Nasheman News : America’s public debt has reached a record high of more than $22 trillion, according to data released by the US Treasury Department.

The amount of the debt as of February 11 was quoted in a daily statement by the department on Tuesday.

“The national debt has now eclipsed $22 trillion, as we added $1 trillion in debt over just the last 11 months,” said Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a non-partisan organisation dedicated to addressing America’s long-term fiscal challenges.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in January estimated that federal budget deficit was about $900 billion in 2019 and exceeds $1 trillion each year beginning in 2022.

Because of persistently large deficits, the public debt is projected to grow steadily, reaching 93 per cent of US gross domestic product (GDP) in 2029 and about 150 per cent of the US GDP in 2049, according to the CBO.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has warned that the rising public debt in the US could lead to the next economic recession.

Analysts said the Trump administration’s $1.5-trillion tax cut and increased government spending have fueled the rapid increase in budget deficits and public debt.

“Reaching this unfortunate milestone so rapidly is the latest sign that our fiscal situation is not only unsustainable, but accelerating,” Xinhua quoted Peterson as saying.

“As we borrow trillion after trillion, interest costs will weigh on our economy and make it harder to fund important investments for our future,” Peterson said.

“We already pay an average of $1 billion every day in interest on the debt, and will spend a staggering $7 trillion in interest costs over the next decade,” he said, adding “we must put our fiscal house in order and begin to manage our national debt”.

Nasheman News : The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the arrest of Maria Ressa, the chief of news portal Rappler, who was arrested earlier on Wednesday in Manila for an alleged “cyber libel” case.

“Freedom of the press is an essential pillar of democracy and Human Rights. The arrest in the Philippines of Maria Ressa, founder and executive editor of the news website Rappler, is an alarming development,” CPJ said in a statement to the media

It also called on the government to “immediately release” the journalist and “drop all charges” against her, Efe news reported. Rappler’s investigative report linked Keng to alleged drug and human trafficking.

CPJ’s board chair Kathleen Carroll said that “the arrest of Maria Ressa is an outrage”, adding that “she should be freed immediately and the Philippines government needs to cease its multi-pronged attack on Rappler, its talented leader, and its brave staff”.

The organisation said on Wednesday the letter was launched after its board of directors, made up of influential journalists, approved an exceptional resolution in a meeting held at their New York headquarters.

Ressa was arrested in her office at the Rappler headquarters in Manila, for a story published in May 2012 about local businessman Wilfredo Keng.

The Justice Department of the Philippines filed charges of “cyber libel” against Rappler, Ressa, as the portal’s CEO, and investigative journalist Reynaldo Santos for the story published in 2012.

Three Justice Department prosecutors ruled in Keng’s favour in January even though Keng filed his complaint five years after the report was published, even though the statute of limitations established by Philippine law for a defamation charge is only one year.

Rappler has been very critical of the administration of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte. However, this not the only case pending against Ressa.

Last November, an arrest warrant was issued against her on five charges of alleged tax evasion. Ressa had posted bail at the time and the case is still pending trial.

The Philippine President has made no secret of his hostility towards Rappler, accusing it of being financed by the CIA and banning its reporters from the presidential palace in February 2018.

Nasheman News : Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will be on a two-day state visit India next week when he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a range of issues including energy security, trade and investment and defence.

Beginning February 19, it will be first state visit of Prince Salman, who is also the Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Defence Minister, to India. 

He will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Modi on wide range of issues of mutual interest. 

A Ministry of External Affairs statement said that there has been significant progress in bilateral cooperation in key areas of mutual interest, including energy security, trade and investment, infrastructure, defence and security.

Modi had visited Saudi Arabia in April 2016 during which the two countries agreed to further elevate the existing strategic partnership.

Prince Salman will be accompanied by a high-level delegation including ministers, senior officials and leading Saudi businessmen. 

Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching $23.24 billion in April-November 2018. It supplies about 20 per cent of crude requirements to India.

Recently, Saudi ARAMCO, in partnership with ADNOC of the UAE, has entered into a Joint Venture for $44 billion Ratnagiri Refinery and Petro-Chemical Project Ltd. 

The release said that nearly 2.7 million strong Indian community forms the largest expatriate group in Saudi Arabia. 

