The Western Isles News

[San Jimenez]

Arennica, Littolyo, September 27, 2020

|HEARN LUCAS CANONE MEETS WITH PRESIDENT LEON DRAKE||INTERNATIONAL|
Hearn Lucas Canone and his wife Mary Canone both arrived in Arennica for the first state visit between the Republic of Littolyo and the Aguanist Monarchy of San Jimenez. Hearn Canone and his advisors arrived in Littolyo early yesterday morning where he was received by President Leon Drake. After the national anthems of both respective countries were played, the heads of state exchanged gifts to one another as a sign of mutual respect and friendship. Hearn Canone gave President Drake a medal of Saint Bolivar Jimenez, the patron saint and namesake of San Jimenez, that had been blessed by the archbishop of Del Agua City.

After the opening ceremony had concluded, both heads of state made their way into the capital where they spent the day discussing matters of economic policy and trade. Hearn Canone, who has placed economic growth as a priority on his political agenda, managed to broker a trade deal with President Drake that has been welcomed by many in the House of Confederates in San Jimenez. At the moment, Littolyoan-Jimenean trade is projected to increase steadily and the possibility of another trade deal in the future is definitely on the table. Discussions about the leasing of a military base in San Jimenez to Littolyo were also discussed and welcomed by Hearn Canone though an official lease has yet to be finalized. After he met with President Drake, Hearn Canone appeared hopeful and generally enthusiastic about the visit.

The exchange I had with President Drake today went very well and I can say with certainty that both Littolyo and San Jimenez have benefited from it. I address you on behalf of the nation when I say that San Jimenez is open and looking forward to establishing more intimate diplomatic ties with Littolyo in the future. All is well.

That night, Hearn Canone enjoyed a state dinner with the president and was able to have a personal meeting with him without the involvement of politics. There, Mary Canone joined him and the two stayed the night at the State Guesthouse. In the morning, Hearn Canone joined President Drake for a horse drawn carriage tour through the capital, a tradition dating back to the 1800s. Hearn Conone was shown many of the city's most famous landmarks, stopping for photos at Arennica's grand Triumphal Arch and taking another pause later on for a stroll through the famous Park L'Claire.

To conclude the day, Hearn Canone arrived at the airport where he gave his farewell to President Drake and departed Littolyo. President Drake had this to say to reporters before Hearn Canone departed for San Jimenez:

I am so pleased and honored that Hearn and Mrs. Conone were able to visit Littolyo. I think it's safe to say that we accomplished more for bilateral ties between our two nations than either of us expected, which I'm sure is a harbinger of great things to come for our relationship.

Hearn Canone returned to Gran Teran late in the night after a incredibly successful visit. Majority leaders of the House of Confederate are expected to meet with Hearn Canone to formalize an agreement with Littolyo in regards to leasing a Jimenean military base.

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[Athara Magarat]

September 28, 2020

Missing Libangi writer found in Mei'Rong, Townside

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MEI'RONG, TOWNSIDE

Samir Magar, a young writer from New Libang, was reported missing on August 10. After five weeks of being missing, things were looking pretty bleak for a recovery. However, Magar was found on Monday, Sept 28, by a Townsider fan who recognized him. It was discovered that Magar had been hiding in Mei'Rong, Townside's largest city and financial center for at least a couple of weeks.

Magar's family, friends and fans had feared that the worst after he had announced that he was "leaving the shithole Magarat has turned into for Roendavar". They desperately searched for him all over Roendavar; fearing that he had shared the fate of the 18 girls and their teacher from Matribhumi High. (For more information on the Matribhumi case, please go to these two links here and here.)

With Magar was discovered to have been hiding in a different country all this time, it can only be assumed that he was trying to throw off the trail and mislead anyone trying to find him. Although Magar has refused to talk to the media (Townsider, Magarati or international), it is highly speculated that he feared the minor conflicts between various factions in key mainland Magarati cities was a threat for his life (or for his work).

[Biaten]

Monday 28th September 2020
Hachen Times
Republic of Biaten

Government Changes Military Spending Policy

Chancellor Dyson Siegel announced today that the government will reverse its policy of halving the military budget by 2025. This U-turn comes as a result of weeks of tension within the military and popular disapproval towards the policy. However, despite this, the government still plans to create the redistribution fund. In a televised address from his office in Hachen, Chancellor Siegel spoke to the nation.

Citizens, brothers, sisters and fellow Biatenians. The Wealth Redistribution Fund will mark a new era of wealth for all, especially those who are worst off. It would have consisted of funding steered away from unnecessary amounts of tanks and guns that causes death and despair. However, as such cuts have been seen as widely unpopular by the public, we will not make such a major cut the military budget as we originally proposed. Instead, we shall reduce the army budget by 25% the naval budget by 15% over the next 5 years. Furthermore, the top tax bracket on all earnings above 150,000 Thalers will be raised from the current 55% to 70%. Alongside these policies that will help to fund the Wealth Redistribution Fund, our legal teams will continue to work to close the remaining tax loopholes to ensure that everyone contributes their fair share.

Our Wealth Distribution Fund will contribute to the income of all Biatenians, giving the poorest in our society a boost to their household income and providing security to their finances. This plan will fulfil the promises this government was democratically elected on: reducing military spending, reducing poverty and increasing standards of living for the working people of Biaten. Over the coming months, a series of Cabinet meetings will be held to amend tax rates and pass a budget through parliament which upholds the democratic mandate we were given.

[Santiland Repubilc]

Jennifer McMahon Named Ambassador to Littolyo

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Jan Hopper, CBN News
September 26th, 2020

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GREENPORT, SANTILAND- An key ally of Chancellor William A. Douglas and former Minister of International Relations, Jennifer McMahon has been named ambassador to the nation of Littolyo.

Jennifer McMahon was born in 1956 in Georgetown, Lansi. She studied at the University of Applehead in Applesburgh and gained her degree in International Relations and Economics, she graduated Magna cum laude. Sher served as a Minister of International Relations under Chancellor Jack Wilhelm and became a key ally of Chancellor Douglas during the 2017b General Election.

Her appointment has been criticized by the Coalition for Progress of the Progressive Constitutionalist Party, however Chancellor Douglas and the National Action Party are proceeding as planned. She will arrive next Monday in Littoyo ton present her credentials to their government.

[Nhoor]

[Walande]

[Almorea]

NEWSWIRE

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Disgraced sex tape mayor elected governor of Almorea's biggest province

KINGSFORD (APA)- Marlon Caesar, the disgraced ex-mayor of Ellsburgh who was brought down in 2019 by a sex tape, was elected governor of Adashawnee province on Saturday night, in a stunning victory that completes the unlikeliest of political comebacks.

Caesar, 57, won 43% of the vote in Adashawnee's October 3 gubernatorial election, heading the ticket of the liberal Almorean Party (AMP). He defeated two major challengers, the Federal Party candidate Rep. Lucille Darringe, who took 35% of the vote, the best Federalist performance in the province since 1988, and the Adashawnee Progress Party candidate, populist social media figure Jack Yarham, who came in at third place with 17%. He will take office as governor of Almorea's wealthiest and most populous and economically important province.

Other votes were cast for candidates of minor parties, such as the Socialist Party of Almorea, whose nominee for governor, Robert J. Howland, was arrested for disorderly conduct during socialist protests in Ellsburgh in 2011. Howland finished with 4% of the vote.

Caesar served as mayor of Ellsburgh as a member of the AMP from January 2015 until December 2019, when he was forced from office over revelations that he had filmed a sex tape with his wife, in which he starred in-character as mayor. Despite being widely panned by politicians and comedians across Almorea, Caesar refused to resign and was removed by an emergency meeting of the city council.

