The Gandoor Times - Gandoor's Premier Newspaper

[Gandoor]

The Gandoor Times is a newspaper founded in 1906 and is currently the most widely distributed newspaper in Gandoor, having a daily circulation of twelve million (84 million per week). The Gandoor Times is issued seven days a week, 365 days a year and is also available to read online.

The Gandoor Times leans centre-left in its views and supports the New Democratic Party, the current opposition party in Gandoor.

The first articles from The Gandoor Times shall be printed soon. Any questions or comments about The Gandoor Times or any articles from them are welcome.

[Gandoor]

Tom Williamson to retire from his role of The Professor

Tom Williamson, who turns 80 this July, has played the titular character on The Professor since it's debut on 13 September 1958

Gandoor City - Earlier today, both the Gandoor Broadcasting Corporation and Williamson himself announced that the upcoming programme for the popular science-fiction series The Professor will be Williamson's last since taking the title role in 1958.

The series, The Professor, began broadcasting on the Gandoor Broadcasting Network in 1958 and finished it's original 39 year run in 1997. A fiftieth anniversary special was broadcast in 2008 and the series resumed production in 2011 and premiered a sixtieth anniversary special on television and in a limited theatrical run last year.

Upon announcing that he was leaving the role, Williamson said, "I've played the role of The Professor for over sixty years now and I would be lying if I said I didn't love all the joy and happiness I've brought to generations of people in Gandoor. However, I am almost 80 years old and I feel that it is best that I retire and have the show continue without me. I don't know who, if anyone, the GBC is going to replace me with, but I know that the future of The Professor is in safe hands."

Alexis Smith, who has played the role of Jo, The Professor's assistant, from 1958 until 1962 and from 1968 to the present had this to say about her co-star announcing his retirement: "Of course, I am sad that Tom is retiring, after all, I've been working with him for all these years and I consider him to be one of my closest friends. In fact, I was the first person whom he told about planning on retiring a few weeks after the last programme of The Professor finished filming. All else I'll say is that everyone here at the GBC will miss him when he retires, but he will never be forgotten."

The upcoming programme of The Professor begins airing on Saturday, 16 August on GBN and will conclude on Saturday, 8 November. In addition, a Christmas special will air on Thursday, 25 December. The Gandoor Broadcasting Corporation has not yet announced whether or not Williamson's final episode will be the episode airing on 8 November, which will be the final episode for the upcoming programme, or if his final episode will be the Christmas special.

[Gandoor]

Controversial Gun Ownership Proposal Defeated in the Forum

The Forum where, earlier today, the gun ownership proposal first proposed in 2017 by the Gandoor Freedom Group was defeated by a large majority.

Gandoor City - Earlier today a vote was held in the Forum to decide whether or not the Gun Ownership Rights Proposal originally proposed by the Gandoor Freedom Group in 2017 would advance to the next step towards becoming a law or not.

Currently in Gandoor, in order to legally purchase and own a gun, one must be at least 25 years old, pass a gun safety test, pass a mental health test, pass a background check, and register with a legally recognized firearm ownership organization, of which there are currently 7 in Gandoor with them having a total of around 120 offices nationwide. In addition, any hunting rifles or shotguns may not be kept in a private home and must be kept in a safe at the firearm ownership organization where one has registered. Any guns other than pistols, hunting rifles, or shotguns cannot be owned by private citizens.

The Gun Ownership Rights Proposal, however, would have lowered the ownership age to 20 and would have loosened the restrictions on keeping guns in the home. The Gandoor Freedom Group, in the proposal, proposed permitting citizens to keep shotguns in their home, but limiting citizens to having no more than 15 shotgun slugs total. In addition, the Proposal suggested lowering the current price to take the gun safety test from 500GDY to only 150GDY and having the government either recognizing more firearm ownership organizations or allowing the current ones to open more offices.

However, the vote earlier today resulted in the Gun Ownership Rights Proposal being defeated with 981 members of the Forum voting "Nay" on the proposal and only 19 voting "Aye". The 19 that voted "Aye" consisted of all 11 members of the Gandoor Freedom Group in the Forum and 8 members of the People's Party of Gandoor. All members of the New Democratic Party and the Gandoor Communist Party voted against the proposal.

When asked for his opinion on his party's proposal being defeated, Kojiro Akiyama, current chairman of the Gandoor Freedom Group had this to say: "It is regretful that our proposal was defeated. However, we will not give up on increasing the rights of gun owners in Gandoor. It may take a while, however, since the Communist Party and the New Democratic Party both seem intent on maintaining the status quo as far as gun ownership laws go and until we can convince one of them to support us, it may be awhile before gun owners are given the respect they deserve in Gandoor."

In addition to the defeat of the proposal in the Forum, polls taken of Gandoor's citizens indicated widespread disapproval of the proposal among the general population as well. A survey taken by The Gandoor Times in 2018 showed that 94.6% of people polled disapproved of the entirety of the proposal, 3.1% approved of parts of it, and 2.3% approved of all of it.

[Cuprum]

Interesting, when is the next copy, i want to read it.

[Gandoor]

Interesting, when is the next copy, i want to read it.

Articles from The Gandoor Times shall be printed here at a minimum of once every other day.

