November 2008 - Posts
By Ian Williams, NBC News correspondent
Bangkok's massive multi-million dollar airport terminal tonight resembles a night market. It's teaming with yellow-clad protesters and lined with make-shift stalls selling badges, t-shirts, stickers and jewelry, as well as food and drink. Outside, the passenger drop-off zone is a sea of yellow protesters rattling their plastic "clappers" as they listen to fiery speeches from the top of truck.
The approach road to the terminal is lined with cars that reflect the largely middle-class character of the protesters – the SUV is the vehicle of choice. There are several security checks along the way, where guards wielding metal rods and golf clubs stop and search approaching cars. It feels like the anti-government protesters are settling in for the long-haul.
All flights remain suspended, and the estimated 3,000 passengers – most of them tourists – stranded last night when the airport closed have been moved to city-center hotels.
But who exactly are these protesters clad in yellow – the color associated with Thailand’s king – who risk crippling Thailand's lucrative tourist industry? And what do they want?
CONTINUED >>
By Ian Williams, NBC News correspondent
BANGKOK, Thailand – Late tonight, one of Asia's busiest airports remained under siege, sealed off by several thousand anti-government protesters. The protesters, clad in yellow – the color of the king – sat on mats and cardboard, in the road outside the main terminal building, where cars and buses usually drop off passengers.
They were listening to fiery anti-government speeches, interspersed with Thai folk songs blasting from the top of a truck, also draped in yellow. At one point, a protest leader, speaking in perfect English, apologized for any inconvenience to the thousands of stranded passengers. "Please understand that our purpose is to stop this corrupt government," he said. The crowd of protesters shook their plastic "clappers" in approval.
The pleas didn't garner much sympathy with the bewildered passengers inside the terminal.
"I just wanna go home. I like Thailand, but I don't like this," said one man, as he lay on the floor, waiting for news of his delayed flight to Sweden. Nearby a young couple nursed two sick infants.
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By Ian Williams, NBC News correspondent
LAGUNA, Philippines - Robert Zeigler was a terrific host, bubbling with enthusiasm as he told me about the new varieties of rice that could bring enormous relief to the world's poor.
"This is a transformational technology. It gives me goose bumps," he said, pointing at clusters of rice stems emerging from a flooded paddy field. "These are tailored for floods. They basically hold their breath underwater."
He was pointing at a new variety of flood resistant rice, bred by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), where he is Director General. "This will basically remove farmers in many parts of the world from being the victims of floods."
An assistant reminded him he was already late for another meeting, but Zeigler was getting into his stride, passionate about the Institute's research. They're also working on a variety of rice resistant to drought, he told me, and the Institute hosts the world's biggest seed bank – 100,000 varieties in cold storage inside a vast vault.
A morning with Dr. Zeigler at the Philippines-based IRRI leaves you wondering how the world could possibly be facing food shortages, but travel just a few miles from here and there is a very different picture.
Rice farmers are abandoning their land, unable to afford the new seeds. Half the paddies in this area lack irrigation, and few farmers have basic storage facilities. The soaring cost of fertilizer and pesticides have eaten into the small profits they could make from rice, pushing them into debt.
Click here to read the rest of Ian Williams report from the Philippines in the Daily Nightly blog and to the rest of the "Against the Grain" series about the global food crisis.
By Adrienne Mong, NBC News Producer
GUANGZHOU, Guangdong Province – Seeing the jostling crowds at the Guangzhou auto show, it seems hard to believe that car sales have slowed in China.
Over two sprawling levels of a convention center here, flashy sports cars, minivans, SUVs, Jeeps, the odd concept vehicle, even RVs, beckoned people to imagine a shinier mobile lifestyle.
"We already have a small car, so we want a bigger car like a four-wheel drive," said Tang Qing, a young well-dressed woman whose "small car" is a BMW. "So the whole family can go out together."
"The GLK is the model I like," she added, having just checked out that model of SUV at the Mercedes-Benz display.
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| Adrienne Mong/NBC News |
| The 2008 Guangzhou auto show draws huge crowds. |
Tang exemplifies the young Chinese consumer over whom market researchers smack their lips. China, according to one such survey, has more aspirational car buyers than any other nation in the world.
