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Bush: Thank U.S. troops for freedom

WASHINGTON, July 5 (UPI) -- President George Bush Saturday said U.S. military forces "make it possible for America to endure as a free society."

In his weekly radio address, the president said U.S. troops are continuing a "proud tradition of defending liberty."

"In the United States, we believe in the rights and dignity of every person," Bush said. "We believe in equal justice, limited government and the rule of law. And we believe in personal responsibility and tolerance towards others."

The president said the American "creed of freedom and equality has lifted the lives of millions of Americans, whether citizens by birth or citizens by choice."

"This creed of freedom has required brave defenders, and every generation of Americans has produced them," he said. "From the soldiers who fought for independence at Bunker Hill and Yorktown, to the Americans who broke the chains of slavery, liberated Europe and Asia from tyranny, and brought down an evil empire, the people of this great land have always risen to freedom's defense."

Bush said Americans owe a debt of gratitude to men and women in uniform today, "in places like Afghanistan and Iraq."

"These brave Americans make it possible for America to endure as a free society," he said.

Japan beefs up security for G-8 summit

HOKKAIDO, Japan, July 5 (UPI) -- Japanese officials say they're mobilizing about 20,000 police officers at the upcoming Group of Eight summit site in Hokkaido, bracing for possible violence.

The leaders of the G-8 nations begin arriving in Japan Sunday, and in the run-up to the meeting security is being tightened not only in Hokkaido but also in Tokyo and other major cities, Kyodo reported. The country's air force is flying reconnaissance aircraft near Hokkaido to prevent terrorist attacks from the air. The summit venue at Lake Toya is on top of a hill.

Activists planning to protest against the summit have set up campsites in Hokkaido that can accommodate about 2,000 to 3,000 people, the Japanese news agency said.

The summit, hosted by Japan Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, will attract heads of state not only from the G-8 countries but also 14 other nations, making it the largest-ever G-8 summit since the group began meeting in 1975. Stabilizing the world's overheated oil market will top the leaders' agenda.

Suspect held in French student slayings

LONDON, July 5 (UPI) -- Police have arrested a 21-year-old man in connection with the "brutal and horrific" south London slayings of two French college students.

Scotland Yard told The Daily Telegraph that officers arrested a suspect on a street in southeast London early Saturday morning and was questioning him about the knife slayings of Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, whose badly mutilated bodies were found in their burning rented apartment on a quiet London cul-de-sac.

Authorities said the pair were stabbed nearly 250 times while bound and gagged, a crime Scotland Yard described as a one of the most "frenzied, brutal and horrific" slayings it had ever seen.

They said the killings happened last Sunday night, and afterwards the apartment was doused in gasoline or a similar accelerant and set on fire.

The two students were considered among the brightest up-and-coming young scientists of their generation, attending London's Imperial College on scholarships. They were students at Polytech Clermont-Ferrand in central France, the Telegraph said.

Scotland Yard officials said the slaying might have been the work of a "crazed" drug addicted burglar.

Wildfire focus shifts to Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., July 5 (UPI) -- The California wildfire focus shifted to Santa Barbara County Saturday, where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was expected to visit with embattled firefighters.

Called the Gap fire, a blaze near Goleta, Calif., has forced residents of 1,800 homes to flee and those in 1,400 more were ordered to pack in case they, too, had to leave their homes, The Los Angeles Times reported. The Santa Barbara fire was being fanned by winds called "sundowners," stiff breezes that come down off the nearby mountains between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.

The Gap fire, even though it was smaller than another fire raging further north around Big Sur, has been designated the state's top priority because of its proximity to populated areas. They are among some 335 wildfires burning across California Saturday, the Times reported.

Meanwhile, the Basin Complex fire near Big Sur had burned an additional 4,407 acres by Friday evening, reaching a total of more than 68,700 acres since the fire was started by lightning on June 21, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Scenic State Highway 1 was closed as crews used it as a fire line and waited for the flames to burn toward the road, hopefully exhausting its fuel.

Tropical Storm Bertha getting bigger

MIAMI, July 5 (UPI) -- Tropical Storm Bertha gained forward speed over the Atlantic Ocean Saturday and slightly gained sustained wind speed, U.S. forecasters in Miami reported.

At 4 a.m., the National Hurricane Center said the storm system was moving west-northwest at a speedy 21 mph, about 750 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands.

Maximum sustained winds were near 50 mph, up from 45 mph 24 hours earlier.

Tropical storm force winds were extending outward up to 85 miles

"Little change in strength is forecast today, but gradual strengthening is possible by Sunday," the NHC report said.

Surface sea temperatures in the area are at or slightly below 78 degrees, above which is level for tropical development. When sustained wind speeds exceed 74 mph, a storm becomes a Category 1 hurricane.

If the storm continues developing on its forecast track, it would be late Wednesday or Thursday until it approached Caribbean islands.

'Fairly strong' quake felt off Japan

IBARAKI, Japan, July 5 (UPI) -- Japanese officials said a fairly strong earthquake hit the northeastern section of the country Saturday, measuring magnitude of 5.1.

The epicenter of the quake was about 30 miles under the seabed off Ibaraki prefecture, Kyodo New reported.

The Japan Meteorological Agency did not immediately issue a tsunami warning and said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the quake, which struck at 4:49 p.m.