Pop diva Beyonce will sing the national anthem before hundreds of thousands of onlookers at U.S. President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony on January 21, organizers said Wednesday.

On a stage specially constructed for the event at the foot of the Capitol, the singer -- a long-time supporter of Obama -- will belt out "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Obama's cabinet, lawmakers and the public.

President Barack Obama picked Jack Lew as his new Treasury secretary Thursday and called on the Senate to confirm him as quickly as possible, so he can press on with the work of reviving the economy.

Lew, Obama's current chief of staff, is slated to take over from Tim Geithner, who stood by Obama's side at the darkest moments of the crisis that was hammering American jobs and prosperity when he took office in 2009.

Would champagne by any other name taste as good? For French producers, the answer is a resounding "non" -- especially when the beverage is to be served at the U.S. presidential inaugural luncheon.

Champagne producers in France, who are very protective of the singular nature of their product, were not necessarily upset that California-made bubbly is to be served at lunch after President Barack Obama's January 21 swearing-in.

President Barack Obama plans to nominate his chief of staff Jack Lew as his next Treasury secretary, replacing Timothy Geithner, U.S. media reported Wednesday.

Lew, 57, is a veteran Washington insider who previously served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. His nomination -- which must be confirmed by the Senate -- is likely to be announced this week, CNN reported.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has said he will urge U.S. President Barack Obama to free the blind sheikh jailed for the 1993 World Trade Center attack.

Morsi told CNN in an interview aired Monday that he was hoping to travel to the United States before the end of March 2013, and he planned to raise the case of Omar Abdul Rahman, serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is due to begin a four-day U.S. trip Tuesday in which he will meet U.S. President Barack Obama for crucial talks on the future of the American presence in Afghanistan.

Friday's meeting at the White House will come just days after Obama put the finishing touches to his security team, having named his picks to head up the State Department, Pentagon and CIA.

A soldier serving with the NATO force in Afghanistan was shot dead by a man in Afghan army uniform, the latest in a series of "insider" attacks, the alliance said Tuesday.

More than 60 troops from the force were killed in 2012 in a surge of insider attacks that have shaken relations between the alliance and Afghanistan as the U.S.-led soldiers try to train up the local army and police to battle Taliban militants.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday announced his choice of Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary and counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, two potentially controversial picks for his second-term national security team.

Hagel has faced tough criticism from congressional Republicans who say the former Republican senator is anti-Israel and soft on Iran. Brennan, a 25-year CIA veteran, withdrew from consideration for the spy agency's top job in 2008 amid questions about his connection to criticized interrogation techniques during the George W. Bush administration.

President Hamid Karzai on Monday left Afghanistan for talks with Barack Obama in Washington to focus on security in his war-torn country after NATO combat troops withdraw in 2014, his office said.

During his three-day official visit, a decision could be made on how many US troops will stay in Afghanistan after 2014, officials have said.

U.S. President Barack Obama and his family arrived back at the White House on Sunday after spending their Christmas vacation in his native Hawaii.

Obama, the first lady and their daughters touched down at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington aboard Air Force One shortly after 11:00 am local time (1600 GMT) before riding a helicopter back to the White House.