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.

Ankara - The mayor of the south-eastern Turkish town of Batman on

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.

Hamburg - US-based piano maker Steinway & Sons unveiled Wednesd

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."

Brussels - Turkey has proven itself to be a reliable international partner and a key energy transit route, but it must work harder on political and human-rights reforms if it wants to join the European Union, the EU's executive said Wednesday.