The White House said the top U.S. and Iraqi national security chiefs discussed the future of their countries' ties on Saturday, two months before all U.S. troops are due to leave Iraq.

During their talks at the White House, U.S. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and his Iraqi counterpart Falah al-Fayadh "reaffirmed the common vision of a broad, deep strategic partnership between the United States and Iraq as embodied in the Strategic Framework Agreement," spokesman Jay Carney said.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday congratulated Saudi King Abdullah on the selection of Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz as his heir, noting the new crown prince's counterterrorism record.

"I congratulate King Abdullah and the Saudi people on the selection of Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz as crown prince. We in the United States know and respect him for his strong commitment to combating terrorism and supporting regional peace and security," Obama said in a statement.

An American evangelical pastor whose church's burning of a Quran sparked deadly violence in Afghanistan announced on Thursday that he plans to run for president in 2012.

In a campaign manifesto titled "Stand Up America!," Terry Jones pledged that on entering the White House he would immediately stop government overspending, bring all foreign-based troops home, and deport all illegal immigrants.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi urged on Monday the United Nations to declare Lebanon as a neutral country during his visit to the U.S., As Safir newspaper reported.

The patriarch noted that he means by it “the positive neutrality, whereby (Lebanon) isn’t subordinate to any country or regional or international axes.”

U.S. President Barack Obama offered condolences to Saudi Arabia on Saturday after the death of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, calling him a "valued friend" who helped cement ties between the allies.

"He was a strong supporter of the deep and enduring partnership between our two countries forged almost seven decades ago," Obama said in a statement, adding that he learned of the crown prince's death with "great regret."

Russia said Saturday it had put high-ranking U.S. officials implicated in "human rights crimes" on a visa black list, saying that list would grow if Washington continued to put pressure on Moscow.

Washington had earlier outraged Moscow by banning visas for an unspecified number of Russian officials linked to the 2009 death in prison of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, which became a symbol of abuses in the Russian judicial system.

Iraqis voiced happiness on Saturday over President Barack Obama's declaration that U.S. forces will leave by year-end, but some spoke of concern the pullout could further destabilize their country.

The decision to withdraw all remaining soldiers in the country after nearly nine years of war, and the deaths of more than 4,400 US troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis, came after Baghdad and Washington failed to agree to legal immunity for a training mission past 2011.

Exactly a month after a few hundred anti-capitalism activists set up camp in New York, the Occupy Wall Street movement has gone international and won the attention of the White House -- even if no one knows where it will go next.

Protesters sheltering under plastic tarps in the well organized camp at Zuccotti Park, near Wall Street, began their second month Monday with plans to follow up on big demonstrations that swept through the popular Times Square area over the weekend.

U.S. President Barack Obama drew inspiration Sunday from the civil rights struggles of Martin Luther King in facing down today's political gridlock in Washington.

"When met with hardship, when confronting disappointment, Dr. King refused to accept what he called the 'is-ness' of today. He kept pushing towards the ought-ness of tomorrow,'" Obama told a crowd of thousands.

Europe sought Saturday to convince its G20 partners that it can resolve a debt crisis that is threatening to drag the world economy back into recession as finance chiefs held key talks in Paris.

While finance ministers from the world's top economies huddled over measures to keep world growth from stalling, protesters began taking to the streets for worldwide protests to vent anger at alleged corporate greed and government cutbacks.