VIENNA/DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief held extensive and useful talks in Iran on Monday and expects them to have a positive impact on a six-power meeting with Tehran later this week, Iranian media said, but there was no sign of a breakthrough deal. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano paid a rare visit to Tehran after voicing hope for Iranian agreement to cooperate with an IAEA investigation into suspected atomic bomb research - a possible gesture from Tehran to try to get international sanctions relaxed and deflect threats of war. ...

SANAA (Reuters) - A suicide bomber with explosives strapped under his uniform killed more than 90 people at a military parade rehearsal in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Monday, an attack which will alarm Washington as its involvement in the front-line state deepens. Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, facing a growing campaign by an al Qaeda affiliate in the country, said security forces would become 'tougher and more determined in pursuing terrorist elements'. ...

ALBIREH, Lebanon (Reuters) - Hundreds of Islamist gunmen fired in the air on Monday as they laid to rest a Sunni Muslim cleric whose killing ignited street battles that brought the bloodshed of Syria's uprising across the border into Lebanon. Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahid, an opponent of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was shot dead a day earlier at a Lebanese army checkpoint in a part of Lebanon where Sunni sympathy is with Syria's rebels. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said on Monday he would resign, following a year of intense criticism over his abrasive management tactics. Jaczko, 41, was a polarizing figure who oversaw the nuclear safety agency as it crafted expensive new rules in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said on Monday he would resign, following a year of intense criticism over his abrasive management tactics. Jaczko, 41, was a polarizing figure who oversaw the nuclear safety agency as it crafted expensive new rules in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex. ...

(Reuters) - The U.S. economy needs "measured" efforts to bolster growth, but the central bank should focus on improving its communications because circumstances do not warrant further bond buying at this time, a top Federal Reserve official said on Monday. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart said the central bank's policy panel should push forward with efforts to give the public and financial markets a better understanding of how it would react to incoming information on the economy. ...

(Reuters) - The U.S. economy needs "measured" efforts to bolster growth, but the central bank should focus on improving its communications because circumstances do not warrant further bond buying at this time, a top Federal Reserve official said on Monday. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart said the central bank's policy panel should push forward with efforts to give the public and financial markets a better understanding of how it would react to incoming information on the economy. ...

(Reuters) - The U.S. economy needs "measured" efforts to bolster growth, but the central bank should focus on improving its communications because circumstances do not warrant further bond buying at this time, a top Federal Reserve official said on Monday. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart said the central bank's policy panel should push forward with efforts to give the public and financial markets a better understanding of how it would react to incoming information on the economy. ...

President Barack Obama and NATO leaders expressed confidence in Afghanistan's ability to take the lead for its own security next year, as nations with a stake in the deeply unpopular war huddled Monday for talks aimed at paving the way for its end.

(Reuters) - A judge denied a motion on Monday to delay the start of the child sex-abuse trial of former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, according to court papers. As a result of the ruling from Judge John Cleland, of the Court of Common Pleas for Centre County, Pennsylvania, Sandusky's trial will get underway on June 5. Cleland's decision was issued in a one-page ruling posted to the court's website Monday morning. Sandusky's lawyer had sought a delay to allow more time to review evidence in the case. ...

Three climbers died and two others were missing while descending from the summit of Mount Everest — a toll that raised concerns about overcrowding in the "death zone" at the top of the world's tallest peak.

CAIRO (Reuters) - The Arab League called on Tehran on Monday to halt what it described as a media campaign against Bahrain over a proposal for political and military union between Gulf Arab states. Saudi Arabia has been pushing the idea of closer Gulf integration to contain Shi'ite Muslim unrest in Bahrain and counter the influence of regional Shi'ite power Iran. Riyadh's initial goal appears to be a merger with Bahrain, where majority Shi'ites have been staging pro-democracy demonstrations targeting the Sunni Muslim ruling family for over a year. ...

