DUBAI / WAM The Netherlands, one of the world’s most innovative economies, will take part in Expo 2020 Dubai, it was announced on Monday. The Dutch were last year ranked ninth on the Global Innovation Index, which lists world economies based on their capability for innovation and results. The UAE has set an objective of joining the Netherlands in ...

  BEIRUT / AP Syrian government forces on Monday regained control of parts of Damascus that were attacked and captured by rebels and militants the previous day, with dozens killed on both sides during the fighting, the military and an activist group said. The surprise rebel incursion, in which fighters sneaked into the city through hidden tunnels and set off ...

  LONDON / AP Britain will begin divorce proceedings from the European Union on March 29, starting the clock on two years of intense political and economic negotiations that will fundamentally change both the nation and its European neighbors. Britain’s ambassador to the EU, Tim Barrow, informed European Council President Donald Tusk of the exact start date on Monday morning. ...

  WASHINGTON / AP President Donald Trump on Monday accused Democrats of making up allegations that Russia interfered in last year’s election, and said Congress and the FBI should be going after media leaks instead. His tweets came just hours before a potentially politically damaging hearing in which FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers planned ...

  Among the memorabilia in Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein’s office is a fragment of the Wright brothers’ first airplane. But the most intriguing items may be two small plastic satellites on sticks that can be maneuvered to simulate a dogfight in space. Space is now a potential battle zone, Goldfein explains in an interview. The Air ...

  Coming soon to a portfolio near you: Chinese bonds. Like it or not, fixed-income securities from the mainland’s vast, opaque and increasingly default-prone debt market are about to go more global. The good news is that Beijing has been paying attention to international investor concerns over the way the notes are sold and traded. Premier Li Keqiang said that ...

  If you think it will be hard for the US Federal Reserve to normalize monetary policy, spare a thought for the European Central Bank. The euro zone’s monetary guardians have said they will continue to buy 60 billion euros a month in government and corporate bonds until the end of 2017. Headline inflation is running at 2 percent — ...

  Turkey’s referendum on expanding the president’s power is facing resistance both from inside and outside the country. The country is deeply divided over the constitutional changes proposed by President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan. It would bring an executive presidential system, merging the powers of the prime minister and the president. Erdogan argues that a strong presidency will make Turkey better ...

  BEIJING/ AP China’s trading partners are bringing the top UN food standards official to Beijing in a last-ditch attempt to persuade regulators to scale back plans to require intensive inspections of food imports — including such low-risk items as wine and chocolate — that Washington and Europe say could disrupt billions of dollars in commerce. The rule could inflame ...

  Bloomberg Default fears are resurfacing in Singapore ahead of a wall of maturing corporate debt, as a US bankruptcy filing by a firm from the city flags lingering pain despite economic recovery. Pressure to pay down obligations has been unrelenting. Companies excluding banks must repay S$38 billion ($27 billion) of local bonds over the next four years. The maturities ...