Chicago, Nov. 27 : In the 22 days since winning the White House, President-elect Barack Obama has taken 22 questions from reporters and has done two sit-down television interviews.

The Democrat has also set a record of sorts by holding four press conferences since November 4, three of them consecutively this week.

Obama has beaten his four predecessors in number of post-election, pre-inauguration press conferences. With one Cabinet post officially named, he is working at a faster clip than former President Bill Clinton.

Washington/London/Moscow/Chicago, Nov. 27: There has been widespread international condemnation of the series of shootings across Mumbai in which at least
80 people have been killed and many more injured. Following are some of the statements issued by heads of state, government and leaders, as reported by the BBC.

"These outrageous attacks in Mumbai will be met with a vigorous response. I have sent a message to [Indian] Prime Minister [Manmohan] Singh that the UK stands solidly with his government as they respond, and to offer all necessary help. Urgent action is underway to offer every possible protection to British citizens in the region," said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Chicago, Nov. 26 : US President-elect Barack Obama has said ''captains of industry'' are out of touch with what''s going on in Middle America, and said they should be ready to make sacrifices to get the country’s depressed economy back on track.

In an interview with ABC''s Barbara Walters, Obama said bank executives should forgo their bonuses this year as an example of taking responsibility in tough times. Executives should make sacrifices because so many other people are struggling, he added.

Chicago, Nov. 24: Chicagoan Desiree Rogers is expected to be named special assistant to the president. She will be the White House social secretary, sources said.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, Rogers is currently president of social networking for Allstate Financial, a unit of the Northbrook-based insurance firm.

In her new job, Rogers would be in charge of social functions at the White House for Barack Obama.

She would be the first black to hold that job.

Chicago, Nov. 24: Moving to Washington will be particularly jarring for incoming US First Lady Michelle Obama, whose social and professional life is interwoven with Hyde Park in Chicago.

Until recently, she held a prominent position at the University of Chicago Hospitals. She grew up a few minutes from their current home and has lived away from Chicago only during her time at Princeton University and at Harvard Law School. She is on the boards of an African dance company and her daughters'' private school.

Chicago, Nov. 22: US President-elect Barack Obama has reportedly zeroed in on his picks for Treasury and Commerce secretaries.

According to Fox News, Obama will nominate Tim Geithner, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, for Treasury Secretary, and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson as Commerce Secretary.

Geithner, 47, joined the Treasury in 1988 and has worked for five Secretaries of the Treasury in three administrations. He was Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs from 1999 to 2001.