After his disgrace, Caesar pursued the governorship in the 2020 elections, facing incumbent Gov. Daniel Arsenault, who took office in 2012, in the AMP primary. Striking upon a winning message that combined healthcare and city planning reform with a rejection of the Hallowell administration's free trade policies, Caesar unexpectedly defeated Gov. Arsenault in the May 2 primary election, winning 59% of party voters.

President Hallowell refused to endorse the ex-mayor, who campaigned energetically across Adashawnee and made appearances on the TV talk shows Good Morning Almorea and Hey, Almorea, Get Your Ass to Sleep.

Speaking to reporters at the Carbisdale Electronics Convention Center in Kingsford, the provincial capital, Caesar credited divine intervention for his victory. Sources in the Caesar campaign said that the governor-elect spoke with the President by phone on Sunday morning, and that the two men shared a "friendly" conversation.

Caesar is scheduled to take office on December 20, two days after the nationwide elections to Congress. As governor, he will exercise considerable executive powers under the Adashawnee constitution, including the right to convene and dismiss the provincial legislature, appoint judges to provincial courts, and appoint replacements to vacant national Senate seats. He is eligible to run for re-election in 2024.

Adashawnee will hold elections to its two legislative bodies, the Senate and the House of Delegates, on October 30. The AMP is expected to perform well in the provincial legislative elections, especially following Caesar's victory, although some in the party fear a Federalist reaction that will tip one or both of the legislative chambers to the Federal Party's control. In his first 100 days in office, Caesar has promised to reform Adashawnee's zoning laws, end special subsidies for foreign importers, raise education funding by 30%, and relax jail sentences for drug offenders.

ALMOREAN PRESS ASSOCIATION- ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©MMXX

[Littolyo]

2020 October 2
Littolyens Flock to Ioudaia, Following Richardsons


The Richardson’s new Ioudaia winter home. Their yacht, the Portland, can be seen in the background.

ORNEMION, IOUDAIA—Littolyo’s wealthiest couple, financier Kevin Richardson and pop star Adelle Klunterschoft-Richardson, have put a new vacation spot on the map for Littolyen tourists. It’s a magical place where azure seas caress sun-kissed beaches and palm trees sway listlessly in the breeze, all under a brilliantly shining sun. The mystical locale in question is none other than Thelikos Bay, in the Four Passages nation of Ioudaia.

The Richardsons’ criteria for their foreign winter residence were exacting, and their home hunt was well publicized on Ms. Klunterschoft-Richardson’s social media, as well as raptly followed by Littolyo’s tabloids. Ultimately, they settled on the wealthy Ioudaian port community of Ornemion, not just for its lovely winter weather, but because the deep, natural harbor of the Thelikos Bay could accommodate their gargantuan, 1,000-foot yacht, the Portland.

The community is also located near Ioudaia's storied Coral Coasts National Park and Bird Sanctuary.

A spokesperson for the couple gave this brief response to a request for comment: “Kevin and Adelle are very pleased with their new home, and are looking forward to settling in as winter approaches. They thank the Ioudaian people for the warm welcome they’ve received thus far.”

The Richardsons are something of an economy unto themselves, and their lavish spending on large social gatherings is expected to bring an influx of Littolyen money to the coast’s sleepy towns. Local businesspeople have expressed optimism, while longtime residents have had mixed opinions. Some expressed displeasure at the Richardsons’ extravagant mansion, while others look forward to a rejuvenated social scene.

Since the Richardsons’ recently-purchased winter home—a cool $51 million and nearly 34,000 square feet—was featured in Avant magazine last month, the volume of Littolyen tourists traveling to Ioudaia has risen fourfold.

It’s part of a trend: as Littolyen tourists—historically more homebodies preferring to explore their own lands over traveling abroad—have begun to branch out, Littolyo’s tourism industry has boomed. Over the last five years, the value of Littolyo’s tourism industry has surged from just $200 billion to more than $500 billion, and continues to grow rapidly.

[Littolyo]

2020 October 5
Drake Ends Isolationist Era With Foreign Military Bases


Littolyen Navy ships berthed at the sprawling Arens Naval Base in Havalland, a joint base shared with the Havallish military.

ARENNICA—After the conclusion of the Third Onian War in 1892, Littolyo turned inward. Decades of conflict with Oniland had exhausted the nation both financially and mentally, and after repeatedly failing to shape Oniland to its will, consensus emerged among the Littolyen public and politicians that it was time to do some nation-building here at home.

The century that followed saw Littolyo’s longtime reputation as a gregarious if trigger-happy player on the world stage give way to a much more subdued and restrained role. Involvement in foreign wars all but ceased, and while Littolyo developed a robust diplomatic corps, military partnerships atrophied and faded.

This morning, President Leon Drake put a definitive end to that era, with the stunning announcement that his administration had negotiated the opening of Littolyen military bases in three foreign countries: Biaten, Havalland, and Martenyika.

As the president told it in a news conference at the Littolaestaff parade grounds, the three basing agreements are the fruit of a quiet, monthslong campaign to strengthen Littolyo’s military ties with select partner nations and reassert Littolyo’s role in the international community.


Four newly-arrived squadrons of Littolyo’s sophisticated Viper-class fighter jets sit on the tarmac at Hena Air Base in Martenyika.

A reexamination of Pres. Drake’s recent diplomatic and military outreach might have suggested something major was in the works: a rash of state visits across the region, a flurry of new nonaggression pacts with various countries, and a series of well-publicized joint military exercises and exchanges. Nevertheless, the announcement that Littolyo would now operate major bases in three foreign countries shocked the nation, and analysts immediately seized on the move as a sea change in Littolyen policy.

Furthermore, a statement from a Department of Defense spokesperson seemed to imply that more foreign bases may be in the works when he framed the new agreements as part of the ongoing reorganization of the Littoylen military, which now divides the region into six military command areas. “Southern Command, Gaels Command, and Mesder Command will be run from these new bases,” he said. Fort Chester in Camreal is the hub for Northern Command (which includes all of Littolyo), suggesting the administration plans to establish foreign hub bases for its command areas in the Eterna and Nova seas as well.

The details of each basing agreement, as released by the Department of Defense, provided further insight into the changing global dynamic.

The largest base is to be on Carrigan Island, just off the coast of Biaten. Littolyo leased the entire island from Biaten, in an agreement to cost more than ten billion dollars over 99 years. A blitz of construction, slated to begin next month, will transform the island into a massive military base with a deepwater naval port, a major airfield, and scores of barracks.


Carrigan Island, 16 square miles, was just leased by Littolyo from Biaten for 99 years and will become the site of a major new military installation.

Mesder Command will be based at Arens Naval Base in Havalland, a sprawling military complex shared by Littolyo and Havalland. The agreement follows on the heels of a visit to Havalland by Secretary of State Leslie Strivers and the signing of a nonaggression pact between Havalland and Littolyo. A question from one reporter regarding the security implications of locating a major Littolyen military installation immediately adjacent to a foreign base was easily parried by the president: “Havalland is a truster partner of Littolyo, and moreover, our fine military is more than capable of defending sensitive information and capabilities. Believe me, they deal with much more serious security risks from our adversaries on a daily basis.”

The agreement with Martenyika required perhaps the most diplomatic elbow grease. One administration official familiar with the monthslong negotiations, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told of mounting frustration as numerous apparent breakthroughs turned out to be false alarms. “They weren’t interested in a simple lease, even with very generous terms. We thought the port of call would do it, but it didn’t,” they said, referring to the recent goodwill visit of two Littolyen Navy ships to the southern nation. “We thought the joint marine exercises last month would do it, but they didn’t.” Asked what it was that seemed to finally convince Martenyika, the official was cagey: “You may be hearing some more news over the next couple months.”

Following the announcement, Littolyen social media immediately lit up with the musings of a populous apparently excited and invigorated, yet still somewhat tentative—as if unsure just quite what to make of this seismic development.

