Largest ever turnout for Tehran Day marches

Kuala Lumpur, March 17, 2050: More than 20 million people worldwide are believed to have turned out for Tehran Day peace rallies this year.

The largest marches were in Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia and Denmark. Five million people marched in Jakarta alone and Denmark, with a population of just 10 million people, registered four million marchers.

Rallies in the rest of Europe were smaller, with two million turning out in France and similar numbers in Germany, Italy and the UK.

"The world is still in mourning over the deaths of 50 million people in the Oil War," UN Secretary General Carla DuPont said in front of 50,000 people gathered outside the UN headquarters in Beijing. "It should mourn for a thousand years."

The most dramatic march was conducted by a group of 20 representatives of the Persian Gulf diaspora who flew into the Tehran hot zone by helicopter to plant a wreath at the site of the former Shahyad Tower. The group was arrested and quarantined by Saudi police when the helicopter returned to Riyadh.

History Line

It was on this day in 2015 that armed forces of the then Superpower, the United States of America, used tactical nuclear weapons against an underground nuclear research facility in Tehran which it claimed was used to produce and store nuclear weapons. It was the first use of nuclear weapons in war since they were used to end the Second World War in 1945.

20,000 people died immediately in that attack, and up to 130,000 are believed to have died as a result of radiation induced illnesses related to the attack.

International condemnation followed, as did massive disruption to oil supplies and the global economy. This culminated in the invasion in October 2028 by Coalition Forces (principally US, Israel, Turkey) of Jordan and Saudi Arabia aimed at securing access to the Safaniya and Ghawar Oilfields.

Saudi and Iranian forces combined with Syria and Egypt to oppose the invasion and what became known as the Oil War followed. It is unclear which nation was the first to use nuclear weapons in the Oil War, but historical consensus is that Saudi Arabia detonated underground nuclear weapons in the Ghawar, Abqaiq, Hawtah and Marjan fields in order to deny them to the invaders.

A large element of the US XVIII Airborne Corp was trapped in the hotzone created by these explosions and the US, Turkey and Israel responded over the next week with tactical nuclear strikes on Iran, Syria and Egypt.

The conflict was halted when a united Russia, Pakistan, China and India threatened all out nuclear war with the US unless it ceased hostilities. US Congress removed the then US President Carlton, and Coalition nuclear forces in the Gulf and mainland USA were disarmed by the UN.

On November 3 2028, three weeks after it started, the Oil War ended, and 50 million people were dead, including more than 50% of the population of Iran.

Launch of EyePad Bioware delayed to 2051

Tokyo, March 17, 2050: Eyeware enthusiasts were weeping behind their shades today when Applesoft announced that European and Chinese regulators had asked for further clinical studies before they would consider approving the new bioware upgrade to the ubiquitious EyePad.

Applesoft had planned to launch EyePad Bioware in June this year, following what it claimed were successful clinical trials of the new EyePad’s surgically implantable sensory enhancement unit.

Published clinical study data indicates subjects who had the unit implanted, reported being able to hear, smell and taste in-game special effects.

Yahoogle Game Industry Analyst, Charles Chang, said he had seen confidential company data which was part of the EU and China submissions, showing that gamers using the implant also experienced dramatic weight gain and other side effects.

"It may just be an issue of the advertising and product placement in the games," he said. "Sonysoft chose to test the units using the RazorWire III game, which includes significant product placement from fast food companies. My sources tell me that in one study they enabled the sensory effects for the food in the game, causing subjects to dramatically increase their snacking behaviour. This is what is worrying regulators."

The vocal Taipei based Eyeware Consumer Protection Organization issued a news release praising the decision to request further clinical studies before approving the implant.

"Multiple independent studies show that long term Eyeware use can lead to social isolation, depression, aggressive behaviour and crime – all behaviours reminiscent of drug addiction," said Garda McVeigh, spokesperson for the ECPO.

"We remain deeply concerned about the impact of adding sensory enhancement to an already dangerous machine," she said. "Our information is that it is not just weight which increased in trial subjects, but also sexual self abuse."

There are currently estimated to be 1.2bn Eyeware users globally. Applesoft has captured nearly 80% of the Eyeware market with its EyePad glasses, a gaming and content viewing platform with Omninet capability.

