U.S. President Barack Obama congratulated Saudi Arabia Monday on King Abdullah's selection of his half-brother Prince Salman as the kingdom's new crown prince, saying Washington looked forward to continued strong relations.

"As governor of Riyadh and then minister of defense, Crown Prince Salman has served his country with dedication and honor over the past five decades," Obama said in a statement.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday called for an end to violence in Syria and said its people should be allowed to democratically decide their future.

Saudi Arabia on Sunday buried crown prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz during a somber ceremony in Islam's holiest city, as defense minister Prince Salman appeared poised to become the new heir apparent.

The 79-year-old Nayef died on Saturday of "cardiac problems" at his brother's residence in Geneva, a medical source in the Swiss city said.

U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian and Chinese counterparts will discuss differences over what to do about the conflict in Syria at a G20 summit next week, the U.S. said on Friday.

"Obviously disagreements persist with regard to Syria, but it will be a good opportunity for the presidents to meet and work it through," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, referring to the Mexico talks.

Republican Mitt Romney kicked off a five-day bus tour Friday, returning to old-school "traditional" campaign tactics to bring him face to face with thousands of voters across six states.

The multi-millionaire challenging for the White House in November's election will be joined by several surrogates and top backers, including Speaker of the House John Boehner, on a journey aimed at convincing Americans he is more in touch with their economic woes than President Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama and his Republican foe Mitt Romney offered sharply differing visions of how to fix the rocky U.S. economy Thursday, in dueling speeches in swing state Ohio.

Obama hoped to create momentum behind his reelection bid, which has been complicated by a rise in the unemployment rate to 8.2 percent and undermined by his own mistaken statement last week that the private sector is doing "fine."

U.S. President Barack Obama hit back Friday at accusations that the White House was somehow involved in leaking classified national security secrets, labeling the allegations "offensive."

Lawmakers have fumed this week over a series of news reports, some quoting anonymous administration officials, that reveal details of covert U.S. operations. Some Republicans have suggested they were done in order to boost Obama's image of a tough commander-in-chief in an election year.

U.S. President Barack Obama called Friday for urgent, decisive action by Europe's leaders to beat back the economic crisis, as he urged Greeks ahead of elections to stay in the Eurozone.

Speaking as European officials worked on a huge rescue plan for Spain's feeble banks, Obama said he was confident EU leaders appreciated the severity of a crisis that weighs heavily on his prospects of reelection in November.

Myanmar on Friday called for sanctions imposed on the country to be completely lifted as they are hurting efforts to attract foreign investment amid a historic reform drive.

U Ko Ko Hlaing, chief political advisor to President Thein Sein, said that without fuller access to the Southeast Asian nation companies were adopting a "wait and see" attitude.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday marked the 68th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, with a personal tweet, which said the deeds of valiant soldiers are not forgotten.

"68 years ago today - D-Day - the brave members of the Allied Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy. We have never forgotten their heroism. -bo," Obama said, his initials denoting a tweet composed by him and not an aide.