But of course the Federal Reserve is not a government agency. It is a private banking cartel that has far more power over our money and our economy than anyone else does. Appearing before the Senate Banking Committee, Yellen was on the defensive, as Republicans questioned how the Fed conducts monetary policy and Democrats put forward ideas for getting tougher on Wall Street. In the midst of all of it, Yellen generally argued the Fed was designed as an independent entity for a reason — and it would be best not to change it.

“Central bank independence in conducting monetary policy is considered a best practice for central banks around the world,” she said. “Academic studies, I think, establish beyond the shadow of a doubt that independent central banks perform better.” A GOP-controlled Congress has given the bill its best chances yet of passage, and that renewed interest led Yellen to deliver her most spirited opposition yet. “I want to be completely clear,” she said. “I strongly oppose Audit the Fed.”

So what is she so concerned about?

We are all accountable to someone.

What is so wrong about the Federal Reserve being accountable to Congress?

Why can’t we find out what is really going on inside the Fed?

The design of the Federal Reserve system was flawed from the very beginning. If something is not done very rapidly, it is inevitable that our entire financial system is going to suffer an absolutely nightmarish collapse.

A declining inflationary outlook put pressure on the ECB to unveil a €1.1 trillion (£810 billion) quantitative easing program in January. The announcement also led to a decline in the euro. Jennifer McKeown, an economist at Capital Economics, said: “[The survey] suggests that the weaker euro has yet to have a strong positive effect on German firms.”

“Hopes about the impact of ECB QE are being offset by fears about Greece,” she added. Wrangling between new Greek leaders and the country's creditors rose during recent weeks, heightening fears of a eurozone breakup. German performance has also been hampered over the past year by concerns over Russian action in Ukraine, and the tit-for-tat sanctions that have been applied in reponse. Hans-Werner Sinn, the Ifo’s president, said: “The German economy is proving robust in the face of geopolitical uncertainty. Uncertainty in Russia and negotiations with Greece are still potential sources of downside risks in coming months."

In London and the South East, 85 per cent of the sun will be obscured by the moon whilst in northern Scotland; more than 95 per cent will be covered. The National Grid has warned that solar power output in Britain will halve during the event. It is unlikely to cause problems as so little electricity comes from solar power in the UK but other parts of Europe could be plunged into darkness.

The European Network Transmission System Operators for Electricity said: "The risk of incident cannot be completely ruled out. Solar eclipses have happened before but with the increase of installed photovoltaic energy generation, the risk of an incident could be serious without appropriate countermeasures." The eclipse will last around two hours from 8.40am. The next one will not be until 2026.

Many Muslims - a majority - do indeed utterly oppose the murderous killings in Paris. But a very, very large number of Muslims don’t. Presented with the statement “I have some sympathy for the motives behind the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris”, 27 percent agreed with the statement. A further 2 per cent refused to answer the question. And an additional eight percent said they were unsure whether they had some sympathy or not.

That is a shocking figure. And an utterly shaming one for Britain’s Muslim community. If this poll is accurate, over a quarter of British Muslims overtly sympathise with the motives of those responsible for the cold blooded murder of 16 journalists, police officers and Jews. It’s not good for people inside and outside the Muslim community to continue to turn a blind eye to the extremism that continues to fester in the heart of the Muslim community.

It’s not good enough for Muslims to keep delivering vacuous homilies about “the religion of peace” when surveys show 27 per cent of Muslims have sympathy with the Charlie Hebdo murderers. And it’s not good enough for us to deploy spurious moral relativism in a misguided attempt to place extremism behind a shield of religious tolerance.

The BBC is wrong. Many Muslims have sympathy with the Charlie Hebdo killings. Far too many.

The scientists explain: “We found that fear of terrorism and existential anxiety may disrupt the control processes using acetylcholine, causing a chronic accelerated heart rate,” Soreq wrote in the press release. “Together with inflammation, these changes are associated with increased risk of heart attack and stroke.”

