Esamir National News Network

Annika Pjetursson consecrated as first female Archbishop of Uppsala

UPPSALA -- In a large ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral in Uppsala, the Church of Sweden has consecrated a new leader, Annika Pjetursson. The Archbishop of Uppsala is considered the Primate of Aloia, the first-among-equals bishop who presides over the Aloian national church. Pjetursson previous served as Bishop of Rochester, near Zumbrota. Pjetursson has long been friends with the House Tordenskjold, and was chosen to perform the baptisms of Queen Victoria's children and Princess Madeleine's children.

Originally from Iceland, Pjetursson moved to mainland Aloia as a young woman pursuing religious studies at St. Britta's University in Arvika, Svea. Pjetursson graduated from there and became an oblate in the Order of St. Magnhild. Pjetursson went to seminary at Ascension Seminary in Zumbrota, where she met her future husband, another priest named Victor Schultz. Pjetursson went onto a career in church leadership, while her husband went on to become a world-renowned astronomer, working with the Church Academy of Sciences, a prestigious group of scientist-priests in the Church of Aloia.

Pjetursson's emphases as a bishop in Rochester have been on social justice and reform. Working in a city with a lot of economic inequality, she spearheaded campaigns to improve living conditions for Rochester's poorest citizens, and is expected to bring those programs to a national scale, as she works as Primate of Aloia. Her ministry has also emphasized the value of science and research, drawing on her husband's expertise as a famous astronomer. Aloia leads the world in scientific research, in large part because of the strong partnership between the state church and national scientific unions. Pjetursson's work has promoted the STEM professions to youth in the church, especially to young women.

Besançon, Marquette -- The results from the senate elections have come in, and it has been announced that the leftwing coalition has won a razor-thin majority. Having gained 5 seats since the 2017 elections to a total of 89, the progressives now hold a precarious 50.8% of seats in the legislature. In order to receive the mandate to form a government, a leader must have the backing of 88 senators. King Frédéric IV has reluctantly given Mazzimo Serro, the leader of the largest party in the progressive wing, an invitation to the Iris Palace in order to begin talks on forming a new government.

Few expected such a dramatic and immediate fall from grace for outgoing Chancellor Charpentier. While it is still unconfirmed that he had any involvement in the terror attacks last month, it is apparent from the outcome of the election that public opinion is gradually shifting away from the old status quo, and that his mishandling of weapons shipments from Eurasia is seen as careless in the eyes of the majority of voters. The conservative coalition had lost votes in the two prior elections, but this outcome is nevertheless unprecedented. It marks the first time in over 60 years that a leftwing coalition has been given a mandate to form a government, and the first time ever that a government has been formed with such a substantial backing from a socialist party, which gained
7 seats to an impressive total of 15.


Little is known of what the future is to bring, especially considering that the new government will have to rely on the sustained backing of 10 senators from the Unionist Faction, a group of non-elected senators, if they are to prevent treading into minority government territory. For the time being, however, the Unionist Faction has stated that it remains committed to the coalition's values, and that its members have no reason to walk out.

In his victory speech, Mazzimo Serro addressed supporters in his hometown in the northern city of Altomonte. Despite the fact that his Unionist Party finished overall with less seats than the previous two elections, Mr. Serro remains confident in his ability to lead a successful government, especially considering his partners' astounding victories. Serro has not yet announced specifics on how ministries will be divided, but he did announce that of 13 total ministries, 6 would go to his party, 4 would go to the Democratic Union Party, 2 to the Socialist Union, and 1 to the Unionist Faction. He also hinted that coalition leaders are looking into founding an additional ministry, but did not elaborate on what function it might serve.

Mr. Serro has 30 days to form his government, after which will begin a 30-day transition period, followed immediately by the senate reconvening for a late start to its spring session.

CALABASAS, SEVILLA, ARVEYRES == The royal tricolor which flies in front of the Palace of the Senate flies at half-mast following an unexpected decree by Her Highness the Queen. Queen Sofia X announced her abdication of the throne following the success of the Republican Coalition in the National Senate election. The Federalist, Conservative, and Secularist parties, all collectively anti-monarchist have secured a plurality of seats in the National Senate. This, coupled with rising distrust and disapproval of the Queen have led many political analysts to believe that her abdication would come sooner rather than later.

Arveyres is nominally an elective monarchy but has in practice not operated so since the 1300s, as the last thirty-two monarchs have been all direct descendants of the last elected monarch, Queen Lucia. As the new Senate comes to power, many believe that they will call for the successive monarch to be elected outside of the Eurasius family. As this would cause political tension with the Empire, the nation's suzerain, it is not known if this move is definite or not. The most likely candidate for the succession is the eldest daughter of the Queen, Princess Celia, who is an extremely controversial figure in the royal community as she is the illegitimate daughter of the Emperor and she has many political ties to the Social Democracy.

The new-old auto-drome of Velikovolka

After his first diplomatic tour, Prince Viktor Emmanuel Higencourt flied back to Velikogovolka for the inauguration of the new auto-drome of the capital. Built in the last century, the auto-drome was used for almost five decades for the so-diffused Formula One championship, together with other circuits like the one in Sessadrain and the one in Cape Wolf. The loss of interest of many former amateurs of the sport conducted to the closing of the series, while Rally imposed itself as the main car’s sport in the country.

Now, with the announcements that the Formula One World Championship will probably restart and the renovated interest toward this competition, the Federal Government, together with Sarif Industries, restructured the complex of Velikogovolka, an auto-drome that will also used for tests and as moto circuits. Sarif, which recently acquired the old Williams Sport Car group, as decided to candidate for the next championship. Rumors about the next pilots of the new Williams pointed out toward Alexander Barbet and Nina Hatturi, both former rally drivers who were indicated as probable new pilots of the Williams.

His Highness attended to the inauguration of the new auto-drome, together with the president of Sarif Industries, David Sarif and the Ministry for Culture and Sport, Ludwig Johannson, in one of his first appearance side by side with members of the government and the economic élite of the country.
The auto-drome, located in the outskirts of the city, will be served by a complex of hotels, hangars, helipad. Previously located near an Olympic Village, since the time it was partially deconstructed due to the building of a new one in the south of the capital city, the auto-drome and what remained of the structures were almost abandoned. The new project brought back life in the area, where the municipality of Velikogovolka also expect to inaugurate, in the future, a conference hall and a fair space.
The auto-drome and the space around, forming the Auto Sport Complex of Velikovolka, will be named "Eugene Sarif Circuit", in honour of the grand-grand father of the actual president of Sarif Industries, founder of the company and, not surprising for that time, pilot of F1.

Chrysopolis, Achaian Oriento: Gavriil Ekklisias, formerly the Bishop of Raitia in the Achaian-administered diocese of the same name, and for the last three years a wanted man due to his tenure in that position, has announced in his latest publicly-released sermon that the former Bishop of Mystras, Akakios Doukas, has died in exile in Oriento. “The Lord receives a martyr,” Ekklisias said in the forty-three-minute video uploaded to the internet late last night. “We on Esamir are left to mourn his passing, but, even as we weep, we must always remember that our brother in the Light now receives his due reward at the hand of the Lord.”

Akakios Doukas will almost certainly be remembered as the most controversial primate that the Achaian Church has ever possessed. On the basis of Doukas’s strong defense of clerical prerogatives, his peers among the clergy chose him to be the youngest-ever Bishop of Mystras during the reign of Sultan Grigorios VII, grandfather to our own Sultana. Throughout his occupation of that bishopric, Doukas took part in the struggles and controversies that have defined Church-Sultanate relations for centuries, more often than not prevailing over Sultan Grigorios and his son Sultan Ioannis IX. These victories generally improved the Church’s bargaining power with the Achaian political elite, and provided a potential source of high-level support for other Achaians in conflict with the Blue Palace. Then-Bishop Akakios was well known for taking Sultan Ioannis to task at the pulpit whenever he felt it necessary to remind the Sultan of Achaian Morea’s historical duty to God and to the people that worshiped Him.


Sultan Ioannis spent much of his reign continuing his predecessors’ policies of national isolation, accomplished through Morea’s status as a client of the Empire of Duresia, and religious subordination. However, as Duresia became friendlier with the Empire of Eurasia, which Morea has always viewed as an existential threat, Sultan Ioannis sought additional guarantees from elsewhere to prevent the worst. In 2016, the Sultanate announced the marriage of then-Princess Aikaterini and Duke Nico II Baumbach of Montferrat, acquiring Montferrati soldiery and significant influence in the Duchy’s foreign policy in return for establishing a personal union between the Duchy and the Sultanate and elevating Duke Nico’s heirs as his own. Doukas opposed the personal union as a mark of subordination to Montferrat’s greater military strength, and became increasingly outspoken against the marriage of Duke Nico and Princess Aikaterini as Montferrat’s toleration of alternative religious practices and beliefs came to his, and Esamir’s, attention. Doukas especially opposed the deployment of Montferrati soldiers, including Nordan mercenaries belonging to the pagan Makarian Cult, to defend Morea against potential Eurasian aggression. Many of his sermons from Kallimamaro Cathedral focused on the dangers of the pagan presence in Morean territory, with a particular focus on Montferrati Makarian soldiers: “We must guard against heathen belief at home as well as abroad,” he said once, “and be aware of the dangers we have allowed to dwell in our midst.”


