LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Barclays Plc said it is to sell all of its $6.1 billion stake in U.S. asset manager BlackRock Inc., which it has held for almost three years. Barclays said the shares would be sold by way of an offering and a related buyback by BlackRock of up to $1 billion of the stock. A prospectus was filed by BlackRock on Monday. Barclays holds BlackRock common stock and convertible stock that represent 19.6 percent economic interest in the firm. The holding dates from the UK bank's sale of Barclays Global Investors to BlackRock in June 2009. ...

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 corporate takeover in the United States to date.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin named loyal allies to top posts in Russia's new government on Monday, taking a firm grip on economic policy and limiting Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's ability to push a reform agenda. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov remains and pro-Putin economist Andrei Belousov takes over as economy minister, while Igor Shuvalov keeps his post as first deputy prime minister in overall charge of economic policy. ...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin named loyal allies to top posts in Russia's new government on Monday, taking a firm grip on economic policy and limiting Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's ability to push a reform agenda. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov remains and pro-Putin economist Andrei Belousov takes over as economy minister, while Igor Shuvalov keeps his post as first deputy prime minister in overall charge of economic policy. ...

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.

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. ...

Street battles between pro- and anti-Syrian groups in the Lebanese capital killed two people overnight and wounded 15 as the spiraling conflict in neighboring Syria spilled across the border.

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. ...

Athens (Reuters) - "Gentlemen, we are finished," said the patrician President, calling an abrupt halt to two hours of baiting and cat-calling between furious Greek politicians. "I'm starting to get upset myself now. We are finished." The final collapse of talks to forge a new Greek government triggered repeat elections and fears of a chaotic exit from the euro zone. But it is the manner of that collapse, the acrimony and rancor cited by Karolos Papoulias, that bodes ill for efforts after June polls to pull Greece back from the brink. ...

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.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least two people were killed in heavy fighting between rival Sunni Muslim gunmen in Beirut on Monday, medical and security sources said, in the latest violence fuelled by tensions over the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The clashes followed the killing of an anti-Assad Sunni cleric and his colleague at an army checkpoint in north Lebanon on Sunday, triggering angry protests in Sunni districts of northern cities and the capital. ...

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. ...