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Bombs exploded in two public buses Monday in the southwestern city of Kunming, killing at least two passingers and injuring 14. Officials refuted reports that bizarre text messages had preceded the bombings, and said Tuesday that no evidence had been found linking the bombings to the Beijing Olympics.

On Wednesday, officals tripled the reward for information related to the bombings to 300,000 yuan (around $43,500). Meanwhile, the city of Beijing said it would step up bus-security measures, and Shanghai, which is hosting Olympic soccer matches, announced it will install security cameras on 1,600 buses.

Olympics

Western TV networks are pushing back agianst constraints on Olympic coverage.

Hotels in Beijing are slashing prices as the anticipated tourist onslaught fails to materialize.

Some U.S. Olympians may wear masks in Beijing to protect their lungs from pollution, much to the chagrin of their hosts.

The opening ceremonies will employ "green fireworks" designed to limit pollution.

Guess who's not invited?

Politics

Officials will allow approved protests in designated city parks during the Olympics; the crackdown on Internet dissent, however, continues. Entertainers deemed a threat to China's sovereignty are no longer welcome, either.

China and Russia ended a decades-long border dispute.

Although 86 percent of Chinese are happy with their country's overall direction, more than a third see Japan and the United States as enemies.

A Tibetan living in Beijing is suing the Chinese government after being denied a passport for three years.

Economy

One new report says China's economy has averted the threat of overheating, while another argues the government needs to temper "hot money" inflows to stave off inflation and stabilize markets.

U.S. companies are keeping a wary eye on a new Chinese antitrust law.

Other News

A coal mine flooded in southern China, trapping 36 miners and killing at least seven.

China has more smokers than the United States has people. Unsurprisingly, China's anti-smoking campaign is not having the desired effect.

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I thought yesterday's big bombshell from an anonymous Russian defense source about plans to base Russian bombers in Cuba was totally absurd. I still don't believe this is much more than one overzealous bureaucrat mouthing off to a reporter. But some people are clearly taking the prospect of 1962 redux a bit more seriously.

General Norton Schwartz, the current nominee for Air Force Chief of Staff, was asked how he would respond to such a scenario at his Senate confirmation hearing yesterday. He didn't seem to laugh it off:

I certainly would offer best military advice that we should engage the Russians not to pursue that approach. [...] And if they did, I think we should stand strong and indicate that that is something that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America."

Meanwhile in Moscow, the story has ignited something of a media scandal. The Defense Ministry has denied the plans and accused Izvestia, the newspaper that originally reported the story, of fabricating the crucial quote and running the story under a false byline. Izvestia's editor is standing behind the piece, saying that the reporter's byline was changed because of the sensitive nature of the scoop. Considering Russia's media climate, that is somewhat plausible.

But what do the Cubans think about all this? The Miami Herald's Cuban Colada blog links to this article (Word document) by University of Miami Cuba expert Jaime Suchlicki, who says that while it's unlikely Raul Castro would ever go for such a risky scheme given the instability of his own regime, Russia's new best friend Hugo Chávez might be up for it.

We'll be keeping an eye out for more reactions.

Sure, Barack Obama is quite popular in Europe and has received his fair share of endorsements from unusual areas, but the Arab media has had some other things to say.

Courtesy of the Anti-Defamation League, a sampling of political cartoons from Middle Eastern media sources:

Although the ADL lists the collection under the banner of "Anti-Semitism in the Arab/Muslim World," you might want to take this with a grain of salt. Some of these cartoons are undoubtedly offensive (including some toward Obama's race), but others simply echo familiar claims and criticisms regarding the close U.S.-Israel relationship. Personally, I've seen similar cartoons in the Western media as well.

If anything, these cartoons just reinforce the Walt-Mearsheimer argument about the wellspring of anti-Americanism in many parts of the Arab world: "It's Israel, Stupid!"

iStockphoto.com

A few weeks back, I blogged a Times of India story about how China's construction boom was driving up iron prices, resulting in widespread theft of manhole covers in Mumbai.