Doukas’s conflicts with the Blue Palace on the toleration of pagan belief extended to Sultan Ioannis’s decision to take in migrants and refugees from throughout Esamir. Doukas famously presented Sultan Ioannis with two petitions in the same month in an effort to shut down the refugee program, which the then-bishop decried as another road by which pagans and other threats to Christians in general and Achaians in particular to enter Morea and wreak havoc on the Achaian way of life. The Sultan soundly rejected these arguments, and his representatives abroad made every effort to attract refugees to Morea in the wake of several serious conflicts in southern Esamir, in particular the Kiwi annexation of Texania and Blukon and the subsequent (first) Eurasian invasion of New-Zealand. On-and-off conflicts in the disputed territories of Ireland and Wales also contributed to the flood of displaced people throughout the world, many of whom were encouraged to settle in Morea over Doukas’s objections. As Montferrati soldiers assisted in processing migrants at the borders, Kallimarmaro Cathedral heard how pagan guards could allow hostile elements into Morea out of spite, despite assurances to the contrary from the Blue Palace and Riesa’s Baumbach House.

Doukas also took offense to the Sultanate’s growing relationship with the Federal Aristocratic Kingdom of New Tarajan, which Sultan Ioannis considered necessary for Morea’s defense as the Empire of Duresia’s friendly relationship with the Empire of Eurasia became more obvious and threatening to Achaian survival. Religiously-motivated political controversies in New Tarajan developed into international contests as Doukas insulted then-Tarajani Prime Minister Ulrich De Witte-Beulen and, later, King Friederick Wilhelm II in response to the murder conviction of Tarajani Catholic Piet Gilsheim, as well as to the passage of anti-religious legislation in New Tarajan that was seen as a means of persecuting Tarajani Christians. Doukas vocally objected to establishing a relationship with New Tarajan, leading to a further deterioration of his and the Church’s relationship with Sultan Ioannis as he sought to negotiate a mitigation of the Tarajani religious law and simultaneously acquire Tarajani support in the event of a war with Eurasia.


In an effort to patch up their relationship, Doukas and Sultan Ioannis devised the Nordan Mission project to convert the Makarians of Norda to Christianity. The Blue Palace and the Achaian Church, together with a compliant Duchy of Montferrat, established three Achaian dioceses in eastern Norda, to the immediate north of Montferrat’s borders, from whence the Montferrati military often took its recruits. The cooperation required to make the Nordan Mission work helped to prevent the internal collapse of the Achaian political structure for another few months, but it also created additional problems of its own, including a damaged relationship between Morea and Montferrat in response to Makarian complaints of Achaian Church abuses in Norda, to which Montferrat paid a great deal more attention than Morea. Doukas intensified his attacks against Duke Nico and Duchess Aikaterini in response to their decision to entertain Shield Bearers, important personages and leaders in the Makarian community, further souring the Achaian Church’s relationship with the Duchess’s father, Sultan Ioannis. Immediately after this, Sultan Ioannis finalized an important agreement of friendship with King Friederick Wilhelm of New Tarajan, and Achaian Princes Chrysanthos and Dimosthenis acquired noble titles and lands in a country that Doukas had often described as “the Devil’s playground.” Doukas and Sultan Ioannis were all but at war with one another when the latter was murdered by a palace guard upon his return from New Tarajan to Mystras.

Sultan Ioannis’s assassination marked the end of Akakios Doukas in Morea. Immediately suspected as the responsible party by observers both foreign and domestic, and soon to confront a Sultana whom he had regularly insulted as Duchess of Montferrat, Doukas chose instead to flee Mystras and take refuge with his protégé, Gavriil Ekklisias, in the Nordan Diocese of Raitia. Only weeks later, he and Ekklisias fled Norda altogether, pursued by the Montferrati military and warrants for their arrest issued by both Sultana Aikaterini and the Tarajani Landsraad. The two erstwhile bishops eventually arrived in Oriento, where, according to defiant video messages and sermons delivered by Ekklisias, they worked to create a new ‘Achaian homeland’ controlled by the Achaian Church. Ekklisias publicized occasional video sermons over the next few years to encourage Achaian Christians to abandon Morea and the Sultana in favor of Oriento, which was advertised to them as a new Christian theocracy; he furthermore assured his viewers that the former Bishop of Mystras was working diligently to make this vision a reality. However, Akakios Doukas himself remained almost entirely silent after his departure from Raitia.


This threat to create a theocracy in Oriento led to immediate conflict with Sultana Aikaterini and Duke Nico, who encouraged thousands of refugees to settle in Oriento in the name of the Sultanate to counter the ambitions of the former bishops. Intra-Achaian competition on the continent quickly escalated to violence, resulting in Achaian, Montferrati, and Tarajani anti-terror units entering Achaian Oriento on multiple occasions in their hunt for Akakios Doukas and Gavriil Ekklisias to put an end to the fighting. Neither clergyman has been found, though Tarajani expeditions eventually uncovered enough evidence to exonerate Doukas of accusations of complicity in Sultan Ioannis’s assassination; the assumed true culprit, aside from the gunman, remains unknown. Doukas remained criminally liable for the operations of the Nordan Mission, nonetheless, and was wanted for questioning pertaining to the terror attacks in the city of Chrysopolis, the capital of Achaian Oriento, and for general sedition and treason against the Sultanate.

The legacy left behind by Akakios Doukas will long outlive the man. His personal split with Sultan Ioannis and Sultana Aikaterini led to a more serious division between the Achaian Church and the Sultanate as a whole, and has required the apparatus of the state to distance itself from its religious bedrock in order to survive any foray into international diplomacy. His driving influence on the Nordan Mission resulted in devastating abuses levied against the very people on whom the Achaian people now depend for the strength to survive against hostile neighbors—who have only become more hostile over time thanks to Doukas’s public statements against them. And his treasonous intentions in Oriento have brought the Sultanate into an ongoing low-level conflict that continues to see occasional casualties suffered by both the military and civilian populations of the territory, threatening any peace that has been promised to refugees fleeing the great wars of Eurasia, New-Zealand, and others. The words and actions of Akakios Doukas have increased the world’s hostility toward Achaian Morea, while simultaneously preventing Achaian Morea from coming to the assistance of its friends in their time of need. His death, when and if it is confirmed, will likely be welcomed by prelates and potentates alike throughout the rest of Esamir. In Morea and in Oriento, however, it is anyone’s guess how either his followers or his detractors will react to his loss.


For now, Nafplio remains silent on the matter, and the Blue Palace in Mystras has failed to release a statement in Her Majesty’s name. It will be difficult for Sultana Aikaterini to gloat at the death of a man still revered by a significant number of her subjects, but it will be impossible for her to mourn him, even if she were personally inclined to do so. Nonetheless, it is difficult to imagine that the Sultana will remain silent forever. Doukas’s demise is the beginning of the end of a chapter of Achaian history that has been engrossing, horrifying, and utterly confusing by turns, and everyone involved in that chapter will want to know Sultana Aikaterini’s mind as an indication of Achaian Morea’s next steps as it seeks to put these troubles behind it.

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IN OTHER NEWS:

Violence in Oriento: A Timeline

Duke Nico Reportedly Weighing Value of OMNI Participation

KHANDALA: The weekend following UKZ Day is usually designated for Prime Ministers to take a holiday and that is exactly what Prime Minister May did. Her husband and a few friends travelled to dense forests of Khandala in the presidency of Bombay for a weekend in a forest cottage and hiking. Early on Saturday morning the Prime Minister, her husband and three of their friends left the cottage for a hike. The Prime Minister is reported to have told secret service to not accompany them as she was very familiar with this particular trail. The PM and her husband are avid hikers and have hiked this trail multiple times before. Armed with a rifle, the hiking party left their cottage at 5:45 am.

2 hours later, around 8 am, the secret service lost GPS location on the Prime Minister. At around 9 am they located the PM's three friends. They reported that they got separated from the PM and her husband after a herd of deer came running through the trail (presumably chased by a leopard, which is common in the area). They were unharmed but they claim that they had reason to believe that the PM's husband might be hurt.

The National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), which specialises in search and rescue operations, has been called in. There is no reason to believe that the Prime Minister's life is in danger. The NDRF has stated that the PM and her husband and seasoned hikers. They know what to do in such situations. Even though their GPS device might have been damaged in the chaos ensuing the herd of deer, we have a rough area as to where to look for them based on their last known GPS transmission that we received.

Her Majesty, the Vice-Prime Minister and the Governor-general of Cair Paravel have been intimated of the situation. Under the Zack constitution, there is no provision for the continuity of government. When a Prime Minister has been incapacitated, all decisions are in the hands of the crown. The Crown is advised by the Royal Cabinet. This consists of the Vice-Prime Minister (VEEP) who nows represents cabinet in parliament, the Governor-general of Cair Paravel, who is the Crown's representative to the union government and parliament, the Chancellor of Parliament, who is the leader of the single largest party in the Commonwealth Council (Upper house of parliament) - The Chancellor happens to be the leader of the Liberal Party (the principal opposition in the lower house).

