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. …

  ISLAMABAD / AP Two Pakistani research groups have noted that the country saw a significant drop in militant violence last year, crediting the military for the decrease in attacks. The two Islamabad-based groups say that large-scale military operations in the lawless tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, in the chaotic port city of Karachi and the sparsely populated Baluchistan province are …

  DUBAI / Reuters Egypt’s main stock index corrected on Monday as local traders booked profits and Gulf markets diverged with United Arab Emirates markets outperforming as traders focused on financial shares while a retreat in oil prices weighed on Saudi Arabian petrochemical producers. Cairo’s main index fell 0.9 percent, snapping four straight sessions of gains. Local institutions were net …

  Bloomberg Stocks slumped while Treasuries rose with gold as the new year rally in riskier assets faltered. Political risks rippled across foreign-exchange markets with the pound, Turkish lira and South Korean won leading declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined after Friday climbing within a point of 20,000. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes slid below 2.40 percent, while …

  Dubai / WAM Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director-General of Dubai Municipality, has revealed that the municipality has allocated AED7 billion in this year’s budget for executing infrastructure development and new large-sized high-priority projects and services in the field of health and environment. “The lion’s share of the volume of expenditure in the budget will be received by the storm water tunnel …

  Sharjah / WAM Expo Centre Sharjah announced that the number of exhibitors participating in the 13th SteelFab Middle East 2017 Exhibition, the leading annual event in the steel and iron industry, has surpassed 317 coming from 28 countries. SteelFab 2017 is organised and hosted by Expo Centre Sharjah with the support of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI). The …

  Dubai / WAM Expo 2020 Dubai will unveil details about its strategy for a cleaner, greener world and its centrepiece Sustainability Pavilion at the forthcoming Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW). The fifth annual ADSW, running from January 12-21, also hosts the World Future Energy Summit, and will focus on identifying and discussing solutions to the world’s energy and sustainability …

  Roy Kinnear was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Air Seychelles on July 1, 2015. Kinnear joins Air Seychelles from strategic partner Etihad Airways, where he held the position of Senior Vice President, Revenue Management and Planning, and was responsible for leading the airline’s revenue management, inventory control, pricing, and revenue forecasting. Having gained an honours degree in Economics …