News Thread [Kylaris|Canon|IC]

by **Imperii Ecclesia** » Tue Sep 01, 2020 8:41 pm

RECORD NUMBERS AT FIRST DAY AT NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
UNIVERSITY OF LENOVO'S ANNUAL PHILOSOPHIC CONFERENCE OPENS

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PETAR MAROV (@marovpetar)
^{1st SEPTMEBER 2020 20:52 | LENOVO, TENGARIA}

Symposium attendees engaged in discussion to answer the question: "What is the Proper Place of Metaphysics in a Liberal Education?"
Photo courtesy of DIMITRI TAREV.

LENOVO, TENGARIA -

The Fifty-Fifth Tengarian National Symposium began on the campus of the University of Lenovo on Tuesday, September 1st. The Symposium is the most well attended of any Symposium up to date, drawing over two hundred scholars and five thousand students and other attendees.

The National Symposium is an annual philosophic academic conference where the top philosophers and scholars from all over Tengaria and others from various other nations are invited to come and participate in discussions about important topics with students and various citizens from Tengaria can come to learn more about the life of wisdom and to get a chance to discuss issues of import with the scholars. It was started in 1965 on the personal behest of President Simeon Kovachev, an avid patron of philosophy and education, as a part of his extensive reforms to the educational system in Tengaria.

The first Symposium began as a small gathering, mostly with a handful of scholars and small crowd of participants. Since then, it has increased in size over the years. The previous record was 2015, when President Kovacheva made the first address at the Symposium in nearly 30 years. The numbers had declined slightly after that, and had slowly increased year by year until the record was broken this year.

The Symposium began with an address by President Teodora Kovacheva, who is a graduate of the University of Lenovo and has continued her grandfather's support of the Symposium. During his Presidency, Simeon Kovachev had always given the opening address every year since it's founding; and although President Dimitri Kovachev had declined to do the practice, in 2015 Teodora took over for her grandfather's legacy.

"Living an examined and virtuous life is necessary for the common good of the Nation," Kovacheva said in her address. "The life of wisdom and the pursuit of the good is a noble activity which is not only the right, but the duty, of every citizen."

After the closing of the opening address, the events of the Symposium formally began. Symposium attendees have many options of things they can attend- discussions in which they participate with other attendees under the guidance of a scholar, lectures on particular subjects with question and answer periods, and special seminars which combine lecture and discussion into a hybrid form. Some events require no preparation, but many of the discussions have common texts read beforehand to better support an argument or facilitate the discussion. Some events are reserved only for scholars, but many events are open to all attendees.

The current theme of 2020's Symposium is the "Order of the Liberal Education", focused on the question of how a liberal education might be most conducive to the life of wisdom and the pursuit of the good life. Discussion questions on the first day included "What is the Proper Place of Metaphysics in a Liberal Education?" and "Can Music and Astronomy Truly be Considered Liberal Arts?", as well as lectures such as "Engineering's Role in the Natural Philosophy".

Students at the University of Lenovo may attend for free, but other non-academic attendees must pay a fee to participate to help cover the expenses, most of which are provided for by the Presidential Office. The event is scheduled to continue for the remainder of the week, with the closing ceremonies scheduled for Friday.

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© TENGARIAN NAITIONAL STANDARD 2020

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by **Piraea** » Wed Sep 02, 2020 10:30 am

Katerina Melas - 2 September 2020

Home · Piraea · Euclea · International · Politics · Business · Technology and Science · Arts · Education · Health · Sports · Weather

MAJOR POLICE OPERATION IN KISSAMOS TARGETS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, OFFICIALS WITH MAFIA TIES

Dozens were arrested by the national police for ties to criminal activities.

Kissamoss, Piraea - Over two dozen people were arrested by the National Police Service in a series of anti-Mafia raids today. Police carried out several raids in Kisammos against a local construction company. The Vassilikos Group, a company based out of the city, has been revealed to have ties to both the Piraean and Etrurian Mafia. Employees of the company were arrested in addition to several local officials for their role in the illicit procurement of construction materials.

The Etrurian government has recently published documents outlining cooperation between Piraean and Etrurian crime syndicates. At the center of their findings was the Vassilikos Group, which was unnamed by Etrurian authorities. The National Agency for Combating Corruption today confirmed that it was pressing charges against the companies leadership. The company is accused of working with the Piraean Mafia and affiliates in Etruria to secure materials for construction projects. Petros Vassilikos, the CEO of the company, was taken into police custody.

The Vassilikos Group has declined to comment on the allegations, but Vassilikos proclaimed his innocence to local journalists as he was brought into the police station.

Several local city officials were also taken into custody. A senior aid to the President of the Kissamos Council is among those arrested. Building inspection officials have also been arrested and will face charges for failing to adequately review construction sites and documentation proving the authentic origin of the illicitly procured materials.

A statement released by the National Agency for Combating Corruption indicated that the office would continue to investigate ties between the Mafia and government or business officials.

The raids are part of Premier Maria Theopeftatou's renewed effort to combat organized crime and corruption. The culture of corruption among Piraean officials has been at the forefront of Piraean politics since the 2017 resignation of Ioannis Flambouraris as premier. It remains an obstacle for Theopeftatou's goal of Piraean ascension to the Euclean Community. Cooperation with the Etrurian government and the appointment of Christos Meikopoulos as head of the anti-corruption agency are intended to alleviate concerns about corruption.

by **Liecthenbourg** » Wed Sep 02, 2020 1:33 pm

Election 2020: As Lémery endorses the Premier, Senator Barreau is left ally-less.
With Maitre's focus on "spawning a new political movement" and Laurent rejecting an endorsement for either candidate, encouraging his supporters to vote as they liked, Barreau finds herself without allies.

Moïse Baillieu
September 2nd, 2020|Verlois, Gaullica

Of the six candidates, only the Premier and Senator Barreau remain.
Image courtesy of the High Infografaxic Corporation (HIFAX).

Verlois, Gaullica

The first round of the election night seemed to show a favourable hand to the Premier Monique Degar-Abdulrashid, yet quickly after political commentators began questioning the way the votes would fall in the succeeding rounds. A legitimate concern that seemed to be encroaching over the horizon for the PSD campaign was: even if all the voters to the left of the PSD voted for it; they would still fall short of the majority for a presidency.

A spokesperson for the Barreau campaign seemed to allude to this fact as well, highlighting the "behind the scenes" conversations occurring between members of now-defunct campaign teams. The implication, it seemed, was that Barreau was itching towards securing key allies -- endorsements from her former political revivals to tip the balance in her favour in a sweeping momentum throughout the week.

We are now on Wednesday, and despite numerous campaign appearances, continued rallies and even appearances on television -- the Senator is no closer to her goal. Indeed, she has actually faced severe setbacks.

At his concession speech on Sunday, Patrick Laurent of the Gaullican Conservatives encouraged his supporters to "vote for whoever they wanted". He argued that the CGs could never rally behind either candidate, for differences in policy, substance, style and their respective histories. He denied to suggest whether one of the presidencies would be better for the country over the other, remarking that "they each have their incompatibilities with conservatism".

The second stumbling block for Barreau's campaign came with the announcement earlier today from Nathan Maitre. He told Le Monde that he was "interested" in a longer lasting political legacy than this attempt at the presidency. He argued that his vote share, though relatively small, "brought together Gaullicans from all walks of life". When questioned, he stated he was looking into "the development of a new political party, to tap into these people who find themselves ignored or marginalised by the larger, establishment parties." When posed with "Barreau" or "Degar-Abdulrashid", Maitre said that both were "lovely women" but he could not endorse either on principal; that he saw no place for himself in an administration of either, and was more interested in a grassroots effort.

The Barreau Campaign, however, is still chugging along -- without these endorsements. The Senator stressed at a rally that she had "always been an outsider" and that her identity was "a tough spill for many to swallow".

Meanwhile, better news has emerged on behalf of the Premier. Whilst she had had an endorsement from Les Verts since her initial running, a reiteration of that endorsement was unveiled earlier. Much of it was oriented around their continued work on environmental and social justice issues. Yet, this did not stop there, as the leader of the SGIO endorsed the Premier as well. She said, whilst this might not be reflective of her party's ideals, that the Premier was "the best choice for those who want to see genuine change: environmentally, geopolitically and socially".

The remaining political giant, the King-Maker, Augustin De Troumpe has been strangely silent. A trait incredibly out of character for the man, his narrow defeat in the first round was challenged twice by his campaign -- demanding recounts. And since both turned out against him, he has not remarked on the results beyond congratulatory remarks for the two finalists. Whether he is negotiating with either candidate is yet unknown, but it is possible.

