It wasn't long ago that Mario Draghi was spreading confidence and good cheer. "The worst is over," the head of the European Central Bank (ECB) told Germany's Bild newspaper only a few weeks ago. The situation in the euro zone had "stabilized," Draghi said, and "investor confidence was returning." And because everything seemed to be on track, Draghi even accepted a Prussian spiked helmet from the reporters. Hurrah.

Last week, however, Europe's chief monetary watchdog wasn't looking nearly as happy in photos taken in front of a circle of blue-and-yellow stars inside the Euro Tower, the ECB's Frankfurt headquarters, where he was congratulating the winners of an international student contest. He smiled, shook hands and handed out certificates. But what he had to tell his listeners no longer sounded optimistic. Instead, Draghi sounded deeply concerned and even displayed a touch of resignation. "You are the first generation that has grown up with the euro and is no longer familiar with the old currencies," he said. "I hope we won't experience them again."

The fact that Europe's top central banker is no longer willing to rule out a return to the old national currencies shows how serious the situation is. Until recently, it was seen as a sign of political correctness to not even consider the possibility of a euro collapse. But now that the currency dispute has escalated in Europe, the inconceivable is becoming conceivable, at all levels of politics and the economy.

Investment experts at Deutsche Bank now feel that a collapse of the common currency is "a very likely scenario." German companies are preparing themselves for the possibility that their business contacts in Madrid and Barcelona could soon be paying with pesetas again. And in Italy, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is thinking of running a new election campaign, possibly this year, on a return-to-the-lira platform.

According to Wilders, they resent seeing their taxes squandered on foreigners - whether as welfare handouts to immigrants, overseas development aid, or bailout funds to profligate Greeks and debt-ridden Spanish banks. So when the Dutch vote in a general election on September 12, Henk and Ingrid will be not just choosing a new government but also making a statement about Dutch membership of the euro and the European Union.

The election is shaping up as a close contest between centrist pro-European parties and strident populists such as Wilders, who heads the anti-Islam, anti-euro Freedom Party, and the far-left Socialist Party. What happens between now and then - a fight with Greece over more aid and less austerity, a crisis in Spain or Italy or both, or a return to some semblance of normality - could determine the outcome in one of the euro zone's few remaining triple-A states.

Global share prices and the euro slid as investors bet that European leaders - due to meet this week for the 20th time since the currency zone's debt crisis hit Greece in 2010 - would fail to come up with radical measures to back up weak countries. Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel dashed any hope that Berlin would allow joint bonds issued by the euro zone or other measures sought by partners.

Cyprus joins Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain in seeking EU rescue funds, meaning more than a quarter of the 17 euro zone members are now in the bloc's emergency ward. Italy's funding costs have soared too, which means it could be next. Spain formally submitted its request for up to €100 billion of funds to bail out its banks, agreed on June 9.

The attacks were a threat to the integrity of information, he added. Mr Evans also warned the London 2012 Olympics was an "attractive target" for terrorist groups, but said security preparations were well under way. For this reason the Games would not be an easy target even though there was no doubt some terrorist networks had considered carrying out an attack, he said.

In the speech on Monday night, Mr Evans spoke of MI5's efforts to tackle "industrial-scale processes involving many thousands of people lying behind both state sponsored cyber espionage and organised cyber crime". "Vulnerabilities in the internet are being exploited aggressively not just by criminals but also by states," he said. "The extent of what is going on is astonishing."

In a nod to those who sometimes criticise the security services as alarmist, Mr Evans ended his speech by acknowledging that some of the areas of concern he outlined might turn out to be "dogs that don't bark" but added: "The dog you haven't seen may turn out to be the one that bites you."

Key Provisions

- Minimum fine of €10,000 for taxpayers who do not report their foreign accounts

- Fine of €5,000 for each additional account

- Cash transactions greater than €2,500 prohibited

- Cash transaction restrictions apply to individuals and businesses

The US requires reporting of foreign accounts as well, supposedly for the same reason, preventing tax fraud. In Spain however, consumers and businesses are already very nervous (and rightfully so), of a Spanish exit from the euro with a return to the peseta accompanied by an immediate devaluation.

In that context, these controls are only going to make consumers and businesses even more nervous, if not outright suspicious about what is going on.

The storm's projected path had been tough to pin down, and forecasters at one point thought it was headed for Texas. But on Monday, officials at the National Hurricane Center said Debby appeared to settle on a northeastern track, crawling along in the Gulf of Mexico at 5 miles per hour. The fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, packing sustained winds of 45 miles per hour, was about 30 miles south of Apalachicola, Florida in the state's panhandle.

