US President Barack Obama’s diplomacy is about to get a stern test in Russia, home of a wary public, a two-headed leadership and a lingering bit of hard feelings. According to AP, Obama arrives in Moscow on Monday for a full-scale two-day summit, the first of its kind since the early part of the George W. Bush presidency. He is sure to emerge with tangible signs of progress – including another step toward the world’s two largest nuclear powers reducing their arsenals.

But what much of the world will watch for are signs of Obama’s relationship with Russia’s two leaders, President Dmitry Medvedev and his mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Both sides are talking of improving their ties and wanting to show some early results.

At least 140 people have been killed and more than 800 others injured as ethnic violence erupted in China’s restive Xinjiang region. According to Xinhua, a government spokesman confirmed on Monday that at least 140 people were killed, after hundreds of locals took to the streets of the regional capital Urumqi on Sunday evening — burning and smashing vehicles and confronting police and anti-riot troops.

Xinhua did not say how many people were involved or how many have been arrested, but AFP said that the confrontation involved around 3,000 Uighurs, and that at least 300 had been arrested.
The unrest had followed a protest against government handling of a clash between Han Chinese and Uighur factory workers in far southern China in late June, when two Uighurs died.
Police used electric cattle prods and fired gunshots into the air to try to quell the unrest. Three people from China’s majority Han Chinese ethnic group died in the attacks and an overnight curfew was declared.

Independence Day in the United States has turned bloody after a truck carrying fireworks exploded, killing two people and injuring three others. According to CNN, the incident happened in North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Saturday.

Hyde County spokeswoman Jamie Tunnell said the fireworks were to be used for the annual Fourth of July show on Ocracoke Island.
Tunnell added that the five victims were members of the crew setting up the display.
The truck exploded at the Ocracoke Island docks.
According to Tunnell, one person was killed at the scene, while another died at a hospital from injuries sustained in the blast.
In another incident in central Florida, officials said one person was killed in a lightning strike at a Fourth of July gathering in Lakeland and at least 18 others were taken to hospitals.

Armenia’s Defence Minister General Seyran Ohanyan in his meeting in Yerevan last night with Iranian ambassador, Ali Saqqaeyan, felicitating President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory in the presidential polls was optimistic of further promotion of Tehran-Yerevan ties. According to IRIB World Service, Saqqaeyan on behalf of Iran’s Defence Minister, Brigadier-General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar invited General Ohanyan to visit Iran.

The two sides held talks on issues of mutual interests as well as promotion of regional and bilateral relations.
Iran-Armenia ties have been growing in recent years.

Japan is considering introducing a new type of missile defense system to counter airborne attacks, notably from North Korea, a local newspaper said Sunday.
Japan has two types of defense against airborne attacks – the warship-installed Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) and Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3), a surface-to-air missile that tracks and hits incoming targets. It plans to complete the shield by early 2011, deploying the PAC-3 missiles at 11 bases and setting up SM-3 missiles on several warships. But the two systems still will not be enough to cover the nation’s territory completely, the Mainichi daily said, without citing sources.

The Japanese defense ministry is considering introducing another surface-to-air missile, the US-developed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, in addition to SM-3 and PAC-3, the newspaper said.

While the PAC-3 has a range of about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles), a THAAD interceptor can cover more than 100 kilometers, making it possible to defend the entire nation if deployed at three to four bases, the report said.

Washington and Tokyo have been working jointly to install a shield against attacks from North Korea, which fired a missile over Japan’s main island in 1998 and tested an atom bomb in 2006.

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri said the country’s next government is to be made in Lebanon adding that the protocol for forming Lebanon’s next cabinet is to be issued from Baabda palace. “Lebanon’s government is formed in Lebanon. The protocol for forming the next cabinet is to be issued from Baabda and any other talk is false,” Hariri said.
Following his meeting with President Michel Suleiman on Saturday at Baabda presidential palace, Hariri told reporters that he wants to have the best relations with Syria adding: “everything is good in its own time.”

On Saturday evening Hariri received at his residence in Qreitem Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and later Iranian ambassador to Lebanon Mohammed Reza Shibani, who told reporters “my country has an established and basic stance in strengthening the Lebanese line and working on firmly establishing Lebanese national unity among all sects and political parties in this society.”

With the full support of US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, “the March 14” parties pressured Hariri to refuse a proposal to visit Damascus, threatening him that in case he decides to visit it before finalizing the cabinet formation process, they will boycott the cabinet.

The Lebanese Forces bloc seems to be the main “sponsor” of this trend within the March 14 bloc, alongside the so-called “March 14 Christians,” including the Phalange party…

Geagea reiterated his full opposition to any visit made by Hariri to Damascus at the current stage. Speaking to Reuters, he warned that such visit would be a move with no tangible results. Even more, Geagea said that such visit would not lead only to nowhere, “but it would also cause negative and dangerous repercussions.”

