In the World

OMAN

Solar-powered airplane headed around the world

Solar Impulse, an ultralight plane powered only by the sun's rays, landed safely in Oman after the first leg of an attempt to fly around the world without using fuel.

Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg, who originated the project, took off from Abu Dhabi at 7:12 a.m. local time and landed in Muscat after taking 13 hours over the 250-mile journey, according to the Solar Impulse Twitter feed.

Bertrand Piccard, also Swiss, will take turns flying the one-man vehicle, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet but weighs no more than a family car. Flight 2 is due to depart for Ahmedabad, India, at 6 a.m. in Oman tomorrow.

The 21,000-mile global route crosses India, China, and the United States before returning to Abu Dhabi via southern Europe or North Africa, depending on weather conditions. The aviators will need to fly nonstop for up to six days on oceanic legs, stuffed in a tiny cabin traveling as high as 27,000 feet at 30 to 60 m.p.h. The whole trip will probably take about five months.

- Bloomberg News

LIBYA

Bangladeshi held hostage

Bangladesh confirmed Monday that one of its citizens is among nine foreign nationals taken hostage by Islamic State militants in Libya. The nine were abducted Friday from the Al Ghani oil field south of Sirte after militants reportedly stormed the facility, killing several Libyan guards.    - L.A. Times

PAKISTAN

Long-range missile tested

Pakistan on Monday test-fired a ballistic missile that is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to every part of India, another escalation in Islamabad's effort to keep pace with its neighboring rival's formidable military advancements.

- Washington Post

JAPAN

Five stabbed to death

Five people were killed in their homes Monday in a stabbing rampage in rural Japan, police said. A 40-year-old neighbor of the victims was arrested, said Keizo Okumoto, deputy police chief in Sumoto, a small island city.    - AP