While the country gears for the celebration of the Rogtanganistine festival of Frabjous Tuesday, the Manalsu and several leaders of the faith have asked faithful to keep the PM and her husband in their prayers as they attend temple services this weekend leading up to Frabjous Day. The Liberal leader of the opposition has also said that he is praying for the PM and her husband, and is looking forward to her quick and safe return to the benches opposite the isle.

more as this story develops

UPDATE: The Prime Minister has been found. The PM and her husband made their way to the highway where the hitchhiked and got the driver to contact local police to rescue them from a restaurant at the nearest exit.
They are both being treated at a local hospital. The PM and her husband are severely dehydrated and her husband has sustained a fracture in his thigh. The PM is expected to return to Cair Paravel soon and resume duties

Chrysopolis, Achaian Oriento: Native Orientans assaulted Montferrati positions early this morning in northern Achaian Oriento, as the last of the ‘Mystran colonist’ resistance appears to have faltered in the wake of news that the former Bishop of Mystras, Akakios Doukas, is dead. Images taken by plane of the last two known Mystran compounds indicate that they were either abandoned or eradicated within the last three days, causing worry among military authorities in Chrysopolis and Riesa that the northern natives have eliminated any distractions preventing them from focusing their whole attention on removing Achaian military and civilian authority from the continent.

Orientan leaders in southern Achaian Oriento, including Lord Yoshioka Kouji, immediately distanced themselves from the violence incited by natives to the north. “We once again find ourselves in this unfortunate position of condemning those who should stand hand-in-hand with us due to their murderous behavior,” Lord Yoshioka said. “It is my opinion, and that of many of my colleagues, that Orientans as a people should be known for their hospitality and friendliness. We are appalled that our brethren to the north do not share our belief in hospitality, and continue to perpetrate these atrocities against the Achaian and Montferrati soldiers who only seek to protect them from religious violence that—considering recent news—should soon be coming to an end.”

In the earliest months of Achaian colonization of Oriento, the northern Orientan communities came into conflict with the so-called ‘Mystran’ compounds established under Doukas and Gavriil Ekklisias, the former Bishop of Raitia, as a result of the Mystrans’ attempts to convert or drive off the native populations around them. Ekklisias’s former bishopric had been established in order to do the same in Norda, north of the Duchy of Montferrat, and there is reason to believe that he was confident of his ability to manage the task without the risk of Montferrati interference. However, the Orientan communities, which lacked the connections with higher authorities that the Makarians of Norda depended on to oust the bishop from his see, reacted far more quickly and with far greater violence to the Mystrans’ activities in their territories, preempting Achaian and Montferrati attempts to put a stop to the erstwhile bishops and their followers in the area. Indeed, security forces in northern Achaian Oriento, mostly Montferrati Makarians, soon found themselves under attack from native forces intent on removing all foreign influences from the continent. This violence, which some have dubbed the Achaian-Orientan War, drew so many soldiers and military resources from Morea and Montferrat that the Blue Palace had no choice but to ignore its treaty obligations to its allies in OMNI Enforcer when the Empire of Eurasia and the Social Democracy of New-Zealand once again went to war: Morea and Montferrat declared themselves entirely neutral in the devastating conflict, severely damaging their reputations in the process.

The Orientan attacks on Mystran compounds required their militias to devote their attention to defending the compounds and their civilian populations, preventing any possible repeat of terrorist activities such as the bombing of Chrysopolis soon after that city’s founding. As the fighting continued, many of the Mystran compounds were abandoned by both the militia forces and the civilians they guarded, as Orientan resistance to their presence was too strong to withstand even with Makarian forces distracting the natives from their attacks on Mystran positions. As the number of Mystran compounds decreased, and as damage to the landscape and population of northern Achaian Oriento proportionally increased, Orientan violence in the area decreased accordingly, until Orientan representatives and Makarian officers reached an unofficial ceasefire late last year. Despite some hawkish elements in Riesa pushing to reinitiate hostilities, it was generally understood that Duke Nico II Baumbach and his military advisors were looking forward to establishing a proper peace treaty with the natives of northern Achaian Oriento in order to safeguard future colonization and residence.

It is unclear at the moment whether or not the Orientans view the death of Akakios Doukas as an opportunity to finish an uncompleted task, or if indeed they were responsible for his death in the first place. If the indications are correct that there remain no permanent Mystran compounds in northern Achaian Oriento, then there will be nothing to distract the Orientan fighters from their struggle with the official security forces attempting to pacify them. That consideration is true in reverse, as well, given the Mystrans’ tendency to view Makarians as hated enemies in their own right, and the lack of Achaian civilians in the area will permit the official soldiery to employ more indiscriminate methods of warfare against their enemies. Naval and air strikes against dug-in targets in the mountains will almost certainly commence within twenty-four hours.

As the war recommences, refugee communities in southern Achaian Oriento are understandably on heightened alert. The Blue Palace and Baumbach House have released separate statements of reassurance to the people of Achaian Oriento in response to the latest outbreak of violence in the north. “Our forces are committed to keeping safe those who have entrusted their lives and livelihoods to the arms of the Sultanate and the embrace of the Lord,” as the statement from Nafplio reads. “We will give you peace, one way or the other.”

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IN OTHER NEWS:

Antanares Firm on Independent Air Power

Hunt for Zack Prime Minister Expands

New-Zealand to Mars? Why Bother?

Duke of Coevorden announces new Federal Policy for Economic Renewal, Progress, and Innovation at the Palace of Government ---- FePERPI & Tarajani economy: follow the debate live on NTKO Channel 1 ---- OMNI Summit of Eindhoven: delegates discuss new Alliance policies, JSF, and joint space exploration program ---- F1 Championship to begin this weekend: teams and the FIA ready to see the new era of motorsports, spokesperson ---- Eindhoven Stock Exchange Indexes: AFIX +5.0% ; FIX +7.5% ; NTIA +9.0% ---- Would you like to know more? More updates and insights on www.ntko.co.tj


Astana.
While the latest OMNI Summit is taking place in Eindhoven to discuss the future of the Alliance, a surprising news came from the Palace of Government, where the Council has been gathering for a special session chaired by the Duke of Coevorden (immediately after his return from Eindhoven, where he has opened the Summit before leaving the ground to the Princess of Drenthe, Marguerite Van Drenthe, in her role of Special Delegate of the Landsraad to OMNI, and Baroness Wilhelmine Van Jenne as Tarajani delegate to the Alliance). The announcement, duly made during a press conference by the Duke of Coevorden himself, concerns what has already been termed as "the most massive economic plan ever conceived in Tarajani history."
"This is the time for New Tarajan to finally move forward and strive for a new era for our economy" the Grand Pensionary said "And we have just laid out the grand design for such a new era." The new plan, officially labelled Federal Policy for Economic Renewal, Progress, and Innovation (FePERPI), actually comprises two distinct parts, one specifically concerned about domestic economic policy, the other detailing the new economic and financial strategy of the Federal Kingdom on the world stage.
"As part of our domestic strategy the Ministry for Economy and Finance (MEF) will receive the mandate for coordinating all efforts on the federal level, through the appointment of a special committee, headed by the Minister and including officials on the Kreise level [the Kreise being a federal administrative district comprised of a group of States, five in total in the whole Kingdom]. States will be tasked with implementing all the policies they will deem necessary under the general framework of the federal plan, but enjoying a massive investment in money and assets by the Federal Government to achieve our goals."
But what are these goals? And what are the measures designed by the Council to achieve them?
First, the FePERPI provides for the identification of key areas that will be subject to the most widespread intervention: Industrial Manufacturing, Research&Development, Agriculture, Aerospace, and Infrastructure, with the addendum of a separate protocol (not yet finalized) that will mainly concern tourism and the wider cultural sector.
The plan than moves forward by defining an investment budget cap for each of the sectors, the total amount of money which will be then distributed among the different States. Such distribution will not be equalized, however, but will answer to the specific strengths and weaknesses of each State economy, as identified already in the plan and next by the committee and the Ministry (not to mention specific requests that each State will be able to put forward). The goal is to start a process by which the gap in economic progress and development between States (particularly evident in the great divide between Western and Eastern States) will finally be filled, tapping those resources and assets that, in the words of the Grand Pensionary "until now have been hidden in the shadow of inequality and lack of dedicated economic interventions." The plan also involves massive tax cuts and fiscal helps for the key sectors identified on the federal level, while States will be able to further adopt those ad hoc fiscal measures they will deem necessary or useful in the areas under their jurisdiction.
However "we cannot pretend to simply push from the top down a new economic policy by bringing in more and more money by the taxpayers" the Grand Pensionary said "What we need is a systemic approach. And this is exactly what we have done." How? By involving the private sector, in particular the financial and banking institutions that made for the true great power of Tarajani economy worldwide. New rules have been implemented by the plan to ease investments inside the Kingdom and in particular in the abovementioned sectors; what is more, such rules will also apply to foreign institutions and firms willing to invest into the future of Tarajani economy. Foreign investment, indeed, is seen as key for the success of the plan: "New Tarajan always enjoyed a strong economy, supported by a social and cultural system that is the envy of the world. It is time that we make it clear that the Kingdom is the perfect environment for investors that really want to put their money to good use, and to see their capital grow." the Duke of Coevorden said.
However, while opening its arms to foreign investors, New Tarajan also wants to increase its presence in the world economy. As already mentioned, FePERPI also provides for a new foreign economic policy, whose main lines are the strengthening and enhancement of the presence of Tarajani investors worldwide. In particular, the New Tarajan Investment Authority (NTIA), until now the main tool of the Federal Government for its investments in foreign countries, have been radically restructured, now becoming a mixed private-public vehicle that will see the direct participation of some of the largest and most powerful banks and financial firms of the Kingdom (such as the Royal International Bank and Aegon, the first two firms to already announce their participation). The NTIA will thus become an incredibly powerful financial tool, able to deliver massive investments in the most promising countries.
Solely the domestic part of FePERPI will see a truly massive investment by the Federal Government, amounting at more than one trillion Prands, an unprecedented amount of money for New Tarajan, that dwarfs even the economic plans enacted at the times of the People's Commonwealth during the '30s and early '40s and the later reconstruction policies enacted by the Monarchy at the end of the civil war; if one wishes to add the money that each State will invest as well, the numbers would significantly increase.
Now, the ball will pass into the hands of the two legislative bodies of the Kingdom, the Diet and the Landsraad, for finalizing the plan and approving it. While the former will be mainly concerned with fiscal sustainability issues, the latter, representing the wills of the States, will probably propose a number of amendments and modifications. However, it is expected that no particular problems will arise: the Duke of Coevorden has been wise enough to present his grandiose plan in a moment when he still enjoys the support of a strong majority inside the Diet, which will be incredibly useful in countering and cornering the opposition that predictably will come from those smaller fringes of the political spectrum, such as the Republican Party and some harder socialists, that would have otherwise made a swift approval by the Diet a less smooth process.



