BEIJING, May 14 (UPI) -- Rescue workers pulled the bodies of 178 students from a collapsed school in the aftermath of China's deadly earthquake, local officials said Wednesday.

The 7.9-magnitude quake struck Monday in southwestern China, leaving upwards of 15,000 dead and tens of thousands more injured, buried or missing.

The students' bodies were pulled from the rubble of a three-story school in Qingchuan county in Sichuan province. Closer to the Wenchuan county epicenter -- about 960 miles from Beijing -- at least 500 were found dead.

Rescue efforts were hampered by heavy rain, collapsed bridges and damaged roads, CNN reported.

The official Xinhua news agency said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao toured some of the worst-hit areas, visiting a stadium in Mianyang where many of those left homeless were taken.

Xinhua reported 75 percent of the population of Yingxiu, some 7,700 people, died in the quake.

The government mobilized thousands of soldiers to aid in rescue and evacuation efforts, with 200 troops parachuting into one of the hardest hit areas. Hospitals were reported filled to overflowing and medical supplies were reported running low.

Ancient dam threatened by China quake

BEIJING, May 14 (UPI) -- Monday's deadly earthquake in southwestern China produced cracks in a 2,000-year-old earthen dam, the Ministry of Water Resources said Wednesday.

The dam, part of the world's oldest operating irrigation system, has V-shaped cracks from the quake and a collapse would threaten the city of Dujiangyan -- which is near the epicenter of the quake that left upwards of 15,000 dead and tens of thousands more injured, buried or missing, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Interfax-China reported the ministry sent a team to repair the dam although the extent of the damage was unclear. A hydropower expert with the Sichuan Bureau of Geology told Interfax the dam's level rose rapidly following the quake due to blockages.

The irrigation system was built in 256 B.C., about 31 miles from Chengdu, the provincial capital of hard-hit Sichuan province. Two other water projects -- the Three Gorges Dam and the south-to-north water diversion project -- reported no damage from the quake, Xinhua reported.

Iran: Bombers targeted Russian consulate

TEHRAN, May 14 (UPI) -- The group responsible for bombing a mosque in Shiraz also planned to blow up the Russian consulate in Rasht, Iranian officials said Wednesday.

Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejeie said all 15 people charged with the mosque attack are Iranian nationals, Alalam reported.

Iranian officials charge the United States and Israel with being behind the group, the Fars news agency reported.

"This terrorist network, with links to the U.S., planned an explosion at the Russian consulate in Rasht, aiming to create a rift between Iran and its neighbors," Mohseni-Ejei said.

Iranian officials said this week they planned to file international lawsuits against the United States and Britain over their alleged support of terrorist groups.

Bush: U.S. stands with Israel against foes

JERUSALEM, May 14 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush, speaking Wednesday in Jerusalem, pledged to support Israel against extremists and terrorists, including Hamas and Iran.

"I happen to believe it's an important role of the United states to stand with democracies and to stand strong against terrorists – whether it be to stand with Israel against the existential threat of a nuclear weapons with Iran, or whether it be to stand with the (Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad) Siniora government (against Hezbollah)," Bush said during a two-hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Bush was welcomed by Olmert on his second visit to Israel, which is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state in 1948.

Olmert said the leaders also discussed the situation in Gaza, peace negotiations with Palestinians, and continuing Qassam rocket attacks by Hamas on southern Israel.

Bush, joined by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and national security adviser Stephen Hadley, also visited Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Report: GOP senators pushing off from Bush

WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- An increasing number of Senate Republicans may break from U.S. President George W. Bush on an emergency war-spending bill, GOP consultant say.

With the Republican Party sustaining unexpected losses in recent special congressional elections, and the popularity of both the president and the Iraq War waning, Republicans seem prepared to look ahead to the next administration rather than continue supporting Bush, The Hill reported Wednesday.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is preparing to take up the administration's request for a supplemental spending bill for Iraq. Bush has insisted he will veto the measure if Congress adds to the $169 billion funding request or includes domestic spending in the bill.

Republicans expect the measure may be the only spending bill passed before the November elections, and many GOP senators say they would support adding billions of dollars in domestic spending, the Capitol Hill newspaper said.

The measure could include a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq. Senate Republican leaders are not sure they have enough votes to sustain a filibuster of such a measure.

Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona told The Hill Republicans might resort to sustaining a veto of a withdrawal timetable, which requires fewer votes.

"Whatever we have to do to prevail, even if it is to sustain the president's veto, we'll do that," said Kyl.

Polar bear listed as threatened species

WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced Wednesday he will order the polar bear to be listed as a threatened species.

Kempthorne said he is accepting the recommendation of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall to list the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act.

Officials said scientific evidence shows the ongoing loss of sea ice threatens, and will likely continue to threaten, polar bear habitat. The loss of habitat, officials said, puts polar bears at risk of becoming endangered in the foreseeable future, the standard established for designating a threatened species.

"I am also announcing that this listing decision will be accompanied by administrative guidance and a rule that defines the scope of impact my decision will have, in order to protect the polar bear while limiting the unintended harm to the society and economy of the United States," Kempthorne said.

He said his decision was based on three findings.

"First, sea ice is vital to polar bear survival. Second, the polar bear's sea-ice habitat has dramatically melted in recent decades. Third, computer models suggest sea ice is likely to further recede in the future."