Sydney: Experts admitted yesterday to being baffled by an unidentified flying object seen off Australia's east coast by thousands of people on Monday night. The object, which travelled across the sky for about 10 minutes could have been a meteorite, but that was ruled out because it was said to have pieces of metal. A prank has also been ruled out because of the large area of sightings. ``It's certainly unidentified at this point,'' said National Space Centre and UFO hotline operations manager Ross Dowe in Melbourne.

Placenta substitutes for Holy Grail

Hong Kong: Hong Kong women are being lured to the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen to dine on fresh placenta in the belief that it can keep them young, a press report said yesterday. The report in the Sun said an illegal group was conniving with maternity wards in Shenzhen to acquire the placenta. The report, quoting unidentified reliable sources, said the placenta was sold at 1,000 Hong Kong dollars (US $130) perserving.

Landmark concert on border

SEOUL: Czech pianist Hana Dvorakova held a landmark recital on Tuesday at the world's most tense border dividing South and North Korea. ``This is the first time that such a performance has been held in Panmunjom,'' one spectator said. Panmunjom, guarded jointly by North Korea and the US-led UN Command, is the only contact point in the demilitarised zone since the 1952-53 war.

Forest fire sparks haze fears

JAKARTA: A spreading forest fire in Indonesian Borneo's West Kalimantan province has caused increased air pollution in the region and renewed concerns of haze problems, a report said Tuesday. The smoke has not yet disrupted flights in and out of the provincial capital but the airport staff were on alert, the Kompas newspaper said.