Look - Up There!

So what is it? A missile, most have hazarded. There's a photograph an observer took, of an odd object streaking across the sky, seen from Harbour Mille, Newfoundland.

Newfoundland is a strange place, odd things happen there. The people are different, too. Certain of themselves, of who they are and what life's meaning is. But is there any meaning to an object that streaks across the sky, with a long line of flame behind it, that looks most definitely man-made?

Not an unidentified flying object, nothing from outer space, nothing that looks as though it could represent a natural phenomenon. This looks like something large, metallic, fired from somewhere, and making its way across Canada's sovereign territory.

Boredom loves mysteries. And this appears to be a genuine mystery.

This was thought at first - correction - these were thought at first to have been French-fired missiles. These, yes, that's right. Three such missiles were observed to have emanated from some source as yet unconfirmed

Thought perhaps to have been fired from the French islands of St.Pierre and Miquelon, 25 kilometres off the southern coast of Newfoundland.

The Newfoundlander Darlene Stewart, who observed these objects described three of them on the horizon; one that appeared to fly straight into the air, the others at odd angles.

Neither NORAD nor the United States claims to have been involved. The French military stated submarine-based missile testing was being conducted off the northwest coast of France, but the timing and days did not coincide.

"There's a credible body of evidence that suggests there's something spectacular happened off of our shore" said the MP representing the riding of Humber-St.Barbe-Baie Verte, darkly. "Before this goes any farther, I think the government needs to actually respond very quickly with a straightforward, factual statement."

And so they have: "Dunno."