[center][h3]EVENTS[/h3][/center][hr][indent]

- [b]FIRST CONTACT REVEALED IN TELEVISED ADDRESS BY US PRESIDENT[/b] - In a TV address, President AJ Shepard announced to the world the existence of alien life. A probe, orbiting Uranus, was picked up by government satellites of multiple nations. Further analysis and signals sent to the alien probe led to a single broadcast message: "Successful contact. Initiating Survey Report Protocol. Standby for further contact." 

The President announced also the plan, in response to First Contact, to pursue an agenda of cooperation between the nations that have a significant presence in space, including the EU, Russia, China and India. The move, criticized in some quarters as setting up "haves and have nots" in the space race, came under fire in the UN General Assembly, where calls were made by the UN Secretary General to have the UN take the lead on alien first contact. This measure was veto'ed in the Security Council. The US announced diplomatic summits with the G10 powers to discuss scientific, economic and military cooperation to address a response plan to First Contact. The President also announced the formation of a new Space Force, as did several other nations. 

The announcement set off a flurry of speculation regarding the nature of alien life, along with celebrations in some quarters, as well as fear in others. Science fiction authors have weighed in with a variety of scenarios and the current New York Times bestseller list include classics like "The Left Hand of Darkness," by Ursula Le Guin, "The Sirens of Titan," by Kurt Vonnegut, and "The Foundation Trilogy," by Isaac Asimov. Also popular are purchases of firearms and survival equipment, as some groups prepare for the 'inevitable alien infiltration and invasion of America." 

The markets were volatile in the first week after the announcement, but overall, the prospect of government contracts related to the formation of the Space Force, research and development funding for DARPA and other agencies, a surge in certain stock prices, primarily those that had some connection to aerospace technology. 

- [b]The Swedish Space Agency, Rymdstyrelsen,[/b] announced that it is the first nation to enter into dialogue with the Uranus Probe (sorry guys, I fucking had to) and has begun to glean data from the probe. Carl Nilson, the head of the agency, announced that a 'significant' amount of information was gleaned from the latest exchange, mostly about the purpose of the probe, the findings of which it is forwarding to other world governments for consideration.

- [b]In Bangladesh,[/b] the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, a Salafist group, has mounted an attack on facilities run by Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization in partnership with US, European, Chinese and Japanese agencies for the purpose of satellite communications. The attacks were timed together and involved militants assaulting these sites in Mumbai-style waves of sappers. Worldwide, fundamentalist groups of all stripes are becoming more vocal and restive, and the FBI has already apprehended members of one cult, the Congregation of Joy, that was planning a group suicide that involved children in eastern Washington state.

- [b]A series of cyberattacks aimed at American[/b] communications hubs, observatories, space launch centers and other space infrastructure, including university-based, government, military and commercial facilities were detected and stopped. A multi-agency investigation is underway, without a clear idea who the perpetrators are.

- [b]Also in the US, US Secretary of Commerce Raymond Rose is forced to resign[/b] admit a series of New York Times articles exposing his connection to several firms that were awarded lucrative space and defense contracts related to the newly established Space Force. His resignation comes as a blow to an administration that ran on transparency and accountability, and the President was forced to give a statement on the resignation. In response to the scandal, a review on contracts and procurement across multiple agencies have been initiated by the Office of the Inspector General for the Departments of Defense, Commerce and Education.[/indent]