U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday will have a rare lunch with former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who leads early polls among Democrats who could succeed him in 2016.

The White House did not provide any further details of the closed-door meeting scheduled for 12:00 pm (1600 GMT).

U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday he spoke frankly to Vietnam's leader about human rights but called for greater cooperation between the former war adversaries in areas from trade to security.

President Truong Tan Sang was only the second Vietnamese head of state to visit the White House since the normalization of relations in 1975 and he was jeered on his arrival by hundreds of Vietnamese Americans, many waving the flags of the former Saigon regime and chanting slogans that were occasionally audible inside the White House.

U.S. President Barack Obama expressed dismay Thursday at the train crash in Spain that left at least 80 people dead, including one American.

"Michelle and I were shocked and saddened by the news of yesterday's tragic train derailment in Santiago de Compostela, Spain," he said.

President Barack Obama announced Wednesday he is nominating former first daughter Caroline Kennedy as U.S. ambassador to Japan, offering the most famous living member of a prominent American family a new role of service to country.

Kennedy, an attorney and bestselling book editor, is being rewarded for helping put Obama in the White House, where her father served until his assassination 50 years ago. If confirmed, she would be the first woman in a post where many other prominent Americans have served to strengthen a vital Asian tie.

The top U.S. general has informed Congress of options for military intervention in Syria, but stressed that the decision of whether to go to war was one for civilian leaders.

In a non-classified letter made public Monday, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey set out five options -- from nonlethal intelligence and weapons training to a boots-on-the-ground plan to "assault and secure" the Syrian regime's chemical weapons.

President Barack Obama offered a very personal take on the Trayvon Martin case on Friday, saying that 35 years ago, he could have been the unarmed black teen shot dead by a neighborhood watchman.

In a surprise appearance before reporters, Obama hailed the "incredible grace and dignity" of Martin's parents and warned that a resort to violence in the wake of the Florida court verdict would "dishonor" his death.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume negotiations with the Palestinians "as soon as possible," the White House said.

The two leaders spoke by telephone as Secretary of State John Kerry made his latest trip to the region as part of marathon efforts to relaunch peace talks that last collapsed in 2010.

Nelson Mandela's health is "steadily improving,” South Africa's presidency said Thursday, as the anti-apartheid legend began spending his 95th birthday in hospital.

U.S. President Barack Obama led a stream of birthday wishes for the ailing peace icon, who was admitted to hospital with a recurring lung infection on June 8, as people from around the world prepared to honor his legacy with charitable acts.

A Texas man carrying a pistol and two knives was arrested Tuesday in the park across from the White House and has been charged with a firearms violation, officials said.

The suspect was first spotted at about 3:25 pm (1925 GMT) in Lafayette Park, just north of the U.S. presidential residence, Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary told Agence France Presse.

U.S. President Barack Obama appealed for calm Sunday after an acquittal in the killing of black teenager Trayvon Martin, saying: "We are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken."

"I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son," he said in a statement the day after a jury found neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman not guilty in a racially-charged trial.