Four more years: Obama is re-elected

One day after his surprisingly comfortable re-election, a triumphant President Barack Obama headed back to the White House and divided government on Wednesday with little time left for a compromise with Republicans to avert spending cuts and tax increases that threaten a new recession. (Read now)

Here's the assignment President Barack Obama has won with his re-election: Improve an economy burdened by high unemployment, stagnant pay, a European financial crisis, slowing global growth and U.S. companies still too anxious to expand much. And, oh yes, an economy that risks sinking into another recession if Congress can't reach a budget deal to avert tax increases and deep spending cuts starting in January.

After his loss to President Barack Obama on Tuesday, Mitt Romney will have to chart a different course. The initial plan is to spend time with his family. Romney has five adult sons and 18 grandchildren; a 19th is on the way. His wife, Ann, recently said her husband absolutely will not run again for president. If he did, it would be his third time.

Donald Trump has deleted some of the Twitter tirade he posted following President Barack Obama's re-election, and added new critiques of NBC's Brian Williams. (Read now)

Barack Obama should have been the star of his victory address on Wednesday, but a mystery "Hair flag lady" standing behind the US president stole the limelight. (Read more)

Rate Barack Obama's victory speech here

Pakistani cricketer turned politician Imran Khan has said that Barack Obama's first term in office had been "very tough on Pakistan -- an increase in drone attacks and a surge in Afghanistan and increased militancy in Pakistan as a result."

"Now he (Obama) is no longer under the pressure to be re-elected we hope that he will give peace a chance which we so desperately need," he said. (Read more)

Pakistan's president Zardari congratulates Obama


Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari congratulated his US counterpart Barack Obama on his re-election Wednesday, saying he was confident relations would "continue to prosper". The fractious friends lurched from crisis to crisis in 2011, first over a CIA contractor who shot dead two people in the eastern city of Lahore, then over the US raid that found and killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, and finally over botched air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani border guards.

"President Asif Ali Zardari has warmly felicitated President Barack Obama on his reelection as the President of the United States of America. The President expressed the hope that the relationship between Pakistan and the US would continue to prosper during President Obama's new term in office." a statement from Mr Zardari's office said.

Obama had invoked Gandhi while seeking re-election

Barack Obama, who was re-elected as US President today, had invoked the legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela while appealing to donors for help in seeking a second term, arguing he needs "time" to achieve true change just like they did. At a campaign fundraiser in New York City in March this year, Obama, the first black American to occupy the White House, cast his candidacy for re-election in historical terms.

"The civil rights movement was hard. Winning the vote for women was hard. Making sure that workers had some basic protections was hard," Obama had said. "Around the world, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, what they did was hard. It takes time. It takes more than a single term. It takes more than a single president. It takes more than a single individual," he said while talking about how difficult it is to bring about 'change' in politics.

News Update

Obama's got 50% and Romney 48% of the popular vote-  58 million to 56 million.

Florida's results yet to come in

'For now, one dog is enough'

During his victory speech, President Barack Obama today joked with his two daughters, Sasha and Malia, that one dog was enough for them, even as he acknowledged their contribution and support in his successful re-election bid. "And I'm so proud of you guys. But I will say that for now one dog's probably enough," Obama said amidst laughter.

PM congratulates President Barack Obama
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has congratulated President Barack Obama on his re-election as the next President of the United States. In his message to President Obama the Prime Minister has said that "Your mandate gives you a historic opportunity to continue to work for the welfare of the American people as also for global peace and progress at an admittedly difficult juncture, not just for the U.S., but indeed for the world at large."

Obama's victory speech: I return to the White House more determined and wiser
Barack Obama was re-elected president of the United States on Tuesday, overcoming powerful economic headwinds, a lock-step resistance to his agenda by Republicans in Congress and an unprecedented torrent of advertising as a divided nation voted to give him more time.