As the clock ticks down to Greece's crunch election on June 17, which is being seen as a referendum on the country's membership of the euro zone, the warnings that European leaders need to act to prevent a collapse of the currency union are getting stronger by the day.

Now, Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has warned that the euro zone has less than three months to get its act together. In an interview broadcast on Monday evening, Lagarde told the television station CNN that action to save the euro is needed in "more shortly (sic) than three months." She was referring to a recent prediction by billionaire investor George Soros that Europe has three months to save the euro.

"The construction of the euro zone has taken time," Lagarde told CNN. "And it's a work in construction at the moment." The IMF head declined to comment on whether Greece would leave the euro zone. "It's going to be a question of political determination and drive," she said. Many observers fear that Greece will have to return to the drachma if the left-wing anti-austerity Syriza party wins Sunday's election.

Top US economist Nouriel Roubini has also reiterated his warning that time is running out. Pulling the plug on Greece will provoke the "total collapse" of the euro zone, he told the German mass-circulation daily Bild in an interview published Tuesday. If Greece collapses, many investors will panic, causing a run on the banks in Portugal, Spain and Italy, said the economist, who earned the nickname "Dr Doom" by correctly predicting the US subprime crisis.

IS IT ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT IN EUROPE? The failure of German public opinion to grasp the dire state of affairs in Europe today is inviting a repeat of precisely the crisis of the mid 20th century that European integration was designed to avoid. With every increase in the probability of a disorderly Greek exit from the monetary union, the pressure on the Spanish banks increases and with it the danger of a Mediterranean-wide bank run so big that it would overwhelm the European Central Bank. Already there has been a substantial re-nationalization of the European financial system. This centrifugal process could easily continue to the point of complete disintegration.

We find it extraordinary that it should be Germany, of all countries, that is failing to learn from history. Fixated on the non-threat of inflation, today's Germans appear to attach more importance to the year 1923 (the year of hyperinflation) than to the year 1933 (the year democracy died). They would do well to remember how a European banking crisis two years before 1933 contributed directly to the breakdown of democracy not just in their own country but right across the European continent.

Astonishingly few Europeans (including bankers) seem to remember what happened in May 1931 when Creditanstalt, the biggest Austrian bank, had to be bailed out by a government that was itself on the brink of insolvency. The ensuing European bank crisis, which saw the failure of two of Germany's biggest banks, ushered in the second half of the Great Depression. If the first half had been dominated by the American stock market crash, the second was all about European banks going bust.

What happened next? The banking crisis was followed by President Hoover's one-year moratorium on payment of World War I war debts and reparations. Nearly all sovereign borrowers subsequently defaulted on all or part of their external debts, beginning with Germany. Unemployment in Europe reached an agonizing peak in 1932: In July of that year, 49 per cent of German trade union members were out of work.

The political consequences are well known.

After widespread investor optimism on Monday in the wake of the weekend news that Spain would receive up to €100 billion ($125 billion) in emergency aid for its wobbling banks, Tuesday has brought a return to realism. Black stock-exchange numbers have once again nudged back into the red and worries about the survival of the euro zone have returned despite the Spanish bailout.

The apparent skittishness isn't surprising. Greek voters go to the polls on Sunday in an election that many believe could determine whether the country remains in the euro zone or is forced out. Potentially more ominously, numbers released on Monday indicate that the Italian economy is in disastrous shape, having shrunk in the first quarter faster than it has in three years. It is the third quarter in a row that the Italian economy, the euro zone's third largest, has contracted. Many believe that it is merely a question of time before Italy also has to apply for emergency aid from the euro backstop funds.

Meanwhile, despite official optimism from Madrid - and even from the oft-dour German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble - it is doubtful that €100 billion will be enough to save Spain's banking industry and put the euro zone back on the road to recovery. For one, recent history has shown just how quickly banks can run into significant trouble should the economic situation rapidly worsen.

On Monday, Italian Minister of Industry Corrado Passera insisted that his country is not the next bailout candidate. In past cases, such declarations have proven a sure sign that the opposite is true. INDEED, IT IS VERY POSSIBLE THAT THE EURO CRISIS IS NOW BEGINNING TO TIGHTEN ITS GRIP. AND EUROPE IS NOT PREPARED.

In April, a damning Vatican report had accused the group of "corporate dissent" from the Church's teachings against homosexuality, and claimed it was pursuing "radical feminist themes" - accusations fiercely denied by the nuns. The doctrinal officials aimed "to help the LCWR in the important mission of promoting a vision of ecclesiastical communion based on the Church's teachings down the ages," Lombardy said, as the Vatican insists the nuns fall into line.

The three-year inquiry by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees Roman Catholic doctrine, criticised the LCWR in particular for taking liberal stances on contraception, homosexuality and female priests. It found the LCWR had "serious doctrinal problems" and accused them of staying "silent on the right to life" and failing to promote the Church's view of heterosexual family live and sexuality amid debates on the issues in the US.

