"The credit-driven growth model is clearly falling apart. This could feed into a massive over-capacity problem, and potentially into a Japanese-style deflation," said Charlene Chu, the agency's senior director in Beijing. "There is no transparency in the shadow banking system, and systemic risk is rising. We have no idea who the borrowers are, who the lenders are, and what the quality of assets is, and this undermines signalling," she told The Daily Telegraph.

While the non-performing loan rate of the banks may look benign at just 1 percent, this has become irrelevant as trusts, wealth-management funds, offshore vehicles and other forms of irregular lending make up over half of all new credit. "It means nothing if you can off-load any bad asset you want. A lot of the banking exposure to property is not booked as property," she said.

It also flagged worries over an exodus of hot money once the US Federal Reserve starts tightening. "China will face large-scale capital outflows if there is an exit from quantitative easing and the dollar strengthens," it wrote. The journal said foreign withdrawals from Chinese equity funds were the highest since early 2008 in the week up to June 5, and withdrawals from Hong Kong funds were the most in a decade.

“It’s not unlike Sherlock Holmes and the dog that didn’t bark,” said Jean Pascal Zanders, a leading expert on chemical weapons who until recently was a senior research fellow at the European Union’s Institute for Security Studies. “It’s not just that we can’t prove a sarin attack; it’s that we’re not seeing what we would expect to see from a sarin attack.”

Foremost among those missing items, Zanders said, are cellphone photos and videos of the attacks or the immediate aftermath. “In a world where even the secret execution of Saddam Hussein was taped by someone, it doesn’t make sense that we don’t see videos, that we don’t see photos, showing bodies of the dead, and the reddened faces and the bluish extremities of the affected,” he said.

He said a lot of the capital to be used to plug the hole will come through a "bail in" - a process where bonds will be turned into shares. However, the plan makes Co-operative Bank appear much more like a bank than a mutual organisation.

An announcement between the bank and the Prudential Regulation Authority could come within the next few hours. Under such a rescue deal, it is unlikely that taxpayer money will be required or that savers will be affected, but it could affect up to 5,000 smaller investors.

The five-month study combined “real on-farm conditions” with “strict scientific controls,” according to lead researcher Judy Carman of Flinders University in Australia. Using pigs was important not only because “we eat them,” but because humans and pigs share similar digestive systems, Carman said in a statement.

“We need to investigate if people are also getting digestive problems from eating GM crops,” the statement said. In pigs eating genetically modified crops, the average rate of severe stomach inflammation was nearly three times as high as that for other pigs (32 percent vs 12 percent). Among male pigs eating a GM diet, the rate of severe stomach inflammation was four times higher.

“The results indicate that it would be prudent for GM crops that are destined for human food and animal feed … to undergo long-term animal feeding studies preferably before commercial planting, particularly for toxicological and reproductive effects,” concluded Carman and her colleagues, who include Iowa-based farmer as well as crop and livestock advisor Howard Vlieger.

These events, according to the agency, include the American decision to provide military support for the Syrian opposition. The United States’ announcement on Thursday was seen as a major shift in the Obama administration’s policy towards the Syrian crisis.

Saudi Arabia has consistently called for arming the Syrian opposition. The kingdom has stepped up its diplomatic efforts to convince Western powers to take firm stances on Syria following recent advances by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, backed by Hezbollah and Iranian troops.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Friday that King Abdullah left Jeddah for the North African country. The SPA also published pictures showing princes and officials greeting the Saudi ruler at Jeddah airport before his departure. King Abdullah and other members of the ruling Al Saud royal family have palaces in Morocco and travel there regularly.

The 89-year-old king’s health has declined over the past few years, during which he has been hospitalized several times. Failing health, old age as well as the death of the king’s half-brothers have raised concerns about the future of the oil-rich country in the face of anti-government demonstrations.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei congratulated Mr Rouhani on his victory, saying: "I urge everyone to help the president-elect and his colleagues in the government, as he is the president of the whole nation." Ayatollah Khamenei will ratify the vote on 3 August and the new president will then take the oath in parliament.

One student, Sahar, told AFP news agency: "I see happiness in the city after eight years. I see it on the faces of my people." Another in the crowd, Ashkan, said: "Tonight we rejoice, as there is once more hope in Iran." One voter, Mina, told Reuters news agency: "I haven't been this happy in four years. They finally respected our vote. This is a victory for reforms and all of us as reformists." On Saturday, some chants were heard calling for the release of political prisoners, a policy Mr Rouhani appears to support. After his victory, Mr Rouhani issued a statement saying that "a new opportunity has been created for those who truly respect democracy, interaction and free dialogue".

The 64-year-old cleric said: "I thank God that once again rationality and moderation has shone on Iran... This victory is a victory for wisdom, moderation and maturity... over extremism." But he also said: "The nations who tout democracy and open dialogue should speak to the Iranian people with respect and recognise the rights of the Islamic republic."

But although Mr Rouhani has pledged greater engagement with Western powers, correspondents caution that power remains in the hands of the ruling clerics and the Revolutionary Guard. Western powers remained circumspect in their assessment of the result.

It's a key job that has been left vacant since 2011: The prelate oversees the bank's activities, attends its board meetings and, critically, has access to all its documentation. The prelate reports to the commission of cardinals who run the bank and is currently headed by the Vatican Number 2. That gives Ricca a near-direct line to the pope, serving as a bridge between the bank's lay managers and board members and its cardinal leadership.

Ricca is currently director of the Vatican hotel where Francis lives and other Vatican-owned residential institutes for clergy. Technically the appointment was made by the bank's five-member commission of cardinals, headed by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state. But the Vatican statement announcing the appointment made clear Francis had approved it, an indication that it was something Francis either initiated himself or strongly supported.

The Vatican spokesman, the Reverend Federico Lombardi, said the interim nature of the appointment was a sign that Francis is still mulling how to reform the Vatican bureaucracy as a whole — one of the major priorities set out by the cardinals who elected him pope in March.

The bank is not open to the public; its 19,000 clients include Holy See personnel, religious orders, prelates and diplomats accredited to the Holy See.

Pope Francis - who vehemently opposed gay nuptials in his native Argentina - and Archbishop Justin Welby met for the first time after becoming the new leaders of their respective faiths. Speaking after their encounter in Vatican City, Pope Francis said he hoped the two leaders could collaborate in promoting the sacredness of life ‘and the stability of families founded on marriage.’

Archbishop Welby has spoken out against the legalisation of gay marriage in Britain, saying it would undermine family life. The legislation would enable gay couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies in England and Wales.

The major point of difference between the denominations has been the ordination of women priests in the Anglican Church, which has since witnessed a steady stream of disenchanted Anglicans, who have been welcomed with open arms into the Catholic Church.