With his carefully tended hair, tight trousers and perfect harmonies, Robin Gibb, along with his brothers Maurice and Barry, defined the disco era. As part of the Bee Gees — short for the Brothers Gibb — they created dance floor classics like "Stayin Alive," ''Jive Talkin'," and "Night Fever" that can still get crowds onto a dance floor.

As President Barack Obama and fellow NATO leaders herald the coming end of the deeply unpopular Afghanistan war, they face the grim reality of two more years of fighting ahead and more of their troops sure to die in combat.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled a government dominated by loyalists on Monday, tightening his grip on the economy and limiting Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's ability to pursue his reform agenda. Igor Shuvalov, a powerful Putin ally, kept his post as first deputy prime minister in overall charge of economic policy and Anton Siluanov, a career bureaucrat, remained finance minister. Putin also consolidated his power over the security structures, with Anatoly Serdyukov staying on as defense minister, and kept faith with long-serving Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. ...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled a government dominated by loyalists on Monday, tightening his grip on the economy and limiting Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's ability to pursue his reform agenda. Igor Shuvalov, a powerful Putin ally, kept his post as first deputy prime minister in overall charge of economic policy and Anton Siluanov, a career bureaucrat, remained finance minister. Putin also consolidated his power over the security structures, with Anatoly Serdyukov staying on as defense minister, and kept faith with long-serving Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. ...

A German official made clear on Monday that Berlin continues to oppose the idea of jointly-issued bonds for the 17-nation eurozone, which France's new president had suggested could be used to create much-needed economic growth and ease the region's financial crisis.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel will discuss with the leaders of German political parties on Thursday the prospects for a European fiscal pact she wants parliament to approve before its summer recess despite opposition foot-dragging. Government spokesman Georg Streiter said Merkel, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and other senior officials would meet the national and parliamentary leaders of the main parties on Thursday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (1300-1500 GMT). The subject would be "the fiscal pact, Europe and everything linked to that", Streiter told a news conference. ...

An Israeli human rights group has released a video that suggests Israeli soldiers stood by while Jewish settlers opened fire on Palestinians in the West Bank, wounding one.

Mourners fired guns in the air as thousands poured into the streets Monday in a northern Lebanese town 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.

ROME (Reuters) - Italy is likely to register a strong protest vote against belt-tightening on Monday in local elections that will provide a fresh snapshot of Europe's changing political landscape a year ahead of a national ballot. Taking place against the backdrop of a tense and somber national mood, the second round of voting to choose city majors involves nearly 120 local administrations. Prime Minister Mario Monti - the architect of Italy's tough austerity program - is not standing, but the two main parties in the right-left coalition that support him are. ...

A Chinese conglomerate announced Monday it will buy a major U.S. cinema chain, AMC Entertainment Holdings, for $2.6 billion in China's biggest takeover of an American company to date.

LILLE, France (Reuters) - French prosecutors said on Monday they had opened an inquiry into allegations of group rape by Dominique Strauss-Kahn and three friends, as part of an investigation into his ties to a suspected prostitution ring in the northern city of Lille. The former IMF chief is under formal investigation over whether he was aware he was dealing with prostitutes and pimps when attending sex parties in Lille, Paris and Washington in 2010 and 2011 that were organized by business acquaintances. ...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq is buying unmanned drones from the United States to help protect its southern oil platforms as the OPEC nation ramps up production after the withdrawal of the last American troops, U.S. and Iraqi officials said on Monday. Protecting the vital infrastructure around its oil reserves, the world's fourth largest, is crucial as Iraq rebuilds an industry battered by years of war and sanctions against former dictator Saddam Hussein. "Iraq's navy has purchased U.S. ...

VIENNA/DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief began 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 met the head of Iran's nuclear energy organization, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, hours after his pre-dawn arrival, according to ISNA news agency. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher on Monday, nearing $108 per barrel as worries about Greece's possible exit from the euro dominated the agenda, despite the prospect of an economic stimulus in China and concerns about Iran as talks with world leaders start this week. A summit of the G8 at the weekend failed to deliver any signal that Europe would act quickly to address the risk of a chaotic Greek exit from the euro, leaving investors in a state of alert, curbing an upturn in oil prices. "Gains may be short-lived as EU politicians as usual are having a hard time agreeing on anything. ...

Assurances that world powers want debt-laden Greece to remain in the euro helped support world stock markets Monday after sharp losses over the past week.

SANAA (Reuters) - A uniformed man blew himself up in the midst of a military parade rehearsal attended by senior officials in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Monday, killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 60, a police source said. Yemen's defense minister chief of staff were present at the event but were not hurt in the blast, a military source said. The attack coincided with a U.S.-backed Yemeni army offensive against al Qaeda-linked militants in the south of the country, where they control several towns. Troops closed in on one of their strongholds on Sunday in heavy fighting. ...