One of the first questions that whoever was listening to the Duke of Coevorden while speaking at the Palace of Government made to herself has been, for sure: why? Or, even better, why now? Truth is, there are a number of reasons, most of which can be easily discerned and which, as the plan itself, can be divided roughly into two different, though overlapping, rationales.
The first is a predominantly domestic one, but it would be a serious mistake simply to consider it a matter of domestic economy or GDP; in fact, there is an intertwined mix of economy and politics at play here. First of all, we should consider that the Kingdom experienced a long-lasting political infighting inside its most powerful legislative body, the Landsraad, combined with an extreme instability of governments, and then a global war against Eurasia, which led to an attempted coup by an unlikely alliance of far-left and far-right anti-monarchical groups, their violent suppression, and finally the issue of a new constitution, the first since 1944. Every other country would have fallen on its knees after such a series of events, still New Tarajan survived, even thrived in a sense. The victory in the war surely helped, and so it did the rise to political prominence of a figure such as the Duke of Coevorden. But we should remember also, that the Duke does not come from the world of Tarajani politics: he comes from the military, and from a branch of the Royal House. If the political world came to accept him, so much as to allow him to lead the KTCP, it is because the popularity and ascendancy he managed to gain at the same time over the public opinion (thanks to his swift restoration of order after the attempted coup), the military (thanks to his brilliant guidance during the war), and the King himself (for, in a sense, saving the Monarchy). King, people, and the army: isn't it the fundamental triad of Tarajani politics? Let's not forget that the King is the Chief of the Armed Forces, and the electoral rights in New Tarajan are reserved to those citizens who served in the same Armed Forces at least for one year. So, the rise to power of Leopold Conrad Van Vinkel cannot be a surprise for anyone. What is a surprise, is that he managed to build a strong and stable majority inside the Diet since after his election as Grand Pensionary, and to keep it firmly in his hands.
However, he must have understood the time of reckoning was coming. The main source of crisis and instability in the Kingdom, in fact the true reason behind the Landsraad Deadlock, as it has been labelled since then, is the growing inequality in economic development between Western and Eastern States; the Duke obviously understood this. And he knows that he cannot ignore the issue: without the Landsraad, it is impossible to govern the Kingdom. So he identified one solution for two problems, economic inequality (and growth slowdown) and the looming threat of political infighting. To this, one should further add that for the first time such a kind of federal plan explicitly involved the Outer Territories as well, such as the Gold Coast, South Ienara, and East Karasin, in an unprecedented show of unity.
On the international stage New Tarajan, as one of the countries most committed to the war against Eurasia, emerged once again as a victorious superpower. Still, that superpower image was already waning; and it can be hardly forgotten that the war was also the result of some serious mistakes made by OMNI, and above all Tarajani, politicians regarding their attitude toward Eurasia. The Duke of Coevorden went a long way to make it clear, since the very beginning, that he is no Eurasian fan (and, after all, he fought against them personally), and that New Tarajan will stick more and more to its obligations and its role inside OMNI. Still, that is hardly enough to appease the allies' concerns, as the Antanaresian defection from the JSF program clearly an almost dramatically showed. As a result, New Tarajan needed to send a powerful signal, one that could not be ignore, by either friends and foes. The FePERPI is also this: it is a signal. It tells the world that Tarajani economy, and particularly its manufacturing and aerospace sectors, will be once again the spearhead of the world (a clear answer to the New-Zealand challenge in the same fields), and that it will be at the same time more open than ever to the rest of the world (needlessly to say, particularly to Tarajani allies), by both pourin an unprecedent amount of money as foreign investments and by opening its arms to foreign investors. It is not a coincidence that the announcement came just while the OMNI Summit in Eindhoven, probably one of the most important ones in the Alliance's history, is still on-going.
The Federal Government aims at transforming New Tarajan in the economic juggernaut it was very close to become (particularly during the '70s and '80s), at the same time without sacrificing the traditional strength of the Tarajani system and addressing its main weakness (the disparity between States). It is the proverbial jack-of-all-trades: it enhances the political legitimacy of the Duke and its political majority; it appeases the latent conflict inside the Landsraad; it restores Tarajani economic power; it reaffirms the Kingdom's role as a great power and as a valuable partner and ally.
It now needs to be seen how also the rest of the world will perceive it.

Velikogovolka Wolfs wins the Football League beating the Ancor's Switch 78 to 65 - 1st Fleet navy exercise operation labeled "Sea Trident" started in the morning in the Souther Sea - Prodigal genius girl of nine admitted to the prestigious Conservatory of Cape Wolf for the first time in its history

The shift to clean air

Velikogovolka.
The Bruma of the Federation passed yesterday a law, the “Clean Air Act”, to promote a new green approach to public transportation and energy production. The proposal, advanced from MPs of Powers, the Wolf Party and the Social Liberal one, was passed with a large majority of the votes, signal of how much the problem of environment is getting more and more space in the public debate of the Federation.
The CAA tries to address at the same time multiple environmental problems affronted by the Federation (but not only). First of all, the Act promotes the differentiation of energy sources, allocating funds for R&D to improve the efficiency of solar and wind energy production systems. The Federation, via public funds and private companies and citizens, invested many resources in the optimization of these kind of systems. Some problems, despite the huge advancement made during the last decade, persist. One of the main problems remains the production, maintenance and disposal of the batteries necessary for the conservation and transport of energy around the country. The Cape Wolf Center of Alternative Energies is working on a new type of battery, that use some of the experimental technologies developed for the fusion power reactors (one of the jewels of Antanaresian’s technology) to improve capacity and also durability of the batteries themselves. The CAA also provide with financial support for the citizens who will shift from old diesel-gas cars to new model total, or partial, based on alternative fuels and electricity. The funds allocated from the Federal government, which also are directed to the industrial sector to help the shift to more clean and secure systems, will also help funding the local public realities in converting public transportations to electric systems, financing the construction of cyclable streets and incrementing the local solar-wind energy productions.

The CAA was received well from large part of the experts, but not so well from the lobby of gas-carbon producers, who were opening in new apertures toward the huge mineral and gas deposit in East Antanares, which instead will remain protected due to the Act. For the opponents of the new law, the decision to block further fracking-processes in East Antanares could be a blow to the energy independence of the country. Despite, since now, the country import less than the 10% of its energy production, mostly in the States outside the mainland, the rise of the consume due to the diffusion of electric and hybrid cars, home systems and public transportations, could also, if not rapidly addressed, force the Federation to rely again on energy-imports, one of the points advanced from the former Prince for advance his policies on fracking and extraction.

While new wind and solar farms are projected to be build around the Federation and the fusion power plants (despite critics moved to them) allow most of the Federation to rely on local, independent, clean energy, will be interesting to see if the increase of consume will be catch up by an increase of production in time, or instead the Federation will look to his northern allies to find a way to finance, electrically, its huge shift toward clean-technologies.

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Confirmed suicide

Cape wolf.
The death of Lorenza Von Matterhorn, former leader of the political party Powers, was confirmed as suicide from the local medical office after the autopsy approved by the Federal Security Bureau and the family of the victims. No notes or written goodbye letter were found near the body, but the FSB suspects that the woman was suffering from a grave form of depression due to the recent accusation moved from the Federal Attorney about a huge political scandal, which saw the MP linked with members of the Sessadraina’s mob.
The accusations, always rejected from Von Matterhorn, her party and her lawyer, were still yet to be confirmed in a trial, expected to start the next month. For many supporters of the political party, the trial itself was only a cover up for the Federation, in particular the Government and the Shadow’s Council, to destroy the political credibility of one of their most fierce adversaries and bring her down before the next-year federal elections. The accuse didn’t find any response from both the governmental bodies, which released only brief statements about the suicide.

Royal Navy on high alert in Oriento, Commonwealth authorities prepare for protests.

