Meet Joe Biden’s White House appointees


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President Donald Trump may not yet have conceded the election, but Joe Biden, the president-elect, is already selecting the advisers who will staff his future administration.

After announcing Ron Klain as his chief of staff this past week, Mr Biden announced an all-female communications team who will accompany him to the White House on January 20.

Here’s the running list of Mr Biden’s appointees for his future administration:

Chief of Staff Ron Klain: Mr Klain served as Mr Biden's chief of staff when he was vice president. He then returned to the White House from 2014 to 2015 as former President Barack Obama's response coordinator to the Ebola epidemic. This pick highlights Mr Biden's focus on combating the Covid-19 pandemic.

Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O'Malley Dillon: An experienced political hand, Ms Dillon managed Mr Biden's 2020 presidential campaign. A co-founder of the political communications, digital and data-targeting firm Precision Strategies, Ms Dillon also served as the deputy campaign manager for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, the battleground states director for his 2008 campaign and the executive director of the Democratic National Committee.

Oval Office Operations Director Annie Tomasini: Ms Tomasini served as Mr Biden's travelling chief of staff for his 2020 election campaign. She served as the deputy press secretary for Mr Biden during his tenure as vice president and his press secretary when he chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan: Mr Sullivan was Mr Biden's national security adviser when he served as vice president, where he helped to initiate the negotiations that led to the Iran nuclear deal.

Before that, he served as the director of policy planning and deputy chief of staff for former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

Special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry: As secretary of state under president Barack Obama, Mr Kerry helped to negotiate the Paris Climate Accord.

He was also the 2004 Democratic nominee for president and served as the chairman of the foreign relations committee while in the Senate.

Senior Adviser Mike Donilon: Mr Donilon was the chief strategist for Mr Biden's 2020 campaign. Prior to that, he served as Mr Biden's counsellor at the White House during the Obama administration. Afterwards, he became the managing director of the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware.

Counsel to the President Dana Remus: Ms Remus served as the general counsel to Mr Biden's 2020 campaign. She has also served as the General Counsel to the Obama Foundation as well as to President Obama's personal office. In the Obama White House, she was the deputy counsel for ethics.

Counsellor to the President Steve Ricchetti: Mr Ricchetti was the chairman of the Biden campaign. He also served as the chief of staff to Mr Biden when he was vice president during the Obama administration and served as the deputy chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton. After the Obama administration, Mr Ricchetti became the managing director of the Penn Biden Centre for Diplomacy and Global Engagement.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki: Ms Psaki assumed numerous roles throughout the Obama administration and began working for the former president as a travelling press secretary during his 2008 election campaign. She went on to serve as deputy press secretary, deputy communications director, the State Department spokeswoman under John Kerry and ultimately became the deputy White House communications director.

White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield: Ms Bedingfield served as the communications director for Mr Biden's presidential campaign. She was also his communications director while he served as vice president in the Obama administration.

White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Director Julie Rodriguez: Ms Rodriguez was the deputy campaign manager for Mr Biden's 2020 election campaign. Prior to that, she was the national political director and travelling chief of staff for vice president-elect Kamala Harris's presidential campaign. She also served as a special assistant to the White House office of public engagement under President Obama.

White House Office of Public Engagement Director Cedric Richmond: Mr Richmond co-chaired Mr Biden's presidential campaign and currently co-chairs his transition team. He currently serves as a lawmaker from Louisiana in the US House of Representatives.

Director of Legislative Affairs Louisa Terrell: Ms Terrell served as an adviser in legislative affairs to President Obama. Before that, she worked as an adviser at the and as the deputy chief of for Mr Biden when he served in the Senate. She has also served as an the chief of staff for Senator Cory Booker, an adviser at the Federal Communications Commission and the public policy director for Facebook.

Presidential Personnel Director Cathy Russell: Ms Russell served as the vice chair of Mr Biden's presidential campaign. She also served in numerous roles in the White House and State Department under President Obama, including as deputy assistant to the president, chief of staff to second lady Jill Biden, and the US ambassador for Global women's issues. Prior to that she served as a staffer on Capitol Hill and an associate deputy attorney general at the Justice Department.