“Their positive and highly-appreciated contribution to the development of their host country has been an important anchor of our excellent bilateral engagement. 

Over 1,75,000 Indians visit Saudi Arabia every year for Haj pilgrimage. 

During his visit, the Saudi Prince will also call on President Ram Nath Kovind. 

[Nasheman news] San Francisco Microsoft-owned professional networking platform LinkedIn is launching a live video feature on its app to enable users to broadcast real-time videos.

The beta version of “LinkedIn Live” is first launching as an invite-only feature in the US, and it remains unclear if and by when would the feature be available for everyone to create LinkedIn Live videos. 

“Video is the fastest growing format on our platform right now and Live has been the most requested feature,” TechCrunch quoted Pete Davies, Director of Product Management at LinkedIn as saying on Tuesday. 

LinkedIn’s live video effort is supported by a part of Microsoft’s cloud division — Azure Media Services — that is providing encoding for LinkedIn Live.

“The feature is intended to allow users to ask questions or make suggestions in the comments in real time where hosts could moderate those comments in real time too,” Davies said. 

The initial live content that LinkedIn hopes to broadcast and cover includes conferences, product announcements, questions and answers, events led by influencers, earnings calls, graduation and awards ceremonies and more. 

LinkedIn introduced its first native video features in 2017 which have proven to be a strong engine for engagement and revenue growth at the company.

“Microsoft reported in its last quarterly earnings that revenues at LinkedIn were up 29 per cent, with a reference to growing its ads business specifically with record levels of engagement highlighted by LinkedIn sessions growth of 30 per cent,” the report noted. 

The platform recently announced that it has touched the 50 million user-mark in India with 562 million global members. 

Nasheman News :  Saudi Arabia does not know where murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s body is, the Kingdom’s Foreign Affairs Minister Adel al-Jubeir has said, despite having in custody the Saudi team that killed him.

In an interview to US’ CBS’ “Face the Nation” show that was broadcast on Sunday, Al-Jubeir said: “The death of Jamal Khashoggi was a mass-massive tragedy. It was a mistake…. committed by officials of the Saudi government acting outside their scope of authority.” 

He said that 11 individuals have been charged with the crime and the trials have begun. “We have said we will investigate. We will hold those accountable- those responsible accountable and we will punish them.”

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and a supporter-turned-critic of Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman, was murdered inside the Kingdom’s consulate in Turkey’s Istanbul on October 2 and his body was reportedly dismembered with a bone saw. His remains are yet to be found. 

Al-Jubeir told the US programme that “we don’t know” where is Khashoggi’s body and that the public prosecutor responsible for the case had sought evidence from Turkey but had received no response.

“We are still waiting to receive any evidence they (Turkey) may have.”

On being asked why those in detention can’t reveal where Khashoggi’s body was, Al-Jubeir said: “We are still investigating. We have now a number of possibilities and we’re asking them what they did with the body. 

“… I think this investigation is ongoing, and I would expect that eventually we will find the truth.”

The minister again denied the Crown Prince’s involvement in the murder. “Nobody in Saudi Arabia knew about the murder except the people who did it.”

He also dismissed the New York Times’ report detailing how US intelligence intercepted communications of Bin Salman telling a top aide in 2017 that he would “use a bullet” on the journalist if he did not return to the Kingdom. 

“This was not a government sanctioned operation. We have an investigation and we have a trial. And many things have been put out that turned out to be incorrect.”

The US’ Central Intelligence Agency has, however, concluded the Saudi operation was likely directed by the Crown Prince.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said his nation needed “painful” economic reforms to cut back on its debt soon after meeting the head of the IMF.

In a speech at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Sunday, Khan said his government faced a massive fiscal deficit when it took office in 2018 and was making efforts to slash it.

“I repeat the reforms are painful … It’s like a surgery. When you conduct surgery for a while, the patient suffers, but that improves,” Khan said.

“The worst thing that can happen for society is that you keep postponing reforms because of the fear that you would have opposition, the vested interests stand up and you don’t do reforms.”

Pakistan, the IMF and China: Imran Khan’s economic challenges

Before taking the stage, Khan met the head of the IMF Christine Lagarde.