LISBON, Natal -- Kronstadt Naval Base has put their forces in Oriento on high alert as the Commonwealth of Natal anxiously watches the escalation of violence in Achaian Oriento. Minister of Defense Beth Moore has said, "Any civil violence is always unfortunate and we are closely watching the unfolding situation in Achaian Oriento. Our military stands ready to respond, if any of the violence should overflow into Natal. Our borders in Oriento are being closely guarded, and we are communicating closely with our Tarajani and Antanaresian allies in the region to ensure that our people are safe."

Oriento is one of the most heavily colonized continents in the world. Natal came into the Kingdom of Aloia largely through the controversial and secretive actions of the Saxon Order in the 1800s. Since becoming a state in 1871, Natal has always had a small but vocal independence movement. The state suffers from major racial disparities between the urban Peninsular Aloians (people descended from the Aloian settlers from the 17th and 18th centuries) in the capital of Chicago and the rural indigenous Orientans. Lisbon is a Peninsular-majority city in the north of Natal, surrounded by Indigenous-majority farming villages. Lisbon guards the straits at the mouth of Victoria Bay, controlling northern access to the isthmus city of Chicago. Northern Natal has long been a seat of Indigenous organizing, especially in the cities of Waukegan and Newark.

Indigenous leaders in Newark, Waukegan, Ottawa, and Terre Haute have already began organizing rallies in support of Achaian indigenous uprisings. Governor Bethany Norelius has said that she has the Home Guard on standby, in case any of the rallies escalate beyond what local authorities can handle. This is a developing story.

Having won the election last August, the government continued to work with the budget approved by the previous parliament (headed by PM Tharoor) as it was also a Congress controlled assembly. The government today has presented its first union budget and there has been a major shift of priorities from that of Tharoor's ZNC.
PM Tharoor's 3 budgets which oversaw, saw major cuts for defence and redirecting of funds into the agriculture and tourism sectors. A move that today has put the Zack agro-industry as the dominant market and has also ensured a vibrant tourism sector. However, this also resulted in massive lay-offs in the manufacturing, particularly the arms manufacturing sector and resulted in increased dependence of the UKZ on OMNI for defence.

Finance Minister, The Rt. Hon. Rishi Stanton has been shifted the government's attention back to the arms and automobile manufacturing sectors.

1. Defence Budget

The defence budget will see a major influx of government money, particularly encouraging indigenous development of technology and weaponry. The minister said that the budget will be encouraging manufacturing more defence tech in the UKZ and will encourage state owned companies like UKZ Aeronautics Limited (UKZAL) to acquire projects for OMNI nations.
Defence minister, Rt. Hon. Melissa Beasely has told parliament that this will allow UKZAL to begin manufacturing a fleet of new air craft carriers as well as a short range missile system.

This was also accompanied by a bump in the budget allocation to the UKZ's nuclear programme. The Defence minister claimed that this bump is purely to ensure the safety our current stockpile and should not be misconstrued as Zack intentions to resume testing. The UKZ has an estimated 120-180 warheads in its national stockpile.

2. Scientific Research

For the first time since 2005, the research sector saw a major cut in funding. This is surprising as the UKZ has always relied on its universities and research opportunities to attract international students to its shores. The biggest losers were space research and wildlife related research. This has caused great dissatisfaction among the 131 member strong Liberal MPs in parliament.
The Rt.Hon. Minister for Science and Techonology has told parliament that the government would encourage the private sector to invest more into research. The leader of opposition has warned parliament that this will only lead to hiking on tuition fees in universities and subsequently a loss of revenue from international students arriving in the country

3. 1500 Years since the establishment of the First Roman Catholic Church in Zackalantis

521 AD saw the establishment of the first official Roman Catholic Church in Palayur, now in the Presidency of Trivandrum. While Christianity arrived in present day UKZ by St. Thomas the apostle of Jesus in 52 AD, early Christians did not have any offcial churches and rejected organised religion. After years of persecution, Christians started to organise under the banner of Roman Catholicism to fight oppression by non-Christian kings, and nearly 500 years after the arrival of St. Thomas and his martyrdom - The pope commissioned the first Roman Catholic church - St. Thomas Cathedral. This was after the English conquered Triandrum. 30 years later the English royal family - who would go on to conquer all of present day UKZ, converted to Roman Catholocism.

The government has allocated a money towards the international celebration of this anniversary. PM May, in a show of Zack soft power and culture will organise celebrations across the UKZ's embassies starting on the 29th of November this year lasting till the 31st of December next year. The 29th of November marks the start of the new liturgical year for Catholics.

The Zack Council- UKZ's organisation responsible for spreading Zack culture and languages globally will also be an important partner in this endeavour.

Crowd's lined up in the thousands along Memorial Ave in Drakenburg's capital of Cair Mojan as the District rolled out the red carpet to welcome back some dear friends. Today marks the official commissioning day for the new Moedovern Zack Support Base, a new custom built and leased Zack Overseas Military installment built alongside the existing large NZDF Moedovern Naval Base. With the official handing over of the new Zack base, we will see a posting of roughly 12,000 Zack Military Personnel. Though plans are in place for this to expand to up to 38,000 at a time as an when needed. This posting now becomes the second overseas military presence on leased kiwi land, following the Aloian Naval Logistics Base in Half-Moon Bay. This development comes at a time where the current kiwi administration led by former NZDF Commander and now President Lanzarel Hawkins pursues aggressive diplomatic means to secure New-Zealand's future. The official plan for the new posting of UKZ forces in Drackenburg is to bolster the currently joint OMNI effort to address piracy in the open seas, but goes as a message to foreign aggressors of the kiwi and zack commitment to mutual protection. With the transfer of nuclear warheads to the UKZ being announced mere months earlier, the two are making no effort to hide their brotherhood from the international community. 

Public response, particularly in Drackenburg, was vastly positive. Droves of citizens lined the streets of Cair Mojan to cheer on the newly arrived Zack Forces marching alongside their kiwi counterparts in parade fashion. Public opinion in New-Zealand towards the UKZ has been overwhelmingly positive since the last Zealandic Civil War, as it was Zack Forces who responded immediately to secure the District of Zackalantis and then committed their efforts in an overwhelmingly large scale to support the NZDF in a joint charge from the District of Drackenburg all the way through to the capital of Grand Haven. 

We can expect a comment soon from the UKZ forces on the developments. With President Hawkins and NZDF High Command both opting to remain tight lipped during their respective press conferences: "It's their base, we'll let them tell you about it. We look forward to having new neighbours though" 








Milton Savings Bank (MSB) Chairman David Lotte has warned the incumbent Hawkin's Administration to remain vigilant about it's actions and their fallout. MSB hold's the private largest investment portolio in the world and has routinely provided independent reports to provide a private sector alternate view to those typically released by the Reserve Bank or the NZ Treasury Department. This years report though, was optimistic but cautious. The report warned the Hawkin's Administration is a volatile catalyst in both domestic and international politics, and that while the kiwi economy is currently bullish, it is increasingly susceptible to changes in international markets and relations. While news of infighting within OMNI for most part had minimal effect on the kiwi stock markets which were still soaring high on the Aloian developments, the report warns that a "falling out" with OMNI could be catastrophic for the kiwi economy and consumer confidence, not to mention national security. The report warned in the sternest sense that New-Zealand could not afford to, and most certainly should not, attempt to build bridges at the expense of burning others. 

The report itself comes in line with rumours from within the NZ political scene. It seems many within the administration are beginning to become anxious regarding Hawkin' too much too quick approach to restructuring the global geopolitical environment. The military decisiveness that made him a great NZDF Commander may not be playing that well in the political halls of New-Zealand and the world. Reports from within the OMNI meeting suggest that while a disagreement broke out between kiwi delegate Stephanie Heis-Dunlop (Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade) and her Antanaresian counterpart, they have for most part reconciled. Rumours suggest that the kiwi delegation is in the works of trying to reach a compromise with the OMNI members and potentially make some cut backs or changes to the Aloian Alliance proposal to placate our long-standing OMNI allies. Public polls report that will 83% support an Alliance with Aloia, on 23% support the alliance in its current state if it means deteriorating relationships within OMNI.

Meet the candidates: Aloian Chancellor race heats up

ZUMBROTA -- As Chancellor John Mark Nelson has announced he is not running again for Aloia's highest elected office, all of Aloia's major parties have completed their internal processes to select their own candidates for the office. This year's candidates are from all over the Aloian Dominions and represent a good cross-section of Aloian society.




Christian Democratic Union: Catherine Amundsen Hvistendahl
Previous offices: Vice Chancellor of Aloia, Minister of Energy and Commerce, Governor of Wonderstrand, Palatine of Wonderstrand, Senator of Wonderstrand
Hometown: Halsey Chapel, Wonderstrand

Vice Chancellor Catherine Hvistendahl currently serves as Vice Chancellor of Aloia. A native of Wonderstrand in western Anacostia, Hvistendahl started her career as a lawyer and activist in Wonderstrand's capital of Halsey Chapel. Hvistendahl worked up through the Senate and High Council representing Wonderstrand before going home to serve as Governor for a term. Chancellor Nelson tapped Hvistendahl for Minister of Energy and Commerce after the 2016 election. After Vice Chancellor Sebastian Gill retired in 2018 citing health concerns, Hvistendahl quickly became a leading contender for Vice Chancellor, ultimately being chosen to take the position. Hvistendahl is the natural CDU candidate, being an outspoken member and supporter of the Church of Aloia. Hvistendahl has diverged from Chancellor Nelson's positions however, seeking closer cooperation with Aloia's Green Party and Social Democratic Party. Hvistendahl, being from Anacostia, has been shown to be one of the major factors pushing for restored relations with New Zealand. A Hvistendahl chancellorship would likely lead to a closer relationship between Aloia and New Zealand and a gradual transition to more sustainable energy practices.




