The only person convicted over the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset al Megrahi, has died, his family has said.

Serb nationalist Tomislav Nikolic upset the odds to defeat incumbent Boris Tadic in a presidential run-off Sunday but vowed to pursue his predecessor's drive for the Balkans nation to join the EU.

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, the only person convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing which killed 270 people, died on Sunday, almost three years after being freed from jail on compassionate grounds.

US President Barack Obama opened a NATO summit Sunday saying the world backed his plan to end war in Afghanistan, as President Hamid Karzai pledged his bloodied state would no longer be a "burden."

A rocket-propelled grenade exploded near a team of UN observers in a Damascus suburb Sunday, the military said, as dozens of people were killed in violence while clashes raged between regime troops and armed rebels.

Pakistan restored access to Twitter Sunday after briefly blocking the microblog over posts that Islamabad said promoted a Facebook contest involving caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.

A powerful earthquake shook Italy's densely populated industrial northeast early Sunday, killing at least six people and reducing homes, factories and historic buildings to rubble.

President Hamid Karzai has said he hopes the transition out of war in Afghanistan will mean his country is "no longer a burden" on the international community.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of the 1988 bombing of a PanAm flight over Lockerbie, died of cancer on Sunday at age 60, leaving many questions on the attack and its aftermath unanswered. Megrahi who said he was not responsible for bringing the jumbo jet down on the Scottish town and killing 270 people, was found guilty in 2001 but released in 2009 and returned to Libya because he had terminal cancer and not expected to live long. ...

The peculiar silent strolls used by Moscow protesters against Vladimir Putin spread Sunday to his native Saint Petersburg and at least two other cities in a test of the movement's national strength.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - NATO's chief sought on Sunday to dispel fears of a "rush for the exits" in Afghanistan as Western allies gathered to chart a path out of an unpopular war that has dragged on for more than a decade. President Barack Obama hosts the summit in his home town, Chicago, a day after major industrialized nations tackled a European debt crisis that threatens the global economy. ...

Dominican Republic voters went to the polls Sunday to elect their next leader in a closely-fought race between ruling party-backed economist Danilo Medina and former president Hipolito Mejia.

Four UN deminers arrested by the Sudanese army along the country's tense southern border were released Sunday and turned over to chief African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki, the defence minister said.

He was the only person convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie.

Pakistan has blocked Twitter over "blasphemous content" on the microblogging website, according to a senior government official.

SANT' AGOSTINO, Italy (Reuters) - A strong earthquake in northern Italy killed five people, injured dozens and damaged historic buildings including a famed mediaeval castle early on Sunday, waking terrified citizens and sending thousands running into the streets. The quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey recorded at magnitude 6.0, struck at 4:04 a.m. (0204 GMT) and was followed by a series of jolting aftershocks. At least two of them reached magnitude 5.1, sowing fresh panic, further damaging already weakened buildings and causing more structures to collapse. ...

More than 50 world leaders were gathering in Chicago for one of the biggest NATO summits in history Sunday aiming to hammer out a unified exit strategy from Afghanistan after a decade of war.

Four United Nations deminers arrested by the Sudanese army along the country's tense southern border were released on Sunday and turned over to chief African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki, the defence minister said.

The school bombing that killed a teenage girl in the southern Italian town of Brindisi was probably the work of an individual with no links to the mafia, a senior investigator has said.

Two NATO soldiers were killed in an attack in Afghanistan Sunday as alliance leaders gathered in Chicago for a summit dominated by plans to pull troops out of the Afghan war.

Italian police have arrested two suspects over the bombing of a school that killed a 16-year-old girl and seriously injured five more teenagers, media reports said here Sunday.

Sri Lanka's president has ordered the release of his jailed electoral foe, ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka, bowing to US-led pressure three years after the end of the island's long ethnic war.

Greece's former finance minister has told Sky News that if Greece reneges on its bailout deal with the EU and the IMF it will "open the door to hell".

G8 leaders said they want debt-stricken Greece to stay in the eurozone at a Camp David summit as the group papered over deep-seated divisions about how best to tackle the eurozone crisis.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Sunday nixed the idea that jailed and ailing ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko be released for treatment abroad ahead of next month's Euro football tournament.

Facebook's co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has married his longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan, announcing the wedding through a status update on the social networking site.

Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng was to spend his first full day in the United States Sunday after praising Beijing's "restraint and calm" as he sought to draw a line under a month-long tussle that tested China-US ties.

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou was sworn in Sunday for his second and last four-year term, as the opposition rallied against utility hikes and beef imports from the United States.

Sri Lanka's president has ordered the release of his jailed electoral rival, ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka, bowing to US-led international pressure three years after the end of the island's long ethnic war.

G8 leaders expressed their wish to see Greece stay in the eurozone at a Camp David summit as the group papered over deep-seated divisions about how best to tackle the eurozone crisis.

East Timor's new president on Sunday lauded the "maturity" of his young country's democracy at celebrations marking 10 years of independence, which come as UN forces prepare to leave at year's end.

China's top security official Zhou Yongkang has been named a delegate to a top Communist Party meeting, despite calls for his removal amid political upheaval ahead of a 10-yearly leadership change.

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou was sworn in for his second and last four-year term, as the opposition rallied against utility hikes and beef imports from the United States.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's "red shirts" took to the street this weekend to mark the anniversary of the army's bloody repression of their mass rally in Bangkok in 2010 amid growing signs of a rift with the government they helped elect last July. Many red shirts are angry at the failure of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to bring to account those responsible for the 91 deaths during the 2010 events. Some are threatening action that could destabilise her government and start another period of political upheaval, after months of relative calm. ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng arrived in the United States on Saturday and declared "equality and justice have no boundaries" after China let him leave a Beijing hospital to quell a sensitive diplomatic rift between the two countries. Chen escaped from house arrest in northeastern China last month and sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, embarrassing China and creating an uncomfortable backdrop for U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to improve ties between the world's two biggest economies. ...

Three men were charged with plotting to attack President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters and lob Molotov cocktails at police as days of protest heated up ahead of a NATO summit.

The two feuding sides of Mary Kennedy's family have taken their battle for custody of her body to court and are holding separate memorial services.

A broken-down cargo ship is drifting out of control on the fringes of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, with fears of major damage if it runs aground.

Voters in Serbia go to the polls Sunday to elect a new president in a run-off with the incumbent Boris Tadic set for a victory over nationalist challenger Tomislav Nikolic.

A car competing in a rally in southern France has crashed into the crowd, killing at least two people and seriously injuring 15 others.