[Gandoor]

Typhoon Strikes Southwest Gandoor, 216 Confirmed Dead, Over 115 Million Gdyns in Damage

Damage in the city of Juntun, which was struck by Typhoon Alexander on Sunday

Last Sunday, 19 May 2019, the southwestern part of Gandoor was struck by a typhoon which originated near Australia. The typhoon, dubbed Alexander by meteorology organizations, formed on 14 May a few hundred kilometres off the eastern coast of Australia and began to move northwest towards Gandoor. As Typhoon Alexander moved towards Gandoor, it increased in strength until it reached wind speeds of 196 km/h.

Typhoon Alexander made landfall at 6:17 in the morning, local time, off the coast of the city of Juntun, population 326,561, and continued to move over land with four other cities and many small towns being in the storm's path. The storm began to weaken around 1:00 in the afternoon and was completely broken up by 5:00 that evening.

After the typhoon dissipated, many local and national leaders made statements regarding the storm. Juntun mayor Ichiro Ito said, "Typhoon Alexander is one of the worst storms to hit Gandoor in recent history. However, despite the damage, let me make one thing clear: we will pick ourselves up and we shall make Juntun a better city!" In an emergency press conference Sunday, Prime Minister Nikolai Olanovich Semenov had this to say, "My fellow citizens of Gandoor, as most of you are aware, a typhoon struck the southwestern Gandoor earlier today. While we do not currently have any estimates on damage or any confirmed reports of death, I think I speak for all Gandoorese when I say that the citizens of Gandoor shall always help their fellow citizen when uncontrollable forces of nature cause death and destruction to society. While we cannot prevent typhoons from happening, we can make sure we are always one hundred percent prepared for them."

Surveyors flying over the affected areas have estimated that damages to the area amount to over 115 millon gdyns and the Gandoor Emergency Response Service has been dispatched to the area and have received 216 confirmed deaths with around 419 missing persons reports filed.

[Gandoor]

Former Prime Minister Rebecca Miyamoto Dies at Age 92

Prime Minister Rebecca Miyamoto, who died Wednesday afternoon, held the office of Prime Minister from 1982 until 1994

Osaka - Rebecca Miyamoto, who held the office of Prime Minister from 1982 until 1994, died on Wednesday afternoon at the age of 92, her family reports. She died of natural causes.

Miyamoto was born on 13 August 1926 in Osaka, Icpo Yon, Gandoor as Rebecca Heartfield to Alexander Heartfield (1895-1968) and Alexis Heartfield (1899-1996). She was her parent's second child out of three. In her autobiography, Miyamoto would describe her childhood as "simple" and that "her family was one that cared about each other over anything else" and that her parents assured her that "they'd always help her if she had problems".

In 1946, at the age of 20, Miyamoto began attending the University of Osaka where she majored in political science. It was at the University of Osaka where Miyamoto first decided to get into politics, when she joined the Student Government Organization in 1947. In 1948, she was elected as President of the Student Government Organization.

After graduating from the University of Osaka in 1953, Miyamoto entered politics as a member of the New Democratic Party. Her first job in politics was helping get Johnathan Jones II elected as a city councilman in 1954. Soon after this, in 1956, Miyamoto ran for city council herself, but was defeated and received only 26.4% of the votes.

After this, Miyamoto returned to college in 1957, moving to Gandoor City and attending the University of Gandoor City until 1964. It was at the University of Gandoor City that Miyamoto met her future husband, Junichiro Miyamoto, in 1960. The two began dating a few months after meeting and later married in 1966. They would remain together until Junichiro's death in 2004.

After graduating for the second time, Miyamoto moved back to her hometown of Osaka where she ran for city council once again, only this time, she managed to get elected and became the first female member of the Osaka city council. During her five years on the city council, Miyamoto pushed for the rights of women and minorities in Osaka. It was during this period of her life that she and Junichiro had their first child, Susanne Miyamoto, in 1968. In 1967, Miyamoto left the New Democratic Party and became a member of the Gandoor Communist Party.

In 1969, Miyamoto ran for the House of Icpo, where she received 57.3% of the vote and defeated incumbent Gregory Stetson and represented the 8th District of Icpo for three terms of two years each. During her years in the House of Icpo, Miyamoto championed the rights of homosexuals and, in 1970, famously said that, "if I had the authority, I would make same-sex marriage legal nationwide, as the homosexuals of Gandoor have all the same rights to marriage as someone like me." While she wasn't the first politician in Gandoor to support gay rights, this made her the first one to publicly declare support for same-sex marriage.

Miyamoto ran for the Forum in 1975 and was elected. During her time on the Forum, Miyamoto continued her championing of the rights of homosexuals and other minorities. In 1977, she gave birth to her second and last child, Yuki Miyamoto. In addition, she campaigned for reform of the welfare system, which she and others believed was being abused due to it still utilizing the same method of giving welfare as it had when it was established in 1908. Miyamoto's campaign was a success and in 1979, Prime Minister Reginald D. McFatton Sr. signed welfare reform into law.

