RUSSIA

After talks between the Russian and U.S. presidents in Sochi:

- Outgoing Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was cautiously optimistic that his country and the United States will eventually resolve their disagreements over Washington's missile defense plans for Europe

- Russia and the United States have agreed to step up efforts to broaden economic interaction, a joint declaration released after the presidents' talks in southern Russia said

*- Russian President-elect Dmitry Medvedev told U.S. President George W. Bush that maintaining good relations between the countries is a key factor for international security

* All but one of the 25 National Bolshevik Party activists arrested on Saturday for staging an unsanctioned rally on Red Square have been released, a party spokesman told RIA Novosti 

* Sunday's temperature in Moscow hit 19.2 degrees Celsius (66.56 Fahrenheit), a record high for April 6, as the capital's unusually warm spring continues, Russian meteorological website meteonovosti.ru said

WORLD

* Afghan and NATO-led forces killed more than ten Taliban militants in a joint operation in the province of Kandahar in south Afghanistan, an Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman said

* South Korea's Air Force chief set off for Russia on Sunday, for talks on expanding the countries' cooperation in aviation and space technology, Seoul's Yonhap news agency reported

* At least 10 protesters against human rights abuses in China have been arrested in London for disrupting the Beijing Olympic torch relay, local police said