¤ Bombs killed at least 35 people at a police recruitment centre in central Iraq and in a market in the north, as politicians wrangled over a federation bill some fear could unleash sectarian civil war. US officials have warned of a spike in violence by al Qaeda and other Sunni militant groups fighting the US-backed Shi'ite-led government ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, which starts next week.

¤ International Monetary Fund members overwhelmingly approved a plan to boost the voting power of China and three other emerging economic giants to better reflect their rise in the world economy. The blueprint will be followed by a second stage of broader reforms by 2008 to make the fund's governance more representative of its 184-strong membership.

¤ Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's guards fired into the air to clear a path through striking workers who mobbed his motorcade in another sign of deep divides on the road to a unity government. The protest outside parliament forced Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, to cancel a speech to the legislature on how his government was dealing with an economic crisis that has increased poverty in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

¤ Israeli prosecutors indicted three Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas on a raft of charges including helping carry out the deadly operation to snatch two soldiers that sparked a war with the Jewish state. The three men, all in their 20s, were also charged with murder, attempted murder and belonging to a terrorist group.