Mario Draghi's remarks have added to the picture. But goodness knows, we have been here before: there's still plenty of details to fill in, and plenty of time for disappointments. Also, even the most optimistic versions of the deal say nothing about the re-balancing of the European economy, which is not happening and will be crucial for any long-term success. The rosy scenario is a story of three acts, and as ever, the fiscal comes first. Chancellor Merkel will not budge on anything until she gets agreement on a new fiscal pact for the eurozone.

As Mario Draghi repeated today, the ECB needs this too: governments have do their part to make this a viable union, both right now and into the future. In the end, they need to change the treaties to legally bind countries into accepting collective control of budgets. But in the short term, Draghi seems confident a stop gap is possible which would help "frame expectations" in the markets. Some ECB watchers think it will encourage the ECB to do more as well. Here's part of what he said on the fiscal pact. Later I'll get to what he said about the ECB: "On the precise legal process that brings about a move towards a genuine economic union, we should keep our options open. Far-reaching Treaty changes should not be discarded, but faster processes are also conceivable."

If you assume this kind of fiscal pact is now within the leaders' grasp, plus some revamped policy commitments from countries like Italy, we would then move to the second act in this feel-good tale, in which Germany agrees to some form of collective underwriting of eurozone debt. Even on the optimistic view, this is presumably not going to be eurobonds, which the German Chancellor has trashed so often, and so recently. But, short-term, her agreement to stand by a more ambitious version of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) could do the same job.

So, we are back to the main issue: will we see the ECB play a bigger role in "saving" the euro? I think it's inevitable. And I think Draghi is very carefully preparing the way. But governments will need to do a lot, too. And even then, don't expect him to ride in on a white charger labelled "lender of last resort to governments". It is much more likely to come as part of a monetary policy response to the dramatic deterioration of the economic situation, which will be exacerbated in the periphery by barely suppressed panic in sovereign bond markets.

In other words, the ECB's "rescue" it is likely to look more and more like quantitative easing.

He warned that economic convergence would be long and difficult. But he promised that France would not give up its sovereignty. He said the euro could not continue to exist unless eurozone economies pulled together. Europe had to be "refounded" he said, with France and Germany at its heart to ensure "a zone of stability".

"We must confront those who doubt the stability of the euro and speculate on its break-up with total solidarity. France is fighting so that Europe can still make its voice heard in the world of tomorrow," he said. Stricter financial discipline was needed, he added, with more severe sanctions for countries which did not meet their responsibilities.

Such a fiscal union would be "the most important element" in a chain of events, he said. "Sequencing matters." The ECB is under political pressure to step up its bond-buying programme. He said: "A new fiscal compact would be the most important signal from euro area governments for embarking on a path of comprehensive deepening of economic integration."

"It would also present a clear trajectory for the future evolution of the euro area, thus framing expectations." Mr Draghi, in the ECB job for only a month, said a "fundamental restatement" of the region's fiscal rules was essential. "What I believe our economic and monetary union needs is a new fiscal compact - a fundamental restatement of the fiscal rules together with the mutual fiscal commitments that euro area governments have made."

Stephanie Flanders, Economics editor, BBC News comments: "So, we are back to the main issue: will we see the ECB play a bigger role in 'saving' the euro? I think it's inevitable."

Figures from the Bank showed that the British economy could face a colossal liability of almost 200 billion pounds if the eurozone collapses. Sir Mervyn made clear that Britain is in danger of being dragged deeper into the economic mess despite being outside the eurozone. And he warned that resolving the crisis was "beyond the control" of the Government or the Bank of England.

He said: "In the UK, we must try to bolster the resilience of our financial system to better withstand the storms that may come in our direction." His extraordinarily candid assessment came just a day after Downing Street officials revealed that contingency plans for the break up of the eurozone had been "stepped up", while confirming a second credit crunch was underway.

Moscow has spoken out against further sanctions imposed by Western and Arab League states, and it has defended its right to sell Syria weapons - tens of millions of dollars worth last year. "The contract was completely fulfilled, almost ahead of time," Interfax cited the source as saying of the deal, estimated at $300 million. The source did not say when the deliveries had taken place. Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said in February that Moscow was pressing ahead with the deal despite Israeli concerns, indicating the missiles might have been delivered earlier this year.

