But what is “sustainable development?”

Patrick Wood, an economist and author of “Technocracy Rising: The Trojan Horse of Global Transformation,” says it’s clear the UN and its supporters see sustainable development as more than just the way to a cleaner environment. They see it as the vehicle for creating a long-sought new international economic order, or “New World Order.” Wood’s new book traces the modern technocracy movement to Zbigniew Brzezinski, David Rockefeller and the Trilateral Commission in the early 1970s.

Wood says their goal is the overthrow of capitalism and the free enterprise system on a global scale. He points to Christiana Figueres, the UN’s top climate change official, who admitted as much in a comment earlier this year. “This is probably the most difficult task we have ever given ourselves, which is to intentionally transform the economic development model, for the first time in human history,” Figueres, who heads up the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change, told reporters in February.

“This is the first time in the history of mankind that we are setting ourselves the task of intentionally, within a defined period of time, to change the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years, since the industrial revolution,” Figueres said. Francis, as the first Jesuit pope, is well known for his socialist leanings. His statements in his encyclical about the need for global governance to combat “climate change” must be looked at in the context of the pope’s background and announced priorities.

From today, France is banning the use of cash for transactions worth more than €1,000, or slightly more than £700. On one level, that is about combating crime and terrorism. But on another, it is also part of a growing movement among academics and now governments to gradually ban the use of cash completely. It is inefficient, oils the underground economy, and makes it harder for central banks to manage the economy, or so runs the argument.

Much like gold, it is a “barbarous relic”, as some publications loftily dismiss it. The trouble is, cash is also incredibly efficient. And it is a crucial part of a free society. There is no convincing case for abolition.

A world without cash would also make life significantly easier for governments. One idea is for a simple transactions tax to replace VAT, with HMRC taking a slice off every electronic payment. In countries such as Greece, where tax avoidance is rampant, it would make it a lot harder to avoid paying your fair share. On top of that, and perhaps this is where the drive to abolish cash is really coming from, it is starting to limit the ability of central banks to control the economy.

People have used notes and coins for several thousand years. The earliest go all the way back to the Iron Age. If they wither away because people prefer using their phones or their cards, then that is fine. No one wants to stand in the way of technological innovation. But outlawing cash? That is surely a step too far – and we might miss it when it’s gone far more than we realise.

The men were stopped by a border guard, who they attempted to bribe with a “wad of dollars.” However, they were searched and Islamic State propaganda, specific Jihadists prayers and decapitation videos were found on their phones. In a move that suggests how seriously authorities are taking the case, the Bulgarian State Agency for National Security (DANS) has now taken control of the investigation under the supervision of the regional prosecutor’s office in Kyustendil.

The men chose to cross in a wooded area, local media have reported, and took a car from an accomplice who had crossed legally from Macedonia with the vehicle. Bulgaria has recently completed a 15-foot high razor wire clad fence along 50 miles of its south-eastern border with Turkey to control the mass movement of migrants from the Middle East and Asia into Europe via the so-called Balkans route.

Glick said that the police quickly understood that putting up the sign was a mistake. “We encounter harsh decrees once in a while,” he explained. “In the course of the last year they have been allowing in smaller groups and carrying out intrusive inspections. This deters Jews from coming. We contacted elements within the police and drew their attention to the seriousness of the matter. We were glad to learn that the sign was removed.”

Glick had warm words for the new minister of internal security, Gilad Erdan (Likud), who he said has been taking action regarding the Muslim rioting in the Temple Mount. "At the end of the 100 days, it is important to me to note that Minister Erdan – beside his activity in appointing a new police commissioner – has taken upon himself the subject of the Temple Mount, and we feel the great change in the way matters are handled vis-a-vis the Arab elements that are creating trouble on the Temple Mount.”

