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By Jeff Zeleny, Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins, CNN

(CNN) -- President Joe Biden has made final decisions on several high-profile ambassador posts around the world and is poised to announce the first slate of nominees in the coming days as he prepares to set off on his first overseas trip since taking office.

The White House has started notifying countries of the President's choices, officials said, which is one of the final steps before the ambassador nominations are formally made. Extensive vetting, along with a desire to find a diverse roster of candidates, has caused repeated delays but officials said an announcement of the top diplomats could come next week.

"We hope to have more soon," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday, adding that the notification process of officials in host countries was already underway.

A White House official said Friday that it was the administration's goal to make the announcements before the President leaves next week for his first trip abroad. Yet the timeline has been repeatedly moved back, so the official declined to guarantee the goal would be reached.

Top diplomats to China, Japan, Israel, India and several European countries are expected to be among those included in the first wave of ambassador nominees. The list includes several top donors, former senators and their spouses, people familiar with the selection tell CNN.

One of the biggest questions still hanging over the search for US ambassadors is for the Court of St. James, which is the prestigious post in the United Kingdom. It has been the subject of considerable discussion on both sides of the Atlantic, but several officials told CNN they weren't certain whom Biden had settled on or whether a final choice would even be made before Biden is set to visit next week on the first stop of his weeklong tour. Several candidates have turned the post down, which extended the selection process, a person familiar with the matter said.

Nicholas Burns, a career diplomat who has served presidents of both political parties, is expected to be nominated as ambassador to China.

Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor, Illinois congressman and the first White House chief of staff in the Obama administration, is poised to be nominated as ambassador to Japan.

Tom Nides, a former deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration and a longtime executive at Morgan Stanley, is expected to be tapped as ambassador to Israel. This post has taken on even greater significance in the wake of the ceasefire reached late last month between Israel and Gaza and the expected fall of longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The nominees are subject to confirmation hearings in the closely divided Senate, which means none of the ambassadors are likely to be in their posts before late summer or early fall.

The timing has put the Biden administration behind the pace set by his most recent predecessors and has led to frustration among some State Department officials and top donors, who have been in something of a holding pattern for months. Foreign diplomats in Washington have also privately raised questions about the delays.

Vickie Kennedy, the wife of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, is also a leading contender to serve as ambassador to Germany, people familiar with the process told CNN.

People tracking the process closely, including former ambassadors, donors and State Department officials also say Cindy McCain, wife of the late Sen. John McCain, is expected to be nominated as the US envoy to the United Nations Food Program in Rome.

Denise Bauer, an ambassador to Belgium in the Obama administration and leader of Women for Biden, is poised to be tapped as ambassador to France. And Michael Adler, a Miami real estate developer who has a long friendship with Biden, is expected to be nominated for the post in Belgium.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who served on Biden's vice presidential selection committee, is expected to be selected as ambassador to India.

The President is also considering former Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar for ambassador to Mexico. Former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill and former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake are also being considered for other posts, people familiar with the matter say, as is Claire Lucas, a top Biden fundraiser and chair of the LGBTQ Victory Institute Board of Directors.

At least two high-level contenders were taken out of consideration in recent weeks, a personal familiar with the matter said, after the vetting of finances and statements on social media emerged as a potential challenge during the confirmation process.

Above all, a senior administration official said, one of the biggest reasons for the delay is that the selection has become something of a game of musical chairs. Several donors or friends of Biden expressed interest in one position, but were offered second choices, given the overall list of nominees.

"Diversity among ambassadors is just as important to the President as diversity in his Cabinet," a White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk about the closed-door process. "And that is a process."

Even since Biden has taken office, the political circumstances in several key countries has changed. Israel is the greatest example, with a deadly conflict last month giving way to a ceasefire and likely a new prime minister.

The Biden administration's policy on the Middle East will be scrutinized during confirmation hearings, which are expected to be held later this summer.

From Capitol Hill to the Middle East, the selection of Nides has been the subject of considerable discussion for weeks among close watchers of Israel.

A longtime top Democratic donor, Nides served as chief operating officer at Morgan Stanley before stepping down in 2010 to work under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He returned to Morgan Stanley in 2013 as vice chairman. Nides is married to CNN executive Virginia Moseley, who is senior vice president of domestic newsgathering.

A White House official declined to say whether a formal offer had been extended to Nides or nominees to other countries but told CNN: "We are not commenting on anyone and no one is final until they're announced."

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Biden poised to announce first slate of ambassador nominees as he eyes first trip abroad - WDJT

The next time you feel sexually harassed in a public space, pin the creep. Literally. With a map on Safecity, a digital platform that collects and analyses crowdsourced, anonymous reports of violent crime, identifying patterns and key insights of sexual violence.

