How long does it take before the chain of causation can finally be broken? Try 41 years. A Philadelphia jury acquitted William Barnes in a case where prosecutors tried to argue there was a chain of direct causation between his shooting of Walter Barclay in 1966 and Barclay’s death from a urinary tract infection in 2007. Barnes, now 74, served 16 years in prison for attempted murder after the shooting. He shot Barclay during an attempted robbery that resulted in Barclay injuring his spine and needing to use a wheelchair. The defense maintained that any links between the shooting and Barnes’ death were broken by three car accidents, two falls from his wheelchair and neglect by nursing home staff, all of which could have contributed to ending his life.

Perhaps writing ‘no dark skinned children’ on an adoption application is not going to help get to the front of the baby line. A child protection agency took an Italian couple to court after they submitted an application in Catania, in eastern Sicily, saying they were ‘prepared to take in up to two children ... regardless of sex or religion, but ... not with dark skin’. An appeal court ordered a magistrate who reviews adoption requests to ignore such specifications, then took things a step further, ruling that such a ‘racist’ couple should not be allowed to adopt at all.

All bald Taiwanese people travelling to China can now rejoice. A rule imposed by the southern Chinese city of Xiamen, Fujian barring bald Taiwanese people from applying for one-year multiple-entry permits was cancelled, amid concerns about discrimination. It was reported that Chinese authorities imposed the ban over fears that ‘it was easier for bald people to disguise themselves’. The rule had mainly applied to frequent business travellers but there were no official statistics on how many people had been denied entry because they were bald. Roger Hsu, a spokesman for Taiwan’s Travel Agent Association, said: ‘It would probably have raised the question of discrimination if Chinese customs officials were to ask visitors to remove their wigs.’