BAGHDAD, July 2 (UPI) -- Iraqi lawmakers have mixed opinions on the U.S. troop withdrawal, with some hailing the end to foreign occupation and others worried about renewed violence.

ERBIL, Iraq, July 2 (UPI) -- New provisions in the constitution for the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq that outline religious freedoms are a national benchmark, lawmakers say.

BAGHDAD, July 2 (UPI) -- It is unlikely Iraq will meet its obligations under the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Treaty in part due to the sheer volume of the contamination, a U.N. report says.

CHARIKAR, Afghanistan, July 2 (UPI) -- Six illegal armed groups surrendered their weapons to U.N.-supported authorities as part of a weapons-for-development program in Afghanistan.

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 2 (UPI) -- The bulk of American forces operating in Afghanistan work toward training Afghan security forces and conducting counter-terrorism operations, the Pentagon said.

DAMASCUS, Syria, July 2 (UPI) -- Syria and Iran wrapped up meetings in Damascus to move forward with plans to develop bilateral economic ties further, officials say.

WASHINGTON, July 2 (UPI) -- Iraq had no ties to Osama bin Laden and shared a common enemy in the clerical regime in Iran, Saddam Hussein told FBI interrogators in newly released archives.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 2 (UPI) -- The hashish trade in southern Lebanon has been largely tolerated by authorities, but traffickers and growers alike say they are embracing reform.

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, July 2 (UPI) -- A decision by Israel to extend its settlement activity into the West Bank raises new and serious concerns, the Organization of the Islamic Conference says.

NEW DELHI, July 2 (UPI) -- New Delhi demands concrete accounts of action taken by Islamabad to prosecute terrorists and control cross-border activity in time for a July summit.

BAGHDAD, July 2 (UPI) -- As U.S. leaders worry whether Iraq's military forces can hold the line once the Americans pull out, U.S. agents are reported to be clandestinely seeking a truce with Saddam Hussein's old cronies in the once-mighty Baath Party to head off a threat to stability.

ROME, July 2 (UPI) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, troubled by a sex scandal at home, is trying to boost his international profile with busy diplomacy ahead of next week's Group of Eight summit.

CARACAS, Venezuela, July 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. ambassador to Venezuela has resumed his post in Caracas nine months after he was expelled.

WASHINGTON, July 2 (UPI) -- Homegrown terrorism and transnational terrorism are not birds of a feather. They don’t flock together and can’t be killed with one stone.

BAGHDAD, July 1 (UPI) -- Political confrontations trump concerns over an increase in terrorist activity in the wake of a U.S. military drawdown from Iraq, lawmakers say.