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. ...

A strong earthquake shook northeast Italy early Sunday, killing four people, tearing off chunks of church facades and sending panicked residents into the streets. Aftershocks wreaked more havoc in the region, including knocking down a clock tower and injuring a firefighter.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese soldiers shot dead two members of an alliance against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in northern Lebanon on Sunday, security sources said, in the latest incident to raise fears Syria's turmoil was spilling over the border into its neighbor. Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahid, a Sunni Muslim cleric, and Khaled Miraib, both members of the Lebanon-based March 14 political alliance, were shot in their car as they sped through a Lebanese army checkpoint without stopping, the sources said. Residents of the northern region of Akkar blocked off roads to protest against the deaths. ...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - NATO leaders gathered in Chicago on Sunday to chart a path out of Afghanistan as war-weary Western nations seek to fend off dissent in their alliance and ensure Afghanistan can hold a still-potent Taliban at bay when foreign troops withdraw. President Barack Obama hosts the summit in his home town, Chicago, a day after leaders of major industrialized nations tackled Europe's debt crisis, backing keeping Greece in the euro zone and vowing to take steps necessary to revitalize the world economy. ...

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian army shelling killed 16 people, including children, on Sunday in the town of Souran in the central province of Hama, the British-based rights group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "The army shelled the town and then stormed it," the head of the rights group Rami Abdelrahman told Reuters, citing residents. Hama has been a focal point of Syria's 14-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. (Reporting by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Louise Ireland)