April 4303Lynx cat tragedy reopens wounds of southern independence referendum
Berta the lynx catTwo weeks ago, Berta the lynx cat escaped from Oppenbruck City Zoo, creating a public talking point and controversy which soon became politically charged.
The lynx cat became extinct in the wild in Dorvik a number of centuries ago. In recent decades, conservationists have increasingly called for efforts to be made to reintroduce the lynx cat to Dorvik, but this has been fiercely resisted by farmers, particularly farmers in the southern states, who fear the reintroduction of the lynx would jeopardise their animal livestock.
So after Berta escaped, the controversy about whether the lynx cat should be reintroduced was kicked off all over again in the national media, with northerners tending to be in favour, and southerners opposed. This rekindled many of the animosities which had come to the fore during the south's independence referendum, which was only narrowly won by unionists.
There was also a division within the southern population itself, with the unionists who tend to live in big cities being in favour of reintroducing the lynx, and with the separatists, tending to live in more agricultural communities, being against.
As soon as Berta escaped, southern farmers began insisting on their right to shoot Berta if she posed any danger to their livestocks, which infuriated the pro-lynx lobby, provoking a harsh war of words. One farmer achieved celebrity on DorvikTube by creating a video which has been seen over 20 million times, in which he accuses "Bloody Northerners" of "trying to tell me what I can and cannot do on my own bloody land".
The local authorities tried to keep both sides happy, making strenuous efforts to capture Berta humanely through setting down traps, but also acknowledging the legal right of farmers to shoot animals which imperil their livestock.
For 2 weeks, the nation stood on tenterhooks, waiting to see whether Berta would be captured humanely and returned to the zoo, or whether she would fall into the clutches of the farmers who wanted to shoot her.
On 3 occasions, animal specialists came close to capturing her, but each time she escaped.
The sad climax to the story came when she was shot by Dietrich Lindenlaub, a wealthy farmer with a farm a few miles outside Oppenbruck, who played a prominent role in the secessionist's campaign during the recent southern independence referendum. He shot her just as she came into his field, video recorded the incident and then posted it on DorvikTube. Many of the secessionists responded with obvious glee, regarding it as a symbolic triumph for "southerner's rights" and "farmer's rights". This in turn provoked a massive backlash, with people expressing fury not only that the lynx cat was shot, but at the celebratory attitude on display. Lindenlaub has been inundated with hate mail, and his property has been vandalised 8 times.
President Edmund Treitschke has been sent a petition signed by 11 million people, calling on him to "denounce the cruel and savage act which led to Berta's unnecessary death" and "introduce a law to prevent this from happening again". This is said to be largest petition any Dorvish President has been sent for at least 20 years.
Communist posh boy arrested for buying DCS luxury wine and cigars
Herman Faust-Essen
Herman Faust-Essen, the wealthy and controversial Communist MP and aristocrat who became famous for supporting the southern cause during the independence referendum, has been interviewed and then cautioned by police after having been found to have purchased extremely expensive and scarce luxury wine and cigars from a shady individual who turned out to be connected to the notorious Dorvan Crime Syndicate. Faust-Essen later released a statement insisting he "had no idea these products were coming from a criminal source, and I was horrified when I found out" and that "the police officer was absolutely professional and gave me a stern talking to and a thorough dressing down, which I thoroughly deserved". "I sincerely apologise for my mistake, and will be far more careful in future", he added.
A number of Communist MPs, including former leader Friedrich Pfeiffer, are calling for the party to take disciplinary action against Faust-Essen over his conduct.
Pfeiffer accepts Gluck's apologyFormer Communist leader Friedrich Pfeiffer has said he has written to Alex Gluck accepting his apology for accusing him of murdering Hans Gluck, Alex's older adopted brother. "I completely reject his premise that communists are somehow responsible for Hans's death, even indirectly", he said, "but I understand Alex is grieving for his brother, so since he has essentially retracted his original statement, I have accepted his apology and will not be suing him over this at any future point".
Communist Party Conference debates CRISPR breakthroughThe annual Dorvish Communist Party Conference has hosted a lively debate about the latest developments regarding CRISPR, which could pave the way towards the genetic modification of human beings. A number of delegates spoke out against the technology. Rudi Hutmacher, a committed Hosian and the party's Religious Affairs Officer, said the technique went strongly against his Hosian beliefs. Others warned the technology was untested and could prove dangerous to human health. A large number warned against the possibility it would deepen class divisions by allowing the development of a genetically superior "bourgeoisie" class.
In the end, the conference supported a motion cautiously welcoming the use of GM techniques to deal with health problems, particularly hereditary conditions, but warning that "any moves towards trying to engineer a genetically superior breed of human being should not be attempted outside the context of an advanced communistic society".
