Aetenia News Thread [Aetenia Only]

[Sanaatria]

General News Centre for the nations of the Aetenia region

News Centre for the whole Aetenia Region; gathering news from all nations of our region

[Sanaatria]

Telhárr Nasjonal
News in the National Interest

2 years since the revolution

Today marked two years since the successful conclusion of weeks of protests around the nation which brought down the all-powerful Sanaatrian People's Republic and led to the establishment of our nation today; the Sanaatrian Commonwealth. However, although the overthrow of a dictatorial and tyrannical regime is something that our nation ought to celebrate, it ought to do so carefully when, even two years after the event, Sanaatrians still have had no chance to go to the polls.

Interim President Kardoril Athaire was, today, pressed on the issue by journalists. The usual replies were given, concerns surrounding national stabilisation and worries of foreign interference were blamed for the hold-up. Although some are beginning to grow increasingly impatient with President Athaire, his approval ratings are holding steady on the back of the public perception of him as a strong, unifying national figure who, if given the chance, will invigorate and modernise every face of Sanaatrian society; without tearing us away from our roots.

Although President Athaire is no tyrant, unlike his forerunners, his seeming lack of willingness to allow Sanaatrians to go to the polls as well as his increasingly public unwillingness to negotiate with national influencers over public policy and a new constitution whilst lacking a real democratic mandate are setting a worrying precedent. Has power gone to our President's head?

Tensions along Afghan border
Commonwealth Guard troops along the Afghan frontier

Sanaatria's southern border with the seemingly failed state of Afghanistan has always been a cause for worry in the Southern Republics and a driver of instability nationally. Whether it's drugs being smuggled out of the rogue state and leeching onto our population or the influence of radical Islamists on the minds of unemployed Sanaatrian men, the Afghan question has long been one which, if answered incorrectly, tips our nation over the edge. The lack of any real border has furthered this instability. When one travels to the frontier separating Afghanistan and Sanaatria, there is no fence or wall. Only miles of desert and mountains broken only by the occasional group crossing either way or smugglers in their specialised and camouflaged 4x4 vehicles.

The situation is, as ever, deteriorating further. In recent years, Afghanistan has not just been an instigator of instability in Sanaatria but, more recently, one of conflict. More often than not, trips to the border will be accompanied by the crack of gunshots through the valleys. Whether the bullets are Sanaatrian, Afghan, Cartel or Islamist bullets are irrelevant to the Larelánn (Sanaatrian frontiers men and women); what worries them is the potential for the conflict to spill over into their streets and homes - bringing bloodshed to an already hard and impoverished life.

With each passing day, more and more body bags are filled. Sanaatrian or Afghan it does not matter. All that matters is that Islamists and drug peddlers are trying to enter and undermine our nation with their mental and narcotic filth whilst the Afghan Government does little but instigate petty border conflicts along a frontier guarded only by local militias.

GDP Growth Forecast
SCB Interest Rate
Currency Strength
Presidential Approval Rating
Auralius Temperature
6.3%
5.25%
$1:14₴
60%
-2°C

[Assurabad]

NATIONAL NEWS
ܛܸܒܵܐ ܐܲܬܪܵܝܵܐ




Immigrants Detained In Pakistan

A ship with immigrants beached near the Karachi port. An SOS was put in to the Coast Guard who dispatched a team to detain the migrants. Many are from poorer countries attempting to seek asylum.

Currently the migrants are being held in Karachi to be examined and many will be deported if their cases do not hold up in court




Afganistan Border Tensions

Tensions in the state of Afghanistan have resulted in soldiers from the neighborhoring nation of Sanaatria being deployed to the border. The local base has scrambled ground forces and the civilian militia has been placed on high alert.

Afghanistan has been in the grip of serious local issues involving the illegal drug trade and Islamists setting up shop in the state. The Ministry of Defense and The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has cautioned Sanaatria against deploying troops to the area so as not to create any tensions.

