IT MUST BE TRUE… I read it in the tabloids

A Romanian court has ruled that a 63-year-old man is dead, although he himself appeared in court to offer evidence to the contrary. Constantin Reliu went to Turkey in 1992 for work and lost touch with his family; his wife registered him dead in 2016. He was recently deported back to Romania, where he learnt of his death certificate. He tried to have it annulled, but lost his case because he had appealed too late. He remains legally dead and the ruling is final. “I have no income and because I am listed dead, I can’t do anything,” Reliu complained. A statue of a crucified Star Wars stormtrooper has caused outrage after it was installed in a London church for an art exhibition. Crucified Stormtrooper by the street artist Ryan Callanan was placed by the altar in St Stephen Walbrook. The church’s previous priest, Revd Jonathan Evens, said it was one of several works designed to grapple with “the challenge and scandal of Christ’s cross”. He conceded, though, that Callanan’s stormtrooper was “among the more controversial images in the exhibition”, and it was later moved to a less prominent position.

In a new spin on an old tradition, some newly engaged couples are choosing to have their fingers pierced instead of wearing an engagement ring. You can either have a single diamond, apparently “floating” in the middle of the ring finger, or a more elaborate design in which the ring is partially embedded under the skin. Finger piercings are said to be ideal for those who are worried about losing their engagement ring.