Now, the New York Times is reporting that the epidemic of manhole theft is spreading throughout the United States as well. In Philadelphia alone, 2,500 covers have been stolen in the last year, costing the city at least $300,000. Widespread manhole-cover theft has also been reported in Long Beach, Cleveland, Memphis, Miami, and Milwaukee. Some cities are now switching to plastic covers or welding down the metal ones.

Police are trying to crack down on junkyards, but as one North Philadelphia scrap metal collector reports, the demand curve is not in their favor:

These guys here," Mr. Sergeant said, pointing at one scrap yard, "They’d buy a police cruiser and melt it down if we brought it in. The prices for metal are just that good these days."

The McCain campaign has taken to mocking the press corps left behind to cover the Arizona senator while Barack Obama is overseas, Hotline reports. Here are the luggage tags McCain staffers jokingly put on reporters' bags yesterday:

Chuck Todd and company at MSNBC's First Read comment, "Why does McCain think belittling his own press corps is a good idea?" Good question.

ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images

Despite assurances from some that the declining dollar will remain the world's primary reserve currency, there may be an emerging threat -- the Russian ruble. That is, at least, if Hugo Chávez has his way:

Chávez echoed Russian calls to make the ruble a major reserve currency in opposition to a weakened dollar. "The ruble must become a world currency," he said. "The dollar must not become a world currency."

After inking a $1 billion arms deal in Russia, Chávez continues his European tour with visits to Belarus, Portugal, and Spain. No word on whether he's considering a stop to see Barack Obama's speech in Germany.

China, as part of its ongoing efforts to be culturally sensitive and have its people on their best behavior for the Olympics, is displaying posters informing its people of eight things they should not ask foreigners:

1. Don't ask about income or expenses.
2. Don't ask about age.
3. Don't ask about love life or marriage.
4. Don't ask about health.
5. Don't ask about someone's home or address.
6. Don't ask about personal experience.
7. Don't ask about religious beliefs or political views.
8. Don't ask what someone does.

Oh, and if you're a guy, here's a tip on how to be a gentleman:

Men should help women carry things, but must not help women carry their handbags.

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Even as a power-sharing deal between President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and Morgan Tsvangirai's Opposition for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe seems to be moving forward, deep doubts still remain.

EU leaders don't seem impressed by the negotiations. Yesterday, they slapped an additional 37 people and four companies, all of whom are now blacklisted, with new sanctions including restrictions on banking and travel. This brings Zimbabwe's blacklist total -- which already included Mugabe and several members of his cabinet from earlier sanctions in 2002 -- up to 172 people.

Meanwhile, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga -- who was in a similar position as Tsvangirai during Kenya's disputed election last December -- has said that a "peaceful, decent exit" would be appropriate for Mugabe.

This was a good line on the size of Obama's entourage from McCain spokesman Brian Rogers:

Who does he think he is?" Rogers asked of Obama. "Clay Aiken?"

On the other side, why does Cindy McCain need two assistants when she travels?

Here's what Barack Obama wrote in the guestbook at Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial. You have to admit, the man has a way with words:

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Visiting Jerusalem, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama vowed to uphold the "special relationship" between the United States and Israel, whose success he hailed as a "miracle." More here on the Illinois senator's meetings today with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Obama, answering Katie Couric's persistent questions last night about the "surge," cited it as just one factor among many in reducing the violence in Iraq and said that the surge "doesn't meet our long-term strategic goal." McCain pounced, saying, "It seems to me that Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign."

Global Economy

The world's stock markets advanced as the price of oil fell to below $126 a barrel.

Speaking at a closed fundraiser in Houston, U.S. President George W. Bush said that "Wall Street got drunk" and now it's feeling the hangover.

Asia

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she had a "good meeting" involving the North Korean foreign minister, which she called "informal."

The government of Indian PM Manmohan Singh survived a no-confidence vote, keeping the U.S.-India nuclear deal alive.

Eighty-six percent of Chinese say they are satisfied with their country's direction, according to a new Pew poll.

Middle East and Africa

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that U.S. envoy William Burns spoke "politely and in a dignified way" at this weekend's nuclear meeting in Geneva. He called the meeting a "positive step."

Iraq's provincial elections will likely be delayed.

