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.