Total rainfall is expected to reach 10 to 20 inches across much of northern and central Florida, with some areas receiving as much as 25 inches, according to the hurricane center. Southeastern pockets of Georgia and South Carolina could get 5 to 15 inches. Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency and activated Florida's emergency operations center. He directed state agencies, including the Florida National Guard, to provide any assistance requested by local governments.

These UAVs won't be raining down Hellfire missiles, but concerns are being raised over what exactly they will be doing. A major shift in US airspace control is under way, after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) legislation was passed by Congress earlier this year. The act fully integrates drone technology by 2015, meaning UAVs are destined to become a major part of American life.

But many worry privacy laws aren't keeping pace with the technology. UAVs can be equipped with formidable surveillance tools, such as military-grade video equipment that can read a milk carton from 60,000 feet (18,300 metres). Thermal imaging and facial recognition technology, Wi-Fi network cracking capabilities, and systems to intercept text messages and phone calls can also be deployed.

At present, no clear rules exist over what information law enforcement agencies can scoop up from the public and save. And, privacy advocates say, the invasion of the drones has already begun. In May, the FAA announced police and first responders are allowed to fly drones weighing as much as 25 pounds (11.3 kilograms) in general airspace below 400 feet (120 metres) - without applying for special approval. The FAA has signed off on about 300 certificates of authorisation for government agencies, universities and private companies.

Montgomery County Police Department was the first in Texas to receive a certificate of authorisation to deploy drones from the FAA. Chief Deputy Randy McDaniel said arming drones could save officers on the ground. "Impact rounds, chemical munitions rounds, or a Taser - those are things that law enforcement utilises day in and day out," McDaniel told The Daily. "It might be advantageous to have this type of less lethal weapons platform on the UAV."

QFII quotas are currently capped at $1 billion per each investor but official media reported last month that Chinese regulators are looking at increasing the cap. Thirty-seven QFIIs, including Norges Bank and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, have applied to increase their quotas by a combined $12.54 billion, it said. China has launched a series of initiatives intended to attract more investment in the country's capital markets, including stepping up efforts to expand the QFII programme, which it launched in 2003.

Under the QFII programme, an investor is given a licence and an investment quota by regulators. Last week, China's securities regulator said it was looking at increasing the cap on the combined stake in a listed company held by QFIIs to 30 per cent from 20 per cent. Earlier this year, the government raised the total maximum QFII quota by $50 billion to $80 billion.

As of April 16, China had granted QFII licences to 170 investors, and 129 of them had obtained combined quotas of $25.19 billion from the country's foreign exchange regulator.

Schaeuble told Bild am Sonntag in unusually blunt language that Greece has forfeited much of Europe's trust during the sovereign debt crisis, as reflected in an opinion poll covering the euro zone's four biggest nations and published in the paper. "The most important task facing new prime minister (Antonis) Samaras is to enact the program agreed upon quickly and without further delay instead of asking how much more others can do for Greece," said Schaeuble, a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Europe's most powerful finance minister.

Greece's new three-party coalition government said on Thursday it would renegotiate the terms of the €130 billion bailout deal that is helping the country avoid bankruptcy. The coalition's platform particularly challenges euro zone paymaster Germany, which has offered to adjust the lifeline's terms to make up for time lost as a result of two Greek elections since May, but refuses to revise it radically.

Greece wants a two-year extension to the 2014 deadline for it to cut its budget deficit to 2.1 percent of national economic output, from 9.3 percent in 2011. The extension would require an extra €16 to €20 billion in foreign funding. Schaeuble took a firm line, saying: "The ball is now in Greece's court. It's in their hands to win back the confidence of the people of Europe. They're only going to accomplish that with concrete actions and deeds."

The TV journalist GREG BURKE IS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE OPUS DEI MOVEMENT, described by Dan Brown in his “The Da Vinci Code” as a “secretive, powerful and murderous sect whose members whip themselves bloody.” The best-selling book portrays the sect as being at the root of an international Catholic conspiracy. Burk said he didn't know what role, if any, his membership in Opus Dei played.

Burke, Fox's Rome-based correspondent for Europe and the Middle East, will leave the channel and assume the new post of senior communications adviser to the Secretariat of State, the Vatican’s key department responsible for all political and diplomatic functions.

His role will be similar to that of a communications adviser in the White House. "You're shaping the message, you're molding the message, and you're trying to make sure everyone remains on-message. And that's tough,'' Burke said in a phone interview with the Associated Press.

"I'm a bit nervous but very excited,” he added. He will report directly to the Vatican's deputy secretary of state, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, the third-ranking person in the Vatican hierarchy.

Abel says he's been using the fields for cattle grazing and hay for 15 years. "A lot of leaf, it's good grass, tested high for protein - it should have been perfect," he told KEYE correspondent Lisa Leigh Kelly. The grass is a genetically-modified form of Bermuda known as Tifton 85 which has been growing here for 15 years, feeding Abel's 18 head of Corriente cattle. Corriente are used for team roping because of their small size and horns.

