Bomb blast in south Philippines kills at least 2

MANILA, Philippines – A crude bomb hidden on a motorcycle on Tuesday exploded in a port city on a southern Philippine island where al-Qaida-linked militants are active, killing at least two people and wounding 24, officials said.

The motorcycle was parked across from a store that was wrecked in the early-morning blast in downtown Jolo, killing the store owner instantly, police and the military said.

Another homemade bomb found nearby was detonated by authorities, said Jolo Mayor Hussin Amin.

At least two were confirmed dead, but the number of fatalities was expected to rise because many of the wounded — including two policemen — were in critical condition, said regional military commander Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban.

Most of the wounded were passers-by, and authorities suspended school classes in Jolo for fear of more attacks.

A radio report said police initially suspected the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group in the explosion.

The explosion follows a bomb blast Sunday outside a Roman Catholic cathedral in Cotabato city on the main southern island of Mindanao, which killed six people and wounded scores others in an attack the military blamed on the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The rebels denied it. They have waged a decades-long battle for self-rule in the southern Mindanao region, homeland of Muslims in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation.

Malaysian-brokered peace talks between the government and the rebels collapsed last year when a preliminary deal on an expanded Muslim autonomous region fell apart, sparking deadly clashes that have displaced large numbers of villagers.

Unlike the Moro rebels, who are pursuing on-and-off talks with the government, the Abu Sayyaf is considered a terrorist organization because of its al-Qaida links and many terrorist attacks, including ones on Americans.

The group and its allies, numbering about 400, have turned to kidnappings to make money in recent years, raising concerns among Philippine and U.S. security officials that ransom payments could revive the group, which has been weakened by years of U.S.-backed offensives.

Ancient mosaic comes out of hiding in Israel

By MOSHE EDRI, Associated Press Writer

LOD, Israel – Israeli archaeologists unveiled one of the largest and best preserved mosaics ever found in the country Wednesday, for only the second time since it was discovered more than a decade ago.

The 600-square-foot (56 square meter), 1,700-year-old Roman floor mosaic was found in 1996 during an archaeological dig in the town of Lod near Tel Aviv. It drew 10,000 visitors in the one weekend it was on display then, according to the Israeli Antiquities Authority, the government agency responsible for its restoration.

The agency covered the mosaic back up, though, because it lacked funding to properly protect it, said Miriam Avisar, the archaeologist who first unearthed the mosaic.

That changed with a recent $2.5 million joint gift from the Leon Levy Foundation and antiquities collector Shelby White to fund construction of a new center to house the mosaic in Lod. The center is set to open in 2012, said Jacque Neguer, head of art conservation at the Antiquities Authority.

Antiquities Authority workers slowly rolled a thick covering off the massive mosaic Wednesday and began a laborious cleaning process using water and soft sponges. After the cleaning is completed, they'll transport the entire mosaic to Jerusalem for a lengthy preservation process.

The mosaic is made up of more than two million small stones and covered with detailed pictures and geometric shapes.

"The decorative elements are extremely rich and well executed," Neguer said. "We have hunting scenes, lions and giraffes from Africa, and scenes of the sea with ships and fish."

The mosaic is similar to others found in Tunisia and elsewhere in North Africa, Neguer said, indicating the owner or artist may not have been from Israel.

Neguer also said it's possible that portions of the mosaic will be displayed in Israel before the entire mosaic returns to Lod, but there are no definitive plans on that yet.

7 US troops killed throughout Afghanistan

By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer

KABUL – Bombs and bullets killed seven American troops on Monday, the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Afghanistan in nearly a year — and a sign that the war being fought in the Taliban heartland of the south and east could now be expanding north.

Separately, Taliban militants claimed on a militant Web site that they were holding an American soldier whom the U.S. military says insurgents might have captured last week. The Taliban statement, however, did not include any proof, such as a picture or the soldier's name.

Four of the deaths Monday came in an attack on a team of U.S. military trainers in the relatively peaceful north, bringing into focus the question of whether the U.S. is committing enough troops to secure a country larger than Iraq in both population and land mass.

On a visit to Moscow, President Barack Obama said it's too soon to measure the success of his new strategy in Afghanistan. He said the U.S. can take another look at the situation after the country's presidential elections on Aug. 20.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in some respects, progress has been "insignificant" in Afghanistan. He said it's hard to say how quickly the situation will improve.

Obama has ordered 21,000 additional American troops to this country, mainly in the south where Taliban militants have made a violent comeback after a U.S.-led coalition topped them from power in late 2001. The U.S. expects 68,000 troops here by year's end, double last year's total but still half as many as now in Iraq.

