News Thread [Kylaris|Canon|IC]

by **Union of Akoren** » Mon Apr 25, 2022 4:52 pm

ANALYSIS| Zorasan’s propaganda machine has gone into overdrive
From 24 hour news, to newspapers, to kid's cartoons, to soap operas. Zorasani state media is pushing a very worrying narrative about Tsabara
2022-04-25T 18:20:30Z

UCTV's Layla Ayad has become one of the most watched talk-show hosts since she focused solely
on pushing the new narrative on Tsabara.

Television and film in Zorasan is well regarded across much of Rahelia and domestically, it mass produces some of the most watched soap operas, dramas and comedies in the world. Its quality draws in tens of millions of viewers across half a continent, but the qualitive nature of its media productions is also found in its news outlets, each a cog in a vast propaganda machine. Owing to the opaque and labyrinthine nature of politics in the Zorasani one-party state, many intelligence analysts and policy makers have taken to observing state media for inklings at Sattarishahr’s thinking and what is being seen now, should worry every one of them.

Despite being one of the world’s few one-party authoritarian police states, Zorasani media – its newspapers, radio stations and television studios operate surprisingly freely. Ever since the Turfan of 2005 to 2008, in which the liberal-technocratic and reformist party elite was overthrown and totalitarianism came roaring back, hundreds of outlets were shuttered or merged into “mega outlets”, all state owned or controlled. Yet, within this state-dominated media scene, the individual outlets are provided a degree of freedom to dissent or criticise. There have been multiple cases of newspapers and tv studios running exposes that have resulted in reforms or government U-turns. As one long-time colleague remarked, “the general policy is that criticism is fair if its constructive, or simply, brings attention to government issues on the street that require addressing.” These criticisms will often be laced with sycophantic praise for the State and the party, but nonetheless, no outlet sings from the same hymn sheet. What is unique in Zorasan’s media scene is the division of ownership, several of the most watched news channels and most read papers are owned and run by the military, others by the party, as seen prior to the eviction of Vahid Isfandiar and Farzad Akbari from office, the military owned outlets were highly critical, as were some party-owned outlets, more often the party and military’s endless struggle for dominance plays out on the airwaves and on the printed pages. In some ways, this gives the false impression to Zorasanis that freedom of the press exists, or that a debate is viable, when in reality that is far from the case. But it also provides much insight for analysts and policy makers beyond Zorasan, its state media serves as a weathervane or much like the entrails relied upon by ancient Solarian augurs to see what lays ahead.

As one analyst in Morwall told me, “The moment every outlet says the same thing over and over, you know something has changed. The moment the party and military outlets start sending the same message, you know something is up.” From 2008 to November 2021, there was nothing to indicate something was up, even in November itself when the outlets sparred against one another over the record of the Isfandiar-Akbari leadership, nothing was overly untoward. This changed the day after the two were replaced by Rahim Ali Haftar, Gafur Qahor and Sadavir Hatami. There is one topic that changed, Tsabara.

From 2020 to November 2021, the coverage was defined by outlet’s controller. Party outlets tended to be fixated on the humanitarian crisis sparked by the civil war, while the military outlets were fixated on the threat posed by a pro-EC government in Adunis winning and securing control over its border with Zorasan and more so, the failure by Sattarishahr to aid Yahya Aboud’s government as it was overthrown in a coup. Interestingly, neither side appeared overly impressed nor enamoured with the separatists, both just simply despised Nazim Al-Qutayni and his multi-ethnic and sectarian unity government. Come the new government in November, the tone changed dramatically.

Since late November, all major television outlets in Zorasan, including the 24-hour news channels have been pumping out what best can be described as “ultra-graphic propaganda.” Images and footages of air strikes and bloodied corpses fill the screen on an hourly basis, talk show hosts and talking heads ramble and rant endlessly about a “war of total annihilation.” UCTV, Efekar News, Al-Haqiqa and TwoRivers have for the past five months pushed the claim that the civil war is in fact an Atudite-Sotirian agenda to obliterate Tsabara’s irfanic population for the sake of dominating petrochemicals and farmland. Elam, the Irfanic religious news outlet speaks endlessly of how the loss of Adunis to Irfan would endanger the world to damnation at the end times, as “Khoda’s scale upon which our sins and deeds are weighed would surely not be placed in a den of vipers and non-believers.” Tsabaran refugees have been dragged out of camps in Irvadistan and placed in futuristic looking television studios to share their stories, most true and authentic, some clearly pre-scripted for maximum shock for the viewer.

It is not just the television news studios engaging in this, the newspapers are all pushing the same narrative of widespread war crimes and the Atudite-Sotirian agenda. Even relatively tame and moderate papers like Shihan and Ettela'at have printed pages and pages of indiscriminate bombing, the targeting of funerals, weddings, schools and hospitals. Mardaran, the country’s most read women’s magazine even dedicated an entire edition in January to female Tsabaran refugees who suffered at the hands of male government soldiers, lost their children or husbands. Local and state-level papers are even publishing entire editions to the narrative, ensuring 100% consumption at all levels.

The narrative, perhaps not surprisingly, is finding its way into non-news productions. The popular animated children’s show, “Hadir and Friends”, which follows a plucky boy on various adventures has repeatedly shown Hadir rescue downtrodden and dirty kids from bullies, often wearing blatantly Atudite and Sotirian symbology who are picking on the downtrodden for an area of a playground or field. Hadir naturally with his friends and his pet talking main battle tank, beat these bullies and save the downtrodden. This has been replicated in the equally popular kid’s comic “Ali and Shireen”, a Rahelian boy and Pardarian girl who often go adventures involving the military, in February’s series, the two travelled with their army friends to a village surrounded by monsters controlled by three mages (each baring badges depicting the flags of Etruria, Estmere and Gaullica) who are terrorising old people and children. Naturally, they too save the village, and the three mages are literally sent scurrying towards a boat and back across the sea.

Even the soap opera Al-Ḥadāyig has become a vehicle for the anti-Adunis narrative.

The most popular soap opera in Zorasan, Al-Ḥadāyig, which follows several families who live around a shared private garden has since this year’s series began, pushed the narrative also. Last year, the Abdullah family began housing a Tsabaran refugee family in their guesthouse, who have naturally, become die-hard Sattarists and enjoy close relations with all the families on the street. This family as of this year, have begun to describe their experiences of the Adunis regime in graphic detail with the characters, while television screens and radios running in the background of scenes all report on war crimes and atrocities committed by the Adunis government.

Naturally, citizens elsewhere would expect Zorasanis to be able to find the truth online, not so. The internet in Zorasan is perhaps the most censored and controlled in the world, on chat rooms and social media sites (only domestically produced apps and sites are available), government bots or paid accounts spread the narrative with abandon. Those who question the narrative or express doubt at the extent of war crimes claimed in the media often find their accounts blocked or simply stop posting altogether. JabeZist, the most widely used social media site, boasting 103 million users has entire pages dedicated to “war crimes accountability”, which produce graphic images, videos, and testimonies – some of which have been edited, forged or entirely produced by designers.

What does this mean exactly? The obvious proposes that this is just par the course for a totalitarian one-party state, where reality is viewed as a literal tool of statecraft, but it is the width and breadth of the effort that is concerning some. While this “Atudite-Sotirian Agenda” narrative is being pushed with abandon, comparatively, the war in Yemet receives less attention, beyond the celebration of the military and its victories. The lauding of the State is even less pronounced. An Etrurian academic colleague, who specialises in misinformation and propaganda told me, “I have not seen in my career a campaign this widespread and deep dedicated to one singular narrative or false-reality.” When I asked him why the Zorasani state commit to this would, he replied, “I would cautiously suspect that they are essentially riling the populace and laying the groundwork for something significant.” When I approached my analyst friend in Morwall, he agreed, this was a concentrated effort to psychologically prepare the populace for a justified intervention in Tsabara.” This change in mood and tone has also been noted by intelligence analysts in Adunis itself according to numerous reports.

The markedly hardline Sattarist government that came to power in November has also in the space of five months, seized the disputed Dandan-ye Azdar strip along the border, annexed it back into Irvadistan and five days ago, revoked its recognition of Adunis as the legitimate government of Tsabara. Five months of propaganda dedicated to depicting in the most graphic sense, the illegitimate government of Tsabara as a genocidal puppet of the EC fits the pattern of this aggressive and interventionist regime. By essentially brainwashing the populace into believing the neighbouring country is waging a war of annihilation against its Irfanic populace, it would most certainly soften the blow if the regime declared its intent to wage war upon Adunis.

Zorasani society has witnessed a transformation in living standards, economic power and development, there are designer stores on the streets of every city, homeownership and car ownership are soaring, many would be understandably fearful that a war in Tsabara would jeopardise their lot in life. But if enough Zorasanis, across all strata and income groups believe that the enemy is intent on annihilating millions of fellow Irfani for their land and exclusive control over resources, society may well be conducive to suffering for their salvation. And in a country where shared sacrifice, collectivism and the infallibility of the state is bred into them from the moment they can read and write, it becomes significantly easier to enforce the state’s reality. Afterall, even the most repressive totalitarian systems are vulnerable to the economic. If the propaganda machine continues to whirl at this pace and focus, the dangers of a dramatic change in Zorasani policy vis-à-vis Tsabara will increase exponentially. Policy makers in Adunis and its allied capitals, must take notice and heed the warning.
© Coian Monitor 2022

by **Lunas Legion** » Tue Apr 26, 2022 5:50 am

PNLAY STAGES COUP IN YEMET
Exact situation on the ground unclear; Zorasani involvement unconfirmed but 'likely' according to senior intelligence analyst
Axel Bär
26th April 2022 | Girota, Yemet

Yemeti President Retta Iskinder and PNLAY Chief of General Staff Ubaxle Asad pictured in late 2019.
Photo courtesy of AV photos.

Late last night and in the early hours of this morning, People's National Liberation Army of Yemet soldiers entered the capital city of Girota in an of the Nativity Putsch last December. The soldiers, who are believed to have originally dispatched to the front lines in the west of Yemet to fight the Emergency Committee for the Restoration of National Unity, moved through the city without initally encountering major resistance to secure the Presidential Palace, Hall of the People’s Congress, the Ministry of Defence, the various barracks of the ISPG around the city and the main police station.

By 6AM, there were reports of heavy fighting around the ISPG barracks and smaller skirmishes elsewhere in the city between local, pro-Iskinder militias and the ISPG and the mutinous soldiers, with there reportedly being a brief but fierce battle at the Presidential Palace between the mutineers and the units stationed there. As the morning continued, fighting intensified in other parts of the city as pro-Iskinder militias rallied and organised and the ISPG units were gradually able to gain a fuller understanding of the somewhat confused situation that was unfolding, with the outnumbered mutineers gradually withdrawing from the city by midday.

Despite the withdrawal of the mutineers from Girota, the units involved in the putsch remained camped a few miles to the north of Girota. The lack of an announcement proclaiming victory over the putsch by Yemeti President Retta Iskinder raised concerns that the coup had not withdrawn because it was defeated, but because it had succeeded in its objectives. The apparent success of the coup was confirmed by PNLAY Chief of General Staff Ubaxle Asad, who, speaking from a military command post in Toroge, said the following:

"At 7:37 AM, brave soldiers of the PNLAY successfully stormed the Presidential Palace as part of a wider operation to restore proper governance to Yemet, eliminating all resistance. This, regrettably, included the President Retta Iskinder, whom we had hoped to capture and place on trial for his rampant corruption, nepotism, cronyism and repeated violations of Yemeti law and the constitution. He had taken up arms to defend himself, and in the chaos of combat, our brave soldiers were unaware of this. His Vice-President, Obe Feleke, and the Minister of National Defence, Obuto Akombo, are also believed to have been killed in the fighting. Following the unfortunate deaths of these individuals, I am reluctantly forced to declare myself as President of Yemet under the Government of National Unity and Reconciliation."

