Zeitgeist Magazine, 13 August 301 AP

Zeitgeist Magazine's Utania This Week
August 13th, 301 AP

Hijacking ends

In a violent raid on the Aij Utani passenger jet in Lochboer, UPIA agents and members of the elite Tokape battalion seized control of the plane and freed the 182 passengers and crew. Not without significant casualties: 17 dead and 31 wounded. Most casualties were of the fourteen hijackers, including two who fired a surface-to-air missile at the jet while it was being taken back. The rocket destroyed an Utanian attack helicopter.

The raid has attracted stern criticism from various parties, including the South Bay government who deny that they authorised the raid, nor the presense of Utanian attack helicopters in Lochboer. The President and UPIA were also under fire for "rushing to violence". Polls are due this week to assess the political damage to the President.

Rovenian Presidential Vote

The Rovenian National Assembly (provisional) will vote on Thursday August 23 for a new President it was announced earlier this week. RIM is running a public poll on the election. For information on the candidates, go to:
http://www.jaggedblue.com/rim/pres_poll_301.html
To vote:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vexillium/surveys?id=747502

The 37 Western Zartanian atheletes who defied an Imperial ban on this year's Vexgames and chartered their own plane but were turned back by the airforce, all received thirty-five years imprisonment for their crimes of "hijacking", conspiricy and attempting to flee the country. Formal complaints have been made, but such is life under the Zartanian dictatorship.

The Reserve Bank of Utania this week warned the government that the country was in serious risk of "higher than acceptable inflation". Already urban rents and property prices are rocketing in the biggest land boom in Utania's short history.

Utanian peacekeeping soldiers in Dignania won a tax concession from the federal government this week. The President announced that all soldiers who serve in Dignania as peacekeepers would be afforded a tax exemption for twice the time they serve, backdated, and extendable beyond their military careers. This would mean savings of up to Û4,000 for the average soldier, but cost the state and federal governments an estimated Û230 million a year.

Republicanism loses

King Edward II is a more popular man than before openly admitting in a press conference early in the week that he had indeed been married to a woman in the early 70s. Tragically, the then-young prince's bride suffered an accident significantly impairing her mentally, and prompting the divorce. The King's approval rating was 72% one day after the stark admission. Republicanism can take a back seat.

Utani Saedak Party leader, Casper Atoha, said that his party was not fixed on a specific population for Utania, only that it should be "sustainable", and believes that 100 million people is sustainable in the long term.

Korana SETUSU has secured a second place in the ICARA Sempral 200, in Westermarc. Setusu only joined the SAVANT MOTORS team two months ago, and has quickly established himself as a more than capable replacement for Roger Phillips.

Meanwhile, the Savant Motors court case is progressing slowly with revelations and documents being presented by both sides to prove that the sale of 25% of the Savant Engineering by Atosu Savante was "uncoerced". It appears the former owners are preventing Mr Savante prove his case not by counter-facts but by denial of access to company records. The government has repeatedly had to force current directors of the company to open the company files to Mr Savante.

New for Television

The Census Bureau announced this week that it would work with the Zeitgeist Corporation to produce a twenty-five episode series on the current face and shape of the Utanian population, each week focusing on a particular demographic. The series will cost an estimated Û8 million to produce and will air next year.

In addition, an announcement is due this week on the long-awaited awarding of the satellite contract for Utanian satellite television. Odds are said to be 70-30 in favour of the Lendosan Confederation, despite the President favouring the Burovians.