In 1980, the Gandoor Communist Party announced that Miyamoto would be their candidate for Prime Minister in the 1982 elections. When the election occurred, Miyamoto defeated the incumbent McFatton and received 55.4% of the votes and was sworn in as Prime Minister on 12 October 1982. It was during Miyamoto's two terms as Prime Minister that her goal of legalizing same-sex marriage was accomplished, in 1988, the High Court of Gandoor ruled that since Gandoor's Constitution defined marriage as "a consenting union between any two persons", it was unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

After her two terms, Miyamoto announced her retirement from politics and spent her days supporting humanitarian missions around the world until 2004, when she announced her retirement from public life following the death of her husband. In 2013, she published her autobiography, My Life, which reached number two in The Gandoor Times Bestseller List.

Miyamoto's two daughters have announced that, in accordance with their late mother's wishes, she is going to be cremated following a state funeral in her honour, as is customary in Gandoor when a former Prime Minister dies.

Rebecca Miyamoto will be remembered by citizens all over Gandoor as a politician who cared for the rights of minorities in Gandoor and often wasn't afraid to speak her mind to reveal these opinions and views. In a survey in 2013, published a few weeks before her autobiography was released, she was ranked as the fifth greatest Prime Minister Gandoor has ever had since the establishment of the current government in 1904.

[Gandoor]

20 Cendyn Coin to Be Discontinued in 2020

The 20 cendyn coin will be discontinued by mid-2020, reported the National Mint of Gandoor on Sunday

Osaka - This past Sunday, Adam Jenkins, Chief of the National Mint of Gandoor, announced that the 20 cendyn coin is to cease minting by June 2020. The official reasoning for the discontinuing is the cost of minting, which is currently at 23.6 cendyns to mint one coin, and the view that the 20 cendyn coin is considered to be an "unneeded" and "redundant" coin.

Research has shown that the 20 cendyn coin is the least common coin used in transactions in Gandoor, being used for approximately 9.3% of all transactions involving coinage. In addition, surveys have shown widespread support for a discontinuing of the coin, with a survey of 3000 people in 2017 showing that 77.6% would support the ceasing of production of the 20 cendyn coin, with 13.7 opposing, and 8.7 having no opinion.

In accordance with Gandoorese law, the 20 cendyn coin will remain legal currency in Gandoor, even after minting has ceased, however, any government-run businesses will cease giving the coins as change in August 2020.

The 20 cendyn coin will be the first coin to have the minting cease since the discontinuation of the 1 cendyn coin in 1991.

[Gandoor]

GBC Begins International Operations

The GBC began international operations earlier this week to introduce it's programming to international audiences

Gandoor City - Earlier this week, the Gandoor Broadcasting Corporation officially began international operations with offerings of three television channels for international distribution. The three channels available for international broadcasting are GBN International, a general international channel which will broadcast programming from the GBC and foreign programming which they have the rights to; Chiddies, a children's channel which shares it's name, logo, and certain programming with the GBC's own Chiddies; and GNN World, a global version of GNN, the Gandoor News Network, which broadcasts news programming, current affairs programs, documentaries, and other series. In addition, the GBC is also allowing nations to establish their own local GBN channel, which will enable nations to decide their own programming schedules, as well as providing them with a library of 250 programs broadcast by the GBC and license their own programming.

When asked why the GBC had begun international operations, Alexander Johnston, Chairman of the Gandoor Broadcasting Corporation, had this to say:
"Well, the GBC has been operating in television since 1949, so we've got practically 70 years of programming available. Obviously, there is programming that was wiped, but there is still years of shows and specials that are available in our archives, and we feel that the GBC's programming can appeal to an international audience. And obviously, I will admit that another reasoning is money. Now, don't get me wrong, the GBC is most certainly not underfunded, but as we are prohibited from undergoing any commercial ventures within Gandoor, the exception of the television channel Chiddies notwithstanding, our funding comes from the licence fee, government funding, and sales of merchandise such as DVDs, books, among other products. So we at the GBC felt that establishing international channels would provide a great new source of income and introduce people from all over the world to our quality programming."

As of the writing of this article, international channels by the GBC are currently broadcast in the Kingdom of SJT and the Republic of Tolmakia, with programs on GBN International provided by the Republic of Tolmakia, which has given the GBC the licence to broadcast the adventure series Paper Swords; the Christian People's Republic of Eeri, which has given the GBC the licence to broadcast the drama series Badlands, and the Protectorate of Leperconia, which has given the GBC the licence to broadcast the reality series The Port.

[Gandoor]

New Programme of The Professor to Premiere in August

The 10th programme of the revival of The Professor, and the 51st overall, will premiere this August, the GBC reports

Gandoor City - Earlier today, the Gandoor Broadcasting Corporation announced that the new programme of the popular science-fiction series The Professor will premiere on 22 August 2020.

The upcoming programme will be the 10th programme since the series was revived in 2011 and the 51st overall since the series premiered in 1958. The programme will be the first one since Tom Williamson retired from the title role last year and passed it on to his longtime castmaste Alexis Smith, who has played The Professor's assistant Jo from 1958 until 1962 and from 1968 until the present.

The programme will also be the first programme of the series to debut after the GBC's international operations began and, since The Professor airs on GBN International, it will air in the 13 countries worldwide that broadcast GBN International.