The four American soldiers killed in the north died in a roadside bombing of their vehicle in Kunduz province, said Navy Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo, a U.S. military spokesman. The soldiers were training Afghan forces, he said.

Two Americans were killed in a roadside blast in southern Afghanistan, Naranjo said. And another American soldier died of wounds in a Monday firefight with militants in the east, a U.S. military spokesman said.

There were no further details on the incidents in the south and the east.

It was the deadliest day for American troops in Afghanistan since July 13, 2008, when 10 soldiers were killed — nine of them when militants using small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades attacked a remote outpost in the village of Wanat near the Pakistani border.

The Taliban claim about holding a captured U.S. soldier came six days after a soldier was noticed missing during a routine check of his unit June 30. His body armor and weapon were found on the base.

Two U.S. defense sources have said the soldier "just walked off" post with three Afghans after he finished working. They had no explanation for why he left.

In southern Afghanistan, meanwhile, thousands of U.S. Marines continued with their anti-Taliban offensive in Helmand province. Some 500 Marines out of 4,000 participating in the operation moved into the Khan Neshin area, a Marine statement said Monday.

"This is the first time coalition forces have had a sustained presence so far south in the Helmand River valley. Khan Neshin had been a Taliban stronghold for several years before Afghan, and coalition forces arrived and began discussions with local leaders several days ago," the statement added.

In the southern province of Kandahar, meanwhile, a suicide car bomber blew himself up outside the outer gate of the main NATO base in the region, killing two civilians and wounding 14 other people.

Those wounded near the gates of Kandahar Airfield included 12 civilians and two Afghan soldiers, said Gen. Sher Mohammad Zazai, the top military commander for southern Afghanistan.

As the conflict intensifies, U.S. forces are under pressure to minimize civilian deaths in military operations. In an effort to reduce civilian losses, the new commander of U.S. and NATO forces, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, issued guidelines ordering troops to "scrutinize and limit" the use of airstrikes against residential compounds, which Taliban fighters often use as hideouts.

McChrystal says he hopes to produce a cultural shift in the military so that his troops' first priority will be protecting Afghan civilians, not using massive fire power. McChrystal's guidelines went into effect last week, and officials released a declassified version Monday.

The three directives are that airstrikes must be authorized and very limited but can be used in self-defense if troops' lives are at risk; troops must be accompanied by Afghan forces before they enter residences; and troops cannot go into or fire upon mosques or other religious sites, though this is already U.S. policy.

"We must avoid the trap of winning tactical victories — but suffering strategic defeats — by causing civilian casualties or excessive damage and thus alienating the people," McChrystal said in the statement.

Civilian deaths caused by U.S. and NATO military operations have long been a source of friction between President Hamid Karzai and the West. Such deaths have deeply angered Afghan villagers, eroding support for the Afghan government and international mission.

In the latest accusation, Daud Ahmadi, the spokesman for the governor of Helmand province, said a rocket hit a civilian house in Nad Ali district Sunday, killing four civilians and wounding four others.

Noor Mohammad, from Khoshal Keli village where the rocket hit, alleged that the rocket was launched by foreign forces.

NATO was not immediately available to comment on the report. British troops have been operating in the area.

A NATO helicopter, meanwhile, made an emergency landing in the southern Zabul province, a spokesman for the military alliance said. There were casualties among those on board, but Lt. Commander Chris Hall did not have details. The incident was not caused by insurgent fire, Hall said.

Israeli archaeologists discover ancient quarry

By JEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM – Israeli archaeologists have uncovered an ancient quarry where they believe King Herod extracted stones for the construction of the Jewish Temple 2,000 years ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Monday. The archaeologists believe the 1,000-square-foot (100-square-meter) quarry was part of a much larger network of quarries used by Herod in the city.

The biggest stones extracted from the quarry would have measured three yards (meters) long, two yards (meters) across, and two yards (meters) high.

The archaeologists said the size of the stones indicates they could have been used in the construction of the Temple compound, including the Western Wall, a retaining wall that remains intact and is a Jewish shrine.

"The dimensions of the stones that were produced in the quarry that was revealed are suitable for the Temple walls," said Ofer Sion, the dig's director.

The two-week excavation, which was conducted before construction begins on an apartment complex at the site, also uncovered pottery, coins and what appear to be tools used in the quarry dating to the first century B.C.

"Finding a large quarry related to the largest building project ever undertaken in Jerusalem ... that's more than just another discovery," said archaeologist Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University, who was not involved in the excavation. "It's an additional block that slowly reveals the picture of construction in ancient Jerusalem."