A perceived limitation of the system is that to hear audio, users must still place earbuds in their ears. The Applesoft implant was intended to address this by providing audio direct to the aural nerve, but Applesoft also chose to explore in clinical studies the opportunity to stimulate other sensory organs with the upgrade.

"One option for Applesoft is to drop the taste, smell and other enhancers and bring the unit to market now with just the audio feature," Yahoogle’s Chang said. "The question for Applesoft marketing though - are people willing to undergo a surgical procedure just to avoid having to wear earbuds?"

"The Applesoft pipeline includes a next-gen version of the EyePad for contact lenses – I believe they would be better off trying to accelerate that product, than to keep going with Bioware now," he said.

India accuses China of using biomimetic weapons


Uttar Pradesh, March 16, 2050:

Biomimetic insect cyborgs have been deployed by China in the Aksai Chin conflict, according to Indian military sources.

Indian military officials held a press conference here today and displayed several locusts, which appeared to be fitted with a tiny electronic device.

"These weaponised insects clearly contravene the 2041 Seoul Protocol against the use of weaponised insects, animals or viruses," an Indian military spokesman claimed.

The Seoul Protocol was developed following the release by United Korea in 2038 of migratory fowl weaponised with a flu-like virus, which spread throughout the Korean Peninsula and Southern China, and resulted in the death of 22,500 people.

China however is not a signatory to the Seoul Protocol. Chinese officials contacted today refused to comment on the Indian claims. The two Superpowers are currently at war over the 580 sq.km Aksai Chin district bordering Kashmir.

An Indian military engineer said the insects appeared to have been created for surveillance and explosives detection, judging by the hardware in their bodies.

"Also, all the insects we found were dead, indicating they may have a deactivation system which will kill them when they have reached their target, in order to be sure they stay in place," he said.

China has long been known to have a biomimetics program, following the high profile defections in 2042 of two US scientists. The US killed many of its more advanced biomimetics research programs in the 2040s following the collapse of its domestic economy.

The US insect cyborg program was first initiated in 2006, and prototypes underwent several field tests, but if confirmed this will be the first time any country has deployed them in wartime.

Canada refuses to deport 'draft codgers'

Ottawa, March 15 2050: The Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hugh Ballimore, announced today that he has decided to invoke ministerial privilege and deny an application from the US Justice Department for the deportation of more than 150 former US citizens currently in Canada, and sought by the US for evading a military draft order more than 40 years earlier.

Most of those sought are now in their sixties and seventies, and have been dubbed by the media as 'the draft codgers'.

"These persons were granted political asylum in Canada during the 2010 war in Iran which led to the use of nuclear weapons and rendered the Arabian peninsula uninhabitable. Canada respected their brave decision not to support that war 40 years ago, and we respect it still," Mr Ballimore said.

Mr Ballimore would not speculate on the apparent campaign by the US to pursue 40 year old desertion and draft dodging warrants, however defence observers have hypothesised the campaign is actually intended to send a message to those being called up in the latest US military draft in support of its war in Central America.

"They want the current crop of draft dodgers to know the US never forgets, that if they run, they will be hunted down sooner or later," Yahoogle Military Analyst Derek Chow said.

SEHK divests: NYSE for sale again

Hong Kong, March 14, 2050:

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK) has announced it will further de-merge and offer for sale the New York Stock Exchange - for the second time in three years.

A 2047 plan by the SEHK to divest itself of the NYSE and NASDAQ together resulted in the sale only of the NASDAQ, with insufficient interest in the NYSE from Asian buyers, to justify a sale.

SEHK Chairman, Roland Yeung, said, "We believe an Asian or Australasian buyer will be found for the NYSE this time around. Asian confidence in the American dollar is starting to return and America is still a major supplier of old economy goods and labour to Asia."

Among those now rumoured to be interested in the NYSE sale are the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), the United Korea Stock Exchange (UKSE), and the US Government itself.

Despite US Government talk of buying back the exchange, the NYSE's recent chequered history of unsuccessful proposals of merger and acquisition doesn't inspire confidence that, in the long term, it will be able to re-establish a position in the global markets as an independent player.