Three climbers who were among scores who scaled Mount Everest over the weekend died on their descent and two more are missing, a Nepalese official said Monday.

The top U.S. envoy for North Korea warned Pyongyang on Monday that any nuclear test would be a serious miscalculation that would unify the world in seeking swift, tough punishment.

FINALE EMILIA, Italy (Reuters) - Thousands of people in northern Italy slept in tents and cars overnight as more than 100 aftershocks rocked the area hit by a magnitude 6.0 earthquake that killed seven people and inflicted heavy damage to centuries-old cultural sites. "The fear that your house will collapse on your head is great, so it was good to be able to sleep in this tent," said one man who spent the night outdoors, cold but safe, in the town of San Felice Sul Panaro. ...

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - One of China's most conspicuously reform-minded leaders has stepped back into the spotlight after the nation's biggest political convulsion in a generation, positioning himself to gain from the fall of populist politician Bo Xilai. Wang Yang, leader of Guangdong province and well known for his deft handling of recent civil unrest there, is the first of three provincial-level party bosses who stand to benefit after a murder scandal snuffed out Bo's career last month. ...

Thailand's economy posted double-digit growth in the first quarter of 2012, rebounding sharply from the fallout of last year's devastating floods, official data showed Monday.

DUBAI (Reuters) - A militant group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in eastern Syria last week that killed nine people and said attacks would continue, in a statement posted on the Internet on Monday. The al-Nusra Front said it was behind the attack on Saturday which targeted military installations in Deir al-Zor. The authenticity of the statement could not immediately be verified. ...

The head of the U.N. nuclear agency arrived Monday in Tehran on a key mission that could lead to the resumption of probes by the watchdog on whether Iran has secretly worked on an atomic weapon.

Bargain-hunting helped Asian stock markets edge upward Monday, but gains were limited as investors remained unconvinced that the world's major economies nailed a solution to the European debt crisis following a summit in Washington.

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's telecoms regulator fined the country's four main mobile operators, including MTN and Bharti Airtel, a total of 1.17 billion naira on Sunday for poor-quality service. The telecoms industry is hugely profitable in Nigeria, Africa's second-biggest economy and home to some 160 million people, but users complain that the service is poor, with frequent dropped calls and network interruptions. ...

Charleston, South Carolina (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Alberto churned off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina on Sunday, and heavy rain and dangerous surf were expected even though forecasters said it had lost strength. Bringing an early start to the Atlantic hurricane season, Alberto reached tropical storm strength on Saturday. By Sunday evening it was about 85 miles south-east of St Augustine, Florida, according to the hurricane center in Miami. ...

Charleston, South Carolina (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Alberto churned off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina on Sunday, and heavy rain and dangerous surf were expected even though forecasters said it had lost strength. Bringing an early start to the Atlantic hurricane season, Alberto reached tropical storm strength on Saturday. By Sunday evening it was about 85 miles south-east of St Augustine, Florida, according to the hurricane center in Miami. ...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Four police officers were injured and 45 demonstrators arrested after baton-wielding police clashed with anti-war protesters marching on the NATO summit in Chicago on Sunday, police said. A lawyer's group assisting protesters challenged police figures, saying at least 12 protesters were hurt, some with head wounds from police batons, and more than 60 people detained. The confrontation began after a 2 1/2 mile march from a Chicago park to near the site of the summit, where leaders of the NATO alliance are discussing the war in Afghanistan. ...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Four police officers were injured and 45 demonstrators arrested after baton-wielding police clashed with anti-war protesters marching on the NATO summit in Chicago on Sunday, police said. A lawyer's group assisting protesters challenged police figures, saying at least 12 protesters were hurt, some with head wounds from police batons, and more than 60 people detained. The confrontation began after a 2 1/2 mile march from a Chicago park to near the site of the summit, where leaders of the NATO alliance are discussing the war in Afghanistan. ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Getting married was a smart business move as well as a personal milestone for Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, with the timing of the wedding, the day after the company's initial public offering, potentially proving particularly advantageous, California divorce lawyers said on Sunday. Assuming the couple signed a prenuptial agreement, as most wealthy Californians do, Zuckerberg and Chan would have agreed exactly how to split assets, including his Facebook stock, if their marriage dissolved in future. ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Getting married was a smart business move as well as a personal milestone for Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, with the timing of the wedding, the day after the company's initial public offering, potentially proving particularly advantageous, California divorce lawyers said on Sunday. Assuming the couple signed a prenuptial agreement, as most wealthy Californians do, Zuckerberg and Chan would have agreed exactly how to split assets, including his Facebook stock, if their marriage dissolved in future. ...