Europe

U.S. and British intelligence agencies helped catch Radovan Karadzic. The war criminal's first request? "A haircut and a shave." Seeing this, I don't blame him. Next up? Ratko Mladic.

Bulgaria is getting a stern talking-to from the EU for its failure to crack down on corruption.

Europe unveiled its new manned spacecraft, a joint venture with Russia.

Today's Agenda

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, shrugging off an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court, is visiting Darfur.

Pakistan's fractious ruling coalition is meeting to hammer out its differences. And they are vast.

U.S. lawmakers are to vote today on a rescue package for mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac whose cost could run to the tens of billions.

If choosing a U.S. president were up to the French, the Germans, and the British, Barack Obama would have a lock on the presidency. As Gallup reports today, large majorities in three countries the Illinois senator plans to visit this week would rather see Obama elected than John McCain. They also say that which candidate wins "makes a difference" to their country.

This poll fits well our intuitions about Europe's big three: They tend to favor Democrats, and they don't like George W. Bush. In 2007, Gallup found that approval of U.S. leadership in those countries had sunk to disturbing depths: -- reaching just 8 percent in Germany, 9 percent in France, and 20 percent in Britain. Gallup attributes the low numbers to the Iraq war, the U.S. stance on climate change, and anger over Guantánamo.

The differences between Obama and McCain on these issues, at least on a superficial level, appear to be narrowing. Both Obama and McCain have pledged to withdraw troops from Iraq -- they are now arguing over whether to set an explicit timetable for doing so or whether to allow "conditions on the ground" to be the determining factor. Both Obama and McCain want to join international efforts to combat global warming, though Obama would push for greater emissions cuts. And both senators would like to see Guantánamo shut down. From a European perspective, either senator would be a step up from Bush (or at least the Bush of 2004).

If Obama does win in November, the great expectations he is setting in Europe could come back to haunt him. As Anne-Marie Slaughter, quoting a German friend, wrote last year, "Underneath every America-hater is a disappointed America-lover." Last week, one European diplomat shared with me his fear that the real Obama can't possibly live up to the hype. (Try, for instance, counting the votes in the Senate for a climate-change bill with real teeth.) This is the moment, then, for Obama to tell Europeans that he is going to let them down. Better they hear it from his own lips now than figure it out on their own, two years down the road.

Nazi Germany's bombing raids on London and other English cities in late 1940 and early 1941 destroyed millions of homes and left thousands of civilians dead. However, an estimated 1 in 10 bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz failed to detonate, and have remained hidden in gardens, fields and building sites.

Using Royal Air Force photographs from the time of the Blitz, as well as maps produced by insurance companies after the war, the Landmark Information Group has developed charts that label the most likely places where unexploded bombs may still be located.

Landmark Information Group

Some 21,000 sites have been labeled as likely to contain unexploded bombs. The makers of this map hope to help builders, contractors and private citizens become more aware of their surroundings. Discoveries of these bombs are fairly common. Just last month, construction on an Olympic site outside of London had to be halted after a 2000-pound bomb was unearthed.

The September cover of Esquire is going to be pretty cool. An electronic ink diplay, built on the same technology that E Ink used in the Amazon Kindle, will flash the words "the 21st Century Begins." The logistics of pulling of this feat are a story in globalization:

First Esquire had to make a six-figure investment to hire an engineer in China to develop a battery small enough to be inserted in the magazine cover. The batteries and the display case are manufactured and put together in China. They are shipped to Texas and on to Mexico, where the device is inserted by hand into each magazine. The issues will then be shipped via trucks, which will be refrigerated to preserve the batteries, to the magazine's distributor in Glazer, Ky.

So, has the magical world of Harry Potter and its animated Daily Prophet sprung into being? Esquire Editor-in-Chief David Granger sees a bright future for e-ink:

Pointing to the prototype sitting on a conference room table, Mr. Granger said, "The possibilities of print have just begun. In two years, I hope this looks like cellphones did in 1982, or car phones."

Alternatively, it could look a lot like this.

