Centre-left coalition takes power in MAFC
Dateline 3207.007 New Mars Q0
Negotiations between the major parties in the wake of the recent Senate elections have produced a new Martian Government. The new ruling centre-left coalition is broadly based, with 21 of the 30 Senate seats, and consists of the four parties which ousted the Harness Administration; the Martian Liberal Welfare Party (MLWP), the Mars Colonial Growth Faction (MCGF), Free Mars Party (FMP) and Humanity’s Future Party (HFP). The defeated CDP have been edged out of
most of their seats in the Interstellar Coordination Committee (effectively the Martian ‘cabinet’), although they still maintain enough power in the Q0-based Council of the Martian Union to keep Senator Frink – the remaining popular member of the Harness administration – at his Science and Technology post.
MLWP Senate leader and monetary whizz-kid Anton Dec has taken the Ministry of Finance position, and will also chair the ICC. MCGF leader Senator Banderas retains her Foreign Affairs brief, and FMP leader Senator Dermond will return to the Domestic Affairs post he held under the previous administration. The new Interstellar Coordination Committee in full is:
President of the Committee and Representative for Finance: Sen. Anton Dec, MLWP
Rep for Domestic Affairs: Sen. Phil Dermond, FMP
Rep for Foreign Affairs: Sen. ‘Toinette Banderas, MCGF
Rep for War: Sen. Richard Yorke, MLWP
Rep for Trade and Industry: Sen. Richard Chutney, MLWP
Rep for Science and Technology: Sen. John Frink, CDP
Rep for Justice: Sen. Scott Free, MCGF
Rep for Media and Culture: Sen. Art Deco, HFP
Five more years for Zhang
Dateline 3206.011 Sol Q0
The new Council of the Senate has, as expected, confirmed Lee Zhang as First Minister of the Solar Republic. The move is a contentious one in some quarters, as First Ministers are supposed to only serve two terms, and this will technically be Zhang’s third, although since he took office in 3199 when the previous government (in which he was defence minister)
collapsed only a year before elections fell, Zhang has successfully argued before the Senate that he has not yet served two complete terms, and thus been allowed to stand again.
Zhang has indicated that he intends to serve out a full term to 3210, but there is considerable speculation as to whether this dominant personality in Terran politics will be content to retire then, or whether he will seek a change in the law to allow him to continue.
Bomb Destroys Historic Monument
Dateline 3206.362 Pineapple Q8
The famous Stockwell Monument – in honour of the famous founder of the Pineapple Colony – is now a pile of rubble as terrorists managed to place a large and destructive bomb at its base.
The bomb also caused considerable loss of life, despite its detonation in the early hours of the morning – the Monument is a popular location for drunken revelers.
Initially the authorities thought that this was the work of DAFT, but an announcement from another group – the ‘We Want 8 And We Won’t Wait Movement’ has apparently claimed responsibility. The group – until now not regarded a threat – is a revolutionary group campaigning for an independent Quadrant 8. It apparently regards the founder’s Monument as a symbol of what it called “Quadrant Zero Imperialism”.
Shuttle Cripples Orbital
Dateline 3206.391 Othello Q2
Space accident investigators are studying the wreckage of trans-orbital Shuttle 633 which crashed into the hull of Othello Station two days ago. Such crashes are rare, but the impact destabilized the Orbital’s spin and orbital attitude and has forced the station to shut down operations until such time as repairs can be made and it declared safe to operate.
The pilots of the shuttle and 2 passengers died in the collision, and a further 17 were suffering severe decompression injuries. The shuttle operator Virgin Spaceways commended the cabin staff for their prompt operation of the emergency procedures – saving the lives of most of the 86 passengers. The Shuttle’s flight recorder has been recovered and a lengthy forensic examination is underway.
Dino Flu devastates Megadon Herds
Dateline 3206.360 Averroes Sector AH
The economy of the northern continent region of Averroes is undergoing a catastrophic downturn as the ranching herds have been devastated by dino flu. The region is so dependent on ranching that food crisis is developing, as starvation and extreme poverty is hitting everyone. The remainder of the colony is still too underdeveloped to help out, and observers are predicting a major crisis within a year.
60 Killed in Burnup Incident
Dateline 3206.363 Stu Q4
A routine shuttle flight to Stu Station malfunctioned during orbital transition and plummeted to the planet – burning up in the atmosphere and killing all 61 passengers and crew. A spokesperson for ‘Ronways’ the spaceline operators said “Our deepest sympathies go out to the families of those who lost their lives. Our initial indications are that the crash was caused by pilot error”. Observers are of the view that this was an accident waiting to happen – a number of complaints had been made over the last five years of Ronways’ poor maintenance record, and two years ago they were heavily fined for breaches of the very strict Venerian Health and Safety regulations.
Colonial Referenda and Memberships – from our colonial correspondent
The following colonial worlds are planning referenda:
Mulder Q2, on 3207.200 considering applying for membership to the Earth Empire, the Outer Worlds Defence Union or the Union of Xyon.
Referenda have been held on the following worlds:
Breech Q2 has voted to Join the Union of Xyon
The following worlds have voted against holding a referenda on giving up their independence:
Septimus Q2