There is no counting out of either candidate yet, with but three days to go until the second round, the deck seems to stack against the Senator -- and the PSDs seem set to continue another six years in the presidency at the very least.

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by **Kisinger** » Wed Sep 02, 2020 2:55 pm

Tsivebi Times
The Shifting Dynamic in Vedmed

Tsivebi - Vedmed lying at what was once considered the heart of the old Narodyn Republic, now independent for forty one years now sits at a nexus in its history. With the elections for Parliament and the Premiership underway it now stands for the people of Vedmed to choose which path to follow as the candidates await the results.

Over the years Vedmed has seen a shift over time among its young voters as they gradually continue to swing to the left of the spectrum. Most notably towards the Social Democrat Party which has been an ever growing force under Konstantine Sakandelidze pledging to continue the fight for the common man and to lift up many from the economic stranglehold and reduce the wealth inequality within the nation. He has also called for a new path to be forged by Vedmed internationally. While extremely popular among young and left wing voters Konstantine has not swayed much of the older or more affluent vote in Vedmed drawing harsh criticism for his lack of foresight and for his lack of any true plans in the fields of international diplomacy.

One of his opponents in particular Eduard Machutadze of the Vedmed United Party and the current Premier has taken a hard stance and has been extremely verbal in his rhetoric against Konstantine, in one released statement calling him a, “foolish city boy not understanding how reality works,” as well as a “delusional university professor not willing to accept hard facts.” His harsh rhetoric comes at a trying time as while he has been holding the Premiership for nearly a decade similar to his two predecessors from the Vedmed United Party, there is a growing concern that Eduard and his party may for once be unseated in the upcoming elections tomorrow.

The growing desire for “new blood” has grown rampant throughout Vedmed to replace the old Vedmed United Party causing a myriad of other candidates to become close contenders to what his soon to become one of Vedmed’s most important elections in its short history. Candidates such as Keti Vardanidze leading the Workers of Vedmed party who has seen an ever growing amount of support and while extremely unlikely to outright win the Premiership her and her party will prove to be a force now to be reckoned with in Congress as it now seeks to unseat many of Vedmed United’s once core electoral seats especially around Tsivebi and other major areas.

This election seems to be a stepping stone for change within Vedmed from the old staunchly conservative and religious stronghold that it has been following its independence leading into a much more liberal and irreligious state that it is becoming. Dynamics within Vedmed have shifted dramatically especially within the last ten years with many calling the current leadership out of touch with the current world and with Vedmed itself.

This new shift may cause ripples throughout Vedmed and even further on the international stage as Vedmed sits within the heart of Samorspi itself and this change may not be viewed as a favorable change by all of its neighbors.Especially seeing as many of its new prospective candidates for Premiership have called for Vedmed to find its “own way.”

Preliminary polls show that many believe this is the case as well as many of our pullers outside voting stations have found that roughly 34% of those polled to be voting for the Social Democrat Party and 48% voting for Konstantine himself as Premier. He currently stands as the front runner for not only the majority of those gathering people’s votes but as well as the current vote counts released by the Electoral Commission in Vedmed.

Other Candidates have not seized such a large percentage of votes. The Vedmed United Party has only achieved 22% of the vote and Eduard himself for Premiership has only achieved 16% of the vote, the lowest ever of any incumbent premier in the history of Vedmed. Other candidates of which there is six more each have barely managed to secure any percentage larger than 16% with their parties themselves bearing a similar fate.

by **Kisinger** » Thu Sep 03, 2020 7:03 am

Tsivebi Times
Konstantine Achieves Victory in Historical Election

Tsivebi - The results have finally came in for this years Congressional and Premiership Elections with a resounding victory for Konstantine and the Social Democrat Party both not only did Konstantine win in the first round of the Premiership election surpassing his opponents by achieving a total of 52% of the vote, the Social Democrat Party achieved a large portion of the Congressional Seats, acquiring a total of 44% of the votes or 154 seats in Congress making it the largest party outside of the Vedmed United to command such a dominating position within the Congress.

This victory comes to a surprise to many throughout the nation with the now former Premier himself questioning the legitimacy of said elections but still voluntarily stepping down to allow for Konstantine to take the mantle over from him.

His electoral victory has sparked minor protests across the nation though it is unlikely to amount to much as many counter protests have far out matched those protesting.

Many worry what the reaction from the Narodyn Republic will be and Samorspi as whole will be as this is the first major shift from the staunchly conservative governments that have had a stranglehold on Western Euclea for almost half a century.

This victory will run into a new era for Vedmed led on the backs of Konstantine and his Social Democrat Party.

by **Eskaeba** » Thu Sep 03, 2020 9:11 am

Goga congratulates Sakandelidze in historic Vedmedi election victory
But the incumbent president urged Tsivebi to protect bilateral ease of business.
September 3, 2020 - Samistopol, Narozalica

Some extreme factions of the Duma say that the president is failing to keep its allies close.

A historic day in Vedmed's recent history concluded yesterday as a red aura was cast over the Congress of the Vedmedi, Vedmed's unicameral legislature. For the first time in the country's history, its electorate came out and dethroned the historically-dominant Vedmed United Party, a conservative, religious party that has long dominated the affairs of the central Euclean nation. In its place, the Social Democrat Party, led by aspiring statesman Konstantine Sakandelidze, has emerged. Pocketing 52% of the premiership vote, along with 44% of the congressional vote for his party, Sakandelidze is in a commanding position to lead his country into the oncoming decade.

The elections were met with minor protests in the country's capital, Tsivebi, as well as allegations of electoral fraud and corruption by the previously-incumbent Eduard Machutadze, leader of the Vedmed United Party, who was noted and public in his rhetoric against Sakandelidze and his Social Democratic Party. Despite this, the long-standing ally of the Patriots' Front in Narozalica and an arbiter of positive bilateral relations between the two countries stepped down to make way for the new Premier this morning.

Goga congratulated Sakandelidze on his historic victory, remarking that she "was excited" to continue the fruitful relationship the country's have enjoyed since Vedmed and Narozalica founded the Samistopol Cooperation Organisation in 1983. However, she also addressed calls that the new Premier has made in regards to hefty increases on taxes on the wealthy in Vedmed, urging him to "consider carefully" before moving into any "brash moves". Among this, she extended a call for Tsivebi to "maintain the high standards of bilateral ease of business that Vedmed has excelled in for decades."

SDP policies in Vedmed have provided ample concern to Narozalica's ruling front, who received just under 75% of the popular vote in Narozalica's presidential elections earlier this year. The front has worked closely with Narozalica's oligarchs and businessmen for years, providing tax breaks for some of Narozalica's richest and most influential conglomerates, most of whom deal with natural resources, including the country's expansive reserves of crude oil and natural gas. Of these oligarchs, SMEC founder and current Zakhaz CEO Olexander Huba possesses significant influence in the Vedmedi economy, providing thousands of localised jobs in Zakhaz plants and pipelines that run through the country.

Some further-right members of the front, as well as independents in the Duma, have accused Goga of failing to keep its allies in a uniform political outlook, seeing centre-left victories in Vedmed as part of a greater trend of possible left-wing revivalism across the borders of Samorspi. They call for tighter restraints on the country until the election can "be properly investigated" by Narozalic authorites, in the case of Inusya Litovchenko, a member of the Duma representing the city of Syrnitsa in southern Narozalica. Critics of these factions of the Duma have labelled it an overt attempt to override and coup Vedmed's internal politics.

Regardless of alignment on the subject, the victory for social democrats in Vedmed is certainly a historic moment in the country's tumultuous history. One of Samorspi's richest states, owing in big part to its expansive job market in the export of Narozalic natural resources, Vedmed contains significant influence within the Samorspi political framework. Narozalica will no doubt be monitoring the situation in Vedmed in anticipation to see whether or not the Social Democratic Party will replicate its domestic success in the Mizparl elections next year, when the presidency in set to be handed over to West Miersa.

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by **Slirnija** » Thu Sep 03, 2020 7:06 pm

by **Eskaeba** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 2:46 pm

by **Nuvania** » Fri Sep 04, 2020 5:16 pm

Provincial Elections: DAP Wins Mahaika, Loses Pomeronia

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The Political Team at Die Vrystaat
4 September (12:00am)|PIETERSBURG

The Democratic Action Party (DAP) have made significant gains in Nuvania's provincial elections in what many have labelled as a glimpse into the upcoming general election in November.

The party now controls five of Nuvania's eight provinces, having won Mahaika, but lost Pomeronia to the National People's Party (NVP). This gives the party an indication of strong public support going into the general election.