[Sanaatria]

Telhárr Nasjonal
News in the National Interest

New deployments along Afghan border

The seemingly ever-increasing tension along Sanaatria's border with Afghanistan has finally illicited a reaction from Government authorities. Although there are no soldiers of the Commonwealth Army along the border, only Commonwealth Border Agents, the Sethlarel Republic, a subdivision of the Sanaatrian state, has deployed 3000 troops of the Sethlareli Commonwealth Guard to the border in a show of force against Islamists, Cartels and Afghan Government forces causing trouble in the region.

The Commonwealth Guard, although not one single entity, is a term used to describe one of the branches of the Sanaatrian Armed Forces. The Commonwealth Guard is best described as a semi-professional militia-like force controlled and operated by the individual republics of the Commonwealth with oversight from Central Army Command in Auralius.

In a press conference today, in which the move to deploy Sethlareli forces to the region was announced, Premier of the Sethlareli Republic, Araselus Thérdratijn, outlined the need to secure the southern borders of the Commonwealth; emphasising that in the modern age of warfare the rough terrain which characterises the nation's southern border is no longer enough to keep out every manner of threat faced by the nation. Premier Thérdratijn made a plea to the provisional Government in Auralius to increase not only the resources granted to Sanaatrian Border Agents but to push the Afghan situation to the top of the political agenda; deploying Commonwealth Army troops if necessary.

In response to this Press Conference, provisional President Kardoril Athaire affirmed the Central Government's commitment to the maintaining of national border integrity but urged caution to anyone before taking any action adding, "in our nation's newfound position as a democracy, it would be wrong to take any drastic action without it first being subjected to the approval of the Sanaatrian electorate in a free, fair, national election of which the result is in no doubt." The President set out, quite clearly, a position in-which drastic action would only be taken in a context where-in the integrity of the Commonwealth's borders was threatened and that the Central Government would provide minimal support to the border republics In the time where such a circumstance is not the geopolitical reality.

The move to deploy troops to the border, whether national or local forces, is bound to upset Sanaatria's southern neighbour; the Assurabadian Republic. Sanaatria's southern neighbour had previously warned of any move in the region which could be viewed as a provocation or result in the escalation of the situation into a full-blown conflict; in-which Sanaatria would seek to stem the flow of islamist traffic across both sides of the border, stamp out the stream of narcotics exiting Afghanistan and ensure the military assets of the Afghan state cannot threaten the security of the Southern Sanaatrian Republics.

Although our nation and Assurabad are somewhat similar in ideology and economic outlook following the Sanaatrian revolution which established the present-day Commonwealth, our two nations have long been rivals; forced to exist as neighbours but being starkly separated based on ethnicity, race, culture, language and religion. In many ways, Sanaatria and Assurabad have little in-common than a border, a zealous love of spiced food and a tight-fisted control of the world's oil and natural gas supply.

Elections scheduled for next month

In a shock move, and following media criticism for two years without promised elections having materialised, interim President Kardoril Athaire today announced a snap poll for next month. The poll would be electing not only the President but both houses of the national legislature, Heads of each Republic and the Legislatures of each Republic. The President has set the deadline for party formation and candidate registration for the end of next week; when criticised for the short length of time for candidates and parties to organise and register adding that several parties had already been formed from the old factions of the group which toppled the old government and also explaining that registration will be able to be done online - reducing the bureaucratic cost, strain and time of electoral registration.

In the same press conference, the President announced his formation of a new party; the National Union - a self-styled National Conservative party with a reformist agenda and moderate economic outlook.

Other News:

• Assurabad experiencing a wave of illegal migration
• Recorded deaths from Opioid overdose increased 32% last year
• Thinktank advocates for national construction of high-speed rail; touts predicted economic benefit

GDP Growth Forecast
SCB Interest Rate
Currency Strength
Presidential Approval Rating
Auralius Temperature
6.3%
5.25%
$1:13.98₴
60%
0°C

[Assurabad]

National News
ܐܲܬܪܵܝܵܐ ܛܸܒܵܐ



Kabul Terrorist Attack
A suicide bomb was detonated on the H10 this morning killing 30 and injuring hundreds. The bomb was coordinated with the morning rush hour to kill as many as possible. Many of the casualties include school children entering the city for classes or trips.

