• US President-elect Joe Biden has made appointments for his senior White House staff. AFP
    US President-elect Joe Biden has made appointments for his senior White House staff. AFP
  • Secretary of State: Antony J Blinken. AFP
    Secretary of State: Antony J Blinken. AFP
  • Director of National Intelligence: Avril Haines. AFP
    Director of National Intelligence: Avril Haines. AFP
  • Ambassador to the UN: Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Bloomberg
    Ambassador to the UN: Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Bloomberg
  • Secretary of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas. Reuters
    Secretary of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas. Reuters
  • Former Secretary of State John Kerry will be the special presidential envoy for climate for US President-elect Joe Biden. EPA
    Former Secretary of State John Kerry will be the special presidential envoy for climate for US President-elect Joe Biden. EPA
  • President-elect Joe Biden selected Jake Sullivan as his National Security Advisor, pictured here with Hillary Clinton. EPA
    President-elect Joe Biden selected Jake Sullivan as his National Security Advisor, pictured here with Hillary Clinton. EPA
  • Senior Advisor: Mike Donilon. Seen here on the right, alongside his brother Tom Donilon. Getty Images
    Senior Advisor: Mike Donilon. Seen here on the right, alongside his brother Tom Donilon. Getty Images
  • Deputy Chief of Staff: Jen OMalley Dillon. Getty Images
    Deputy Chief of Staff: Jen OMalley Dillon. Getty Images
  • Counsellor: Steve Ricchetti. Seen here while serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for then President Bill Clinton. Reuters
    Counsellor: Steve Ricchetti. Seen here while serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for then President Bill Clinton. Reuters
  • Senior Adviser to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement: Cedric Richmond. AFP
    Senior Adviser to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement: Cedric Richmond. AFP
  • Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs: Julie Chavez Rodriguez. Seen here while serving as an aide to Kamala Harris. AFP
    Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs: Julie Chavez Rodriguez. Seen here while serving as an aide to Kamala Harris. AFP
  • Biden has also appointed Annie Tomasini as Director of Oval Office Operations, Dana Remus will be Counsel to the President, Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon as Chief of Staff to Dr. Jill Biden, and Anthony Bernal will be Senior Advisor to Dr.Biden. Bloomberg
    Biden has also appointed Annie Tomasini as Director of Oval Office Operations, Dana Remus will be Counsel to the President, Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon as Chief of Staff to Dr. Jill Biden, and Anthony Bernal will be Senior Advisor to Dr.Biden. Bloomberg
  • Reema Dodin is a Palestinian-American political veteran and will become deputy director of the White House office of legislative affairs. Image: Twitter
    Reema Dodin is a Palestinian-American political veteran and will become deputy director of the White House office of legislative affairs. Image: Twitter

Meet Joe Biden’s White House appointees


  • English
  • Arabic

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.

Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

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Most wanted allegations
  • Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
  • Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
  • Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer. 
  • Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
  • Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
  • John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
  • Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
  • Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
  • Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain. 
  • Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
  • James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
  • Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack. 
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
  • 2018: Formal work begins
  • November 2021: First 17 volumes launched 
  • November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
  • October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
  • November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
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