Party leader Andrew Bohn said that he was "extremely pleased" with the results, saying that winning Mahaikla was "a pleasant surprise", despite many political pundits tipping the province to swing left in polls leading up to the provincial elections.
"We had seen some of the polls," he said. "But not all of them were showing the swing that we saw so we weren't expecting it to happen."

National People's Party leader Philip Ackerman said that he was disappointed in results but would not be drawn on any conclusions to the upcoming general election.
"We're still over two months out from the election," he said. "Anything can happen in that time."

Below are the results by province:

Albina
Albina was predicted to remain under NVP control going into the elections, reflected in the final result. A total of 944,741 votes were cast, representing 82.3% of registered voters. The NVP received 511,104 votes, or 54.1% of votes cast, with party also gaining two seats, taking their total to 29 seats out of 40 total seats in the Provincial Assembly. The DAP received 375,062 votes, or 39.7%, down on their 2016 election result by 3.4%. The party lost two seats to NVP, taking their total down to nine seats. The Nuvanian Agrarian League (NAB) saw little change of the vote, receiving 55,740 votes, also losing a seat themselves, only retaining one seat in the Legislative Assembly. Indepednent candidate Karl Botha managed a surprise win in the marginal seat of Helensburg, unseating NAB incumbent David Brink by a margin of 605 votes.

Premier David Andrews now has an increased mandate to implement a series of reforms and infrastructure projects in which he believes will generate jobs and investment in a province that is starting to feel the effects of the recession. He is also looking to approve another support package for farmers affected by last month's fires in the centre and east of the province. He said that he wouldn't be drawn on the wider shift to the left, saying that he would work with "whoever's in control in Pietersburg".

Brabantia
Brabantia was tipped to remain in DAP control, with polling suggesting that the vote share would come under threat from minor parties. The final result showed that the threat never materialised. A total of 2,025,905 votes were cast, representing 75.4% of eligible voters. Of these votes, 49.9%, or 1,010,927 votes, were cast for the DAP, an increase of 3.4% over the 2016 election result. Primary support came from Niekerk and other urban areas. The NVP won 32.5%, or 658,419 votes. The the Citizen's Alliance (BA), and the Coalition for Brabantia (KVB) won 12.4% and 3.9% respectively, with the NAB and the Sotirian Democratic Party achieving 1.1% and 0.2% respectively.

In terms of seats, the DAP maintained their existing number of 34 seats in the 67 seat legislature, with the NVP down one seat to 23 seats, with the BA up one seat to four seats, KVB up one seat to three, and the NAB and SDP maintaining their one seat each. Only one independent crossbench remains, held by Adam Ross with a margin of 5,410 votes.

Premier Suzanne de Koch said she was pleased with the result, although she was expecting to gain seats.
"We really pushed for the seats in fringe areas of Niekerk where we thought we could get more support," she said. "However we didn't seem to manage that at all." De Koch said that she would be confident for a DAP victory in November's general elections. She said that she is looking forwards to working with a DAP central government.

Provicial opposition leader Johannes Breedt said that the result was better that the party was expecting but was still pleased with the result, despite the loss of one seat to the BA.
"Overall I think we've done pretty well considering the circumstances and the nature of provincial politics in Brabantia," he said. "It's a very urbanised province, and we've really done with both the voting and retaining seats."

Demara
Demara saw the NVP retain control over the Provincial Legislature, with the party going into the election in control of 27 of the 46 seats in the Provincial Assembly. A total of 1,409,097 votes were cast, representing 85.4% of registered voters, the highest voter turnout in the elections.

The party retained its majority, with the NVP winning 48.4% of the vote, down 2.9%. However, the party increased its share of the seats from 27 to 30 seats, winning three NAB rural seats. The NAB's vote share declined 2.1% to 37.8% of the vote, and lost three seats, returning 14 members this election. The DAP retained both of its seats, and lost only 0.2% of the vote.

Petrus van der Merwe, the Premier of Demara, said that the polling prior to the election would have indicated a loss of seats, and to gain additional seats was "well beyond expectations."
"All polls indicated a growing unease about the NVP so we're really happy with the result we have," he said. "We're looking forwards to implementing the policies we announced in the runup to the election."

Etten
Etten's provincial election took place on the back of uncertain economic times and a major outbreak of dengue fever, which has now seen cases rise above 80,000 in the province. Polling indicated that the existing coalition, the largest in any province in terms of seats, would retain its command over the Provincial Legislature. Among the more unusual aspects of the campaign prior to the election was the merger of two junior parties in the current coalition; The Future Is Now (DTN), and the Etten Ecological Alliance (EEA). Now called the United Future Party (UFP), the merger created one of the more rare examples of a majority Estophone political party.

Approximately 5,451,760 votes were cast in Etten, approximately 79.3% of registered voters, but around 65% of eligible voters. Etten, like many provinces, has struggled to get people to enroll, something which both central government and Premier Caroline Anderson want to address.
"One of the most important things we can do as adults is vote," she said. "So one of the first things my government will be doing is launching a registration drive for voters."

Many of the people that were unable to vote were recovering from or sick with dengue fever, which health officials said would impact overall voter turnout. A substantial fumigation campaign was conducted in the leadup to election day, with polling places containing plants or vegetation near entrances and exists thoroughly examined and fumigated to reduce mosquito larvae numbers.

Despite the difficulties, the DAP managed to score wins in the province, taking two additional seats to 49 out of the 118 seats in the Provincial Assembly. The combined efforts of the United Future Party saw it retain the seats won by the pre-merger parties, and with 12 seats in the Provincial Assembly, the UFP is now the second largest party in the government coalition. The Citizen's Alliance lost two seats to the DAP, returning six members to the assembly, with provincial branch leader Daniël du Plessis indicating the BA could become a crossbench party. The NVP managed to recover from the previous provincial election and bring with it a more serious challenge to the DAP-UFP coalition, increasing their seats by nine to return 46 members to the assembly. These seat gains came at the expense of the SDP and the NAB, the former reduced from eight to five seats, and the NAB failing to make it back into the assembly altogether.

Vote shares increased slightly for major parties, the DAP up 0.4% to 50.2% of the vote, or approximately 2,736,784 votes. The NVP greatly improved it's vote share, increasing it by 15.3% to 41.7%, or 2,273,384 votes. UFP combined acquired 6.2%, or 338,009 votes, with the BA declining significantly to 1.2% of the vote, and the SDP squezing in 0.7%, with 65,421 and 38,162 votes respectively.

Kanaän
Kanaän's provincial election was marked by similar concerns surrounding dengue fever, with the provincial government also announcing a major fumigation program in the lead up to the election. Premier Karl Beijer said that the program would be conducted so that voters "could feel safe when they went out to vote."
"The safety of voters is essential," he said. "We would not be doing our jobs properly if we allowed voters to catch a disease like dengue while performing essential civic duties."

Like Etten, Kanaän had trouble enrolling eligible voters, given existing voting restrictons which disqualify wide numbers of people. Despite this, the province recorded a new election high of 4,039,818 votes, 80.1% of registered voters.

The DAP increased its share of seats in the Provincial Assembly, winning an additional six seats, bringing the total to 48 out of 102 seats and making it the largest party in the assembly. However, the DAP still fell short of achieving a full majority of 52 seats by four. The Citizen's Alliance, taking cues from other provincial party organisations, may end up on the cross benches after their share of the seats halved from two to one, the seat won by the DAP. The Social Justice Party retained its three seats, bringing the government coalition one short without the Citizen's Alliance. The NVP acquired all of the seats remaining in the assembly bar one, improving it's vote share and seat numbers, the NAB booted out of the provincial assembly. However, the NVP also falls short, with 49 seats.

Beijer said that the DAP and SJP could form a minority government, given despite not having a majority in the Provincial Assembly, as both parties combined have more seats than the opposition.
"It's very likely that we'll end up with a minority government following discussions between our two parties," he said. "Whatever happens those crossbench votes will be crucial in getting bills passed."

The only surviving Citizen's Alliance member, Phil Overney, said that in spite of the party's assembly leader losing his seat, he said he was confident that he could work with both parties in the assembly.
"I don't want to be confrontational or be a spanner in the works," he said. "I want to make sure that what I am voting in favour of is in the best interests of the people of Kanaän and in line with the values of the Citizen's Alliance."

Mahaika
Perhaps one of the greatest shifts in the election came in the southern province of Mahaika, in which the DAP won the province for the first time in the province's history, bringing to an end almost 140 years of NVP governance of the province.

Polling prior to the election saw support for the NVP halve owing to a water poisoning scandal involving the former Minister of the Environment Robert van Thys regarding the alleged coverup of dangerous levels of arsenic in drinking water within the province, including the successful lawsuit of a group of families who had family members die of arsenic poisoning. The true involvement of the NVP in what was alleged to be a coverup by the party is still not known, although the NVP rejects the allegations. Voters within the province were uneasy about party involvement, as well as the widening scrutiny on the dealings of incumbent provincial ministers and their dealings with private businesses. An erosion of voter confidence preciptated this predicted but still unlikely victory.

