News In Brief

Hello? anybody home?

So many people yearn for more attention. But it's not advisable to turn heads the way an Australian writer did. The man, hoping to land a publishing deal, paraglided into the forecourt of Buckingham Palace in London - his parachute displaying what was apparently his Internet address. So far, the stunt has resulted only in him being arrested for flying violations, says a police spokesman. As for the royals, it didn't command much of their attention, since the palace's main occupant, Queen Elizabeth, was away dealing with another sort of flying situation: a pheasant shoot.

JUST WANTED A COLLECTIBLE

At a remote train station in Taiwan, the line for buying tickets stretched more than a mile. But most people had no intention of making the trip between Yungkang and Paoan. So what was going on? As the next millennium officially begins, they wanted a ticket printed with the two stops, which in Mandarin mean "safety guaranteed" and "health forever."

Companies' perk packages cited by Fortune magazine

For the fourth year running, Fortune magazine has ranked the 100 best companies, based on their commitment to employees on quality-of-job issues. Many of the chosen companies offer on-site day care, fully paid sabbaticals, concierge services such as dry-cleaning pickup, and bounties for recommending new hires. At the top of the list, for the second year: the Container Store, a Dallas-based retailer of boxes and shelving. It was cited for its "enthusiastic employees" who recommend the workplace to friends, which accounted for 41 percent of its new hires last year. The first 10 companies in Fortune's list:

1. Container Store

2. SAS Institute

3. Cisco Systems

4. Southwest Airlines

5. Charles Schwab

6. TDIndustries

7. Fenwick & West

8. Synovus Financial

9. Edward Jones

10. Plante & Moran

(c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Publishing Society