NEWSFILE #019236871 - THURSDAY 26TH JINGTOBER 2336 DIGITAIL NEWSFILES: BRINGING GENUS ELECTRONIC NEWS FOR 20 YEARS PREPARE TO DOWNLOAD MAIN HEADLINES..... ENTERTAINMENT Since the beginning of the Toad Wars, the Toads have become iconic in Mammal propaganda as villains both on and off-camera. It was only a few years ago when renowned director Max Bialystock co-operated with the United Animals Coalition to create the long-running "Chuck Bodgers" franchise, which concluded with "Chuck Bodgers VI: Fire in the Sky" shortly after the death of the real-life hero of the same name. But one media conglomerate has recently come under fire on all sides for being too Toad-friendly. Verner Bros. studios, as well as their subsidiary company, CD Comics (better known as "Seedy Comics" by critics) have just released "P for Pendetta", a film set on a fictional Warren where the enigmatic "hero" known only as P battles the Rabbitfire regime while openly condoning recent Toad attacks. Backlashes against the film have poured in from the left, right and centre, including political figures not even involved with Warren. Among those opposing the film tooth-and-nail include the S.P.A.C.E. and Warren itself, who claim the film to be further proof of CD Comics' xenophobia against Warren, although Verner Bros. refused to comment about the film altogether, as it has done with other recent controversies, such as the affair over "Whore of the Worlds", the biographical film about Eccentrica Gallumbits, the triple-breasted whore of Eroticon Six. "This film is nothing more than an attack on the government due to recent events in the war," claimed Max Bialystock, speaking on behalf of the S.P.A.C.E. "And when we on Genus wonder why Warren resents us so much, this film is the very reason why." CD Comics deny any alleged stereotyping, as they had done amidst similar accusations made following the release of a controversial episode of the "Tail Titans", entitled "Devolution", which portrayed Warren as an aggressive race intent on conquering Genus; an episode that caused a public outcry across the galaxy that CD Comics failed to respond to. CRIME The disappearance of 5-year-old Maggie Khan has been criticised by a group of distressed parents who have accused the police force of glorifying the Khan case and doing little to tackle other child disappearance cases. The group, calling itself "Mothers in Need", is led by Constance Venter, an Aldebaran living on Genus, whose 4-year-old son was reported missing five years ago, and her recent requests to re-open the investigation have all been denied by the authorities. "It's a real disgrace to think that the police are spending so much time on this one little girl, when all over the galaxy, there are children being reported missing and the police do nothing until it is too late," argued a confident Venter at a Mothers in Need rally yesterday. So far, the group's protests have received no reaction from the authorities, but the movement has put more pressure on the Khan case, which has been accused by critics of being the cover for an accidental murder. The case continues, but these criticisms are soon to be investigated by independant officers. FINANCES The market slump from last week has affected many stockholders across the planet, but recent signs have shown that the markets may soon be levelling out, according to a recent report from the Capitol City Stock Exchange. The sharp drop from 47% to 22% came last Tuesday, when shareholders in the Hostile Takeover Bank overbought shares and sent the company into a freefall that affected it's business partnership with Insuricare, who also hold shares with the same Exchange. "Recent figures have shown that the freefall hasn't fallen further for the past three days," said Mr. Kurr Ching, Head of the Capitol City Stock Exchange. "Given time, I feel confident that the shares will slowly work their way back up again." MILITARY Following a heavy exhaustion of resources and manpower, the S.P.A.C.E. is showing the Toads that the Mammal worlds cannot easily be broken with a recent spate of attacks against Toad colonies on the outer rim of the Imperial boundary. Space hero Bucky O'Hare, who has fought in the Toad Wars almost all his life, has recently liberated the small world of Proxemis IV from Toad attack, after the Toads made an almost successful attempt to enslave the Tiger population of the planet. Details of the action are sketchy, but it has been confirmed that the Toads, under the command of Captain Smata, were attempting to use an advanced form of their Climate Converter technology to terraform the planet into a hideous swamp. 