Washington, Nov.19 (ANI): A top U.S. intelligence panel has predicted that by the year 2025, America will be playing a lesser role in global affairs, particularly on the economic and military fronts.

It also warns of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. The National Intelligence Council (NIC) report titled "Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World," is slated for release as early as Thursday. The report also predicts "a unified Korea" is likely by then, and that China will be the world's second-largest economy and a major military power.

"The United States will remain the single most powerful country, although less dominant," according to a "working draft" of the document obtained by The Washington Times.

"Shrinking economic and military capabilities may force the U.S. into a difficult set of tradeoffs between domestic and foreign-policy priorities."

A senior intelligence official said some details have changed in the final report, but "the thrust is the same."

The draft says: "The next 20 years of transition toward a new international system are fraught with risks, such as a nuclear arms race in the Middle East and possible interstate conflicts over resources."

"We see a unified Korea as likely by 2025 and assess the peninsula will probably be de-nuclearized, either via ongoing diplomacy or as a necessary condition for international acceptance of and cooperation with a needy new Korea."

The NIC's last such report, issued four years ago, sought to look at the world in 2020. (ANI)

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Kabul, Nov 19 (ANI): The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan has reportedly admitted that NATO troops in eastern Afghanistan fired 20 artillery rounds at Taliban inside Pakistan after co-ordinating with Islamabad.

In a statement issued last evening, the ISAF said that it fired the artillery rounds on Sunday after Taliban attacked its troops in Afghanistan's Paktika province with rockets from across the border.

"The artillery fire caused a secondary explosion at the rocket launch site, which indicates additional munitions in the location," the Daily Times quoted the statement as saying.

In a separate statement, the Pakistan Army said that NATO troops "engaged the fleeing militants on the Afghan side of the border and informed a Pakistani post on the Pak-Afghan border". (ANI)

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Kuala Lumpur, Nov 19 (ANI): Two to three Malaysians are either barred from leaving for India or deported daily due to fake visas issued to them. The Indian High Commission has uncovered a scam following the loss of 2,000 visa stickers from its visa centre at the Jalan Duta Chancery.

So far, 50 Malaysians have been redirected back here since October after landing at Indian airports, The Star reported.

It is learnt that the High Commission informed airline companies of the loss and revocation of the said visa stickers.

Newspaper advertisements were also placed, stating that Malaysians and other foreign nationals could not use the lost visas (serial numbers published) to travel to India.

New Delhi sent investigators here last month to question several High Commission officials and travel agents.

The High Commission had outsourced the processing of visas in Malaysia to Grandlotus Travel Agencies in August last year, but the High Commission remains in charge of issuing the stickers.

High Commission First Secretary V.K.V. Raman said: "We advise travellers who obtained their visas from unauthorised parties to check with our visa centre or High Commission."

Malaysian Indian Tour and Travel Agents (Mita) president K. Thangavelu believed that the missing visas had been sold off illegally.

He said Grandlotus would bear full responsibility if there were travel agencies who could provide proof linking the firm to the missing visas.

He said it was unfortunate that travellers and travel agencies had become victims due to the actions of a dishonest few. (ANI)

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London, Nov 19 (ANI): Britain's first Muslim peer, Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, is to be prosecuted for dangerous driving after someone allegedly sent a text message from his mobile phone shortly before a fatal motorway crash.

Lord Ahmed, 51, was driving his Jaguar X-type on the M1 last Christmas Day when it hit an Audi A4 that had crashed into the central reservation and stopped in the outside lane.

The driver of the other car, Martyn Gombar, 28, was killed instantly, The Times reported.

South Yorkshire Police confirmed on Tuesday that Lord Ahmed is to be summoned to appear in court in connection with dangerous driving. The maximum sentence for that offence is two years.

The police investigation has centred on reports that someone in the car used Lord Ahmed's mobile telephone to send a text message to a journalist shortly before the crash. It is claimed that the message was sent from his car about three minutes before the same telephone was used to call 999.

Lord Ahmed said that he had not been informed of the decision to prosecute him and refused to comment on claims that he might have sent a text message shortly before the accident.

The Pakistani-born politician suffered cuts and bruises in the accident. His wife, Sakina, 49, and his mother, Rashim, sustained minor injuries, the Paper said.

Lord Ahmed was appointed to the House of Lords in 1998 as the first Muslim peer of modern times.

The father of three has become one of the most prominent Islamic politicians in Britain and played a role in easing tensions between communities after the 2005 terror attacks on London. (ANI)

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