‘Strong package’

Pakistan has about $100bn in external debt and liabilities, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

“I reiterated that the IMF stands ready to support Pakistan,” a statement from Lagarde said.

“I also highlighted that decisive policies and a strong package of economic reforms would enable Pakistan to restore the resilience of its economy and lay the foundations for stronger and more inclusive growth.”

Pakistan, a regular borrower from the IMF since the 1980s, last received an IMF bailout in 2013 to the tune of $6.6bn.

Forecasts by the IMF and World Bank suggest the Pakistani economy is likely to grow between 4.0 and 4.5 percent for the fiscal year ending June 2019, compared with 5.8 percent growth in the last fiscal year.

The annual World Government Summit sees global leaders cross paths at a luxury hotel near Dubai’s iconic, sail-shaped Burj al-Arab hotel.

Major investments

Two Saudi sources told the AFP news agency that heir apparent to the Gulf kingdom’s throne, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will visit Islamabad soon, without giving a date.

A number of major investment deals are expected to be signed during the visit.

“The outcome of the talks so far has been very positive and this is going to be one of the biggest-ever Saudi investments in Pakistan,” a senior finance ministry official was quoted as saying.

“We hope that an agreement to this effect will be signed during the upcoming visit of the Saudi crown prince to Pakistan,” said the official, requesting anonymity.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Islamabad’s biggest trading partner in the Middle East, have offered Khan some $30bn in investment and loans.

Khan also visited Saudi rivals Qatar and Turkey, as well as China seeking investment in recent weeks.

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[Nasheman news] Two parallel peace processes on Afghanistan are underway. In Doha, Zalmay Khalilzad, US Special Representative for Afghanistan, has held extensive round of talks with Taliban leaders, spread over several days last month. The authorship of this process is, quite jealously, America’s. But on February 5 and 6, Taliban and other Afghan political groups also met in Moscow. A roadmap for the future, titled the Moscow Declaration, was announced. Among its nine points is one which also suggests coordination with the Doha process – there is no jealous guarding of ownership of the peace process here. Anyone interested in peace is the joint author. The Declaration was immediately rubbished by the Presidential Palace in Kabul. “Moscow declaration will not have impact on the peace process in Afghanistan,” said palace spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri.

There are, meanwhile, doubts in many capitals on whether the US is truly contemplating total withdrawal. To some extent these doubts are a function of Donald Trump’s confusing statements and tweets. Take his recent statement in Iraq. His troops in Iraq will enable him “to keep a check on Iran”, something way outside the US-Iraq agreement. In Afghanistan too, while Khalilzad is ploughing the furrow promising one kind of crop, his President makes a totally confusing statement. Trump says he will leave behind in Afghanistan “intelligence elements”. How many?

I have Russian estimates of five years ago. They may have changed, but in those days the Russians were convinced of 30 US bases in Afghanistan.

Of these, the ones at Bagram, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Helmand, Shindand (Herat) and Mazar-e-Sharif were, by the sheer volume of masonry and architecture, not temporary. These bases will remain. Are we then talking about a qualified departure?

If the US is actually planning departure, why would it build a consulate in the heart of Mazar-e-Sharif on a scale which would dwarf large embassies? Renaissance is the only reasonable hotel in Mazar-e-Sharif.

It does not take long for great powers to develop more than one point of interest once they have entered an area of strategic significance. It would therefore be fanciful to imagine an America-free Afghanistan in the foreseeable future. “All this blood and treasure was spent for what?” some Americans will ask. Also the chant in Kabul once was “We must remain in the vicinity to keep a watch on the world’s only Muslim nuclear state.”

After Obama announced in a speech delivered on December 1, 2009 US intention to leave Afghanistan in July 2011, I had argued in a paper for the Observer Research Foundation that Americans can simply not leave Afghanistan. I have been proved right so far. And now once again the “We are leaving” story has been let loose. True, this time the circumstances are different, but let us take a look.

Last July, Zalmay Khalilzad, and Morgulov Igor Vladimirovich, Russia’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, (who was behind the scene in the Intra-Afghan dialogue in Moscow on February 5 and 6) attended a high-power meet in New Delhi on Regional Issues.

