Yemeni officials and a Somali diplomat said.

Yemeni officials said Yusuf had expressed his wish to receive political asylum in Yemen until he decides a permanent residence.

A Somali diplomat said Yusuf was accompanied by his wife and 17 other family members and security guards upon his arrival in Sana'a.

London  - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Tuesday hailed US President Barack Obama as a leader with the determination "to solve the world's problems."

In a statement marking Obama's inauguration Brown said it heralded a "new chapter in both American history and the world's history."

Brown praised the new US President as a "man of great vision and moral purpose" who would tackle the global financial crisis and other problems such as the environment.

Washington  - US President Barack Obama's inaugural speech, final part:

Washington  - Ending a tum