This year's election saw a record voter turnout in Mahaika with 1,117,731 votes cast, a massive number for a province with 2.47 million inhabitants. Most of these came from the coastal cities of Philipsbaai and Mullersbaai, both of which swung massively in the DAP's favour.

The DAP gained 22 seats in the Provincial Assembly, the largest gain of any party in any province in Nuvanian history, taking its total to 31 seats, enough to form a comfortable majority in the 42 seat legislature. The NVP was reduced to a rump number of nine seats, with nine lost to the DAP and two to independents, which make up the remaining two seats in the legislature. Once again the NAP was decimated, losing all of its seats in a predominantly rural province. However, only two of the seats were picked up by the DAP, the remainder picked up by the NVP, offsetting some of the losses in effective campaigning against the NAB, hinting at open hostilities between the two main conservative parties.

Premier-elect Michael Kennedy, said he was "over the moon" with the result, and understood that what needed to be done to retain voter confidence in the DAP would be "different to what would normally be expected from the DAP at a national or provincial level."
"Mahaika is a very conservative part of the country and previous elections have reflected that," he said. "As a Premier it would be a mistake of me to assume that these people did not have some expectations of me, and that's reasonable." He said that he would persue as much progressive reforms as he could within the limitations of the system in Mahaika.

Outgoing Premier Johannes van Tonder said that he was "deeply disappointed" with the result, but said that the NVP "will recover".
"It will take time but the party is not destroyed," he said. "We're still here and we'll continue to fight for the rights everyone in Mahaika."

Pomeronia
Pomeronia saw the only DAP during the election and the only one in which the NVP actually gained power, with the "miracle government" of Premier Johannes van der Sandt losing to the NVP led by Pieter van Ryssen, who had only been appointed provincial leader of the party six months before the election.

Pomeronia recorded the lowest turnout of any provincial election in the country, with just 447,533 votes cast, or 59.7% of registered voters. Allegations have arisen of voter intimidation and deliberately slow processing of voter registration forms, as well as other methods to slow down the number of voters. In Constantia, residents took to social media to level allegations of "voter intimidation" at polling stations, especially in some of the smaller cities like Jacobia and Klip Klop. The NVP and the NAB, who were both identified as having allegedly encouraged or participated in voter suppression tactics, denied the allegations.

The NVP managed to expand its share of the 56 seats in the Provincial Assembly at the expense of both the NAB and the DAP, the party gaining five seats to return 21 members, three seats from the DAP and two from the NAB. The NAB themselves were reduced by those two seats to 15, and the DAP down on single figures to nine. The DSP and the Ecological Party both retained their seats. An NVP-NAB coalition would give van Ryssen 36 seats, a comfortable majority of eight seats, with the SDP likely to sit on the crossbenches. The DAP and the Ecological Party would combine to form an opposition bloc, and together they would have 11 seats.

Van der Sandt said he was disappointed with the results but accepted that it was "highly unlikely" that the DAP could have managed the 2016 result.
"We were looking at polling and really focussing on key constituencies that ended up doing nothing for us," he said. "We'll regroup in opposition and work out what mistakes were made, and learn from those."

Van der Sandt said that the allegations of voter intimidation "should be taken seriously" by the Premier-elect, and that an official inquiry should take place.
"If these allegations were to be proven to be true, it would beg the question as to how widespread these tactics are," he said. "We should be investigating."

Pieter van Ryssen said that he was "honoured" to be elected Premier of Pomeronia, stating that "he wasn't expecting it to happen."
"The polls were close," he said. "The swing that happened was completely unexpected, so that ended up surprising everyone." He said that he wanted to be an effective leader for Pomeronia and is considered a "moderate" within the wider NVP. He declined to comment on the allegations made against his party and the NAB.

Rand
Rand retained its DAP-majority government with modest gains, with Premier Richard Swanpoel reelected by a firm majority of the vote. Unlike in neighbouring provinces, there was very little occurring in Rand, and polls remained consistent, if predictable throughout the entire campaign.

Approximately 1,572,397 votes were cast in Rand during the election, representing 80.9% of total registered voters, a slight downturn on 2016 numbers.

The DAP retained a majority in the 46 seat Provincial Assembly, gaining an additional seat to hold 22 seats. Their coalition Partners, the Citizen's Alliance, retaining the seven seats held since the 2016 election to give the governing coalition 28 seats, a somewhat comfortable majority of five seats. The NVP lost two seats, one to the DAP and one to the SDP, returning 14 members to the Provincial Assembly, and the SDP returning four.

Premier Swanpoel said that he was confident of a victory throughout the campaign, and said that he would maintain his existing policies going into the next term.
"We've got a formula that works," he said. "There's no reason to try something different."

Analysis
Political analyst Samuel Hofmeyr said that the DAP should be "very encouraged" by the party's performance in the provincial elections, especially winning Mahaika.
"I think there's a lot for the party and for Bohn to celebrate," he said. "They've got a clear mandate from the people in many parts of the country that they want the DAP to govern, there's clearly an appetite for change among Nuvanians and so this is reflected in who they've voted into power and who they've wanted to keep."

Hofmeyr said that the allegations of voter suppression in Pomeronia were "not all that surprising", saying that the province has not been progressive in terms of policy or outlook.
"Pomeronia is conservative, it's old-school and therefore the local NVP members are going to engage in old-school tactics," he said. "While it absolutely should be investigated, don't expect much from van Ryssen or authorities before the general election in November."

OTHER NEWS

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Monique Degar-Abdulrashid leads in first round of voting in Gaullica
Etrurian government approves pipeline deal
Pico de Sangue displays concerning signs of possible eruption

by **Liecthenbourg** » Sat Sep 05, 2020 2:37 pm

Election 2020: Premier Monique Degar-Abdulrashid has been elected President of Gaullica.
The 38 year old is Gaullica's youngest president, its first president who isn't a Catholic and the first woman from the PSD elected president.

Moïse Baillieu
September 6th, 2020|Verlois, Gaullica

Election 2020 is over, and one candidate has risen above all.
Image courtesy of the High Infografaxic Corporation (HIFAX).

Verlois, Gaullica

After an exhausting evening of political updates; the exit poll put out by Le Monde last night was correct. The votes are in and counted, and with a turnout slightly below the first round (down roughly 50,000 people but still 97% of the electorate), Premier Monique Degar-Abdulrashid has been elected as the new President of the Gaullican Republic. She follows in the footsteps of her political mentor, Jean Vallette, who had served as President since 2008 until this morning.

Facing stiff competition since her intention to run, Degar-Abdulrashid led the polls all throughout summer and rose to the strongest performing candidate in the first round of the presidential election last week. Yesterday Gaullicans decided between her and Senator Coralie Barreau of the PRCP and she won by 16.8% of the vote; achieving 58.4% to Barreau's 41.6% respectively. In her favour 35,345,002 votes were cast for the Premier whilst 25,177,262 were cast for Barreau.

Barreau conceded earlier today, praising her opponent for "running a clean campaign" and being a "role model for women not just in Gaullica, but around the world". She also praised her supporters, highlighting that "never before had a new-comer to Gaullican politics made such an impact within a year". She ended her message informing the President, in a joking manner, that she would "see her in the Senate".

At her campaign head quarters in Verlois, the Degar-Abdulrashid thanked her supporters for "allowing [her] to continue to serve the people" as she promised "continued change that the PSD offers". She continued, arguing that this was a mandate for "peace, social and economic justice, and an economy that works for everyone, an environment that we can sustain -- and a Gaullica that is for all its people; not just the powerful."

Her campaign benefited from support from across the country; but found great support in the immigrant communities within Verlois and Rayenne. Much of her support came from voters under the age of 45, ethnic and religious minorities and the traditional union working class. She and Barreau split the women's vote on roughly equal grounds; but Barreau led in women over the age of 45 and women who identified as Solarian Catholic. She also performed better among areas of higher incomes within the cities; substantially leading several suburbs of middle-class voters by margins as large as 30%. The states she won with the highest majorities were both of Gaullica's overseas states': Nouvel Anglet and the IDS, leading Barreau by up to the high 50%s in voter disparity. Commentators have attributed this strong swing to the PSD's integral role into turning both territories into equal states within Gaullica. Conversely, Cassavie was her weakest state -- traditionally a stronghold of the right-wing within Gaullica, where she only secured just over a quarter of the vote.

