The Fringe

February 3, 1996
Web posted at: 12:20 a.m. EST (0520 GMT)

A flying Christmas tree? A UFO? What was it?

LONDON (CNN) -- Investigators are coming up empty in a particularly unusual UFO case.

Last year, the crew of a British Airways jet said an object resembling a lit Christmas tree whizzed past their plane over Manchester.

One pilot says the object came so close he automatically ducked.

In a report today, Britain's civil aviation authority says there's no doubt the crew saw something, but that they are simply baffled as to what it could have been.

To catch a red-faced thief

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (CNN) -- It's the story of a thief who is now a marked man, literally.

The Danish news agency Ritzau reports that a burglar was in the midst of robbing a butcher shop when he fell into a vat filled with indelible dye, used to color sausages.

Police say that although they did not catch the thief red-handed, they now expect to easily find a suspect who is permanently red-faced.

China serenades Hong Kong with propagandist anthems

KOWLOON, Hong Kong (CNN) -- China is pulling out all the stops to re-assure residents of Hong Kong about their future after Beijing takes over in 1997.

Earlier this week, the Chinese military put on display the troops who will be stationed there.

Now comes word from a Hong Kong newspaper that those troops have recorded an album of reassuring songs. Among the 15 titles are:

-- "I love you Hong Kong"

-- "Don't Worry Mother, Don't Worry Motherland."

Its propaganda usefulness might be limited, however, because the songs are in Mandarin -- a dialect not spoken by most Hong Kong Chinese.

Ex-Duma member levels potent threat to keep his digs

MOSCOW (CNN) -- How far will a hypnotist and psychic go to keep his fancy digs? Apparently, he'll hit below the belt.

Anatoly Kashpirovsky, who lost his seat in the Russian Parliament, is so determined to hold onto his government apartment that he is threatening to use his psychic and hypnotic powers to render anyone who tries to evict him ... impotent.

Kashpirovksy, who made the threat Friday, was elected to the Duma, Russia's lower house of Parliament, in 1993. A Moscow apartment is one of the perks of holding such an office.

He was a member of Vladimir Zhirinovsky's ultra-Nationalist Party but quit shortly after be took the seat. He ran for re-election in December but was defeated.

In the last days of the Soviet Union, Kashpirovsky had a popular TV program and was considered by many as a faith healer.

Kashpirovsky says that he will hold on to the fancy pad at all costs. His threat may have evictors crossing their fingers ... and legs.

You've got star quality, Baby!

LONDON (CNN) -- Wait! Before you pop that Jelly Baby into your mouth -- you could be eating a star. The gummy multicolored people-shaped chewable candies are getting agents and becoming stars of the small screen.

Britain's Winchester Multimedia said Thursday that it had joined Cadbury Schweppes and Just Group in developing a television series based on the Bassetts Jelly Babies.

The show's goal is to make Jelly Babies internationally known. There will also be worldwide distribution of Jelly Babies merchandise.

So be nice to that little green gummy guy sticking to the lint in your pocket. He knows some pretty important people. And be careful how you say, "Let's do lunch."

Australian bank misses a point, loses $814,000

COVINGTON, Kentucky (CNN) -- An Australian bank is hopping mad about a misplaced decimal point which cost them $814,000.

St. George Bank of Sydney claims that Kentucky lawyer Thomas Roberts cashed a check that should have been for $8,225.07, but the misplaced decimal put the amount at $822, 507.

Roberts received the check from a wire transfer from the bank and then converted the transaction to cash and purchased 18 cashiers checks.

It was not clear where the money went, and neither Roberts nor his attorney are answering questions about its whereabouts.

He's no rodent; he's our cousin. Maybe.

LONDON (CNN) -- A new report about our twitchy-nosed friends is likely to set biological classification on its floppy ear. It declares that rabbits and hares might be more closely related to humans than rodents.

Dan Graur and a team of researchers at Tel Aviv University said that they compared the proteins found in the tissues of rabbits to those of other animals and found that they had more similarities with primates than rodents.

Rabbits were tossed into the rodent family by Linnaeus, the 18th-century Swedish naturalist who invented the modern taxonomic system of naming plants and animals.

Excuse me, Mr. Ed, but do you have the proper change?

TOKYO (CNN) -- A racehorse who went for a 2-mile trot along a Tokyo highway Thursday must have been embarrassed when he didn't have proper change at the toll booth.

The 3-year-old filly bolted free from the stable at Oi racecourse on Tokyo Bay and decided that the highway was the way to go to get out of town.

But before he could gallop to glory, Super Otome was stopped at a toll gate by police. He was unhurt and didn't cause any traffic accidents.

Next time he makes a break for it, he'll probably take his wallet.