A Times analysis found that the majority of Littolyens opining on social media expressed some level of support. Tweeted Jenneca Lule, an economics student in Hoch State, “It’s important that we be actively involved in world affairs not just to protect ourselves, but to help others.”


Littolyen and Martenyikan marines jointly practice beach landing operations west of Immeo last month.

Others, like Chris Goodman of the Center for Littolyen Prosperity, were less sure. “It’s no coincidence that the last century, a time of immense prosperity for Littolyo that saw an explosion in our nation’s economy and standard of living, just so happened to be the first major period in our modern history when we were more focused on ourselves than on trying to micromanage everyone else.” Goodman argued on television shortly after the announcement that Pres. Drake risks becoming “distracted” by “Neo-imperialist adventures.”

A Littolaestaff spokesperson disagreed: “The only foreign policy change happening here is that President Drake is moving to be more proactive about defending Littolyens’ sovereignty and being there for our partners if they need us.”

Recently back from Kessa, the capital of Martenyika, Secretary of Defense Raul Forters granted a brief interview in his office at the Army Building in The City. “This is a huge step forward not just for Littolyen security, but for global stability.” The mood was upbeat and relaxed, and he spoke with his feet up on his desk, leaning back in his chair.

On the wall behind him hung a banner proclaiming the Littolyen Armed Forces’ new mantra: “We come in peace, and we’re here to stay.”

[Biaten]

Tuesday 6th October 2020
Hachen Times
Republic of Biaten, Republic of Littolyo



Agreement between Biaten and Littolyo signed

After a couple of weeks of negotiations with the Republic of Littolyo, Biaten and Littolyo have formed an agreement with each other, that would see our Republic receive 100 million thalers a year from the Littolyen government, who will in turn be leased Carrigan Island on the west coast of Auvia to Littolyo for 99 years.

The agreement was deliberated and voted on in Parliament throughout the week, and did not receive as much support as the government had hoped. The lease was opposed by the two largest opposition parties, the Communist Party and National Revolution Party, both of which had raised long-term problems with the agreement, as well as lack of transparency over the negotiations. Opposition Leader Mattie Everly, Leader of the Communist Party, criticised the government over the transparency of the agreement. “This secrecy from the government concerns us, Mr Speaker. But what is also concerning is that this government, run by the Social Democrats who have, for around a century, been the party of the workers, has adopted a bourgeois policy of selling land for money, and to foreign organisations no less” said the Leader of the Opposition. Jeffrey Harlan, the leader of the National Revolution Party, raised concerns with the long-term consequences of the agreement. In the National Diet, Harlan stated that “A lot can happen in 99 years. What’s not to say Littolyo would not elect an oppressive far-right dictatorship with an agenda to invade us in the next century? Many may call that unrealistic in a liberal democracy like Littolyo, but we all know that many extreme dictators had come to power through democratic means. I urge this chamber to vote against this deal.”

The agreement was furthermore opposed by a small number of rebel MPs in the government. One Social Democratic MP, Garry Ewart, criticised the agreement as a diplomatic insult to Littolyo. “I am surprised Littolyo isn’t offended that we are leasing them a cursed abandoned island”, said the MP in the chamber. Meanwhile, a small group of MPs in the National Revolution Party, including MP for Lion City Parker Hunnicutt, supported the agreement. “This deal will boost government revenue by more than 2% while allowing Littolyo to make good use of a small island we don’t even touch, it’s a win for both of our countries, and so I urge my party colleagues to support this lease, which has only been opposed by little more than unlikely predictions and an unproven legend.”

The agreement was, however, supported by the Democratic Party and Conservative Democratic Party, which controls most local councils near Carrigan Island. The agreement passed the National Diet by a vote of 285-186 and the Senate by a vote of 60-36.

President Breitbarth signed the agreement in a public signing. At the signing, the President spoke.

“Today marks an important milestone in the relations between Biaten and Littolyo, for today we sign an agreement that will benefit both of our nations. This agreement does not only benefit our two governments, but it benefits the people as well, for the economic boost that this agreement will give our Republic will see an increase in incomes across this nation, as well as help give this nation’s welfare and public services the boosts they need. I am proud to be signing this agreement today.”

The deal between Biaten and Littolyo has been welcomed by most locals living near the island, but has been criticised by a few, who argue that both the Biatenian and Littolyen governments are being ignorant in tempting fate. The island has, since ancient times, been considered cursed by the local population since 2,000 years ago, when a Steodoian tribe living on the island disappeared. Although some today still believe the island is cursed, historians believe that the tribe could have been captured and enslaved by another tribe, kingdom or empire or the tribe could have left without other local tribes noticing. Some historians think that the tribe might have never existed at all and could just be a local myth.

[Martenyika]

Wednesday October 7, 2020
RKT - Royal Kessa Times

Alarms Trigger Militarized Response to Royal Mint--No Robbery, Officials Say

National Guard soldiers arrived on scene from barracks close to the mint, and formed part of the response.

Alarms were triggered at Kessa's Royal Mint this afternoon, prompting a swift and comprehensive response from authorities. Kessa was forced to hold its collective breath for a portion of the day while responding law enforcement officers and military personnel flooded the area and initiated a temporary district-wide lockdown. Lockdowns have since been lifted, but caused widespread traffic issues due to checkpoints and searches. Planes, watercraft, and trains in the area were also subjected to delays.

Firemen and emergency medical personnel were not to be left out, as some were placed on standby at the mint while others responded to lockdown-induced traffic accidents. As could be expected, there were several traffic related incidents involving vehicles and/or pedestrians in the surrounding district near checkpoints and road closures, likely the result of panicked or impatient drivers. One Kessa police officer was struck by a vehicle while attempting to block traffic, but they are reported to be stable at this time.

Although Gendarmerie tactical teams and heavily armed National Guard troops from nearby barracks prepared for the worst case scenario, that a group of well equipped criminals had captured the Royal Mint, there were no initial signs of hostile takeover. Gendarmes and Guardsmen were eventually cleared to enter the mint but there weren't any armed criminals. The lockdown persisted until everyone in the mint had been accounted for and vetted.

An official investigation to determine what triggered the apparent false alarm is underway, however the Royal Mint released a statement indicating that so far, nothing seems to be missing. "Our internal audit is ongoing, yet nothing appears to have been stolen, either physically or digitally" said the Royal Mint spokesman. Despite this, investigators and the Mint have not ruled the possibility that it was an attempted cyber attack. Although the Royal Mint is an old institution dating back to the monarchy, it claims to have highly modern and effective cyber defenses.

[Biaten]

Thursday 8th October 2020
Hachen Times
Republic of Biaten

46 commanding officers in the military arrested for crimes against the state

Since Tuesday, 46 commanding officers within the military, including Major-General Kingsley Behrend of the 18th Division, who were responsible for the recent unlawful arrests of political activists, mostly on the far-left and far-right, have been arrested by military police and charged with crimes against the state. The arrests were announced by Chancellor Dyson Siegel in a press conference today.

“On Tuesday, I presented the President with an executive order, which has authorised the arrests of those within the army who have been locking up political activists without any solid evidence that they had committed a crime. The President, of course, signed the executive order without hesitation. This order also commands the military to release all political activists who had been falsely arrested. I am pleased to announce that today the execution of this executive order has been completed. All 46 commanding officers who had carried out these unlawful arrests have been detained by military police and all 179 political activists have been released. We have had to keep these operations a secret until now for obvious reasons, but as we are a government for greater transparency, I believe that it is now safe to share this with the public.

Let me be clear that our government stands for the principles that this nation was founded on: freedom, democracy and equality, and any act against these principles is an act against the state. Let these arrests show that anyone who violates these principles will face the full extent of the law.”

[Littolyo]

2020 October 8
Lake Barī, Ancient ‘Giver of Life,’ Is Gone


Fishing docks, now useless, haunt the dry basin that was once Littolyo’s second-largest lake.

