Fans of the Alien Visitors have been complaining about the lack of alien trade goods (ATG) reaching dealers. The extreme rarity of ATGs is pushing prices into the million-credit range - though our sources tell us that such goods are becoming 'virtually unobtainable' as collectors are holding on to what they have. Apparently, trade had been brisk a few octants ago - then fell off dramatically. Auctioneers at Christies of Earth remarked that "It's almost as if someone was trying to corner the market in ATGs".

Rare picture of an ATG tri-v media centre.

Quake III Hits Breech Dateline Breech Q2 3204.316
Massive planetquakes have caused thousands of casualties on the Junkers Subcontinent of Breech III. The quakes caused flooding, leveled forests and collapsed buildings. Many tens of thousands have been made homeless, and the colony has declared a state of emergency. They have not yet asked for off world help, but observers are suggesting this may be necessary. This is the third and most serious of a series of planetquakes that have hit the colony over the last five years.

Robbers Escape with Massive Haul. Dateline Duster Q8 3204.345
The struggling colony of Duster has suffered a grievous blow when the Central Bank was hit by a daring raid from a gang of robbers. Hitting the bank in broad daylight, the gang of at least 12 members used a rang of weapons and shot security guards and threatened staff and customers. Police heading for the scene were hampered by a number of small bombs elsewhere in the city. The robbers escaped with credit chips and red mercury worth over 40 million credits It is believed the gang may have escaped off world. Given that the colony has been suffering a severe economic downturn in the last year, and this is likely to make matters worse. The Colonial Council met in stormy emergency session, and the existing government was ejected after a vote of 'no confidence'.

Rebels Continue to Challenge Empire Dateline Phalguna, Q4 3204.303
Previously regarded by the authorities as no more than a minor annoyance, the' Phalguna First Movement' launched a series of surprise rocket attacks on police stations and GF bases. The local Imperial forces responded with a massive security operation, but the rebels escaped into remote mountainous jungle districts. Ongoing operations as expected to 'quickly round up the malcontents' according to Earth military sources.

New Strain of Dino-Flu - Epidemic Dateline Tahnhoa Q4 3204.301
21 are dead, and thousands are off work on the outbreak of a mutated strain of what is being called 'dino-flu' - believed to have originated in a local breed of megadon. Whilst most of the victims have been naturals, there have been a few cases in the small perfect population here, and concern is growing. Medical authorities are confident that they will be able to bring the outbreak under control, but are being criticised for doing 'too little too late'.

Terrorists Bomb City Dateline Ra, Q0 3204.365
the city of Hotep on the independent world of Ra was thrown into chaos as DAFT terrorists detonated a series of bombs in the city. Security was tight following the blasts, and due to poor placing of the devices only 12 people were killed, and around 250 injured. COPs said "This could have been much worse, one of the bombs was placed in the rapid transit station - had it gone off an hour later it would have caught the Pigworth Express, bringing children from the prestigious residential school back to the city for the holiday period. The sons and daughters of many of the ruling elite would have been on that special chartered train.

Conservatives In Violent Protest, Dateline New Jerusalem Q0 3204.369
Religious conservative were on the street of the cities of New Jerusalem to protest at the policies of the 'ungodly' Dan Tassic. Police were out in strength, and the protests quickly turned to violence. A large number of shops and businesses were burnt out, and police made over 2000 arrests. 4 people were killed and many thousands injured before the situation was brought under control. 5 police officers were slightly injured. Community leaders are blaming 'hotheaded religious fanatics' for the trouble.

State of Emergency Lifted, Dateline:3204.310 Thor, Q7
The Government of Thor announced today that the state of emergency imposed after the planet quake, 3203.291, has been lifted. A minutes silence was observed to remember the people who died.
A spokesperson stated that 'though there was a high initial loss of life the fact that the quake centred on the sparsely settled and underdeveloped Eastern Continent meant recovery has been swift. This demonstrated once again the independence, resourcefulness and sheer bloody minded tenacity of the citizens of Thor. He also praised the targeted interventions of quadrant governor Raymond Bradbury.

Picture : Monument to the fallen