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 on Wednesday.

Bush left the White House late Tuesday afternoon on the trip that will first take him to attend ceremonies in Jerusalem marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state. He also will go to Saudi Arabia where he promises to press King Abdullah to increase oil production to ease soaring costs on consumers. Bush made a similar plea in January but it was ignored.

As Bush prepared to leave Washington, Senate Democrats introduced a resolution that would block $1.4 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia unless Riyadh agrees to increase its oil production by 1 million barrels per day.

The Democrats said they introduced the measure to coincide with Bush's trip to send a message to Saudi Arabia that it should pump more oil to reduce the cost of gas for Americans.

Two senior government ministers accidentally revealed confidential documents to sharp-eyed photographers on Tuesday -- including proposals for Britain's prime minister Gordon Brown to star in a reality television show.

Close-up images of an e-mail printout that Communities Secretary Hazel Blears was carrying when she left a meeting in Brown's office showed details of a planned TV program called "Junior P.M.," a talent show for young lawmakers in which Brown would be a judge.

The e-mail, sent to one of Blears's advisers by television producer Margaret McCabe, says the show would be "a golden opportunity for the P.M." to show a more relaxed side of his demeanor.

A sticker attached reads: "I think you intend to raise this in the margins of Cabinet."

A spokesman for Blears confirmed there had been contact with the producers over the proposals.

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Colombia extradited 14 paramilitary warlords to the United States on Tuesday to stand trial on drug trafficking charges in a surprise move applauded by the Bush administration as evidence that Colombia deserves a trade deal.

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 -- notorious figures blamed for modern Colombia's worst atrocities.

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

PUNE, India -- A series of bomb blasts killed at least 60 people Tuesday in one of India's most popular tourist cities, injuring scores of others and triggering panic in busy market areas, authorities said.

As many as seven explosions struck the western city of Jaipur within a few minutes of each other, starting about 7:30 p.m., authorities said. Indian media reported that another bomb was found in the area and defused.

All of the blasts went off around the historic walled district for which the city is famous. Television footage showed pools of blood, empty shoes and wrecked bicycles outside storefronts that would have been crowded with evening shoppers. One bomb hit a Hindu temple dedicated to the monkey god Hanuman, on a day of the week when the temple attracts more worshipers than usual.

"Obviously it's a terrorist plot," said A.S. Gill, the top police official in the state of Rajasthan, of which Jaipur is the capital. Given their placement and timing, the bombs were planted to cause "maximum damage," he said.

Another senior Rajasthan police officer, A.K. Jain, told The Associated Press that 60 people were killed and 150 wounded.

It was the worst such attack to hit India since bombings in August in the southern technology hub of Hyderabad killed more than 40 people. New Delhi, the capital, and Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment hub, were put on heightened alert -- standard practice after such attacks.

As often happens after such incidents in India, suspicion fell on Kashmiri militants who want the contested Himalayan region to be independent or part of Pakistan. On Sunday, after months of relative calm, gun battles erupted between the Indian army and suspected militants in Kashmir. Ten people reportedly were killed.

But there were no immediate claims of responsibility for Tuesday's bombings. In addition to Kashmiri separatists, India is host to a number of insurgent and armed secessionist groups.

Saudis sends sharp warning to Iran over Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Saudi Arabia sent Iran a sharp warning over Lebanon Tuesday, saying Tehran's support for Hezbollah will damage its relations with other Muslim and Arab countries.

More soldiers fanned out through Beirut, with orders to use force to restore security to a nation shaken by nearly a week of sectarian clashes. Lebanese buried more of their dead and tried to resume life in a capital dissected by roadblocks.

What began as a political struggle 1 1/2 years ago with Shiite ministers bolting from the Cabinet devolved last week into Lebanon's worst fighting since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, with at least 54 people dead and scores wounded.

Shiite Hezbollah guerrillas and allied Amal gunmen have swept through large Sunni swaths of Beirut, neighborhoods that support the government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, a Sunni.

On Tuesday, the strife between Lebanon's government supporters and opponents expanded into a wider regional standoff between Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia and the world's largest Shiite nation, Iran. Iran supports Hezbollah and Saudi Arabia backs Saniora's Sunni-led government.

"Of course, Iran is backing what happened in Lebanon, a coup, and supports it," Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal told a news conference in Riyadh, in the most pointed criticism of Tehran. "This will affect (Iran's) relations with all Arab countries, if not Islamic states as well."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shot back by saying Saud's comments were made in anger and likely did not conform to the views of Saudi King Abdullah. He said Iran was the only country that does not interfere in Lebanon's internal affairs.