On the eve of leaving office, US President George W. Bush spoke Monday to allies, friends, and rivals on the world stage, telling them he enjoyed working with them, a White House spokesman said. Bush, who leaves the keys to White House to Barack Obama on Tuesday, spoke to leaders of Brazil, Britain, Denmark, Georgia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Russia, and ...

Rebuffing Arab appeals, the United States on Monday gave its blessing to Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip but said it was working behind the scenes to forge a "durable ceasefire." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was reaching out by telephone to key world leaders and diplomats to find a lasting way to end the violence, which ...

US President George W. Bush on Sunday received a briefing on Israel's campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip from his national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, the White House said. Bush, set to usher in 2009 on his Texas ranch, "spoke by phone with National Security Advisor Steve Hadley this morning to receive an update on the situation in ...