Washington, Nov 20: Former United States secretary of state Madeleine Albright has reportedly advised US President-elect Barack Obama to expand co-operation between Pakistan and Afghanistan in order to curb militancy in the region.

She also asked him to work towards changing America’s image of being hostile to Muslims.

“The United States should concentrate on enhancing security and co-operation between Afghanistan and Pakistan in order to rout out the Taliban,” the Daily Times quoted Madeleine as saying.

Washington, Nov 20: A White House spokesperson has said that despite his continuing silence the US administration had no information whether Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was dead.

The statement came in the wake of a recent broadcast of a new message from al-Qaeda’s number two Ayman Zawahiri.

Washington, Nov 20 : Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader, has accepted President-elect Barack Obama’s offer to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, according to Domocrat officials.

CBS News reported that the officials on Capitol Hill and close to the transition confirmed the selection.

The appointment has not been officially announced, but these officials say the job is Daschle’s barring an unforeseen problem as Obama’s team reviews the background of the South Dakota Democrat.

Washington  - President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled new members of future White House staff and key policy directors as US media speculated on his potential cabinet picks for health, justice and the top job in US diplomacy.

The names released so far include many familiar faces from the administration of former president Bill Clinton, the last Democrat in the White House, as well as some of Obama's top campaign officials.

Washington  - President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled who will develop his key policy priorities during the transition as US media speculated on his potential cabinet picks for health, justice and the top US diplomat.

Former president Bill Clinton has opened up his books to the Obama transition team in an effort to pave the way for his wife Hillary Clinton to get the job of secretary of state, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Washington  - The man regarded as second-in-command of terrorist group al-Qaeda condemned US president-elect Barack Obama Wednesday in the group's first audio message since his election, using racial slurs and calling his victory an "admission of defeat" in Iraq.

Ayman al-Zawahiri said Obama was "the direct opposite of honourable black Americans" like Malcolm X, a controversial figure who preached violence during the US civil rights movement in the 1960s.