Green Party: Renata Albright
Previous offices: Governor of Hueneme, Senator of Hueneme, Mayor of Ascension, Ascension City Councillor
Hometown: Ascension, Hueneme

Governor Renata Albright, the Green Party candidate, is the youngest person running for Chancellor this year. Albright grew up in southern Hueneme, the youngest of 11 children. Albright started her career by working as a park ranger at the Cueva de las Manos World Heritage Park before moving back to work with environmental organizations in her hometown of Ascension. She served on the city council before becoming the mayor. She then was elected to represent southern Hueneme in the Senate before coming home again and becoming governor of Hueneme. She is also pro-New Zealand, but being from Hueneme in Aloian Argentine, she favors a more neutral stance with the other world powers, seeking relations with other OMNI Enforcer states and some relations with Eurasia.



Social Democratic Party: Daria Quinn
Previous offices: Chancellor of Uppsala University, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador to New Zealand
Hometown: Yorkville, Natal; currently Uppsala, Svea.

Minister Daria Quinn previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2016 in the Alma Gillespie administration. Before that, she served as the Aloian Ambassador to New Zealand. Quinn started her career as a lawyer for indigenous rights in her home state of Natal, herself being Natal Indigenous. After John Mark Nelson succeeded Gillespie as Chancellor, he broke off the CDU's coalition with the Green Party and Social Democratic Party in favor of an alliance with the Conservative Party. Quinn was replaced with a Conservative politician and was tapped to be Uppsala University's next Chancellor. While serving in that role, she maintained close ties with the leadership of the Social Dems, ultimately becoming their candidate. She is the most pro-New Zealand candidate, pushing for a foreign policy much more aligned with New Zealand and OMNI Enforcer against Eurasia.



Royal Conservative Party: Jerod Rhodes
Previous offices: Governor of Mercia, Mayor of Fargo
Hometown: Fargo, Mercia

Governor Jerod Rhodes is a member of the historically influential Rhodes family, the family that controls Rhodes Industries, Aloia's largest corporation. Hadrian Rhodes served as Chancellor of Aloia in the late 20th century and Soledad Rhodes is the current Speaker of the Senate. Jerod Rhodes is the black sheep of the family, however, leaving behind the Christian Democratic Union to join the more radical far-right wings of the Royal Conservative Party. Rhodes moved to Fargo shortly after graduating business school at the University of Anglia. He became an influential businessman in Fargo, eventually becoming mayor of the city and governor of the state. Other members of the Rhodes family have been careful not to comment on Jerod's candidacy, possibly because many family members have had semi-public feuds with him in the last couple decades as his politics drifted further right. Rhodes is the only candidate to promote close ties with Eurasia. If he is elected, the Kingdom would likely walk back their recent treaty talks with New Zealand. Rhodes is also in favor of cutting regulations and has said he would repeal most of the environmental rules that the Kingdom has put in place since the 1970s.

The UKZ has always celebrated the 25th of June as Half Christmas (ie: the halfway mark to Christmas). Originally starting as a way to spread Christianity and project it as a religion free of the restrictions on alcohol and food. It regained popularity during the Eurasian and Duresian occupation as a way for Christians to protest and profess their faith. Today it has become a reason to party and is a huge attraction for international tourists. So much so that the 25th of June is now a public holiday in all the presidencies of the UKZ, including presidencies like Relion, Bombay, Daman and Cawnpore where Christians are the minority.

This half Christmas though the presidencies of Bombay, Daman and Cawnpore have announced that they are cancelling the public holiday. This comes off the back of the Zack People's Party (ZPP) splitting in these presidencies into the libertarian yet secular ZPP and the Hindu nationalist Indian Janata Party (IJP). The IJP is headed by former ZPP president - Manarendra Gobi. Mr. Gobi transformed the pan-UKZ ZPP into an Indian presidency centric party that focussed on Hindu pride and ensuring that Hindu Zacks get first rights in the Indian presidencies.
This resulted in ZPP candidates in non-Indian presidencies losing their seats and resulting in the party winning only 11 seats (all from Indian presidencies) in the past two elections. Mr. Gobi is also the Chief Minister of the Presidency of Daman- a post he has held for the past 4 terms (this is his 5th consecutive term).

Following his poor performance, the national convention of the ZPP impeached him after last year's general election and he left the party to form the IJP. He continued to maintain the support of majority of the ZPP MLAs in the Daman legislative assembly. This mean that no-confidence motions tabled by anti-Gobi ZPP MLAs and the ZNC opposition failed multiple times. The ZPP Chief Minister of the presidency of Cawnpore is also expected to switch to the IJP. He is also said to have a large majority of ZPP MLAs who are Gobi loyalists.
In Bombay, the Bombay People's Party (BPP) and the ZPP are in an alliance, however, the leader of the ZPP in Bombay has leanings to Gobi.
The joint declaration of these three presidencies indicates that they are all ready to lean towards the IJP's ideology and this is reason for concern for the Christian minorities in these presidencies.

Other Indian presidencies like Trivandrum (who has a nearly equal Hindu and Christian population) and Goa (which has a Christian majority) are set to go ahead with Half Christmas street parties and fireworks. They will be joined by the rest of the UKZ, including Roghtanganistine majority Relion.

Chrysopolis, Achaian Oriento: The violence in Achaian Oriento has now extended westward of Victoria Bay, as surviving Mystran forces were discovered racing toward the borders of the Aloian state of Natal and were swiftly cut off by fast-reacting Montferrati naval and airborne forces before they could stir up international trouble. Duke Nico II Baumbach has sworn to prevent the violence in Achaian Oriento from extending beyond the borders claimed by the Sultanate of Morea, and has established military control of the territory west of Victoria Bay to ensure that violent elements related to either the religious fundamentalist Mystrans or the native Orientan armies “have no hope of causing the same pain to our neighbors in Oriento that they daily cause to ourselves.”

Officials in Achaian Oriento had earlier reported that all Mystran communities in the north had been eradicated or abandoned months ago, as native Orientan fighters obliterated all traces of the religious fundamentalists that had followed Akakios Doukas and Gavriil Ekklisias, the former Achaian bishops responsible for the Nordan Mission disaster, to a ‘new Achaian homeland’ outside of Sultana Aikaterini II Baumbach-Kallergis’s control. The Mystrans’ poor treatment of the native populations resulted in a more violent response in Oriento than it had in Norda, where native Makarians had the ear of Duke Nico and then-Duchess Aikaterini of Montferrat throughout most of the unfortunate experiment. Under Sultana Aikaterini’s authority, Morea formally claimed portions of Oriento to counteract the depredations of the Mystran population, but the Sultana has ever since depended on the soldiers and ships of her ducal husband to keep order in her territories on the continent, and maintain the safety of the multitudes of refugees who were sent to settle there in lieu of the uninterested Morean Achaian population. However, the Sultanate of Morea was unable to establish military control of the area without the soldiers of the Duchy of Montferrat, many of whom are devoted Makarians from Norda, who have their own grudges against the Mystran followers of Doukas and Ekklisias.


Until now, violence has remained confined to the northern portions of Achaian Oriento, as the Montferrati forces have successfully prevented all attempts by both Mystran and Orientan fighters to attack the civilian immigrant and native Orientan communities of southern Achaian Oriento. Duke Nico’s forces have been diligent in maintaining cordial relations with the native populations of the south, and have actually begun recruiting Orientan soldiers in the same fashion as the Makarians of Norda, long a staple of the Montferrati army well before Montferrat annexed their homelands in 2018. Native leaders in the south, most especially Orientan Lord Yoshioka Kouji, have encouraged the Montferrati military to acquire native assistance in its struggle against the fighters in the north, while also encouraging their people to provide that assistance when asked. “The northern fighting is extremist on all sides,” Lord Yoshioka has said when asked about his stance. “If our people are to survive and have hope, we must ensure that those who would exterminate us are subdued by those who would befriend us, and we must also ensure that those who would befriend us do not turn against us due to our own inaction.”

Prior to today’s news, the latest report from Oriento had determined that the Mystran communities founded by Gavriil Ekklisias in Akakios Doukas’s name had been destroyed soon after the announcement that Doukas himself had died in exile. Montferrati forces thereafter engaged Orientan fighters in a series of fierce battles in the mountains that make up the central spine of Oriento, particularly in the Todt Range, thus dubbed by the Makarian soldiers in honor of Shield Bearer Luca Todt of Aimilia, Norda. Orientan resistance has remained more or less steady in the face of this onslaught, as morale among the native fighters is high after the eradication of the Mystran enclaves; however, there are indications that the Montferrati assault is taking a toll, and that a breakthrough is soon to occur. The reports of Mystran remnants elsewhere in Oriento is an unfortunate distraction for Montferrat’s land and sea forces, which have been redirected to safeguard the borders of Oriento’s other states and colonies from the menace of Mystran infiltration. In so doing, Montferrati forces have entered a new swath of Orientan territory en masse, bringing a pause to their operations in northern Achaian Oriento for the time being.