And this desire for the trappings of a better life – combined with the growing means to realize material ambitions for the world’s largest population – has helped make China the biggest auto market after the United States.
For the past six years, the country has clocked more than 20 percent growth in domestic vehicle sales. Last year, 8.8 million vehicles were sold here.
But this year sales have slowed considerably – owing to growing economic uncertainty abroad and at home. Analysts are forecasting growth of around 8 percent for this year. And Chinese carmakers are apparently apprehensive enough to have considered seeking a government bailout of their own.
Against this backdrop, Tang appeared to be the rare luxury buyer the morning the NBC News team wandered through the auto show.
CONTINUED >>
Scientists took two years to unearth a 4,300-year-old pyramid in Saqqara, Egypt. It's believed to be the tomb for Queen Sesheshet. NBC News' Charlene Gubash reports.
By Carol Grisanti, NBC News Producer
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – The story about the worsening economy in Pakistan can be seen in the plight of children at the Edhi Welfare Center in Karachi – it has meant more children being dropped off.
This week, the scale of the suffering drew media attention after three mothers, members of an extended family, abandoned eight children at once.
Bilquis Edhi, wife of the center’s founder, 80-year-old, Abdul Sattar Edhi, told journalists that it was unprecedented that eight children with living parents were brought to them.
"The three women came together to my center," she said. "They asked me to please take their children; they could no longer feed them."
"The mothers were sobbing as they tried to leave the children and the children were crying clinging to their mothers," Edhi said. "It was heart wrenching to watch."
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| NBC News |
| One of the little boys abandoned at a welfare center in Karachi cries while answering questions from journalists. |
All of the children seemed scared and unaware of why their mothers were leaving them at the welfare center.
CONTINUED >>
By Chris Hampson, NBC News Director of International News
LONDON – Amid the economic gloom and coming pall of winter, it is perhaps unsurprising that we British are looking for a glimmer of light to brighten our damp and dreary evenings.
Quickstep forward our very own ray of sunshine – in the unlikely shape of John Sergeant, a roly-poly former political reporter for the BBC.
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| John Sergeant and his dancing partner Kristina Rihanoff seen in a promotional photo for "Strictly Come Dancing." |
Sergeant, 64, made his name in the hallowed corridors of Westminster, interviewing such political heavyweights as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair.
It is only fair to point out that, in the intervening years, Sergeant has become something of a heavyweight himself.
He was also born with two left feet.
All of which makes it somewhat unlikely that he would become a national pin-up.
But for six weeks now, thousands of TV viewers have defied common sense to keep Sergeant on "Strictly Come Dancing," the British equivalent of "Dancing with the Stars," booting off more accomplished contestants.
Some two dozen Facebook sites now are devoted to keeping him there.
CONTINUED >>
By Eric Baculinao, NBC News Beijing Bureau Chief
BEIJING – As more than 500 Tibetan exile leaders gather in Dharmsala, India, this week to discuss their struggle against Chinese rule, their movement appears to be at a crossroads.
They are expected to debate whether or not they should abandon the Dalai Lama’s longtime attempt to compromise with Beijing, by pursuing a path known as the "middle way," or if they should go for a last ditch attempt at independence.
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| AP |
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Tibetan Buddhist monks carry a portrait of the Dalai Lama in Dharmsala, India, on Monday. |
But overshadowing those issues, and heightening the urgency of the gathering, is the age and health of the Dalai Lama himself – he is now 73-years-old and has had two hospital treatments since August.
He called the meeting in the Indian hill town that is the base of Tibet’s self-proclaimed government in exile, but was not expected to attend the meeting because he said he did not want to tilt the debate on future strategy.
But as the Tibetan spiritual leader, his continuing influence on the movement is undeniable.
And because of his overwhelming influence, China has already taken preemptive moves to control his replacement and Tibet’s future leadership – by controlling his reincarnation.
Two Dalai Lamas?
Last year the Chinese passed a law that gives Beijing the power to approve the reincarnation of living Buddhas or lamas, of whom the Dalai Lama is the highest in the Tibetan hierarchy.
In turn, the Dalai Lama has raised the possibility to forgo his rebirth, or to be reborn while still alive so that he, not China, can choose his successor.
CONTINUED >>
Associated Press Photojournalist Jerome Delay reports from eastern Congo on the refugee crisis and the continued fighting between rebel and government soldiers.
