U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Wednesday the "strong" ties between their nations, amid tensions between Netanyahu and the Obama administration. 

But ahead of a meeting in Jerusalem, they both avoided directly addressing negotiations between world powers and Iran over Tehran's contested nuclear program.

U.S. President Barack Obama praised Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday for conceding defeat in an election that he said showed "Nigeria's commitment to democratic principles."

"President Jonathan has placed his country's interests first by conceding the election and congratulating president-elect (Muhammadu) Buhari on his victory," Obama said in a White House statement. 

U.S. President Barack Obama has approved the delivery of a dozen F-16 aircraft to Egypt that had been frozen after a military-led takeover.

The White House said Obama told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi by phone on Tuesday that a 2013 freeze would be lifted.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio said Monday he plans to announce next month whether he will make a 2016 bid for the White House.

"I will announce on April 13th what I'm going to do next in terms of running for president or the U.S. Senate," Rubio, a first-term Republican lawmaker from Florida, told Fox News.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday enlisted his predecessor John F. Kennedy in defense of contentious nuclear talks with Iran that are now coming down to the wire.

Speaking at the dedication of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate in Boston, Obama said the negotiators led by Secretary of State John Kerry were "standing up for a principle that Ted and his brother, President Kennedy, believed in so strongly."

Barack Obama will make a long-awaited trip to Kenya later this year, visiting his father's homeland for the first time since becoming U.S. president six years ago, the White House said Monday.

During the long-promised visit this July, Obama will attend a Global Entrepreneurship Summit in the east African nation, a statement said.

The Obama administration has displayed "reprehensible animosity" towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, House Speaker John Boehner says.

Netanyahu's recent election victory dramatically exacerbated a diplomatic crisis with Washington, bringing his thorny relationship with U.S. President Barack Obama into sharp focus.

NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday praised U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to keep the current level of 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan until the end of 2015.

On Tuesday, Obama reversed plans to withdraw around 5,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan this year after talks with the country's new, reform-minded leader, President Ashraf Ghani.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday he opposed sanctions against Venezuela that were imposed last week by the United States.

President Barack Obama rubbed many governments in the region the wrong way by declaring Venezuela an "extraordinary threat to the national security" of the United States.

U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to slow the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan will hamper peace efforts, the Taliban said Wednesday, vowing to continue fighting.

Obama on Tuesday reversed plans to withdraw around 5,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan this year, an overture to the country's new reform-minded leader, President Ashraf Ghani.