Pell finds million off Vatican's books

Cardinal Pell, the Vatican's economy tsar has said he wants the Holy See to be boringly successful. Source: AAP

THE Vatican has found hundreds of millions of euros during an overhaul of the system aimed at transforming the once-murky institution into a paradigm of transparency.

"WE have discovered that the (Vatican's financial) situation is much healthier than it seemed," the pope's economy czar, Australian cardinal George Pell, told Britain's Catholic Herald.

"Some hundreds of millions of euros were tucked away in particular sectional accounts and did not appear on the balance sheet," he said in an essay published on Thursday which set out to explain how the papal bank, dogged by accusations of corruption, is cleaning up its act.Pell, picked by Pope Francis to head up the Secretariat for the Economy and oversee the reforms, spoke frankly about the Vatican's former practice of secrecy and allegations of money laundering which dogged the bank for decades.The bank was the main shareholder of the Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed in 1982 amid accusations of ties to the Mafia, while its chairman Roberto Calvi - dubbed "God's Banker" - was found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge in London in a suspected murder by mobsters.He also spoke of the "almost unanimous consensus among the cardinals" during the conclave which elected Francis last year that the bank needed to be brought into line with international standards.The reforms are now "well under way and already past the point where it would be possible to return to the 'bad old days'. Much remains to be done but the primary structural reforms are in place," he said.The cardinal, 73, said the changes were "designed to make all Vatican financial agencies boringly successful."He also admitted the Vatican was "not broke", saying it was "paying its way, while possessing substantial assets and investments".After a campaign to weed out suspect accounts at the bank, he said the Vatican was guarded against criminal infiltrations and was determined to invest donations "efficiently and honestly".The centuries-old institution was perceived by some as "an old noble family sliding towards bankruptcy... incompetent, extravagant and easy pickings for thieves. Already this misapprehension is dissolving," he said.

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Chance of clemency for Bali Nine pair slim

The Indonesian president has ruled out clemency for drug traffickers sentenced to death. Source: AAP

IN a blow for the two members of the Bali Nine who are on death row in Bali, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ruled out granting clemency to convicted drug traffickers sentenced to death.

THE sentences should be carried out for convicts who have exhausted all avenues for appeals, said Tedjo Edy Purdijatno, the co-ordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, the Media Indonesia newspaper reported on Tuesday.

"They can control drug transactions from inside their cells," Tedjo was quoted as saying. "This has to stop."Justice Minister Yasonna Laoly said Joko had ordered authorities to take "strong and firm action" against drug traffickers, according to Media Indonesia."Because it [the drug problem] is a national emergency," he said.The justice minister said 68 people were currently on death row for drug offences.Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have had a clemency request before the president for more than two years.

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Pakistan quarantines possible Ebola victim

PAKISTANI health officials have hospitalised a man suspected of being infected with the Ebola virus after he arrived in the southern port city of Karachi from Liberia.

THE 47-year-old passenger was in frail condition, and was handed over to health officials under screening laws relating to passengers coming from Ebola-affected countries, an airport official said.

"The suspect had some symptoms of Ebola and after initial medical assessment he was sent to a hospital," the official said.Private Dunya TV reported that the man was taken to state-run Jinnah hospital and put in an isolation ward prepared to deal with Ebola patients.Blood samples of the patient were being analysed.If confirmed, he would be the first case of Ebola in Pakistan.Last week, a man suspected of carrying the virus was later found to be in the terminal stage of hepatitis C, coupled with dengue fever.He died in a hospital in the eastern city of Faisalabad.Ebola has infected more than 15,000 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation.

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