TOP STORY

INDIA

Bombings kill dozens in markets, temple

NEW DELHI — A series of bombs exploded across the ancient city of Jaipur on Tuesday, killing at least 60 people in busy markets, a jewelry bazaar and a Hindu temple.

All seven blasts were within the old walls of the western city, and suspicion quickly fell on Islamic militant groups blamed for a string of attacks in India in recent years. Police said an eighth bomb was found and defused by police.

"Obviously, it's a terrorist" attack, said A.S. Gill, the police chief of Rajasthan, the state where Jaipur is located.

A senior Rajasthan police officer, A.K. Jain, said 60 people were killed and 150 wounded.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

IN BRIEF

COLOMBIA

Paramilitary fighters extradited to U.S.

BOGOTA — Colombia extradited 14 paramilitary warlords to the United States on Tuesday to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

But many Colombians worried that a narrow U.S. focus on drug crimes would enable the warlords and their politician allies to escape responsibility for human rights violations, including the deaths of at least 10,000 people.

Spirited out of Colombian prisons before dawn were Salvatore Mancuso and other top leaders of Colombia's illegal right-wing militias.

Victims' families fear the extraditions will impede efforts to fully catalog the warlords' crimes and bring to justice the politicians and businessmen who allegedly colluded with them.

"They've taken away all the witnesses," said Claudia Lopez, an independent researcher who helped uncover the scandal that has led to the jailing of 31 members of Colombia's 268-seat congress.

ISRAEL

Oil, peace deal focus of Bush's Mideast trip

JERUSALEM — Ahead of a visit to the Middle East, President Bush expressed some optimism that an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement would be struck before his term ends while holding out little hope for a major breakthrough when he arrives in Israel today.

Bush left the White House Tuesday on the trip that will first take him to attend ceremonies in Jerusalem marking the 60th anniversary of the Jewish state. He also will go to Saudi Arabia where he promises to press King Abdullah to increase oil production to ease costs.

The president's final stop will be at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he will meet over two days with a handful of leaders.

IRAQ

Cease-fire in effect; 11 killed in clashes

BAGHDAD — A shaky cease-fire appeared to take hold Tuesday in Baghdad's Sadr City, after a cleric who brokered the deal for Shiite fighters said they would honor it even after clashes left at least 11 dead.

The pact was intended to stop seven weeks of fighting between U.S.-supported Iraqi troops and Shiite extremists. But the cease-fire did not start well, with clashes late Monday and early Tuesday.

Iraqi medics reported 11 killed and 19 wounded. The U.S. military said Tuesday it could confirm the deaths of six militants.

Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr signed a cease-fire agreement in August, but Shiite militiamen have recently ignored those orders.

— From wire reports