While the risk of terror is real, anything which needlessly increases our fear of terror will increase the risk to our health. On the other hand, facts which decrease our fear of terror will help to protect our health. You’re Much More Likely to Be Killed By Brain-Eating Parasites, Texting While Driving, Toddlers, Lightning, Falling Out of Bed, Alcoholism, Food Poisoning, Choking On Food, a Financial Crash, Obesity, Medical Errors or “Autoerotic Asphyxiation” than by Terrorists!

Time Magazine noted in 2013 that the chance of dying in a terrorist attack in the United States from 2007 to 2011, according to Richard Barrett – coordinator of the United Nations al Qaeda/Taliban Monitoring Team – was 1 in 20 million.

The Philippines have already given the US military access to bases on Philippine soil, two decades after the closing of the last American bases there. The news about Chinese building projects and the possible military consequences have not yet been commented on by the Chinese media or by Chinese officials, but it seems clear that the reinforcements are yet another move in a long, steady game of escalation between the US and China.

The disputed maritime area may not be worth the risks. The natural and artificial features in the disputed areas of the South China Sea are generally too small and too far away from the mainland to sustain life, and many of the oil and gas fields in the disputed areas could also be drained from areas that are not disputed – avoiding conflict at least for the time being.

But there are reasons to believe that this escalation of military tension could still be very dangerous. The buffers that have prevented wars in South-East Asia and North-East Asia – such as strong norms of sovereignty – seem weaker in the disputed maritime areas, and worries are growing that a military build up could surge out of control.

“Slower” economic activity still means a staggeringly impressive annual growth rate of 7 percent in what is now the globe’s leading economy. Internally, an immensely complex economic restructuring is underway as consumption overtakes investment as the main driver of economic development. At 46.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), the service economy has pulled ahead of manufacturing, which stands at 44 percent.

Geopolitically, Russia, India, and China have just sent a powerful message westward: they are busy fine-tuning a complex trilateral strategy for setting up a network of economic corridors the Chinese call “new silk roads” across Eurasia. Beijing is also organising a maritime version of the same, modelled on the feats of Admiral Zheng He who, in the Ming dynasty, sailed the “western seas” seven times, commanding fleets of more than 200 vessels.

Meanwhile, Moscow and Beijing are at work planning a new high-speed rail remix of the fabled Trans-Siberian Railroad. And Beijing is committed to translating its growing strategic partnership with Russia into crucial financial and economic help, if a sanctions-besieged Moscow, facing a disastrous oil price war, asks for it.

To China’s south, Afghanistan, despite the 13-year American war still being fought there, is fast moving into its economic orbit, while a planned China-Myanmar oil pipeline is seen as a game-changing reconfiguration of the flow of Eurasian energy across what I’ve long called Pipelineistan.

And this is just part of the frenetic action shaping what the Beijing leadership defines as the New Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road of the twenty-first century. We’re talking about a vision of creating a potentially mind-boggling infrastructure, much of it from scratch, that will connect China to Central Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe.

Such a development will include projects that range from upgrading the ancient silk road via Central Asia to developing a Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar economic corridor; a China-Pakistan corridor through Kashmir; and a new maritime silk road that will extend from southern China all the way, in reverse Marco Polo fashion, to Venice. Don’t think of this as the twenty-first-century Chinese equivalent of America’s post-World War II Marshall Plan for Europe, but as something far more ambitious and potentially with a far vaster reach.

‘Or Pachauri could have resigned when he wished skeptics would rub asbestos on their faces or conceded that the IPCC was at the ‘beck and call’ of governments. There were so many opportunities to do the right thing and fade away. But it took the proceedings of the Indian court system over the allegations of sexual harassment to finally bring Pachauri down. Things can only be looking up for the UN IPCC now that it has ridded itself of this political and ethical cancer.’

