PRISTINA (Reuters) – Kosovo’s first constitution as an independent state came into force on Sunday, giving ethnic Albanians the right to executive powers held by the United Nations mission that has run the territory since 1999.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon will soon form a national unity government in line with a Doha agreement to end the country’s political crisis, Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on Sunday.

(Reuters) – Iraq has sent army and police reinforcements to the southern city of Amara to prepare for a crackdown on Shi’ite militias. The operation will be the latest in a series of offensives by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that are intended to stamp the government’s authority over areas once …

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The movement of Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr will not compete in local elections under its own name but join with other groups and ask its followers to vote for those candidates, Sadr officials said on Sunday.

(Reuters) – A U.S. soldier was killed on Thursday in the Kadhimiya district of northwestern Baghdad, when his vehicle was struck by a bomb, the U.S. military reported.

AMARA, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraq’s government beefed up army and police units in the southern city of Amara on Sunday for a new crackdown on Shi’ite militias, a Reuters reporter said.

KABUL (Reuters) – U.S-led and Afghan forces killed more than 15 insurgents in a search for hundreds of prisoners, including Taliban, who broke out of jail after comrades blew up the gates, the U.S. military said on Sunday.

(Reuters) – Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana was killed by Israeli troops two months ago on Monday, while filming in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army says it is investigating but has yet to explain its actions. Following are key facts established by Reuters with the aid of independent British investigators:

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday refused to back down over his country’s nuclear program, stressing that Tehran may not give up even an iota of its rights.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian police and the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday denied claims by Iraq’s ambassador to Tehran that a bomb was found at his residence.