JERUSALEM - PRESIDENT Barack Obama's new Mideast envoy sought on Wednesday to boost a 10-day-old Gaza cease-fire that was thrown into turmoil, as Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza smuggling tunnels in retaliation for a Palestinian bombing that killed a soldier.

MADRID - SPANISH police said on Wednesday they had arrested six people suspected of involvement in fraud totalling 600 million (S$899 million) on the London stock market.

BAGHDAD - Polling stations opened across Iraq on Wednesday amid tight security in the first stage of the country's landmark provincial elections, the nation's first balloting since 2005.

The early voting started ahead of Saturday's main polling day to try to avoid the security, logistical and electoral fraud problems of four years ago, when all eligible Iraqis had to vote on the same day.