"As President, my first act will be to announce that I have been in communication with the leaders of the ECRNU, INDA and RNF and that the leaders of these groups are prepared to accept me as the President of Yemet in exchange for being incorporated into the new Government of National Unity and Reconciliation. Our relationship with Zorasan, which has provided much aid in the process of restoring the territorial integrity of the Yemeti state, remains unstained by this change of power."

It is unclear exactly how involved Zorasan was involved in the coup, as President Retta Iskinder had been a close Zorasani ally and there were no outward signs of any rift in the relationship. But that the Zorasanis knew about the coup is certain, given their level of involvement in the affairs of the PNLAY. A senior intelligence analyst who wished to remain anonymous has stated that it is 'highly likely' Zorasan was directly involved in the coup, and suggested due to the organisation and planning that must have been carried out to achieve a successful coup in contrast to the failed Nativity Putsch, stated that 'this putsch was likely planned and executed by Zorasani soldiers in PNLAY uniforms as a ruse of war. The PNLAY has not demonstrated the ability to carry out an operation like this before, and Zorasan has no reason to let the PNLAY execute a putsch against a close ally like Retta Iskinder which they could easily prevent.'

The aftershocks of the putsch are unclear. Incorporation of the ECRNU into the new self-declared Government of National Unity and Reconciliation seems all but certain to prompt some degree of confrontation with Behera. It is unclear who is in charge in Girota currently, but the most likely candidate would be the head of the Independent Special Presidential Guard Division, Lt. General Aba Tekle. It is highly unlikely that Tekle and other, pro-Iskinder figures within PNLAY units uninvolved in the plot will be invited to the new self-declared government or that they would agree to join if they were.

Only time will tell what the results of Ubaxle Asad's roll of the dice will be.

© Der Staatsmann Group 2022

by **Imagua and the Assimas** » Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:31 am

PRIME MINISTER EGNELL REJECTS INDIGENOUS MINISTER ILUMANI'S PROPOSAL
Prime Minister Douglas Egnell claims it would "needlessly" burn bridges with key Euclean partners

SHARE

ARMEL CLARK (@ClarkArmy285)
26 April, 2022 11:31 IST | CUANSTAD, CITY OF

Prime Minister Douglas Egnell delivering a press conference

Following yesterday's Chirp by Indigenous Affairs Minister Helen Ilumani proposing that the Imaguan government table a law similar to the Emerald Isle's Narapanese Genocide Acknowledgment Law, with proposals to seek reparations from Imagua's former colonisers, Prime Minister Douglas Egnell held a press conference to state the position of the Imaguan government with regard to reparations to the Native Imaguans.

"After having heard of legislation being introduced in the eastern Arucian state of the Emerald Isle, and of Indigenous Affairs Minister proposing that the Imaguan government do something similar," Prime Minister Douglas Egnell told reporters, "I have decided to speak with Ilumani where we discussed the merits of her proposal."

"While both I and Mrs. Ilumani have agreed that the treatment of the Native Imaguan population has been unjust, and that it may be worthwhile to consider some form of acknowledgment by those who have colonised these fair islands, we have ultimately come to the agreement that as of right now, following the lead of the Emerald Isle will jeopardise our foreign relations with our partners across the Vehemens," Prime Minister Egnell said. "In addition, I have reiterated that the Imaguan government gave five billion shillings to the Native Imaguan Association in 2017 as reparations for the mistreatment of the Native Imaguan population, and that the Imaguan government remains committed to improving indigenous communities across the archipelago."

When asked by the San Pietro Gazette if the Prime Minister opposed the idea of reparations, Prime Minister Douglas Egnell said that "on paper, I do agree with the cause of reparations, and it is definitely worth considering whether or not Imagua should receive reparations for the horrors inflicted upon it by a multitude of colonial powers over the four centuries of colonisation that we have endured. However, we do not live on paper: we live in the real world, and in the real world, pursuing an approach like our brethren on the Emerald Isle vis-a-vis the Native Imaguans, and/or the Bahio-Imaguans, will mean that we will be needlessly burning our bridges with our partners across the Vehemens."

"This is why after discussion with Mrs. Ilumani, we have decided that the Imaguan government will not be pressing the matter of reparations at this point in time," Prime Minister Douglas Egnell said. "If circumstances change, we may reopen the issue [of reparations], but as of this point, we cannot in good conscience jeopardize relations with our partners across the Vehemens over this issue."

This answer was quickly followed by another question from the Cuanstad Sentinel about when would the Imaguan government discuss reparations with Euclean states.

Prime Minister Douglas Egnell said that "it depends entirely on the position of those who colonized us: if they are open to discussing reparations, we are willing to discuss reparations on a case-by-case basis with each of them. However, as I have said before, the Imaguan government should not press the issue unless circumstances change. And as of right now, we feel that the best way to achieve results is negotiations, not by unilaterally presenting demands for billions and billions of euclos for the horrors that we have suffered under colonisation."

"Now, if Gaullica is willing to provide reparations to the Emerald Isle for the Narapanese genocide because of that act, that does open up opportunities for the Imaguan government to use that as precedent to request reparations for not just what we today might consider a genocide against the Native Imaguans, but also for the slave trade and its effects on Bahio-Imaguans during Geatish, Gaullican, and Estmerish rule in particular," Prime Minister Douglas Egnell said. "But as of right now, we should not resort to such an approach, nor should we press the issue of reparations."

Comments [ 32,069 ] |

E-mail
© GOVERNMENT OF IMAGUA AND THE ASSIMAS 2022

MORE HEADLINES

Dalmazio Pasquarello posts chirp mocking Egnell's comment about "needlessly burning bridges" [ 19214 ]
President Iskinder of Yemet disappears following mutiny in Girota [ 17809 ]
Scientific study reveals that it is completely impossible to make people yawn while reading a text about yawning [ 14237 ]
Ineweyu Natural Reserve becomes National Park [ 12951 ]
Tsabaran embassy burnt to the ground in Zorasani capital of Sattarishahr [ 3684 ]

by **Liecthenbourg** » Tue Apr 26, 2022 5:31 pm

The Unlikely Case for Reparations.
As countries around the globe may feel emboldened by the decision emerging from Île d'Émeraude, there is likely little hope for change in Verlois.

Axel Périer, Professor of History and Colonial-Literature at the University of Sartoux.
April 26th, 2022|Verlois, Gaullica

Gaullican attitudes to colonialism were historically about
'cultural uplifting', and 'Gaullicanisation', almost always
at horrendous and devastating costs.

Verlois, Gaullica - Domestically, the topic of reparations is an awkward conversation. It highlights an element of Gaullican history that many are happy to ignore. The idea of 'reparations' is that what one country has done to another through the cultural and economic exploitation should be repaid to correct historic injustices and to compensate for the destructiveness of those policies.

It comes as a surprise then, perhaps to many, that there is such a 'united front' against this idea of reparations. Both left and right in Gaullica, with few exceptions, find themselves staunchly against the notion of having to directly repay countries that suffered under its colonial yoke.

No major Gaullican political party advocates for the payment of reparations to former colonial nations in any form. Some are more in favour of a proactive approach to the foreign development fund and others are more interested in tightening its purse, but that is a far as one gets to the idea of reparations within Gaullican political circles. It is viewed, rightly or wrongly, as a lack of responsibility on the part of the Gaullican government. In hushed, quieter tones, the idea that 'Gaullica's reparations came about during the Great War' is a view that many hold sincerely and sacrosanct, even if they do not say it.

Firstly, for those uninformed by the recent reiteration of this issue, it finds itself emerging from the Eastern Arucian Island of Île d'Émeraude. Its Senate has added an act to its own agenda that would recognise the early settlement of the island and the death of many of its native inhabitants as a genocide and consequently demand that Gaullica pay reparations for this act.

As a history lesson, the island was first chartered by Gaullican explorers in the late 1510s (but had be inhabited for centuries prior to this), and Gaullica's presence on the island was solidified by the early 1540s. In this wake, initial contact was marked by the spectre of disease that the native Arucian islanders had no resistance to and many were inadvertently killed. In the wake of that destruction, the island was conquered and its people subjugated by the Gaullican settlers.

Whether or not this was a genocide has been a matter of intense debate amongst historians for the better part of several decades. Some take the view that the actions that led to the death of most of the Narapanese was not intentional and thusly it cannot be classified as a genocide, whilst others take the view that the actions were intentional.

This ambiguity, this ability to verifiably 'know', is but one of many hurdles that those who advocate for reparations will need to clamber over. It will not be aided by the fact that they will not find allies within Verlois, even from a government favourable to foreign aid development and a greater presence in a seemingly more independently-minded foreign policy. Others range from the fact that many hold the view that Gaullica's 'deficit' to the world was paid off following its lengthy indemnities in the years after the Great War, and many argue that the responsibilities of Gaullica's colonial empire was "taken from it" in the Treaty of Kesselbourg. Some, particularly on the left, are concerned that reparations (and even aid payments) are tools used by established powers, so even if repayments were to be given, they would fall into 'wrong hands' rather than those who suffered.

When polled earlier in 2020, the overwhelming response from many Gaullicans on the question of reparations was staunchly negative, but for a variety of reasons. One that is not spoken about much is that of the fact that to many "those who suffered" are long dead.

Already have individuals within Gaullican political circles taken to defending their nation from the accusations of genocide. Leader of the PRCP, Coralie Barreau, took to Chirpr to declare that: "Gaullicans are not ashamed of acknowledging their mistakes. No member of the Entente bears that shame for heinousness more seriously; but you cannot call an unknowing transmission of disease a genocide".

Alfred Boulanger, of the FN, was far more scathing in his criticism: "When the Gaullicans arrived on Île d'Émeraude, it was the native islanders who approached the newcomers for assistance in killing their tribal rivals. They killed each other of in the vacuum of a plague."

I tell you that you will see individuals slap Boulanger on the wrist for that comment based on how it was said, but not because they disagree of what was said.

The government was unequivocal when the question of reparations was raised to them earlier this morning. President Degar-Abdulrashid was clear when she said: "We are sorry for the devastation wrought on by the settlement of the Île d'Émeraude. For the lives lost, for the cultures and histories erased, for the fact that an island that should be inhabited by the Narapanese now has less than a tenth of a percent of them as a population."

When a follow up question asked about reparations, the President deflected with a response that said: "Gaullica's responsibilities to its former colonial holdings include assisting in sustainable development through our foreign aid fund. Reparations are not part of that plan. We've seen a reallocation of funding since coming into office, and the foreign aid fund is consistently under review. Never has its budget been shrunk and I can say with confidence expanding it is to be set to the Senate soon."

Despite being of the left, it is also unlikely that these statements will hurt the president in any sense of the word in the court of public opinion. Premier Turzyna, often seen as being in touch with the historic working class of his party, declared that: "Gaullica's reparations came about at the end of the Great War, we have repaid for the sins of our forefathers more than any country on earth."

It is difficult to nudge a nation with, currently, no domestic movement to support your cause. The people of the Île d'Émeraude will likely see this as an empty platitude, but it is the reality of the world as seen from Verlois, as opposed to Port-au-Grégoire.

This article was written by Professor Axel Périer of the University of Sartoux, where he lectures in Political Science and International Relations. Following the obtaining of his doctorate at the University of Rayenne in a joint-honours of History and Literature he delved into the world of 'pop-history', penning non-fiction and fiction books on the topic. Eventually, he would return to what he called a more 'grounded' approach to his passion and took tenure at the University of Sartoux. A regular contributor to Le Monde, Périer is an accomplished academic who has written extensively on the legacy of Gaullica's extensive history and 'mark' on the world, nominally through literature of the peoples who found themselves within the empire's borders. Notable works of his include 'The Gaullicans A World Over', 'Who Speaks for the Bahians?' and a scathing criticism of those defenders of empire in 'A Legacy Built on Ashes'.