Herod was the Roman-appointed king of the Holy Land from 37 B.C. to 4 B.C. and was known for his many major building projects, including the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. The Second Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 by Roman legions following a Jewish revolt.

Excavation at the site is almost complete, and the Israel Antiquities Authority says construction of the apartments will begin in the coming weeks.

Because of the amount of ancient remains in Israel, builders are required to carry out a salvage excavation before beginning construction. Such digs regularly turn up important finds.

U.S., Russia agree to missile cuts, but tensions remain

By Tom Lasseter, McClatchy Newspapers

MOSCOW — Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev on Monday agreed to cut up to a third of the nuclear warheads in their strategic arsenals, but acknowledged that disagreements linger about a proposed U.S. missile defense shield.

Obama and Medvedev stressed that the proposal marked a turn away from the post-Cold War lows of the past few years.

In addition to the conversation about nuclear weapons, Russia said that it would begin allowing the U.S. to ship arms for Afghanistan through the country. Russia and the U.S. also are resuming military-to-military cooperation, a process suspended after the Russia - Georgia war last summer.

Speaking to reporters during Obama's first trip here as president, both men said that they were determined to put the tensions of recent years behind them.

"It is not a simple job, because the backlog of problems is quite impressive," Medvedev said.

Obama said relations have "suffered from a sense of drift," but he and Medvedev were "committed to leaving behind the suspicion and the rivalry of the past."

The recent past includes Russia's invasion of one U.S. ally — Georgia — in August and suspension of gas supplies to another — Ukraine — in January.

The two men, dressed in dark suits and red ties, smiled at each other several times during their news conference in an ornate Kremlin hall, and each nodded frequently in agreement as the other spoke.

The presidents said they'll instruct their negotiators to agree on new limits for strategic, or long-range, warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 by extending the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which is set to expire in December.

Although the numbers were framed as major news, the figures weren't far from those discussed in recent months. When Obama and Medvedev met in London in April, they said they were aiming for levels below those set by a 2002 treaty that called for 1,700 to 2,200 warheads by 2012. The U.S. is now thought to have about 2,200 deployed strategic warheads and Russia more than 2,700.

The announcement was "a modest step" in the right direction, said Morton Halperin , a former adviser on arms control in the Clinton, Nixon and Johnson administrations. It's "the right way to begin" a new relationship, he said.

For one afternoon in Moscow — a capital used to acrimonious exchange with the U.S. — observers on both sides of the political divide were pleased with the news.

"The new deal is not a breakthrough," said Andrei Kortunov, the president of the New Eurasia Foundation , a Western-leaning research organization in Moscow , "but we have to admit that, at the moment, it is very important to create positively developing relations."

Vyacheslov Igrunov, who heads a government-friendly research organization in Moscow , the Institute of Humanitarian and Political Studies , said the treaty "may be insufficient, but the very fact of making a new deal, a step forward, should not be underestimated."

One cloud over arms control is the split between the U.S. and Russia over a missile defense system the Bush administration proposed in Poland and the Czech Republic .

The U.S. maintains that such a system could counter at most a small number of missiles fired from Iran or North Korea , not a Russian onslaught.

"There is no scenario from our perspective in which this missile defense system would provide any protection against a mighty Russian arsenal," Obama said Monday.

The Kremlin maintains that any anti-missile system close to Russian borders might be expanded to the point that it could counter Russia's nuclear force.

Obama, who's been skeptical about missile defense in the past, said he hoped to convince the Russian leadership otherwise, but added that, "It's going to take some hard work because it requires breaking down long-standing suspicions."

In a joint statement issued later, the two leaders agreed to some modest steps to bridge the gap. They said they would take steps to set up a data exchange center leading to a missile-launch notification system.

In addition, the statement said, experts from each country will conduct a joint review of "the entire spectrum of means at our disposal that allow us to cooperate on monitoring the development of missile programs around the world" — raising the question of whether Russia would be willing to integrate into an American missile defense web.

Gleb Pavlovsky , an analyst in Moscow who's close to the Kremlin, said that the progress with START is encouraging, but Russian leadership remains very cautious about American designs, despite Obama administration rhetoric about building stronger ties.

"This is a sphere of testing the intentions of the United States and their ability to make deals," said Pavlovsky, who has a large picture of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on one wall of his office, and one of Karl Marx on the other. "The question is what is expected of us? Do they want us to adopt the American agenda as our own? Or do they want to reach a mutual agenda?"