Mrs. Smith will be joined in the 10th programme by Christine Spears, who has played the assistant Danielle Archer, a member of the Alien Defence Ministry, since programme 6 in 2016. At this time, any guest stars have yet to be announced.

In addition, current executive producer Ami Kobayashi has announced that programme 10 will debut with a two-part episode, the first time this has occurred during the revived series and both the Skals and the Robomen, two of The Professor's most iconic aliens will appear in the programme.

Programme 10 of The Professor will premiere on 22 August 2020 on GBN in Gandoor and on GBN International in other countries.

[Gandoor]

GBC Sued by Gandoor Fascist Party

The Gandoor Fascist Party has sued the Gandoor Broadcasting Corporation on grounds of discrimination, GFP head Walter Smith said on Sunday.

Gandoor City - This Sunday, the head of the Gandoor Fascist Party, Walter Smith, officially announced that his party has filed suit against the Gandoor Broadcasting Corporation on the grounds of discrimination.

In late March of this year, Smith contacted the GBC in regards to him representing the GFP on an episode of the television program Question and Answer, a long-running television program aired on GBN where politicians answer questions directed to them by a carefully moderated audience. On 16 May, Smith received a response from the GBC, in which they informed him that his application to be on an episode of Question and Answer was rejected due to "inappropriateness regarding the views of the political party which you will represent on the program".

To Smith, this constitutes as political discrimination. "The constitution of Gandoor clearly and explicitly prohibits discrimination on the grounds of political beliefs and the GBC, which is funded by the government, is clearly in violation of this for refusing my application to be on Question and Answer, as they describe the show as being 'A series where politicians answer questions asked by a moderated audience'. At no place in any description of the program does it state 'Except for those who's political views we arbitrarily think is 'inappropriate' because they go against the views of the socialist liberal nanny-state that stamps out any opposing opinions".

In his lawsuit, Smith wants the GBC to allow him to represent the Gandoor Fascist Party on an episode of Question and Answer by the end of next year; a televised statement by Alexander Johnston, current Chairman of the GBC, admitting that the GBC is biased against political views contrary to it's own liberal ones and that the GBC was in violation of the Gandoor constitution in regards to refusing Smith's appearance on the aforementioned television program; a public apology by the GBC; and 35,000 gdyns. All of which, Smith claims, are fair desires in the event that the GFP wins the lawsuit.

The Gandoor Broadcasting Corporation, as of this writing, has not responded to any inquiries by The Gandoor Times in regards to this lawsuit.

[Gandoor]

Gandoor's Oldest Citizen Dies at Age 121

Gandoor's oldest citizen, James Davidson, died in his sleep at the age of 121 last week, his family reports.

Yordin City - James Davidson isn't a person most people have heard about, but Davidson, who died last week at the age of 121, was the last living citizen of Gandoor born prior to the Gandoor Revolution, the last citizen born in the 19th century, and the oldest person to have lived in Gandoor (beating out Yevgeny Tajiri-Ilyich, who lived until the age of 119)

Born on 16 April 1899, Davidson was merely an infant when the Gandoor Revolution began in 1900 and just starting to talk when it ended in 1902. When the current government was established in 1904, he was five years old.

In 1953 at the age of 54, Davidson joined the National Army of the Democratic Republic of Gandoor in order to fight in the Gandoor Civil War. According to his family, he fought "because he couldn't bear to see his country divided in two". Davidson served past the end of the war in 1956 and was discharged in 1961 at the age of 62.

After being discharged, Davidson returned to his wife, Margaret, and their two children, Adam and Michelle. He then went to work at his wife's bakery, Margaret's Baked Goods, which is now ran by his grandchildren.

At the age of 75, he decided it was time to retire and relax in his elder years. He retired to his family home, which has been in their possession since the mid-19th century, where he enjoyed relaxing on the sofa while watching television or drinking tea.

In 1990, Margaret, his wife of 54 years, died at the age of 83. His family states that he considered finding a new wife, but decided that he was already 91 years old, so he'd never be able to replace her. At the age of 95, Davidson suffered a fall and would require a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Davidson remained alert and active, other than the wheelchair, for the rest of his days, even attending his son Adam's funeral when he died at the age of 76 in 2014 despite being 115 years old. According to his daughter, her father was immensely sad when Adam died, as he felt a parent should never outlive their child.

James Davidson died in his sleep on 22 June 2020 at the age of 121, the official cause of death is natural causes. He is succeeded by one living child, four grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.

[Gandoor]

Daisuke Watanabe Dead at Age 62

Infamous terrorist, Daisuke Watanabe, killed himself after wrestling a gun from a guard, prison staff report

Nzardgrad - Earlier today, prison staff reported that Daisuke Watanabe, mastermind behind the 1999 Gandoor City Bombing that cost the lives of 843 people, killed himself on Thursday.

Watanabe, who was born on 14 June 1958, was the son of second-generation Japanese immigrants to Gandoor and grew up in the town of Andrin, where he had a difficult childhood as his family was rather poor. Watanabe never finished his formal education, as he dropped out at the age of 16 and left his home. For his family, this would be one of the last times they'd hear from their son.

