The Media Line Staff
Damascus, Syria David Rosenberg (The Medi – As the Arab League agreed to go to the United Nations Security Council early this week with a resolution calling for Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to step down, Russia was reportedly doing a major arms deal with the beleaguered regime. The $550 million agreement to sell 36 Yak-130 combat aircraft will not do anything to tip the balance in favor of the Al-Assad regime, which has been engaged in a 10-month conflict with anti-government opposition. But Russia is almost certainly providing arms Damascus needs to hold back the rebels as well as mounting a diplomatic defense of its friend at the U.N. In a rare glimpse into the Russia-Syria arms trade, a ship loaded with ammunition from Russia was briefly detained in Cyprus earlier this month before continuing its journey unmolested to the Syrian port of Tartus. [...] Continue Reading…

Washington, DC, United States (KaiserHealth) – In his State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama made just one explicit mention of the 2010 health law. Here is a transcript of the few parts of his speech that mentioned health care issues: Innovation also demands basic research. Today, the discoveries taking place in our federally-financed labs and universities could lead to new treatments that kill cancer cells but leave healthy ones untouched. … I will not go back to the days when health insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny your coverage, or charge women differently than men. … Do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Or do we want to keep our investments in everything else – like education and medical research; a strong military and care for our veterans? Because if we’re serious about paying down [...] Continue Reading…

The Media Line Staff
United Arab Emirates David Rosenberg (The Medi – Calling the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the world’s “least friendly” place for expatriates-well, those are fighting words. Certainly, they are in a place where non-citizens make up close to 90 percent of the population and are responsible for everything from running the national airline to cleaning up at construction sites. But a fight is what Forbes magazine and one of its contributing writers, Beth Greenfield, got when they ran a piece putting the Gulf confederation of seven mini-states at the bottom of a list using criteria that hone in on social factors – the ability to befriend natives, fitting into local culture, learning the language and integrating into the community. The article sparked a furious reaction, a dedicated Twitter hashtag #UAEFriendly and finally, according to local media spin, Forbes “took back” its words and conceded that [...] Continue Reading…

Tom Ramstack – AHN News Legal Correspondent
DC, Washington, United States (AHN) – The U.S. Conference of Mayors wrapped up its winter meeting Friday in Washington, D.C., with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel stepping into controversies on same sex marriage and education. Emanuel joined about 80 other mayors from across the nation in endorsing laws to give legal recognition to same sex marriage, along with the tax breaks and other benefits spouses can share. The mayors signed on to a statement that said, “Our cities derive great strength from their diversity and gay and lesbian families are a crucial part. Studies have shown what we know through our hands-on experience that cities that celebrate and cultivate diversity are the places where creativity and ideas thrive.” Emanuel supported the Illinois Legislature’s effort last year to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples. He said New York did “a good [...] Continue Reading…

IRIN Staff
Baghdad, Iraq (IRIN) – Suicide attacks, assassinations and bombings in Iraq have claimed the lives of at least 265 people and injured hundreds of others since 18 December, the date the USA withdrew all but 200 of its troops from the country, according to the health and interior ministries. The wave of attacks, carried out mainly by Sunni extremists from Al-Qaeda in Iraq against Shia communities, has alarmed many who fear the country could descend into chaos once more, with the government itself acknowledging it is not capable of ensuring security on its own. The attacks also come as political factions are at loggerheads over how to reach a power-sharing deal. The Sunni community is complaining that it is being marginalized by the Shia-led government, which recently issued arrest warrants against Sunni Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi and other politicians for allegedly operating death squads. Many fear [...] Continue Reading…

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Berlin, Germany (AHN) – The German government cut its forecast for economic output in 2012 to 0.7 percent from its October estimate of 1.0 percent, while predicting growth of 1.6 percent for 2013. Despite the slower growth forecast, Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said that he did not see a recession ahead for the nation. Roesler insisted that Germany would remain an “anchor for stability and growth in Europe.” Export-driven Germany is Europe’s top economy, but it hasn’t been immune from the effects of the ongoing eurozone crisis or from weaker demand for its exports from emerging markets. Roesler said the economy probably shrank by 0.3 percent in the last quarter of 2011, but he expects growth of 0.1 percent in the first quarter of this year. That moderate growth would save Germany from officially sliding into recession, which is defined [...] Continue Reading…

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Beijing, China (AHN) – China’s economic growth slowed to 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the nation’s statistics bureau. That was China’s slowest pace in more than two years. It was down from 9.1 percent in the previous quarter. The world’s second-largest economy grew by 9.2 percent during the entire year, down from 10.3 percent in 2010. Forecasts by analysts call for China’s economy to slow further during 2012, in part because of monetary tightening by the government. China has been one of the world’s fastest growing economies in recent years as its manufacturing and export bases grew, increasing jobs and incomes in the nation.

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The Media Line Staff
Cairo, Egypt Joseph Mayton / The Media – Mahmoud Yussif runs a mobile phone shop here in the Egyptian capital. He fields customers in rapid-fire succession explaining his products thoroughly, answering questions quickly and efficiently, and locating in seconds a cellphone or anything else in his small but crowded shop. Started five years ago, it’s a prosperous business but a very small one. Yet even a tiny store like Yussif’s isn’t beyond the long business arm of Egypt’s army. The owner of the space that he rents is a general, who has also his creditor, and between those two roles takes a big chunk of the store’s profits. “I don’t own the shop itself,” Yussif told The Media Line as the afternoon rush hour frenzy of customers comes to an end. “The owner of the space, who really just gave me a loan, takes [...] Continue Reading…

Tejinder Singh – AHN News Correspondent
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – President Barack Obama on Friday launched an effort to trim extra fat from governmental machinery with a first list of agencies under the Department of Commerce. Urging Congress to reinstate “fast track authority,” of the president, Obama said, “We live in a 21st-century economy, but we’ve still got a government organized for the 20th century.” Addressing an audience of invited business community, Obama blamed the tug of war between the White House and Congress for the failure of successive administrations to limit the ballooning government workforce, saying, “Too often past attempts to streamline government got caught up in beltway politics and power struggles that prevented meaningful consolidation.” Noting that, “new agencies were added without taking any away,” President Obama said, “Almost every President from Herbert Hoover to Ronald Reagan had reorganization authority.” Obama was [...] Continue Reading…