WASHINGTON / AP A US military official says a US Navy warship fired multiple warning shots at Iranian patrol boats in the Persian Gulf after the Iranian vessels ignored other warnings. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an incident not yet publicly announced, said a US destroyer, the USS Mahan, was transiting the Strait of …

  BEIRUT / AP Syrian President Bashar Assad said in remarks published on Monday that he was prepared “to negotiate everything” at talks set to begin in later this month in Kazakhstan, seeking to cast himself as a peacemaker after his forces’ recapture of Aleppo last month. However the upcoming talks, brokered by Ankara and Moscow, are still in doubt …

  SINGAPORE / AP Singapore’s defense minister said on Monday that nine armored personnel carriers that are being held in Hong Kong should be returned immediately under sovereign immunity laws. Customs authorities in Hong Kong, a Chinese territory, seized the eight-wheeled Terrex infantry carriers in November. The vehicles were being shipped back to Singapore following military training exercises in Taiwan. …