They Might Live to Regret Dying

With no room left in its overcrowded cemetery, a village in France is insisting that its residents keep breathing.

In an ordinance posted in the council offices, Mayor Gerard Lalanne told the 260 residents of the village of Sarpourenx that "all persons not having a plot in the cemetery and wishing to be buried in Sarpourenx are forbidden from dying in the parish."

It added: "Offenders will be severely punished." [Link]

The mayor says that "It may be a laughing matter for some, but not for me."

[Thanks, John!]

So Unbelievable It Must Be True

A new book identifies Balthazar Napoleon de Bourbon of Bhopal, India, as the first in line to the throne of France.

A distant cousin of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, he is alleged to be not only related to the current Bourbon king of Spain and the Bourbon descendants still in France, but to have more claim than any of them to the French crown.

The author, Prince Michael of Greece, offers a very persuasive argument.

"If I am right - and I don't have absolute proof, but I completely believe in my theory - then Balthazar Bourbon would be the eldest in the line," he told the Guardian.

"This is the cherry on the cake. Mr Bourbon is head of a decent, dignified, middle-class Indian family. They look so Indian and yet bear this name. When you look at them, it seems incredible. The more unbelievable it is, the more I believe in it." [Link]