The nuns have rejected the report, saying that they have not violated any teaching and finding fault with the way it was carried out, complaining that it was shrouded in secrecy. Many said they were hurt by the Vatican's public attack in a report which had "caused scandal and pain throughout the church community, and created greater polarization." Lombardi said the Tuesday's closed-door meeting took place "in a open and cordial atmosphere," but provided no details on the outcome of the talks.

As Europe's banking crisis intensifies and the labor market sputters, the Fed appears increasingly likely to offer more monetary stimulus - despite political opposition, internal reticence and concerns about whether it will be effective. Given an outlook that is weak but not recessionary, the Fed could opt for the relatively low-hanging fruit of extending "Operation Twist," its effort to drive down long-term borrowing costs by selling short-term securities to buy longer-term ones.

Another relatively costless tool it could employ would be to push official guidance for when overnight interest rates are likely to rise, now set at late 2014, even further into the future. Many believe that with government bond yields already near record lows as investors flock to safety, an extension of Twist, which is due to expire at the end of the month, or even outright bond purchases, might not do much good.

Elections in Greece this weekend could be a major factor if they suggest the country is headed toward a euro zone exit, an outcome that could cause financial market chaos and an aggressive Fed response. Christina Romer, a former adviser to President Barack Obama, made the case for additional Fed help in a New York Times column on Monday entitled "It's time for the Fed to step up."

The US economy grew at only a 1.9 percent annual rate in the first quarter and appears to be expanding no more swiftly now, raising concerns that the recovery could sputter. At the same time, US employers added just 69,000 new workers to their payrolls in May, too few to curb the unemployment rate.

As rich economies sink deeper into a slough of debt after yet another wave of euro financial and banking stress and US hiring hesitancy, everyone is looking back to the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England and Bank of Japan to stabilize the situation once more.

What's for sure is that quantitative easing, whereby the "Big Four" central banks have for four years effectively created new money by expanding their balance sheets and buying mostly government bonds from their banks, is back on the agenda for all their upcoming policy meetings.

Government credit cards are all but maxed out and commercial banks' persistent instability, existential fears and reluctance to lend means the explosion of newly minted cash has yet to spark the broad money supply growth needed to generate more goods and services.

In other words, electronic money creation to date - whether directly through bond buying in the United States or Britain or in a more oblique form of cheap long-term lending by the ECB - is not even replacing what commercial banks are removing by shoring up their own balance sheets and winding down loan books. Global investors appear convinced more QE is in the pipeline.

The song became very popular in the US soon after the 9/11 attacks and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and it was originally planned to be the rousing finale of the kindergartens' musical show at the June 20 commencement. The kids would have waved tiny American flags to the song, New York Post reports. But the principal walked in while the kids rehearsed the song and ordered the CD playing the song turned off. She told the teachers to drop the song from the program, saying, "We don't want to offend other cultures."

According to the New York Post, the latest incident comes amid growing tension in the school between the principal and the teachers. Hawkins has been called a bully and tyrant by some of the teachers. New York Post reports that the Department of Education (DOE) reprimanded her in 2010 after some teachers complained that she called them "racist." According to the complaint, she said: “I’m black. Your previous principal was white and Jewish. More of us are coming.”

‘There are indeed discussions, and we are asked to clarify what is foreseen in EU treaties,’ said Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly following a raft of press reports claiming this had happened. He refused to reveal the precise details of the talks but admitted some of these ideas had been discussed under ‘disaster scenarios’.

He said the commission is ‘providing information about EU laws regarding treaties,’ that mean capital ‘restrictions are possible’ on the grounds of ‘public order and public security.’ However, he stressed that the commission was not planing on the basis that Greece would leave the euro depending on the outcome of elections on Sunday. ‘At the commission, there is no plan whatsoever pre-supposing a Greek exit from the eurozone,’ Mr Bailly added.

‘If there are people within member states or elsewhere who are studying risks, that's their responsibility.’ Greek elections on Sunday could see angry voters back radical left-wing parties opposed to austerity – pushing Athens closer to an exit from the euro. James Hickman, managing director of Caxton FX, the contingency plan in case Greece drops out of the single currency is ‘hardly surprising’. ‘The situation in the eurozone is worrying to say the least and any responsible institution should of course be preparing for the worst-case scenario,’ he added.

A further third, 33 per cent, believe that there should be a vote “in the next few years” in revealing people’s deep dissatisfaction with Brussels in our popular crusade to get Britain out of the EU. We have consistently said Europe has changed so dramatically since 1975 – when Britons last had a referendum – that another is long overdue.

Yesterday’s survey by Populus underlined the strength of feeling and will fuel many MPs’ calls for greater urgency. Labour MP and former minister Kate Hoey said: “This poll shows that the message the Daily Express has been carrying for many months is resonating with the public. A referendum is not a sideline issue – it is crucial to the public and must happen.”

Leading Tory eurosceptic MP Peter Bone said: “The political elite are scared of asking the question. They know people don’t want the EU, they don’t want the £41 billion membership fee, they want border controls returned, they want decisions made in Parliament.” Meanwhile, eurosceptic think tank Open Europe said yesterday that failure quickly to rewrite our terms of membership would result in unstoppable public support FOR WHAT IT BELIEVES WOULD BE A DAMAGING EXIT.

