Chicago, Nov. 17: U. S. President-elect Barack Obama on Sunday resigned as the junior Seantor from Illinois and told his constituency in a thank-you and farewell letter that he was ending one journey to begin another.

Recalling his time in community organizing on Chicago's South Side, his service in the state Senate, he quoted Abraham Lincoln, saying he wanted to take what he learned from the state to use at the White House.

Washington  - In his first interview as president-elect, Barack Obama called for help for the ailing US auto industry and for homeowners facing foreclosure amid the ongoing financial crisis.

Obama appeared on CBS' 60 Minutes news programme on Sunday in a wide-ranging interview that covered everything from terrorist threats to his relationship with his mother-in-law.

Washington, Nov. 17: A senior Republican leader has said naming Hillary Rodham Clinton as the next U. S. Secretary of State would be a good choice.

"It seems to me she''s got the experience. She''s got the temperament for it. I think she would be well received around the world," Fox News quoted Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, the U. S. Senate''s second-ranking Republican, as saying on Sunday.

"So my own initial reaction is it would be a very good selection," he added.

Chicago, Nov. 17 : U. S. President-elect Barack Obama said on Sunday that the security of the United States and getting the country’s economy back on track would command his attention on a priority basis once he assumes office on January 20, 2009.

Tokyo  - Tokyo stocks opened modestly higher Monday as investors bought back battered shares, but gains were capped due to anxiety over the slowdown of Japan's economic growth.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average edged up 98.8 points, or 1.17 per cent, to 8,561.19.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 6.31 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 853.22.

The government announced Monday that the nation's economy shrank at an annualized rate of 0.4 per cent in real terms in the July-September period.

Hong Kong  - Children are being pulled out of Hong Kong's top international schools in unusually high numbers as the global slump forces expatriates to quit the city, a news report said Monday.

Up to 50 students have left each of the wealthy city's most prestigious fee-paying international schools in recent months as expatriates are recalled, the Hong Kong Standard said.