Traditional artisans in southern Italy have put a clay statuette showing U.S. President Barack Obama holding Osama bin Laden's head on sale in an unusual reaction to the Al-Qaeda chief's killing.

The statuette was fashioned by artisans who usually make religious figures for the elaborate Christmas Nativity scenes typical of the city of Naples and who have branched out in recent years into pursuing more contemporary themes.

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was shot dead deep inside Pakistan in a night-time helicopter raid by U.S. covert forces, ending a decade-long manhunt for the mastermind of the September 11 attacks.

"Justice has been done," U.S. President Barack Obama declared in a dramatic televised address late Sunday, sparking raucous celebrations across the United States, after an operation that officials said lasted less than 40 minutes.

The World leaders on Monday hailed news of the death of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in a firefight with covert U.S. forces in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, northeast of the capital Islamabad.

His death marks the biggest triumph yet in the 10-year U.S. war against terrorism launched after the September 11 attacks.

U.S. President Barack Obama has extended the national emergency with respect to the actions of the Syrian government, saying that its support for Hizbullah and Hamas and meddling in Lebanon makes it a threat to national security.

Syria’s ongoing pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, support for anti-Israel groups and interference in Lebanon make it a "continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States," said a White House statement.

The U.S. on Friday imposed new sanctions on Syria over its violent repression of protests, and again singled out Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which it said was aiding the crackdown, as the EU agreed to impose an arms embargo against Damascus.

The asset freezes and restrictions on financial transactions notably targeted Maher al-Assad, the powerful brother of President Bashar Al-Assad, who commands Syria's feared Fourth Armored Division.

U.S. President Barack Obama must declare that his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, has squandered his legitimacy and must step down, three key senators urged Thursday.

"We urge President Obama to state unequivocally -- as he did in the case of (Libyan leader Moammar) Gadhafi and (Egyptian President Hosni) Mubarak -- that it is time for Assad to go," Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham and independent Senator Joe Lieberman said in a joint statement.

President Barack Obama will Thursday name CIA director and Washington power player Leon Panetta defense secretary, reshuffling his security team at a pivotal moment for U.S. military strategy.

Panetta, 72, will replace Robert Gates, who retires as Pentagon chief on June 30, and Obama plans to recall talismanic General David Petraeus from Afghanistan, who will end a decorated military career to lead the CIA.

Armenians on Sunday marked 96 years since the mass killings of their ancestors under the Ottoman Empire amid apparent deadlock in the process of normalizing relations with modern Turkey.

Armenia contends the killings were a genocide -- a label supported by some countries but vehemently opposed by Turkey -- and the controversy has poisoned ties between Yerevan and Ankara to this day.

International condemnation of Syria mounted Saturday after its security forces reportedly killed more than 80 people in one of the bloodiest days of a month-long uprising.

Russia, Italy and Greece joined the chorus of criticism which includes U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, as well as France and the European parliament.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Wednesday sent a message to U.S. President Barack Obama, following the withdrawal of American warplanes from Libya, the official Libyan news agency JANA said.

"The leader of the revolution (Gadhafi) sent on Wednesday a message to U.S. President Barack Obama after the United States withdrew from the aggressive, colonialist coalition crusading against Libya," said the agency without specifying the contents of the message.