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Obama, Medvedev sign agreements on nukes

MOSCOW, July 6 (UPI) -- Language on nuclear arms reduction and a controversial defense system in Europe was reached Monday by U.S. and Russian leaders in Moscow.

U.S President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev both said the signed agreements and memoranda moved U.S.-Russian relations into the 21st century.

First-day discussions between Medvedev and Obama "were very open and sincere," the Russian president said during a joint news conference with Obama.

The joint news followed the signing of documents that, among other things, allows U.S. military equipment and forces to travel across Russian territory to Afghanistan. They also provide commitments to reduce and limit strategic arms in the two countries and around the world. Documents also were signed concerning cooperation in a number of different fields, including the environment, education, space exploration and science.

"President Medvedev and I are committed to leaving behind the suspicion and the rivalry of the past, so that we can advance the interests that we hold in common," Obama said. "Today, we've made meaningful progress in demonstrating through deeds and words what a more constructive U.S.-Russian relationship can look like in the 21st century."

If Russia and the United States want to limit nuclear arms proliferation, the two countries must lead by example, agreeing to reduce their arsenals by up to a third, both presidents said.

The agreement is seen as vital to discussions on an accord to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expires in December.

Concerning the ability of the United States to transport lethal equipment across Russia, Obama said, "This is a substantial contribution by Russia to our international effort, and it will save the United States time and resources in giving our troops the support that they need."

Medvedev said he appreciated Obama's administration undertaking a review of a controversial European missile defense system that Moscow say affects Russia's national security.

"(We) talked about the linkage between offensive and defensive weapons. And this already constitutes a step forward," Medvedev said. "Sometime ago, on this question, we had all only differences. Now this linkage is being stated, and this opens up the opportunity of bringing positions closer to each other."

Obama said "any discussion" of nuclear strategy, security, has to include defensive and offensive capabilities.

"I believe that over time we will end up seeing that the U.S.-Russian positions on these issues can be reconciled," Obama said.

China violence death toll rises to 156

URUMQI, China, July 6 (UPI) -- The death toll from rioting in China's Xinjiang-Uighur region, home to Muslim Uighurs, has been raised to 156, regional officials said Monday.

Officials locked down Urumqi, capital of the northwestern Xinjiang province, in the worst ethnic rioting since the Cultural Revolution, The Financial Times reported.

The Times cited state media as saying 828 people were injured, 261 vehicles burned and 203 shops destroyed.

The rioting was bad news for China on the international front: President Hu Jintao is preparing for the Group of Eight summit Wednesday in Italy. The unrest also came a mere after the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Times noted.

The region has been the scene of tensions between some Turkic-speaking Muslims, who oppose being ruled by the Hans. The official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported police had arrested several hundred participants, including more than 10 key figures blamed for fanning the unrest. Security people were looking for another 90 key figures in the city where the situation remained tense Monday and traffic restricted.

The rioters, carrying knives, wooden sticks, bricks and stones, took to the streets in the evening, Xinhua reported.

The New York Times, citing witnesses and photographs, reported at least 1,000 rioters clashed with police. The report said the violence, which lasted several hours, broke out in a large market area and riot police and paramilitary or military troops were called in to quell it.

An earlier Xinhua report said an initial investigation showed the violence was masterminded by the separatist World Uighur Congress, led by Rebiya Kadeer, a former businesswoman detained in 1999 on charges of harming national security before being released in March 2005 for medical treatment in the United States.

CNN quoted the Chinese media as saying the protesters attacked people on streets, burned public buses and blocked traffic.

Blasts kill 7 U.S. troops in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 6 (UPI) -- Militant attacks in Afghanistan Monday killed six U.S. soldiers, officials said.

A NATO forces representative told CNN four Americans died in an attack in northern Afghanistan. The Taliban claimed responsibility, the U.S. network said.

Two other U.S. soldiers were killed when an improvised explosive device was detonated in southern Afghanistan. NATO's International Security Assistance Forces said it had no further information about that attack, CNN said.

The Los Angeles Times said a seventh U.S. soldier was killed in the country's eastern region.

"On behalf of all ISAF service members, I wish to express our profound regret and sadness at the news of the death of these six courageous soldiers," ISAF spokesman Brig. Gen. Eric Tremblay said.

"They lost their life helping to bring security, stability and hope to a troubled region of the world," Tremblay said. "They, like the other men and women who serve in Afghanistan, were performing admirably in support of this important mission, this country and its people. We will not forget their sacrifice."

Two Afghan civilians died when a suicide bomber attacked an outer gate of the NATO base at Kandahar, the Times said.

Meanwhile, the Afghan Defense Ministry said a British soldier died in an explosion Sunday.

Dead man may be linked to 5 killings

CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 6 (UPI) -- South Carolina police were looking into whether a man officers shot to death in North Carolina Monday was linked to five killings in the state, officials said.

Three Gaston County, N.C., police officers shot the man after he allegedly shot and wounded an officer, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported. The shooting occurred about 40 miles northeast of Gaffney, S.C., where the five apparently related killings are being investigated.

"We saw evidence (at the scene) they (South Carolina police) needed to know about," Gaston police Capt. Joe Ramey told CNN.

Police said the man killed by police in Gaston County was in an old Ford Explorer. CNN reported the vehicle was similar to the older-model Explorer suspected of being used by the Gaffney shooter.

The Gaston County Sheriff's Office said the Cherokee County (S.C.) Sheriff's Office sent investigators to the scene of Monday's shooting.

North Carolina police said officers went to a vacant home shortly before 3 a.m. when a neighbor reported some activity there. When officers tried to take a man, one of three people in the vehicle, into custody because he was wanted by Lincoln County, N.C., authorities, the man fired on the officers, wounding one in the leg. He was killed by return fire, the Observer said.

The report gave no further details.

Report: Rowe won't attend Jackson memorial

LOS ANGELES, July 6 (UPI) -- Debbie Rowe, mother of two of Michael Jackson's children, after first saying she would go now says she won't attend his Tuesday memorial in Los Angeles.

People.com reported her attorney, Marta Almli, said the "onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael's legacy."

Rowe, is the biological mother of Paris, 11, and Prince Michael I, 12, but has not been clear about whether she will seek custody, People.com said. Jackson's mother Katherine has temporary custody and says she wants permanent custody.

Jackson died last month at the age of 50 of a suspected prescription drug overdose.

Rowe gave birth to the singer's two elder children during their three-year marriage. The mother of Jackson's youngest child, 7-year-old Prince Michael II, has not been publicly identified.

Stuart Backerman, who said he represented Jackson from 2002 to 2004, told The Daily Telegraph he "didn't believe" the two older children knew Rowe as their mother during that time.

"The understanding in the Jackson camp was that she wasn't known as the mother," Backerman told the newspaper. "Debbie was known as a close friend or relative. It might have been a relative, or someone who was close but not related."

The report did not say whether Backerman thought Jackson's sons and daughter had been told who their mothers were after he left Jackson's employ.

Michael Jackson's will reportedly stipulated his children should be raised by his mother or by singer Diana Ross if his mother is unable to care for the kids.