U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Mexico Wednesday for a summit with the Mexican and Canadian leaders focused on trade but marked by some frictions between the North American trio.

Obama was greeted by Mexican Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade at the airport in Toluca, near Mexico City, before heading to the local state government palace for talks with President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

President Barack Obama headed south Wednesday for a North American leaders' summit marked by frictions between the "three amigos" of Mexico, Canada and the United States.

President Enrique Pena Nieto will host Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the ornate state government palace in Toluca, near Mexico City, for the day of talks.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is to sign into law a controversial bill that will see homosexuals jailed for life, despite international pressure, a government spokesman said Monday.

Confirmation of the decision, made following local "scientific" analysis of the issue, came as U.S. President Barack Obama warned Museveni that the legislation was a "step backward" that would complicate ties between Washington and Kampala.

As Syrian peace talks in Geneva appeared to flounder, U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday vowed to step up pressure on the regime of President Bashar Assad.

Obama's remarks came as he hosted Jordan's King Abdullah II at the Sunnylands retreat in Palm Springs, California, to address issues including the flood of Syrian refugees into Jordan.

The first lady of the United States shunned on Friday rumors about marital problems at the White House by wishing her husband of 21 years a Happy Valentine's Day on Instagram.

"Hey Barack, I'll always be you valentine!” Michelle Obama captioned a picture collage of the couple she posted on Instagram, adding the hashtag #HappyValentinesDay and her signature – mo – to it.

U.S. Senator Rand Paul filed suit Wednesday against President Barack Obama and other officials in a bid to end the secret program that scoops up telephone data on virtually all Americans.

The libertarian-leaning Paul, a potential 2016 presidential contender, said he and a prominent Tea Party group filed their "historic" civil action on behalf of "everyone in America that has a phone," in what he described as potentially the largest class-action lawsuit of its kind.

The United States admits the situation in "crumbling" Syria is an "apocalyptic disaster" -- implicitly accepting that its policy toward the war-tormented country is not working -- but no better one is on the horizon.

The Obama administration is sticking to its line that it cannot "impose" outcomes on a chaotic battlefield between President Bashar Assad's forces and a splintered opposition, despite proliferating reports of atrocities, a deepening humanitarian crisis and fears extremist militants will find a haven in the midst of the horror.

U.S. President Barack Obama will travel to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines in April, the White House said Wednesday.

The visit is intended to quell doubts in the region about Obama's strategy of rebalancing U.S. power to Asia, following the cancellation of his last planned trip there in October for domestic political reasons.

U.S. President Barack Obama will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks on Iran and U.S. Middle East peace moves on March 3, the White House said Wednesday.

Israel had previously announced the Israeli leader would travel to Washington the day before the talks for a visit which also includes a speech to the annual conference of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobby group.

Barack Obama praised France's President Francois Hollande as a leader of "courage" Tuesday, and wined and dined his solo guest at a lavish state dinner.

Hollande, caught in a scandal over his messy split with partner Valerie Trierweiler, has seen his approval ratings plummet to rock bottom at home over his failure to restore economic prosperity.