Barack Obama

The ceremony for the Chinese leader looks similar to the one the White House held Wednesday for Pope Francis, but with a few notable exceptions.

The announcement of the meeting was made Thursday by the Russian president's spokesman Dmitry Peskov and confirmed by the White House.

Putin is to speak Monday at the United Nations General Assembly. It was not immediately clear if the meeting with the U.S. President would take place before or after the speech. Peskov said Putin also is to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday.

President Barack Obama, in turn, hailed the pontiff as a moral force who is "shaking us out of our complacency" with reminders to care for the poor and the planet.

The White House mustered all the pageantry it had to offer as the pope arrived Wednesday before adoring crowds of thousands and a nation that seemingly cannot get enough of the humble pontiff who is rejuvenating American Catholicism while giving heartburn to some of its conservatives.

Crowds at Andrews Air Force Base cheered as the pope's plane touched down. Shortly after, President Barack Obama walked from the air base's terminal to the plane, where the American flag and the Vatican flag are waving.

The Pope is bringing his message to the world's wealthiest superpower and a country polarized over issues closest to his heart: immigration, social injustice and economic inequality.

President Barack Obama planned to greet Francis on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base upon his arrival from Cuba, according a rare honor to the pontiff.

As it does every year, the U.N. General Assembly will vote as early as next month to demand the embargo's end. But this time, U.S. officials told the AP that the United States could abstain instead of voting against the resolution as it normally does.

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has said he was not morally obligated to defend US President Barack Obama after he let pass unchallenged a questioner's assertion that the US leader is a Muslim.

In a rapid-fire series of tweets on Saturday, the billionaire real estate mogul responded to a barrage of criticism of his handling of the incident, which came from Democrats and one fellow Republican candidate, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

"He knew, or he should have known, that what that man was asking was not only way out of bounds, it was untrue," Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, said after a campaign event in New Hampshire. "He should have from the beginning repudiated that kind of rhetoric, that level of hatefulness."

The question to Trump came Thursday night at a town hall in Rochester, New Hampshire. The first person the billionaire real estate mogul called on said, "We have a problem in this country. It's called Muslims."

The Treasury and Commerce departments said the regulations that take effect Monday simplify procedures for tourism, telephone and Internet investments, and money transfers to Cuba.

The changes were first reported by The Associated Press on Thursday and come as both countries seek to transform their new diplomatic relationship into deeper commercial ties.