Briefs, January 26, 2013
US President Barack Obama named Denis McDonough, his deputy national security adviser, as White House chief of staff. McDonough, 43, replaces Jack Lew, who has been nominated to be Obama's new treasury secretary. A member of Obama's inner circle, McDonough was a top national security aide during the president's first term.
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama named Denis McDonough, his deputy national security adviser, as White House chief of staff. McDonough, 43, replaces Jack Lew, who has been nominated to be Obama's new treasury secretary. A member of Obama's inner circle, McDonough was a top national security aide during the president's first term. The White House chief of staff is traditionally the president's closest collaborator, running the administration from the West Wing. Unlike cabinet posts, the chief of staff's appointment is not subject to confirmation by the US Senate. AFP
DUBAI - The death of the deputy chief of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Saeed al-Shehri, has dealt a severe blow to what Washington considers the jihadist group's deadliest branch, analysts say. Yemen said on Thursday that Shehri, a Saudi national and former Guantanamo Bay detainee, was killed in a November 28 counterterrorism operation in the northern province of Saada. Washington says the Yemeni branch is the most active and deadliest in al-Qaeda, and the only one that poses a real threat to the US on its home soil. AFP