Elsa Marie DSilva, the founder of Red Dot Foundation, is popular for helping women pin the creep on the map. Why? So you can let another woman know that the second railway station gate near Safardarjung Enclave in Delhi has a bunch of creeps who will sexually harass women after 8 pm. Or that the second left near MG Road towards Brigade Road in Bengaluru is a hotspot for such sexual violence.

The website provides maps for every year in the country and you can understand how safe or unsafe your area is and what to do. In April 2021, the website did a #Dhakaldo campaign to get bystander intervention to prevent harassment on the streets. This was part of their Anti-Street Harassment week activities. But how does visually representing ones personal experiences on a map help? It helps to view the problem from a different perspective.

Often the survivor is blamed when she speaks up. When you can show a dataset that highlights a recurring trend, it forces you to demand accountability. Thats what we are trying to do with Safecitymake the invisible visible by bridging the data gap that exists with sexual and gender-based violence. It is a global issue impacting on an average one in three women, yet 80 percent or more never speak up. So the statistics are highly under-reported, says DSilva.

She started Safecity with a couple of friends as an immediate response to the Nirbhaya incident in Delhi in December 2012. The incident was shocking and triggering. I remembered the various incidents that I had faced over the years that amounted to sexual harassmentgroping on a train, witnessing masturbation on a bus, sexual harassment at the workplace. But until then I had never really spoken up. The incident made me reflect on the systemic change that was needed. Lack of data was making the issue invisible. Therefore we launched the crowdmap for anonymous reporting of such violence, says the recipient of the Global Leadership Award by Vital Voices in the presence of Hillary Clinton.

Thus far, Safecitys #PintheCreep is the largest crowd map with over 25,000 personal stories. The data has been used for advocacy in several countries impacting over a million people. DSilva says it has helped to mainstream the conversation and it provides the information in which to hold a dialogue using evidence-based data. The data collected is available open-source for individuals and communities to make their neighbourhoods safer. With information of what kind of incidents happen regularly, you can have better strategies to address the situation. You can also invite your community to help find solutions and work with police or civic officials for better safety. We have had police change beat patrol timings and increase vigilance, elected representatives make budgets available for CCTV cameras and college campus officials strengthen responses to sexual violence prevention.

With lockdowns and curfews across cities, it may look like the creep factor has gone down, but digital violence is an extension of the violence in the physical world. To address this, during the pandemic we hosted workshops on the prevention of online harassment. With Bumble we developed a Stand for Safety guide so that more people can understand the nature of the violence and take measures to prevent it, says the activist listed as one of BBC Hindis 100 Women and the winner of Niti Aayogs

#WomenTransformingIndia award.

CREEPOPEDIA Members of all genders who violate privacy and crosses boundaries

There have been 25,000 creep reports so far. Users can report/pin the violator via Safecity on Android and iOS phones or via a missed call on 9015 510 510

Information is analysed to engage communities to find solutions and hold civic and police officials accountable. The information remains anonymous.

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Concerned about women safety? Here's how you can warn ladies about harassers in your city by 'pinning the creep' - The New Indian Express

The American Farm Bureau Federation joined all 50 state Farm Bureaus and Puerto Rico Farm Bureau in sending a letter today urging the Biden administration to address the surge of undocumented immigrants entering the United States. The increase in illegal immigration is severely impacting farm and ranch families, putting property and personal safety at risk. The letter was sent to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

We have been listening to the concerns of our members and hearing how their livelihoods are being affected by the surge on the border, the letter states. They (farmers) shared how their crops and property are being damaged, which in turn has caused financial hardship. For example, these landowners are experiencing cut fences, destroyed crops, compromised water sources, vandalism, litter on their property and more. Most importantly, the security and safety of these families are at stake given the current circumstances.

The letter points out that local and state border security resources have been exhausted, leaving little help for farmers and ranchers. It highlights the problem of human smugglers, known as Coyotes, explaining that landowners live in fear while Coyotes reap a windfall from leaving people destitute.

Human smugglers (Coyotes) are making false promises and doing whatever it takes to get paid and get away, including jeopardizing lives and property, the letter continues. In their desperation to evade law enforcement, Coyotes abandon people, steal vehicles, vandalize property and threaten the safety and livelihoods of farmers and ranchers. They are often criminals who smuggle drugs and firearms into the country, frequently leaving them on farmers and ranchers property, causing unrest for farm and ranch families.

The letter asks the federal government to provide additional resources to secure the U.S. border.

Read the full letter.

