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Dozens Dead, Flights Halted as DR Congo Forces Repel Attacks

Congolese security forces repelled a wave of coordinated attacks against symbols of power in the capital Kinshasa and other cities on Monday, leaving dozens of assailants dead in a day of fierce gunbattles.

Armed youths believed to be loyal to a pastor who challenged President Joseph Kabila in elections seven years ago stormed the state television station RTNC and took several reporters hostage.

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U.S. Calls for Closer Security Cooperation with Russia after Bombings

The United States on Monday called for closer security cooperation with Russia ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics, after two deadly bombings in the city of Volgograd.

"The U.S. government has offered our full support to the Russian government in security preparations for the Sochi Olympic Games, and we would welcome the opportunity for closer cooperation for the safety of the athletes, spectators, and other participants," National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement.

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Nigeria President Pressed to Hold Talks on Country's Future

President Goodluck Jonathan was on Monday urged to hold talks on the future of Nigeria, as the country prepared to mark the centenary of the unification of north and south.

The Movement for New Nigeria (MNN), a civil society group made up of a number of different ethnic groups, said a national dialogue was the only way of resolving contentious issues gripping the country.

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Switzerland Grants Khodorkovsky Three-Month Visa

Switzerland said Monday it had granted a three-month visa to Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who has been staying in a German luxury hotel since his release from a Russian prison.

Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon, was jailed for 10 years for financial crimes but pardoned over a week ago by President Vladimir Putin in a deal that Germany helped broker behind the scenes.

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Greek ex-Transport Minister Sentenced for Driving Uninsured Car

A wealthy Greek former transport minister was given a suspended four-year prison sentence on Monday after being caught driving an unlicensed luxury jeep, court officials said.

Prominent conservative Michalis Liapis, 63, was also sentenced to a fine of 3,000 euros ($4,100) for flouting traffic laws he once vowed to uphold as the government's transport minister.

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Turkish Woman Detained over Shoebox Protest

A Turkish woman was detained after brandishing a shoebox in an anti-government protest over a sweeping graft probe that has ensnared allies of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, local media reported Monday.

The shoebox has become a symbol of the corruption scandal after police earlier this month found $4.5 million stashed in shoeboxes in the home of one of the suspects, the chief executive of Turkish state-owned Halkbank.

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Turkey 'Takes $100 Billion Hit' from Political Turmoil

The political crisis engulfing Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cost the economy $100 billion, a top official said Monday, as financial markets rebounded from a massive freefall.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc also fired off a new salvo against a powerful group that the government charges is behind a sweeping corruption probe that has shaken the very core of Erdogan's administration.

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7 Dead in Suspected Boko Haram Wedding Attack in Nigeria

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen shot dead seven people and injured five more in a weekend attack on a wedding party in northeastern Nigeria, police said on Monday.

Two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire in the mainly Christian village of Tashan Alade, 230 kilometers (over 140 miles) from the Borno state capital Maiduguri, on Saturday, said police commissioner Lawan Tanko.

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Pakistan Appoints First Female Judge to Sharia Court

Pakistan's national sharia court, which hears cases under the country's Islamic legislation, on Monday appointed a female judge for the first time in its 33-year history.

Ashraf Jehan, 56, who was serving as an additional judge at the high court in southern Sindh province, made history as she took the oath in Karachi.

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Flood Displaces 18,000 in Indonesia

Around 18,000 people in western Indonesia have had to leave their homes after two rivers burst their banks and flooded thousands of houses, an official said Monday.

More than 4,500 houses and 500 shops in the coastal town of Tebing Tinggi on Sumatra island have been inundated since Saturday, when the Padang and Bahilang rivers swelled after days of torrential rain, said National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

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