THURMOND, ANDERSEN—To the Quel people that thrived in the Holden Valley more than ten thousand years ago, Lake Barī was a massive and sparkling inland sea, the snowy peaks of the Altar Mountains reflected in its shimmering surface. To the Ayote tribes who came after, it was the ‘giver of life,’ the wellspring from which their origin story held that all beings arose. To the Nayasser civilization, its warm, shallow waters were where youth learned to swim before being transported to the coast to join fishing expeditions. And to the proud Littols whose descendants would go on to unify Littolyo, it was Barī’s waters that nourished an explosion of agriculture in the Holden Valley, transforming an arid landscape into a lush and fertile bread basket.

Today, it is gone.

At its greatest extent, Lake Barī covered more than 5,000 square miles, fed by snowmelt from the Altar Mountains to the south. Today, what remains is a vast and dusty flatland, punctuated by large rocks and the decaying remains of abandoned boats.

The fate of one of Littolyo’s famed Great Lakes is a jarring reminder to the nation that climate change remains a ticking time bomb, a looming threat to which there appears still no credible answer. The government continues to pump tens of billions of dollars into research on climate solutions each year, but unless a major breakthrough comes fast, the environmental challenges already facing critical swaths of Littolyo and the region at large will continue to worsen.

Lake Barī’s disappearance can be attributed to a variety of factors, including successive centuries in which its waters were used to irrigate millions of acres of farmland throughout the Holden Valley. Several ill-considered dams, the consequences of which were not fully understood at the time of their construction, further choked off the lake’s inflow.

But it was the steady reduction of snowpack in the Altar Mountains—the same mountains that prevent rainfall from reaching the Holden Valley for much of the year—that sounded the death knell for the lake. Historically, the Altar Range’s icy peaks have provided an ample and reliable source of snowmelt that kept fresh water running into the lake year-round. In recent decades, however, snowfall patterns have shifted substantially and are no longer predictable. While the average winter snowpack in the Altar Mountains trends around 80 to 85 percent of what it was a century ago, this past winter, the mountains saw barely 30 percent of their usual snowfall, and scientists are in consensus that this lack of snow is a direct symptom of a changing global climate.


A Barī Heron, now believed to be possibly extinct, over Lake Barī in 2012.

Of course, to an obstinate but not insignificant minority of Littolyens, climate change is little more than a narrative being spread by the left for a variety of not-always-consistent reasons—a position pushed hard by prominent National Party politicians, including Governor Paul Wyte of Andersen State.

“The lake is gone, that’s a fact. Anyone can see that,” said Governor Wyte in a brief phone interview. “But the reasons are much more complex and nuanced than the media or the Littolyen Party would have you believe. They want you to think, ‘Oh, here’s climate change, I should feel terrible for driving my car.’ But there are many other reasons this is happening.” Asked to elaborate, the governor said he did not have time to expound on those reasons, and ended the call.

Other officials seem much more concerned. At an event last week at Hoch University, President Leon Drake described climate change as “the only existential threat Littolyo faces.” Defense Secretary Raul Forters has described climate change as the “top national security priority” for Littolyo’s military planners over the coming decades. And Catharine Greyson, the Secretary of Agriculture and perhaps the administration’s most outspoken climate hawk, regularly issues exhortations to the nation to reduce its carbon footprint.

It’s clear that climate change is already upending life across Littolyo with startling frequency, but the exact implications of Lake Barī’s disappearance are harder to parse. Food production in the Holden Valley is down more than 70 percent from its peak in the late 19th century, and much of the valley’s remaining farmland is fed by the Petna River.

According to a white paper published last month by the Andersen Institute of Natural Sciences, of major concern is the eradication of the lake’s complex ecosystem, from unique microbes and tiny crustaceans to the majestic Barī Heron that was endemic to the lake’s basin.

“Once a symbol of the entire region, the Barī Heron has not been sighted in the wild since 2017,” the report reads. “The collapse of the Barī ecosystem could very conceivably have wide-ranging, catastrophic, and irreversible consequences for the larger natural systems on which Littolyens depend for their health and livelihood.”

[Almorea]

OCTOBER 8, 2020

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Scandal-ridden senator takes on feminist challenger in Queensland Senate debate

Senator Robert Carruthers (F-Queensland) (left) debates AMP challenger Elaine Allard (right) in the Museum of the War Between the Provinces in Kingstable, Queensland province, on October 7, 2020

KINGSTABLE- The eyes of the nation turned to one of Queensland province's Senate races last night, as Federalist senator Robert Carruthers, who has been mired in controversy during his term, took on Almorean Party challenger Elaine Allard in one of the most fiery debates yet of the 2020 legislative elections.

Sen. Carruthers, 64, who was first elected in 2008, will compete against Ms. Allard, 31, in the December 18 elections to Congress that will be held across Almorea. Each province has three senatorial districts. Mr. Carruthers, who represents the Second Senate District of Queensland, is seeking a fourth term in office. After a failed presidential bid in 2016, he was arrested in 2018 for drunk-driving on a Queensland highway. The senator completed an alcohol rehab course early this year, according to his lawyers.

If elected, Ms. Allard, a feminist blogger who joined the city council of Blackshore, the provincial capital, in 2017, would be the youngest member of the Senate. She won the AMP primary in the Second District with 50% of the vote, defeating former Queensland governor Bill Herschel in what many analysts described as a striking upset.

Wednesday night's debate was held in a museum honoring the soldiers who fought against the Almorean government during the nation's civil war in the early 1860s. The debate was appropriately fractious, as both candidates interrupted and grew angry at one another.

Ms. Allard attacked her opponent by pointing out his record of frequently missing votes in the Senate. "Where have you been, senator? Where have you been?", she repeatedly asked, as the moderator, an anchor from local news station NWQR, struggled to restore calm. "You missed 37 votes in 2010, 49 votes in 2013, and your worst was in 2018, when you missed 60," Ms. Allard scolded the senator, implying that his high record of missed votes in the latter year was due to his drunk-driving arrest.

"Actually, I have to go back to Queensland, I have to go back and visit my constituents because I'm their senator," Mr. Carruthers responded, talking over both Ms. Allard and the moderator. "Although you wouldn't know that, because you've been in politics for as long as a kid believes in Santa Claus," the senator continued, laughingly, an attack line that drew howls and boos from the audience.

Ms. Allard sought to highlight Mr. Carruthers' personal history, including two divorces and a court battle with a woman who claimed to have borne a child by him in the 1970s, as proof that he does not respect women. "If you had respect for women, if you liked women, you would have stayed with your girlfriend," she said. "You abandoned your girlfriend. What kind of a reputation is that?"

The senator was careful not to attack feminism in general, but criticized Ms. Allard for being too "aggressive", saying, "you are just out of touch and out of pace with society right now, Elaine."

Mr. Carruthers spent a good portion of his allotted time trying to tie Ms. Allard to the Hallowell administration's policies, some of which have been contrary to AMP orthodoxy. "My opponent says she is peace-loving. She says her party and the President stand for peace. But they're the ones who bombed our own soil with rockets," the senator said, referring to President Hallowell's January missile strike on a cartel compound in Gray Hills.

"She wants the government to break the Constitution with impunity. You can't use the military against Almorean citizens, it's against the law," Mr. Carruthers continued. Ms. Allard responded by highlighting the senator's support for "terrible energy policies, machine guns for law enforcement, and tax cuts for the wealthy that let Queensland crops rot in the fields."

Polls conducted Thursday showed that 52% of respondents believed that the senator won the debate, while 48% thought his challenger performed better.