Degar-Abdulrashid also received significant more endorsements from individuals in domestic Gaullican politics, as well as abroad. Caldish Taoiseach Mac Suibhne appeared at a campaign rally on the 4th of September -- and stressed the importance of Gaullica's commitment to Social Democracy to ensure a "balance" was maintained in the Euclean Community. Elements of Werania's SRPO also endorsed the Premier; as did politicians in Amathia, Azmara and other Euclean countries. Barreau, meanwhile, has argued that she was "abandoned" by elements of her ideological colleagues because of "who she is" and were more content to allow the PSD to build a government to position themselves against to allow her to change the country more to their interests.

In our Exit Poll, we asked those polled to rate the reasons why they voted for one candidate and not the other. For Abdulrashid, much of the feedback oriented around her tenures as Premier, her role in the current economic situation and commitments to peace in Tsabara. Barreau on the other hand rated strongly on personality traits such as independence and strength, as well as determination and was viewed as being more favourable on 'business matters.' However, perhaps true to her beliefs, many voters who identified themselves as "conservative" were "concerned" with her lifestyle choices. For Abdulrashid her faith was often the cause for much hesitance amongst undecided voters.

In what some might concerned strange, voters of the UCT found themselves favouring Monique Degar-Abdulrashid over Coralie Barreau. Whilst the UCT regards itself as economically collectivist and socially conservative, many of the voters were concerned that Barreau was "not socially conservative enough" whilst "too neoliberal". Much of the voter base, representing older elements of Gaullica's society from all sections of society, were "deeply troubled" by the implication of a Barreau presidency "threatening the sanctity of marriage". Her attempts to appeal to their sensibilities by arguing she had defended the clergy's special considerations in the Gaullican Constitution were not enough to sway voters without an endorsement from the party.

President Degar-Abdulrashid is not only the youngest president elected in Gaullica; but the first woman to come from the PSD and the first Irfanic president. She is also the only PSD president to succeed another president. She will be sworn in later today at a ceremony attended by former presidents, senators, campaigners and the general public. Her replacement as Premier has yet to have been announced, but it is known she has a short-list of candidates that she is "weighing up".

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by **Nuvania** » Tue Sep 08, 2020 2:38 am

Premier-Elect Van Ryssen Denies Prior Knowledge Of Misconduct By NVP

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Harry Monk (@HarryMonk)
8 September (12:00pm)|CONSTANTIA

Premier-elect Pieter van Ryssen denied any prior knowledge of misconduct by members of the National People's Party (NVP), and those associated with the party, during the provincial election in Pomeronia, despite evidence that the NVP and van Ryssen knew about plans for criminal misconduct being planned several months prior to the election.

Die Vrystaat received a number of emails from a source within the NVP regarding the discussion of plans to engage in voter suppression and intimidation by members of the NVP, as well as members of the Nuvanian Agrarian League (NAB), in what appears to be collusion between the two parties.

According to some of the emails, the plans were raised by lower ranking party members to the provincial party secretary Martin Kinghorn, who replied to the party members by saying that unless those members could provide evidence of the plans, the party wouldn't investigate.

Kinghorn denied that he had prior knowledge of these concerns, and said that there was some discussions about members acting inappropriately at lower levels within the party structure, but said they were dealt with by local party officials.
"Some allegations of inappropriate behaviour were brought to my attention," he said. "I said that they should be dealt with at the appropiate levels within the party and they were."

Some of the emails were also sent to van Ryssen, where they aired concerns about the party secretary not taking the allegations seriously. Van Ryssen replied to several of the emails, stating that the party "did not have the resources to conduct a proper investigation right now", and also expressed concerns about the party's public image. Another email, co-signed by Kinghorn and van Ryssen, called for party members to "not raise the issue with the party until after the election."

Van Ryssen denied any knowledge of the emails that were sent, but said that he had discussed allegations that were brought to his attention by Kinghorn.
"I had discussed some allegations with Kinghorn several weeks before the election," he said. "We both agreed that they would be addressed within the party at the apporpriate levels." Van Ryssen said that he wouldn't share what the allegations were, but denied that they were related to the subsequent allegations of voter suppression and intimidation. He also denied that there was any prior plans raised within the NVP prior to the election.
"The allegations made against the NVP on social media are false," he said. "There's no evidence to suggest that the NVP was planning to commit any criminal activity of that kind."

Hundreds of voters took to social media across Pomeronia to decry some of the threats made by various people aimed at voters, as well as damage and vandalism to polling stations across the province. A number of allegations placed the blame for some of the actions on the Nasionale Volksbund (NVB), a far-right Asterianer nationalist group with ties to both the Nuvanian Agriarian League (NAB) and the nationalist faction within the National People's Party (NVP). Slogans such as die nasie behoort aan ons (the nation belongs to us) and ons toekoms, ons volk, ons land (our future, our people, our land) were spray painted on a number of buildings were polling stations were located.

Chief of the National Police Service for Pomeronia, Superintendant Schalk van Tonder, said that the police so far had received 54 complaints of graffiti or intimidating behaviour both from members of the public and volunteers at polling stations. He said that the National Police Service took allegations of voter intimidation and suppression seriously, and that a number of police resources were being allocated to investigate the complaints.
"This is something that is very concerning for us," he said. "These are serious allegations and we do not take them lightly." Van Tonder said that anyone with relevant or useful information should contact police to aid them in their inquiries.

Democratic Action Party (DAP) leader Andrew Bohn said that he was concerned about the number and nature of complaints coming out from Pomeronia, and said that an investigation should be launched into the allegations. He also said that the NVP was not telling the public "the full story" regarding the party's foreknowledge of plants to intimidate and suppress voters.
"There's more to what's happened than they're letting on," he said. "It's obvious that there is some knowledge of plans of intimidation and suppression of voters during the election there."

NVP leader Philip Ackerman declined to comment on the matter, stating it was a "matter for the provincial branch [of the NVP] to resolve themselves."

Van Ryssen has ruled out an investigation into the allegations, owing to what he labelled a "lack of credible evidence". However, he said that he was "open to investigations if such evidence was found."
"I'm not ruling one out entirely," he said. "However, we cannot be sure that the allegations being made on social media are accurate." He said that he would wait for the National Police Service to complete their own investigation before launching one himself.

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Fires intensify in Albina, western Pomeronia
Etten dengue outbreak "under control"
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Chief Minister congratulates Gaullican President-elect
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by **Kisinger** » Tue Sep 08, 2020 3:22 am

Tsivebi Times
Samorpsi Hosts Largest Joint Military Exercise

Miersa - Today marks the beginning of the largest joint military exercise conducted by Samorspi. A total of five nations are participating, Miersa, Narozalica, Radushia, Tengaria, and Vedmed, roughly 30,000 troops are to participate making the largest Joint Military exercise not only for Samorspi but also in Euclean History.

The exercise itself was announced early last month but has been in planning over the last year. It will be taking place in Gdawiec Training Area over the next month. It was only recently revealed the objective of the exercise was to ‘simulate an invasion of Miersa from an unknown near-peer foe.’ Many have speculated this to be the Miersan Socialist Republic.

While the training exercise is expected to last a month, the units involved are also expected to be staying in the training area for an additional three months to conduct training with their fellow Samorspi allies to build a cohesive fighting force and to further establish closer relations with each other.

Several units are involved in the exercise including the Vedmedi 12th Mechanized Brigade, which will be operating in a supporting role along with the Radushians and Tengarians in supporting Narozalica and Miersa in their defense.

There are also expected to be many events in which Samorspi Forces will work with Miersan Authorities to establish relationships with civilians and show that Samorspi is there to help maintain their freedom from the Socialists in the East.

The training exercise has been met with almost universal regard throughout much of Vedmed with only a few minor protests by the Socialist party held in the Capital with very few attending.

Konstantine the new Vedmedi Premier has issues reassurances to all saying that, “Vedmed will forge a new path yes, but it’s commitment to Samorspi is critical to the nation’s well being.”

by **Ezenai** » Wed Sep 09, 2020 7:49 pm

The Pheonix

Ezenaian folk metal band's fame begins to spread worldwide

Temur Xilingol(@Xilingoltemur)- 9 September 2020

Upper: Sagra , Center: Or, Right: Tog, and Left: Kira

Tsezuulaa, Ezenai They're known as The Cho, an Ezenaian Folk Metal band that made their starts in the city of Tsezuulaa. The Cho has come out of the woodwork within the past few months and made itself the most popular band in Ezenai. Their music consists of taking folk music such as throat singing and instruments like the Morin Khuur, and mixing it with modern rock and metal instruments and aspects. The band was formed by four people, all of them were from Tsezuulaa, and are all lifelong friends. The four members currently are, Kiratai "Kira" Yediublugh, Toghonemur "Tog" Kamishchaganeii, Orda "Or" Yusunege, and Sagraargasar "Sagra" Boal.

