Tourists and business people seeking visas to visit the United States could face even longer waits at already swamped U.S. embassies if severe budget cuts kick in at the State Department.

It was increasingly apparent that no legislative solution will be ready before automatic budget cuts -- the so-called sequester -- kick in on Friday, forcing a wide range of government agencies to trim services.

The United States strongly condemned Saturday a series of missile strikes that killed dozens of people in Syria's second city Aleppo.

Around 58 people were killed and 150 wounded in missile strikes on the Tariq al-Bab district on Friday, according the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Thousands of protesters gathered in Washington Sunday for a rally to press President Barack Obama to take concrete measures to help fight global warming.

The protesters want Obama to reject the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that would bring oil from Canada's tar sands to Texas and order the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set carbon standards for power plants, among other things.

The United States on Thursday urged Tunisian leaders to come together to resolve the tensions wracking the country, warning "there's no place for violence in Tunisia's democracy."

Washington has condemned the assassination of leftist opposition leader Chokri Belaid, who was gunned down Wednesday outside his home in Tunis, sparking clashes between police and hundreds of protesters.

The U.S. military will maintain only one aircraft carrier in the Gulf instead of two due to potential deep budget cuts that could kick in next month, Pentagon officials said Wednesday.

For several years, the United States has kept two carriers deployed in the Gulf due to tensions with Iran, but uncertainty surrounding the Pentagon's budget forced the decision, officials said.

Thousands of people marched in Washington on Saturday to demand stronger gun control legislation, in a solemn rally six weeks after the shock massacre of young children at a Connecticut school.

Protesters, backed by senior officials, marched in silence for around 30 minutes along the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol and Washington Monument, carrying white placards marked with the names and pictures of gun crime victims.

The United States has warned of a "high threat" of terrorism or kidnappings in Algeria and authorized family members of embassy staff to depart following a deadly hostage crisis.

"On January 19, 2013, the Department of State authorized the departure from Algiers for eligible family members following the attack on the In Amenas BP Oil facility," the State Department said in a statement.

The United States will on Thursday recognize the first Somali government in two decades, heralding a significant shift in ties since the deadly 1993 attack on U.S. helicopters over Mogadishu.

The beginning of a new chapter will come when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton exchanges diplomatic notes with visiting Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, a top U.S. official said Wednesday.

The United States on Wednesday confirmed that American citizens are among hostages being held in Algeria after an attack by Islamist militants near a southern gas field.

"The best information that we have at this time is that U.S. citizens are among the hostages," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, but she added that for the safety of the people concerned she would not give further details on how many were held and who they were.

Qatar cast doubt on Tuesday over the value of France's military intervention in Mali against Islamist rebels, arguing that force would not solve the problem and urging dialogue, as the U.S. threw its support behind the French military action.

"Of course we wish that this problem could be solved through dialogue, a political dialogue. I think that political dialogue is important and necessary. I don't think that power will solve the problem," Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani told reporters.