Fleurian News Daily
Discovery Under the Arch of the FallenThe Arch of the Fallen has been the most popular tourist attraction in the Ile du Fleurs for many years. Built sometime between 845 and 830 BCE, the stone archway is shrouded in mystery and is featured in numerous stories or theories due to this fact. There are 10,000 names written all around the archway, which date back to the same period, proving that the names were etched in during the arch’s construction and not at a later date.
Yet, even with decades of research pouring into understanding the Archway’s significance, little actual information is known. Over the last few months however, a new attempt to unlock the mysteries of the Arch have been attempted; not by taking a crack at the stone or even the names, but focusing on the surroundings. The Arch of the Fallen National Park had large sections closed off to the public throughout this summer, to allow researchers from the University of Flowers and the University of Brevin to conduct excavations and their research in peace.
Using specially designed technology to view inside the ground, it was discovered that the Arch of the Fallen was not just a single structure located in the middle of nowhere, but a central point to a much larger surrounding structure.
“The Arch of the Fallen is surrounded by the buried remains of stone buildings, burial pits and most likely temples. The Arch was built on top of what was once a hill back in the 800s BCE, which has since been filled out over the centuries to create the plains area it looks like today,” said assistant head researcher and archeologist, Dr. Andrew Vayn. “We have only just started to excavate a small portion of the area to see what we can find, but hopefully even this will help fill in some gaps in our knowledge of the Arch and help to better understand such an important symbol of the Ile du Fleurs and ancient Fleurian history.”
The Arch of the Fallen National Park remains open, with several sections now partitioned off to the public. Current excavation sites have been proposed to continue until 2027 at the earliest.
Green-NJP Alliance to replace the National Green-Liberal Alliance in IdFThe Green-Liberal Alliance, which started in 1984 and dissolved in 2018 had allowed the Liberal Party in multiple provinces to reach a majority with the help of the green party. In return, the liberals added larger-scale environmental reform to their policies. It was an alliance which helped define a generation in Rhodevus and was seen as a shock when the alliance collapsed due to growing national support for the green party and disputes over new environmental and large business policies.
While the Liberals and Greens are now divided on some major issues all across Rhodevus, no new alliances or party blocks have been formed to make up for this absence in the provinces. As of earlier this week however, the Green party of the Ile du Fleurs has allied themselves with the Fleurian New Justice Party. The Environmentalist Party a majority 138 seats in the Governor’s Council, a whopping 4.4x as many seats as the Liberal Party, the official opposition. The New Justice Party controls 6 seats.
With this new block, the Green-NJP alliance now controls an impressive 144 seats in the council, giving them a super majority. Although the next election cycle begins in 2020, this new block may give NJP-supporters a greater say in the next elections as well as increase the number of seats they possess, most likely stealing from the Green and Liberal Parties.
A spokesperson for the new alliance has stated that this alliance will allow the NJP to help dictate policy of importance to the party, including low-income taxation and benefits for small businesses. While the alliance has not been given a deadline until the agreements need to be reworked, it is expected that it will be reviewed around this time in four years to prepare for the 2024 election.
The Green Party is set yet again to win the 2020 elections, as support for the party still remains high. This will continue the trend of the Green Party retaining control of the Governor’s Council since 1964.
Members of the Liberal and Conservative Parties of the Ile du Fleurs have expressed their outrage at this move by the Green Party, as it gives them the necessary 2/3 majority to pass almost any law without the possibility of a federal veto or debate from the other parties. The Imperial Governor, Mary Shuvell stated, “the Green Party already controls a near super-majority on its own. If even five councilors from other parties vote with ours, it represents the necessary 143 votes needed. An alliance with the NJP allows another party to help shape future policy and political decisions.”
The Imperial Governor has also stated that this backlash is most likely due to the Green Party not asking either the Liberals or Conservatives to form an alliance, as they are still the two most important political parties on the mainland and represent the second and third largest parties on the Ile du Fleurs.
Retrofitting of Fleurian-Stiuran Tunnel BeginsThe Fleurian-Stiuran Tunnel began its construction in 1954 and took 46 years to complete, finally opening to the public in 2000. The tunnel itself has a long and complex history, due to the civil war in Dormill and Stiura from 1947 until 1995 as well as the War of Flowers from 1977-1979. The numerous of starts and stops in construction over the decades has led to the tunnel being an expensive project, even though its benefits were determined to still outweigh the often exponentially growing costs.
Opened in March of 2000, the Fleurian-Stiuran Tunnel sees hundreds of cars passing between the country and island daily. The Fleurian government however has decided that 20 years after its fated opening, the tunnel requires some retrofitting of the older parts of the tunnel to bring it up to modern building codes. This will include the addition of an intricate network of pipes to allow for air filtration and temperature measuring throughout the length of the tunnel.
“The retrofit should keep the tunnel open for the majority of construction. It will help to limit future expenses as the tunnel heats up from the number of vehicles passing through, and will also allow for better air flow and air distribution at least for the next 25-30 years.”
The 15 million NSD project is set to commence in April of 2020, slated for completion in March of 2021.