I Spoke with Kiratai Yediublugh about what he thought the band has become, he replied with this "I believe The Cho has given a spotlight to Ezenaian culture on a more global level, when we formed The Cho, about a year ago now, we just wanted to make a new form of Metal, called Ezenai Folk Metal, we had no idea that we would reach this much success in such a short amount of time. Ezenaian Throat-Singing is a an already well known across the globe, we were honestly surprised at how much people loved our music, especially from outside of Ezenai. Well, now with all of these milestones we've achieves, we now want to look into what we can do to further expand and develop The Cho."

Their latest song is named "Falcon Totem", which is part of their current and only album "Cho", hitting top charts all over Kylaris, and with millions of views, it is a hit.

I asked Sagraargasar Boal about what the band has planned for their future. "Well, I believe it is time to expand, we have grown this big, we can easily play at concerts in Euclea, or even the Asterias. Last week we learned we were invited to meet with the Taishi and meet the royal family, and which we are excited to speak with them. Also, we found out our concerts have been the largest in Ezenaian history, so we had come up with an idea, a charity concert. Although in the early works, we hope to possibly hold a big charity concert and invite the biggest names, we haven't decided what any of the proceeds could be going to, again, this is early in the making, but, we hope to find a possible charity soon, so yeah, this is what we plan on doing as of right now".

Future plans for the band seem to indicate possible expansion and visiting and playing in other nations. As for a possibly charity concert, this is up to them, they did say it would probably be located in Khuusen.

The band has mentioned a planned visit to the royal palace and meeting Khaidu Taishi, Prime Minister Botaaraj, and the royal family. Of course, The Cho has fans within the royal family, one of them being a gigantic fan, Prince Berke, who has met with The Cho on multiple occations.

The Cho's mixing of traditional Ezenaian folk music with rock and metal has made for a quite successful combination that has put Ezenaian music on the map in a big way. The Cho member Orda Yusunege said "Our music can possibly inspire future bands to create folk metal by mixing metal with their own traditional cultural music, making new forms of music everywhere while also showcasing unique cultures." The Cho plans on new songs later this year and a new possible tour.

In Other News:
Khaidu Taishi "has plans" to keep balance with parliament
Cattle farm destroyed by out-of-control combine
Gaullica's election, what you need to know

Comments:

By oooeeeiiiaaauuu - 4 mins Ago

I hope they do a charity concert, thats awesome
50 Likes | 26 Dislikes
Reply | Like | Dislike

By MunkhtesestegMidamaa - 45 mins Ago

Ngl Sagra's kinda hot
40 Likes | 30 Dislikes
Reply | Like | Dislike

By Finchmeister - 12 mins Ago

Dude their songs slap
6 Likes | 2 Dislikes
Reply | Like | Dislike

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by **Slirnija** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 11:15 am

by **Eskaeba** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:50 am

by **Imagua and the Assimas** » Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:25 am

VIOLENT ERUPTION COMMENCES IN MARACAO, IMAGUA EXPECTED TO BE AFFECTED
Transport minister orders closure of Imaguan airspace, grounding of Imaguan planes

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KAMALA KLOBUCHAR (@KHivemind)
16 September, 2020 04:30 IST | CUANSTAD, CITY OF

Transport Minister Ambro Pedone

After over a century, the Pico de Sangue has risen from its slumber. With predictions from the Imaguan Volcanological Institute of "significant ashfall" in the Assimas and in the northern parishes from the volcano, and "light ashfall in the southern parishes and Cuanstad," Transport Minister Ambra Pedone announced that "effective immediately, all Imaguan planes will be grounded, and Imaguan airspace will be closed to all flights."

Pedone told reporters that "given the Imaguan Meteorological Institute has predicted an ash cloud to spread across the country throughout the coming days, it would be fundamentally irresponsible for us to continue to allow flights to and from Imagua. We will allow all flights already in the air to divert to Imaguan airports, regardless of place of origin, if they are close enough to Imagua to land there safely."

When asked if it would affect Imagua's ferry services, Pedone said that "as of this time, the Imaguan Maritime Service is going to continue operating their regular schedule, although given predictions of substantial ashfall in the northern parishes of the island of Imagua, we may need to alter services to accommodate the realities at hand. But that being said, we don't believe that'll be necessary at the current time."

Responding to another reporter asking what will happen to tourists who would be stranded on Imagua, Pedone said that "the government is currently working on a strategy, but I will assure to those who are stranded here that we are planning on automatically extending visas, so that they will not have to worry about heading home while our airspace is shut down."

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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by **Nuvania** » Wed Sep 16, 2020 3:54 pm

Evacuations Continue As Pico de Sangue Erupts Violently

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David Ross (@DavidRoss)
16 September (12:00pm)|PIETERSBURG

After days of ongoing volcanic activity, Maracao's largest volcano, Pico de Sangue, erupted violently this morning, prompting mass evacuations, closures of air space, and Imaguan schools on its northern coast closed until further notice.

The Maracan government announced a state of emergency in which mandatory evacuations for the towns of Guajaratuba and Mivaqueiro, which are closest to the volcano. Government officials stated that lahars and pyroclastic flows posed serious threats to settlements around the volcano, with initial evacuations taking place once volcanic activity began on the volcano.

The eruption is estimated to have a Volcanic Explosive Index (VEI) rating of between five and six, making it one of the largest volcanic eruptions in the wider Arucian.

Transport across the island has been significantly impacted with all but main roads closed, and all flights grounded. Flights on approach to the island were diverted to other Arucian islands, with Imagua and the Assimas acting early to also close its airspace due to the dangers posed by the ash cloud.

The closure of airspace in Maracao and in Imagua has left dozens of aircraft and hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals stranded in both countries, as both are popular tourist destinations, leaving countries scrambling to evacuate citizens. A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that while it was checking on how many Nuvanian citizens may be in Maracao through it's embassy in Castelonovo, Belmonte. In addition, the Ministry said that an estimated 6,000 Nuvanians may be in Imagua and the Assimas, according to the embassy in Cuanstad. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they were working with embassy staff to track down the Nuvanians in Imagua and the Assimas to ascertain the true numbers of people there, as well as coordinate with Imaguan authorities for evacuation.
"At the moment, we don't have proper numbers of people there," the spokesperson said. "We should have a proper picture of the number of people in Imagua within the next couple of days."

Foreign Minister Philip Ackerman said that evacuating Nuvanians from Imagua would be "difficult" owing to the danger the ash would pose and the preemptive closure of Imaguan air space.
"The Imaguans closing their airspace has meant that no flights can go in or out of the country," he said. "As there are substantial numbers of foreign nationals in the islands, it makes evacuations very difficult, and we're working with the Imaguan government to reopen airports in order for evacuations to begin."

Ackerman said that any future Nuvanian government evacuations could take place with aircraft from both the Air Force and state owned flag carrier NLM, as well as potentially chartered aircraft.
"We're currently discussing the rescheduling of NLM services in order to be able to free up aircraft from the airline for potential future evacuations," he said. "The airline is willing to cooperate with the government on the provision that disruption to regular services is minimised."

Vulcanologist Ian Andrews from the National Geological Service (NGD) said that he was surprised that the Imaguan authorities acted in the way that they had done, but stopped short of criticising the decision.
"Typically we wouldn't see grounding of flights or airspace closures until the ash cloud is directly over the island, which still isn't expected for a few hours," he said. "It could be enough to evacuate hundreds, if not thousands of people to the Asterian mainland." Andrews said that even with the ash cloud above the island, flights could still arrive and leave.
"Typically large volcanic eruptions will throw large amounts of ash into the atmosphere," he said. "But this will sit higher up, between six and 11 kilometres in height. This means that aircraft can still operate at lower levels, but that comes with the added cost of less fuel efficiency."

Andrews, who was part of the international panel of experts at the 2016 conference at the International Aviation Federation (FINAV) that determined regulations for ash density, said that the safe limit imposed by international regulations for operation of turbine engines in the upper atmosphere was four miligrams of ash per cubic metre of airspace, with amounts below that considered safe for turbine operation. He also said that while airlines would be right to avoid that airspace, he said that flying under clouds at lower levels or in low density ash concentrations was "perfectly safe".

A spokesperson with the Civil Defence Directorate (BVD) said that it was monitoring the situation in Maracao closely, and was working with the Nuvanian Weather Service and the NGD on advice for the Etten provincial government, which is expected to be impacted by the ash cloud within the next three to four days. They said that while the impact is expected to be minimal, it would be issuing advisories to the provincial branch of the BVD, as well as the Etten Provincial Health Board (EPHB) on potential health effects of the ash cloud.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended its condolences to the Maracan people who had been affected by this disaster, and had taken the step of offering humanitarian aid if requested.
"The Nuvanian government has made it clear that despite our ideological differences, we stand ready to offer assistance to the people of Maracao in their hour of need."