"This weapon allows coverage of the entire coastline of Syria from possible attack from the sea," Interfax quoted the source as saying. Russia teamed up with China in October to veto a Western-backed UN Security Council resolution condemning Assad's government. Russia said the resolution could have opened the door to Western military intervention like in Libya, where it says NATO overstepped its Security Council mandate.

Indeed, some central banks had urged the Federal Reserve for some months to put in place cheaper dollar funding, but the Fed had resisted, said a source with direct knowledge of this week's deal. Last week, conditions grew particularly acute after a German bond auction failed to attract enough buyers. The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank started serious discussions around the middle of last week, banking officials in Europe and the United States told Reuters.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said he called the meetings that led to the decision by six of the world's major central banks to cut dollar funding rates to keep money flowing through the world's financial arteries. "It was the result of conversations which I initiated as chairman of what used to be known as the G10 governors, now the economic consultative committee, among a limited number of central banks," he told a news conference in London on Thursday.

The decision by the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the central banks of Japan, Canada, Britain and Switzerland to provide cheaper dollar funding for banks eased credit strains and provided a fillip to market sentiment. Short-term funding costs eased on Thursday for the first time since July 22, when the latest phase of the euro-zone crisis took hold after European Union leaders failed to lay out detailed plans for a strong bailout fund.

The government lawyers, CIA counsel Stephen Preston and Pentagon counsel Jeh Johnson, did not directly address the al-Awlaki case. But they said US citizens do not have immunity when they are at war with the United States. Johnson said only the executive branch, not the courts, is equipped to make military battlefield targeting decisions about who qualifies as an enemy.

The courts in habeas cases, such as those involving whether a detainee should be released from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba, make the determination of who can be considered an enemy combatant. Late last year, a judge threw out a lawsuit filed by al-Awlaki's father, saying that the courts do not have the authority to review military decisions by the president aimed at protecting the country from terrorists. The cleric's father, Nasser al-Awlaki of Yemen, was suing to prevent the US from targeting his son.

"A number of major (new) Irans have been born in the region today. Egypt is a (new) Iran, whether you (the US-led West) accept it or not," reported the Iranian semi-official Fars News Agency, quoting Guards commander Major General Qassem Soleimani. Speaking to a reported crowd of 50,000 Basij forces, he addressed the United States and added, "Know that today Libya, Yemen and Bahrain are also (new) Irans. [These] great nations will stand together against the threat" of western powers, he said.

He also expressed his wish to die if enemies try to assassinate him, a suggestion posed by conservative experts testifying in the US Congress. "To those who think threats will spread fear amongst us, I will say this: that I ask God to grant me martyrdom at the hands of the enemy," Soleimani said. "I do not see (an assassination) as a threat but rather giving, helping along an old desire" for being martyred. Retired US Army General Jack Keane told the House of Representatives' Homeland Security Committee last month that Washington should start targeting Iranian officials, especially top commanders of the Revolutionary Guards Corps.

"I'm saying we put our hand around their throat right now in every interest they have," a former CIA agent, now with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think-tank, said, "I don't think that you are going to really intimidate these people, get their attention, unless you shoot somebody."

They say the Muslim Brotherhood could take 45 percent of the seats up for grabs. The liberal Egyptian bloc coalition and the ultra-fundamentalist Nour party are competing for second place. Together, Islamist parties are expected to control a majority of parliamentary seats by March. This week's vote was the first of six stages of parliamentary elections that will last until then.

Continued success by Islamists will allow them to give Cairo's government and constitution a decidedly Islamist character. It could also lead Cairo to shift away from the West towards the Iranian axis. It will also diminish the influence of Cairo's caretaker junta, which has sought to maintain the Mubarak-era status quo and keep US foreign aid dollars - running into the billions per annum - flowing. Analysts say Islamists may also seek to annul the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, which could prompt Israel to seize the Sinai Peninsula for the fourth time in its history to create a strategic buffer zone.

