Washington - The economic and political clout of the United States will decline by 2025, the spread of nuclear weapons and cyber- terrorism will emerge as the most potent global threats, and new wars are likely to be fought over water and food scarcity.

This bleak assessment was released Thursday by the National Intelligence Council (NIC), in its hefty, 120-page Global Trends 2025 report, which takes a long-term view of how key issues are likely to develop over the next few years.

While the US will remain "the single most powerful country," it will be significantly less dominant, with shrinking military and economic capabilities, the NIC said in its report that was compiled after a year-long analysis by intelligence experts.

Tokyo - The Bank of Japan decid

Jakarta - The global economic meltdown has forced a number of Indonesian labour-intensive industries to lay off more than 12,000 workers, media reports said Friday.

Businessmen claimed that the global financial crash has started affecting the export sector in November and many exported products were rejected by buyer countries, which could force many more companies to stop production.

Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP), announced Thursday that it would dismiss 1,000 workers and temporarily lay off another 1,000, in a move to help stop the company from failing.

Taipei  - Taiwan's ex-president Lien Chan and Chinese President Hu Jintao, in Peru for the upcoming APEC summit, will meet Friday amid signs of improved ties between Taiwan and China, according to a TV report.

Lien and Hu will meet at the Delfines Hotel in Lima, where Hu is staying, at 10:45 am Friday (1545 GMT), cable TV channel TVBS reported, quoting an unnamed Chinese source as confirming the meeting.

The Lien-Hu meeting will be open to the press, TVBS said.

Singapore - Singapore further downgraded its economic growth forecast to 2.5 per cent for this year, down from 3 per cent previously forecast, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Friday.

Singapore had in October revised this year's growth to 3 per cent, down from an earlier predicted 4 per cent and 5 per cent.

In 2009, the MTI sees Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) ranging between a contraction of 1 per cent and growth of 2 per cent.

Singapore's GDP contracted by 0.6 per cent in year-on-year terms in the third quarter of 2008, said the MTI.

Hong Kong - A Hong Kong internet user has been prosecuted for posting a message on an online forum warning that a bank was facing financial problems, a news report said Friday.

Jobless Leung Kin-wai, 34, was arrested by police after going on an internet forum to warn people to withdraw money from the Hong Kong-based bank, the South China Morning Post said.

He was charged with accessing a computer with dishonest intent and at a court hearing Thursday was put on a one-year good behaviour bond, according to the newspaper.