OTHER NEWS

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by **Eskaeba** » Thu Sep 17, 2020 9:11 am

by **Liecthenbourg** » Thu Sep 17, 2020 10:03 am

Mathéo Turzyna has been selected as Gaullica's new Premier.
Turzyna returns to the government, as the former Minister of Defence and State-President of Transaventines has been confirmed by the Senate to be its new Premier.

Moïse Baillieu
September 17th, 2020|Verlois, Gaullica

Emerging from the Senate, Turzyna told the crowd he was "honoured" to have been selected for the job.
Image courtesy of that guy outside the Senate who is constantly there with a camera.

Verlois, Gaullica

As her first appointment as President, Monique Degar-Abdulrashid had shortlisted several candidates to succeed her as premier of Gaullica. Speculation ran wild on which candidates were even on the shortlist; with rumours circulating that it ranged from the Minister of Education Guilllaume Beauchamp to Sylviane Lambert, the independent Foreign Minister. Today it was confirmed that a former member of government, Mathéo Turzyna, had been selected and subsequently confirmed by the Senate to become Gaullica's new Premier.

Mathéo Turzyna, a member of the Social Democratic Party, served in the governments of Antonine Duquesne as the Minister of Defence. After four years in the office he resigned his post and instead ran in the state elections of his home state, Transaventines, for the role of state-president to which he had served until earlier this year.

Turzyna is regarded to be of the traditional left within his party: an "old schooler" by his own definition. Before his political career Turzyna was an influential figure in Gaullica's unions; serving dutifully within his capacity in the Federation of Workers in Energy. In his capacity of "boss" of this union, Turzyna oversaw the governments' commitments to better working regulations for energy workers and reached a deal with the government in retraining programmes in an effort to move away from older sources of energy. His careers in both the Ministry of Defence and as State-President of Transaventines have been ranked by political commentators as "no-nonsense", but "business as usual". Some criticised his inability to change from what he regarded to be "correct" as a stagnation of policy.

During the 2020 election he campaigned fiercely for Premier Degar-Abdulrashid. He has been seen as instrumental in mobilising the enthusiasm amongst the older generations of PSD voters, washing away their "concerns" of the President that chalked up to inexperience and faith. He was also adamant in campaigning efforts and outreach programmes in Cassavie; the most conservative state in Gaullica, and the PSD did see a stronger performance than usual in the state.

The President announced her decision for him to be her Premier to the Senate yesterday afternoon and the vote took place this morning. He was confirmed, mostly along party lines, 351-234, with 46 abstentions. His Premiereship has been seen by commentators as the President confirming that, despite her commitments to enhance on the successes of the Vallette Presidency, there is still "normality" within the government -- and that the government will be returning to "business as usual".

Once the Senate adjourned now Premier Turzyna spoke to reporters outside of the Senate. Here he told them that he would seek to do his job "to the best of his ability" and he would translate his respect for position he was in "to the entire senate". He described it as a "great honour" and was thankful of the President in giving him a chance to serve the country in this way.

He is not expected to be making any substantial changes in the portfolios of his ministers in the recent future, describing the team of ministers as "capable, competent and dedicated".

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by **Beumontte** » Fri Sep 18, 2020 5:21 pm

PANIC IN PARADISE
For the first time since 1912, Maracao's Pico de Sangue erupts, causing total destrucion in the Arucian
Renata Gaspar (@renatagaspar) | Sep 17, 2020 | Castelonovo

CASTELONOVO - Panic hit the Arucian yesterday as the Maracan newspapper Adiante announced a violent eruption in Pico de Sangue at 10:15 a.m local time, immediately making the government declare a national state of emergency and start evacuation procedures in neighbouring communities.

Dormant since 1912, the volcano is located at the centre of the island and was being heavily monitorated since the first signs of a new eruption came to appear a month ago. According to the Maracan Institute of Metereology (IMM), it's estimated that the eruption will have a VEI of around 5 or 6, making it the largest and most powerful one in regional history. The IMM also expressed its concerns for pyroclastic flows and lahars that would significantly increase the threat that this new eruption poses.

Unfortunately, this concern became true today as one of these pyroclastic flows hit the city of Guajaratuba, located a few kilometres away from the volcano and one of the major settlements considered to be under a high risk of vulcanic activities. Although no official statements from the Maracan government have been released yet, it's estimated that 70% of the city's 33,175 inhabitants died, totaling 23 thousand deaths. Other nearby cities such as Quieto and Mivaqueiro also were severely hit, with the number of casualities being never saw on the country's history.

The volcano is also causing damage to other Arucian countries. Imagua, despite the comments made by president Privitera that there would be no major impacts there, closed its national airspace, grounded all flights and limited ferry service to the bare minimum. In Maracao, the most affected area, no plane take off soil for the past 48 hours, leaving many tourists - including Belmontese ones - stranded on the island.

Shortly after the announcement of the eruption was made, the Cabinet and State Council met to discuss the evacuation of Belmontese citizens to Belmonte or to other safe places. Although the issue is being dealt with relative secrecy, a spokeperson of the presidency said that it's a "quite hard situation right now" given the current status of the eruption and the unilateral decision of the Imaguan government to close its airspace.

It's assumed that evacuation from Imagua and other islands will be made through the use of vessels of the Belmontese Navy combined with transport planes of the air force to Belmonte or to more safe areas in Eldmark and Nuvania, but this is not sure as negotiations are still underway. It appears to be that the same could not be made in Maracao, as official channels have been guiding people stuck in the island to seek shelter immediately instead of prepare themselves to leave.

Despite being a major eruption, the Bensafrim House said today that Belmonte will be one of the lesser affected countries in Asteria Inferior, with metereologists from the University of Castelonovo expecting small quantities of ash falling on the extreme north regions of the provinces of Juazeiro and Pindarama. Both gubernatorial governments and the IPSS have been alerted.

The incidents of today have become a shock for the nation as this disaster surely will unfold the biggest migratory crisis of our era and surely will cause political instabilities in the near future too. Politicians, celebrities and other famous personalities expressed their feelings towards this castatrophe and its high number of deaths, with the government appearing to seek some interest in leading the international efforts to rebuild the socialist quasi-pariah state, as no one knows what is going to happen for sure.

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by **Imagua and the Assimas** » Fri Sep 18, 2020 6:07 pm

FOREIGNERS IN IMAGUA TO BE EVACUATED BY BOAT
Transport minister defends decision to close Imaguan airspace so early

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KAMALA KLOBUCHAR (@KHivemind)
17 September, 2020 09:30 IST | CUANSTAD, CITY OF

Transport Minister Ambro Pedone

Today, Transport Minister Ambra Pedone announced that "until all those wishing to evacuate from Imagua have left," the Imaguan Maritime Service will be cancelling services between Rutigliano and San Pietro, and Nua Taois to San Pietro, with the boats normally operating these routes to evacuate foreign tourists to Eldmark and Aucuria, effective tomorrow.

"We are in the final stages of negotiations with Eldmark and Aucuria to evacuate tourists who are stranded to these nations," Pedone said. "We are currently sorting out where our boats will go, but we will make sure that once they reach those nations, they will be able to continue on their journey home."

"The Ministry of Transportation acknowledges the inconvenience caused by the closure of Imaguan airspace so early," Pedone said, "but this was taken because manufacturers of plane engines until recently did not specify the maximum safe level. While in recent years, there are maximum safe levels, given the average age of most planes here in the Arucian, we are not confident that it would be safe for them to fly through the volcanic ash. This was why we had to close it, but we apologize to all who have been inconvenienced."

"For foreign tourists wishing to stay put in Imagua, we are going to continue our visa extension policies for as long as our country's airspace is shut," Pedone said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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by **Nuvania** » Sat Sep 19, 2020 12:22 am

Thousands Feared Dead After Eruption

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James Franklin (@JamesFranklin)
19 September (12:00pm)|CUANSTAD

A rare photo from inside the disaster area shows locals walking through an ash-covered neighbourhood in Quieto, Maracao.

Thousands of people are feared dead after a major eruption of Maracao's Pico de Sangue volcano, which began erupting last week.