After reaching the Suez Canal in 1967 and controlling the Sinai for twelve years, Israel ceded Sinai to Egypt under the 1979 treaty on condition it remains demilitarized. The Muslim Brotherhood, which birthed the virulently anti-Israel Hamas terror militia, might also seek to effectively annex Gaza. Should Hamas be triumphant in future PA elections, they would also gain a foothold in Judea and Samaria.

Tens of thousands of documents obtained by Bloomberg under the Freedom of Information Act showed that banks reaped an estimated $13 billion in profits thanks to the low-interest loans. JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley accounted for $4.8 billion of that total. "Remember the great debate we had here over the 700 billion in TARP funds?" he said on the House floor Tuesday. "There was no debate over the 7.7 trillion the Fed gave the banks."

"Did Congress have a clue?" he continued. "There is another game going on way over our heads, and our constituents are struggling while the banks with the help of the Feds have captured control of our government. Now the rating services are threatening us, if we don't come up with a deal they'll downgrade US debt. Could the threat to our national sovereignty be any clearer?"

*Bloomberg reported November 28th - The amount of money the central bank parceled out was surprising even to Gary H Stern, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis from 1985 to 2009, who says he "wasn't aware of the magnitude." It dwarfed the Treasury Department's better-known $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Add up guarantees and lending limits, and the Fed had committed $7.77 trillion as of March 2009 to rescuing the financial system, more than half the value of everything produced in the US that year.

This conflict is, in fact, over hegemony, with the West seeking to defend at all costs its predominance in the Middle Eastern resource-rich regions. Demands are becoming louder for military attacks next year, to crush an ambitious Iran. In Berlin, the debate is continuing around whether to take part in a possible war. Whereas transatlantic-oriented forces are calling for just that, other circles, oriented toward a more clear rivalry with the USA, are demanding a durable imposition of western hegemony in the Middle East using cold war methods ("transformation through rapprochement"). The current developments throughout the Middle East could give those favoring military measures the advantage - possibly decisively.

The German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) recently recalled the cause for the renewed escalation of tensions. "Since the demise of British colonial rule and the announcement of the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine," according to the think tank's recent analysis, the USA has been pursuing the objective of thwarting the rise of any Middle East country to become a regional predominating power - "if necessary by military means." "The growth of power and influence of a regional player" would "automatically be equated with loss of US power and influence in that region."

Washington has always sought, through "alliances and inter-alliance policies, to create a regional balance of power" that guarantees western hegemony in this resource-rich region. On the other hand, the declared objective of the Iranian elites - by no means only those of the current regime - is the use of the economic and political potentials of their country to become a hegemonic power at the Persian Gulf. With the crushing of Iraq, Iran's former rival, and the overthrow of the anti-Iranian Taliban in Afghanistan, attaining this objective has been greatly facilitated. Therefore, the conflict between the West and Iran - regardless of ideological wrappings - is simply a hegemonic conflict.

With its demand to strengthen sanctions for the time being, Berlin is still keeping all options open. However, the comprehensive arms buildup of Iran's Middle East rivals, in which Germany has significantly participated, has facilitated a military intervention.

The emergency action to stop the international financial system from freezing up again was prompted by rumours that a European bank was facing difficulties and could not raise money. Panic started to spread through the German bond markets, which threatened to result in a credit freeze for European banks.

British banks have been warned by the Financial Services Authority, the City watchdog, that they must make preparations for the collapse of the single currency. Downing Street sources insisted that the global economy was not facing a "Lehman's moment", in reference to the collapse of the American investment bank. However, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said: "Clearly there is a very serious situation in the financial markets at this time."

"We are experiencing a credit crunch and that central bank action is about trying to mitigate the effects of that credit crunch. They are ensuring they have the capacity to take action." The eurozone debt crisis has led to growing fears in financial markets about the stability of major European banks. Investors, particularly US money-market funds, are increasingly worried that the European banks are exposed to huge losses on loans they have made in Greece, Italy and other indebted eurozone countries.

The intervention by central banks led to a sharp increase in stock markets around the world. The FTSE-100 closed up 3.2 per cent, and the American Dow Jones index rose by 400 points.