The Second Senate District race is not the only one being watched in Queensland during the 2020 elections. Queensland holds its provincial elections to the governorship and local legislatures on December 18, the same day as the congressional elections, although this is not mandatory for every province. Governor Jeff Moore (F) will take on his AMP opponent, Queensland representative Steve Holt, in a race that has drawn national attention. President Hallowell is expected to visit Harmoran, in eastern Queensland, next week to hold a rally for Mr. Holt.

Supporters of the rival candidates for governor faced off outside the Queensland Assembly Building in Blackshore this past weekend, with a conservative group holding posters with offensive caricatures of the President, and liberal AMP demonstrators chanting, "no more Moore."

The Times of Ellsburgh reserves all rights to this publication. Copyright MMXX.

[Littolyo]

2020 October 11
COUP UPENDS DOVRONE; DRAKE SENDS IN TROOPS TO RESTORE ORDER


Residents of Gamballa emerged this morning to find Dovronian Army tanks prowling the streets. The Governor General of Dovrone was reported kidnapped from his palace outside the capital.

GAMBALLA, DOVRONE—A coup d’etat that began unfolding in the middle of the night has upended the nation of Dovrone, throwing the semi-autocratic state into chaos and presenting President Leon Drake with a crisis immediately in Littolyo’s backyard. Now, Littolyen peacekeepers have been deployed to prevent the Dovornian military from slaughtering civilians opposed to their coup.

Details are still emerging, as at least two Times reporters in Gamballa have lost contact and are believed to have been taken prisoner by elements of the Dovronian military—but not before sending in reports, corroborated by numerous civilians in the Dovronian capital, that Dovronian troops were out in force on the streets of several neighborhoods across Gamballa throughout the night.

Residents were awoken by the sound of heavy vehicles rolling down the capital’s darkened avenues early this morning, and starting just after 2:00 AM, social media posts began to appear reporting the sounds of isolated explosions and sporadic gunfire coming from the direction of the principal government offices.

At 3:13, a video was disseminated across the internet and social media in which Vice Air Marshal Lorenzo Tulma, previously the third-highest ranking officer in the Dovronian military, announced that his two superior officers, Governor General Enzo Wheeler, and numerous other top government officials had been taken into custody, purportedly “at the behest of the people.”


Four Littolyen helicopters, bearing peacekeepers and military police, prepare to land in southern Dovrone.

Barely an hour later, President Drake, awoken from his sleep by an aide bearing the bad news, released a video statement documenting his administration’s response, even as the nation slept. “Dovrone is the nation with which we share our longest border, and we will not allow instability there to threaten Littolyo’s own security. I can confirm that a small number of Littolyen tactical teams are operating within Dovrone’s borders, and that we are in touch with Vice Marshal Tulma.”

But as dawn broke, the situation began to deteriorate further; despite the Dovronian military’s claim that their actions were blessed by a majority of the populace, residents of Gamballa and several other Dovronian population centers took to the streets in repudiation of the military’s coup.

The earliest protests appeared largely peaceful, but as the morning progressed, tensions rose. In one video posted by an anonymous Twitter account, a group of Dovronian men kick a soldier that has fallen to the ground, while a crowd that’s gathered to watch shouts denunciations of the military and their seizure of power. An unidentified person, standing just out of frame, begins to savagely beat the soldier with their own rifle, before the video suddenly ends.

But it was in in Lehur, a provincial capital in the country’s rural east, where any sense of restraint finally gave way. According to local residents, just before noon, a group of civilians laid down on the roadway leading to the provincial government center. Their goal was to prevent a trio of Dovronian tanks from approaching the provincial legislature, and for nearly an hour, their efforts seemed to be working. The tanks idled menacingly before them, and while the soldiers onboard shouted and gesticulated angrily for the protesters to move, the standoff seemed stable.


Littolyen military police stage, just on the Littolyen side of the border with Dovrone. They would cross the border, bound for Gamballa, minutes later.

Eventually, the soldiers retreated back inside their tanks, which sat idle for another twenty minutes or so. But without warning, the tanks lurched forward. Eight of the protesters were able to move in time, but the three lying closest to the tanks were crushed as hundreds of tons of steel trundled ahead.

The reaction from the Littolaestaff was swift. Anonymous sources within the presidential palace believe President Drake’s staff picked up on the event within ten minutes of its occurrence, and immediately brought a disturbing video of the incident to the president. Shortly before 1 PM, President Drake convened an emergency meeting of his national security council, and at 1:21 PM, residents along the border reported seeing large flights of Littolyen helicopters streaming over the border and into Dovrone, with truckloads of peacekeepers and military police following shortly thereafter.

At 3 PM, President Drake addressed the nation from his office to shed further light on the situation. He announced that, with the agreement of Vice Marshal Tulma, Littolyo had deployed 3,000 peacekeepers and 640 military police to Dovrone to help ensure order and prevent atrocities against civilians.

Outside analysts immediately expressed incredulity that Vice Marshal Tulma, a proud and stubborn character, would have agreed to such an arrangement, with some speculating that President Drake likely delivered the vice marshal an ultimatum: accept the imposition of order by Littolyen peacekeepers or face forceful removal from power.


Littolyen peacekeepers patrol a road leading to the provincial capital of Lemur, in eastern Dovrone.

The question of Dovrone is particularly complicated for President Drake; the nation was formerly a part of Littolyo’s precursor state, the Continental Confederation, before being seized by imperial powers centuries ago, and has remained something of an open wound on the Littolyen psyche ever since. With nationalist sentiment growing in recent years, President Drake has faced increasing pressure to take steps towards restoring the territory to Littolyo.

Early this year, a landmark piece of legislature, the Fortify Littolyo Act, was introduced in the Senate by an unusual bipartisan coalition of lawmakers. If passed, the bill would require President Drake to certify to the Senate annually that he is taking steps to restore Littolyo’s historic territorial integrity, and detail in closed hearings the steps his administration has taken to do so.

[Ioudaia]

Music Beat

Ioudaian Cultural Exchange Groups Take Littolyo by Storm

Four Ioudaian performing companies have dominated Littolyo's stages, airwaves, and websites for the last three weeks. Two dance troupes, the Nykalessos Modern Dancers and Troupe Nikomedes-Omid, and two musical ensembles, Shalah-Shadmehr and the Pteleon Symphonion, simultaneously arrived in four of Littolyo's major cities, Portland, Arennica, Alpina, and Harpa. Their premier performances were greeted by thunderous applause, as Littolyoan audiences were entranced by never-seen-before Ioudaia dance and music. Their encore performances the next day similarly thrilled audiences, and if anything, audience excitement increased as the groups rotated through the four main cities of their tours.

After that, the groups split up among Littolyo's major cities, spending only a single day in each venue before moving on. Since they were greeted by sell-out crowds as they travelled – with demand especially great for Shalah-Shadmehr and Troupe Nikomedes-Omid tickets, some tickets bringing in hundreds of dollars on reseller websites – they agreed to extend extend their Littolyoan tours.

Even singing with projected translations, Shalah-Shadmehr wowed audiences. Music Beat interviewed people leaving their performance in New Hartha. "I love how they can make such sad stories beautiful with their voices!" exclaimed Joan Benoit. She struggled with an overwhelmed web server for over two hours for tickets to their second performance. Edwin Moses enthused, "We have nothing like their music here. It's great! I hope their style infuses Littolyoan jazz."

Audiences in Tropsbar were impressed with Troupe Nikomedes-Omid, paying compliments to both the Troupe's music and dances. "Their fluidity while leaping to fast music is just jaw-dropping.", gushed Connie Carpenter.

All four groups expect to remain in Littolyo for at least another week, and perhaps longer. Androdamos Yosef Sphrantzes, Shalah-Shadmehr's tour manager, suggested they might stay on tour for longer. "Ticket sales are through the roof, audiences love them, and they're having a great time getting to know Littolyo. They might stay a month or more."