For the Americans, there is equal uncertainty, much of it swirling around the question of whether the reformist posture at times taken by Medvedev is authentic. The Russian president has said that he wants to move against corruption in his country, and toward a more open government that cooperates on a wide range of issues with the U.S.

Putin, widely regarded as the most powerful man in Russia , has struck a harder line, lashing out against the West repeatedly during his eight year presidency and in the past year as prime minister.

In an interview with the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta published Monday, Obama said that, "I agree with President Medvedev when he said that 'Freedom is better than the absence of freedom.' So, I see no reason why we cannot aspire together to strengthen democracy, human rights, and the rule of law as part of our 'reset.'"

The setting of the interview was symbolic: Novaya Gazeta has carried articles critical of the Russian government and four of its reporters have been murdered.

It remains to be seen, however, whether this will be the start of a new, more stable relationship between Washington and Moscow .

"It's like reading tea leaves or trying to figure out which way the wind is blowing . . . I think the answer is we're not going to know for a long time," said Sarah Mendelson , a senior Russian expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies . "I think there are people in and around the Kremlin who want to see a new and different relationship with the U.S. And I'm sure there are people who don't."

Mendelson, who helped organize a summit this week for U.S. and Russian civil society leaders in Moscow , said that even the hint of an opening is worth pursuing.

"We have a unique moment and we'd be silly not to try to take advantage of it," she said.

China arrests 1,434 after deadly Xinjiang riots

By WILLIAM FOREMAN, Associated Press Writer

URUMQI, China – Police have arrested 1,434 suspects in connection with the worst ethnic violence in decades in China's western Xinjiang region, which killed at least 156 people, state media reported Tuesday.

The arrests come amid a security clampdown on the region, with hundreds of paramilitary police with shields, rifles and clubs taking control of the streets of the capital, Urumqi, where the riots took place on Sunday.

The violence does not bode well for China's efforts to mollify long-simmering ethnic tensions between the minority Uighur people and the ethnic Han Chinese in Xinjiang — a sprawling region three times the size of Texas that shares borders with Pakistan, Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries.

Mobile phone service and the social networking site Twitter have been blocked, and Internet links also were cut or slowed down.

A nonviolent protest by 200 people was broken up in a second city, Kashgar, and the official Xinhua News Agency said police had evidence that demonstrators were trying to organize more unrest in Kashgar, Yili and Aksu.

It said police had raided several groups plotting unrest in Dawan township in Urumqi, as well as at a former race course that is home to a transient population.

The unrest in Urumqi began Sunday after 1,000 to 3,000 protesters gathered at the People's Square and protested the June 25 deaths of Uighur factory workers killed in a riot in southern China. Xinhua said two died; other sources put the figure higher. Internet and social networking reports on the incident had raised tensions in Xinjiang over the last two weeks.

Many Uighurs (pronounced WEE-gers) haven't been wooed by the rapid economic development. Some want independence, while others feel they're being marginalized in their homeland. The Han — China's ethnic majority — have been flooding into Xinjiang as the region becomes more developed.

The government often says the Uighurs should be grateful for the roads, railways, schools, hospitals and oil fields it has been building in Xinjiang, a region known for scorching deserts and snowy mountain ranges.

A similar situation exists in Tibet, where a violent protest last year left many Tibetan communities living under clamped-down security ever since.

"The Han Chinese say we all belong to the same country. We're all part of one big family," said Memet, a restaurant worker who like other Uighurs declined to give his full name because he feared the police. "But the Han always treat us separately."

A Han Chinese shopkeeper, who only gave his surname Wang because the ethnic issue is so sensitive, disagreed. "Those who cause such trouble are criminals," he said. "They're never happy with what they have."

Sunday's violence was notable because it happened in Urumqi, which has been relatively peaceful and hasn't been a hotbed of religious or political agitation. In other restive Xinjiang cities, red propaganda banners are filled with slogans encouraging ethnic harmony. But most of the banners in Urumqi touted anti-drug and fire prevention campaigns.

The population of 2.3 million is also overwhelmingly Han Chinese in the city, a mixture of drab concrete apartment blocks and gleaming new office towers.

It is not clear how the violence started, as police confronted the protesters. Rioters began flipping over barricades, smashing shop windows and burning cars, according to media and witness accounts.

State television video showed protesters attacking and kicking people on the ground, and the government said many Han Chinese were injured by rampaging Uighurs.

