No other pope has ever asked over a billion Catholics throughout the world to pray for him "and for the new Pope", as Benedict XVI did here in Vatican City. Was this the message of a man moving with the times? A Pope accepting with serenity that the Church at a time of crisis needs a younger, fitter man?

Certainly Pope Benedict looked and sounded frail - worn out, even - as he delivered his opening prayer, flanked by the Swiss Guards who will be withdrawn from his side on Thursday evening at the moment he relinquishes the papacy. But his decision to quit leaves behind a Papal in-tray piled high with challenges over sex abuse and financial scandals his supporters insist he has done so much to confront while conceding there is far more still to be done.

Name and title - He will be known as Pope emeritus, or Roman pontiff emeritus, the Vatican announced on Tuesday. He will also continue to be known by his papal title of Benedict XVI, rather than reverting to Joseph Ratzinger.

New home - Benedict XVI will leave the Vatican by helicopter before he resigns at 20:00 (19:00 GMT) on Thursday, but he will return in about three months to a new residence - a former convent known as Mater Ecclesiae - in the south-west corner of Vatican City.

His clothing - The Pope emeritus will continue to wear papal white - rather than the black of an ordinary priest, or the red of a cardinal. However it will be a simple cassock, with none of the flamboyant hats and vestments he revived during his papacy.

His ring - The papal gold ring, known as the fisherman's ring, will be smashed with a specially designed silver hammer when the Pope leaves office. No change here from normal practice. "Objects strictly tied to the ministry of St Peter must be destroyed," the Vatican says. His personal seal will also be defaced.

His duties - Benedict XVI will have no further administrative or official duties. He will not participate in the conclave to elect his successor, though, since he appointed 67 of the 115 men who will take part in the conclave, his influence will be felt.

Life in retirement - Announcing his resignation, the Pope said he would spend his time praying for the Church. His elder brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, has also said Benedict would be happy to advise his successor, if required.

Social media - The Pope's Twitter account will go into hibernation when Benedict XVI steps down. He is expected to utter his final tweets along with his final general audience on Wednesday and before he departs the Vatican on Thursday - saying goodbye to the 2.5 million followers he has gained since opening his account late last year.

Golden parachute - Modest as Benedict XVI's retirement plans may be, as a bishop he will retain the Vatican's generous private healthcare policy and is likely to have recourse to the doctors who currently manage his medical treatment. It's possible he will continue to be cared for by the small group of German nuns who have looked after him during his papacy. As a pope has not retired for 600 years, there's no precedent for a papal pension plan, but Canon law requires each diocese to look after the welfare of retiring clerics. Rome will doubtless take good care of its Pope emeritus.

Georg Ganswein - Benedict XVI's personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein - the photogenic face seen in the background of a million photographs - will stay in this post. However, he will also keep up his role as head of the papal household for Benedict's successor. He will be the servant of two masters.

Infallibility - It's a widely held misconception the Pope is infallible in everything he says and does. In fact, the First Vatican Council of 1870 ruled a Pope's rulings are infallible only when they are made "ex-cathedra" - as part of a doctrinal statement about the Church. Benedict XVI never invoked this privilege (and in fact only one infallible statement has been made since 1870). When he resigns as Pope he will no longer be able to make ex-cathedra statements.

The images, taken earlier this month, show that Iran has activated the Arak heavy-water production plant. Heavy water is needed to operate a nuclear reactor that can produce plutonium, which could then be used to make a bomb. The images show signs of activity at the Arak plant, including a cloud of steam that indicates heavy-water production.

The Telegraph’s images were analysed by Stuart Ray of McKenzie Intelligence Services, a consultancy firm. He said: “The steam indicates that the heavy-water plant is operational and the extent of the air defence emplacements around the site make it suspicious.”

Based on its own analysis of satellite images, the IAEA has reached a similar conclusion. In a report distributed to its board last week, the agency reported “ongoing construction” at the Arak site and active heavy water production. According to the Institute for Science and International Security, a US think tank, if the heavy-water plant reaches full capacity, it would produce about 20lb of plutonium a year.

At the same time, prominent Republicans said President Barack Obama was overstating the potential damage of the $85 billion in government-wide cuts to frighten the public. "There is a responsible way to cut less than 3 percent of the federal budget. It's time for the president to show leadership," Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal told reporters after a meeting between the president and governors. "The president needs to stop campaigning, stop trying to scare the American people."

Jindal's comments followed the president's plea for Republican and Democratic governors to press Congress to stop the cuts, telling them he was willing to compromise with Republican lawmakers. But the president gave no sign that he would try to start negotiations or take steps to blunt the effect of the cuts.

He bemoaned what he described as a confrontational atmosphere in Washington, where budget battles have provoked one near crisis after another since the summer of 2011. In recent weeks the White House has sought to highlight in stark terms the disruptions that would begin on Friday if federal programs are cut.

The film, directed by and starring Ben Affleck, tells the story of how the Canadian government and the CIA managed to rescue six American diplomats from the clutches of the Iranian students who occupied the US embassy during the 1979 Islamic revolution. Although the movie is a cracker — tense and terrifying — like so much that comes out Hollywood, Argo plays fast and loose with the facts.

And unsurprisingly, the Brits are given a real pasting. For, according to the Affleck version of the rescue mission, the six embassy staff were refused refuge by British diplomats. ‘Brits turned them away,’ says a senior CIA character in the film.

You can imagine the outraged comments over industrial buckets of popcorn in movie theatres from Alabama to Alaska. ‘Gxxxxxn Limeys! So that’s what we get for bailing them out during World War II.’ The truth, however, could not be more different. The British did give their American colleagues sanctuary. Far from being cowards, the Brits were heroes. Many of the British diplomats then stationed in Iran are still alive — and they’re fuming.

‘When I first heard about this film, I was really quite annoyed,’ says Sir John Graham, 86, who was our man in Tehran at the time of the crisis. Sir John is understandably concerned that Argo will become accepted as the definitive history of what happened. He may have a point.

The Old World is of little interest to people in Washington, particularly President Obama. After all, Kerry's boss, President Barack Obama, is perhaps the first genuine "non-European" in the White House. Unburdened by memories of the Cold War, Obama used Berlin in 2008 as an election stage. He hasn't made it back to the German capital since.

The desire of the American people is clear. They would rather rebuild their country's economy than focus on the rest of the world. Right now America is looking inside rather than outside, and moving forward it wants to act in the background rather than march at the front, as evidenced by its positions on Mali and Syria.

It is fitting of the current state of the US that the most divisive trans-Atlantic debates during Obama's second term could surround poultry processing or medicine standards rather than the future of the West. Indeed, the role of America's top diplomat today is more that of a trade commissioner than a global strategist à la Kissinger or Marshall. Someone now just has to explain that to Kerry.

At a Press conference in the Foreign Office, standing alongside Mr Hague, Mr Kerry said: “The United States recognises de facto UK administration of the islands but takes no position on the question of parties’ sovereignty claims thereto. We support co-operation between UK and Argentina on practical matters.”

Mr Kerry’s decision to use his first foreign trip since replacing Hillary Clinton to visit London is being seen as significant. Mrs Clinton travelled first to Asia after taking office. But Mr Kerry’s visit comes after trans-Atlantic relations were strained when President Obama and other senior US figures warned against Britain leaving the EU.