MOSCOW / Reuters Russia threatened to ban Egyptian citrus imports on Tuesday, a move that could escalate a trade dispute over exports of Russian wheat to the world’s largest importer of the grain. Moscow said this week it hopes to hold talks with Egypt, its top buyer, over Cairo’s failure to approve Russian wheat shipments since tightening its regulations …

  Tripoli / AFP The head of Libya’s UN-backed unity government called for urgent talks on Wednesday after forces loyal to a rival administration seized the main eastern oil ports in defiance of world powers. The fighting between the two sides — the first since the unity government started work in the capital Tripoli in March — was the latest …

  Jakarta / AFP Indonesia’s top Islamic clerical body said on Wednesday it has issued a fatwa against intentionally starting forest fires in a bid to stop the blazes that cloak Southeast Asia in haze every year. The religious edict by the Indonesian Ulema Council said it was “haram”, or against Islamic law, for Muslims to start fires on purpose …