VATICAN CITY: Roman Catholic cardinals will start their conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict on Tuesday, the Vatican said yesterday, with no clear favourite to take charge of the troubled Church.
After five days of closed-door debate, the red-capped prelates decided yesterday to begin their secret ballot in the frescoed Sistine Chapel on the afternoon of next Tuesday following a Mass in St Peter’s Basilica in the morning.
A total of 115 elector-cardinals, all aged under 80, are expected to take part in the elaborate ritual, which will continue until one man receives at least a two-thirds majority, or 77 votes.
Falkland Islands plebiscite tomorrow
BUENOS AIRES: Voters in the remote British-ruled Falkland Islands hold a referendum on their future tomorrow that seeks to challenge Argentina’s increasingly vocal sovereignty claim.
Thirty-one years since Britain and Argentina went to war over the windswept archipelago in the South Atlantic, tensions between London and Buenos Aires are running high.
Just 1,649 Falklands-born and long-term residents are registered to vote in the two-day referendum starting on Sunday in which they will be asked whether they want to remain a British overseas territory.
A near-unanimous “yes” vote is likely, prompting Argentina to dismiss the referendum as a publicity stunt.
But high turnout is expected as islanders embrace the ballot as an opportunity to make their voices heard.
Agencies