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a military parade rehearsal Monday in Yemen's capital, killing 96 soldiers in one of the deadliest attacks in the city in years, officials said.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled a government dominated by loyalists on Monday, tightening his grip on the economy and national security after protests, and limiting Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's ability to pursue market reforms. Putin, 59, opted for continuity by retaining his ally Igor Shuvalov as first deputy prime minister in charge of economic policy, while Igor Sechin will remain his energy chief in a role outside the government. ...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled a government dominated by loyalists on Monday, tightening his grip on the economy and national security after protests, and limiting Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's ability to pursue market reforms. Putin, 59, opted for continuity by retaining his ally Igor Shuvalov as first deputy prime minister in charge of economic policy, while Igor Sechin will remain his energy chief in a role outside the government. ...

Emergency crews inspected schools, churches and other buildings Monday for damage as aftershocks rattled northern Italy a day after a magnitude-6.0 earthquake killed seven people and toppled centuries-old buildings.

Sri Lanka's former army chief, who was imprisoned after losing an election to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was released from prison Monday to thousands of cheering supporters.

European stock markets mostly rebounded on Monday as G8 support for Greece to remain p art of the eurozone boosted sentiment after last week's sharp sell-off, traders said.

PARIS (Reuters) - The fate of a struggling small French mortgage lender will be the first banking test for President Francois Hollande, as he attempts to deliver on campaign promises of economic growth and tougher financial regulation. Policymakers and bankers are scrambling to avert an outright collapse of Credit Immobilier de France, whose future was thrown into doubt after Moody's cut its standalone bank financial strength rating and said it was no longer viable without support. ...

VIENNA/DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief held rare talks in Tehran on Monday after voicing hope for a deal to investigate suspected atomic bomb research - a gesture Iran might make to try to get international sanctions relaxed and deflect threats of war. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Yukiya Amano began discussions with the head of Iran's nuclear energy organization, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, a few hours after his pre-dawn arrival, according to ISNA news agency. ...

Lucio Adan Nelson dozed on a riverboat ferrying him home from a visit with his mother when helicopters appeared overhead and started shooting. He and about a dozen other passengers traveling in the middle of the night jumped into the water for cover.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Government prosecutors on Monday will try to salvage the credibility of their key witness in the perjury trial of former Major League Baseball star Roger Clemens when his ex-trainer who said he supplied the pitching ace with drugs takes the stand. Brian McNamee, the most important witness for federal prosecutors who have charged Clemens with lying to the U.S. Congress about using the performance-enhancing drugs, will be wrapping up more than 20 hours of testimony in U.S. District Court. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Government prosecutors on Monday will try to salvage the credibility of their key witness in the perjury trial of former Major League Baseball star Roger Clemens when his ex-trainer who said he supplied the pitching ace with drugs takes the stand. Brian McNamee, the most important witness for federal prosecutors who have charged Clemens with lying to the U.S. Congress about using the performance-enhancing drugs, will be wrapping up more than 20 hours of testimony in U.S. District Court. ...

Greece's newly installed caretaker prime minister began talks with party leaders Monday ahead of this week's European Union summit that's expected to focus on ways of kick starting economic growth across the continent.

The only man convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has been buried with little fanfare near the Libyan capital with just under 100 family members and passers-by in attendance.

Mourners fired guns in the air as thousands poured into the streets Monday in northern Lebanon for the funeral of a Sunni Muslim cleric, whose killing sparked intense clashes in Beirut and raised fears the crisis in Syria was spilling across the border.

Lowe's Cos.' first-quarter profit climbed 14 percent, as warmer weather helped boost sales. But the world's second-biggest home improvement company lowered its full-year earnings forecast on Monday, saying it is still cautious on the housing market and economic conditions.

GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - Jurors were set to resume deliberations on Monday in the federal campaign finance case against former U.S. Senator John Edwards, who is accused of using campaign funds to hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the presidency. A jury of eight men and four women in Greensboro, North Carolina, considered the case for about 5 1/2 hours on Friday before breaking for the weekend. They must reach a unanimous verdict to convict Edwards, a two-time presidential candidate and the Democrats' 2004 vice presidential nominee, on any of the six felony counts he faces. ...