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 …