Watanabe, disillusioned with life, eventually joined the Youth League of the Gandoor Fascist Party at 16 and eventually the full political party at the age of 20. It was as a member of the Gandoor Fascist Party that the views that would lead to Watanabe eventually being considered the most hated man in Gandoor.

As his years in the Fascist Party continued, his views towards others became more and more hateful and his influence within the party grew more and more. By age 27, he was in charge of a sect of the party that advocated usage of terrorism to gain power in Gandoor and to purge Gandoor of non-Japanese and non-whites. In 1992, Watanabe and his sect formally split from the Gandoor Fascist Party, which condemns terrorism in all forms, and established the Gandoor Nationalist Revolutionary Society; an organization which, in his own words, was 'dedicated to the establishment of a fascist government and the purging of undesirable races from Gandoor'.

Throughout the 1990's, the GNRS committed several crimes against those they considered undesirable, including the infamous 1995 murder of 16 year old Korean-Gandoorese Dae Gyu-Ri and attempted murder her girlfriend, Jang Min-Ji. After recovering from the attack, Jang, who lost sight in one of her eyes and one of her ears, reported that as they were killing Dae, she heard them state 'This is the fate of all gokiburi and all fags. Gokiburi fags make me even sicker than the two of them separate.'

However, in 1999, 26 members of the GNRS exploded several car bombs in a large crowd in Gandoor City, causing 842 people to lose their lives. The initial plan behind the attack was to use it as confusion as members of the Society snuck into the Forum and held the Members of the Forum hostage. Ultimately, however, only the bombing itself occurred.

In May 2001, Watanabe and the 26 members of the Society were arrested. Eight months later, the Gandoor Nationalist Revolutionary Society, which at this point had merely 13 members left, officially disbanded itself. In 2004, after eight months of trial, Watanabe was finally sentenced to the following crimes: conspiracy to commit treason against Gandoor, 826 counts of murder in the first degree, 16 counts of murder in the second degree, and committing an act of terrorism against Gandoor, and was sentenced to the maximum sentence, 75 years.

Watanabe was confined in Southside Prison #2 and, within a year, he had lost all privileges given to prisoners and had to reside in a cell by himself and be accompanied by two guards when out of the cell and was not permitted to interact with other prisoners.

He was usually a quiet and somewhat well behaved prisoner, however, on the morning of Thursday, 20 August 2020, things went different. According to Michael Dobson and Junpei Serizawa, the guards assigned to him, when they opened his cell to take him to breakfast at 6:00 am, Watanabe tackled Serizawa and managed to take his pistol. Dobson drew his pistol and ordered Watanabe to drop the gun and surrender, as Serizawa radioed for assistance from other guards. However, Watanabe refused to give up and, when he saw the other guards running in, he shouted 'Long live the Gandoor Nationalist Revolutionary Society and may fascism prevail!' and inserted the pistol into his mouth and pulled the trigger, killing himself instantly.

As Watanabe has no family that wishes to take his remains, after going through the traditional funeral procedures, his ashes will be buried in an unmarked site, to prevent it from becoming a shrine to those that agreed with his views and actions.

[Cuprum]

Still an interesting newspaper

[Gandoor]

High Court Rules Against Gandoor Fascist Party

The High Court ruled that the GBC's refusal to allow the Fascist Party to appear on Question and Answer does not constitute discrimination yesterday.

Gandoor City - Yesterday, the High Court ruled 7-3 against the Gandoor Fascist Party in it's lawsuit against the Gandoor Broadcasting Corporation. Walter Smith, head of the Gandoor Fascist Party, sued the GBC earlier this year on grounds of political discrimination after they rejected his application to appear on the television program Question and Answer. The High Court has ruled that the GBC's rejection of the GFP's appearance on the program does not constitute a violation of the constitution of Gandoor.

Justice Mayu Nishimura, who authored the majority opinion, had this to say: "Mr. Smith is correct in that our nation's constitution does prohibit discrimination on the basis of political views. However, it has also previously been established that organizations are permitted to disallow points of view from being expressed within their premises, as long as they don't discriminate against the holders of the views themselves. As such, since Mr. Smith's application was for an appearance on a television program where he would be representing the Fascist Party and it's views, this would not constitute a violation of the constitution as the GBC refused on the grounds of the views expressed by the party, not due to Smith's own views."

In response to the ruling, the GBC issued an official press release stating: "The Gandoor Broadcasting Company is pleased at the decision of the High Court of Gandoor. While we respect the laws of Gandoor and the fact that anyone can adhere to whatever political views they desire, we did feel that views expressed by the Gandoor Fascist Party would be too offensive and controversial for broadcast on Question and Answer."

The Gandoor Fascist Party, however, has not issued a statement in regards to this ruling as of the time of this writing.

Chief Justice Glenn Bush, along with Justices Mayu Nishimura, Kevin Robinson, Alexis Trudy, Daisuke Ishida, Mikael Sokolov, and Haruka Ishida ruled against the Gandoor Fascist Party and Justices Elizabeth Peterson, Andrew Jones, and Nicholas O'Leary ruled in favor.

[Gandoor]

GBC Announces Anniversary Celebrations

The Gandoor Broadcasting Corporation will celebrate it's 100th anniversary next year

Gandoor City - Earlier today, the Gandoor Broadcasting Company officially announced anniversary celebrations due to begin next year, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the GBC in 1921.

