“Pope Francis has confessed he sometimes nods off while praying, and claims saints too have been known to grab some Holy shut-eye,” the Guardian writes.

“Twenty-nine-year-old Madelene from Järfälla, near the Swedish capital, disappeared in November 2015,” The Local reports. “Three months after her disappearance, and after a massive search operation, her body was then found buried in a block of cement in a forest.”

Perhaps morbidly, my immediate thought was that it’s time to re-read Ian McEwan’s The Cement Garden:

“At the back of my mind I had a sense of us sitting about waiting for some terrible event, and then I would remember that it had already happened.”

After a new design by architects Kim Utzon and Tyrone James, the old “Tornhuset” in central Malmö is now the coolest building in town. It’s the home of the World Maritime University.

The highest court in America has now ruled that there is a difference between remembering a crime and understanding that a crime triggered one’s punishment, The Economist reports.

“Almost one in five of the NHS’s European doctors have made plans to quit Britain, according to research that has raised fresh fears of a Brexit-induced medical brain drain,” Denis Campbell of the Guardian reports.

Don’t want to say, “We told you so.” But, yeah, we did.

In yesterday’s referendum, Australia has voted “yes” to same-sex marriage.

Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?
61.6%	Yes
38.4%	No

The list is no surprise:

1. Belarus
2. Burma
3. Cuba
4. North Korea

From the report:

Chinese authorities should immediately take steps to ensure that its declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder is supported by meaningful protections. They should prohibit the forced admission of individuals without mental disease or disorder into psychiatric facilities, and establish disciplinary and accountability mechanisms to address abusive and unethical medical and psychiatric practices. Public and private health facilities should not be permitted to provide treatments that are ineffective, unethical, and harmful, including conversion therapy. As homosexuality is not an illness, there is no need for a cure.

Zimbabwe’s dictator, the socialist Robert Mugabe, is in detention at his home after the military declared on national television that it had taken control of the country, the Guardian reports.

Mugabe is 73 years old and has terrorised his country for decades. It’s about time he’s removed from power. Hopefully, the military will restore democracy and the rule of law.

Probably the most famous of serial killers has died. The most fascinating about it all, though, is the fact that he never actually killed anyone. He founded a commune based on complete subordination to him and made its members carry out a series of murders. So, he persuaded others to kill for him, but he never did the acts himself. In prison, he joined a Nazi gang and tattooed a swastika on his forehead. It’s a good thing that he’s dead. One idiot less in the world.

“A former Uber worker has formed an odd cult to build a ‘godhead’ robot, ‘a billion times’ smarter than any human,” Jamie Micklethwaite of the Daily Star reports.

“Russia’s meteorological service has confirmed ‘extremely high’ concentrations of the radioactive isotope ruthenium-106 were found in several parts of the country in late September, confirming European reports about the contamination this month,”
the Guardian reports. “The highest concentration was registered in Argayash, a village in the Chelyabinsk region in the southern Urals, which had ‘extremely high pollution’ of Ru-106, exceeding natural background pollution by 986 times, the service said.”

After 37 years, Zimbabwe’s de facto dictator steps down. Here’s his historic letter to the Speaker of Zimbabwean Parliament:

Harare, 21 November 2017

Notice of resignation as President of the Republic of Zimbabwe

The Honourable Jacob Mudenda,

In terms of the provisions of section 96 (1) of the constitution of Zimbabwe, amendment number 20, 2013. Following my verbal communication with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda at 13:53 hours, 21st November, 2017 intimating my intention to resign as President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, I Robert Gabriel Mugabe in terms of section 96 (1) of the constitution of Zimbabwe hereby formally tender my resignation as the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe with immediate effect.

My decision to resign is voluntary on my part and arises from my concern for the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe and my desire to ensure a smooth, peaceful and non-violent transfer of power that underpins national security, peace and stability.

Kindly give public notice of my resignation as soon as possible as required by section 96 (1) of the constitution of Zimbabwe.

Yours faithfully,
Robert Gabriel Mugabe
President of the Republic of Zimbabwe

I’m travelling to Rome on Friday, and one of the buildings I’m planning to visit is Pantheon, built 113–125. It’s now a church, but it was originally built to honour all gods in ancient Roman religion.

Jewish photographer Henryk Ross buried these pictures so the Nazis wouldn’t find them. His motive was to preserve evidence for the future generation regarding the crimes against the Jews of Łódź. It worked for a few decades, but now anti-Semitism is once again commonplace in Europe.

“Sexual and physical abuse by both partners and non-partners was reported in all [EU] member countries, with Denmark having the highest numbers when all factors were combined: at 52% of women affected,” Meera Senthilingam of CNN writes. “When broken down, the data show greater likelihood of physical violence against women in Scandinavia and more abuse specifically from partners in Latvia, Scandinavia and the UK.”

Built in the year 203 to commemorate the Parthian victories of Septimius Severus and his two sons. It amazes me that it has survived with so much of its details intact.