Christmas Island Dispute Referred to the Hague

Island that Went Down Under, belongs Down Under, say Australians

The Hague, March 14, 2050:

Australia has referred its dispute over the territory formerly known as Christmas Island to the International Tribunal on Global Warming in the Hague.

Christmas Island was evacuated in July 2040 due to rising sea levels, and was declared fully submerged by the ITGW in April 2042. However in December 2049 volcanic activity caused approximately 16 square kilometres of the island to re-emerge.

The island is now claimed by Australia, Malaysia and China, though only China has established a manned settlement on the barren outcrop.

At its population peak in July 2005 there were 350 people living on Christmas Island, which was then an Australian Territory but comprised 70% ethnic Chinese, 20% Malaysian and 10% European minorities.

The island is located in one of the world's few remaining legal commercial fishing zones.

Saudi-Iranian Oilfields To Remain Closed

Riyadh, March 14, 2050:

UN Atomic Energy Agency inspectors announced today that the latest radiological survey of the oilfields of the Saudi-Iranian Fallout Area confirms it will remain closed indefinitely.

Financial analysts on Yahoogle Net Friday speculated that the UNAEA report would clear the way for a partial re-opening of the Saudi-Iranian fields this century, and a possible limited return to the use of petroleum based energy sources for other than military needs.

Yahoogle energy commentator Sundi Mihrab maintained that undisclosed sources in the Shanghai Bureau of Alternative Energies had intimated to him last week that 'it was not impossible limited production in the Saudi-Iranian zone could resume this century'.

"People forget that at the turn of the century, oil was the lifeblood of industry,"Mihrab said.

"It is not unreasonable to expect that if production could be safely resumed in the Saudi-Iranian fields, and exploration in the Antartic resumed, it could provide a safe alternative to Antimatter Reactors and their inherent waste disposal issues."

A UNAEA spokesperson told ZI that radiation levels in the Saudi-Iranian fallout zone were likely to be hazardous to human health well into the middle of the next century, and the technology for robotic exploitation of the fields was not yet proven.

Einstein Rosen Bridge Opens in Zurich Media Lab

Wormhole to the turn of the century means your grandfather can read about you: before you were born!

Zurich, March 13 2050: Thirteen staff members from Zurich Intermedia were magnavaked to the Zurich International Hospital this morning and treated for various injuries related to the opening of an Einstein Rosen Bridge on the third floor of their Barnhofquai office.

"One of the workstations started sparking and everyone was gathered around watching it," Said Yuki Sakamoto, New Media Coordinator for ZI.

"A huge translucent bubble began to form and then it exploded; everyone was thrown against the walls," she said.

When the blast cleared an ER Bridge had formed around the workstation, preventing anyone from approaching closer than twenty metres. An ER Bridge, or wormhole as they are popularly known, is a curved-space structure that can join two distant regions of space-time through a tunnel-like curved spatial shortcut.

"The computer workstation appears still to be functioning, and still linked into the media network system," said ZI Tech Manager Ian Bell. "We tried yanking the power and cutting the signal to the unit but it is still acting like it is connected. Everything that goes over the wires here, is appearing on the unit in the bubble just like normal."

If confirmed as an ER Bridge, it is the fourth such phenomenon to appear in Zurich since the January powerup of the CERN Antimatter Reactor, Athena III.

Already, scientists are saying the location of the other end of the wormhole can be calculated.

"The strength of the Schwartzschild Field surrounding the bridge enables us to calculate with a precision of plus-minus 20 days, its chronometric depth," Zurich University Professor of Particle Physics, Dr Vilfred Vikkersund said. Dr Vikkersund visited the site just hours after the latest incident.

"This field is relatively weak, reaching back only as far as the year 2006 by my calculations - sometime between March 13 and April 1, to be precise."

Dr Vikkersund theorised that if by chance the bridge appeared in 2006 close to a networked computer system (in those days, meaning a wireless network), citizens in 2006 could be able to read the contents of the ZI screen in the Barhofquai office.

"Of course the chances of that, are about a gazillion to one,"he said. "About the same as US President Schwartzenegger's clone winning the Presidency again."

CERN has repeatedly denied that the appearance of Einstein Rosen Bridges in the area around Zurich is directly linked to the operation of its Antimatter Reactor.