The GBC announced that the celebrations will include a docudrama about the early history of the GBC, due to premiere this May. Any details regarding the program have yet to be confirmed.

In addition to the docudrama, the GBC will broadcast classic programming throughout the year on both it's television channels and it's radio stations. Planned programs to air include the first GBC-broadcast episode of the long-running drama Rose from 1957 and the entirety of the first three programmes of the series The Professor.

Further plans and announcements for the GBC's 100th anniversary celebrations will be announced at a later date.

[Gandoor]

The Beginning of the GBC Announced, to Air in May

The docudrama depicting the early history of the GBC will premiere this May

Gandoor City - Earlier today, the GBC, as part of it's 100th anniversary celebrations, officially announced the docudrama The Beginning of the GBC via press release.

In it's press release, the GBC stated: "As part of the celebrations of 100 years of the Gandoor Broadcasting Corporation, we are proud to officially announce a docudrama titled The Beginning of the GBC. As the name of the program implies, this is a special presentation about the early years of the GBC, starting with the founding of it's immediate predecessor, Radio Company Gandoor, in 1917. At this time we can confirm the following cast members: Jacob Young, best known for playing Nathaniel Lawson in the 2016 film The Shattered Stone, will play William Bright, founder of Radio Company Gandoor; Mike Watanabe, best known for playing Maxwell Fish on the GBC program The Professor from 2013 to 2017, will play Kenjiro Shiba, first Chairman of the Gandoor Broadcasting Corporation; and newcomer Peggy Love, who is currently playing Deborah Johnson on the GBC drama Rose, will play Justine Francis, the first radio announcer for the GBC."

The GBC also stated that The Beginning of the GBC will premiere this May, simulcast on all GBC-owned channels in Gandoor, with the exception of Chiddies, and any potential airing on international channels operated by the GBC have not officially been confirmed at this date.

[Gandoor]

Korean Language Proposal Submitted by Yeom Da Hae

Member Yeom Da Hae submitted a proposal to recognize Korean as an official language

Gandoor City - During Friday's session of the Forum, Member Yeom Da Hae of the New Democratic Party submitted a proposal entitled the 'Korean Language Recognition Proposal' to the chambers, with the intent of establishing Korean an official language.

Currently in Gandoor; English, Japanese, and Russian have all been recognized as official languages since the enactment of the Constitution in 1904, with the specific wording being 'the English, Japanese, and Russian languages shall be recognized as the official languages of the Democratic Republic of Gandoor and all official government business shall be conducted in those languages', while also stating that 'any other languages may become recognized as official languages either by an amendment or by the passage of a law declaring them as such'. Yeom's proposal, if it gets to a vote and passes, would potentially lead to the recognition of Korean as a fourth official language.

Yeom Da Hae, who has represented her district of Hegmon Yon since being elected in 2016 stated this in regards to her proposal, "As the daughter of immigrants who moved to this nation from South Korea six years before I was born, I grew up with two lives and two languages; my public life, where I spoke English and my home life, where I spoke Korean, since my mother never learned how to speak English. I have also seen the massive growth of the Korean language and people here, when I grew up, it was a language spoken almost entirely by immigrants or those of Korean descent, with data indicating that, in 1986, Korean was spoken by 1.3% of the population, with .9% of the population being ethnically Korean. But now, Korean is spoken by almost 20% of the population, 11% of the population is Korean, and surveys indicate that 37% of the population supports having Korean being an official language, and if you count those who support the government 'recognizing' it in some form, that number jumps up to 44%. While I do, understandably, desire for it to become an official language, if it ends up simply being recognized, I would still be happy, as recognition of the language would potentially lead to official adoption."

Since Yeom's proposal was only just proposed, it still needs to be debated upon by the Forum before eventually going to vote, based upon the current schedule, official debates in regards to the proposal are scheduled to begin in two weeks time, although, as per law, debate over it, or any proposed proposal, can begin at any time the Forum is in session but not currently discussing or debating any subject.

[Gandoor]

Final Direct Descendant of the Final Nzard of Gandoor Dies

David Robertson was the final living descendant of Nzard William II, Gandoor's last monarch

Eaton - Staff of the Lovely Acres Retirement Community reported earlier today that David Robertson passed away in his sleep on Tuesday at the age of 76. While a death such as this wouldn't normally be reported beyond local obituaries, the fact that Mr Robertson was the last direct descendant of the royal family that ruled Gandoor from 1603 until William II abdicated and dissolved the throne following the Gandoor Revolution in 1902 makes this death quite poignant and a reminder to all that, even if our monarchy was no more, the members of the royal family remained living in Gandoor as ordinary citizens, just like you or me.

Robertson's life wasn't particularly special. He was born on 6 April 1945 in Nzardgrad, Freena Yon to Freddy Robertson (1913 - 1989) and Victoria Robertson (1916 - 1998). Victoria Robertson, born Victoria Walsh, was the only daughter of Susanne Walsh, daughter of William II. (1893 - 1981). Growing up, he knew both his grandmother and his great-uncle, Michael Walsh (1898 - 1999). He attended Nzardgrad Central High School from 1960 until 1965 and attended Nzardgrad Community College from 1965 until 1968, when he started working at the local brewery.