12 Stormtoads are said to have been captured, and await interrogation by the local forces. MUSIC She may have been once a rising star, but is seems that Absurdgirl, the superhero-turned-superstar, might be running out of steam for her music career. The one-hit wonder made her debut with "Holding Out for a Superhero" last year, which became a bestseller in the Charts for several weeks running, but competition with other singers such as Olton Don are putting a strain on her dealership with Pineapple Records. "It's a real shame for me," said a sullen Absurdgirl after the MMTV Awards, where she failed to make an impression. "But I shan't go down without a fight. I'll keep on with it until I really do run out of steam." Her next single, "Dicky", a parody of Weird Alligator's "Ricky", debuts next week. POLITICS Opinion polls have shown that 69% of Genusians are no longer satisfied with the running of the United Animals Coalition, following in the wake of shock gains by far-right parties in local by-elections. The comments left by anonymous members of the public have accused the General Assembly on focussing too greatly on "beautifying" Genus rather than protecting it, and have cited the new Genus War Memorial, the Supertrain incident and even Titanic II as evidence that the government is failing to make much of an effort to tackle the threat of invasion. Far-right parties have played such arguements to their advantage, and Bill Middleton, member of the far-right Imperialist Party of Genus (IPG) who recently won the by-election for the Dentonville constituency, accused the government of "hypocrissy", stating: "If the purpose of Democracy is to protect the voters, then why are the voters just being left to fend for themselves?" "This is not the first time the issue of defence has been addressed," claimed Fritz Warner, current chairman of the Security Council. "But the purse-strings are now tighter than ever, and despite the recent Martian attacks, the senior members of the Council simply refuse to channel any more money to defence spending." He refused to comment on the shock gains made by the IPG. RELIGION A leading cardinal in the Church of Betelgeuse has recently been excommunicated by the Pope amid allegations over church funds being used to secretly finance an extremist cult on the planet. Cardinal the Honourable Father Eliot Wood, the third oldest cardinal to have served under the current Pope, Jean Michel XII, was accused last week of stealing funds from the Church to assist the growth of the controversial Black Sabbath movement, a satanic cult who condone incest, rape and witchcraft. Speaking to a public audience on Betelgeuse, the Pope commented: "This man has been guilty of two major sins: that of stealing, and that of defying the word of the Almighty... his excommunication is a means of showing this blasphemer that the Church will not tolerate such actions," The Pope went on to add that he would pressure the Black Sabbath movement until the money, totalling some 30,000 simoleons, was returned to the Church of Betelgeuse. The Black Sabbath movement refused to comment, and denied any access to their main temple situated on Bogg. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY It may be an idea of the past used today only by Steampunk authors, but scientists at the Graham Institute have begun researching the possibility of creating a working mock-up of a space-gun. The idea originated in the 19th Century, when writers including Jules Birde and H.G. Swells suggested that streamlined vessels could be launched into space like bullets out of a gun. Most scientists wrote off the idea due to the sheer acceleration and the lack of decent safety equipment. However, in an effort to save valuable fuel, the idea is being revived, and a spokesman for the Insitute said: "We are aware of the dangers and complications of this project, but we are confident that recent advances in science will help us to find decent solutions and allow us all to move into a better future." SPORTS Following the conclusion of the Galaxy Cup, the G.C. drivers have begun the arduous competition running up to next year's Galaxy Cup final. This year's final also saw the debut of the Mammal Meteor, who under Racing Regulations, was permitted to enter the Galaxy Cup final after being cleared by a strict medical test given only to newcomers, and went on to win third place in this year's final. The first race on the next long run to the 3227 Galaxy Cup was won by Hank Bitters, No. 63 (racing on behalf of his new sponsor, Hackwrench Machine Oil), with Doug Addams in No. 42 coming a close second and newcomer Mammal Meteor taking third place once again. When the second race concludes tomorrow at the Dentonville Circuit, the first six champions will carry through to the quarter-finals in one month's time. WEATHER Please type in your six-digit postal code to download your regional weather forecast. Should your weather report fail to appear for whatever reason, please return this Newsfile to your Newsagent and ask for a refund. _ _ _ - _ _ _ DOWNLOAD COMPLETED. PLEASE CLICK "BACK" TO SHUT DOWN THIS NEWSFILE