Government plans to open marriage to gay couples by 2015 could undermine its status as the state church, it said.

The Home Office said religious bodies would not have to conduct gay marriages and that it was considering all views.

The plans do not allow for religious organisations in favour of change to conduct gay marriages.

Gay rights campaigners accused the Church of "scaremongering".

The Church of England said by opening marriage to gay couples, an institution defined for centuries to be exclusively between a man and a woman would have its meaning "hollowed out" and reduced to the level of a "content free", "consumerist", agreement.

Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, which campaigns for gay rights, said: "There's manifestly no evidence that the recognition of long-term same-sex relationships has any impact on the institution of marriage for heterosexuals. It seems odd that the Church of England should be obsessing about A FEW THOUSAND GAY COUPLES ONCE AGAIN WHEN THERE ARE CURRENTLY THREE MILLION CHILDREN IN BRITAIN LIVING IN SINGLE-PARENT HOUSEHOLDS."

Italian officials privately expressed concern that the €100 billion or $125 billion, that Europe pledged to Spanish banks might not stop the troubles from spreading. Italy’s main stock index was Europe’s worst performer on Monday, a day when United States stocks were also dragged down and investors flocked yet again to the safe harbor of American and German government bonds.

Even the Italian prime minister, Mario Monti, a European technocrat who came to office after the euro crisis forced out Silvio Berlusconi last November, has begun to acknowledge the dangers posed to his country’s 1.56-trillion-euro economy ($1.95 trillion). The main fear is that Italy cannot grow its way out of a recession fast enough to pay a mountainous national debt. Other concerns include the fact that Italy, with the third-largest euro zone economy after those of Germany and France, will have to shoulder a large portion of the bailout bill even as it grapples with its own sharp economic downturn.

Because Italy does not have enough economic growth to generate the money itself, the government will probably have to borrow it at high interest rates, adding to an already heavy debt load. “There is a permanent risk of contagion,” Mr Monti told an economics conference near Venice over the weekend, speaking by telephone. “That is why strengthening the euro zone is of collective interest.”

Chinese airlines, which have been told by Beijing not to comply with the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, refused to meet a March 31 deadline for submitting carbon emissions data. EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard has said carriers have until mid-June to submit their data before enforcement action is taken.

"Chinese airlines are unanimous on this. We won't provide the data," Wei Zhenzhong, secretary general of the China Air Transport Association, said on the sidelines of an International Air Transport Association (IATA) meeting in Beijing. The Chinese group represents major airlines there, including the big three state-controlled carriers Air China, China Southern Airlines, and China Eastern Airlines.

"The government at least will take the same kind of measures and these anti-sanction moves will be lasting," Wei said. However he said: "We would try to avoid any trade war." A raft of countries including China, India, Russia and the United States have protested against the inclusion of all flights using EU airports into the emissions scheme. "It's not about the money. It's an issue of sovereignty," said Paul Steele, IATA's director of aviation environment.

Seoul’s armed forces held the exercise on Monday because of a "series of peculiar activities", a Defense ministry spokesman told AFP. It was ordered by the country’s Defense Minister Kim Kwan-Jin so the military could "immediately retaliate against sources of provocations and supporting forces as well as core command forces". The drill involved the ballistic missile command, front-line artillery units and the Air Force, South Korean media has reported.

Tension increased between the neighboring states after the North’s threat against South Korean media outlets for what Pyongyang has called critical coverage of its internal policies. The two countries often exchange threat of military action, but have managed to avoid a full-scale armed conflict.

Politics is a strange business, and one of its premier oddities is that monumental changes are rarely heralded by great speeches. Addresses indicating a shifting course tend not to be of the visionary variety. And the public attention paid to such utterances often has no relation to their far-reaching consequences. Often, in fact, it is only a tiny verbal adjustment that hints at a great change. Or a slightly different tone presaging a new direction.

Listening closely to Chancellor Angela Merkel in recent weeks has revealed just such a change in tone. It has been a careful shift, extremely nuanced. But it has become clear that her well-known melody is now a new one. "We need a so-called fiscal union," she said during an appearance on German public broadcaster ARD last week. "Which means more joint budgetary policy." Up to that point, Merkel had merely repeated that which she always demanded. But then came the new tone: "More than anything, we need a political union," she said. "That means that we must, step by step through the process, give up more powers to Europe as well and allow Europe oversight possibilities."

Merkel is carefully preparing the public for the possibility that great changes are coming and that established certainties are no longer valid. Her message is that Europe only has a future when the Germans too give up large portions of their national sovereignty. That is the extent of her message, but it is plenty nonetheless.

The Vatican meanwhile warned Italian prosecutors against using information in papers seized last week from the bank's ex-president, saying it may be covered by the Holy See's "sovereign prerogatives". Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, who was appointed by Pope Benedict to bring the Vatican into line with international regulations on money laundering, was dismissed last month from the presidency of the bank, known as the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR).

The financier was last week reported to have prepared a series of dossiers to be sent to named individuals in the event of his sudden death. According to an Italian prosecutor, Gotti Tedeschi has said his problems at the bank started after he demanded to see "information about accounts that were not in the church's name".