Washington - US president-elect Barack Obama named former Clinton White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to head the CIA and nominated a retired Navy admiral to oversee the entire intelligence community.
Dennis Blair, the chief of US Pacific Command from 1999 to 2002, will become the director of national intelligence, a so-called czar for coordinating the espionage activities and analyses of the nation's 16 intelligence organizations.
Brussels - The European Union on Friday urged Russia immediately to restore gas supplies to Europe after satisfying one of Moscow's key demands by sending a team of observers to Ukraine.
But the taps remained shut by late afternoon, as skirmishes erupted between representatives of the two countries' state-owned monopolies, Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukraine.
"The team (of observers) has begun its work," the EU's executive arm, the European Commission, said in a statement.
Washington - The lower body of the Illinois state legislature voted overwhelmingly Friday to impeach Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was accused last month of trying to sell president- elect Barack Obama's vacant US Senate seat.
The House of Representatives voted 114-1 to send the case to a trial in the state Senate, where, if convicted, Blagojevich will be stripped of his power and removed from office. A special committee in the House voted unanimously to impeach Blagojevich on Thursday.
Brussels - The European Union on Friday hailed the formation of a new government in Bangladesh as a potential milestone in the country's development.
The EU "congratulates Sheikh Hasina on her electoral victory and appointment as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and pays tribute to the people of Bangladesh for their commitment to the holding of democratic, multi-party elections," a statement on behalf of the 27-member bloc released in Brussels said.
Washington - US president-elect Barack Obama named four former Clinton officials to posts in the Pentagon, including William Lynn as deputy secretary of defence.
Lynn, now a top executive at defence firm Raytheon, served as the Pentagon chief budget official from 1997 to 2001. If confirmed by the Senate, he would become the second-highest ranking civilian in the Pentagon under Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
Washington - US president-elect Barack Obama named former Clinton White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to head the CIA and nominated a retired Navy admiral to oversee the entire intelligence community.
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Brussels - The European Union on Friday urged Russia immediately to restore gas supplies to Europe after satisfying one of Moscow's key demands by sending a team of observers to Ukraine.
Washington - The lower body of the Illinois state legislature voted overwhelmingly Friday to impeach Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was accused last month of trying to sell president- elect Barack Obama's vacant US Senate seat.
Brussels - The European Union on Friday hailed the formation of a new government in Bangladesh as a potential milestone in the country's development.
Washington - US president-elect Barack Obama named four former Clinton officials to posts in the Pentagon, including William Lynn as deputy secretary of defence.