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By Adrienne Mong, NBC News Producer
BEIJING – As factories close up shop in the world’s largest manufacturing exporter, sending thousands of temporary, or migrant, workers without jobs onto the streets, the Chinese government faces potentially its biggest employment challenge in its thirty years of economic reform.
Two weekends ago, the State Council – or China’s cabinet – announced a massive economic stimulus plan, totaling $586 billion. Last Friday, details of the ten-point program finally emerged. Spending over two years will target rural and transport infrastructure, health, education, the environment, and helping to rebuild quake-devastated Sichuan Province.
News of the plan has been widely welcomed around the world and in China, renewing hopes that the country can help offset the global economic turmoil. One economist here even likened it – in tandem with other recent reform measures – to a "New Deal with Chinese characteristics."
But data continues to trickle in, revealing just how much the export slowdown has affected the Chinese economy overall. This weekend, a vice commerce minister said the country had experienced negative foreign direct investment growth last month, the first time for China. The official said Beijing would do more to create better conditions for multinational companies.
A labor economist who spoke to NBC News in Beijing, and who thinks the plan isn’t enough to stem the growing tide of unemployment, says the focus should be on small and medium-sized enterprises. These, says Professor Wang Yijiang at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, are responsible for keeping 75 percent of China’s labor force employed.
CONTINUED >>
By Paul Goldman, NBC News Producer
TEL AVIV – Will prayer help deliver world markets? If around 2,500 Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel have anything to say about it, hope may be on the way.
Concerned about the health of the global economy, Jews in 11 major seminaries across Israel prayed Thursday night for a fast resolution to the world’s financial crisis – and for Jews who contribute to Israel’s cash-strapped yeshivas.
The religious schools rely heavily on donations from American philanthropists, and consequently, the seminaries have started feeling the pinch from the crash of world markets and the weakening of the U.S. dollar.
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| AP file |
| Ultra-Orthodox Jews participate in a prayer calling for the end of the worldwide financial crisis at the Yeshivat Ha-Ran Jewish seminary in Jerusalem, Thursday. |
The Ateret Shlomo Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, a city just east of Tel Aviv that is comprised predominantly of Haredi Jews who follow a conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, was packed with seminary students on Thursday evening.
CONTINUED >>
By Eric Baculinao, NBC News Beijing Bureau Chief
BEIJING – China is greeting the financial crisis with a sense of alarm.
"The economic crisis has arrived, are you ready?" asked one Chinese blogger recently.
It was one of the many tell-tale signs that the tumult is beginning to touch China’s once booming economy.
While Beijing has recently responded with a massive stimulus package to forestall a potential crisis, the Internet is abuzz with ordinary folks exchanging inventive tips to cope with the challenges ahead.
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| Reuters |
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A man holds a baby as he sits in front of a poster begging for work on a walkway bridge above a main road in Beijing on Nov. 5, 2008.
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"Drink boiled water, not bottled water, and avoid entertaining guests," wrote one Chinese blogger in a 23-point advisory.
Another blogger called on China's youth "not to fear empty wallets or unemployment."
"We are young and can start again," he said, and went on to describe how to outsmart the economic downturn. "Don't ask the boss for pay raise," he advised. "Layoffs start with those with high salaries."
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With a major gender imbalance as a result of China's one-child policy, bachelors get their own day. NBC's Adrienne Mong follows John, a 30-year-old computer programmer, in his quest for love at a speed-dating event in Beijing.
CONTINUED >>
By Chris Hampson, NBC News Director of International News
LONDON – Remembrance Day has always been a special part of my life. As a kid, my home in the North of England was full of talk about the wars.
My parents had lived, struggled – and danced – through World War II. My nimble-footed dad was the "Master of Ceremonies" at his munitions factory weekly "socials," and whisked his soon-to-be-bride (my mum) off her feet there.
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| Getty Images |
| The last surviving British World War I veterans from left to right, Henry Allingham,112, Harry Patch, 110, and Bill Stone, 108, gather at the start of the Armistice Day commemorations on Nov. 11 in London. |
My uncle had fought the Japanese in Burma, and looked thin and gaunt the rest of his days. That may have been jungle warfare, or marrying my mum’s bad-tempered sister. Either way, it was a battle.
