Libya threatens to bomb North Korean tanker if it ships oil from rebel port
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya threatened on Saturday to bomb a North Korean-flagged tanker if it tried to ship oil from a rebel-controlled port, in a major escalation of a standoff over the country’s petroleum wealth.
Warning shots fired to turn monitors back from Crimea
KIEV/SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) – Shots were fired in Crimea to warn off an unarmed international team of monitors and at a Ukrainian observation plane, as the standoff between occupying Russian forces and besieged Ukrainian troops intensified.
Malaysian plane presumed crashed; questions over false IDs
KUALA LUMPUR/HO CHI MINH CITY (Reuters) – A Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew was presumed to have crashed off the Vietnamese coast on Saturday, and European officials said two people on board were using false identities.
Pope names top economists, finance experts to Vatican body
ROME (Reuters) – Pope Francis named top laymen from the worlds of finance and economics on Saturday to a new Vatican Council for the Economy, intended to improve scrutiny of the Holy See’s scandal-plagued accounts.
Red Cross worker killed in Central African Republic
BANGUI (Reuters) – A Red Cross worker was killed on Saturday in the north of the Central African Republic, amid escalating religious violence that peacekeepers have been powerless to stop.
Iraqi women protest against proposed Islamic law in Iraq
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – About two dozen Iraqi women demonstrated on Saturday in Baghdad against a draft law approved by the Iraqi cabinet that would permit the marriage of nine-year-old girls and automatically give child custody to fathers.
Syria government forces take village near Lebanese border
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian government forces seized a village in the central Homs province on Saturday, state media and a monitoring group said, as part of a push for control of areas along the Lebanese border.
Lebanese march against domestic violence in rare non-partisan protest
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A few thousand protesters took to the streets of Beirut on Saturday to demand that politicians approve Lebanon’s first law against domestic violence in a non-partisan display rarely seen in Lebanon’s highly politicized climate.
Gulf airlines defend female cabin crew policies
BERLIN (Reuters) – Qatar Airways and Emirates Airline have defended their policies on pregnancy and marriage for cabin crew after the Qatar carrier came under fire over its working conditions.
Two Yemeni soldiers, four militants killed in south: ministry
ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) – At least two Yemeni soldiers and four militants were killed in a clash on Saturday when al Qaeda fighters tried to attack a military compound in southern Yemen, the Defence Ministry said.