Many climate change activists are motivated by religious conviction.

Actor Harrison Ford’s Green Religion: ‘I needed something outside of myself to believe in and I found in nature a kind of God’.

Michael Crichton: ‘One of the most powerful religions in the Western World is environmentalism. Environmentalism seems to be the religion of choice for urban atheists.’

Take "washed" and "ready-to-eat" salads - concerns have been raised about the chlorine often added to the water used to wash pre-cut salads to control pathogens and keep the leaves fresh. Unless the label states that the leaves have been washed in spring water, there will have been chemicals added during the washing process by the manufacturer. These might include chlorine and fruit acids, which act as a preservative.

In her new book, Swallow This: Serving Up The Food Industry’s Darkest Secrets, published tomorrow, Joanna Blythman refers to claims from a manufacturer that the treated water is not changed frequently, sometimes being used for as long as eight hours. In reality, these are factory versions of natural vitamins found in whole foods: artificial vitamin E is commonly derived from petrol; while soluble fibre is merely a healthier-sounding term for modified starch, used to reduce the quantity of more nutritious ingredients in processed foods, and keep down manufacturers’ costs.

A scientific study in 2007 linked certain artificial colourings and the preservative sodium benzoate to increased hyperactivity in some children. The colourings have not been banned in the UK (although they are in some other countries) but foods containing them must carry a warning. The colours are:

• sunset yellow (E110)

• quinoline yellow (E104)

• carmoisine (E122)

• allura red (E129)

• tartrazine (E102)

• ponceau 4R (E124)

The US Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSIP), a non-profit consumer watchdog, also suggests limiting or avoiding colas and other drinks containing caramel colouring E150c (ammonia caramel) due to studies linking the additive with cancer in mice and rats.

Sodium benzoate (E211) – used in pharmaceuticals, fireworks and also as a food preservative. The Food Standards Agency says studies have linked the additive to hyperactive behaviour in children, and the CSIP claims it may cause hives, asthma or other allergic reactions in some people.

Sodium nitrite (E250) – used as a preservative, colouring and flavouring in some bacon, processed meat and smoked foods. The CSIP recommends avoiding this additive as there is evidence linking it to cancer.

Propyl gallate (E310) – an antioxidant preservative found in vegetable oils, meat products, and chewing gum. The CSPI recommends avoiding this additive, claiming it needs further research after cancer studies in rats produced conflicting results.

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) E320 – an antioxidant that prevents oils going rancid and used in some cereals, crisps and chewing gum. The CSIP says that while some studies indicate it is safe, other research shows a link to cancer in rats, mice and hamsters and should be avoided.

Carrageenan (E407) – derived from red seaweed and used as a thickener and stabilizer in a variety of processed foods, as well as in shampoo, cosmetic creams and pet food. It has been linked to ulcers and gastrointestinal cancer and experts say its safety needs further investigation.

Aspartame (E951) – an artificial sweetener 200 times sweeter than sugar, found in a wide range of processed food, from soft drinks to condiments. It was recently re-evaluated and deemed safe by the FSA, but the CSIP says it should be avoided, pointing to three independent studies linking it to cancer in rodents, and a further study linking it to increased risk of cancer in men.

Acesulfame-potassium (E950) – an artificial sweetener 200 times sweeter than sugar, found in a range of processed food, from soft drinks to tabletop sweeteners. The CSIP suggests avoiding this additive, as safety tests conducted in the US in the 1970s were ‘mediocre’. It has urged the Food and Drug Administration to order manufacturers to carry out better studies or withdraw approval for use.

Cyclamic acid (E952) – used in the production of paints and plastics, its sodium and calcium salts are used as artificial sweeteners. The additive has been banned in the US since 1970 after animal studies linking its use to cancer. Revised studies suggest it doesn’t cause cancer directly but can increase the potency of other carcinogens.