The terrorist group, Turkestan Emirate, claimed responsibility for the attacks. The group is based in the country to the north and is anti Christian in its philosophy. Security has been increased in Kabul and at the border. Minister of Defense, Ajva Palkha, stated

"We are deepy saddened by the events that transpired in Kabul this morning. We need to work together with our neighbors to stamp out the plague that is Islamic terrorism. It is important to know many Muslims like Christians are peaceful people and do not support terror. These Muslims are not those people. These people have no respect for human life and will be treated with the violence they unleash on us".

A growing anti Islamic sentiment has taken root in Afghanistan due to the close proximity to terror bases. Mosques in the area have extra police to protect worshipers.



Sol-Luna Concert
The annual music festival Sol-Luna has started in Da-ra City just outside of Baghdad. Many local music artists along with food vendors, artisans and health coaches are three for the week long festival. The Sol-Luna concert draws crowds from here and from abroad. The president's teenage son, Sargon, was in attendance.

The Sol-Luna Festival started in 1980 and has been continuing since then with a growing base of concert goers from all walks of life from hippies to politicians. This year's theme is "Conscious Music" and seems to be a growing trend. One example is a modern rendition of Psalm 22 using traditional Assyrian instruments and modern instruments to create a fusion of traditional and modern.

[Sanaatria]

Telhárr Nasjonal
News in the National Interest

President casts vote in election

Sanaatrians go to the polls in our nation's first free and fair election today and they have done so en-masse. But as current President, Kardoril Athaire, arrived in his hometown of Keshrathiln earlier today to cast his vote, it was difficult not to read a look of concern on his face. For a President who has consistently ridden high in his approval ratings, such public support seems to have not translated into electoral support for his National Union Party.

The most recent poll, a survey of almost 1,000,000 voters from across the nation, shows that the performance of the President's party in the polls is, without a doubt, strong but no-where near a level of support necessary to carry him back to the Presidential Palace in Auralius. Recent figures put Athaire himself at around 20 percent on the first ballot of any Presidential vote and puts the National Union on around 18 percent of the vote to elect the Legislative Chambers.

Pundits are blaming the President's low poll performance on two main factors. Firstly, is the almost catastrophic failure within the National Union's public relations team. The advertisements of the National Union are, as evidenced by the image above, poorly designed and the Party has failed to take advantage of the nation's growing base of social media users; focussing instead on traditional posters and leafletting.

Secondly, Athaire is, generally, viewed by the populace as experienced and capable but not as someone who can lead Sanaatria into a new future; his recent failure to act on the public desire for social reforms, such as the repeal of prohibition laws, demonstrates this. In addition, Athaire's charisma is all but non-existent; his major speeches easily caricatured as a set of poorly written, pre-prepared slogans on cue cards.

All of this has been capitalised on by a young, energetic and charismatic politician from the Motherland Party known as Runiril Elindiri; a Fatherland Party politician wishing to push through a new Constitution alongside drastic economic and social reform - making Sanaatria open to market forces and the modern world. Largely expected to win the first round of voting, Elindiri could easily wake up to be Sanaatria's new President.

The Afghani tinderbox

The Foreign Ministry, this morning, offered its condolences to the Assurabadi Government on the Kabul Suicide Bombing. The Foreign Ministry reminded the Assurabadi Government that Sanaatrian troops along their border were present to stop such terror spilling over and stressed that drastic action to stabilise the Afghanistan State was needed by the Assurabadi Government or the regional community would "feel a need to intervene."

GDP Growth Forecast
SCB Interest Rate
Currency Strength
Presidential Approval Rating
Auralius Temperature
6%
5.25%
$1:13.88₴
55%
20°C