Comments [ 48,114 ] |

E-mail
©LEMONDE 2020

48,114 comments

MORE HEADLINES

Gaullican Foreign Ministry to discuss 'Miersan/Champanian Situation' at Euclean Level, sources say. [ 36,238 ]
Government condemns Champanian Revolutionary Defence Committe seizure of power.[ 15,509 ]
The Yemeti Civil War: In Pictures. [ 25,136 ]
Zorasani forces spotted in south-eastern Tsabara. [ 11,951 ]
Tsabaran Crisis: Federal Forces lift siege of Bayadha in decisive victory [ 43,684 ]

by **Imperii Ecclesia** » Tue Apr 26, 2022 6:19 pm

PREMIER CHEVALLIER: ECONOMIC RECOVERY ALMOST COMPLETE
Premier's Press Conference focuses on the stablisation and success after a year of the PCT in office.

SHARE:

CATHERINE DECOUVE (@DECOUVECATHERINE)
^{26 APRIL 2022 19:01 | PORT DE LA SAINTE, SAINTE-CHLOE}

Premier Genevieve Chevallier gave a Press Conference on Tuesday, a year after taking office as Premier
Photo courtesy of RAYMOND AROIS.

PORT DE LA SAINTE, CAPITALE-

Just over a year following the snap elections which brought the PCT back into power in the Senate, Premier Chevallier held a press conference on Tuesday to mark the final stages of economic recovery following the 2020 Mount Micchiano eruption in Bonaventura. The government had just reconvened on Monday following their Pascha recess. As April 21st, the date of the government taking power the previous year, had already passed, and so Chevallier gave a press conference this week to commemorate the party's first year in power.

Chevallier began the conference saying that "With God's help and providence and the hard work of our government, Sainte-Chloé has finally recovered from the problems besetting the country since the eruption in 2020. We are very close to the financial state which we were at before the eruption happened." This would set the tone for most of the beginning remarks, which focused on the economic state of the country following the natural disaster.

When asked about the cause of the crisis, Chevallier first addressed the issue of the eruption itself. Following the eruption in October 2020, Sainte-Chloé's economy was greatly affected by the ashfalls of the large eruption, which hurt agriculture and tourism, two important industries in the Chloéois economy. However, she then pivoted to talking about the Social Democrat Party as also responsible for the mismanagement of the crisis and compounding the economic problems facing the country. "The sad truth is, the SDP was responsible for making the problem worse, and greatly contributed to the downturn. This brought about the snap elections, and the PCT stepped up to the plate to take responsibility and lead the country to recovery, although this job was made especially difficult by the incompetency of the former government."

After focusing on the causes of the crisis, Chevallier reiterated her government's policies and programs which underlined the recovery process, and talked about the success which each one of those initiatives had. "We have seen marked improvements in every sector, and we have also set Sainte-Chloé up for better improvement than before the disaster had began. It put us in a position to have a stronger rebirth from where we were before the crisis had even begun."

Following the comments on economic recovery, Chevallier was asked several questions about future plans. She noted that "When we took office, we were primarily focused on the response to the emergency we were facing. With our first objective completed, we look forward to bringing about improvements in other fields of life, in regards to education, culture, and quality of life." She announced several policies of educational development and increased spending, promotion of cultural events, and worker aid and relief programs.

Following this, several questions pertaining to international affairs were asked. Chevallier said that these were mostly the prerogative of the President to answer. During this segment, commotion broke out and a reporter was escorted from the room for improper decorum after yelling at the Premier and speaking out of turn. Once the reporter was escorted out, the rest of the conference proceeded smoothly.

At the end of the conference, Chevallier thanked the reporters for attending, and to all of those who listened in. "I thank you all for coming to listen today. With God's grace, we are building a better, stronger fatherland, and I hope to continue this throughout the following years ahead."

Comments [ 1,282 ] |

E-mail
©LACROIX 2021

1,282 comments

MORE HEADLINES

ECONOMY: The recovery process explained.
CULTURE: Chevallier expounds new cultural programme.
PNLAY stages coup in Yemet.
Zorasan increases Propoganda.
A Mediation on Divine Mercy

by **Poshyte** » Wed Apr 27, 2022 11:47 am

Mutual disinterest will lead to the breakup of Alsland claims a new study
A culture of mutual disinterest in the affairs of other parts of the country and growing distaste about the usage of Dellish and Weranian taxes are driving support for dissolution up according to a new study.

Holbe Haanstra
27 April 2022| Yndyk, Alsland

Dellish separatists marching during last year's "Frijheidsdei" celebrations.

YNDYK, DELLAND - A new study conducted by the University of Yndyk - Rivierwâl has shown record high levels of support for dissolving Alsland and creating several new independent states in it's place. The poll which was conducted over the internet found that 42% of Alslanders are in favour of splitting the country into separate countries based on linguistic lines, whilst only 30% opposed. 28% of respondents said they were unsure or didn't care one way or the other. The results from the poll are sure to give separatist parties a talking point in this year's upcoming election where issues such as separatism and identity will play a much bigger part.

Slim majorities or pluralities of respondents in Delland and Holsteen said they were in favour of their regions gaining independence - 52% and 47% respectively - whilst in Martiland less than 40% of respondents backed Martish independence and in Upper Swerdia 60% of respondents opposed independence. The poll also revealed support for independence and separatism was larger among young, urban and left-leaning voters than older voters who backed keeping the federation.

When asked to reveal why they backed independence, 62% said that local taxes which were being spent elsewhere in the country was a reason behind backing independence, 57% said that one of their reasons was that the union between Delland, Holsteen, Martiland and Upper Swerdia has outlived it's use. Another reason that drove respondents to say they backed dissolving Alsland was that federal politicians spend too much time focusing on problems outside their respective communities.

Despite this very few respondents said that independence would decide who they voted for in the next election with more saying local issues, healthcare, education and most importantly the environment took precedence.

Already the response from politicians and analysts towards the poll have been divided on the correct response. MEP Alof Oosterbaan who leads the far-right Team Oosterbaan said that the poll's result was because the government had failed to create a united Alslandic identity and let regional identities be hijacked by separatists. When speaking to DTRT morning radio show, Green Party leader Sjearp Groeneveld said Alsland needs a new constitution, a decentralised government and better representation of all communities in the Folkssenaat and government. Liveable Delland leader Eltsje Nicolai who is a nationalist himself said that the poll proved that a major rethink of how taxes were spent was needed or else the country would collapse.

Joonatan Laar from the Yndyk Times told DTRT that disinterest and disconnection between the 4 communities would only lead to the breakup of Alsland: "There exists a culture of apathy not just among politicians and elected officials, but ordinary people as well. Today people will call themselves 'Dellish', 'Holsaten', 'Martish' or 'Swathish' before they identify as Alslandic." He said. "People see the different communities outside of their own as the same as Euclean Community member states. Right now most people would see no real difference if the Alslandic federal government was replaced by a sort of mini-EC. If the government's response to rising nationalism is to keep delegating more powers to local governments eventually that is what will exist in 5 years."

Laar's opinion regarding replacing the federal government with a "mini-EC" is one that has been promoted by separatist parties. Maitiid, which runs the Dellish government, said it would reform the federal government into a model like the existing Euclean Community but only with the 4 communities as "member states". Creating a 'confederation' of 4 sovereign independent nations isn't just an idea shared by the traditionally separatist parties, the Green Party platform for 2018's election endorsed a constitutional reform and creating a confederation of states that would be free to pursue their own independent goals. Confederation has also been a long-time goal of Liveable Delland which has attempted three times in the past decade to propose a confederation of Alslandic communities, all three times they have been blocked by their coalition partners.

For the upcoming legislative elections, the nationalist parliamentary group in the Folkssenaat have also agreed to support each other's campaigns and present a united front to maximise their votes. If division in the Folkssenaat increases it is inevitable a deal will have to be struck with these parties, whether that be independence referendums or more autonomy remains to be seen.

Comments [ 12251 ] |

E-mail
© DTRT Group 2022

by **Union of Akoren** » Thu Apr 28, 2022 6:42 am

Kurt Volker - 28 April 2022

Home · Kesselbourg · The Continent · The World · Policy · Opinion · Features · Newsletters · Continental Pro

Head of Zorasani Army: “We could seize Adunis within weeks”

File photo: Marshal of the Union Khamshad Radan made the statement in a speech to cadets

Marshal of the Union Khamshad Radan, the chief of the army staff and Central Committee member told cadets at a prestigious academy, “if the order is given, I am certain that our 3rd Banner Army together with the Shimorgh Corps could seize the holy city of Adunis within weeks.” His comments mark the first time a senior political and military figure has directly referenced a potential intervention in the civil war-torn country to Zorasan’s north.

The head of the Zorasani Land Forces was addressing cadets at the prestigious Sardar Javad Jahandar Academy in Zahedan when he said, “there is a degree of momentum toward a universal realisation that the events and conflict in Tsabara cannot sustain itself. The level of brutality and inhumanity showed by the criminal regime in Adunis towards its people cannot be sustained. As ever we must remain prepared and vigilant, should the day of decisive justice come.”

He warned, “perhaps the day will inevitably come that the order is given, that the Union and its forces are charged with the preservation of human life and dignity. If such an order is given, if the order is given, I am certain our 3rd Banner Army, together with the Shimorgh Corps could seize the holy city of Adunis within weeks. We would bask in the glow of victory and raise the victory banner over the burning ruins of the Atudite-Sotirian army.”

Marshal Radan has long been seen as a Zorasani hawk, promoting and pushing what he describes as a “durability through assertiveness” he is also one of many senior officers in the Zorasani military who believe the country’s security rests upon geopolitical dominance across Rahelia and to a lesser extent Bahia. He is also a well known anti-Euclea hawk, who has tied the Tsabaran Civil War to a false belief of Euclean “neo-imperialism.”

His words mark the first time a member of the senior levels of the Zorasani government has directly spoke of an intervention. It does however lend credence to widespread concerns over the change in tone of state media operations as well as a defined assertiveness within the new leadership, which took power last November.

James Murray, a prominent analyst at SPT Analytics in Morwall said, “what could cause further concern is this May, when the Annual Revolutionary Command Congress is held. During this time, they will review ministerial reports and the records of other government bodies, this will provide an opportunity for State President Rahim Ali Haftar and First Minister Gafur Qahor to replace sitting ministers and officers. We could very much witness the Command Congress essentially reshuffle the entire Zorasani government and to the hardline right of the party.”

The ruling National Renovation Front opting to fill up government positions with ideological hardliners is seemingly likely according to other reports and sources in both the Estmerish and Gaullican Foreign Ministries.

In a recent interview on UCTV, Hamid Abdullah, the Chairman of the Central Party Secretariat said, “it is likely that the Front at the Command Congress will decide to move the Front’s central authority to reflect the positions of the national leadership. It is important that the Front operate effectively, efficiently, and unitedly on all matters.”

This may well lead to further tensions between the EC and Zorasan.

by **Nuvania** » Thu Apr 28, 2022 8:12 pm

In and out by Jashne? Behera begins withdrawal from Yemet
Behera claims victory despite no clear military or strategic successes

29 April 2022 · Written by: Jim Wickham

A column of trucks allegedly belonging to the Beheran Army.