Contact: Mike TomkoDirector, Communications(202) 406-3642miket@fb.orgBailey CorwineMedia Relations Specialist(202) 406-3643baileyc@fb.org

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Farm Bureau Urges Administration to Address Surge of Undocumented Immigrants - Farm Bureau News

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All eight Democratic mayoral candidates -- Ray McGuire, Maya Wiley, Andrew Yang, Scott Stringer, Shaun Donovan, Eric Adams, Kathryn Garcia and Dianne Morales -- during the second mayoral debate on June 2, 2021.WABC-TV

Every single one of the eight Democrats running for mayor vowed to protect illegal immigrants from deportation, solidifying the Big Apples often infamous status as a sanctuary city.

The mayoral wannabes doubled down on current Mayor de Blasios approach of barring local authorities from reporting the immigration status of residents to federal authorities during their second televised debate on WABC-TV Channel 7 Wednesday.

We have to be a true sanctuary city. We have to live up to our values, which means making investments in our families regardless of documentation, said former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, who recently moved into the top tier of candidates.

Garcia said she worked to provide free food to needy New Yorkers during the coronavirus pandemic, regardless of their immigration status.

Were a sanctuary city, this is about respect, its about dignity, its about support, its about those who have allowed the city and sacrificed for this city to be where it is as we managed through COVID, said former Citigroup executive Ray McGuire.

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang, the son of legal Taiwanese immigrants, said, I appreciate anyone who comes to this country or New York City for a better life.

And Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said migrants were his neighbors growing up in Queens.

My mother worked two jobs to provide for the six of us and we had a group of undocumented residents that lived in our community, Adams said.

The other candidates city comptroller Scott Stringer, former Obama housing secretary Shaun Donovan and nonprofit leader Dianne Morales also voiced their support for the Big Apple as a sanctuary city.

De Blasio repeatedly tangled with former President Donald Trump over the policy with Trump threatening to withhold federal funding from the city until a judge blocked the move.

Given that the vast majority of the citys voters are registered Democrats, the winner of the Democratic mayoral primary on June 22 will most likely succeed de Blasio at City Hall.

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Next mayor wants NYC to be even more of a 'sanctuary' for illegal immigrants - New York Post

Tunisian President Kas Saed has warned that Europe can only stem the flow of migrants reaching its shores by helping to improve conditions in the countries that they are leaving.

Saed told Euronews that an approach to migration that only deals with security - preventing people from reaching Europe - would ultimately fail to solve what is a global crisis.

On the sidelines of meetings in Brussels, Euronews sat down with Saed to discuss the partnership that his country has with the EU to slow the flow of migrants to Europe and other issues.

Kas Saed: "I have talked about this topic on several occasions, about illegal or legal migration.

Many people talk about a solution to solve the problem based on security. But it's very clear that this option is not enough to curb the migratory wave.

If those illegal immigrants had fulfilled their ambition to live well and to make their dreams come true, and had the same opportunities European citizens have in their countries, the immigration issue would not be raised. It is better to find out about the real reasons for immigration rather than analysing the phenomena.

Many illegal immigrants who reach Europe from Tunisia and North Africa are exploited by criminal organisations: they are forced to do illegal work, which violates their rights as refugees.

We must also talk about the legal migration of academics and other high-skilled workers. For example, in the past year only, nearly five hundred doctors went to Europe."

"To fight these networks in Tunisia, but also in Europe, you need to look at those who welcome them. Who receives them when they turn up to work in the fields or in factories, or even on the black market? Who exploits them and who benefits from it? It's here in Europe.

These migrants are forced to work illegally, so it is absolutely necessary to combat human trafficking networks within Europe as well. There will be no security and no peace here unless we eliminate the causes that led to this illegal migration. Some illegal immigrants were forced to do so because they had lost all kind of hope, they had no dream."

"There are agreements with a number of European countries and with the EU regarding this matter of creating jobs for youth. I told them: 'We should find a new mechanism in order to build justice within the world'."

"Yes, they listened to us. I'm talking here about operational solutions. In Tunisia, we tried different action plans for vaccination, but there are still insufficient and ineffective.

In recent days, we've had alarming signals coming from different regions in Tunisia that were suffering from oxygen shortage and lack of medical supplies, but we've managed to get the situation under control. These catastrophic situations can be treated with a global approach to assistance, not just within one country."

"Tunisia is not a country targeted by terrorism on a daily basis, ours is a safe country. We protect our society by establishing a platform of cultural values aimed at protecting citizens from becoming involved in terrorism -- which mainly threatens people who are victims of a certain intellectual precariousness."

"We respect every country in its freedom to take decisions, we do not want to interfere in other states' decisions at all. They are free, but we are also free to take our own decisions."

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Europe must tackle the real causes of migration, says Tunisia's president - Euronews