Five things you might have missed last week
1. So prove it
A Ugandan lesbian known as Elizabeth, who was snatched from an underground gay club, imprisoned, raped and beaten before escaping to Britain in 2004 and settling in Manchester, was ordered to be deported because she failed to prove her homosexuality to the Home Office.
2. Danger bake
Elaine Richards, of Barnstaple, Devon, was banned from giving a birthday cake she had baked to a 96-year-old friend by the Age Concern centre that cares for him. Some people in the centre were diabetic, she was told, and if something went wrong the centre could be sued, so pensioners were only allowed shop-bought cakes.
3. Out of comptrol
New York State comptroller Alan Hevesi apologised for saying that Democratic Senator Charles Schumer would "put a bullet between the president's eyes if he could get away with it". While stressing he only meant to indicate how tough and independent-minded Schumer was, he admitted the remark was "beyond dumb".
4. One-track mind
Rochdale council planning department admitted that its e-mail filter has been rejecting applications containing the word "erection", presumably on grounds of obscenity. The problem came to light when resident Ray Kennedy complained that three e-mails he sent objecting to a neighbour's house extension were ignored.
5. Code for careful
The film The Da Vinci Code was banned in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where just 6 per cent of people are Christian, because it could "lead to demonstrations and disrupt peace and tranquillity".
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