Late Thursday evening, breaking news banners flashed across the bottom of television screens across Behera announcing that an important announcement was about to be made. This was followed by a cut to state or private television newsrooms where a television anchor read out the following statement:

"Children of Allah, the Lion of Rahelia has roared, and our enemies have been vanquished from the battlefield. Our brave sons, fathers, and brothers are victorious in their exploits and have driven the enemy away! Our beautiful homeland is safe from evildoers. We thank you, Allah, for blessing us with this wonderful victory and we pray to you to ensure the safe return of our wonderful sons, fathers, and brothers."

The statement was followed by the playing of the national anthem with footage from the conflict showing celebrating soldiers, drone footage, artillery guns firing, as well as stock reels from military parades and exercises.

On radio, a much more common media medium in Behera, programming and music cut out and the same statement that was read out by television news anchors was read out, seemingly prerecorded.

Newspapers this morning were all emblazened with the same word on the front page: nasr, Rahelian for victory. Crowds had been filmed gathering in the street outside the building housing the Ministry of Defence chanting and shouting pro-government slogans. News cameras and social media accounts and influencers were all present, engaging in the apparent festivities or recording what was happening.

But in the perceived or genuine jubilation of achieving what the government is claiming as a victory, one crucial aspect had been ignored: the safe return of Beheran soldiers fighting in Yemet. The announcement coming on the back of a coup d'etat that had overthrown Retta Iskinder three days ago is suspect to most people paying attention to the Yemeti conflict, but for most Beherans on the streets of Amassine and in other major urban centres, little news of the forced change of government in Girota filtered through. Most would likely believe the Emergency Council for the Restoration of National Unity, the ethnically Gero militia that formed to fight the central government, and whose existence was regarded by authorities in Amassine as a threat to Beheran security interests and thus prompted Behera's intervention, has been completely wiped out. Indeed, state media news reports spoke of continuous territorial gains and destruction of enemy positions. Few would know that the ECRNU and the new central government in Girota have aligned themselves, and the People's National Liberation Army of Yemet has reincorporated ECRNU units back into its control. Even fewer would dare speak about this inconvenient truth publicly.

For Amassine and for Sharifi himself, the coup in Yemet is very much a blessing. It's intervention had ground to a halt, and it had begun a transition from heavy units to small, fast moving units using technicals, trucks, and light armoured vehicles, something which was more suited to the flat scrublands of the wider Gonda River Basin and northwestern Yemet than the armoured formations that stormed into the country back in January. The Beheran military, for all it's superiority in equipment and training, failed to achieve a tactical or strategic victory against the ECRNU despite air support from Zorasan; Terasa remained in ECRNU hands in the face of superior firepower possessed by the Beheran armoured and motorised formations attempting to encircle or enter the city. Earlier reports suggested that Beheran losses have amounted to close to 200 main battle tanks, another 200-250 armoured combat vehicles, 16 fixed-wing combat aircraft, 26 helicopters, and between 1,500 and 4.,500 personnel. These are believed to not have increased substantially since the previous report, but still represent losses the Beheran military can ill afford, at least not until it's integration, reequipping, and retraining of existing militias is completed. Faced with these losses and the potential for Beheran Army and Air Force units to engage in a costly conventional war with the PNLAY, Amassine has adopted a prudent measure of withdrawing back across the border.

The blessing comes in the form of Sharifi having one less thing to concern himself with; the lack of direct military involvement in Yemet will undoubtedly free him up to engage in further diplomatic efforts to prevent a conflict breaking out between Nise and Sohar, two countries which Behera has good relations with, and the latter upon which a significant amount of its economic survival rests. Furthermore, Sharifi being able to sping the withdrawal as a result from a victory achieved will strengthen his personal standing within the military as well as retain the overwhelming support of the Beheran people.

A withdrawal from Yemet would also prove beneficial for Zorasan as it affirmed a provisional basing agreement with Behera in October last year and entered into high level talks in early November to expand the level of economic and military cooperation between the two countries, something which Behera has no intention of walking away from now according to sources close to the government. With substantial military losses of men and materiel, Behera will have to rely on Zorasan to meet those replacements, especially given it's military expansion which will see militias remoulded into formal frontline armoured and mechanised units. The Beheran Ministry of Defence has reportedly compiled a significant list of equipment for these new divisions as well as additional acquisitions. Behera could also potentially source equipment from outside it's traditional military suppliers; there are unconfirmed rumours officials from the Ministry of Defence went to Shangea and met with representatives from Shangean defence companies in Rongzhuo earlier this year to discuss future weapons systems acquisition. Zorasan itself seeing significant investment opportunities in Behera would want to ensure that it's latest friend in Coius is well supplied and well protected. Whether or not Zorasani forces remain in Yemet post-Iskinder remains to be seen, but for Behera, Zorasan's active presence in both countries will be reassuring to Amassine.

Behera's withdrawal will likely take a few weeks to complete, although it's active presence has been drawn down given it's change in operational tactics. How things will progress will remain to be seen, but it's clear that Behera will likely emerge better organised, better equipped, and much more operationally competent than when it went in.

More from the International Conflict Monitor

Zorasan claims it could take Adunis "within weeks"
How will the coup in Yemet affect the war?
Nise-Sohar dispute: an analysis
Zorasan is gearing up for total war in Tsabara

The International Conflict Monitor is a think tank based in Morwall, that is dedicated to breaking conflict stories, events and providing unique analysis. The ICM hopes to utilise its wide network of sources to establish a greater understanding of human conflict, to then use that knowledge to assist policymakers in conflict resolution.

by **Liecthenbourg** » Fri Apr 29, 2022 9:57 am

Adolfo Canepa - 15th April, 2022

Home · Kesselbourg · The Continent · The World · Policy · Opinion · Features · Newsletters · Continental Pro

EC INSTITUTIONS PREPARING 'WARNINGS' TO PARETIA OVER 'CONCERNS' OF INFRINGEMENTS OF JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE.

Acting EC President Vivien Vallette,
pictured leaving Commission Offices in Kesselbourg.

Kesselbourg City, Kesselbourg - The institutions of the Euclean Community are preparing warnings, measures and legal actions to be taken against the Paretian government, as per the official press release of the Office of the Euclean Community President. The Office of President has been filled in an Acting Manner by Vivien Vallette since the 24th of February, following the hospitalisation of President Nic Ualtair and her subsequent recovery period.

The institutions of the Euclean Community have been in constant communication since the announcement that the Paretian Corruption Investigation Service was tasked to begin an investigation into corruption within the country's High Court and its overseeing Judiciary Council. It comes at a time of increasing threats of a democratic backsliding in Paretia, as an earlier decision from the Paretian High Court saw it side in favour of the government of Touston in a highly controversial decision pertaining to abortion law.

The Euclean Commission is set to issue an announcement to Precea indicating that if the investigation continues that the "threat against Paretian judicial independence" was very much guaranteed, and it would be pursuing legal action at the Euclean level to overturn the Paretian decision as they are "violations of EC law" in line with the conditions and agreements of Euclean Community membership. The announcement serves as the indicator to the Paretian government that a failure to comply will begin a legal court proceeding at the Euclean Community's Supreme Courts.

"It is the politicisation of the judiciary", a spokesperson for the Commission informed the Continental. "To investigation the High Courts for corruption charges is unhealthy for the democratic process and evokes an uncomfortable reality that democratic institutions are under attack not only in Western Euclean countries."

For Acting-President Vivien Vallette this comes at both a troubling an opportune time. With the limited experience of only a few weeks at the helm of the presidency in an acting manner, with the health of President Nic Ualtair on the forefront of many bureaucrats minds, it may have been an absence in the leadership of the Community that some critical of the Paretian government may have accused it of waiting for.

But it presents an opportunity for Vallette to exercise a level of competency, authority and power in the chair of the Community to present a solid case for his own presidential candidacy should such a thing come to happen; as many speculate it might. He has spent much of his time thrust into the spotlight, with the ever-present crises of the Tsabaran Civil War as well as warmer attitudes between states such as Champania and Etruria.

Having visited the Commission earlier today, it is likely Vallette -- who also serves as the Foreign and Global Affairs Commissioner -- has weighed in on his experience within the commission to bring about a stronger and more unified front between the Euclean Institutions against Paretia. At a press conference after the meeting he gave a few words other than "hoping that the attitudes in Percea change swiftly in line with broader Euclean policies and beliefs in accordance to the rule of an independent judiciary".

"Attacking the courts when they do not rule in your favour is not the hallmark of the democratic process," he concluded.

by **Hacyinia** » Sat Apr 30, 2022 6:58 am

NEWS|Military to be deployed into Yoloten says the Khan, PM of Hacyinia
After 11 days of continually escalating conflict, Choch finally takes decisive action.
2022-04-30T 08:36:09Z

Members of the 9th Motor Rifle Brigade begin to deploy to Yoloten.

In a joint announcement made in Choch today, the Khan and the Prime Minister of Hacyinia announce that the military will be deployed into the Yoloten region in an effort to “bring stability to the region.” Citing concerns that the conflict could spill into other regions of Hacyinia, especially after news of various clan networks being activated into organized militia units, the military units being deployed to Yoloten will also be distributing various humanitarian supplies and tasked with organizing the internally displaced persons from the conflict.

The delay in making a decision primarily came from a high-level disagreement on what forces to deploy to the region. Reportedly, the Khan insisted on deploying police forces to the region and vehemently did not want to deploy the military into the region. It took several days of compromise in order for the Khan to agree to deploy the military, with the largest concession made to the Khan a restricted size of military forces being deployed into the area.

The Hacyinian military has notably declined in combat effectiveness since the reunification of the country following the Hacyinian Civil War. Conscripts primarily fill the ranks of the military, with most of the professional soldier class having drained out of the country to find work in a private military company over the past several years. The military has suffered greatly from this “brawn drain” - caused by an effectively gridlocked government with the inability to provide leadership or appropriate funding for the forces. Most of the military’s officer corps are based on political or nepotism based commissions, and the ethnically-diverse army often mirrors the same conflicts going on in the country within their units.

From one source within the country who served several years in the military as a conscript, “It’s segregated at every level. You’re in the same unit with everybody else who speaks the same as you, from the same area as you. It’s almost like a gang fight from within the military. I’ve seen other conscripts get murdered in fights because of fights over ethnicity.”

Some analysts are concerned that the deployment of the largely poorly trained and poorly led military may lead to an escalation of the conflict, rather than a deescalation. After gaining information of which troops are being deployed from open source intelligence agents IntelGoose, analysts specifically state that the 9th Motor Rifle Brigade being deployed into the area may be an issue. Most of the troops within the 9th Motor Rifle Brigade are from the Yoloten region and the brigade is largely composed of a mixture of ethnicities that reflect the region. Analysts state that the 9th Motor Rifle Brigade very well may be the smartest choice and could deescalate, or they may even further accelerate some of the violence in the region by joining in the inter ethnic clashes. The Choch government seems to think that deploying locals from the area may be the stabilizing force the area needs.

In addition, the supplying of humanitarian aid into the region will be a welcome relief to many but will do little to address the root causes of the clashes. International observers familiar with the situation have called for the government to destroy the illegally built irrigation systems that have impacted the ability of the pastoralists to source water for their herds. The same NGOs also state that even if the illegally built irrigation systems were all destroyed, the region would still be at a high risk of further water shortages due to increasing climate change.

Other news we’re monitoring in Coius:
Zorasan - Propaganda machine goes into overdrive
Behera - Claiming victory, they seek a withdrawal from Yemet
Euclea - Increased calls for Euclean reparations to former colonized states
Opinion - Minibusses are great, actually

© Coian Monitor 2022

by **Saul Volcano** » Sun May 01, 2022 3:12 pm

Merçe Cruèselles visits Paretia, becoming the first Champanian Premier to do so
The leader of Champania has become a unique figure with her friendly relations with Etruria against "liberal-functionalism" in the EC, she is the first Premier of Champania to visit Paretia, they discussed their stances on the EC as well as made new agreements
Pasqual Burguera (@PasqualBurgueraRMP) | 30 April 2022 | Precea

Cruèselles during her press conference with Premier Cerqueira

Precea, Luzela: Today Merçe Cruèselles, Premier of Champania, visited Paretia, shortly after her trip to Etruria to meet with the Tribunes and Carcaterra. Cerqueira invited her to visit Paretia to discuss possible relations with Champania. This is the first time a Champanian Premier has visited Paretia, a historic meeting for the two countries.

