WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials are painting a dark picture of the world’s future, saying the coronavirus pandemic has deepened economic inequality, strained government resources and fanned nationalist sentiments. Those assessments are included in a Global Trends report by the government’s National Intelligence Council. The reports, produced every four years, are designed to help policymakers and citizens anticipate the economic, environmental, technological and demographic forces likely to shape the world through the next 20 years. This year’s report focuses heavily on the impact of the pandemic, calling it the “most significant, singular global disruption since World War II.”
