Attacks across Baghdad and northern Iraq kill 25 December 16, 2013 -- Updated 1056 GMT (1856 HKT) A member of the Iraqi security forces monitors a checkpoint in Baghdad on December 16, 2013. NEW: Militants storm city council building in Tikrit, police say NEW: Widespread violence kills at least 25 people on Monday NEW: Similar violence killed 21 people on Sunday More than 8,000 people have been killed in Iraq in 2013, according to the United Nations Baghdad (CNN) -- Another day of widespread violence has left at least 25 people dead across Iraq on Monday, security officials said. At least four Iraqi police officers were killed and four others wounded when a car bomb exploded outside a police station in Baiji, authorities in Tikrit told CNN. Minutes after the initial explosion, gunmen stormed the station and clashes erupted between them and Iraqi security forces, police officials said. Baiji is located about 200 miles (320 km) north of Baghdad in Salaheddin province. At least four Iraqi soldiers were killed and four others were wounded when a suicide car bomber attacked a military base in Azham, a small town about 62 miles (100 km) northeast of Baghdad, police officials in Baquba said. Also Monday, militants stormed Tikrit's city council building, clashed with Iraqi security forces and occupied the facility for a time, police officials in Tikrit said. There are hostages and an unknown number of casualties, according to police. Local authorities have imposed a curfew in the city until further notice. State-run Iraqia TV reported that an anti-terrorism unit freed the hostages and killed the militants. In other violence, at least 17 people were killed and 52 others wounded in a series of explosions across the capital on Monday morning. The blasts -- five car bombs and three roadside bombs -- took place in several Baghdad neighborhoods. This comes a day after at least 21 people died, including an anchor with al-Mousliya TV, in shootings and explosions on Sunday, police said. More than 8,000 people have been killed in Iraq in 2013, according to U.N. figures. December 16, 2013 -- Updated 0541 GMT (1341 HKT) Sexual abuse against women has pushed the Indian government to pass tougher anti-rape laws. CNN's Sumnima Udas reports. December 16, 2013 -- Updated 1150 GMT (1950 HKT) In surroundings even dirtier than the war they escaped, Syrian refugee children in Lebanon now face another potential threat: polio. December 15, 2013 -- Updated 1438 GMT (2238 HKT) Kim has purged hundreds of officials, butJang's ouster is highly unusual. It shows Kim Jong Un is as dangerous as his father, "and less predictable. December 16, 2013 -- Updated 0038 GMT (0838 HKT) Virtual worlds are almost as impressive as the real thing. These landscapes may exist only in the virtual world, but who wouldn't want to go? December 16, 2013 -- Updated 1258 GMT (2058 HKT) Explore the life of freedom fighter, prisoner, moral compass and South Africa's symbol of the struggle against racial oppression. China's first lunar rover deployed successfully from the unmanned spacecraft Chang'e-3 after it landed on the moon Saturday. December 16, 2013 -- Updated 1333 GMT (2133 HKT)