Russia on Friday faced fury from the United States after granting asylum to fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, whose whereabouts are now a mystery after he was finally able to walk free from an airport transit zone where he was marooned for over five weeks.

The White House said it was "extremely disappointed" by Moscow's decision, adding that it would now review if a U.S.-Russia summit in September is necessary.

The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved continuing the National Security Agency's secret collection of hundreds of millions of Americans' phone records after a fierce debate pitting privacy rights against the government's efforts to thwart terrorism.

Wednesday night's 217-205 vote was unlikely to be the final word on government intrusion to defend the U.S. and Americans' civil liberties.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume negotiations with the Palestinians "as soon as possible," the White House said.

The two leaders spoke by telephone as Secretary of State John Kerry made his latest trip to the region as part of marathon efforts to relaunch peace talks that last collapsed in 2010.

A Texas man carrying a pistol and two knives was arrested Tuesday in the park across from the White House and has been charged with a firearms violation, officials said.

The suspect was first spotted at about 3:25 pm (1925 GMT) in Lafayette Park, just north of the U.S. presidential residence, Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary told Agence France Presse.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday spoke by phone with Saudi King Abdullah to discuss aid to Syrian opposition forces and to discuss the coup in Egypt, the White House said.

"The President and the King shared their perspectives on the situation in Syria and expressed their strong concerns about the impact of the conflict on the region," a White House statement said.

U.S. President Barack Obama will host a landmark summit of leaders from across sub-Saharan Africa next year, the White House said Sunday, jostling with China for economic influence in the region.

The plan has strong echoes of high-profile China-Africa summits, which over the last decade have cemented Beijing's clout on the continent.

The White House added Instagram to its social media portfolio on Wednesday, as it posted a picture of a helicopter with President Barack Obama and his family taking off on a trip to Africa.

"The First Family takes off for a three-country trip across Africa #MarineOne #ObamaInAfrica Follow @WhiteHouse for more!," said the caption for the picture of the presidential helicopter leaving the White House.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Afghan leader Hamid Karzai support the idea of holding talks with the Taliban in its Qatar office, the White House said Tuesday, reviving hopes for a peace process.

The announcement came despite a brazen Taliban assault on the Afghan presidential palace in the heart of Kabul Tuesday, in which three security guards and all five assailants were killed in an hour-long gunbattle.

Iran's new president will find a partner in the United States if he comes clean on the Islamic republic's controversial nuclear program, a senior White House official said Sunday.

Moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani was elected president Friday, ending eight years of a conservative grip on the office marked by tension with the West over Tehran's atomic drive.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday welcomed a "clear" U.S. statement accusing the Syrian regime of using chemical weapons and said Damascus must let the U.N. investigate the allegations.

"I welcome clear U.S. statement. Urgent that Syria regime should let U.N. investigate all reports of chemical weapons use," he said on his official Twitter feed.