But my grandfather could beat them all, by fighting in what was once called the Great War – ironically, "the war to end wars" – World War I.
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By Andy Eckardt, NBC News Producer
MOEDLAREUTH, Germany – It felt like I was in a time warp when a colleague and I recently visited the small village of Moedlareuth, a farming community in central Germany that was once cut in half by the infamous border that divided Germany – known to Americans as the "Berlin Wall."
Even 19 years after the "fall of the wall" – which led to the final collapse of communist East Germany and to the start of an economically difficult, but unexpectedly smooth reunification process – it was an emotional visit.
Memories of a difficult past were triggered when we saw remains of the old bulwark running through town and sat down at the local museum to watch a film about the dark chapter of German history that luckily culminated on Nov. 9, 1989.
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By Adrienne Mong, NBC News Producer
BEIJING – According to the lunar calendar, it's officially winter in China today. And although it was sunny, the wind picked up as the temperature dropped.
So spare a thought for 56-year-old Dong Jiqin, who could be evicted from his home in western Beijing and sleeping on the streets of the capital tonight.
Not because he's just another victim of the global economic recession. If anything, he's just the latest casualty of China's breakneck development.
Or so it would appear.
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| Adrienne Mong / NBC News |
| Dong Jiqin holds up a court document. |
"The demolition project here began in October 2002," he told us and a handful of other foreign journalists shivering in the morning chill of his dilapidated courtyard home in Beijing’s Xicheng district. "Neither the government nor the developer has ever shown any certificate of legitimate right to tear down houses [here]."
Dong, who was grasping a folder of legal documents that included court summonses and court notices regarding the demolition of his home, said he had been given no information about the development plan.
"Nobody ever came to my house to discuss details. They are just trying to take my house illegally," he said calmly. "They bought off the garbage collector, too. He told me they are coming to demolish today."
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By Andy Eckardt, NBC News Producer
MAINZ, Germany – As soon as Barack Obama’s presidential victory was confirmed, German media outlets cheered what they hoped would be a big change from the Bush years.
"America – risen from ruins," said the headline on the Web site of Germany's national newspaper, Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
"Historic victory for Obama. America has shown: everything is possible," Germany's mass-circulation BILD newspaper exclaimed online.
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| EPA |
| An Obama supporter holds a placard which states 'Obama for chancellor' during an election party at the Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany on Nov. 4. |
Election enthusiasm
Interest in this year's U.S. election was exceptionally high in Germany, with millions of viewers staying up all night to watch election coverage.
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By NBC News' Fakhar Rehman
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN -- "As a Pakistani, I am not hopeful (Barack Obama’s) election will bring any positive change for Pakistan," said Zohra Aslam, 26, a lecturer of political science at Government College in Kohat, near the Afghan border.
Here in Pakistan, people all over the country followed the U.S. presidential campaigns with anticipation and in many cases skepticism. On election night, television channels stayed on air all night with special programming and analyses.
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| AP |
| A Pakistani man sells evening newspapers with the headline story of Sen. Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election on a road in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Wednesday. |
"Obama or McCain, either way it's a lose-lose situation for Pakistan regarding U.S. policies towards our country," said Yasmeen Khan, a housewife and mother of three, in Quetta, capital of the southwestern province of Balouchistan province.
Khan said she closely followed the campaigns for months and felt she got to know both candidates and their policies towards Pakistan. "I really admire the American election process," she said, trying to add a more positive note to her analysis. "We don't have free and fair election campaigns here- we need to learn that from the Americans."
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By Paul Goldman, NBC News Producer
TEL AVIV, Israel – With Israelis in the grip of U.S. election mania and anxiously awaiting the results, Israeli radio rang out the dulcet tone of Abba’s "The Winner Takes it All."
Mike's Place, a bar in Tel Aviv, that was decorated with American flags and eight TV sets transmitting the live events from the U.S. became a gathering place for Obama supporters.
A renowned establishment, Mike’s Place attracts a mix of local youngsters and foreign travelers. It was also the site of a 2003 suicide attack that killed three and wounded over 50 people.
