ROME – An Italian soldier serving in Afghanistan was killed and another was wounded on Wednesday when gunmen opened fire on them, the Defence Ministry said.

BERLIN – Boosting the number of German troops in Afghanistan and shifting them to the violent south makes no strategic sense and would stretch military equipment to the limit, the main association for German soldiers said.

GAZA – Hamas Islamists on Wednesday called for the Arab world to unite against Israel after Hezbollah accused the Jewish state of assassinating one of its founders.

BRDO, Slovenia – The European Union sought to convince Russia on Wednesday that the status-quo in Kosovo is unsustainable, the EU’s external relations commissioner said.

MOSCOW – Aspiring NATO member Ukraine is prepared to adopt legislation banning the alliance’s bases from its soil, Russia’s RIA news agency quoted Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko as saying on Wednesday.

BAGHDAD – Iraqi lawmakers met on Wednesday in an attempt to end a protracted standoff over the 2008 budget and other bills, which has led to some calls for parliament to be disbanded.

MITROVICA, Serbia – There are some new faces in the Serb-controlled slice of northern Kosovo, the breakaway province where 2 million Albanians will declare independence from Serbia within days.

OXFORD – Mistakes made in Iraq and Afghanistan should not deter Britain from exercising its moral duty to spread democracy, by military means where necessary, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Tuesday.

Iraq’s parliament is deadlocked over passing key legislation, including the 2008 budget. At the same time, the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is under mounting pressure to take advantage of better security to improve the delivery of basic services and speed up reconciliation by pushing through important laws.

SARAJEVO – Police in Bosnia’s Serb Republic, an ally of Serbia, are on alert in case of unrest over the proclamation of Kosovo’s independence this week, local media reported on Tuesday.