Iraq US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned Iraq's new Shiite elite against a purge of the country's fledgling security forces and to steer clear of corruption in government. Mideast Israel's hopes of cementing its hold over parts of the West Bank in exchange for withdrawing from Gaza were dented after US President George W. Bush warned Prime Minister Ariel Sharon against pursuing his plan to expand a major settlement. Germany Four schoolgirls held by an Iranian man armed with two knives were freed by police after a five-hour hostage-taking in western Germany. Vatican Roman Catholic cardinals, gathered at the Vatican to elect a new pope, tackled the Church's ailing finances, likely further hurt by the cost of the momentous funeral of Pope John Paul II. US John Bolton, President George W. Bush's controversial nominee to be UN ambassador tried to force the dismissal of a low-level State Department analyst who told him information he did not want to hear, a former department official said. US John Negroponte, US President George W. Bush's nominee for the new post of US intelligence director, vowed that espionage information gathered on his watch will not be shaded or shaped for political ends. Sudan Donors pledged far more than what is needed to help rebuild Sudan's pacified southern and northern areas at a conference as the United States tied its aid to improvements in the strife-torn Darfur region. Japan A row between Japan and China intensified as the Asian powers each demanded protection for their nationals and Beijing insisted Tokyo did not deserve a cherished permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Indonesia A volcano spewed into life on Indonesia's disaster-blighted Sumatra island, spreading new panic after the recent tsunami and earthquakes and driving thousands from their homes. Iran TEHRAN: Iran's conservative-dominated parliament adopted a bill to allow abortions in limited cases despite opposition from religious right-to-life MPs, in a bid to stamp out a booming but dangerous backstreet business.