After leaving the brewery in 1984 at the age of 39, he moved to Eaton and soon found work in the office for the local branch of Genki Electronics, where he'd work until retiring at 62 in 2007. In 2015, Robertson sold his home and moved into the Lovely Acres Retirement Community, where he'd spend the rest of his days. A life-long bachelor, staff reported that he loved to tell stories about growing up as the descendant of royalty and would often joke that, during the 60's and early 70's (when the modern movement to reestablish the monarchy was at its height), his friends often tell him that he should prepare to be crowned as Nzard David I.

David Robertson died in his sleep on 30 November 2021 and has no living family members. Due to this, the staff of Lovely Acres Retirement Community will perform the traditional funeral procedures for him before sending his ashes to be buried with the ashes of his mother and father in Nzardgrad.

[Gandoor]

First Information Regarding the GBC's Japanese and Russian-language Television Channels Revealed

The GBC has announced that their two new television channels will began broadcasting by the end of 2023

Gandoor City - The GBC has revealed the first information regarding their two new upcoming television channels, which will broadcast programming entirely in the Japanese and Russian languages.

The television channels will be named GBN日本語 and GBN Русский and are planned to launch by the end of next year. As per the Foreign Language GBC Act which mandated the creation of these two channels, all programming will exclusively be broadcast in Japanese or Russian, depending on the channel, but English subtitle options have been confirmed to be available.

The GBC has also announced some information regarding programming that will be broadcast on the channels. Both channels will have morning, afternoon, and evening newscasts in their respective languages and they have also announced three programs for each channel that are planned to premiere when the channel begins broadcasting.

For GBN日本語, the GBC has announced the following programs:
15歳で (15-sai de) (English: At the Age of 15) - An adaption of the Takashi Morita novel When We Were 15, the GBC has stated that this adaption will not be a remake of the 1988 TV adaption, The Love Between Us, but a more straightforward adaption of the book, albeit one that is updated to the 21st century.
メッド センター (Meddo Sentā) (English: Med Centre) - A medical drama set in a medical centre located in a small town. The GBC has announced that the first programme of this series will run for only eight episodes.
コメディファンゾーン！(Komedi Fan Zōn!) (English: Comedy Fun Zone!) - A variety show featuring performances by comedians, musical acts, special guests, and more.

For GBN Русский, the GBC has announced the following programs:
Фантомная Зона (Fantomnaya Zona) (English:The Phantom Zone): A science-fiction anthology series where every 45 minute episode is a new story of terror and suspense.
Владимир! (Vladimir!) (English: Vladimir!): A family-aimed sitcom focused on a man named Vladimir and his family.
Полиция (Politsiya) (English: Police): A police procedural set in Nzardgrad, Freena Yon.

In addition to the announced original programming that will be broadcast on GBN日本語 and GBN Русский, it has also been confirmed that some programming from GBN and GBN Alt will be dubbed into Japanese and/or Russian and broadcast on the two new channels. What programming will be dubbed and broadcast has not yet been announced.

[Gandoor]

New Copyright Law Passes Forum

The Forum has voted to pass a law simplifying copyright law in Gandoor

Gandoor City - On Friday, the Forum voted almost unanimously in favour of the passage of the Copyright Reformation Act 2022, which will see the first changes to Gandoorese copyright law since the 1970's. The law, which was proposed by Member Andrew J. Peterson of the Gandoor Communist Party is intended to simplify Gandoor's current copyright laws, which are sometimes criticized for being too complex and, at the same time, not allowing creators enough time to profit from their creations.

Under the current law, copyright in Gandoor works as follows:
All works which are to be copyrighted must be submitted to the Copyright Office of Gandoor and have some form of public availability.
The copyright for motion pictures lasts for forty years following release.
The copyright for books lasts for the life of the author plus fifteen years, in the event of multiple authors, the fifteen year term starts once the last author dies, and in the event of works published anonymously, copyright lasts for seventy-five years.
The copyright for songs lasts twenty-five years.
The copyright for television programs lasts until the program ceases production plus twenty years.
Anything else lasts for fifty years following publication.
Copyrights can be renewed a maximum of three times, with each renewal lasting for five additional years.

Under the Copyright Reformation Act 2022, however, copyright in Gandoor will change to the following:
Copyright will automatically be granted for all works published in Gandoor and registration of a work with the Copyright Office of Gandoor will enable one to receive more money from lawsuits against copyright infringers.
For works created by an individual, copyright will last for the lifetime of the creator plus seventy-five years following their death. For posthumous releases, copyright will last seventy-five years.
For all other works, copyright will last for seventy-five years following publication. This will include works that were created by an individual but published anonymously.
Copyright can be renewed twice, with each renewal lasting for fifteen additional years.

The Copyright Reformation Act 2022 does not change the provision declaring that materials created by the Gandoor Broadcasting Corporation remain under copyright indefinitely and it will be enacted retroactively, with all works currently under copyright having their copyright expiration dates extended to what it would be had the new law existed at the time of the original publication.

