Dubai

(Reuters) - Investigators on Thursday said pilots failed to monitor engine settings ahead of the crash of an Emirates jet at Dubai airport more than three years ago, in which all 300 passengers and crew safely evacuated but a firefighter died.

The plane caught fire after skidding along the airport runway on its fuselage while trying to abort a landing.

Pilots on the flight from India in August 2016 did not notice that the Boeing 777-300’s engine thrust settings remained too low and also missed out part of a cockpit procedure, investigators said.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will launch a satellite into orbit by the end of this week, a government minister said on Monday, as part of a fledging program that the United States says is a cover for ballistic missile development.

“We are not afraid of failure and we will not lose hope. With your prayers and trust in God, the Zafar satellite by the end of this week ... will be heading toward an orbit of 530 km from Earth,” Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi tweeted.

DUBAI (Reuters) - A motion for Iran to quit the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was introduced in parliament on Tuesday, the assembly’s news site ICANA reported, in a move that appears to raise the stakes in Tehran’s confrontation with the West.

The report did not say when parliament might vote on the motion. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in the Islamic Republic, makes the final decisions regarding the country’s nuclear policy.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar’s ruler has appointed a new prime minister, the office of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said on Tuesday, choosing a close associate for an influential role that seeks to ensure the emir’s writ runs throughout the Gulf State’s administration.

The change comes as Qatar gears up to host the 2022 World Cup, which it hopes will boost its economy and international influence, and coincides with surging U.S.-Iran tensions and a lingering quarrel between Qatar and some Gulf Arab neighbors.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates’ Minister of Energy said on Monday the oil market should not overreact to the possible impact of an outbreak of coronavirus in China on demand.

Suhail al-Mazrouei said he was confident in the ability of China and the international community to bring the current outbreak under control.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Ukrainian jetliner stood ready for takeoff at Iran’s main international airport bound for Kyiv, packed with passengers and so many bags on one of the cheapest routes to the West that the ground crew rushed to unload some luggage to make its weight for flight.

Nearly an hour late, Tehran air traffic controllers finally cleared Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 for takeoff, carrying a newlywed couple, Iranian students bound for universities in Canada and others seeking a better life abroad.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United States will not lift sanctions on Iran in order to negotiate, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted late on Saturday, seemingly in response to a Der Spiegel interview with Iran’s foreign minister.

“Iranian Foreign Minister says Iran wants to negotiate with The United States, but wants sanctions removed. @FoxNews @OANN No Thanks!” Trump tweeted in English on Saturday and later in Farsi.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Cybersecurity experts said Thursday there were still many unanswered questions from an investigation commissioned by Jeff Bezos that concluded the billionaire’s cell phone was hacked, apparently after receiving a video file with malicious spyware from the WhatsApp account of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince.

The experts said the evidence in the privately commissioned report does not show with certainty that Bezos’ phone was actually hacked, much less how it was compromised or what kind of malware was used.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The successor to the Iranian commander killed in a U.S. drone strike would suffer the same fate if he followed a similar path by killing Americans, the U.S. special representative for Iran said, according to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has asked the U.S. and French authorities for equipment to download information from black boxes on a downed Ukrainian airliner, a request that will add to international frustration at Tehran’s failure to send the recorders abroad for analysis.

Canada, 57 of whose citizens were among the 176 people killed in the crash, has said France should handle the flight data and voice recorders as one of the few nations with the ability to analyze the information.