From Paris to New Delhi to the beaches of Brazil, revelers said Obama's election made them feel more connected to America, and that America, after years of strained relations, seemed suddenly more connected to the world.

How will Obama be able to connect with the rest of the world after his surprising victory remains the big question.

People on the streets here in Cairo, and across much of the Arab world, appear elated by the election of Democrat Obama as the next president of the United States, despite some apprehension in the Gulf and in Lebanon.

The Lebanese daily Al-Hayat ran a caricature showing an Israeli wielding a gun at an Arab man, joking "heads, Obama, and we win; tails McCain, and you lose," suggesting that the paper thinks neither candidate will really be beneficial to the Arab world.

Regardless of how Obama is perceived now it is up to him come January 2009 to convince the rest of the world that his campaign slogans were for real and that the US is ready to lead again and show the rest of the world that the US is ready to spread democracy and freedom throughout the world. People in countries like occupied Palestine are hoping that Obama will not wait until the end of his first term to help them secure their own state.

In other developments

- The dialogue talks resume yesterday , but Hezbollah's call for expansion of participation to include all the Lebanese factions failed to materialize , since it was opposed by the majority .

- Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun has proposed a defense strategy blueprint suggesting changing the whole of Lebanon into a resisting community. Aoun according to Sami Haddad , Ya Libnan political observers wants to change Lebanon into a Hezbollahland, in order to please the Iranians after pledging to support his election campaign in 2009

Thursday

23:45 Baroud : the cabinet meeting was excellent and productive

23:40 Bassil : The ministers achieved 2 objectives during their meeting: 1- agreed to authorize Deputy Prime Minister Issam Abu Jamra to head a cabinet committee 2- The Cabinet decided to form a committee to study a plan made by the Council for Development and Construction

23:15 : Information Minister Tareq Mitri said after cabinet meeting: Cabinet agreed that DPM Issam Abu Jamra will head a committee to survey executed, under-way and future projects. The committee will propose a comprehensive development plan. The Cabinet also decided to form a committee to study a plan made by the Council for Development and Construction. The committee is to be headed by the DPM. President Suleiman informed ministers of his desire to reject the Law of Tax Measures that was approved by parliament.

22:33 Finance Minister Shatah: I am not a candidate for the parliament in the upcoming elections

22:25 Lebanon Files: The confessions by the Fatah al Islam detainees will lead into a hot debate in the Lebanese political arena in the next few days

22:10: Finance Minister Shatah told LBC: The Lebanese cabinet could be preparing for a small conference to remove Lebanon from regional conflicts ;to open a special track for dealing with the Shebaa Farms, Palestinian and Hezbollah arms.

22:00: LBC: The Cabinet agreed to authorize Deputy Prime Minister Issam Abu Jamra to head a cabinet committee.

21:33 : Syrian TV exhibits confessions of arrested elements of Fatah al-Islam: Funding Fatah al-Islam at Nahr al-Bared refugee camp was made by Saudi businessmen prior to holding up banks by the group. Wafaa el-Absi daughter of Shaker al Absi claims that financial transfers were made by the al-Mustaqbal Movement but her father did not trust the Mustaqbal movement.

19:15 : Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem affirmed to U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams, Syria’s keen interest in a stable Lebanon and called on the U.N. to force Israel to implementing resolution 1701.

19:05: Cabinet holds meeting at presidential palace and chaired by President Michel Suleiman to discuss presented projects by the Council for Development and Construction.

19:00: Saudi Ambassador Khoja: The President of the UN General Assembly issued an invitation to Israel to attend the Conference for Religious Dialogue, not the Kingdom; the accusations directed against the Kingdom are suppositions.

18:43: Future TV: State of tensions at Ain el-Helweh refugee camp following the discovery of the body of a Fatah member in the camp.

17:38: Fatah Secretary-General in Lebanon Sultan Abul Ainain denied the existence of any differences between Fatah and PLO representative office in Lebanon.

17:35: Phalange Leader Amin Gemayel called on the Lebanese University officials to quickly work on taking the necessary measures against those creating problems, to remove the tense atmosphere and secure a healthy academic framework for education. He also called for neutralizing the Lebanese University with respect to the electoral conflicts and also called for a speedy settlement between the students to preserve their rights

17:30: Interior Minister Ziad Baroud deleted the term “bastard” and replaced it with “New Born Infant Registration” when registering children of unknown parents at Lebanese identity records.

17:15 Geagea will head to Qatar and Kuwait within the next 2 weeks

17:02 Williams after meeting Syrian VP Farouq al Sharaa : I feel good over the positive developments in the Lebanese Syrian relations

16:40 Lebanon Files: Elie Hushaiti a student at the science faculty of the Lebanese University in al Fanar was detained

15:18 MP Michel Murr said Aoun's defense strategy blueprint includes important points but warned that popular resistance as suggested by him leads to chaos

15:15 Defense Minister Elias Murr received an invitation to visit Syria and said the cabinet would take a decision on it in its next meeting.