During Friday's vote, the proposal passed with 947 votes in favour and 53 votes against. All Members from the New Democratic Party, People's Party, and Gandoor Freedom Group voted in favour and 53 Members from the Gandoor Communist Party voted against.

Despite passing the Forum, the Copyright Reformation Act 2022 is not yet law and still needs to be signed by the Prime Minister in order to officially pass into law. Once it is signed, it will go into effect immediately with no delays regarding its implementation.

[A m e n r i a]

Tag for further reading. Will there be any articles on technology?

[Gandoor]

Tag for further reading. Will there be any articles on technology?

Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee whether or not certain types of article from The Gandoor Times will be made available here or not.

[Gandoor]

France Gandoor's Favourite Foreign Country

The French Republic is the country Gandoorese citizens have the most positive views of, the 2023 Gandoorese Views on Foreign Countries survey reveals

Gandoor City - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has revealed the results of their annual Gandoorese Views on Foreign Countries Survey for the current year, 2023. The survey, which was first conducted in 1975, simply asks citizens to indicate if they have a positive or negative view of twenty-five countries, which are a chosen from a combination of major world players, neighbouring countries to Gandoor, countries which Gandoor has active relations with, and countries which have been in the news recently.

For the 2023 survey, it has been revealed that the country Gandoorese citizens have the most positive views of is France, with 86% of the country stating they have a positive view of the European republic. This has a resulted in Sweden, who had held the title for the past twelve years, falling to second place. The result also comes as a surprise for the rapid turnaround in Gandoorese views of France, in the 2020 survey, only 48% of reported having a positive view of the country.

In regards to the changes in views on France in Gandoor, Rebecca Slater, a representative from the Minister of Foreign Affairs had this to say, 'I think that the reason why Gandoorese are much more positive about France than they were only a few years ago is a combination of people being aware of our history, since the Gandoor Revolution which created our republic was influenced by the French Revolution which created their republic and the recent view, at least here, of France and French culture being seen as "trendy" and "fashionable" that has taken hold in the past couple of years.'

Some other interesting things to note from the survey:

• For the first time since 2000, Japan has fallen below 80% positive, with 79% reporting positive views of the country.
• More people have positive views of Palestine than Israel for the first time in the history of the survey - 27% have a positive view of Palestine vs 25% for Israel.
• The country with the most positive change is France, who moved from 77% positive to 86% positive, an increase of nine.
• The countries with the most negative changes are Russia and Italy, who moved from 21% and 64% respectively to 16% and 59% respectively, an decrease of five for both countries.

As is expected in the survey, the countries Gandoor holds the most negative views of are North Korea and Saudi Arabia, with only 1% of Gandoorese citizens stating they have a positive view of either country.

The complete results of the 2023 Gandoorese Views on Foreign Countries survey may be viewed here.

[Gandoor]

McDonald's Returning to Gandoor - Sort Of

BigBurgers has announced a special partnership with the international fast food chain McDonald's

Yordin City - It seems that twenty-one years after exiting the Gandoorese market, international fast food chain McDonald's will be making a return to Gandoorese shores, sort of. In a press release issued by fast food chain BigBurgers earlier today, the company announced that they have signed a special agreement and partnership with McDonald's Corporation which will see certain items from McDonald's menu added to the BigBurgers menu.

McDonald's, which is well-known as the second largest fast food chain in the world behind Subway, was founded in the United States of America in 1940 and entered the Gandoorese market in 1979. It would effectively explode in popularity and became the largest fast food chain in Gandoor by 1986, with over 1300 locations nationwide. However, during the 1990s and early 2000s, as Gandoorese customers began to prefer Gandoorese-owned fast food restaurants, McDonald's sales (and customer popularity) in Gandoor dropped at a rapid pace and, by 1999, there were only 30 McDonald's restaurants still operating in Gandoor. In 2002, the last McDonald's in Gandoor, located in Gandoor City, shut down and the company officially ceased operations in Gandoor.

BigBurgers was founded in 1977 by James Frederickson and is currently the fourth largest fast food chain in Gandoor, with over 1100 locations nationwide. (However, including only hamburger fast food chains, it is the second largest, behind Ichiban Burger) BigBurgers is well-known for its characteristic large burgers befitting its name, with the smallest burger on the standard menu including a patty that weighs in at 250 grams and the largest burger including a patty that weighs in at 3 kilograms. (For those who don't want to eat such a large hamburger, the chain does also offer a 'Mini Menu', featuring burgers with patties ranging in weight from 50 to 115 grams)

The McDonald's Corporation announced the following regarding their partnership with BigBurgers: 'BigBurgers is an extremely successful fast food restaurant in Gandoor and, while we would prefer to reestablish operations in Gandoor, we understand that it may not be in our best interest to do that yet. However, we hope that by allowing BigBurger to serve some of our iconic products, Gandoorese citizens will also acquire a little bit of a taste for the McDonald's food billions of people worldwide know and have loved for many decades.'

As per the press release issued by BigBurgers, the following McDonald's products will be sold in BigBurgers locations starting sometime next year:

• Big Mac
• Quarter Pounder
• Big N' Tasty
• McDouble
• Chicken McNuggets
• McChicken
• Filet-O-Fish