Updated 15:15 Oct 12: The Pteleon Symphonion has announced that with the crisis on Littolyo's border, they are canceling their remaining shows in Littolyo and returning to Ioudaia immediately. Ticket holders will receive refunds. Music Beat is attempting to contact the other ensembles to learn their plans.

[Biaten]

Tuesday 13th October 2020
Hachen Times
Republic of Biaten

Breaking News: Minister of Defence arrested, charged with corruption and unlawful conspiracy



This morning, Minister of Defence, Tony Madison, was arrested by military police at his country home outside of Hachen after it was discovered that the soldiers who had recently been arrested for unlawfully arresting political activists were directed by the Minister. These crimes were revealed to the Foreign Intelligence Bureau, who have taken over the investigation of these incidents, by several of the apprehended commanding officers, who provided documents ordering them to arrest and crack down on certain activists, some of which had writing that matched the handwriting of the Minister. It had been discovered that the Minister had offered extra money to these commanding officers in exchange for conducting the arrests.

This morning at 9am, 3 companies were seen quickly leaving Hachen on the road to the Minister’s country home. After a couple of hours, the convoy reached the estate and began to secure it and surround the house. The convoy broke into the house and searched for the Minister. After a lengthy search, the Minister was found to be hiding underneath a bed. He was arrested and returned to the capital, where he was handed over to the Ministry of Justice.

In the early afternoon, Chancellor Siegel made a press announcement.

“Thanks to the efforts of the FIB, we have discovered that the recent unlawful actions by the military were directed by Minister of Defence Tony Madison, and this morning Mr Madison was apprehended by the military.

We have, in the past, witnessed Ministers be at the centre of scandals such as sexual affairs and violations of basic laws, but a Minister using his power and influence against our democratic principles is extraordinary and absolutely appalling to say the least. Not since the days of Lucius Hayden have we seen such unjust actions conducted under the order of a person of high authority within the government. However, these are different times, and this corrupt politician will be brought to justice.”

Mr Tony Madison will be tried with the other 46 commanding officers next month. Until then, Secretary of the Army Cameron Ashworth will serve as acting Minister of Defence.

In a speech to the National Diet, Leader of the Opposition Mattie Everly criticised the government and spoke of her outrage. The Opposition Leader claimed that the Minister was “a traitor to our republic” and said the government was “blind to injustice caused by corruption”.

[Bhikkustan]

Bhikkustan
Tensions in Sasania spike before regional elections

Dialogue between the regionalist Sasan People's Democratic Party and pro-Kharnam Union Party cut off amidst allegations of secessionism

SPDP leader Vardám Hušán (left) speaking with Alí Kureši of the Union Party in September. The two have not met in weeks, prompting fears of a breach of the status quo which has reigned since the end of hostilities in 1984.

By: Biraj Thapa Sheng

In what can only be seen as a worrying augur of future events, especially this close to a key election, party leader Alí Kureši of the Union Party confirmed that his party, which currently controls the regional legislative assembly, had not been in contact in with the other major party, the Sasan People's Democratic Party. Whilst electoral rivals, the two parties have maintained a tenuous power sharing agreement following the cessation of hostilities in the Sasan War in 1984. This recent halt on talks is the longest since the signing of peace accords in 1984, raising worries about the regional elections in a few days time.

Sasania, located in the north of Bhikkustan, has long been a point of tension between Bhikkustan and neighbouring Aprosia. It is the home of the Sasan people, an Aprosiatic group, and was a part of the Aprosian Empire for much of its history, before becoming independent following the Islamisation of Aprosia and subsequent collapse of the Aprosian Empire. The region was annexed in the 19th century in a war of conquest, as Bhikkustan sought its valuable ports on the north of the island. During the Aprosian civil war, Sasania was a key rear base for the monarchists and rightists and following the socialist victory became a key place of refuge for the so-called "White Aprosians" who reorganised a government in exile in Bhikkustan. The new Aprosian government held revanchist territorial ambitions on Sasania, which were only officially dropped in 1984 with the signing of peace accords, and backed several pro-Aprosian groups within Sasania. The ensuing war lasted several decades and caused numerous deaths. While peace was signed in 1984, tensions in Sasania have remained and occasionally resurface.

According to Kureši, the breakdown in talks comes as a result of "worrying tendencies towards secessionism from cadres within the SPDP" which "threaten the sanctity of the join-rule agreements" and "put in jeopardy the peace agreements which have secured life in Sasania". For their part, the SPDP have criticised the Union Party for "abandoning the interests of the Sasan people in the favour of Kharnam", making reference to the recent passage of anti-extremism legislation which has granted wider powers to federal law enforcement agencies in their prosecution of "religious extremist elements", which the SPDP claim was motivated by the increasing influence of Buddhist groups over Kharnam's government and is used to prosecute Muslims. While the senior leadership of the SPDP have not explicitly stated their support for independence, several party members have faced legal action for online publications in favour of Sasan secession or union with Aprosia.

Reacting to the halt in negotiations, Surevi Bahadur Hang tweeted "Sasan politicians would be wise to remember the terms of the 1984 accords. Secession is not an option. Progress only comes with collaboration." The bluntness of this message has been seen as Kharnam putting its foot down, with defence minister Tulke Talakjung promising a deployment of internal troops in order to keep the peace over the electoral period. Several local activists have condemned this decision as voter intimidation and an overextension of central government control.

If the power-sharing agreement does break down, the results of the election will be highly significant. As these two parties are by and large the only parties within Sasania, whoever wins the election will likely determine the future of the region. While a victory for the Union Party will be seen as an endorsement of the status quo, an SPDP victory will likely be seen as a rejection of Kharnam's rule over the region and could prompt further demands for autonomy from the ethnic and religious minority region. How this would play out is unknown, but could forseeably entail a return to the low level insurgency that plagued the region in the 70s. How such events would play out would be influenced by the position taken by Aprosia, which has traditionally backed the Sasan separatist movement as part of it's pan-Aprosiatic ambitions. Whether it would be willing to throw away 30 years of detente and slowly warming relations with Bhikkustan would remain to be seen.

[Ioudaia]

Pentapolis Broadcasting Network

Six Kings Discuss Littolyen-Dovoronian Situation, Summon Ambassador

(Nykalessos, Ioudaia) The Six Kings met in closed door session this morning, responding to events in Littolyo and Dovrone. Several ministers were seen entering the Palace of Goverment, including Defense Minister Prymneus ben Galal, Minister of State Shir bat Hekabe Ushria, and Culture Minister Iasos Adlai ben Kallias. All of them ignored reporters' shouted questions except for Iasos Adlai, who paused to say that all members of Ioudaia's arts organizations visiting Littolyo are safe, and the the Pteleon Symphonion is in the process of returning to Ioudaia. This confirms posts on the troupes' social media feeds.

After almost two hours, Shir addressed the media gathered just outside the East Portico of the Palace of Government. "The Six Kings have summoned Teegan Annaster, the Littolyen ambassador, to explain her country's intentions in Dovrone. We thank the government of Littolyo for intervening to protect the rights of Dovrone's citizens as they throw off the yoke of tyranny. But in the same breath, we are concerned about any country that sends armed forces across international borders into a neighboring country. We hope Ambassador Annaster can clarify this matter for us."

Within the hour, a black limousine bearing Littolyen flags and diplomatic markings arrived. Ambassador Annaster emerged, assisted by her staff, and delivered a statement. "We can certainly understand any unease about Littolyen peacekeepers being deployed to Dovrone, and quite frankly, I think President Drake isn't thrilled with the current situation himself. But certainly other nations can also understand the Littolyen security imperative to make sure this unrest doesn't grow and spill over our border, and even more importantly, the moral imperative to prevent any more Dovronian civilians from being killed by an illegitimate military dictatorship. Everything we do in Dovrone is being closely coordinated not only with Vice Marshal Tulma, but also with the Free Dovoronian Citizen's Council, as it's the will of the Dovronian people that is our North Star here."