White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo: Mr Elizondo served as the social secretary for Mr Biden and Ms Biden during the Obama administration where he was tasked with planning the vice president's events. He also served in the Bill Clinton administration in both the White House and office of the US chief of protocol, managing state visits and other major international events.

Chief of staff to Kamala Harris, Tina Flournoy: Ms Flournoy is currently the chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton. Prior to that, she worked for the American Federation of Teachers. She has worked for various Democratic campaigns and politicians throughout her career, including as the finance director for former Vice President Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign and in the White House presidential personnel office during the Clinton administration.

National security adviser to Kamala Harris, Nancy McEldowney: A career diplomat, Ms McEldowney spent more than 30 years in the US foreign service, serving as the ambassador to Bulgaria and the deputy chief of mission in Turkey and Azerbaijan. She also served as the director of European affairs on the National Security Council under the Clinton administration and as the principal deputy assistant secretary of state of European and Eurasian affairs.

Domestic policy adviser to Kamala Harris, Rohini Kosoglu: Ms Kosoglu served as a senior adviser on Mr Biden's 2020 presidential campaign. She also served as the chief of staff for Ms Harris' Senate office and for her presidential campaign. As a policy director for Senator Michael Bennet, she handled economic, healthcare and budget policy and helped draft the Affordable Care Act.

Chief spokesperson for Kamala Harris, Symone Sanders: Ms Sanders served as a senior adviser on Mr Biden's presidential campaign after serving as the press secretary for Senator Bernie Sanders' failed 2016 presidential primary campaign. She was principal of 360 Group LLC, a strategic communications firm.

Communications director for Kamala Harris, Ashley Etienne: Ms Etienne served as a senior adviser on Mr Biden's presidential campaign. Prior to that, she was the communications director for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Ms Etienne was also the director of communications for the Cabinet in the Obama administration.

Policy Director to Jill Biden, Mala Adiga: Ms Adiga served as Ms Biden's senior policy adviser during the presidential campaign. She was previously the director for higher education and military families at the Biden Foundation. Under the Obama administration, she served as deputy assistant secretary of state for academic programmes as well as in the State Department's office of Global Women's Issues.

Chief of Staff to Jill Biden, Julissa Reynoso Pantaloon: Ms Pantaloon is currently a partner at the law firm Winston & Strawn. During the Obama administration, she served as the US ambassador to Uruguay and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere.

Senior Adviser to Jill Biden, Anthony Bernal: Mr Bernal was a deputy campaign manager and the chief of staff to Jill Biden during the presidential campaign. He also served in her office during all eight years of the Obama administration. He also worked at the White House under President Bill Clinton as part of the scheduling and advance teams.

National Economic Council Director, Brian Deese: Mr Deese was a long-time economic adviser to former president Barack Obama. As special assistant to Mr Obama after the 2008 financial crisis, Mr Deese worked on the bailout of the US automobile industry then went on to become the deputy director of the National Economic Council and eventually the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget. He also helped negotiate the Paris Climate Accord, which Mr Biden has vowed to re-enter following President Trump's withdrawal. Mr Deese is currently the global head of sustainable investing at BlackRock, an investment management corporation.

Company profile

Name: Steppi

Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic

Launched: February 2020

Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year

Employees: Five

Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai

Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings

Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year

GIANT REVIEW

Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan

Director: Athale

Rating: 4/5

Another way to earn air miles

In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.

An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.

“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.

RACE CARD

5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m

The Bio

Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees  (oats with chicken) is one of them

Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.

Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results

During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks

Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy

Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it

PRO BASH

Thursday’s fixtures

6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors

10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters

Teams

Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.

Squad rules

All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.

Tournament rules

The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.

French business

France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.

Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world

New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.

The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.

Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.

“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.

"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."

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India Test squad

Virat Kohli (c), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million