Dark shadow of the Great War: Tomorrow marks 100 years since Europe plunged into the war to end all wars. But as this brilliant analysis argues, we are still living with its appalling legacy in Ukraine and Gaza . Daily Mail Simon Heffer

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xactly 100 years ago tomorrow, Britain stumbled into a war that would change the face not just of this country but of the whole of Europe, for ever.

Its consequences would spread far beyond the continent where it was fought, initiating almost a century of upheaval, revolution, bloodshed and conflict unimaginable to the Britons who cheered when we decided to fight the Kaiser on August 4, 1914.

It is no exaggeration to say that the effects of the Great War are still being felt. It isn’t just that so many families remember great uncles or grandparents or great-grandparents who lie in what Rupert Brooke called ‘some corner of a foreign field’.

The conflict in Ukraine and the bloody wars in Syria, Iraq and Gaza all have their roots in a war that destroyed the empires that constituted the old world order, and which began a century ago almost to the day.

Ukraine’s troubles were born from the ruins of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires, and the horrors of the Middle East from the fall of the Ottoman Empire. These two conflicts have conspired to make the world more dangerous than since the height of the Cold War in the early 1960s, and are direct legacies of the bloodbath which the nation commemorates the centenary of tomorrow.

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My Uttermost for His Highest , Oswald Chambers The Compelling Purpose, Daily Devotionals

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erusalem, in the life of our Lord, represents the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will. Jesus said, “I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30). Seeking to do “the will of the Father” was the one dominating concern throughout our Lord’s life. And whatever He encountered along the way, whether joy or sorrow, success or failure, He was never deterred from that purpose. “. . . He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem . . .” (Luke 9:51).

The greatest thing for us to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfil God’s purpose, not our own. In the natural life our ambitions are our own, but in the Christian life we have no goals of our own. We talk so much today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, and our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament the only aspect that is brought out is the compelling purpose of God. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you . . .” (John 15:16).

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Scottish independence would be economic disaster, finance experts warn just as the SNP say the economy is key battleground, Daily Mail

  Businesses and academics warn country would be plunged into turmoil

  Scotland would join the list of impoverished European countries

  Another says there would be 'utter panic' if voters back independence

Finance experts, academics and business leaders have raised fears that independence would destroy the economy, hit investment and force companies to migrate to England.

In an unprecedented survey that will prove devastating for the SNP, analysts believe a Yes vote in the referendum could lead to the loss of thousands of jobs and plunge the country into turmoil.

One finance insider suggested Scotland would be added to the list of impoverished European countries left on their knees. Another said there would be 'utter panic' among finance firms and several warned of a 'disaster' for Scotland.

Alex Salmond's separatist vision was dismissed as 'economically incoherent'; there were warnings that 'skilled labour' would leave; and creating a new border would cut gross domestic product (GDP) by as much as 3 per cent. 

The findings are particularly humiliating for Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who yesterday predicted the economy would be the key battleground in the referendum campaign.

The Financial Times asked a number of high-profile economists and eminent university professors to examine the impact of a Nationalist victory in September.

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