Cruèselles has come into the spotlight in southern Euclea after she expressed her support for the government of Etruria, against what was called a "liberal-functionalist" attempt to take down the Tribunes. This new friendship between the far-left of Champania and the far-right of Etruria seems to be based upon mutual discontent with the Euclean Community, something of course, Cerqueira shares as well.

Cerqueira expressed graditude with Cruèselles and Champania and chirped about what she called "solarian brotherhood" between Etruria and Champania against the "EC elites". After Cruèselles visited Etruria, Cerqueira invited her to meet with her in Paretia, Cerqueira stated that "There are of course disagreements with Champania on some issues that I have expressed before, but Cruèselles has very much made herself open to dialogue between the patriotic Euclean south and socialist world against the snobbery in Kesselbourg.

Cruèselles arrived earlier today and met with Cerqueira in Precea, being the first Champania Premier to so, she was given a welcome by the government of Paretia. Cerqueira and Cruèselles met at Primavera Palace to discuss mutual feelings on the Euclean Community, which Paretia of course is a member of, but it's government is very distrustworthy towards the Community. The two eventually came to an agreement on student exhange between Champania and Paretia, the first agreement of it's kind between the two nations. That would greatly increase the total number of abroad students between the two countries. This was announced during the press conference.

The two also stated their discussion of the cultural ties between the people of Champania and the Tosuton people, both very closely related ethnic and linguistic groups, Cerqueira announced plans to make the Champanian capitol Brigançon and Encerosa sister cities. They also joked how easily Tosutons can speak to Champanians, Cerqueira, who does not speak Barrois, but speaks Tosuton, stated that she could clearly understand her language.

Cerqueira and Cruèselles also made another travel agreement between Champania and Paretia, similar to the one made with Etruria. Cerqueira announced opening of flights between Paretian cities including Precea, Encerosa, Mausoleu, Ocerto, and Burgo Coroa to Brigançon. They also announced an opening of trade links through air between Paretia and Champania. This is considered to be the most open Paretia has ever been with the socialist Champanian government, which historically the two had never gotten along.

During the press conference where they announced the new agreements, Cerqueira stated "I am glad to become the first Premier of Paretia to welcome a Champanian Premier to Precea, we are more than happy to continue open dialogue with the Champanian government on any issue, even where there is not common ground. Like Etruria, we Paretians and Champania stand together against Euclo-liberal elites in their active moves to undermine sovereignty of nations across the continent. Self-determination is important for any nation's freedom, and we are glad to see our cultural relatives in Etruria and Champania understand this."

Cruèselles stated "I thank Cerqueira for invited me here, it is great to begin to bring about a relationship with the nation of Paretia. We can transcend ideology differences here, we both believe in the importance of the nation's independence from foreign controllers, in this case liberal-functionalism that has not been happy with nations like Etruria's independence from their palms."

Champania, despite it's far-left government, has made itself a close ally to the right-wing in Etruria. It distanced itself from other socialist states who were said to have supported the instability inside Etruria, including Arthasthan.

Of course this is a historic meeting for both nations, since the foundation of socialist Champania the two had always been at odds ideologically and geopolitically. This appears, like in Etruria, to be a new relationship for Champania and Paretia and the beginning of future dialogue between the two countries.

LIKE or SHARE
Public Media Network of Paretia

In Other News:
COIUS - Yemet Coup
PARETIA - Cerqueira considers looking to Soravia in light of oil price crisis
EUCLEA - EC officials warn Paretia over SIC investigation
ASTERIAS - Emeraude protests in support of passing genocide recognition
COIUS - Lavana and Senria strengthen ties

REPLY | LIKE | DISLIKE

230 Comments

by **Union of Akoren** » Mon May 02, 2022 3:08 pm

Zorasanis turn out to celebrate Great Labourer Day
Country comes together to celebrate the nation's workers and farmers as Central Committee restores Workers Committees across private and state sectors
POLITICS by Abdullah al-Mosawi

01 May 2022 | 11. Ordibehesht 2343

Zorasanis celebrating Great Labourer Day in Zahedan.

Tens of thousands of Zorasanis across the Union have come out in celebration of Great Labourer Day, with mass rallies, musical events and parades taking place across all Union Republics. State President Rahim Ali Haftar praised the Union’s workforce in a televised statement saying, “your hard work, your energy, your drive and your patriotism drives forward our Union, our Revolution and National Renovationism, your patriotic labour continues to build our future and protect our present.”

In Zahedan, a large rally was held for factory workers and miners. Guest speakers who addressed rally-goers from a podium included the Union Ministers for Industry and Development, Mining and Forestry Industries and the State Commissioner for Workers Rights.

At the rally, Union Minister for Industry and Development, Ebrahim Mousavi said, “in our country, we are blessed with Ettehad, we reject the divisions found abroad, where the doctor or the tech savvy kid is lavished with wonder and praise, in our country, the miner and the factory worker is just as precious, just as treasured. Because it is the worker and the miner who built our great nation up from the ruins of colonialism. They are the ones who fuelled the Arduous Revolution and the unification of our homeland. They laid the foundations of our state, so that the doctor and tech savvy kid could find the stability and dynamism needed.”

The Union Minister for Mining and Forestry Industries, Akhtar Ayad praised the mining industry for “unleashed from the earth the means for our country to develop and prosper. Without you, we would not be where are today. Without you, we would not be benefiting from solid growth. The hospitals, schools, colleges and bridges we raise are because of you. You are the vanguard of our revolution; you are the architects of our great rejuvenation and the resurrection of Zorasan. You are heroes to millions of people, and we praise you.”

In Irvadistan UR, Great Labourer Day was dedicated to volunteer workers, who have spent the past two years assisting the 1.8 million displaced Tsabarans residing in the Union Republic. First Minister of Irvadistan, Haidar Abdullah Faheem hosted around 30 volunteer aid workers at the Sadah Palace, where he held a lunch for them. He also awarded all 30 the “Order of Bašariyyat”, the highest civil award for those engaged in medicine, humanitarian work or social services.

As per the annual tradition of “Great Labourer Day”, the Union-Government issued several awards this year to companies and citizens alike.

The copper mine at Zendānchāl received the “Banner of National Renovationist Labour” for exceeding annual quotas by 25%. The mine’s 12,600 workers will receive a ₮8,500 (€542) non-taxable bonus next month and new uniforms bearing the honour will be produced. This is the fourth year in a row that a mine of the Zorasani State Mining Corporation has received the “Banner of National Renovationist Labour.”
The Azdaran Shipyard at Chaboksar won the “Order of Patriotic Productivity” for recording the highest year-on-year productivity increase. The Azdaran Shipyard produced 38 bulk carriers last year, up from 30 the previous year and 26 the year prior to that. The shipyard’s 6,500 workers will receive ₮7,500 (€478) in bonuses next payday. The Azdaran Shipyard is owned by the Fahangard-Shirazi Shipyards Company, one of the fastest growing private entities in Zorasan.

Kuāntom Finance received the “Order of Prosperity”, for ranking as the fastest growing privately-owned company in the nation. Formed in 2013, the financial institution has rapidly expanded annually, starting off with just 10 employees, it now employs over 800 people in Izidhar Al-Mina and Bandar-e Sattari and has become a market leader in marine and aviation insurance. The company will receive ₮11.74m (€750,000) grant from the Union-Government for further development.

And lastly, AmalStar won the “Banner of Technological Innovation”, the tech-startup based in Faidah, Khazestan UR, has been pioneering online learning apps for those without reliable internet or wifi coverage. The apps include courses in reading, writing, languages and some professional qualifications. Backed by the Union Ministry for Education in 2020, the startup has been contracted by the Union Republics of Beshestistan, Ravanistan, Janoubistan, Latifard and Ninevah to provide education opportunities to rural communities. As part of its award, AmalStar will receive ₮23.4m (€1.5m) grant from the Union-Government.

In his televised address to mark Great Labourer Day, State President Rahim Ali Haftar said, “Good day comrades and my fellow sons and daughters of the Union. Today, I express my warmest and most heartfelt good wishes to all our nation’s labourers. Whether they toil in the fields, in the mines, in the factories, in the yards, on the oil platforms, in the refineries or in offices.

“Today, our country comes together to celebrate the men and women who’s toil and labours bears the fruit of our prosperity. We celebrate those often forgotten or missed by modern eyes, for it is in our unity of purpose, our collectivism that builds our nation day by day. To the labouring heroes, your hard work, your energy, your drive and your patriotism drives forward our Union, our Revolution and National Renovationism, your patriotic labour continues to build our future and protect our present.

“On behalf of the Front and all your fellow citizens and comrades, I say thank you. May God bless you and your families, may you continue to do good work by your nation and your state. Zorasan Zendebad.”

To mark this year’s Great Labourer Day, the Central Committee has enacted a policy mandating the return of Worker Committees across all industrial and financial companies, private and state-owned alike. The Worker Committees would be charged with “organising and executing in-house policies aimed at promoting social cohesiveness, happiness as well as seminars and lectures on National Renovationism and the importance of the labourer within the greater society of the Union.”

OTHER STORIES

Aucuria - In pictures: Aucuria's 2022 general election underway
Aucuria - Petrochemical sector grows amidst Zorasani invasion of Tsabara
Champania - What's driving Merce Crueselles's "horseshoe alliance"?
Aucuria - Runanca town in Chucisaca fears proposed mine will contaminate water
Paretia - EC prepares warning as Paretia continues targeting its judiciary

by **Nuvania** » Wed May 04, 2022 5:56 am

The Disappearing Act: Is the Chief Minister Hiding From International Diplomacy?

SHARE

Samuel Hofmeyr, Professor of Political Science at the University of Pietersburg and political analyst for Die Vrystaat (@SamHof)
May 4 (1:00pm)|PIETERSBURG

OPINION: Yesterday, Aucurians voted to re-elect incumbent President Žygimantas Barauskas in what is being touted as a landmark election in Aucurian politics, as previously no President had been able to win re-election in Aucuria since it's return to democracy over four decades ago.

Perhaps crucial to this election was the high profile diplomatic spat with Etrurian President Francesco Carcaterra that helped him, and his party, win the unprecedented reelection. Importantly, it demonstrated Aucuria's rise as Asteria Inferior's secondary diplomatic power.

That rise should concern everyone in Pietersburg, not because it directly threatens us or our interests abroad, but because it reflects a loss of prestige and decline of Nuvanian diplomatic power that has been continuing for the better part of a decade, or at least accelerated since the government attempted to make amends for the gaffes and the controversies initiated under the auspices of Robert Marten, the Chief Minister most of the voting population wishes to have collective amnesia about.

If Marten's tendency to engage in target practice with his own two feet, metaphorically speaking (although I wouldn't put it passed him in a literal sense either, Marten is well known for his collection of 19th century revolvers and double-barrel shotguns), then perhaps our incumbent Chief Minister's broader reticence to engage in, or even comment, on affairs beyond Nuvania seems to be a step in the opposite direction, and one that perhaps isn't to our benefit. Replacing someone who may have more firearms than sense with someone who makes a mouse look as courageous is a lion is, perhaps, not our best elective decision.

