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Bush flies to Saudi Arabia for talks

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, May 16 (UPI) -- U.S. President Bush arrived in Riyadh Friday for a two-day visit with Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdelaziz and other leaders.

Bush plans talks with the king on bilateral relations and other regional and international issues of mutual interest.

On the final leg of his Middle East trip, the president arrived from a three-day stop in Israel.

Before leaving Israel he met informally with some young Israelis to discuss topics they deal with daily, including relations with Palestinians and Muslims.

Palestinians step up Israeli attacks

GAZA, May 16 (UPI) -- Militants bombed a Christian school early Friday in southern Gaza City, witnesses said, as Palestinians stepped up missile and mortar attacks.

The intruders were said to have placed an explosive device by the school. There was no word on casualties, KUNA reported.

A barrage of six Qassam missiles was fired in two volleys at Sderot in Israel. One hit the Neve Shalom synagogue near a nursery school. Several people were treated for shock. Others landed around Shear Hanegev, starting fires.

Mortar shells crashed down in the Nahal Oz area. A rocket aimed at the Israeli town of Netivot east of the Gaza Strip, the day after a rocket wrecked the Ashkelon shopping mall and injured 100 people, exploded in open ground.

Sudden landslide hampers China quake work

DUJIANGYAN, China, May 16 (UPI) -- Rescue efforts were reported hampered Friday in one of the worst-hit areas of China's killer earthquake by a major landslide that blocked a key road.

The sudden slide struck a juncture area between Dujiangyan and Wenchuan County, the China Daily said.

No casualties were reported in the area where soldiers had just cleared away debris on the damaged road.

In Dujiangyan, residents were reported in urgent need of aid, officials said, relying heavily on donated food. Their drinking water was transported by firefighters from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.

The 2,000-year-old Dujiangyan irrigation system was deemed safe.

California same-sex ruling ignites debate

SACRAMENTO, May 16 (UPI) -- A California Supreme Court decision overturning the state's ban on gay marriage has reignited a nationwide political wildfire of debate, activists said Friday.

The order likely put the spotlight directly on the November presidential election that USA Today says probably will galvanize activists on both sides.

The California court's 4-3 decision would go into effect in 30 days but activists against same-sex marriage said they planned to ask that it be stayed until after the general election, giving voters a chance to weigh in on the issue, The Washington Times said. Otherwise, the report said, the door would be open for a "chaotic" situation.

The California court rejected arguments about the importance of preserving traditional marriage, saying the exclusion "works a real and appreciable harm upon same-sex couples and their children."

Chief Justice Ronald George, who wrote for the majority in the ruling, said the right to marry cannot be denied to couples based on their sexual orientation.

A proposed ballot initiative in California in November would attempt to reverse Thursday's decision by defining marriage as between only a man and a woman.

Crimes among British girls increasing

LONDON, May 16 (UPI) -- Crimes committed in Britain by girls between the ages of 10 and 17 have increased by 25 percent during the last three years, figures indicate.

The Times of London Friday said, according to Youth Justice Board figures, girls within that age group committed more than 15,672 individual-based violent crimes last year alone.

In addition, figures indicate that individuals in the young female age group committed 1,000 robberies in 2007 for an average of nearly 45 violent acts daily.

Such figures represented a significant increase among the age and gender group, which committed 47,000 criminal offenses in 2003-04 based on the board's records.

The Times said the figures, officially released Thursday, indicated that girls in the targeted age group committed a total of 59,000 criminal offenses in 2007.

The report of those youth offenses, which range in legal repercussions, prompted the board to call for a study into such criminal activities.

The Times said initial findings of the study have indicated that increased police involvement and the growing number of girls in Britain may be causes for the rising crime rate.