BBC News reports: “The International Monetary Fund has warned that the risks facing the world economy have increased.

The fund said it was concerned about the continuing Greek debt crisis, the arguments over US deficit plans and the need to curb growth in Asia.

But it said it expected global growth to remain on track, though it lowered its forecasts for the US and UK.

The IMF predicted that the world economy would grow at a rate of 4.3% in 2011 and 4.5% in 2012.

The fund called for greater political leadership in dealing with the eurozone debt crisis and the budget crisis in the US.

�You cannot afford to have a world economy where these important decisions are postponed, because you’re really playing with fire,� said Jose Vinals, director of the IMF monetary and capital markets department.

The IMF’s latest forecasts came as it updated its assessments of financial stability, country finances and the global economy. Its last review was in April�” (James 5:1-4; Revelation 18:10, 17, 19. See the next report.)

The Fars News Agency reports: “A senior political analyst said nations’ growing resistance against the US and its allies indicates that the United States’ decline is imminent and irreversible.

Chandra Muzaffar, President of the International Movement for a Just World and Professor of Global Studies at the University of Sains in Malaysia, made the remarks in an interview with FNA.

�The decline of the US is irreversible. Given the resistance of the people in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon, and of the Palestinians towards the US’s close ally, Israel, and the principled opposition of states such as Iran and Syria, the US elite has not been able to impose its will upon West Asia and the world. At the same time, the rise of China as an economic power of tremendous significance has been a challenge to the US. Equally important, the people and governments of Latin America are no longer prepared to accept US hegemony,� he said�”