IT MUST BE TRUE… I read it in the tabloids

A woman who was declared dead seven years ago has asked if she can dig up “her” grave, in Seville, Spain, to end her bureaucratic nightmare. In May 2010, a woman with the same name as Juana Escudero, and the same date of birth, passed away. Owing to a glitch, both women were recorded as dead – and Ms Escudero has not been able to renew her driving licence, or even visit a doctor, ever since. Officials have refused to amend her record, so she is now applying for permission to exhume the other woman’s body for DNA tests, to prove that it’s not her in the grave.

Counterfeit Lego sets glorifying Islamic State have been withdrawn from sale in Singapore. The sets, made in China, and aimed at children aged six to 12, feature minifigures dressed as bombers, carrying black flags and RPGS. The Straits Times reports that one set included a decapitated plastic head. In a statement, Lego stressed that the kits had nothing to do with The Lego Group. “As a company dedicated to inspire and develop children, we would naturally never make a product like this.”

A man has been arrested in Tokyo for allegedly trying to put a curse on the children from a local primary school. Takeshi Inaba, 41, is accused of hanging a straw doll from a bridge, with a note reading: “All you brats jump from here and die.” In Japan, straw dolls are used in similar fashion to voodoo dolls. According to police, Inaba confessed to making the doll, saying: “Those kids running wild in the park are too noisy.” For meddling with the supernatural, Inaba is facing charges of criminal intimidation.