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| Reuters |
| Supporters of U.S. President-elect Senator Barack Obama cheer as they monitor the results of the U.S. presidential election in a bar in Jerusalem on Nov. 5. |
But at 4 a.m. on Wednesday morning local Tel Aviv time, the bar was packed with Democrat party supporters drinking beer and waiting for the poll results to come out.
At 5:59 a.m. the countdown started: "Four, Three, Two, One!" and the crowd sprang-up from their chairs with happy cheers and began hugging each other. Even one of the waitresses, pushing her way through the happy crowed, burst into happy tears.
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By NBC News' Moufaq Khatib
AMMAN, JORDAN -- Cries of "The world has changed! Bush is out!" rang out from a café as people watched news of Barack Obama’s historic win here in Jordan.
The American presidential campaigns were closely followed here, with Arab media channels like Al-Jazeera dedicating more time and attention to the U.S. vote than they normally give to elections here or in other Arab countries.
Newspapers also followed along, with one headline stating that a black man with a white heart would turn the United States into brightness, as opposed to a white man with a black heart that would turn it into darkness.
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By Mary Murray, NBC News Havana Bureau Chief
HAVANA – It didn’t take long for Cubans to hear about the success of Barack Obama.
The girl’s dorm at Havana’s V.I. Lenin High School broke into cheers after 17-year-old Gabriela Sanchez received a cell phone text message from her mom watching the U.S. election results on satellite TV.
Housewife Rosa Llanos heard the news on short wave radio and thought about her daughter and grandchild living in South Florida. She wants Obama to stick to his promise to lift current U.S. restrictions that limit family visits to once every three years.
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| EPA |
| A woman combs her hair as she watches the news on Cuban TV about the newly-elected U.S. President Barack Obama, in Havana, Cuba on Wednesday. |
That same wish was echoed by child psychiatrist Ana Teresa Martinez who sees young patients suffering from "the trauma of families divided by the Straits of Florida."
All through the night, Fernanda Hernandez spoke with her sibling Patricia, calling from Miami with regular election updates. These sisters too want changes in U.S. policy with Cuba.
Car mechanic Boris Ruiz working the night shift heard the news on Cuban TV and immediately called his wife. "I woke her up but I needed to tell someone the good news," Ruiz said.
For the first time in his life, Ruiz sees "a chance to normalize relations with the United States and that will make my life better."
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By Ian Williams, NBC News correspondent
JAKARTA, Indonesia – They were dancing in the rain in the school yard when Barack Obama's victory was announced – scores of children from the Menteng Elementary School in Central Jakarta, where Obama studied for two years during his four years as a child in Indonesia.
"He's so smart, so smart," said one little boy.
"He's made our school famous," said a young girl, as the children crowded round a large projector to watch Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago.
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| Reuters |
| Students display a picture of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and react to the announcement of his victory, at his former school in Jakarta on Wednesday. |
Few of them understood much of what the president-elect said, but still they cheered, taking their cue from the American crowd.
The headmaster took a call from the Indonesian president, congratulating him, while old classmates, who'd set up a fan club for the boy they all knew as "Barry," could hardly believe the news.
"I am speechless. So proud, and so happy that he has achieved what he set out to do," said Rully Dasaad, the club's coordinator, as he bounced between press interviews.
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By Charlene Gubash, NBC News Producer
CAIRO, Egypt – It may be a dark day for Joe the Plumber, but Cairo's Ali the Plumber had a grin on his face after president-elect Barack Obama's historic victory.
"It proves that racism in the United States is on the wane," concluded Ali Ibrahim.
Egyptians rejoiced at the victory of a man of African heritage. "It is the first time for a black man to win the presidency. There is democracy in America!" exclaimed Anwar Gad, a gardener in Cairo.
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| NBC News/Mohamed Muslemany |
| Cairo’s Ali the Plumber was pleased with Barack Obama’s election victory. |
Many seemed to believe that a black president will show more compassion to the Arab world. "For Arabs it’s a good thing. Bush turned the world upside down," said Gad. "Obama has African roots so he will be more sympathetic. We hope he will fix what Bush has damaged."
CONTINUED >>
Arata Yamamoto, NBC News Producer
TOKYO – "Yes we can! Obama!" roared Japanese men and women in hula-dance costumes on national television. They’re members of possibly the most ardent of Barack Obama supporters in Japan, a small fishing town in western Japan with a population of 32,000 which shares the same name as the new president-elect.