“In the name of my lady wife, the Sultana of Morea, I have seen fit to add these lands of Oriento to the possessions of the Morean Sultanate,” Duke Nico said to reporters this afternoon. “As Achaian Oriento came into the Sultanate’s possession to protect it from Mystran incursions, so too will the flag of Morea and the arms of Montferrat preserve this new land and its neighbor territories from the remnants of Akakios Doukas’s unholy hatred. Our efforts will protect the lives of those residing in our new territories, and ensure that what is now occurring in northern Achaian Oriento does not repeat itself west of Victoria Bay.”

Sultana Aikaterini has also released a statement from her residence in Nafplio, Morea. It reads in part: “Our Achaian people are done with the strife that goes before the words and deeds of our erstwhile bishops of Mystras and Raitia. While the Lord has at long last eliminated the scourge of these misguided heretics from our present possessions in Oriento, they have endeavored to reappear, cockroach-like, elsewhere on the continent, to the great grief of all who reside on it. We are grateful to our lord husband and to the brave soldiers of Montferrat and Morea, whose efforts today have prevented disasters uncounted from befalling our neighbors and friends in Oriento and elsewhere.”


It is too soon to say how many Mystrans might be present in the newly-claimed territory, and no census on its native or other populations has been done. Montferrat’s forces in Oriento face a difficult challenge in securing this new territory, eliminating its insurgent forces, and befriending the indigenous population; while the Morean acquisition of Chrysopolis and its surrounding territory was assisted by a civilian population of Achaians and refugees that built friendly bases of operations for the soldiers protecting them, the Montferrati soldiers west of Victoria Bay are operating alone, surrounded by the towns and cities of a native population that has little reason to seek union with Morea. Time will tell if the locals can be persuaded that it is in their best interests to assist in the hunt for the Mystran fugitives, or if they will prove as intractable as their distant brethren in northern Achaian Oriento.

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IN OTHER NEWS:

Duke Nico Taking the Lead? Sultana Aikaterini’s Retreat Explained

Duke’s Minister Augustin to Cordoba: Congratulations to the New Sultana

Omada Morea’s Mixed Results: “Lambert Needs to Get His Head in the Game”

Riesa, Montferrat: Government ministers in Riesa have broken a long period of silence about their frustration with Achaian Sultana Aikaterini II Baumbach-Kallergis, who they claim has rejected a second petition by the Ministerial Palace to formally enthrone Duke Nico II Baumbach of Montferrat, her husband, as Sultan of Morea. The news broke from the Ministerial Palace itself, as several high-level ministers expressed their “extreme irritation” at the Sultanate for rejecting a petition that, according to their statement, had been sent to Nafplio last week. Neither the Blue Palace nor the unofficial royal household in Nafplio have responded to the ministers’ statement as of yet.

“The people of our Duchy have recognized a foreign princess as their rightful and reigning Duchess of Montferrat and Countess of Riesa for more than four years, and have afforded her the same rights and privileges that are held by right of inheritance by her husband, His Grace, our Duke,” the ministers’ statement reads in part. “These rights and privileges came to Her Grace the Duchess due entirely to her marriage to our sovereign lord, and set a precedent most pleasing to her sensibilities at the time that she acquired them. It is only proper that the Sultanate of Morea accept the husband of its reigning Sultana as its own reigning Sultan, as the wife of the reigning Duke of Montferrat was acknowledged without complaint as our reigning Duchess.”


These complaints mirror the argument put forward by Montferrati ministers three years ago after Sultana Aikaterini ascended to the throne of Morea after the assassination of her father, Sultan Ioannis IX Kallergis. As Sultana Aikaterini’s coronation was held under unusual circumstances—the new Sultana had refused to take up residence in the Blue Palace of Mystras, and instead held her coronation under the direction of a bishop freshly created for the event in Nafplio, while the then-Bishop of Mystras, Akakios Doukas, fled the country entirely—many in Morea and Montferrat believed that more formal and permanent arrangements would follow, and those who were not content with the initial arrangements were hopeful that their concerns would be addressed in the near future. However, these supposedly-interim arrangements have proven to be more permanent than at first believed, as Sultana Aikaterini has made no alterations to her governing structure or the basis of her rule in Nafplio. Particularly for Duke Nico, who joined her in Nafplio for her coronation before returning to Riesa, the Sultana explicitly declined to invest him as Sultan of Morea, even after his government requested the change some weeks after her own elevation.


The Montferrati ministers’ irritation is not solely due to a lack of reciprocation from Sultana Aikaterini, but also due to Morea’s legal position as the senior partner in the union between Morea and Montferrat, which was set into law as a condition of Duke Nico’s marriage to then-Princess Aikaterini at Sultan Ioannis’s insistence. During the Sultan’s remaining life, Duke Nico generally obeyed his father-in-law’s directions and dictates, even when it was clear that neither he nor his wife agreed with them, in order to preserve his wife’s position as heir to the Sultanate. Throughout that time, however, Morea became more and more dependent on Montferrati military assistance to achieve its goals both at home and abroad: Montferrati soldiers, mostly Makarians from Norda directly affected by Sultan Ioannis’s Nordan Mission, began guarding Morea’s borders with Eurasia and Duresia in 2017, while Sultana Aikaterini’s annexation of Orientan territories was only possible with the assistance of Montferrati soldiers who are still fighting on the continent against native terrorists and Mystran followers of Akakios Doukas. The royal household itself also benefits from the military strength of Montferrat, as Sultana Aikaterini retains the protection of Makarian soldiers that first came into her service in Riesa when she served as Duchess. And, now that the Sultana has held her throne for three years unchallenged, Duke Nico has had time to reconsider his obligations to Morea, and Morea’s obligations to Montferrat and himself in turn.


While the petition to elevate Duke Nico to the Sultanate was sent to Nafplio by several government ministers rather than the Duke himself, Sultana Aikaterini’s decision to reject the petition has apparently garnered a reaction from her ducal husband nonetheless. On the Duke’s behalf, Chamberlain Richard Brawn, who was among the staunchest champions of the Morea-Montferrat union prior to Sultana Aikaterini’s accession, spoke to the press outside in Baumbach House to publicize the Duke’s position on his role in Morea, and the Sultana’s role in Montferrat. “His Grace is committed to maintaining the union between our Duchy and the Sultanate of Morea,” Chamberlain Brawn said. “But that union must always recognize the sacrifices made by those who seek to protect and maintain it. Soldiers of Riesa, of Liguria, of Raitia, and of all Norda—in short, soldiers of Montferrat, our beloved Duchy—have been deployed throughout our hemisphere, in Norda and Oriento both, to see off challenges both within and without our borders. Their work will be recognized. Montferrat, personified in our Duke, will be recognized.” Chamberlain Brawn concluded: “His Grace will speak further on this matter with Her Majesty the Sultana, and will work together with her to find a solution palatable for both of our realms.”


Several Makarian leaders, especially Shield Bearer Luca Todt, have added their voices to those of the Ministerial Palace and Baumbach House. “Our soldiers protect Her Majesty’s life, and have since she enjoyed the pleasures of her ducal throne in Montferrat,” Shield Bearer Todt said in a video released after the ministers’ statement. “It is only right that she acknowledge the authority of our liege lord, the Duke of Montferrat, to whom we answer first.” Like Chamberlain Brawn, Shield Bearer Todt has historically supported the union between Montferrat and Morea, specifically in the person of Sultana Aikaterini, whose efforts contributed to the end of the Achaian Church’s direct rule over what were then called the Nordan Dioceses established under Sultan Ioannis. However, as the Shield Bearer said in his statement, “Her Majesty envelops herself in grandeur in imitation of her father, and thus disdains the efforts of His Grace, her ducal husband, at whose word her realm and her life are preserved by the sword arm of Makaria and by the bright sparks of light that are her living soldiers. May the Goddess remind Her Majesty of her humility before it is too late. May Her Majesty’s own God do likewise, if she will heed no other deity.”

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Vaduz: The 60 member strong Liechtenstein Legislative Assembly has a hung verdict after the election results were declared but it is still a significant result. The Liberal party which has been in power since the 2004 election had been steadily increasing its majority. In the 2016 election, the liberal party won a supermajority when they won 46 of the 60 seats. This compared to the 2004 election when they won the right to govern with a simple 32 seat majority. They defeated the Conservatives which in 2000 had a majority of 37 seats.

The 2020 results have left the Liberal party decimated, with the Conservatives winning 28 seats and the Liberals winning only 12 (the same number as the Congress). This dismal result for the centre-left Liberal party and the failure of the right-wing Conservatives to win a majority is largely attributed to the resurgence of the Zack Labour party. Labour and green coalition worked to take away city supporters of the Liberal party and rural supporters of the Conservative party. This has implications not only for this presidency but for other presidencies and the nation as Labour is making a resurgence nationally.


Several other presidencies are set to go to polls this year and labour would be looking to establish themselves in their assemblies as well. They are emboldened by a sweeping victory in Norlisk earlier this year where they won 63 of the 70 seats up for grabs (7 seats went to the Conservative party).