A major eruption occurred on Tuesday as the island's government attempted to evacuate the residents of several towns and cities near the volcano, with the eruption occurring "much quicklier than expected" according to National Geological Service (NGD) volcanologist Ian Andrews.
"From the reports that are coming from the island, it's likely that the authorities on Maracao were caught off guard by Tuesday's eruption," he said. "It's very likely that the reports that we are getting are fairly accurate based on other eruptions in the Arucian region where towns and cities are located close to large volcanoes." He said that they were preliminary reports, but did expect "substantial loss of life" to have occurred on the island.
"It's a very large eruption," he said. "One of the largest that we have seen in the Arucian region since records began, so high loss of life would not be out of the question."

According to Maracan media outlet Adiante, the majority of the casualties are said to be from the city of Guajaratuba, which was identified as one of the most vulnerable cities that would be impacted by a major eruption prior to the one that occurred on Tuesday. The city, which had a population of approximately 33,172 inhabitants according to the 2012 census, was reportedly hit by a pyroclastic flow, burying most of the city under a thick layer of ash and other debris. An estimated 23,000 people were reportedly in the city when the pyroclastic flow hit.

Evacuations were hampered by limited infrastructure in the region, which had failed to keep up with population growth in the region, which had been brought to the government's attention, according to reports from Maracan citizens living overseas. With limited roads in the region, many turned to evacuating through farmland and dirt roads to get away from the volcano. Although the government had been airlifting people from Guajaratuba, thousands still remained.

Few reports have come out from other areas affected by the eruption in Maracao, with the city of Mivaqueiro believed to have escaped the worst of the volcano for the time being. The city, located west-southwest of Pico de Sangue, was identified as one of the settlements at most risk from the effects of pyroclastic flows and lahars from a future eruption. What reports have come through indicate an evacuation complicated by the same infrastructure problems as Guajaratuba, as well as heavy ash and pumice falls.

Residents from Dunhelm Island and on the northern coast of Imagua have reported heavy ash fall from the volcano, with Imaguan authorities reporting blocked roads and difficulty accessing remote communities. Schools have also been closed across the island, limiting exposure to the ash and freeing up roads for emergency authorities.

Andrews said that it was difficult to predict how long Pico de Sangue would continue to erupt, saying that while major eruptions could be predicted, continuous periods of activity were more difficult.
"There's a lot more variables here than there would be normally," he said. "It's much easier to predict when an eruption may begin than when it might finish, or when activity will reduce." Andrews said that Pico de Sangue would continue to have major effects on Maracao for a long time after the eruptions have finished.
"We could see lahars and flooding events into the future in the affected region," he said. "Typically ashfall and pyroclastic flows will leave ash deposits which are not stable, and will be several metres thick. That means when the rains arrive later this year, these will wash down into the valleys, creating lahars that will cause considerable damage to homes and infrastructure. Beyond that, when these lahars occur, they also leave deposits of ash and mud as volcanic sediment, which clogs rivers and can affect the course of them, so low-lying areas will be flooded or have permanent watercourse changes."

Changes to the climate from the eruption could also occur for up to half a decade if enough ash is ejected into the atmosphere according to Stephanie Reinet, a climatologist with the Nuvanian Weather Service (NWD), who said that previous large eruptions have significantly affected the climate.
"We have weather records from large eruptions that talk of cooler, wetter weather in a number of locations around the world," she said. "Scientific data from a large eruption in Asteria Superior in 1912 ejected enough ash into the atmosphere to block out sunlight and cause average temperatures across the planet to cool by one full degree for several years." She said that from initial reports that similar amounts of ash could be ejected into the atmosphere again and cause similar cooling.
"If this is the case, then we could be seeing serious affects in terms of climate change for the immediate future," she said. "It would definitely cause changes in weather that would negatively affect agriculture, potentially causing wetter conditions in some areas and drier conditions in others."

Andrews said that the region could be severely affected for a number of days or weeks, depending on the length of the activity. He said it was important regional governments to cooperate to respond to this disaster.
"At the moment we're facing the greatest humanitarian crisis in the Arucian since the Great War," he said. "We all need to come together and work together in this time of crisis."

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by **Eskaeba** » Sat Sep 19, 2020 1:38 am

Chistovodian, Nuvanian aid forms backbone of initial foreign aid response to Sangue eruption
September 19, 2020 - Vasconha Town, Maracao || Magdelena de Villacorta writing from New Warminster, Halland

Maracan authorities have struggled immensely to cope with the victims and those made vulnerable due to the eruption.

Foreign aid from Chistovodia and Nuvania have landed in Rio Manso and Sao João as they organise initial relief efforts to Guajaratuba and Mivaqueiro.

Earlier this morning, hundreds of aid workers, volunteers and military personnel arrived in the ports of Rio Manso and Sao João from Chistovodia and Nuvania to assist Maracan authorities in dealing and responding to the thousands of victims of the eruption of the Pico de Sangue stratovolcano that occurred earlier this week. It represents a pivotal act of diplomatic rapprochement between Maracao and Nuvania as the Maracan government accepted a landmark proposal to allow disarmed Nuvanian military personnel to enter the island to assist with aid efforts. Around a thousand personnel left the Inferior country at around 6:00am this morning and docked in Rio Manso some two hours later.

Other countries are expected to pursue increased aid efforts once the atmospheric effects of the eruption - mainly the widespread presence of ash in Arucian airspace - subsides. Personnel from Guimarães Base on Revolution Island were recalled to also assist with efforts. The garrison consisted of a mix of Maracan, Kirenian and Chistovodian personnel. It marks the first time the island has been cleared of military personnel since the island was annexed by Maracao in 1955.

Over the next few days, the government expects to confirm the final death toll of the volcanic disaster that occurred in Guajaratuba yesterday, which completely covered the city in a devastating pyroclastic flow. The government are also facing criticism over a possible neglect of infrastructure near the mountain, with insufficient roads the main link between the high death toll in the city.

The IMM also confirmed that the eruption of the Pico de Sangue reached level 6 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI), findings that were backed up by the National Geological Service in Nuvania, categorising it as a Plinian eruption and making it the largest in Pico de Sangue's modern history.

Sympathies have poured into Maracao from other international governments, with Imaguan foreign minister Jonas Barrett among a plethora of high-ranking government officials that have extended their sorrow to the Maracan government in solidarity with the island and its people.

© O Quetzal, 2020

by **The Kingdom of Eldmark** » Sat Sep 19, 2020 6:43 pm

FALLOUT: As Ash Falls on The Arucian, Eldmark Responds With Aid and Evacuation Transport
^{JAN KJÄRRSSEN}
^{Saturday, 19th September 2020|Knuten}

Tragedy struck the island nation of Maracao at 10:15 on Thursday, when a VEI Level 6 eruption caused a pyroclastic flow that covered several Maracan population centers in ash and hot rock, in which thousands remain missing and presumed dead. This news comes after increased seismic activity around Pico de Sangue, and predictions an eruption was imminent. This time, this eruption shattered expectations, slamming hard the nation, causing presumed 23,000+ dead in one city alone, and also adversely affecting islands in the immediate vicinity, including Vanö and Imagua. The sound of the blast could be heard as far away as Grönsund, and pressure readings in Knuten and Vaxholmen broke records as windows on the minor outlying islands broke due to the wave. Fears of further seismic activity have been left unanswered as the ash cloud edges closer and closer to Eldmark proper.

Foreign Minister Moller has voiced his sympathies, and has promised to direct humanitarian aid and unarmed volunteers to the citizens of Maracao. "We have witnessed the terrible nature of the earth, and it is ever important that we aid each other, humans to humans. I have devoted aid to mobilize from Knuten as soon as possible. We have the situation under control in our territory, and it's important to give back for those less fortunate."

He also made comment regarding the inevitable refugees that will come about from this, and formally announced the confirmation of a deal with the Imaguan Maritime Service to transport tourists from the Arucian safely. "We have taken every measure to ensure that we have had facilities and seaborne transportation to accommodate the additional influx (of refugees) to our centers in Grönsund... It is a sad truth that with the instability in portions of Asteria Superior, we already have a system to process incoming survivors of disaster, be they tourists on their way home, or those without one. Let it be known that we welcome any refugees from Maracao."

Damage on the ground in Vanö has been confined mostly to ashfall, with multiple roads being closed due to the settling volcanic ash. At this point, all resources have been redirected to continually clear the ports and the roads most necessary to transport aid and refugees, and all ferries operated by EJ has been redirected to disaster response. Vaxholmen International Airport has grounded all flights, and flights across the Arucian have ground to a halt.

Tyra Brahe and other political candidates for this upcoming election have universally shown support, the current PM commenting "Our hearts and sympathies go out to the people of Maracao at this time. We will do whatever we can to help."

This story is still developing, and VI will keep you updated as it does.

©världenidag.el 2020

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by **Slirnija** » Sat Sep 19, 2020 7:47 pm

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