That's not to say he hasn't had a foray into commenting overseas; he did endorse Estmerish Prime Minister Zoe Halivar via Chirper in the leadup to the 2021 general election and was reprimanded for doing so. He also supported diplomatic initiatives to condemn Chistovodia at the Community of Nations for using the response to the 2020 eruption of Mount Micchiano to move significant naval assets into the West Arucian Sea, among various other allegations made. This too failed, primarily because Chistovodia vetoed it at the vote. The defeat of Resolution 88.76 was a particular blow because it was a joint venture between Aucuria, Satucin, and our own diplomats that seemingly sealed the former as the premier diplomatic powers within the wider Asterian south.

To be clear, that resolution deserved to fail, and I wrote a column about why it deserved to fail. But this failure, nonetheless, did have an impact on the willingness for Bohn to engage further on the international diplomatic scene. Indeed, the reprimand he received for his endorsement of Halivar later in the year pretty much confirmed what he likely suspected; his presence internationally wasn't wanted and was entirely detrimental to Nuvania's standing among the community of nations.

Bohn's reticence to further engage in overseas commentary is somewhat justified, diplomatically there is little that Nuvania can do beyond over intangible solidarity or expand aid contributions, but also because there's little work it can do to directly influence the outcome of world affairs, even more so now Nuvania's international reputation continues to be tainted by the Marten government. But what discussions and affairs that have cropped up in recent weeks within the wider Asterias is what Bohn, and many others in the white political establishment in Nuvania, would rather avoid discussing: reparations for the mistreatment of blacks and indigenous peoples at the hands of colonial authorities. Nuvania has its own history of racial injustice and discrimination, culminating in the nearly four decade struggle of the Direct Action Movement which became a protracted armed insurgency, one in which one half of the political spectrum was actively complicit in perpetuating, while the other engaged in non-violent, often fruitless, academic resistance. While whether or not the Direct Action Movement truly changed Nuvanian society and the attitudes within it, the talk of reparations would almost certainly be something Bohn and others will refuse to comment on, lest it provokes a wider reaction within Nuvania's own substantial black and indigenous communities.

If the uncomfortable truth stones of our past are being left unturned by the white political establishment as a means of preserving any credibility left at a political level isn't prompting Bohn to hideaway in the deepest recesses of the Parliament buildings, then certainly the fact that he seems deeply uninterested in any real foreign policy initiatives is. Bohn has been labelled by many in political circles as a policy wonk, someone who is more interested in creating the means of solving pertinent social and economic issues than actually implementing them. He has been, and still is, very busy in actually crafting the government response to the effects of the Micchiano eruption, and to his credit, has done a brilliant job in moderating the effects of a near banking crisis and the bursting of the largest property bubble in Nuvania's history. While Nuvania's economic recovery may be primarily driven by a massive public works program that has turned the recovery from a V to a K, his policies have meant that most of the worst predictions provided by the State Treasury and the Reserve Bank have not come to fruition.

The problem is that being a policy wonk doesn't translate well into an office that requires someone become a jack-of-all-trades; someone who is willing to offer some comment on international events even if it's just a basic approval or condemnation. While Bohn did offer both Barauskas and Chancellor Petras Uspelevičius his congratulations on their re-election, nothing much has come from him. Indeed, there are a not insignificant number of people in intellectual and political circles within Pietersburg were hoping for a renewed and closer relationship with Kalnaspilis, something which so far hasn't transpired. Ultimately, Bohn's preference for policy work and domestic affairs has meant that he has put foreign policy on the backburner.

If you've managed to get this far, good. You've finally reached the point. Foreign policy is as important as domestic policy; it determines who we trade with and who our friends are. Importantly, foreign policy is crucial for building up influence and prestige. Both go hand-in-hand, as influence allows countries to engage in positive diplomacy and prestige allows countries to become centres of said diplomacy. Nuvania's position as one of the more important nations in Asteria Inferior hasn't quite diminished completely; Nuvania's economy is still the second largest on the continent and it still has the second largest population, meaning one of the largest markets for goods and services. But it is declining diplomatically, and unfortunately for Bohn, his focus on domestic policies will see Nuvania's diplomatic influence and prestige diminish even further, and that is something that cannot be allowed to happen.

Bohn may or may not be consciously hiding from the international stage, but the world needs more people like him in it.

OTHER OPINON

Pieter de Venter: The reparations debate and what it means for Nuvania
Stuart Carlson: Is the minibus meme a sign of Euclean chauvinism?
Rebecca Andrews: Will Pietersburg finally align with Kalnaspilis?
Maisie Hattersley: It's time to talk about periods in sports
Sophie Kennedy: How to stay hydrated in the dry season

by **Etruria2** » Thu May 05, 2022 5:52 am

Government announces plan to block porn sites

The Chamber was receptive to the proposal.

The government has announced its intention yo find ways to block online porn sites from being accessible anywhere in the country. Deputy President Vittoria Vasari told the Chamber, “we must tackle this vile industry that has warped minds and damaged our young people, whose concepts of relationships and marriage are far from safe.”

Following the nationalisation of TelEtruria, the country’s largest telecommunications company, the government announced earlier its keenness to “shut down the elements of the online world that have negative impacts on society.” With the country’s internet infrastructure under state ownership, the government has many ways of blocking pornographic sites.

During this morning’s session of the Chamber of Representatives, Deputy President Vittoria Vasari made the pitch for the move. She is reportedly one of the strongest advocates for the move within the federal cabinet.

She told senators, “on the matter of pornography, there are no positives. It has an adverse effect upon people, especially young people. It warps their view of women mostly, but also relationships and how they themselves behave. We know, courtesy of the education authorities that our schools across Etruria are suffering from problems relating to this.”

She further said, “that is why, in the aim of protecting of children, our sons and daughters, the government is officially declaring its intent to find suitable ways to block and shutdown access to pornographic sites across the country. Naturally, we will wish to do this in a way to deters technological loopholes and back doors. We will consult with the necessary experts and later explain our plan to the Chamber.”

According to a government memo distributed to senators during the session, the government will seek a court order to protect its moves. The government moving forward may pass legislation mandating service providers ban a predetermined list of sites or it may take individual action through Teletruria.

The government’s proposal made many references to a report published by the National Standards in Education Commission, regarding the terrifying rise of sexual assault, and sexualised behaviour among young people, overwhelmingly among 12-16 year old boys. The NSEC reported that the national school system had dealt with over 2,000 instances of images and videos of a sexual nature being sent between pupils, while the number of cases of girls being assaulted had risen by 13% on 2020’s figures.

At the reports publishing, the Federal Ministries for Education and Internal Affairs announced plans for a coordinated response. Last year the government introduced mandatory police referrals for all sexual related incidents in schools regardless of nature. This was followed by the toughening of punishments over sexual rhetoric.

The deputy President said, “as a mother I fear for our children. Online, they are free to view whatever excesses there are. This is not just about protecting our daughters, our sons need protecting also. We cannot have a society in which pornography is seen as the baseline of how relationships work.”

The proposal reportedly even has the backing of the SD. Leader Chiara Mastromarino, responding by raising her arms in shock said, “my god, the government has finally found some responsibility. I am impressed, and this proposal has our full backing.”

Other news

Etrurian warplane damaged over Tsabara

BREAKING Missile strike reported near Tabbessa, Tsabara

Zorasani ambassador summoned over Cavalieri sanctions

SD leader in Novalia under pressure over parents history

EC on manoeuvres against Paretia

by **Chemensia** » Thu May 05, 2022 1:33 pm

Alessandro Ferreira - 1 May 2022

The Magadi Region - Tiwura's Forgotten War

TAF patrol outside of Mugirango

Omamiri, Tiwura - While the world watched Yemet's civil war continue to rage as Zorasani forces intervene and refugees flee a similar conflict has been going on for around a half a century just to the north. In southwestern Tiwura exists the semi-autonomous Magadi Region, home to around 4 million people. Originally a Gaullican colony, it would later be transferred to Estmere following the Great War, but what about the region would drive it into a conflict that has been going on since the late 1960s?

The Magadi was always different from the rest of the Tiwuran provinces. The first differences is that it is partially Gaullophone, originally being a Guallican colony. Today, though, this Gaullican-speaking population is but a small minority in the most Catholic regions. However, unlike the Catholics in the neighboring regions to the east, these "Ade Catholics" share a certain affinity for the Gaullican language. Many strong Ade Catholics share a similar dislike towards Estmere and the Tiwuran government, believing them to be but a puppet of Estmere. anti-Estmerish and Ade Catholic activist Abraham Mwangi once said that "the language we had spoken in the Magadi was the language that taught us our faith, and for Estmere and the Royal Coast colonial government to try and wipe it away from us is a crime". Mwangi would attempt to join other anti-colonial leaders in the National Independence Movement of the Royal Coast, or NIMORC. Mwangi was denied after he offered up the idea of an autonomous Magadi and and an autonomous Ouloumia, which led to him forming the Catholic Society of Buholaux. Upon independence the CSB was targeted by the Tiwuran government which claimed it would perform acts of violence against Irfani Magadians. This would lead to Mwangi's arrest in 1952 and the Nyamirra riots that followed. Mwangi would be released in 1955 and he immediately began to pull large crowds in the eastern Magadi. That same year President Chinwe would deploy 2,000 soldiers to the Magadi in order to retain peace. Chinwe, not wanting civil war, would invite Mwangi to his palace where the two worked out an agreement to give the Magadi autonomy under his rule. This led to a friendly relationship between the Ade people and the Tiwuran government as MIRIF would arise in the First Civil War, giving both groups a common enemy to fight. This Gaullophone conflict would not rise again until the 1990s and 2000s when the resurgence of MIRIF in the region would lead Ade Catholics to take up arms, believing the Tiwuran government to useless in helping them, eventually forming the ADS which operates in the Ade Catholic regions of the Magadi.

However, the largest rebel group in the Magadi is not the ADS, but MIRIF. Their story begins with First Tiwuran Civil War, when former military officer Hassan Dwombé would return home. Throughout the Bulamu War only a few years earlier Dwombé would be radicalized by books he read on his own time, in particular those related to Mahrdad Ali Sattari. He would take upon the belief of political Irfan and form MIRIF, a rebel group that would appose both the Tiwuran military and the TPU socialists. Dwombé and MIRIF would retain most the Magadi throughout the war, but would have trouble controlling the Catholic eastern Magadi. When Reese Ndulu's army launched their attack against the Magadi MIRIF would fall back to the border and many would go into hiding around Lake Magadi. Dwombé would be captured and executed by the Tiwurans and led to the beginning of an insurgency across the Magadi, and even in the other Irfanic regions of Tiwura. MIRIF would have periods of resurgence across the next five decades. After their shortlived alliance with the rebels during the Second Civil War, MIRIF was reinvigorated and would launch attacks on the weak new government and expand their territory. This advance would end in 2007 when Tiwuran troops launched massive counterattacks pushing them once again to the Yemeti border. In 2013 a second attempt would be made and quickly quashed. MIRIF, on the brink of absolute defeat, would form an unlikely alliance with their former greatest enemy, the ADS, forming MIRIF-ADS in 2018. This shaky alliance split the Tiwuran counterattack and stopped them from advancing further without suffering huge casualties.

The last resurgence is what we see today, as the Yemeti Civil War has allowed rebel forces to move in and out of porous borders with ease, and the supposed support of MIRIF by Zorasan has led to many believing this war will only grow larger as long as Zorasani troops stand within Yemet. The ADS has also had their fair share of benefits, as they have made good friends with the ARPF across the border and allowed their retreating forces to join them. This has also led to the alliance becoming much weaker as MIRIF and ADS leaders interests conflict more and more every day.

