Existentialism

Continue reading the main story In today's Magazine Is romantic love a bad thing? How the 1960s changed the Pope Who speaks Latin these days? Lightning really does strike twice Benedict XVI. Benedict Cumberbatch. Dirk Benedict. And then there's Benedict Arnold. And, er, Eggs Benedict. Not many Benedicts out there, says Benedict Milne. The occasion was the baptism of my daughter in 2006. After the service, a nun approached me, all smiles. "So you're Benedict," the nun said to me. "Just like the Holy Father!" "Yes," I replied. "But I've been Benedict for a lot longer than he has," I added, maybe a little too sharply. And now it looks like I'll outlast him as a Benedict if - as is possible - he reverts to his pre-papacy name of Joseph Ratzinger. I wonder whether the cardinal would have taken the name of Benedict had he grown up - like I did - in Hull in the 1970s. In that long-ago era you wouldn't...

Continue reading the main story In today's Magazine Is romantic love a bad thing? How the 1960s changed the Pope Who speaks Latin these days? Lightning really does strike twice Benedict XVI. Benedict Cumberbatch. Dirk Benedict. And then there's Benedict Arnold. And, er, Eggs Benedict. Not many Benedicts out there, says Benedict Milne. The occasion was the baptism of my daughter in 2006. After the service, a nun approached me, all smiles. "So you're Benedict," the nun said to me. "Just like the Holy Father!" "Yes," I replied. "But I've been Benedict for a lot longer than he has," I added, maybe a little too sharply. And now it looks like I'll outlast him as a Benedict if - as is possible - he reverts to his pre-papacy name of Joseph Ratzinger. I wonder whether the cardinal would have taken the name of Benedict had he grown up - like I did - in Hull in the 1970s. In that long-ago era you wouldn't...

Continue reading the main story In today's Magazine Is romantic love a bad thing? How the 1960s changed the Pope Who speaks Latin these days? Lightning really does strike twice Benedict XVI. Benedict Cumberbatch. Dirk Benedict. And then there's Benedict Arnold. And, er, Eggs Benedict. Not many Benedicts out there, says Benedict Milne. The occasion was the baptism of my daughter in 2006. After the service, a nun approached me, all smiles. "So you're Benedict," the nun said to me. "Just like the Holy Father!" "Yes," I replied. "But I've been Benedict for a lot longer than he has," I added, maybe a little too sharply. And now it looks like I'll outlast him as a Benedict if - as is possible - he reverts to his pre-papacy name of Joseph Ratzinger. I wonder whether the cardinal would have taken the name of Benedict had he grown up - like I did - in Hull in the 1970s. In that long-ago era you wouldn't...

A KCNA newsreader announced the test, saying it had "great explosive power" Continue reading the main story Inside North Korea What drives Pyongyang? Nuclear tests Key missile steps Missile programme North Korea has carried out its third, most powerful nuclear test despite UN warnings, and said "even stronger" action might follow. It described the test as a "self-defensive measure" necessitated by the "continued hostility" of the US. Its main ally, China, criticised the test, which was condemned worldwide. Nuclear test monitors in Vienna say the underground explosion had double the force of the 2009 test, despite reportedly involving a smaller device. If, as North Korea reports, a smaller device was tested successfully, analysts say this could take Pyongyang closer to building a warhead small enough to arm a missile. The UN Security Council will meet at 14:00 GMT to discuss the test and its ramifications, diplomats sa...

Cardinal Peter Turkson gets his red hat from Pope John Paul II. The Ghanaian is one of the cardinals tipped to succeed Pope Benedict XVI who is stepping down. Photograph: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images With  Pope Benedict XVI 's resignation, speculation about who might succeed him when the conclave meets in March has begun. Any baptised Roman Catholic male is eligible for election as pope, but only cardinals have been selected since 1378. Among those who have been mentioned as potential successors are the following: Cardinal Peter Turkson A TV star, "people's person" and a "wonderful" priest, the Ghanaian cardinal emerging as a strong favourite for the papacy is described by colleagues in glowing terms. Peter Turkson, who is president of the Vatican's pontifical council for justice and peace, was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2003 after serving for almost 30 years as an ordained priest. Turkson was born on 11 October 1948 in Nsut...

Cardinal Peter Turkson gets his red hat from Pope John Paul II. The Ghanaian is one of the cardinals tipped to succeed Pope Benedict XVI who is stepping down. Photograph: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images With  Pope Benedict XVI 's resignation, speculation about who might succeed him when the conclave meets in March has begun. Any baptised Roman Catholic male is eligible for election as pope, but only cardinals have been selected since 1378. Among those who have been mentioned as potential successors are the following: Cardinal Peter Turkson A TV star, "people's person" and a "wonderful" priest, the Ghanaian cardinal emerging as a strong favourite for the papacy is described by colleagues in glowing terms. Peter Turkson, who is president of the Vatican's pontifical council for justice and peace, was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2003 after serving for almost 30 years as an ordained priest. Turkson was born on 11 October 1948 in Nsut...