14:33 Gemayel said after meeting Siniora : Dialogue is being sidetracked by secondary issues such as demands for increased participation.. He added: A strong and fair state capable of protecting all its citizens needed to be built.

13:22 Parliamentary committee requests compensation for media organizations damaged in July War. The committee said it had agreed with Information Minister Tarek Mitri and media representatives on taking steps to evaluate the extent of the damage by requesting organization to fill out an official form for compensation

12:53 Speaker Berri requests final social security law draft to be received five days before presenting it to the general committee.”

12:30 Siniora is meeting Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel.

12:07 Information and Telecommunication Commission meets with media representatives to discuss July War compensation, and with Information Minister Tarek Mitri to discuss ministry workshop, in Nejmeh Square.

12:04 Future leader MP Saad Hariri starts discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the ministry headquarters.

11:50 PM Fouad Siniora said the state is facing efforts to diminish its role. Instead of helping the state they want to erase its name and replace it with names of their parties or organizations, Saniora said. He added:Lebanon is in need of reform, this reform mission we are launching is both easy and difficult, but there is nothing that cannot be achieved by will.

11:43 Jumblatt said the Lebanese system is chained and we hope to be able to implement an important part of the Taef Accord to create a non-sectarian parliament. He added : We are not terrorists; the weapons issue is a domestic Lebanese topic and the issue of expanding participants in the dialogue conference is to be tackled by President Suleiman. He said the International Tribunal would be born soon and we are committed to national principles regarding sovereignty and border demarcation and I don't think any American president would be able to overpass these principles. Jumblatt said he would propose to the forthcoming dialogue session a blueprint on the defense strategy and empowering the Lebanese Army. He would choose the proper time to establish contact with "the brethren in Hezbollah

11:00 Khoury says FPM is committed to media truce

10:20 MP Antoine Zahra said Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea is to present a defense strategy blueprint.

10:00 Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir discussed the Lebanon situation with Daoud Sayegh, political advisor to Future Movement leader Saad Hariri.

9:00 Future Movement leader Saad Hariri arrived in Moscow to meet with PM Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss Lebanon and reinforcement of Lebanese-Russian relations.

08:56 Hussein Abu Zeid, 35, was killed and four others were injured when a young man, named as Haitham Allou, shot them in Mreijeh, Dahiyeh on Wednesday night as he was trying to resist arrest by Hezbollah and security forces .

8:40 MP Michel Faraon said attempts are underway to block a discussion of the defense strategy.

8:15am Michel Moussa said a demand by the Hezbollah-led opposition to expand the list of dialogue participants has collapsed and the process would focus on the 14 participants.

8:00 A fanatic group in Nigeria said it has "rescued "Lebanese engineer Milad Nasari who was kidnapped last Monday.

Wednesday

23:10 MP Akram Shehayyeb told Future TV: The aim behind the postponement of the dialogue talks is to avoid discussing the issue of strategic defense before the elections

22:00 Francoise Bassil told NBN: The Lebanese banks are more careful in offering loans than American banks and for this reason we did not feel the crises

21:52 Judge George DEEB Ghantous passed away his funeral will be tomorrow at Mar Nicolas church in Ashrafiyeh

21:17 Information minister Mitri told OTV: There is very limited difference between the policies of McCain and Obama towards Lebanon , because the democrats and republicans have the same policies towards Lebanon

20:56 The coordinating committee for Unions called on the Lebanese colleges and other educational institutions to go on strike on November 18 to demand higher wages in line with the inflation rate that has been accumulating since 1996

19:23 PM Fouad Siniora met with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Michael Williams to discuss UNSCR 1701.

19:12 A bomb exploded in Baal el Daraweesh, in Bab el Tabbanah district of Tripoli but no casualties were so far reported

18:00 Singer George Wassouf returned to Beirut after the Swedish authorities detained him for 3 days over drug possession

17:40 Hariri congratulated US president elect Obama and urged him to preserve the US historic role as the country of justice and human dignity

17:20 Minister Ladhoud met the ambassadors of Brasil and Romania to discuss the general situation

15:32 MP Marwan Hamadeh told Now Lebanon: “MP Ghassan Tueni’s condition is good and stable. He underwent medical examinations at the American University Hospital and there is nothing to worry about.”

14:55 Third session of the national dialogue is to take place on December 22, 2008.

14:37 National dialogue session is closed.

14:32 ANB television reports: MP Ghassan Tueni is suddenly taken ill during his participation in the dialogue session.

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