In a more cooperative world order, one would have expected the representatives of the US and Russia to exchange notes on Afghanistan. What transpired was to the contrary. Vladimirovich made an allegation that startled the gathering. “ISIS fighters were being flown to Northern Afghanistan” from Syria. The Afghan air space is under the control of the US and the government in Kabul. “So, who is responsible?” Khalilzad offered a tepid denial. The denial lacked credibility because the Russian allegation had been preceded by another made by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatullah Khamenei. In the course of his Friday address in January 30, 2018. Khamenei said: “The US transfer of IS terrorists to Afghanistan is aimed at creating a justification for its (US’) continued presence in the region.”

In countries surrounding Afghanistan, doubts about American intentions may be more muted but are quite as strong. It is deeply ironical that Jehadism, terrorism and Islamism manufactured in Afghanistan to fight the Soviets in the 80s may be returning to complete the circle. Indeed, there is a certain inevitability about Islamic militancy becoming a tool of American foreign policy. The triangular romance between Washington, Tel Aviv and Riyadh will ensure this state of affairs for as long as this romance lasts.

Let me explain the inevitability. When Animal Rights groups forced the famous annual fox hunt to stop in South India’s most Anglaise hill station, Ooty, I expressed my curiosity to the master of the Hunt: “What have you done to the hundreds of hounds of high pedigree trained diligently for the Hunt.” The lovely canines had been transferred to an expensive kennel from where dog lovers could acquire them.

So now we know what to do with redundant foxhounds of high pedigree. But what does a state like Saudi Arabia do with spare Islamic militants who have been heavily equipped and trained to kill at the cost of billions? They can only be relocated to newer theatres of conflict like Afghanistan. From here they can plague all the countries the US wishes to destabilize – Xinxiang in China, the Caucasus in Russia, Iran and Pakistan too if it does not behave according to the US diktat.

To make confusion worse confounded, Erik Prince, founder of the world’s biggest mercenary military company, which has mutated from Blackwater to Academi and Triple Canopy, is back in Afghanistan floating the idea of US troops to be replaced by Prince’s mercenary army. His plan that Afghanistan be administered by a “Viceroy” was shot down by National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and Defence Secretary James Mattis. After the two were shown the door, Prince has been all over Afghanistan again in and Khalilzad’s notice. The only person who has refused to meet him in Kabul is President Ghani.

Nasheman News :Bangladesh Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen will co-chair the Fifth Joint Consultative Committee meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here on Friday, an official statement said.

Momen, who is on a three-day visit to India, will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, it said.

It is the first high-level visit from Bangladesh since Sheikh Hasina’s victory in the parliamentary elections.

The two sides will also sign agreements during the visit. 

Nasheman News :  At least five people were killed and two others injured after a small plane crashed into a house in the US state of California, the media reported on Monday.

On Sunday, the twin-engine Cessna 414A came apart and caught fire mid-flight before crashing into the two-storey house in Yorba Linda, a suburb of Los Angeles, reports the BBC.

The flight went awry just minutes after taking off from an airport, 32 km from the city, according to police.

The victims comprised the pilot, who was the only occupant of the plane, and two men and two women inside the house.

Nasheman News : US President Donald Trump is planning to keep American troops in Iraq to monitor and maintain pressure on neighbouring Iran.

“I want to be able to watch Iran,” Trump said in an interview aired on Sunday on CBS. 

“We’re going to keep watching and we’re going to keep seeing and if there’s trouble, if somebody is looking to do nuclear weapons or other things, we’re going to know it before they do.”

Trump’s comments come as the US has quietly been negotiating with Iraq for weeks to allow American commandos and support troops now operating in Syria to shift to bases in Iraq and strike the Islamic State (IS) terror group from there, reports The New York Times. 

Military leaders are seeking to maintain pressure on the IS as the President fundamentally reorders policy toward Syria and toward Afghanistan, where peace talks with the Taliban are underway.

In response to Trump’s remarks, Iraqi MP Jawad al-Musawi said on Sunday night that “there will be an escalation in the opposition to them”.

“There is distrust of the American government – even if they say they are coming to protect us against the IS,” he said, adding “the real reason they will be coming is to hit Iran.”

American forces operate from several Iraqi bases across the country, with most of the roughly 5,200 troops based at Al Asad or in Erbil in northern Iraq.