As she and her retinue walked to the Palace, they were greeted by Minister of State Shir. They were too far from the press corps to make out what they said, however, their body language suggested a pleasant exchange.

[OOC: Collab with Littolyo.]

[Littolyo]

2020 October 14
LITTOLYEN REPORTERS EXECUTED IN DOVRONE; DRAKE MOVES TO END COUP


Littolyen military vehicles in Highland State this afternoon, on their way to deploy in Dovrone.

GAMBALLA, DOVRONE—President Leon Drake this evening sharply escalated Littolyo’s military presence in neighboring Dovrone—currently in the throes of an armed coup—after two reporters for the Littolyen Times were found murdered, apparently by elements of the Dovronian military.

Details were still emerging late Wednesday, but the reporters appear to have been killed at a Dovronian Army barracks about 40 minutes outside the capital of Gamballa, sometime last night. Their bodies were discovered midafternoon by a contingent of Littolyen military police, who had been deployed to Dovrone to help deter further violence against civilians, on an anonymous tip from a Dovronian national.

The murdered reporters, missing since Monday when they were believed to have been captured by Dovronian soldiers while reporting on the developing coup, were John Layve, 44, of Corhue, Olany, and Leah Willis, 37, of Vesters, Radenna. Both were veteran reporters of the Times; Ms. Willis received the Plumm’s Prize for her reporting on a Senate campaign finance scandal in 2012, the youngest-ever recipient of the prestigious award.

The killings were seen as an egregious and unexpected attack against two Littolyen journalists, and the reaction in Arennica quickly swung from dumbfounded to furious. President Drake took to the airwaves at 6:15 PM, as columns of Littolyen military vehicles and aircraft were streaming over the border with Dovrone, to deliver an address to the nation.

“The killing of Littolyen citizens by a foreign military is never acceptable, and Littolyens at home and abroad deserve to know that their government stands behind them 100 percent,” he said sternly, his voice brimming with anger. “The position of the Republic of Littolyo is simple: with the murder of two Littolyen journalists, the Dovronian military has forfeited any legitimacy behind its attempts to lead the country. Littolyo will now work directly with the Free Dovronian Citizen’s Council to forge a path forward for the country that is fair, peaceful, and democratic.”

As of nightfall, Dovronian military units across the country were peacefully laying down arms as Littolyen troops swept in, apparently choosing quiet surrender over all-out assault from the much larger neighbor that geographically surrounds their country. Officials at the Littolaestaff as well as the departments of state and defense, all speaking on condition on anonymity, confirmed that the surrender was being coordinated via a back channel with Vice Marshal Tulma, in control of the country and the armed forces since his coup earlier this week, and that Dovronian military personnel not involved in atrocities against civilians had been offered amnesty.

With the international situation in a state of flux and Littolyo suddenly facing a much larger role in shaping Dovrone’s future than it had anticipated even a few days ago, Arennica was abuzz. Senate Leader Geneviève Blout said in a statement released just before midnight that the Senate would convene Thursday afternoon for an emergency session, “to create the legislative framework that will guide the situation in Dovrone towards stability.”

Political analysts and media pundits appeared blindsided by the developments, even while grappling with the loss of two of their own. “It’s all just happening so fast,” said Wanda Rintz of the Institute for a New Littolyo, a nonpartisan think tank. “We went from finding out about John and Leah to what looks like a major military operation in just the span of a few hours. With things moving this rapidly, it’s hard to get all the details and parse each event.”

At the liberal-affiliated International Justice Society, which advocates for the reduction fo armed conflict around the globe, Joel Borello questioned whether President Drake’s response was proportional to the events at hand. “Two Littolyen reporters being murdered by a foreign government is grave indeed,” he said. “But to respond with a full-on occupation stretches credulity a bit. It leaves one to wonder whether there might be larger issues at play, perhaps out of the public eye.”

More conservative voices, on the other hand, tended to cheer the staunch response. “I don’t say this very often,” said Senator Victor Teal, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “But the president absolutely did the right thing here. When an innocent Littolyen life is taken abroad, it’s critical that we send a robust response. We owe it to our citizens to stand up for their safety. Anything less would be a betrayal of our duty and would make every Littolyen less safe.”

Reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Times mourned the loss of their two colleagues. “Leah and John were universally beloved among our Times family. Their loss is an indescribable tragedy, and our hearts go out to their families and loved ones—we grieve with them.”

[Martenyika]

Thursday October 15, 2020
RKT - Royal Kessa Times

Khat in the Crosshairs as Opponents Push for a Ban

Khat is once again under attack on the national stage as opponents continue to lobby for a total ban on the substance. Although considered medicinal in some capacities, anti-khat protesters claim that it is simply a harmful drug. Groups of demonstrators gathered within several Martenyikan cities, although not in overwhelming numbers. A few demonstrations were dispersed due to alleged traffic interference. Khat has been a part of Martenyika's culture for hundreds if not thousands of years and its cultivation makes up a portion of the nation's agricultural economy. President Maxime Zubele weighed in on the issue telling reporters that while he was against a total ban on khat, he would give consideration to any legislative controls on the substance that came his way...[READ MORE >>>]

[Massie]

Laurigg Free Press, October 15, 2020

Littolyen Base Raises Hackles

The government is facing severe backlash today from all sides of the political spectrum after a leak from Kilroy House revealed that the government may be in secret talks with the Drake Administration of Littolyo to build a new military base in Mosel. The leak took the form of a transcript of the Prime Minister Mira Fairchild's conference call with President Drake, where he raised the prospect of a Littolyan base, a move that has been repeatedly proposed by Littolyo officials over the last two decades.

The Prime Minister was quoted in the transcript as saying a base would be "a positive step and one worth the backlash", and suggested that planning approval of a base could fast-tracked and begin construction within months. She went onto lament the lack of political will in asserting power and co-operation in the Western Isles.

At press time there has been no comment from the Prime Minister, with Kilroy House issuing a press release announcing an inquiry into the leak of security-sensitive information, and stating they will not engage with stolen information. Internal Affairs Minister Milo Lasker, the most senior member of the government from the province of Mosel, said that the government "has no plans to plan" for any foreign bases in Mosel at this time, and did not respond to questions of whether he has discussed the leak with the Prime Minister.

The Red Greens and the Republican Left of Mosel have condemned Fairchild's enthusiasm for the proposals, calling for protests in Laurigg and Mosel's capital of Riedestel for this weekend. The Fairchild government's reliance on one or both of these parties to pass legislation through the House of Deputies could prove to make their steadfast opposition highly troublesome for the government going forward.

Leader of the Opposition Ruben Smith was cautiously optimistic about the news, suggesting that such a base "would do wonders for our place in the region and Mosel's economy", warning Fairchild to ignore opposition by the left-wing elements in her government. He went on to suggest that the Urban-Rural League may support plans for a base if it led to a parliamentary vote.

Ms. Fairchild is expected to address the leak and her discussions with President Drake in an address to the House of Deputies tomorrow afternoon.

[Littolyo]

2020 October 19
SURPRISE SENATE BILLS OPEN DOOR TO RESTORATION OF DOVRONE TO LITTOLYO; DRAKE SIGNS, AS NATION RALLIES


The Senate in session after midnight Monday morning. It would pass a series of bills moving to restore Dovrone to Littolyo less than an hour later.

ARENNICA—The Senate on Sunday evening unveiled a stunning set of bills that lay the groundwork for the country of Dovrone, comprising former pre-Littolyen kingdoms that were conquered by outside colonists more than 900 years ago, to be restored to Littolyo.

The legislation was drafted in an emergency session convened over the weekend, and was passed by the Senate in the early hours of Monday morning. President Leon Drake further shocked the nation by signing the bills just before noon on Monday; in a short signing statement, he acknowledged that while the bills had not quite garnered a supermajority in the Senate, they had come close enough that he did not see a good justification for flouting the Senate’s will.

