FLAT EARTH

Buddy, that'll do nicely

The art of begging may be about to undergo a technological revolution in San Francisco. Someone has come up with a plan to equip homeless beggars with credit-card-type machines that could "swipe" donations from Visa, American Express or other bank cards. Four-fifths of contributions made this way would go to community homeless projects, with the rest going to the beggar.

San Francisco's mayor, Willie Brown, who is getting a lot of heat over homelessness and aggressive begging on the streets, says he is "excited about this innovative plan, which empowers homeless persons to take responsible action for their lives." The Coalition on Homelessness summed it up more accurately: "I think there's a couple of levels where it's just bizarre."

Sun, sea and subsidies

Are the 84 citizens of the French village of Eyne going to be brushing up their flamenco skills, switching from vin de pays d'Oc to rioja, and developing a taste for paella? The village, near the border with Spain, says it is fed up with getting no help from the French state or the European Union. The mayor, Alain Bousquet, says he is willing to try anything - even handing over his village keys to Spain. "We demand to return to the situation previous to the [1654] Treaty of the Pyrenees," says Mr Bousquet.

Before they laugh in Paris, the Spanish are not discouraging the idea. A senator from Catalonia told Eyne to let him know if any other border villages wanted to come over.

Too much sweetness makes us sick

Looking for a sweet way to announce the arrival of a baby? Carson Enterprises of Fairfield, Ohio, have developed a birth announcement that is in fact a chocolate bar, with information about the new little sweetie printed on the front and back.

Boy wrappers are blue, of course, and girl wrappers are pink. The "net weight" of the bar is likely to be 7lb 11oz or some such. Ingredients vary from "sugar and spice" etc to "snakes and snails ..." The "manufacturers" are of course the parents, and there's even a special announcement saying that the bar contains more than 100 per cent baby girl - or boy. Pass the sickbag!