London, Jan 8 : US President-elect Barack Obama met with all living past and present presidents of the country for lunch at the White House.

The meeting, which has been dubbed as an "extraordinary gathering" by Obama, saw George H W Bush, George W Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and the President-elect himself standing together in the Oval Office of the White House for a photo opportunity.

Washington  - US president-elect Barack Obama has created a new position for his administration assigned to monitor the federal budget to cut wasteful or inefficient spending.

Obama announced Wednesday that he had selected Nancy Killefer, a Treasury Department official during the Clinton years, to fill the post of Chief Performance Officer.

Washington, Jan 7 : Rapper Jay Z has announced plans for special one-off c

Washington, Jan 7 : Outgoing US national security adviser Stephen Hadley has said that Iran is the biggest challenge President-elect Barack Obama will face in the Middle East and adds that the next administration's top priority should also be aimed at stabilizing an increasingly volatile Pakistan.

He further said that more sanctions would be needed to force Tehran to forgo its nuclear ambitions and support for extremists.

Melbourne, Jan 7: The man who kept US President-elect Barack Obama out of the Blair House has reportedly been revealed, it is: former Australian prime minister and Bush mate John Howard.

Last month, the Obama family asked the Bush administration if they could move into Blair House - the security home near the White House - a fortnight early to get their daughters settled at their new schools.

However, they were refused saying that it was not possible because foreign dignitaries had been booked in.

Now, The Washington Post has revealed that the only dignitary staying overnight on January 12 is Howard, reports the age. com. au.

Washington, Jan. 7 : U. S. President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden have apologized to Diane Feinstein, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, for not consulting her about the nomination of Leon Panetta to head the CIA.

According toa Fox News report, Obama and Biden called Feinstein a day after her spokesman said the California senator did not receive a phone call about Panetta from anyone in the Obama camp and learned about the decision to nominate him from news reports.