Trans fats – linked to high cholesterol, heart disease and stroke, but still widely used in some baked and fried food. Avoid labels that mention hydrogenated fat, partially hydrogenated fat, semi hydrogenated fat or shortening.

The “Troika” of the European Commission, ECB and IMF will now begin a review of Greece’s implementation of austerity measures, which is due to conclude in April. “The institutions provided us with their first view that they consider this list of measures to be sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point for a successful conclusion of the review,” said a eurozone statement.

Greece’s Syriza-led government appears to have conceded many of its Leftist election promises in order to daw up the 66-point plan billed by Yanis Varoufakis, the Greek finance minister, as “a first comprehensive list of reform measures”. But in a blow to the government, which faces a potential domestic backlash for bowing to eurozone conditions, both the IMF and the ECB reminded Athens they held a veto over providing further cash and could yet demand more concessions.

Yet it would be premature, even reckless, to assume that the fault lines defining these issues are effectively stable. Understanding how these crises are inextricably linked is the first step toward assessing when and where the next flare-up is likely to occur.

Germany has once again become the victim of its own power. As Europe's largest creditor, it has considerable political leverage over debtor nations such as Greece, whose entire livelihood now depends on whether German Chancellor Angela Merkel is willing to sign another bailout check. Lest we forget, Germany is exporting the equivalent of about half its GDP, and most of those exports are consumed within Europe.

Thus, the institutions Germany relies on to protect its export markets are the very institutions Berlin must battle to protect Germany's national wealth. The more time Germany buys, the more inflexible the German and Greek negotiating positions become, and the more seriously traders, businessmen and politicians alike will have to take the threat of a so-called Grexit, the first in a chain of events that could shatter the eurozone.

This seems authentic ecumenism, acknowledging difference, yet also respecting the highest form of Christian discipleship. The murder of the 21 Coptic Christians in Libya by ISIS has raised the issue for Catholics as to whether we can acknowledge them as martyrs as the Copts have done.

The 21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya are role models for all Christians, and a Catholic heart wants to honour them as such. Could we not join the Copts in calling on their martyrs’ intercession before God in whose presence, surely, they now dwell, eternally? Nothing builds the Church like the blood of martyrs. The 21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya may offer a path to the renewal that the struggling Western Church so sorely needs.

Mr Tredinnick is a member of the influential health select committee, as well as the committee for science and technology. He has also been vice chairman of the government's herbal medicines working group. In an interview with this month's Astrological Journal, he raised the prospect of using it to tackle problems in the NHS. He said: 'There would be a huge row over resources.'

'However, I do believe that astrology and complementary medicine would help take the huge pressure off doctors. Ninety per cent of pregnant French women use homeopathy. Astrology is a useful diagnostic tool enabling us to see strengths and weaknesses via the birth chart. And, yes, I have helped fellow MPs. I do foresee that one day astrology will have a role to play in healthcare.'

Last year Mr Tredinnick suggested members of the public with health problems should turn to astrology for answers. He claimed astrology had a 'proven track record' at helping people recover from sickness and should be incorporated in to standard medical treatments.

Nevertheless, the book that once served as a kind of Nazi bible, banned from domestic reprints since the end of World War II, will soon be returning to German bookstores from the Alps to the Baltic Sea. The prohibition on reissue for years was upheld by the state of Bavaria, which owns the German copyright and legally blocked attempts to duplicate it.

But those rights expire in December, and the first new print run here since Hitler’s death is due out early next year. The new edition is a heavily annotated volume in its original German that is stirring an impassioned debate over history, anti-Semitism and the latent power of the written word.

Still, opponents are aghast, in part because the book is coming out at a time of rising anti-Semitism in Europe and as the English and other foreign-language versions of “Mein Kampf” — unhindered by the German copyrights — are in the midst of a global renaissance. Regardless of the academic context provided by the new volume, critics say the new German edition will ultimately allow Hitler’s voice to rise from beyond the grave.