There is some evidence that this may be the case. On May 3rd, TAF officials reported that MIRIF forces has been making gains within the past three weeks and that their deployed forces in the region were unprepared for these attacks. One official, Colonel Mustafa Etienam, has reportedly told Tiwuran newspapers that "my men are lacking ammo, some being forced to fall back thirty miles away from the enemy as our supplies are simply not arriving". These reports have yet to be corroborated by many Tiwuran news outlets, but the events of the past few weeks have suggested the TAF forced in the Magadi are experiencing substantially more trouble than what has been seen in the past three years. These advances by MIRIF and the ADS mean something, whether it is a lack of supplies for TAF forces or a boost by Zorasani support, there is no clear answer as of yet, but these pushes by rebels might lead to a rebirth in the Magadi conflict that has not been seen since the 90s.

Comments [ 786 ] |

E-mail

by **Saul Volcano** » Thu May 05, 2022 1:42 pm

Socal Democrats leader Esmeralda Falcão announces she will be leaving her position
Falcão was the second-longest serving leader of the party after founder Julío Pires, she says party will have an election for successor
Maria Fonte (@mariafonte) | 5 May 2022 | Precea

Falcão will stay leader until the elections are complete

Precea, Luzela: Today Esmeralda Falcão, leader of the Social Democrats, announced that she plans on leaving her position as leader of the party after serving 11 years. Falcão is the second-longest serving leader of the party after it's founder, former Premier Julío Pires, who served as leader twice for a total of 19 years from the 1970s to 1990s.

She lead the party after winning an election that deposed leader Leovaldo Damasceno from the position in 2011, her leadership currently sees the longest continuous drought from leading the government in the party's history. Which it has not been able to form a government since 2011, this was mainly due to the center, sotirian democrats, center-right, and right-wing forming coalitions under former Premier Vasco Gonçalves, although loosely united and considered ineffective. Further, the 2021 snap election cemented a united right-wing government, despite a growth in the SD's size. Falcão lead a shift in the party's focus towards economic policy over social policy, unlike former Premier and leader Felipe Pascoal's agenda. Falcão before entering politics was a lawyer that represented unions in labour cases and became the leading member of the labour oriented wing of the party.

Falcão said in her speech that she will endorse a candidate, many speculate this will likely be her Deputy leader Paulo Bracamonte, who has been considered her biggest ally in the party, Bracamonte is a major leader of the party's labour agenda and had known Falcão for over two decades. Other members in the party that will likely be considered for the position include the other party Deputy leader, Carolina Belo, who is considered a leader in the party's Euclean Community relations and is also a friend of Premier Pires.

Despite these two's high-ranking party positions and close relations with party leaders, they are not the favorites in the candidacy for party leader. The most popular name in the race is Tosuton Regional Premier Talia Caselles, who is also the leader of the Tosuton wing of the Social Democrats, she has made a name for herself since the beginning of the Patron League government. She notibly was the leader in the Tosuton bill to curb the LP's Women's Cultural Reform Bills from banning abortion in the jurisdiction of Tosutonia, which was challenged in the High Courts, Caselles came out on top against the LP challenge, which is likely the biggest blockage to their agenda since entering power, and the biggest win for the opposition. This has given her popularity among the party members and she is currently the leading choice.

Other candidates include Congressman Martín Nevarez, who served as Foreign Minister under Felipe Pascoal, and Assemblywoman Rosita Sosa Reis, one of Falcão's largest critics within the party. Some even want Julío Pires to return to politics and lead the party.

Falcão announced that the party will likely hold the vote within the coming weeks. In the latest poll, Caselles leads at 46%, among the Tosuton members of the party she is extremely popular, when the poll is split apart amongst the constituent kingdoms, among Tosuton Social Democrats she polls at over 90%.

LIKE or SHARE
@ MOMENTO 2021

In Other News:
COIUS - Behera starts withdrawal from Yemet
PARETIA - SIC to continue Court investigation
EUCLEA - Etruria plans to ban porn sites
ASTERIAS - Social Democrats win in Aucuria
PARETIA - LP-led Esmeira and Visega pass further abortion bans

230 Comments

My Last.fm · by **West Kirkon** » Thu May 05, 2022 10:13 pm

Mariya Nazarivna - 5 May 2022

Home · Vinalia · Asteria · International · Politics · Finance · Sports · Entertainment · Health · Travel · Weather · Opinion

Omelyan Pavlov gives Separation day speech on the threat of Antibiotic resistant bacteria.

antibiotic-resistant MRSA superbug.

Vinalinsk

Minister-President Omelyan Pavlov dedicated his Separation Day speech to the threat of “Superbugs” to Vinalia. Superbugs do not refer to any bugs but instead to a type of Antibiotic resistant bacteria. Experts prefer “multidrug-resistant bacteria” to Superbugs, but the term is more easily recognizable to the general public. Superbugs are bacteria that have developed an antibiotic resistance to numerous types of antibiotic, making them hard to kill. Omelyan Pavlov made this issue and Vinalia’s own role in the discovery and development of Antibiotics.

Ostap Martiukhin is a name many Vinalians don’t know, in fact a 2019 poll indicated that solely 47% of Vinalians knew who he was and 33% why he was known. Martiukhin is most well known for winning a Foirbeis Award in 1952 for the discovery of the antibiotic Streptomycin. Streptomycin works by preventing the successful creation of proteins essential for Bacterial survival, its applications are most well known in treating Tuberculosis, becoming the first antibiotic to counter the deadly disease. Martiukhin however made his discovery in Rizealand, a country he had been living in since 1910, after arriving in Rizealand he visited the country a total of 5 times, the last time in 1958. Pavlov indicated that the groundbreaking discovery of Streptomycin has been countered by the misuse of antibiotics, which have led to numerous bacteria developing resistance to the Antibiotic.

Misuse of antibiotics is the greatest contributor to Superbugs, and is a real danger to patients. Casseria Hrjacova a 14 year old girl from Morechia died on March 2022 in Morechia Children Hospital after she was infected by Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during a visit to a Chistovodian border town where she scraped her knee in a playground. Within a week of her visit, she was taken to the hospital, and died 25 days later. MRSA is a major threat both in Vinalia and abroad, with thousands of cases each year and dozens of deaths. Although Casseria contracted the disease in Chistovodia, Pavlov raised that Vinalia suffers from one of the highest rates of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the Asterias, due to the misuse of antibiotics. With individuals having near unrestricted access to antibiotics until 2018, when a law was passed that banned the sale of Antibiotics without a doctor's order. However Pavlov stated that the move was too late, and that today antibiotic misuse continues.

Pavlov called on patients to be more patient with treatment, and to be less insistent on receiving antibiotic treatment when it is not necessary. He also stated that individuals not taking their entire prescriptions are the primary cause of antibiotic resistance. He also called on the medical establishment to be more careful when prescribing antibiotics, and to consider the effects each prescription does. Pavlov also stated that Pharmacological companies were moving away from developing antibiotics as an appeal to increase profit, rather than for moral reasons. Stating the need to ramp up discovery of new antibiotics to prevent cases like Casseria’s.

Although the speech was not expected for this occasion, it gives the Minister-President an opportunity to reach more people than a regular speech could. The Minister-President wanted to specify how dangerous the situation is, and how it could prove a major health challenge for this administration and others to come.
[/size]

Comments [ 39,516 ] |

E-mail
Бп United Media 2022

11,526 comments

MORE HEADLINES

Here's how Vinalians celebrated Separation Day. [ 28,511 ]
Armadillo Air is latest airline to see an increase in fares. [ 14,211 ]
Viral video shows two men fighting in Velkarichka Gas station. [ 13,911 ]
Social Democrats claim reelection in Aucurian election. [ 13,726 ]
This week in 123,925,391,005,391,135,859 Photos. [ 10,959 ]
Opinion: Did you fart? [ 9,782 ]

by **Deblar** » Fri May 06, 2022 11:49 am

NARPANESE GENOCIDE BILL DEBATED ON IN THE SENATE
Arguments for and against the bill have been made over the past week

SHARE:

René Beaumont (@RenéBeaumontET )
^{5 May 2022 | Port-au-Grégoire, Île d'Émeraude}

Senator Lorette Abel, author of the bill, arguing in its favor on the Senate floor

Port-au-Grégoire, Île d'Émeraude -
The sage of the Narapanese Genocide Acknowledgement Act continues, as we move into the first full week of debate on the bill since it was added to the Senate agenda. Arguments for and against the bill have been made in earnest, and Lorette Abel, the author of the bill, has been one of- if not the- most vocal Senators in this debate period, as she argues in favor of the bill.

As part of her arguments for the bill, she remarked "Disease was not the only culprit in the deaths of innocent Narapanese natives; the Gaullican settlers played a huge role that cannot be denied. Men were castrated, girls were taken as comfort women, and children were stolen from their parents. In some cases mass torture was implemented as well. And these only name a few atrocities. This was widespread, and as they suffered, the colonial government sat back and watched, doing nothing to stop it, and thereby directly encouraging it. This was clearly a genocide, and it's time we recognized it as such."

Arguments against the bill were also made, most notably by Senator Bruno Fosse, Nationalist Party Senate Leader. In his arguments, he stated "Burning bridges does not serve justice. It will only cause more hurt than harm. To think that causing irreparable damage to our relations with our mother country of Gaullica would in any way help the effected Narapanese and their descendants is childish naivety."

The bill itself, and the controversy surrounding it, have caught the attention of much of the world. In Imagua, the Indigenous Affairs Minister expressed support for tabling a bill similar to our own that would demand reparations from Etruria, though the Imaguan Prime Minister has shot down that proposition for the time being. In
Sainte-Chloé, a reporter was removed from a press conference for harassing their Premier when she deflected a question on international affairs, which implies at least a partial relation to the controversial NGAA. Discussion has been spurred in Gaullica as well, though most talk has been against reparations. It even caught the attention of Gaullican President Monique Degar-Abdulrashid, who said "We are sorry for the devastation wrought on by the settlement of the Île d'Émeraude.", but reiterated that "Gaullica's responsibilities to its former colonial holdings include assisting in sustainable development through our foreign aid fund. Reparations are not part of that plan."

When asked his thoughts in a press conference, President Benjamin Claude stated "We do appreciate the apology, but simple apologies don't do nearly enough to serve justice. In this day and age, words and empty platitudes are not what are needed; what is need is action." When asked about the bill itself, he commented "Debate as long as necessary, but don't waste time; I want that bill on my desk and ready to sign as soon as possible."

Demonstrations in favor of the bill have filled downtown Port-au-Grégoire for the past week as well, with most concentrated near the Gaullican embassy. These demonstrations have remained peaceful, with people chanting "Pey ye" (Emeraudian Creole phrase meaning literally "pay up" in Estmerish), singing protest songs, holding up signs with messages supporting the NGAA, and many marching around downtown. Local police has kept a close eye on proceedings, and have made extra sure the embassy remains safe for the embassy staff inside, but have not intervened otherwise, and most protests seem to not have acknowleged the presence of police.

While debate continues, it is notable that no one has yet called for a vote on the bill, though it is expected for that to change once the Senate reconvenes on Monday. If Lorette Abel and many of the bill's supporters have their way, the bill, which could have the biggest impact on Emeraudian foreign relations since independence was granted in 1952, will pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Claude. Uncertainty hangs over Port-au-Grégoire as the bill's voyage is carefully monitored, and there is no doubt big implications are in play for the bill's passing- or rejection. However it ends, the world watches eagerly.

