Bloggers in the United States are seizing upon a couple of exploding toilets in a federal building to make light of Washington's many political woes.

Two federal employees were hurt when a backup of air pressure caused by faulty plumbing caused two toilets to blow up at the General Services Administration's regional headquarters on Monday.

The trip of Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi to the U.S. will be limited to a visit to the Lebanese community there after the prelate held onto his stances made in France, Ad-Diyar daily reported Sunday.

The newspaper said that al-Rahi will not meet with top U.S. officials in Washington after he told U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly that he held onto his remarks on Hizbullah’s arms and the situation in Syria.

Members of the Palestinian parliament in exile met in Ramallah on Monday to show support for the campaign to seek full membership in the United Nations, a senior official said.

Some 50 members of the Palestinian National Council, which has 669 seats and represents Palestinians worldwide, met at al-Amari refugee camp.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Pakistan on Sunday to take action against Haqqani militants the United States blames for an attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul, officials said.

Clinton met in New York with Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar for 3.5 hours of "very substantial" and "very candid" talks that began and ended with counter-terrorism, Clinton spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

The U.S. government is considering establishing a direct military hotline with Iran after a series of close encounters between U.S. and Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf, The Wall Street Journal reported late Sunday.

Citing unnamed U.S. officials the newspaper, on its website, said the United States is especially worried about a fleet of speedboats likely controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Tehran's elite military force.

The European Union on Saturday called for a "constructive solution" on the issue of Palestinian statehood and a resumption of negotiations with Israel.

"We continue to believe that a constructive solution that can gather as much support as possible and allows for the resumption of negotiations is the best and only way to deliver the peace and two state solution the Palestinian people want," said Jaja Cocijanic, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

A top U.S. anti-terror advisor said America's anti-terror campaign must go beyond "hot" battlefields in Afghanistan but legal curbs could constrain its action.

John Brennan, President Barack Obama's top advisor for counterterrorism and homeland security, also criticized Friday attempts by some lawmakers to ensure that military, rather than civilian courts deal with terror suspects.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday warned the United States would retaliate against insurgents based in Pakistan blamed for staging a dramatic attack in the Afghan capital.

A day after a 19-hour assault staged near the U.S. embassy and NATO headquarters, Panetta expressed frustration that the Pakistani government has so far failed to crack down on Haqqani network militants that Washington suspects carried out Tuesday's attack.

A Republican businessman has won a special election for a U.S. Congress seat in a Democrat bastion, dealing a major blow to President Barack Obama ahead of the 2012 White House race.

Republicans had portrayed the U.S. congressional race as a referendum on Obama, whose popularity has sunk as Americans have grown increasingly frustrated with the stalled economic recovery and nine percent unemployment.

Al-Qaida has released a video marking the anniversary of 9/11 which includes a message from its slain leader Osama bin Laden to the American people, monitoring group SITE Intelligence said Tuesday.

SITE said the 62-minute video titled "The Dawn of Imminent Victory" also includes a speech by al-Qaida's new chief Ayman al-Zawahiri who applauds the "Arab Spring" revolutions.