Washington  - President-elect Barack Obama was expected to name his cabinet picks for the agriculture and interior departments on Wednesday as he battles to round out his cabinet before the end of December.

Colorado Senator Ken Salazar was set to head the Department of the Interior, while Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack was to be tapped for the Department of Agriculture, US media reported.

Amman - Jordanians appeared split over the possibility that the election of Barack Obama as new US president will lead to a "change" in the US Middle East policy, according to an opinion poll published Tuesday.

The survey conducted by the Centre of Strategic Studies (CSS) at the University of Jordan showed that only 43 per cent of the national sample believed Obama's election would "change" the US policy in the region, compared with 57 per cent who said they did not expect such a shift.

Chicago, Dec. 16 : Barack Obama may be swearing by his love for his predecessor Abraham Lincoln, but historians say that he is not a patch on the latter.

Obama told interviewer Steve Kroft that Lincon was a man of humility about his approach to government, even before he was president, which he found very helpful, both during his campaign and after winning the election.

His frequent invocations and comparisons with the 16th US President, however, have not gone down well with scholars.

London, Dec 16 : A new report has said that once the Obama administration takes over, they should set a concrete timetable for human Mars missions, and make sure new hardware developed for NASA's return to the Moon can be adapted for missions to other destinations.

According to a report in New Scientist, though President-elect Barack Obama's transition team has been very tight-lipped, if his administration takes its cue from the preponderance of advice it's getting, then human missions to Mars may well move up in priority.

Washi

Washington, Dec. 16 : The Electoral College has officially confirmed that Barack Obama will be the United States''s 44th president.

According to CBS, the Electoral College voters cast their ballots in state capitals on Monday, fulfilling their ceremonial but very important role as laid out by the Constitution.

But this is actually not the last step in the process. Congress will still have to confirm the results at a joint session scheduled for January 6. Obama will then be sworn in as the country''s first black president on January 20 at noon.