Flowers and portraits of victims are placed at an entrance to the main railway station in Volgograd, Russia, on Monday after a suicide bombing there the

Flowers and portraits of victims are placed at an entrance to the main railway station in Volgograd, Russia, on Monday after a suicide bombing there the day before. (AP Photo/Denis Tyrin) ( Denis Tyrin )

National editor’s pick of the top news stories in the nation and world at this hour:

SECOND BOMBING IN VOLGOGRAD BRINGS DEATH TOLL TO 31

A day after a suicide bomber killed 17 people at a train station in Volgograd, Russia, another bomber blew up a bus in the same city Monday, killing 14. The city is 400 miles from Sochi, where the Winter Olympics begin in February, and the twin bombings raised fears that terrorists could penetrate tight security there. Russian authorities say they believe the same group is responsible, though none has claimed responsibility. Vladimir Markin, the spokesman for Russia’s top investigative agency, said both explosions involved similar bombs, confirming that the attacks are linked. Volgograd serves as a key transport hub for southern Russia, with numerous bus routes linking it to volatile provinces in Russia’s North Caucasus, where insurgents are seeking an Islamic state.

Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s military stand over one the body of an assailant killed during a battle in Kinshasa on Monday. (AP Photo/Associated Press Television)

APPARENT COUP ATTEMPT IN CONGO KILLS 40

Attackers claiming allegiance to a prophet struck the airport, a TV station and a major military base in Congo’s capital Monday, killing 40 before they were repulsed. Government spokesman Lambert Mende said about 16 people were killed at the military base, 16 at the airport and eight at the TV station in Kinshasa, and six attackers were captured. Shooting also broke out in Lubumbashi, a major city in the far southeast, suggesting a broad-based coup attempt.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir, left, shakes hands with his Uganda counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, on Monday in Juba, South Sudan. (Samir Bol/AFP/Getty

South Sudan President Salva Kiir, left, shakes hands with his Uganda counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, on Monday in Juba, South Sudan. (Samir Bol/AFP/Getty Images ( SAMIR BOL )

During the morning TV show “Le Panier,” or “The Breadbasket,” men burst into the studio at state broadcaster Radio Television Nationale Congolaise saying they wanted to broadcast a message from a fringe evangelical preacher who considers himself a prophet, Joseph Mukungubila. “They were wearing civilian clothes, and they were carrying sticks, and pieces of wood, and they had a menacing air about them, said Jessy Kabasele, the presenter of the show. “They came into the studio and started hitting us. They tied me up with the tie I was wearing. They made me kneel down.” On Mukungubila’s Facebook page, a statement said the events began Sunday in Lubumbashi, where children handing out a letter from the preacher were apprehended by the military. The letter accused President Joseph Kabila, who comes from the Congo-Rwanda border area, of being a foreigner unqualified to head the country.

 

UGANDAN PRESIDENT WARNS SOUTH SUDAN REBEL LEADER

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni warned South Sudan’s rebel leader Monday that if he rejected the government’s cease-fire offer, regional leaders would unite to defeat him. Museveni, on a visit to the capital city of Juba, said a regional bloc called IGAD had given former Vice President Riek Machar “four days to respond” to the cease-fire offer. “If he doesn’t we shall have to go for him, all of us,” he said. Machar has called for a negotiated cease-fire that includes a way to monitor compliance. Ugandan special forces have been deployed at the request of South Sudan President Salva Kiir, raising questions about the impartiality of Uganda as a possible mediator. The United Nations said Monday that violence since mid-December has displaced up to 180,000 people in South Sudan.

An undated file photo shows former Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan. KXAS-TV in Dallas reports that Hasan filed 21 requests with the Bell County Jail,

An undated file photo shows former Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan. KXAS-TV in Dallas reports that Hasan filed 21 requests with the Bell County Jail, where he was held for nearly four years after the 2009 shooting that left 13 dead. (AP Photo/Bell County Sheriff’s Department, File) ( Uncredited )

NIDAL HASAN HAD BIBLE AND CHEESE QUESTIONS

While in jail awaiting his court-martial, Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan asked for a copy of the Bible, an expert to answer questions about it and the name of the company that made the cheese served on his sandwiches. KSAX-TV in Dallas is reporting that Hasan filed 21 requests with the Bell County Jail during the four years he was held there. “Please tell me the name of the company that produces the white cheese on my sandwiches; also the type of cheese i.e. mozzarella,” he wrote, possibly wanting to make sure his food was prepared according to Islamic standards. In a reference to the Bible, he wrote, “Please send a knowledgeable person to answer my difficult questions as well as a paperback copy for my personal use.” Hasan was convicted and sentenced to death for opening fire at Fort Hood in November 2009, killing 13. He described himself at trial as a soldier who “switched sides” in a supposed war between America and Islam.

By karl_kahler