US to get its 44th and first black President today

Barack Hussein Obama will be sworn in as America's 44th and first black President today, bringing a message of hope to a nation hungry for change after eight years of George W Bush regime.  

The 47-year-old first African-American to enter to the White House, Obama would be sworn in by the US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts at noon today (2230 IST) at the Capitol Hill.  

Braving severe cold, an estimated two million people from all over the country have thronged Washington to be a witness to the historic occasion, when a black would become the US President.  

Obama won the November 4 presidential elections defeating the Republican candidate John McCain. At a dinner hosted for McCain last evening, Obama showered praise on his one-time rival.  

The inaugural ceremony, to be attended by hundreds and thousands of people, is being held under an unprecedented security cover. Thousands of security personnel from more than a dozen security agencies and sharp shooters in plain clothes have been deployed in and around the Capitol.  

The actual inaugural ceremony itself would begin at 11 a.M. Today US time (2130 IST) on the West Front of the US Capitol with musical selections by the US States Marine Band, followed by the San Francisco Body Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus.  

The Democratic Senator from California Dianne Feinstein in the capacity as the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies would deliver the welcome address and call the function to order.