Glick hinted that Erdan – who is secular, but was raised in a religious home – sees with favor a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount, and not just for religious reasons. "There is an attempt to improve the situation,” he said. “There is a religious and sovereign interest favoring the ascent of Jews to the Mount, and these things are stated in our meetings with Minister Erdan as well. With him, we found an attentive ear and a new spirit can be felt.”

The new laboratory at the Mammoth Museum of the Institute of Applied Ecology at the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk has begun searching through its vast library of samples that were found nearly perfectly preserved in the extreme cold conditions of the Arctic, according to Ogonek magazine. Scientists hope to extract live DNA by carefully scanning through more than 2,000 rare exhibits contained in the lab, which is especially equipped to preserve tissue samples in freezers of -87 degrees Celsius.

Besides mammoths, scientists will focus their efforts in searching for the DNA of a woolly rhinoceros, early ancestors of bison and bulls, cave bears and cave lions.

It also wants to step up "political support" for German arms companies' business activities, which - if necessary - could be extended to "third countries" non-members of the EU or NATO, and could explicitly include the export of combat hardware. Bilateral agreements should also be concluded with "partner countries" to enhance the "opportunities for German companies" in "large-scale foreign [arms] procurement projects," according to the paper.

These measures comply with the demands of German arms manufacturers, who, for quite some time, have been in "dialogue" with government representatives. One of the results of the "dialogue," announced by Vice-Chancellor and Minister for the Economy Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) is the government's support of defense contractors "to obtain access to the evolving markets of civilian security technologies" as well as, in their "cooperation efforts with developing and threshold countries."

Europe has been besieged by refugees coming from Africa and the Middle East all summer. Hungary, which is erecting a steel fence to stop the influx, warns the issue is reaching "unmanageable levels". Mrs Merkel admitted the lack of passport checks within Europe was not helping the issue. She said: "If we don't arrive at a fair distribution then the issue of Schengen will arise - we do not want that."

"We stand before a huge national challenge. It will be a central challenge not only for days or months but for a long period of time." Mrs Merkel said tackling the crisis was imperative for Europe's future and urged other countries take in more migrants to keep the union strong. She added: "Europe as a whole must move and its states must share the responsibility for refugees seeking asylum."

But some Schengen countries are already bringing in their own measures to stop the flow of migrants. This weekend Austria brought in new checks at its border with Hungary, which itself is building a steel fence to stop an influx of immigrants arriving from Serbia. Austria's increased checks, which it denied violated the Schengen Agreement, had caused 15 miles of queues across Hungary. Konrad Kogler, director general for public security in Austria, said: "These are not border controls. It is about ensuring that people are safe, that they are not dying, on the one hand, and about traffic security, on the other."

Europe's leaders will meet on September 14 to look at ways of tackling the migrant crisis. Breaking up the Schengen Agreement would require major constitutional change and could pave the way for EU reforms. This would be a boost for David Cameron who this week continues his discussions with EU nations about bringing in more concessions for the UK.

Stock markets tend to get too much attention in the media. They are exciting, with quite large movements up and down occurring in very short order. By contrast, the processes of the real economy grind away slowly, and often in obscurity, their wonders to perform. But, in the end, it is the real economy that matters. There have been two stories playing out in China. The first is the extreme weakness of share prices. But they are still up by almost 50 percent since this time a year ago.

The bigger question, though, is whether the weakness of the stock market is itself a reflection of softness in the real economy. There is no doubt that the Chinese economy has slowed substantially. The official Chinese statistics suggest that growth is currently running at 7 percent, down from about 14 percent at its peak. In reality, at the moment growth is probably a good deal weaker than this – between 4 percent and 5 percent. But even this slower growth does not justify panic. A slowing of the growth rate was inevitable given China’s increased prosperity. The key question is about how much. As it happens, there are clear signs of stabilisation in the economy.

The upshot is that, in my view, the world economy is not on the brink of a China-induced relapse. On the contrary, as lower commodity and oil prices work their way through the system, in the US and the UK at least, we will see consumer spending rising and the economic recovery strengthening.