After Obama’s election victory, it seemed like every Japanese television network descended on the town of Obama to capture the jubilation of residents celebrating with their Hawaiian-themed dancing and singing (a tribute to Obama’s birthplace) and hoping that their tie to the ever-popular next president of the United States will boost local business and tourism.
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| EPA |
| Members of a local Hula dance group 'Obama Hula Girls' stand in a circle during a celebration party held at the city hall in Obama City, a fishing port town in Japan, on Wednesday. |
In Japan, the excitement was hardly limited to the town of Obama, which translates in English to "little beach." At the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, more than 500 university students gathered to watch the election coverage. The election has ramification across the globe, said Masashi Yamashita, 22. "Change is important not just for the United States, but also for Japan. If the U.S. changes, so will the rest of the world."
It’s no surprise to see the outpouring of excitement here about Obama’s victory at the polls: a July Gallup poll found that 66 percent of the Japanese respondents favored Obama, overshadowing John McCain’s 15 percent.
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
TEHRAN, Iran – "When I saw the election results this morning on TV I was very jealous of America," said an Iranian student in Tehran, Darius Dashdi.
"I was jealous of their democratic system and the opportunity that is afforded to each and every citizen regardless of color or religion. I wish we had the same type of opportunities here," he said.
Despite Dashdi’s optimistic view of the United States’ election of Barack Obama, the Democratic winner has largely been viewed here as the lesser of two evils.
Early on Wednesday, prominent Iranian MP Hamid Reza Haji Babai said the Democrat’s victory presented an "opportunity and a test," with Iran now "waiting for that change" that Obama based his campaign on.
"In the past eight years, (President George W.) Bush had created a bad atmosphere against the United States in the world with his militarism and this financial crisis," said Haji Babai.
"The election of McCain would have worsened this atmosphere," he said.
Back on the streets of Tehran, housewife Roya Amini said "Obama seems like he is different, but you never know with America what they might do."
CONTINUED >>
Adrienne Mong, NBC News Producer
BEIJING – Judging by the reactions to the life-size cardboard cutouts of Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama, the latter was the clear favorite in a hotel conference room in Beijing early Wednesday morning.
Crowds of young Chinese waited impatiently to pose with the cardboard Obama for their cameras. One female student stealthily turned away the McCain cutout so she and her friends could huddle more comfortably beside the president-elect.
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| Adrienne Mong / NBC News |
| Many Chinese seemed to relish the opportunity to "cast" a vote. |
It was all part of a dual-pronged effort by the American Embassy in Beijing to educate Chinese on the U.S. electoral process and to celebrate the election results for what some call the most historic presidential race in decades.
The U.S. Embassy, with assistance from the American Chamber of Commerce and the American Center for Educational Exchange, set up mock voting booths and handed out pamphlets explaining the process.
First ‘vote’ for many Chinese
Crowds of young Chinese read the mock ballots, diligently filled them out, and then stood before cameras in front of the ballot box. It was the first time any of them had cast a vote – real or imaginary.
"It’s exciting," said She Rui, a 24-year-old graduate student in international relations at People’s University. The election, he said, "is very important, because it gives the people a chance to express their needs [and] to choose their leaders."
He and some of his fellow students said they were happy Obama won. "He is young and can give fresh blood to American society," said 21-year-old Xing Yu Jie,
CONTINUED >>
By NBC News' Iqbal Sapand
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – There were no all night parties or victory celebrations in Kabul to celebrate Barack Obama's win, but for Afghans here an Obama presidency raises expectations and for many brings new hopes.
President Hamid Karzai wasted no time congratulating the president-elect. But, he also used the opportunity to send a strong message that Afghans can no longer tolerate the high toll of civilian casualties from indiscriminate bombings by U.S. and NATO forces. "We cannot win the fight against terrorism with airstrikes," Karzai said. "This is my first demand of the new president of the United States – to put an end to civilian casualties."
Karzai was referring to airstrikes Tuesday against the Taliban in the southern province of Kandahar which hit a wedding party and killed a number of civilians.
A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef , was quick to condemn the United States. "You see," Yousef said, "his (Obama's) victory was welcomed with more innocent people losing their lives." "Obama has already said he will send even more troops to Afghanistan," Yousef said. "More troops will mean more innocent people dying; it is not the solution for Afghanistan."