It wasn't quite D-Day - Europe is going to require much bigger solutions than the quite limited band aid offered yesterday by the world's most powerful central bank - but it was the first bit of positive news the single currency has had for some time. What's essentially happened is that the Federal Reserve has agreed to step in and provide the cut-price dollar funding to eurozone banks which markets, fearing the worst about the future of the euro, have been refusing.

This funding strike was in turn threatening a second credit crunch, and another cataclysmic collapse in economic activity, with banks calling in their loans wholesale. Indeed, Downing Street said last night that the second credit crunch is already with us. The move came as key measures of financial stress soared off the scale to some of their highest levels since the Lehman insolvency of three years ago. Things have come to such a pass that almost any sign of movement by the authorities as the eurozone plunges headlong back into recession is counted a blessing.

Nonetheless, the euphoric reaction of stock markets may have been premature. Yesterday's actions help ease the immediate liquidity crisis, and may even buy a little more time, but they do nothing to address the underlying causes of Europe's gathering sovereign debt disaster.

Furthermore, there appears virtually no evidence to support the assumption in markets that the Fed's support presages much wider action to get on top of the crisis.

On the contrary, the catalogue of half measures proceeded apace on Monday, with European finance ministers finally agreeing proposals to leverage their main bail-out fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, only to find that markets have deteriorated to such an extent that the fund can no longer raise anything close to the sums of money originally intended let alone needed. The interwoven banking and sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone has become so dangerous for the world that the US Federal Reserve has been forced to take emergency action, acting as global lender of last resort to shore up Europe's banking system.

That it should have to do so as Germany and the European Central Bank hold back for legal reasons and refuse to commit decisive power adds a strange diplomatic twist. The move came once it was clear that Europe's prostrate banks would struggle to roll over $2 trillion (1.3 trillion pounds) of debts denominated in dollars. Data from ratings agency Fitch shows that US money markets have slashed funding for French banks by 69 per cent and German banks by 50 per cent. Strains have been ratcheting up over the past two weeks. European banks are mostly shut out of the dollar market, or only able to raise money for a week at a time.

The so-called "stress alarm" - the euro/dollar three-month cross currency basis swap - spiralled down to minus 166 points early on Wednesday, uncannily like the last days before the Lehman crisis metastasized in October 2008. There is little evidence yet that Berlin is willing to lift its veto on eurobonds or an ECB blitz. Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was "not appropriate" for Germany to drop its objections as a quid pro quo for backing from other EU states for treaty changes to police budgets. German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble said mass bond purchases and eurobonds are both illegal under EU treaties and remain "out of the question."

The drama always comes back to the ECB. Will it blink?

That would see Britain picking up a 450 million pounds bill for loans in 2011 alone, including 128 million pounds for just an extra mile of Rome's rail track. Debts for other years' loans would run into billions. Ukip's economics spokesman Godfrey Bloom said: "It's irresponsible for the EIB to continue handing out suicidal loans for projects these countries simply can't afford."

"And it's outrageous the UK taxpayer is again bailing out the type of lend-and-spend policies which got us into this mess." The EIB, run by EU states and with George Osborne among its governors, said: "We don't speculate about economic circumstances of member states."

His pronouncement opens up the possibility of space missionaries heading out to the stars to convert aliens to Christianity. Speaking on the eve of addressing the British Science Festival, Dr Consolmangno said he had no problem with science and religion co-existing together. But he dismissed Creationism and claimed that the revival of "intelligent design" - the controversial theory that only God can explain gaps in the theory of evolution - was "bad theology".

Dr Consolmango is one of a team of 12 astronomers working for the Vatican, said the Catholic Church had been supporting and funding science for centuries. He said the characteristics synonymous with having a soul - intelligence, free will, freedom to love and freedom to make decisions may not be unique to humans. 'Any entity - no matter how many tentacles it has has a soul,' he said.

The Pontifical Academy of Science, of which Stephen Hawking is a member, kept the senior cardinals and the Pope up-to-date with the latest scientific developments, he said. The discovery of aliens would raise huge theological problems for the Roman Catholic church that would make the debate over women priests, clerical abstinence and contraception pale into insignificance.