This also has major repercussions for the Upper House of parliament. In the Zack system, presidency legislative assemblies elect their councillors to the upper house. All presidencies get 6 members to represent them, Lichteinstien has all 6 seats filled by Liberal councillors. The Conservative party will be looking to change that.
There is also speculation that there may be a united left front coalition of the Liberals, ZNC, Labour and Green to form the government instead. However, this seems unlikely as the Labour party has already said they will not enter a coalition with the Congress.  The Congress is also likely to get the post of speaker of the house in turn for a promise to not support any motion of no-confidence submitted by the Liberal party. This means that the ZNC should also expect to have some share of the seats for councillors that Liechtenstein sends to the commonwealth council.

BREAKING NEWS
The death of Michael Stanton, a Christian man, during an altercation with police in Segesta, Egnatia has spawned mass protests and riots in the far-eastern province. Stanton, who was stopped by police late Wednesday night for suspicion of driving while intoxicated, died after struggling with police during his arrest. Amateur footage of the incident shows one policeman, identified as Dec. Cassius Ignatius Scaevus, striking Mr. Stanton in the head and neck several times. Mr. Stanton, who is not resisting, is then thrown into the back of a police vehicle while handcuffed, causing him to strike his head against the metal interior. Upon arrival at the local jail, Mr. Stanton was found to be unconscious and unresponsive; he was taken to the hospital, where he was placed on life support due to severe traumatic swelling in his brain. He was pronounced brain dead several hours later.

The Police Commander for the Segesta Prefecture spoke before the press corps, stating that Mr. Stanton was found to have amphetamines in his system and that he had been resisting arrest. Police were thus forced to employ pain-compliance techniques in order to render Mr. Stanton passive for arrest. This has been disputed by the legal team hired by the Stanton family, who conducted their own private autopsy and determined the amphetamines in Mr. Stanton's system were consistent with a prescription he held for ADHD and would not have overly contributed to his resisting arrest. Moreover, the lack of defensive wounds indicates the beatings he suffered were inflicted after he had been handcuffed and pacified.

Protests have broken ought across the majority-Christian province, with riots occurring in Segesta and the capital, Paulum. The Ministry of Police has directed additional units from neighboring provinces to assist in halting the riots. Protestors carried signs and messages recalling other Christians killed by police in Egnatia in similar actions, including Wolfgang Schmidt, a sixteen-year-old who was shot and killed by police last spring during a traffic stop. There have been calls for the leaders of the more peaceful protests, who include several Catholic and Lutheran Bishops and priests, to have an audience with either the Praetor of Egnatia or with His Imperial Majesty.

BREAKING UPDATE
Seven protestors are dead and thirty-five are injured in Segesta Prefecture after police opened fire on a large crowd which had surrounded a police precinct. The precinct, located approximately two-blocks from where Mr. Stanton was beaten, has been besieged with protestors since the demonstrations began. Around half-an-hour-ago, some violent protestors breached the barricades erected by the police, who opened fire, first with tear gas and rubber munitions and then with live fire. Seven were killed, including one seventeen-year-old, and the police have been forced to abandon the precinct, which is now entirely engulfed in flames. The Praetor, Lucius Papirius Cursor, has declared a state of Provincial Justitium, and has requested the additional reinforcement of police from across the Empire.

BREAKING
In a move sure to cause tension, His Imperial Majesty Augustus IV, on the advice of the Senate, declared the Province of Egnatia to be an Imperial Territory, dissolving the provincial government and placing it under direct Imperial control. The Praetor, Lucius Papirius Cursor, has been recalled to Julium to resume his Proconsular duties. Governance of the province has been delegated to the Ministry of War, who has deployed two legions to the beleaguered province to restore law and order. The Ministry of the Police confirmed that law enforcement officers in the province were now under military command, and that it would remain so until Senatorial jurisdiction is restored.

The Senate, meeting early this morning in the face of growing unrest in Egnatia following the death in police custody of Michael Stanton, a Christian, voted in a closed session to advise His Imperial Majesty to dissolve the provincial structure. The Senate has not advised such a measure since the 1960s, during the Arveyran Ethnic Wars, but it is not without precedent. In 2009, His Imperial Majesty dissolved the provincial government of Mosa Trajectum when the Senate, divided factionally, could not approve a new Praetor; the provincial government was restored to a Senatorial Province after the Senate agreed on a new Praetor.

Demonstrations in Egnatia have grown since the pronouncement, with additional military forces being deployed to Segesta. The Ministry of Imperial Relations released a statement from His Imperial Majesty, which read, "[u]nder no circumstances will these acts of barbarism and lawlessness be tolerated. Legionary forces will be deployed to Egnatia to restore order and rule of law. Those engaging in lawless and riotous behavior should entrust that Imperial law will see judgement given to the officers involved, if they in fact committed any crime during their detention of Mr. Stanton."

The death of King Camillo of Almeria, killed by a Eurasian Senator in a duel outside the Senate building, has sent shockwaves throughout the Empire. Protests from various groups, including Eurasians of ethnic heritage from Almeria and other former Arveyran lands, took to the streets in anger over the death of the former King, whose throne was abolished as proconsular by the Senate shortly after his death. His Imperial Majesty, who initially did not comment legally on the matter, took a shocking step late this evening in addressing the critical situation. Utilizing the Imperial power of proscription, which has not been exercised since the Marinian Reforms, His Imperial Majesty ordered Sen. Quintus Baebius Tamphilus, who stabbed the King to death outside the Senate building, to be taken into custody by the Praetorian Guard. It is unclear precisely what will become of Sen. Baebius Tamphilus, with those proscripted by an Emperor or a Praetor facing punishments ranging from internal exile to execution.

Further bulletins as events warrant.

The Royal Court moves to Vieneskel for the traditional summer vacation ---- Almerian Crisis: Tarajani government to take "countermeasures" should King Camilo's body not be returned, according to rumors ---- Almerian Crisis: North Ajania to send prosecutors to Sen. Tamphilus' trial, official ---- Eindhoven Stock Exchange Indexes: AFIX +0.5% ; FIX +0.5% ; NTIA +9.0% ---- Would you like to know more? More updates and insights on www.ntko.tj.co



Despite international tensions rising around the Royal Palace itself since the proclamation of the so-called Almerian Federation and the death of King Camilo III, this didn't refrain from keeping on going ahead with the traditional move of the Royal Court from Astana to Vieneskel, the summer heaven at the outskirts of the capital.
The court, headed by Their Royal Majesties the King and Queen Beatrix, left the Royal Palace early this morning, with all the dignitaries following soon after, moving through the boulevards of the capital city under the eyes of Astana's citizens, a traditional procession made strangely silent this year by the decision of King Friederick Wilhelm to put mourning flags on all cars in memory of the death of King Camilo. Moreover, this year also the court of North Ajania joined the transfer to Vieneskel since, according to rumors from the Royal Palace, Princess Elise Angelique "did not feel comfortable with the idea of leaving the Kingdom yet".
The court will be joined in Vieneskel by many representatives of the Minor Houses of the Royal States, while most of the Major Houses of the Landsraad are still residing in their palaces on the shores of Lake Horat (an exception being House Van Geldern, that already moved to their residence in Vieneskel last week).

15th of August 1950, marked the day - Daman (then including present-day Daman & Bombay Presidencies), Cawnpore, Andaman, Goa, Uta, Trivandrum, East Plains and Chita joined the union of Zackalantis and ended their status as colonies of the Zack crown in England. These presidencies were part of the then Zack Indian colonial territories.
This unification came after the Eurasian and Duresian occupation of the UKZ and its Indian colonial territories. It was championed by the first Indian origin Prime Minister of the UKZ- Jawaharlal Nehru, from the Zack National Congress (ZNC). Prime Minister Nehru's family was from Cawnpore and moved to England. There Nehru became a citizen of the UKZ and joined the ZNC. A lawyer by profession, he quickly ascended the ranks of the ZNC at a time when Indian origin MPs were becoming common and a force to be reckoned with in the ZNC and the principal opposition at that time - The Conservatives.
Both ZNC and Conservative Indian MPs supported bringing the Indian territories in full union with the UKZ.

in 1949, the ZNC won an absolute majority in the house of commons and elected Nehru as Prime Minister. Parliament passed his legislation to bring the Indian territories into the UKZ, and the Government of India Act 1949 came into force on the 15th of August 1950, when Indians (now in several different presidencies) elected their representatives for the first time to the House of Commons.

The day was celebrated, not only in the Indian presidencies but across the UKZ. Indian food, music and cinema are very popular across the nation. Today Indians live, work and visit any part of the nation. As is their right, since they are undoubtedly Zack citizens.

The Chief Ministers of the Presidencies delivered a joint statement. They called for a single viceroy to represent Her Majesty the Queen to all the governments of the Zack presidencies. Viceroys, are ceremonial figures who represent the Queen and appoint Chief Ministers to each presidency following a general election. The Viceroy is appointed by the Queen, following the advice of the Prime Minister.
There has been great concern over the fact that since the Viceroy is a ceremonial role, having too many of them is a waste of tax payer money. Furthermore, this comes as a signal of unity between the Indian presidencies to Cair Paravel and the rest of the UKZ. Such a move is also being considered by Scotland and its associated presidencies.