MP NICOLAS TO AL-MANAR: MARCH 14 CHRISTIANS WANT LARGEST CABINET SHARE TO WEAKEN AOUN
Meanwhile, Change and Reform bloc MP Nabil Nicolas said on a Sunday interview with Al-Manar TV Channel that the Christian parties of the March 14 alliance “want the largest share in the cabinet in order to weaken Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.”

He added, “Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s allies affirm that the cabinet is formed abroad, thus, any tensions between the countries working on the cabinet formation will negatively reflect on Lebanon.”

MP Nicolas said that Aoun “visited Syria to have normalized relations. We are not dependent on any dialogue.”

Nicolas also warned about Palestinian naturalization, saying “the world is only interested in Lebanon because it considers it as the appropriate country for Palestinian naturalization.”

“The Saudis are very concerned about an Iranian nuclear bomb, even more than the Israelis.” These words were quoted by a former head of research in Israeli intelligence as telling a British Newspaper Sunday Times.
Sunday Times has published a report in which it said that the Saudi Arabia would allow the Israeli Air Force jets to fly over the Arab kingdom in order to raid the Iranian nuclear sites adding that although there were no formal diplomatic relations, Mossad has maintained “working relations” with the Saudis, according to the report.

So the UK paper report said that Saudi Arabia has agreed to turn a blind eye to Israeli jets flying over the kingdom during any future raid on Iran’s nuclear sites, adding that Mossad Director Meir Dagan held secret talks with Saudi officials earlier this year to discuss the possibility, and has briefed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the matter.

“The Saudis have tacitly agreed to the Israel Air Force flying through their airspace on a mission which is supposed to be in the common interests of both Israel and Saudi Arabia,” a diplomatic source was quoted in the newspaper as saying last week.

Although the countries have no formal diplomatic relations, an Israeli defense source confirmed to the Sunday Times that Mossad maintained “working relations” with the Saudis.

According to the report, recent riots in Iran following a presidential election and the instability in the country have underscored concerns among what it described as “moderate Sunni Arab states” that it may emerge as a belligerent nuclear power.

Former US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, who recently visited the Gulf, said it was “entirely logical” for the Israelis to use Saudi airspace.

Bolton, who talked to several Arab leaders during his visit, added that “none of them would say anything about it publicly but they would certainly acquiesce in an overflight if the Israelis didn’t trumpet it as a big success.”

According to Bolton, Arab states would condemn a raid when they spoke at the UN but would be privately relieved to see “the threat of an Iranian bomb” removed.

The former American ambassador also referred to the Israeli strike on an alleged Syrian nuclear facility in 2007, adding that “to this day, the Israelis haven’t admitted the specifics but there’s one less nuclear facility in Syria . . .”

ISRAEL DENIES SAUDI ARABIA GAVE PERMISSION TO USE ITS AIRSPACE
Meanwhile, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied on Sunday the Sunday Times report saying Saudi Arabia gave Israel permission to fly over its airspace to attack Iran.

The Israeli Navy has returned to sailing through the Suez Canal, recently sending one of its advanced Dolphin-class submarines through the waterway to participate in naval maneuvers off the Eilat coast in the Red Sea, the Jerusalem Post has learned.
According to the daily, Israeli sources said the decision to allow navy vessels to sail through the canal was made recently and was a definite “change of policy” within the service. In 2005, then OC Navy Adm. David Ben-Bashat decided to stop sending Israeli ships through the canal due to growing “threats” in the area.

However, the Dolphin-class submarine sailed through last month to get from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. Israeli officials said it passed through the canal above water, and that it was not done covertly. “It is a question of policy,” a senior officer explained. “Navy vessels have sailed through the canal on several occasions recently.”

“The significance of the move was debatable, but it could be interpreted as a message to Iran and a demonstration of strengthening ties between Egypt and Israel,” the Post said.

In the event of a conflict with Iran, and if Israel decided to involve its three Dolphin-class submarines – which according to foreign reports can fire nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and serve as a second-strike platform – the quickest route would be to send them through the Suez Canal.
The only way to get to the Gulf of Oman without refueling would be to go through the canal. With their reported 4,500 nautical mile range, taking the long way, around Africa, would require the Dolphins to make at least two stops for refueling at a friendly port, or for fuel to be replenished at sea.

The US economy shed 467,000 jobs in June and the country’s unemployment rate climbed to 9.5 per cent, the US Labour Department said Thursday. The monthly figures were worse than expected, after the US job slide had improved dramatically in May. The Labour Department revised May’s job loss to 322,000 from 345,000. Economists had predicted only 365,000 jobs would be cut in June, according to a Bloomberg News survey. The United States has now lost 6.5 million jobs since a recession began in December 2007 and the unemployment rate remains at its highest level in a quarter-century. Manufacturing and construction continued to be some of the worst hit industries. Health care remained one of the few growing sectors.