Vatican is Popeless, Italy 'hopeless'; Looming US cuts raise fears of global poor; JP Morgan Chase job cuts to touch 19,000; Could we all soon own a drone?

1 Vatican is Popeless, Italy ‘hopeless’ (Mahir Ali in Khaleej Times) The Vatican, as of tomorrow, will temporarily be popeless. As for the rest of Italy, initial results and projections from this week’s elections point to consequences that could be designated as hopeless. A conclave of cardinals, meeting in the Sistine Chapel, will sooner or later pick a new pontiff. Just before his exit, the incumbent changed the law whereby the electoral college could not be convened before a fortnight had passed — allowing for a mourning period, given that for the past six centuries the norm has been for a pope to breathe his last before the need for a successor arose.

Benedict XVI chose to break with that tradition, ostensibly on account of increasing physical and intellectual infirmities. Commentators suggested that his unexpected decision was based partly on the experience of witnessing the embarrassing decline of his predecessor. An Italian press report indicated that a nasty bump on the head during a trip to Mexico last year might have served as a reality check. A likelier explanation came last week in La Repubblica, which reported that the decision to resign was taken on December 17 last year, the day the pope received a dossier containing the report of an internal inquiry into the so-called Vatileaks episode, sparked by his butler’s decision to leak pilfered papal documents relating to the sordid goings-on within the Vatican. 

Papal spokesmen initially refused to comment on the allegations, although the Vatican eventually issued a statement deploring “a widespread distribution of often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories that cause serious damage to persons and institutions” — which falls short of an explicit denial.

Mario Monti, as The New York Times’ Paul Krugman noted in his column this week, was “the proconsul installed by Germany to enforce fiscal austerity on an already ailing economy” in 2011, and it is hardly surprising that his policies entailed his relegation to a distant fourth place in the polls. Hailed by fellow bankers as “Super Mario”, Monti failed to make much of an impression on most of his fellow Italians within a European context where neoliberal measures to “rescue” failing economies have also proved remarkably unpopular in countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal.

Italy hasn’t enjoyed stability since the CIA, in its anti-communist zeal, manipulated the first postwar election result in the 1940s. That appears unlikely to change in the short-term. Italian voters this week could have been forgiven for humming the 1970s hit by Stealers Wheel that went: “Clowns to the left of me/Jokers to the right, here I am,/Stuck in the middle with you.” It could take a while, though, to find out who the “you” is — and perhaps the same goes for the Vatican.

2 Looming US cuts raise fears of global poor (Straits Times) With the US days away from billions of dollars in automatic spending cuts, anti-poverty campaigners fear that reductions in foreign aid could potentially lead to thousands of deaths. The world's largest economy faces US$85 billion in cuts virtually across the board starting on March 1 unless the White House and Congress reach a last-minute deal ahead of the self-imposed deadline known as the sequester.

While the showdown has caused concern in numerous circles, activists are pushing hard to avoid a 5.3% in US development assistance which they fear could set back programmes to feed the poor and prevent disease. "The sequester is an equal cut across the board, but equal cuts don't have equal impact," said Mr Tom Hart, US executive director of the One campaign, the anti-poverty group co-founded by U2 frontman Bono.

3 JP Morgan Chase job cuts to touch 19,000 (BBC) JP Morgan Chase has increased its planned job cuts to 19,000 by the end of next year. The US bank revealed plans to reduce headcount by 3,000-4,000 at its consumer and community banking unit. And it reiterated previously announced plans to shed 13,000-15,000 jobs at its mortgage banking unit. It expects about 4,000 losses to come this year, mainly through attrition. JP Morgan Chase is the biggest US bank. At the end of last year it employed almost 260,000 people.

The bank, which has reported record profits for the past three years, is trying to reduce its overall expenses by $1bn. The company spent $19.7bn in consumer and community banking in 2012, and $9.1bn in mortgage banking. Unlike many other banks who have recently announced job cuts, largely in investment banking, JP Morgan Chase is reducing the number of people working in its branches. The bank had 5,614 branches at the end of 2012.

4 Could we all soon own a drone? (Matthew Wall on BBC) Rapid advances in camera, sensing, aeronautics, battery and autopilot navigation technologies have helped make UAVs affordable, easy-to-operate and increasingly reliable for individuals, civil authorities and businesses alike. Small, vertical take-off or landing (VTOL) multi-propeller helicopters equipped with hi-tech equipment are already saving big business millions of pounds.

John Moreland, spokesman for the UAV Systems Association, the UK's main industry body, with about 140 members, said: "Hundreds of these UAVs are being used commercially these days, typically flying below 400ft (120m) and with a range of about 500m (0.3 miles). "Most are engaged in aerial photography and 3D surveying, but applications are expanding all the time." For example, UAVs are being used to carry out aerial inspections of oil refinery flare stacks, fuel tanks, power lines and pipelines.

Programmable UAVs that cost less than £300 are now accessible even to hobbyists. The latest iteration of Parrot's AR.Drone quadcopter includes a 4GB GPS recorder that can store flight data, photos and video for users to share online. Pilots can operate the drone via smartphone or tablet computer and watch live video streamed from the on-board camera. With a wi-fi connection range of about 55m, this UAV - marketed primarily as a toy - could easily have commercial applications for estate agents, surveyors and roofing contractors, to name but a few.

In time, automated drones could be used as city couriers delivering letters and packets around congested cities or over difficult terrain. "The civilian and commercial potential of UAVs is being realised more and more now", says Tony Dodd, of the Institute of Engineering and Technology. "The market is potentially worth billions."

But low-cost UAVs could also become the voyeur's tool of choice. A spokesman for the Information Commissioner's Office, the body responsible for policing the Data Protection Act, said: "It would become a major concern for us if organisations were using these things to record people without giving notice. It's definitely an issue of growing concern."