"When we opened that gate to that fresh grass, they were all very anxious to get to that," said Abel. Three weeks ago, the cattle had just been turned out to enjoy the fresh grass, when something went terribly wrong. "When our trainer first heard the bellowing, he thought our pregnant heifer may be having a calf or something," said Abel. "But when he got down here, virtually all of the steers and heifers were on the ground. Some were already dead, and the others were already in convulsions." Within hours, 15 of the 18 cattle were dead. "That was very traumatic to see, because there was nothing you could do, obviously, they were dying," said Abel.

Preliminary tests revealed the Tifton 85 grass, which has been here for years, had suddenly started producing cyanide gas, poisoning the cattle. What is more worrisome: Other farmers have tested their Tifton 85 grass, and several in Bastrop County have found their fields are also toxic with cyanide. However, no other cattle have died. Scientists at the US Department of Agriculture are dissecting the grass to determine if there might have been some strange, unexpected mutation.

The original announcement was made by St Louis Police in an effort to warn the public of the strange sights they might encounter over the coming days in anticipation of the fears that many might have in this regard. The vehicles will be armored personnel carriers manned by Military Police who are engaging in a “training mission” designed to teach them to operate and drive the vehicles on highways and city streets. According to the news reports, the vehicles are unarmed and this operation is not a military drill.

However, the vehicles will be paraded on the highways of St Louis, as well as the streets of the city as the operation is conducted. Of course, one must wonder why this training mission couldn’t take place on a military base or at some other military facility as opposed to the populated city of St Louis. That is, unless THE GOAL WAS MAXIMUM VISIBILITY AND ACCLIMATION OF THE POPULACE TO SEEING MILITARY VEHICLES AND MILITARY PERSONNEL ON THE STREETS OF THEIR OWN COUNTRY.

The Vermont Legislature considered a GE food labeling bill this session but Democratic leaders decided not to pursue the plan because of fears that the legislation would result in A LENGTHY AND EXPENSIVE LEGAL FIGHT WITH A NUMBER OF MAJOR CHEMICAL COMPANIES.

Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow is the chair of the Senate Agriculture committee. She opposed the plan because she was concerned that it would interfere with the development of drought resistant crops. "Consumers certainly need to have available information. We need to make sure it's accurate according to the FDA after they determine that and I would make one other point," said Stabenow. "You know, American farmers are feeding the world, with 7 billion mouths to feed this is harder every day. Science innovation is very important to that."

"The greens use guilt. You can’t win people round by saying they are guilty for putting CO2 in the air. Now at the UN Earth Summit, even the image of Christ has been made a forcible convert to the eco-faith, as the city of Rio is bathing the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer (Christo Redentor) in green light." They highlight how Jesus is signifying a shift to a 'green religion', and that perhaps even obligations such as recycling, paying carbon taxes, or living with smart meters could be seen as "religious duties of the faithful".

The left-wing National Religious Partnership for the Environment has been working for years in the US to make green tenets a staple of religious life in America. A bizarre eco-version of the Ark of the Covenant is making its way around the globe. And a “Green Bible” is now available at your local Christian bookstore.

Is all this ecclesiastical symbolism at an eco summit indicative of a shift towards religious dogma? If so, it encompasses not just modern Christianity, but also ancient beliefs and gods. Some would say the "new age" green religion we are being offered is actually an echo of an old one.

The move, which has been discussed between Riyadh and senior officials in the US and Arab world, is believed to be gaining momentum as a recent flush of weapons sent to rebel forces by Saudi Arabia and Qatar starts to make an impact on battlefields in Syria. Officials in the Saudi capital embraced the idea when it was put to them by Arab officials in May, according to sources in three Arab states, around the same time that weapons started to flow across the southern Turkish border into the hands of Free Syria Army leaders.

Turkey has also allowed the establishment of a command centre in Istanbul which is co-ordinating supply lines in consultation with FSA leaders inside Syria. The centre is believed to be staffed by up to 22 people, most of them Syrian nationals. The Free Syria Army says its members are almost exclusively Syrian nationalists who disavow the world view of jihadists who flocked to neighbouring Iraq from 2004-07. It acknowledges that some foreign Arab fighters have travelled to Syria to join its ranks, particularly in Homs and in Douma near Damascus, but claims they do not play a decisive role.

Intelligence officials say a power vacuum would provide an attractive environment for militants who espouse a global jihad world view. "The next three to six months are crucial in Syria," one official said. "The ingredients are right for them [jihadists] to turn up and start acting decisively. That would not be a good outcome."