I know you've all been on the edge of your seats since we blogged this a couple months back, but a ruling has been reached in the great Greek lesbian lawsuit. To recap, residents of the island of Lesbos had sued a prominent Greek gay rights organization to prevent them from using the word "lesbian" to describe gay women. If victorious, they had plans to take their crusade worldwide.

The court just ruled that the Gay and Lesbian Union of Greece (and anyone else for that matter) is free to continue saying lesbian. Glad we cleared that up.

It's going to be hard to top this Reuters headline for hilarity:

Chavez may hug king, won't shut up

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday he would like to give the king of Spain a hug when he visits Europe next week, but the outspoken leader, referring to a diplomatic spat last year, said he will not shut up.

Well, somebody's willing to step up and defend Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who was indicted for genocide last week. Yesterday, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described the International Criminal Court's prosecution as a colonialist effort to undermine Sudan's sovereignty:

Colonialist powers want to cut Sudan into pieces in their own ways, they want to prevent this country from having a constructive role in Africa and the Islamic world."

The comments were made at a meeting in Tehran with a Sudanese envoy who reciprocated his host's kind words by praising Iran's controversial nuclear program, saying, "This civilian technology would benefit the entire Islamic world."

I guess when you're under U.N. sanction, it can be hard to find someone who can relate.

STR/AFP/Getty Images

"We are not saying that the three war crimes indictees, Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, are not in Serbia, but we cannot be 100 per cent sure that they are."

That's what Rasim Ljajic, the head of Serbia’s Council for Cooperation with The Hague Tribunal told reporters yesterday. Of course, Karadzic was captured that night right in Belgrade, where he has been practicing alternative medicine and even lecturing for years. The arrest seems to confirm what most observers had assumed all along, that Karadzic's arrest was being held up not by the difficulty of capturing him but by the lack of political will to do so. It's unclear whether handovers of Mladic and Hadzic will follow, but it's going to be a lot harder for Serbian authorities to plead ignorance now.

Some are describing today's developments as a triumph for the International Criminal Court, which is fair. But the bigger story is how effective a carrot the prospect of EU integration can be in the right circumstances. It was this carrot that largely swung the last Serbian elections (despite the outrage over Kosovo) in favor of the current pro-European government, making today's arrest possible.

The EU badly has badly needed a victory for a while now and this is a big one.

Update: Then again, perhaps it's all Barack Obama's doing.  

Jarod Perkioniemi/Multi-National Forces Iraq Public Affairs via Getty Images Lorie Jewell/U.S. Army via Getty Images Wathiq Khuzaie/Getty Images Thaier al-Sudani-Pool/Getty Images. Collage by Blaine Sheldon

John McCain is having trouble attracting media attention for his New Hampshire tour:

In Manchester last night, there was just one reporter and one photographer waiting for McCain as his plane -- a white, blue and gold Boeing 737-400 emblazoned with his campaign slogan, "Reform, Prosperity, Peace" -- touched down on the Wiggins Airways tarmac.

Also worth noting: Getty Images hasn't posted a photograph of the Arizona senator since Sunday. During that time, Getty has posted roughly 40 photos of Obama, depending on how you count.

Cate Gillon/Getty Images

If you plan on being in London any time soon, you might end up disappointed if you try ordering Peking duck at a restaurant. Inspectors have been going around with tape and sealing shut the special ovens used to prepare the Chinese delicacy.

The ovens, which—surprise—are made in China, lack a Conformité Européenne (CE) mark indicating that they comply with safety regulations on carbon monoxide emissions as established by Eurocrats in Brussels. For the record, there have been no reports of injuries, accidents, or other health problems caused by the 6-foot-tall ovens.

It's another example of Brits being pushed around by EU diktat. Last year, the contentious issue was whether Britain would have to sell beer by the liter, rather than the beloved pint.

In other questionable food regulation news, Italy's anti-immigrant Northern League party has proposed a law in the Lombardy region that would ban Chinese restaurants and Middle Eastern kebab vendors from historic city centers, on the grounds that such eateries would mar their unique character. (Ironically, that logic is also what got Starbucks to withdraw from Beijing's 600-year-old Forbidden City last year.)

Back in London, it may be a month until restaurants can get CE-marked ovens installed and put Peking duck back on the menu.