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.