Federal government of the United States

Greek-American political advisor and communications expert Jen Psaki has been named press secretary in US President-elect Joe Biden's new all-female White House communications team.

Psaki was the White House communications director under president Barack Obama from 2015 to 2017 and had previously been spokesperson for the US Department of State, among other roles.

President-elect Joe Biden will have an all-female senior communications team at his White House, reflecting his stated desire to build out a diverse White House team as well as what's expected to be a return to a more traditional press operation.

America should prepare for a "surge upon a surge" in coronavirus cases as millions of travelers return home after the Thanksgiving holiday, top U.S. scientist Anthony Fauci warned on Nov. 29.

The 1988 Democratic US presidential nominee Michael Dukakis said in an interview on Thursday on Skai TV that President-elect Joe Biden is "a great friend of Greece and has always been." 

The Greek American said it was clear that the US will improve its ties with Europe and NATO. 

Germany announced on Nov. 25 that it will push for Europe to ban ski holidays in a bid to curb coronavirus infections, while cases of COVID-19 reached a new peak of more than 60 million globally.

President Donald Trump pardoned his former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Nov. 25, ending a yearslong prosecution in the Russia investigation that saw Flynn twice plead guilty to lying to the FBI and then reverse himself before the Justice Department stepped in to dismiss his case.

Donald Trump has accepted a formal US transition should begin for President-elect Joe Biden to take office.

The president said the federal agency overseeing the handover must "do what needs to be done", even as he vowed to keep contesting his election defeat.

The General Services Administration (GSA) said it was acknowledging Mr Biden as the "apparent winner".

On Monday, the GSA told Biden they were ready to begin the transition

President-elect Joe Biden on Nov. 23 announced a foreign policy and national security team crammed with veterans from the Barack Obama years, signaling an end to the upheaval under President Donald Trump and a return to traditional U.S. diplomacy.    

Top of the list was former State Department number two Antony Blinken, tapped for secretary of state.    

The United States' next secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has been a close associate of President-elect Joe Biden for many years and is regarded as a foreign policy pro. He knows our region well as he has dealt with it as part of previous administrations.