The president is scheduled to address the nation tonight.

The bills, pushed hard by National Party lawmakers but also supported by a sizable number of Littolyen Party senators, stipulate that the Littolyen government must facilitate a plebiscite in Dovrone on the country’s future. Specifically, the question is whether or not the Dovronian people want to become Littolyen citizens.

Dovrone has for more than two centuries constituted two of Littolyo’s fourteen Administrative States: Dvaltu and Dventeri. Administrative States are states claimed and recognized by the Littolyen government as part of Littolyo’s historic territory, but presently claimed or occupied by other countries. Should the lands be restored to Littolyo, these states would convert to Manifest States, joining Littolyo’s 22 other Manifest States.

The territory, which covers most of the Dvrene Basin, has a rich cultural history. The Davltu and Dventeri Kingdoms were among Littolyo’s foremost precursor kingdoms, and were founding members of the Continental Confederacy in 540, widely recognized as the earliest pre-Littolyen state. Restoration of these and other former Littolyen territories has been at the core of the Littolyen political concept of manifest destiny since the nation’s founding, although the notion fell out of favor for several centuries and is just now regaining momentum.

News of the bills’ signing immediately spurred jubilant celebrations across the nation. Political scholars have for nearly a decade noted that nationalism has been on the rise in Littolyo, but the intensity and ubiquity of public celebration at the news of the bills—both in the streets and online—has taken pundits almost universally by surprise.

“I’m frankly stunned,” said Loris Loretta of the nonpartisan Center for Political Analysis in New Hartha. “We’ve been tracking the popularity of manifest destiny and historic territory restoration in opinion polls for nearly twenty years, watching support tick up, especially among the National Party—fifteen percent, twenty percent, thirty percent, sixty percent. But what we’re seeing today suggests a much wider embrace of a strong nationalist policy across both parties in a way we didn’t expect.”

Regardless of how the yet-to-be-scheduled vote in Dovrone ends, President Drake’s decision to sign the bills signaled a seismic change in policy, and was seen as an enormous political gamble. The president, who cruised to a comfortable victory in the 2018 election on a center-left platform, saw his majority in the Senate disappear this year, with some voters turning more to the right amid a rising tide of nationalism.

While his approval of the measures could attract new support by rebranding his liberal Littolyen Party as strong on national security, he also runs a clear risk of repelling his base; some of his strongest and most liberal supporters rallied behind him in 2018 as a bulwark against just the kind of assertive posture he has now flamboyantly endorsed.

“The word not being used here is the ‘A’ word, and that’s annexation,” said Jack Nicey of the liberal Democracy Initiative. “It’s a question of what kind of country we want to be, and Drake’s voters gave him a clear answer in 2018. To see him turn his back on those voters now is baffling.”

Indeed, one of those voters, Jennifer Larson of Costa City, was furious. “I supported Drake in 2018 because I expected him to stand strong against the National Party. By moving to annex Dovrone, he’s offering a ridiculous political giveaway to the conservatives, and leading Littolyo down a dangerous road.”

By contrast, Senate Leader Geneviève Blout, conservative of Corrodenna, was reveling in what she saw as a major bipartisan achievement of one of her longstanding policy goals. “Today, President Drake did Littolyo right, and he did it by respecting the fruits of partnership born in the Senate. I am confident that residents of Dovrone will soon return home to Littolyo.”

[New Aapelistan]

Aprosia
Mihál Ozén: “All sides must follow the Accords”

Tension in Sasania prompt public statements from the Aprosian Central Committee

APF Vice Secretary Mihál Ozén during Thursday’s All-Union Party Congress

By: Biraj Thapa Sheng

With the political standstill between the Union Party and the Sasan People’s Democratic Party continuing in the region of Sasania, the atmosphere of political tension has continued to spread through Sasania and the neighbouring areas. What constitutes as the longest break in dialogue between the two rival parties has raised fears of a breaking status quo and with it, fears regarding the future as the regional elections approach. Amidst it all, the question of the position and the actions of Aprosia in the region have come to the surface.

The northern region of modern Bhikkustan, populated by an Aprosiatic muslim people, has been a point of contention between Aprosia and Bhikkustan for several decades. As both countries gained independence from the Noronican colonial empire in the 1950s, the region of Sasania was effectively divided, with the majority of the Sasan lands ending up in the new Hangate of Bhikkustan, sparking minor unrest in the region on both sides of the border. With continued civil conflict in the region, the conflict escalated into an all out war by 1979, only to end in 1984. Following its founding in 1978, the Aprosian People’s Democratic Union, led by the socialist Aprosian People’s Front, the region had become of interest to the Aprosian leadership as a part of the nation’s pan-Aprosiatic ambitions. While no concrete evidence exists, the Kharnam accused Aprosia of igniting the war through provocations and undercover efforts in the region. What is known, however, is that Aprosia would eventually supply the Sasanian rebellion with equipment and manpower, becoming the largest supplier of military aid in the conflict.

In the Sasanian War, Aprosia became the largest foreign power to intervene in the conflict. Pictured are members of the Revolutionary Guard of Aprosia

Both the Aprosian domestic situation and the shifting balance of power in favour of the Bhikkustani side led to the cessation of hostilities and the power-sharing agreement between the regionalist and pro-Kharnam sides in 1984. The result of the war would remain a black mark in the record of the new Aprosian leader, Ár Héžin, who would be thrown out of power through a palace coup only four years later; an event that effectively ended the rule of the revolutionary generation of Aprosian leaders.

Despite the end of hostilities, the regionalist Sasan People’s Democratic Party and the Aprosian People’s Front have maintained party-to-party relations and several SPDP members are known to have made online publications in favour of Sasan secession from Bhikkustan, to even suggestions of union with Aprosia.

As the standstill between the two regional parties has continued and defense minister Tulke Talakjung advocating for the deployment of internal forces in the region during the electoral period, the situation was brought to the attention of the Aprosian People’s Front in Aprosia and the All-Union Party Congress, which gathered for its session last thursday. Despite the 1984 cessation of hostilities, the Aprosian People’s Front and its Central Committee have continued to claim Sasania, with the goal of “peaceful reunification” towards the region, in line with the other claimed territories of Aprosia.

Despite the relations between the APF and the SPDP, Vice Secretary of the APF Central Committee Mihál Ozén continued to proclaim the party’s wish that peace is maintained in the region, calling for all sides to uphold the 1984 accords. While maintaining the wish for eventual unification of the region, First Party Secretary of the Aprosian state of Sasania Hizá Zaidaší continued the party line, proclaiming that “a continued conflict in the region would only serve to move the Sasanian community backwards, away from common development and cooperation”.

[Biaten]

Wednesday 21st October 2020
Hachen Times
Republic of Biaten

Army Structure Strained



The Biatenian Armed Forces has had a rocky few months, with some members of the military overstretching their power. Although Field Marshal Ralph Combs has done what is in his power to keep the military in line, government action to reorganise the military is desperately needed. The command structure is struggling to prevent desertions and abuses of power among the ranks.

Autumn Recess Approaches

This week is the last week before Parliament is suspended for the Autumn Recess, which will start on 24th and end on the 2nd November. This is a chance for all MPs and Senators to improve their relations with their constituents, so it is especially important to the 57 MPs who were newly elected during the election back in May. This is also a chance to allow the parties to reorganise and further consider and deliberate their structure and policies.

However, this week rumours of a potential motion of no confidence in the government have been circulating, which may or may not dominate party discussions behind closed doors over the recess. Leader of the Opposition Mattie Everly has not commented or directly hinted towards proposing a motion of no confidence, though she has taken a more verbally hostile approach towards the government in recent weeks.