San Francisco / AP The robots are coming — to help run your life or sell you stuff — at an online texting service near you. In coming months, users of Facebook’s Messenger app, Microsoft’s Skype and Canada’s Kik can expect to find new automated assistants offering information and services at a variety of businesses. These messaging “chatbots” are basically …

  DUBAI / Emirates Business Dubai’s market for apparel and footwear is estimated to be worth US$12.8 billion, registering 5.5 percent annual growth in sales since 2010, according to a report by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry based on data from Euromonitor International. The category is mainly composed of apparel, footwear and sportswear, with apparel leading total sales …

Dubai / Emirates Business Award-winning communications network Publinet Group continues to focus on the region’s exciting opportunities for growth by expanding its senior leadership team. The group; which includes Cicero & Bernay (C&B) Public Relations, RAW, a social-media agency, and creative think-tank Spark Middle East; has appointed three senior communication professionals to its Dubai headquarters in the first quarter of …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Honda Motor Co. Africa and Middle East Office announced the launch of all-new ‘Stunning Civic’ in Dubai on Wednesday. Available across all Honda showrooms in GCC, Lebanon and Jordan, 2016 Civic sets an all-new standard in compact car style and performance. With sleek, sporty lines and an improved power-to-weight ratio, 2016 Civic is not only …

  Sharjah / Emirates Business Air Arabia, the first and largest low cost carrier in the Middle East, has opened its second City Check-in terminal in Sharjah, offering increased convenience for passengers traveling from the emirate. Located at Air Arabia’s sales shop in Sharjah Industrial Area 10 and open daily from 9 am till 10 pm, the facility lets customers …

Bloomberg President Barack Obama assembles on Wednesday his top national security officials at the CIA to discuss options to increase pressure on the IS in Syria. With each additional step, he risks drawing the US further into the conflict he has spent five years trying to avoid. The meeting of the National Security Council Principals Committee brings together some of …

  Bloomberg Talks to end Syria’s brutal five-year conflict were to resume in Geneva Wednesday, although the negotiations were likely to be overshadowed by a surge of violence that threatened a fragile truce. Adding more tension, Syrians began voting in government-controlled areas in a parliamentary election which is not recognised by the United Nations or by President Bashar al-Assad’s main …

  THESSALONIKI / AP New clashes have broken out between Macedonian police and stranded refugees and other migrants trying to scale a fence on Greece’s border with the country. Greek authorities say Macedonian police fired tear gas and stun grenades to deter a group of about 30 people from trying to get over the razor-wire fence using blankets. No injuries …

DAMASCUS / AP Syrians in government-controlled areas headed to polling stations on Wednesday to elect a new 250-member parliament that is expected to serve as a rubber stamp for President Bashar Assad. Voters began turning up shortly after the stations opened at 7 a.m. Around 3,500 government-approved candidates are competing after more than 7,000 others dropped out. Early on Wednesday, …

SRINAGAR / AP Indian authorities on Wednesday imposed a curfew in parts of Kashmir to stop fresh anti-India demonstrations following the killings of four people by Indian troops and a general strike called by separatists. The latest death occurred when a man was hit on his head by a tear gas shell fired by security forces and died in a …