- It’s a Pope! His name is Jorge Bergoglio, but he’ll be known as Francis. The FT’s Jude Webber profiles the “Pope with sandals on” – he’s known for sitting in the back row at church events, travelling by bus, visiting slums and speaking out against poverty. Alongside his good qualities, Webber notes that there are also some rather troubling allegations about his behaviour during Argentina’s military dictatorship.
- The cardinals who have made their choice will be hoping that, “in addition to being a talented communicator, such as John Paul, or a respected theologian, such as Benedict, the new Pope will also be an efficient, modernising administrator – which neither of them was”, writes Tony Barber.
- The New York Times’ Jim Yardley witnessed the mixed reaction of two Roman priests on hearing the news. “Mamma mia!” a startled Father Furgoni shouted. “Bergoglio?” He struggled to hide his disappointment. “An Argentine!” Father Piscola shouted. “I didn’t expect it, I didn’t expect it,” Father Furgoni muttered, shaking his head. “And he is also old!”
- On the subject of Mayor Bloomberg’s attempted soda ban and David Cameron’s u-turn on a minimum price for alcohol in the UK, John Gapper makes the case that drinking yourself to death is not a right.
- A debate is taking place on the pages of the FT comment section. Martin Wolf says Britain’s austerity is indefensible, but Chris Giles disagrees, arguing the chancellor George Osborne is too timid. What do you think?
- Two years after the start of Syria’s uprising, Abigail Fielding-Smith reports from the country’s capital on the chaotic proliferation of actors who have taken over the defence of some of the city. You can also listen to Fielding-Smith speaking from Damascus in this week’s World podcast.
- Dan Dombey went to the working class Istanbul district of Kasimpasha, to ask residents what they remembered of Recep Tayyip Erdogan – who celebrates his 10th anniversary as prime minister this week.
- Who lives in One Hyde Park? Vanity Fair investigated: “We can conclude at least two things with certainty about the tenants of One Hyde Park: they are extremely wealthy, and most of them don’t want you to know who they are and how they got their money.”
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For views and opinions on the European Union from Peter Spiegel, Joshua Chaffin, Alex Barker and James Fontanella-Khan, follow the