Washington, Dec 12 : It was not just Barack Obama who promised his daughters a puppy if he stuck it out through the presidential election - Vice President-elect Joe Biden too was given the same word by his wife, it has emerged.

According to a local newspaper report, Biden picked out a German shepherd pup last weekend from a breeder near his Delaware home.

Biden was promised the post-election dog by Jill, who would tape pictures of different dogs on the back of the seat in front of Biden on his campaign plane, according to reports.

Chicago, Dec. 7 : U. S. Vice President-elect Joe Biden says that he plans on "restoring the Office of the Vice President to its historical role" as adviser to the president and tie-breaker in the Senate.

Politico quoted a Biden aide as saying that the new Congress "will reassert its constitutional independence from the White House by barring the vice president from joining in internal Senate deliberations.

Washington, Nov. 26 : Aides to US President-elect Barack Obama have said that they do not expect Vice-President Joe Biden to assume the kind of muscular role that Vice President Dick Cheney has played over the last eight years, although they will expect him to put out a number of fires.

“I’m sure that there will be discrete assignments over time. But I think his fundamental role is as a trusted counselor. I think that when Obama selected him, he selected him to be a counselor and an adviser on a broad range of issues,” the New York Times quoted,” David Axelrod, a senior adviser to the president-elect, as saying.

Madrid - US vice-president-elect Joe Biden will visit Spain to improve bilateral relations that deteriorated during the presidency of George W Bush, the daily El Pais reported Tuesday.

The visit was agreed on Monday during a telephone conversation between Biden and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who got in touch with each other to discuss the results of Saturday's economic summit in Washington.

Biden was expected in Madrid soon after taking office.

Washington  - US president-elect Barack Obama on Monday returned telephone calls to foreign leaders who had called after the November 4 elections to congratulate him for his victory.

Obama spoke with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Turkish President Abdullah Gul, his transition team said.

Since the election, Obama has contacted more than a dozen leaders to thank them for congratulatory phone calls.