World/Nation

• Ukrainian scam intercepted billions in taxes

KIEV, Ukraine - On paper, the Ukrainian trading firm known as Mistral dealt in management consulting and research, doing millions of dollars' worth of deals before going bust after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was chased from office earlier this year.

But when police recently tried to visit Mistral's Kiev office at No. 12 Saperne Pole Street, they found a huge hole in the ground, the foundation of an apartment complex to be completed next year. There was no trace of Mistral, whose name refers to a type of wind.

A receptionist at No. 5 on that street said there used to be a wine warehouse at the site, but it was cleared when construction began in 2011. Apartment numbers now jump from 9 to 22.

Officials tasked with cleaning the country's corruption-scarred tax system say the company didn't merely enter the wrong address. They say Mistral may never have existed in the first place - one of scores or even hundreds of phantom firms suspected of squeezing a total of 130 billion hryvnias ($11 billion) from Kiev's coffers over the past three years. The country's total tax revenue amounted to 210 billion hryvnias ($17.8 billion) in 2013.

Some 30 investigations are now underway, and a handful of companies have been raided, but the country's top tax official contends his predecessors were part of the fraud, which is why many phantom firms acted with impunity.

• Airport attack a challenge for Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan - The Pakistani Taliban threatened more violence Monday after a five-hour assault on the nation's busiest airport killed 29 people - including all 10 attackers - raising a new challenge for a U.S. ally trying to end years of fighting that has claimed thousands of lives.

With recently started peace efforts stalled, the cautious government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may be dragged closer to a decision on whether to take on the militants in earnest across a country with a long history of ambiguity when it comes to dealing with militancy.

A further weakening of stability in the nuclear power whose tribal regions are already a hotbed of unrest could ripple to neighboring Afghanistan as international combat forces prepare to withdraw from that country.

"Everywhere is a threat," warned Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. "Every area is a target, every building is a potential target."

Such an attack in Karachi, Pakistan's business center, will likely discourage foreign investment at a time when its economy is struggling.

• Christie works to build coalition for possible 2016 bid

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Chris Christie is plunging into what amounts to a cross-country revival tour, looking to recover from a clumsy political scandal and reclaim his place as a promising Republican presidential prospect.

In one recent week, it was on-the-ground politics in Tennessee and New Mexico. This week, after a campaign stop in Pennsylvania, the New Jersey governor returns to the late night comedy circuit with an appearance on NBC's "Tonight Show." Then he'll stop by Mitt Romney's Utah summit, a private event for donors and GOP establishment leaders, and the week after that he heads to Washington to court Christian conservatives at a national gathering of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.

All the while, he's raising a record-setting amount of money for other Republicans, and bolstering his political network in all the right places - Iowa and New Hampshire, in particular.

"As the president's record continues to get worse, as the Democratic Party brand continues to get worse across the country, this momentum's going to build," Christie said recently. "I've been looking forward to this year for quite some time."

Despite his optimism, this isn't where Christie expected to be at this point on the road to 2016. His stock plummeted early this year after it was discovered that members of his staff and political allies intentionally snarled traffic from New Jersey into Manhattan, apparently to punish a political rival.

- The Associated Press