There were no independent figures on the ethnic breakdown of the casualties. Xinhua quoted Li Yi, head of the publicity department of the Communist Party in Xinjiang, as saying Tuesday that 129 men and 27 women died. Li said 1,080 people were hurt in the rioting.

Chinese officials have singled out the leader of the U.S.-based Uyghur American Association — Rebiya Kadeer, a former prominent Xinjiang businesswoman now living in Washington — for inciting the violence.

"Rebiya had phone conversations with people in China on July 5 in order to incite, and Web sites ... were used to orchestrate the incitement and spread propaganda," Xinjiang Gov. Nur Bekri said Monday on television.

Kadeer said Monday that she had learned through Web sites of the planned protests and called her brother to urge him and other family members to stay away.

"The Chinese government always blames me and the World Uyghur Congress for problems over there," Kadeer said in Washington, D.C. "Any Uighur who dares to express the slightest protest, however peaceful, is dealt with by brutal force."

While she blamed the government for the recent violence, she also condemned "the violent actions of some of the Uighur demonstrators" and said her organization supports only peaceful protests.

The government has accused Kadeer of having a hand in many of Xinjiang's problems since her release from prison into U.S. exile in 2005. The Foreign Ministry has publicly accused the 62-year-old of having links to the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, a group the U.S. put on its terrorist blacklist.

U.N. council condemns N.Korea missile launch

By Patrick Worsnip

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council on Monday condemned North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches as a violation of council resolutions and a threat to regional and international security.

Pyongyang fired seven missiles into the Sea of Japan on Saturday -- the U.S. July 4 Independence Day -- in an apparent act of defiance of Washington, which has cracked down on firms suspected of helping the North in its arms and missiles trade.

The launches also alarmed Japan and South Korea, which are within range of North Korean missiles. Japan -- currently an elected council member -- said it had requested Monday's meeting of the 15-nation body.

"The members of the Security Council condemned and expressed grave concern at the launches, which constitute a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and pose a threat to regional and international security," council president Ambassador Ruhakana Rugunda of Uganda said.

North Korea, which was banned from ballistic missile launches in a Security Council resolution passed last month, "must comply fully with its obligations," Rugunda said in an oral statement read to journalists.

Security Council members appealed to "all parties to refrain from any action that could aggravate the security situation in the region," he added.

Oral statements, which are not entered into the official record of Security Council proceedings, are the lowest level of council utterance. Western diplomats said they would have liked something more formal but were anxious to win the agreement of China, the closest Pyongyang has to an ally on the council.

Council statements have to be unanimous and "for China, only an oral statement would work," one diplomat said, adding that during discussions Chinese officials appeared "quite nervous about how far the statement would go."

North Korea appears to have fired two mid-range Rodong missiles, which can hit all of South Korea and most of Japan, and five shorter-range Scud missiles, which can strike most of South Korea, South Korean officials told reporters.

CARGO SHIP RETURNING

Japan's U.N. ambassador, Yukio Takasu, called Monday's statement "appropriate" but refused to speculate on what the council might do if North Korea ignores its message.

In the resolution passed last month, the Security Council expanded previous U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang in response to a May 25 nuclear test by the isolated communist state.

A U.N. sanctions committee is working on blacklisting more North Korean companies and individuals for supporting Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. It is meant to complete its task by Friday.

A North Korean cargo ship suspected of carrying banned arms was expected to return home on Monday after a voyage that was tracked by the U.S. Navy and tested the U.N. sanctions, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said.

The return of the Kang Nam, which set sail in mid-June, could ease tensions raised by the missile launches. South Korean dailies said it was headed for the North's port of Nampo after a journey that took it close to Myanmar.

A U.S. envoy coordinating the enforcement of U.N. sanctions on the North held talks in Malaysia with officials. South Korean dailies said they discussed possibly shutting down bank accounts used by the North for suspected illicit deals.

"The Obama administration has uncovered suspicious North Korean bank accounts in Malaysia," the Joongang Ilbo newspaper quoted a diplomatic source in Washington as saying.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said: "We are not going to act on every accusation that is being leveled at us ... but if they have evidence we will be most willing to work together to solve this problem."

A U.S. Treasury official who tracks illicit international financing will have talks in China this week on ways to crack down on companies involved in North Korea's purchases of equipment for its nuclear arms program.

Stuart Levey, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, will hold meetings from Wednesday to Friday with officials and private sector executives in mainland China and Hong Kong, the Treasury said on Monday.

The U.N. sanctions are aimed at halting Pyongyang's arms trade, a vital source of foreign currency for the cash-short state. They also call on states to clamp down on the North's suspected arms shipments.