Alexei Navalny: UK calls for immediate release of Putin critic after ‘appalling’ arrest

Kremlin must also ‘explain’ chemical weapon use, says foreign secretary Dominic Raab

Boris Johnson’s government has demanded that Russia releases Alexei Navalny “immediately”, following the Kremlin critic’s arrest in Moscow upon flying home from Germany.

The opposition leader’s detention by Russian authorities has drawn international condemnation – with some western nations calling for sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s government.

UK calls for immediate release of Putin critic after ‘appalling’ arrest. Kremlin must also ‘explain’ chmical weapon use, says foreign secretary Dominic Raab who stopped short of threatening any further action against Russia. Mr Raab added: “Rather than persecuting Mr Navalny, Russia should explain how a chemical weapon came to be used on Russian soil.”

Source: Reuters

Italy public debt to hit new post-war record in 2021 at 158.5% of GDP

ROME (Reuters) - Italy forecasts its debt to soar to a new post-war record level of 158.5% of gross domestic output (GDP) this year, surpassing the 155.6% goal it set in September, a government source told Reuters on Saturday.

The new estimate reflects the impact of a stimulus package worth 32 billion euros ($39 billion) announced this week, which will drive the 2021 budget deficit to 8.8% of national output, up from 7% previously targeted.

The extra spending will be used to help the hard-pressed national health service, fund grants and furlough schemes to businesses forced to close due to coronavirus lockdowns, and provide cover for a postponement of tax payment deadlines.

The government is due to update its debt and deficit targets in April.

Rome’s huge public debt is the second highest in the euro zone after that of Greece.

Despite the higher forecasts for 2021, however, the debt figure for 2020 is expected to come in lower than previously estimated, the source said, asking not to be named.

Rome is now expecting the 2020 debt-to-GDP ratio to be 156.5%, below the official target set in September of 158%, which previously was the highest level since World War II. The 2020 deficit is seen at between 10.5% and 10.8% of national output.

The final deficit and debt figures for last year will be published by national statistics bureau ISTAT in March.

($1 = 0.8280 euros)

China's 2020 GDP growth could dwarf most major economies: analyst

China's economic ascent has been moving ahead at full steam barely a year after the onset of COVID-19 nudges the world's major economies into turbulence and negative territory.

Despite occasional outbreaks reported in some areas, the world's second-largest economy has got back on its feet again as its triumphs in containing the pandemic boost its share of global trade and investment.

China's economic recovery gathered pace in the third quarter of 2020, with GDP growth in the July-September period registering at 4.9 percent from a year earlier, boosted by investment and exports.

The growth dwarfed the second quarter's 3.2 percent and reversed the first contraction on record at 6.8 percent in the first quarter.

The country's closely-watched GDP is tipped to perk up 2.1 percent in 2020, the only major economy to have shunned a contraction caused by growth-sapping COVID-19, according to economists polled by Bloomberg.

A Reuters survey forecast a median of 6.1 percent for its GDP growth in the fourth quarter, outperforming the previous quarter's 4.9-percent growth.

Rosy projections

Japanese bank Nomura projected the country's economy to witness a 5.7-percent GDP ascent in the fourth quarter and to edge up 2.1 percent for all 2020.

"The resurgence of COVID-19 cases outside of China has been further bolstering China's exports, especially of personal protective equipment and work-from-home electronics products," Nomura said in a note.

Dutch bank ING's GDP forecast for the Chinese economy settled at 5.5 percent from the year-earlier period in the fourth quarter, but "an upside surprise" could materialize as "the export-led recovery has gained further momentum."

"This should outweigh any possible softening of domestic demand due to the renewed virus threat," the bank said in a note.

China's GDP growth rate for 2020 is expected to reach 2.3 percent thanks to further recovery during Q4, a figure far below expectation at the beginning of last year but still very positive compared to the rest of the world, investment banking company Natixis said.

"As China is likely to pass the freezing winter with continued scrutiny on the COVID-19, its economy is bound to improve, extending the current momentum toward a more solid economic rebound in 2021," said the bank.

Despite the sporadic outbreaks in several regions, including Beijing, the government's measures have "largely contained the damage of the virus," said Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for the Asia Pacific at Natixis, in an email to CGTN.

Star-spangled year

World Bank data illustrates global output fell 4.2 percent last year, pushing China's share of the global economy to 14.5 percent at 2010 dollar prices, two years earlier than expected.

Bloomberg also went on record as saying China's share of the global economy is expected to grow at a faster pace against the backdrop of a global economic downturn scarred by the pandemic.

China is on course to topple the U.S. as the biggest economy in 2028, two years faster than previously estimated, noted Homi Kharas, deputy director for the global economy and development program at the Brookings Institution, in an interview with Bloomberg.

"Not only China's growth, but also the pattern of its growth matters for the global economy. China continues to strive to move towards greater reliance on consumption for growth. For the rest of the world, China will increasingly become a consumer in addition to the producer role it has long played," Bloomberg said.

China also scored a string of milestones for its economy last year.

The long-awaited Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, covering nearly a third of the global population and about 30 percent of global GDP, was signed by its 15 members in November 2020.

There are more Chinese companies on the Fortune Global 500 list this year than U.S. ones for the first time, adding more Chinese vitality into the global annual ranking.

A total of 124 Chinese companies (those in Hong Kong are included) are on the ranking, compared with 121 American companies. Including companies in Taiwan, the total number hits 133.

Source: CGTN