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Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he speaks with Michael Flynn, in Virginia Beach, during his 2016 election campaign. Mr Trump has pardoned Michael Flynn, who was accused of lying to FBI investigators, calling the decision his “Great Honour.” AP Photo

Donald Trump may pardon allies before leaving office
Medical staff members work in the nursing station at the United Memorial Medical Centre in Houston, Texas. Numbers on the wall indicate the days since the hospital opened its Covid-19 intensive care unit. Getty Images/AFP

US Covid-19 deaths rise by 2,500 in 24 hours

World
Michael Flynn (R) lasted only 24 days as Donald Trump's first national security adviser. AFP

Donald Trump pardons former adviser Michael Flynn

The Americas
US President-elect Joe Biden stands with his nominees for his national security team at his transition headquarters in the Queen Theatre in Wilmington, Delaware, November 24, 2020. Reuters

America is back, says Joe Biden as he unveils Cabinet

World

Dow Jones trades above 'sacred' 30,0000 to the amazement of Trump

Markets

US government agencies begin transition to Biden

The Americas

Pennsylvania certifies election results cementing Biden’s victory

The Americas
IN DEPTH
Former Secretary of State John Kerry will be the special presidential envoy for climate for US President-elect Joe Biden. EPA

Meet Joe Biden's cabinet picks

The Americas
Mr Biden announces his national security nominees and appointees at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware. Reuters

US government agencies begin transition to Biden

The Americas
New Yorkers Vern Calhoun (left) and Andrew Chandler (centre) outside the Met museum this week. James Reinl for The National

New Yorkers describe a city changed by Covid-19

The Americas
In this November 13, 2019 file photo, Dolly Parton performs at the 53rd annual CMA Awards in Nashville. Ms Parton's $1 million gift to Nashville's Vanderbilt University helped researchers develop Moderna's experimental coronavirus vaccine, announced this week. AP

Dolly Parton's doctor pal sees light at end of Covid tunnel

World
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during an interview with The National. Victor Besa/The National

Pompeo vows ‘maximum pressure’ on Iran

MENA
From turnips to mushrooms, US produce workers are work fast and hard to bring food to Thanksgiving dinner tables. UFW

Americans given a taste of farming reality in viral Thanksgiving Twitter thread
"Rockefeller",  was found in a Christmas tree transported from Oneonta to Rockefeller Centre in New York. AFP

New Yorkers get two celebrity owls for Christmas
US President-elect Joe Biden will bring considerable experience of foreign policy, including on the Middle East, when he enters the Oval Office in January 2021. Reuters

Beyond the Headlines: How will Joe Biden change US policy in the Middle East?
TOPSHOT - Palestinian youths practice parkour in Gaza City, on November 18, 2020. / AFP / MOHAMMED ABED

The Middle East Framed: best regional photos
A Southwest Airlines passenger jet crosses the sky above Kansas City, Kan., as the moon looms in the distance, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020. With the coronavirus surging out of control, the nation's top public health agency pleaded with Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving and not to spend the holiday with people from outside their household. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

World in focus: today's best photos
US President-elect Joe Biden's large and close family have all supported him on his campaign trail. AFP, Twitter @naomibiden

Four children and seven grandchildren: meet Joe Biden's family
Bahrain's newly appointed Prime Minister and Crown Prince of Bahrain, Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa attend the funeral procession of Bahrain's Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa in Hunainiyah Cemetery in Riffa, Bahrain November 13, 2020. Bahrain News Agency/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.

The Middle East Framed: best regional photos
This aerial view photo shows one of two "Varbergs Giants", a giant sculpture by French artist Xavier Veilhan displayed in Varberg, south of Stockholm on November 12, 2020. French artist Xavier Veilhan won the first prize in the art competition of the city of Stockholm announced in 2018 as part of the urban development project Fokus Skarholmen. The giants together consist of 89 large sky-blue concrete blocks assembled into finished sculptures. The largest blocks weigh six tons each. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION / AFP / Jonathan NACKSTRAND / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION

World in focus: best photos of the day
Jonathan Pollard, an American who spent 30 years in US prison for spying for Israel, arrives at US District Court in the Manhattan borough of New York, July 22, 2016. Reuters 

Netanyahu promises Israel's ex-spy in US a ‘warm welcome’ home

The Americas
The Duchess of Sussex has disclosed that she suffered a miscarriage in July. AP

Duchess of Sussex reveals she suffered a miscarriage

Family
Reema Dodin, the Palestinian-American political veteran, is the first Arab-American to be appointed to the incoming Biden administration. Image: Twitter    

Reema Dodin is first Arab-American named in Biden’s White House

The Americas
Michele Flournoy (left), a politically moderate Pentagon veteran, is regarded by US officials and political insiders as a top choice for President-elect Joe Biden to choose to head the Pentagon. AP Photo

Who are Biden’s front-runners for the Defence and Treasury posts

The Americas
President-elect Joe Biden is likely to nominate former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to head the US Treasury. If confirmed by the Senate, Ms Yellen would be the first woman to assume the position and be tasked with steering the world's largest economy as it faces mass layoffs and a sharp growth slowdown caused by Covid-19. AFP

Why Janet Yellen's nomination to lead Treasury bodes well for the US economy

Economy
Then US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken playing with The Coalition of the Willing and Jeff Baxter, of the band Steely Dan, during an event at British Embassy in Washington DC. Posted on Mr Blinken's Twitter.

The rock ambition of Biden's top diplomat

The Americas
Corn and Cobb, a pair of turkeys that will be pardoned by US President Donald Trump, walk inside their hotel room at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington, DC. AFP

Turkeys Corn and Cob vie to be Trump's last Thanksgiving pardoning

The Americas
Volunteers Jailene Cruz and Genesis Maldonado sort food at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank distribution centre, as the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease continues, in Los Angeles, California, US. Reuters

Thanksgiving: Americans queue at food banks amid coronavirus downturn

The Americas
A crude oil tanker at Qingdao Port in China. The country's refiners are becoming a growing force in international markets for gasoline, diesel and other fuels. Reuters

China to overtake US as the world’s biggest oil refiner

Energy
The head of the General Services Administration has sent President-elect Joe Biden a letter informing him that the Trump administration is ready to begin the presidential transition process.  AFP

Trump agrees transition of power to Biden can begin

The Americas
Antony Blinken's appointment would be a huge shot in the arm for global multilateralism. Reuters 

Who is Antony Blinken, Joe Biden's pick for secretary of state

The Americas
Former secretary of state John Kerry campaigns on behalf of now President-elect Joe Biden in North Liberty, Iowa, USA. EPA/

Biden picks Kerry to address climate as national security threat

The Americas
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