President Barack Obama plans to resume transfers of inmates from Guantanamo Bay to other countries in a fresh bid to close the controversial U.S. prison, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

In the coming weeks, Obama will try to accelerate efforts to transfer detainees out of Guantanamo partly by lifting a long-running ban on sending Yemeni inmates to their home country, the newspaper said, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

A U.S. congress delegation is scheduled to arrive in Beirut in the upcoming few days to hold talks with senior officials over the situation in Lebanon and the region.

According to al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Wednesday, the delegation will also discuss the impact of the conflict in Syria on the neighboring countries including Lebanon.

A key U.S. senator on Tuesday backed an end to U.S. sanctions on Myanmar after a landmark visit by the country's reformist leader, signaling a new normalization in relations despite rights concerns.

President Thein Sein, a general-turned-civilian who ended Myanmar's long isolation from the West, met lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol one day after the first White House summit by a leader of his country in nearly 50 years.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday threw his support behind Myanmar President Thein Sein in his drive to reform a former pariah state but warned that a wave of violence against Muslims must stop.

As his guest became the first leader of his country in almost 50 years to visit the White House, Obama praised Myanmar's journey away from brutal junta rule and promised Washington would offer more political and economic support.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday expressed to President Michel Suleiman in a telephone call his concern about the role of Hizbullah in Syria, the White House said in a released statement.

"President Obama stressed his concern about Hizbullah's active and growing role in Syria, fighting on behalf of the (President Bashar) Assad regime, which is counter to the Lebanese government's policies," said the statement.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday he had not known about abuses by tax officials who targeted conservative groups until a report into the affair was leaked to the press last week.

"I promise you this. The minute I found out about it, then my focus has been about making sure we get the thing fixed," Obama told reporters.

President Thein Sein's historic invitation to the White House is an endorsement of "Myanmar's Spring" and a further sign that the former pariah's reforms are irreversible, a senior Myanmar official said.

Washington will welcome the former general on Monday in a hugely symbolic reward for sweeping changes since he took power two years ago. He will be the first leader of the former military-ruled nation to visit since 1966.

U.S. President Barack Obama warned Thursday that national security leaks to the news media could cost lives, defending his administration's pursuit of those who reveal classified information.

But Obama said it was important to find a balance between security and press freedom, as he addressed the furor triggered by the Justice Department's secret seizure of the phone records of reporters at the Associated Press.

The White House said it will welcome Myanmar's leader on a landmark visit on Monday in a symbolic reward by President Barack Obama to encourage reforms in the longtime pariah state.

President Thein Sein, a former general who surprised even many critics by ushering in democratic changes, will be the first leader from the country formerly known as Burma to visit Washington since 1966.

Two sets of talks on Wednesday aimed at easing tensions over Iran's nuclear program are not expected to produce any major breakthrough ahead of next month's elections in the Islamic republic.

In Vienna, the U.N. atomic agency, the IAEA, will press Iranian officials to grant access to sites, documents and scientists involved in Tehran's alleged efforts to develop atomic weapons.