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The introduction of Umaru Musa Yar'Adua as Nigeria's new president marks a significant point in the nation's history — the first time since independence from Britain in 1960 that Nigeria has witnessed the peaceful transition of power from one elected civilian leader to another.

President Bush is in Italy on Friday, the latest stop on his European tour. His visit comes as a trial involving the "extraordinary rendition" program began in Milan. Twenty-six Americans — all but one believed to be CIA — are being tried in absentia alongside seven Italian intelligence officers.

President Bush met Pope Benedict XVI for the first time Saturday in Rome. Reporters were not allowed in the Pope's private library during the meeting, but the president afterward acknowledged that the Pope expressed concerns about the treatment of Christians in Iraq.

The annual G-8 Summit of the world's leading industrial powers convenes Wednesday in Germany. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made climate change her top priority, but President Bush is resisting her proposals.

In heavy fighting across the Gaza Strip, the latest battles between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have left more than 20 people dead in the past three days, with more than 80 killed in the past month. Fatah leaders now warn that the precarious "unity government" with their Hamas rivals may not last.

The Turkish army is cracking down on Kurdish separatists in the country's southeast region, which generals have declared a "special security zone." This month guerilla attacks killed 15 Turkish soldiers in 8 days.

The pharmaceutical company Merck announced Friday that it will pay nearly $5 billion dollars to settle claims involving the painkiller Vioxx. The settlement only goes into effect if a large number of plaintiffs agree to drop their cases, but that looks likely.

Another attack on one of the holiest Shiite Muslim shrines in Iraq has raised fears of a new wave of sectarian bloodletting. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki blamed al-Qaida for the attack and ordered a curfew in Baghdad to prevent new violence.

James Seale, 71, faces life in prison after being convicted of kidnapping and conspiracy in the 1964 murder of two black teens in Mississippi. Members of the victims' families welcome the verdict as a sign of how much the state has changed.

Hamas enjoyed its first full day of control in Gaza after seizing the territory from Fatah fighters, as beleaguered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fought back politically, appointing a new prime minister in the West Bank. But in Gaza, Hamas dismissed Abbas's moves as meaningless.