Vatican Smoke

• Holy Smoke: Vatican Car Seized With Cocaine, Cannabis

  The Vatican was left red-faced Tuesday after it emerged that a car bearing its diplomatic plates had been stopped in France with four kilogrammes of cocaine on board.

• Blog: I was there when the white smoke rose, Pope was chosen

  It poured in Vatican City all day on March 13, and yet the crowds waited quietly and patiently in the cold in St Peter's square. The historic moment when the white smoke goes out of the chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel, is something everyone wanted to witness. I was there too, and here's how it all unfolded.

• Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio from Argentina elected new Pope

  Argentine Jorge Bergoglio has been elected pope, the first ever from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium. He chose the name Pope Francis.

• Cheering crowds await identity of new pope

  Tens of thousands of people cheered as they waited in St Peter's Square on Wednesday for the identity of the new pope to be revealed after he was elected after two days of voting.

• With no pope, a sea gull is stealing the show at the papal conclave

  Smoke watching has become bird watching in St. Peter's Square after a sea gull perched atop the chimney that belches out smoke from the Sistine Chapel to signal whether or not a pope has been elected.

• White smoke: New Pope elected at the Vatican

  Cardinals elected a new pope to lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics on Wednesday, overcoming deep divisions to select the 266th pope in a remarkably fast conclave.

• In Vatican, smoke-spotters at the ready for a new pope

  They came from Australia, Japan or Brazil to do one thing - train their eyes on a chimney pipe attached to the roof of the Sistine Chapel to see if white smoke would appear.

• For cardinals at conclave, cigarette and a tipple to relieve papal tension

  The cardinals locked inside the Sistine Chapel for deep meditation and reflection until they choose a new pope can break off for a smoke or enjoy a glass of wine, the Vatican spokesman said on Wednesday.

• Black smoke signals inconclusive papal vote

  Black smoke rose from above the Sistine Chapel for a second day on Wednesday after a secret conclave of cardinals held two more inconclusive votes for a new pope to lead the troubled Church.

• Black smoke from chapel chimney: No pope yet

  Black smoke has poured from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling that cardinals have failed to elect a pope on their first try.

• Black smoke, white smoke: Vatican technique revealed

  The famous smoke from a chimney to indicate whether cardinals locked away in the Sistine Chapel have elected a pope is not created just by burning used ballots, the Vatican said Tuesday.

• Vatican readies for conclave to elect new pope

  The Vatican on Saturday installed a special chimney on the Sistine Chapel from which white smoke will signal the election of a new pope as cardinals prepare for the historic vote next week after Benedict XVI's resignation.