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By NBC News' Karim Hilmi
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraqis expressed hope Wednesday that Barack Obama’s victory in the presidential election would usher in a change in policy toward their struggling country, but many remained skeptical.
"The American policy is fixed and it won't change. Washington has its own agenda to carry on. We will wait and see if Obama is going to withdraw American forces from Iraq," said Alwan Awad, a bookshop owner in Baghdad. "Let him start a new era of extending bridges of cooperation and friendship with Iraq and the rest of the Arab and Muslim world."
Obama, president-elect in the United States, has pledged to change U.S. policy toward Iraq by drawing down troops and shifting them to Afghanistan, another country beset by conflict years after a U.S. invasion. This message resonated with some Iraqis.
"I loved this man's motto ‘change’ which has a large meaning and effect on the whole world," said Nawzad Kurdi, a shoe manufacturer in Baghdad. "I sincerely hope that this man will lead a new policy and strategy to show the real face of the Americans as friends and partners to people of the world and change the bad image which Bush drew for the Americans, particularly in Iraq."
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By Jennifer Carlile, msnbc.com reporter
LONDON, ENGLAND – Britons awoke Wednesday to headlines like the Daily Express’ "A New World Dawns," and The Independent’s "Mr. President" in bold print below a full-page picture of Barack Obama wearing a winning grin.
From all-night television coverage to special, late editions of the morning papers, not printed until most polls had closed, the U.S. election has eclipsed all national news here. Although Obama’s win wasn’t announced until 4 a.m. GMT, early morning commuters across the capital already new the verdict from across the pond.
"It’s fantastic news; great for the U.S., great for the world – just an absolute milestone in history," 41-year-old Londoner Jamie Davies said as he sipped a coffee from Starbucks before heading to work.
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| Luke Macgregor / Reuters |
| Supporters celebrate as Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is announced President during an election party held at the U.S. Embassy in London, early Wednesday morning. |
Ahead of the election, four out of five British citizens said the outcome would make a difference to their country, according to a Gallup Poll taken in October. That figure was higher than from any other country polled.
"Everyone knows that whatever America faces, the world faces," said Evans Olekanma, a shopping center employee in Hammersmith, West London.
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By Ron Mott, NBC News Correspondent
KISUMU, Kenya – You can’t walk more than a few dozen paces through the downtown streets of this city of roughly 500,000 without hearing the names "Barack," "Obama," or more likely, "Barack Obama," springing forth from sidewalk conversations.
He seems to be on the minds and tongues of just about everyone here, to say nothing about all those T-shirts, bumper stickers, and colorful clothes that are fashioned into women’s dresses bearing his image. In fact, one young man made a hat that puts an ordinary 20-gallon cowboy hat to shame. It rose two feet off his head, covered with newspaper clippings about Obama.
Simply put, Kenyans are beyond excited about the prospects of a President Obama.
Kisumu is about a 90-minute drive from the rural village of K’Ogelo, where Obama’s grandmother, siblings and extended family live. It’s usually quiet and low-key in these parts, but then again, there’s nothing usual about a potential U.S. president having ties to this hard-working, farming community carved out of the forested vistas of western Kenya.
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By Dan Strieff, msnbc.com reporter
LONDON
– "I really wish we could vote in your election
– after all, it affects all of us, you know."
For most Americans who recently have spent time abroad, chances are they’ve heard some variation of that statement.
As the United States prepares to elect a president every four years, the rest of the world looks on with a mix of hope, trepidation and fascination – and never has that been the case more than this year’s contest between Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama.
With the Bush era drawing to a close, more than 150,000 U.S. troops are fighting in two war zones and the world's largest economy is reeling. Meantime, a campaign that has energized American voters also has captivated the world.
Due to the preponderance of U.S. economic, military and cultural power, U.S. elections have a far greater impact on people outside the United States than foreign elections have on Americans.
"There is quite a lot of interest in American politics … so that people feel a personal stake in which way the election goes," said Stephen Casey, a professor at the London School of Economics and an expert on U.S. foreign policy and public opinion.
Click here to read the rest of the story about why global interest in the U.S. elections is so intense this year.
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