Top Republican Senator John McCain on Monday called for U.S. air strikes on Syrian forces to protect population centers and create safe havens for opponents of the regime.

McCain, who lost to President Barack Obama in the 2008 election, said while the White House "deserves a lot of credit" for helping to build global efforts to isolate President Bashar al-Assad, it was time for a "new policy."

The United States on Monday urged Russia to conduct an "independent, credible" probe of election results that swept Vladimir Putin back to the Kremlin, amid widespread reports of irregularities.

But U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, without mentioning Putin by name, also said the United States "looks forward to working with the president-elect after the results are certified and he is sworn in."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. President Barack Obama Monday that Israel must remain the "master of its fate" in a firm defense of his right to mount a unilateral strike on Iran.

Netanyahu and Obama met for delicate Oval Office talks taking place amid clear differences on the imminence of the nuclear threat from Iran and after weeks of speculation that Israel may mount go-it-alone military action.

The United States said Monday it would be a "welcome development" if Iran's Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence for spying handed down to former U.S. Marine Amir Mirzai Hekmati.

"We have seen some credible reporting that the Iranian Supreme Court has now ordered a retrial in Mr. Hekmati's case," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

Porn mogul Larry Flynt in a full page newspaper ad on Sunday offered $1 million for information about the sexual indiscretions of well-known U.S. politicians or government officials.

Flynt's offer, appearing in the Washington Post newspaper, asked readers to phone their tips to his hotline, or to send an email to a dedicated online address at his "Hustler" porn magazine.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the U.S. capital late Sunday for talks with U.S. President Barack Obama on Iran's nuclear ambitions and how to deal with them.

The plane carrying the Israeli leader and his aides touched down at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington at about 11:05 pm local time (0405 GMT Monday).

Iran is stepping up its military and intelligence support for Syrian government troops in their crackdown against opposition strongholds, The Washington Post reported late Saturday.

Citing three unnamed U.S. officials with access to intelligence reports from the region, the newspaper said Tehran had increased supplies of arms and other aid for Syrian leader Bashar Assad as he is trying crush resistance in the key city of Homs.

An emergency plan to re-launch its impoverished economy is to be presented to a "Friends of Yemen" forum of aid donors in Riyadh in April, the planning minister said Saturday.

Yemen's interim transitional administration drew up "an emergency plan to re-launch the economy" and will submit it to the meeting, said Mohammed al-Saadi.

General Motors Co. is suspending production of its Chevrolet Volt electric car for five weeks amid disappointing sales.

A GM spokesman said Friday that the company will shut down production of the Volt from March 19 until April 23, idling 1,300 workers at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant.

The United States remains committed to strong ties with Egypt, a U.S. official said Saturday, after tensions over the treatment of U.S. activists who had been barred from leaving Cairo.

"We have all been focused over these past few weeks on the NGO issue, and it is a matter of serious continuing concern for the United States," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.