Comments [1535] |

E-mail

louduboisfan34· 33 min ago
unbased Imagua
225 up · 24 down
REPLY · UPVOTE · DOWNVOTE

emeraudiangaurdian· 1h ago
enough talk, time to pass the bill
188 up · 26 down
REPLY · UPVOTE · DOWNVOTE

OTHER NEWS
- Social Democrats earn victory in Aucuria; what it means for the future of our neighbor
- Rwizikuru begins "peacekeeping mission" in Yemet as Behera heads for the exits
- Vinalian President gives Seperation Day remarks on antibiotic-resistant bacteria; Emeraudian Ministry of Health expresses interest in "aiding our neighbor in any capacity needed"
- Etruruia targets porn sites, seeks to "tackle this vile industry that has warped minds and damaged our young people"
- Opinion: If Gaullica truly wants to shed the aura of it's imperial past, it must pay reparations

by **Nuvania** » Fri May 06, 2022 7:32 pm

Is the minibus meme a sign of Euclean chauvinism?

SHARE

Stuart Carlson (@StuartCarlson)
May 4 (1:00pm)|PIETERSBURG

OPINION: On April 23, a Takahashi Quantum minibus carrying sixteen people was hit by a delivery truck running a red light at the intersection of King Edward Road and Faulkner Street in central Windstrand. Four people would die, and eight more would be injured. Witnesses reported a "river of blood" coming from the stricken minibus, which had been carrying two extra passengers beyond the maximum twelve stated seating capacity. Many of those that were not already dead were seriously injured and trapped when the bus flipped onto its side from the force of the impact. The delivery truck itself nearly causing further damage when it narrowly missed several parked cars, coming to a rest in the middle of King Edward Road. The driver, visibly shaken, was helped to the side by shocked onlookers who had witnessed one of the most serious crashes to have ever occurred in central Windstrand.

Sadly, the crash became a footnote at the bottom of most articles on major Nuvanian news websites. The first mention, and the one that apparently garnered most attention, came from the NBCNews.com article about a rise in dengue fever cases in Etten and Kanaän. It remained a footnote until an opinion column in the Coian Monitor appeared the following day, which queried as to whether or not minibuses were the solution they thought they were. The opinion column no longer exists, taken down by Coian Monitor after only a few hours online. But the damage was already done; social media began appearing with memes about minibus accidents across Nuvania and, indeed, across many developing countries. The misery and suffering of those who survived them, the families of the deceased, and those who witnessed them or dealt with the aftermath. Turning tragedy into a meme, as a means of mocking those living in developing countries, is not only sickening, it is a form of chauvinism that can only come from the entitled attitudes of those living in Euclea; where the trains run on time and, apparently, no one ever dies while commuting from, or to, work.

For millions of working people around the world, a crowded minibus is the only means of being able to get around places. Public transport in many areas is non-existent and private transport unobtainable or impractical. Minibuses are the only means in which these people can be mobile, they can attain a sense of freedom rather than being constrained to their apartment buildings or limited to their own homes. Minibuses are often used on share taxi networks around the world, in many instances, in place of formal public transportation networks. It would not be wrong to state that in many countries, these share taxis can be quite dangerous to use, and people travelling from developed nations are told to avoid using them, citing a lack of safety in both the maintenance and operation of vehicles used. Unsurprising in countries where paved roads are sometimes non-existent.

What this meme represents is the collective ignorance of the white Euclean, whose view of developing states is one of near derision, ignorant of the role their ancestors and their governments played in rendering them this way. Memes like this ignore the fact that the lack of proper infrastructure, the lack of a functioning civil service, and the lack of the financial means to provide both is entirely down to colonialism brought upon them by Eucleans. Colonialism stripped many peoples of their societies, their identities, their culture, their economy, and saw the natural resources that made many precolonial civilisations wealthy taken from them for the enrichment of the colonisers. Once colonialism no longer became politically or financially tenable, Euclean colonial elites simply up and left, leaving behind half of a civil service with no administration and no one qualified enough to run them. In the absence of the provision of proper transport, communities and enterprising individuals took it upon themselves to meet their transportation needs, and in doing so, created the ad-hoc networks we see today.

A similar story played out in Nuvania. But while the emergence of informal transportation networks using kombis, the local nickname for minibuses, came about not due to colonialism, but the similarly discriminatory and supremacist beliefs that underpinned widespread racial discrimination within post-colonial governments. To understand how this came about, we need to understand how industrialisation in the latter decades of the 19th century shifted demographic patterns and created a rise of the wider working class, as well as the role of the Volksfront in destroying the collective unity of the working class in Nuvania.

Slavery was abolished in Nuvania shortly after the Estmerish takeover in 1749, with most black slaves working on vast plantations in the north of the country. Abolition did not immediately bring about emancipation; most slaves were simply transitioned into indentured work. Little changed through the Estmerish colonial period, as black and indigenous people continued to work on plantations with little to no immigration, and as Nuvania began to industrialise towards the end of the colonial period, so those working on the plantations began to move into the cities to search for more, often higher paid, work. As industrialisation began in earnest, so began the flight to the cities. Black and indigenous Nuvanians began to compete with the white working class for employment in the emerging factories and large warehouses in the industrial areas of Nuvania's largest cities. In addition to creating racial tensions between white and non-white workers, it also created large shantytowns and other informal settlements in which these new migrants were forced to live due to a shortage of housing. These areas, as time progressed, would eventually develop into predominantly black or mixed ethnicity areas, which necessitated the provision of services, including public transport. Horse drawn, and later electric, trams served these working class areas shortly after the turn of the century, marking the first time these areas had access to proper services provided by municipal governments.

This immigration accelerated in the aftermath of the Great Collapse as agricultural exports crashed and large farms and plantations went out of business, prompting thousands of black and indigenous Nuvanians to move to the cities in search of work. This further increased not only the expansion of informal settlements, but also racial tensions between white and non-white working class workers. These were exploited by the Volksfront government who utilised the fear of the white working class to gain power and popularity among white voters. In addition to attempting to limit the ability for non-whites to move into the cities, the Volksfront government also actively encouraged municipal authorities to clear non-white working class neighbourhoods, forcing tens of thousands into already overflowing informal settlements. These areas, unsurprisingly, became the source of a large amount of crime, particularly organised crime as people desperate to make money took to smuggling contraband and prostitution.

Following the Great War, little changed for these areas, although the restrictions on movement had, more or less, disappeared. The van Vollenhoven government embarked on a period of mass expansion of social housing, but was forced to introduce preferences in favour of whites due to narrow election victories in 1943 and 1945. As the informal settlements became more established, municipal governments began to provide some services, including water, electricity, and rudimentary sewage. Public transportation, primarily in the form of busses, came as well. These were initially provided to allow workers living in these areas to reach the inner city, as unlike other cities, Nuvania did not see white flight occur from inner suburbs in its major urban centres. While there were no seating restrictions on public transport, the cost to use it made it prohibitively expensive for some, and fare increases in the mid and late 1950's prompted boycotts. Despite the violence inflicted upon them in the Maitland riot in 1949, enterprising Dezevaunis began buying the first minibuses to transport those boycotting public transport in Windstrand. Similar boycotts took place in Pietersburg and other major cities, with some allotment farmers and market gardeners fitting folding seats to their pickup trucks to accommodate paying passengers as a way to make extra money.

Although the price hikes were rescinded, the kombi became cemented within non-white working class communities as a more affordable means of commuting within Nuvania's main cities. As racial discrimination became more entrenched, and services to some areas reduced or abandoned completely due to "low demand", the kombi became the primary means of mobilising black, indigenous, and even Creole Nuvanians. Riots in Windstrand in 1969, strikes in 1973, and general economic malaise in the Nuvanian economy during the 1970's contributed to the essential nature of the kombi, and with the arrival of local production of vans and minibusses in the 1980's, the ability for drivers to make money as a kombi driver grew rapidly. Kombi use peaked in the 1980's, particularly after the Keaton government deregulated the taxi industry in 1987, doing away with discriminatory taxi licencing. This came about as non-white Nuvanians were increasingly being able to secure jobs at factories and manufacturing plants across Nuvania, and the armed resistance phase of the Direct Action Movement reaching its peak intensity, often resulting in delays to public transport services.

Kombi popularity decreased with the overall elevation in wealth and standards of living across multiple ethnically diverse communities in Nuvania during the 1990's, particularly as public transport services resumed in non-white areas. After the 2005 recession, the Maritz government implemented proper regulation to improve the safety of kombis, which saw fatalities and injuries, as well as accidents, involving kombis. It also legitimised the informal associations formed by drivers to protect or control certain routes and areas, and today, 32 kombi associations still operate across Nuvania. Minibuses are also utilised by businesses to move workers to and from their places of employment; the one that was the subject of the April 23 tragedy belonged to the Port of Windstrand, with the driver and all passengers employees of the Port. Minibuses are also no more inherently dangerous than any other form of transport; as of 2021, they remain safer than driving a personal motor vehicle; just over 3,000 Nuvanians were killed last year in road accidents.

The minibus meme that has emerged from the April 23 tragedy in Windstrand is absolutely related to ignorant and chauvinistic attitudes of white Eucleans who believe that the developing world is to be mocked or, at best, a curiosity to be exploited for clicks and views. In many countries around the world, minibusses provide essential mobilisation for millions of people absent of proper public transportation networks. In Nuvania, they represented an emancipation from restricting and discriminatory racial policies. Such ignorance can only breed contempt.

OTHER OPINON

Pieter de Venter: The reparations debate and what it means for Nuvania
Samuel Hofmeyr: The Disappearing Act: Is the Chief Minister Hiding From International Diplomacy?
Rebecca Andrews: Will Pietersburg finally align with Kalnaspilis?
Maisie Hattersley: It's time to talk about periods in sports
Sophie Kennedy: How to stay hydrated in the dry season

by **Imperii Ecclesia** » Fri May 06, 2022 8:43 pm

EDITORIAL: GOVERNMENT COMPLICIT IN GENOCIDE COVER UP
The Neo-Functionalist PCT's silence over Île d'Émeraude's Genocide Bill signifies their continued support for Gaullican genocide and slavery.

SHARE:

LUC FOUCHE (@LucFouché)
^{6 MAY 2023 19:01 | PORT DE LA SAINTE, SAINTE-CHLOE}

The Struggle against Colonialism is deeply rooted in Higüey's and Sainte-Chloé's history, despite the attempt of Imperialist oppressors to say otherwise or ignore the issue.
Photo courtesy of Leblanc Pictures.

PORT DE LA SAINTE, CAPITALE-

International headlines in the last month have been bringing to the forefront the recent Narapanese Genocide Acknowledgement Act in Île d'Émeraude, which acknowledges the colonial oppression of the Narapanese and justly frames the Gaullicans for their horrendous actions. This is a big step in the direction of civil rights and emancipation from legacy of colonial servitude which the Arucian still suffers underneath. As expected, Gaullica will hum a few nice platitudes but will not actually address the issue, trying to side-step and worm their way out of their responsibility.

However, in Sainte-Chloé, there has been almost no public discussion about this important Emeraudian bill and its consequences whatsoever. No official statement has been released; La Croix and the other major media outlets refuse to publicise anything about it. Why is that?

That they have been trying to hide it is no secret. When at a press conference a week ago with the Premier, she deflected the questions of an Attention! reporter about the issue, and then when the reporter pressed the question again, had security remove the reporter for "disorderly conduct". The President, supposedly in charge of foreign affairs, has not said anything, and neither has the Foreign Ministry. Our inquiries sent to both were met with no response. When several Senators attempted to bring the topic up on the Senate floor, the discussion was quickly stifled. This blatant behavior is more than enough evidence to suggest a cover-up is happening on a government wide scale. Again, we ask, why would this be?

Is it not because they have their own sins to hide? Is it not because the bill strikes against their very core as a party? As little as they would like to admit it publicly, this bill poses a very real danger to the PCT ideologically and politically. Their neo-functionalist ideology is thoroughly rooted in historical and contemporary imperialism, and that is what this bill undermines. That is why they will spend any and every effort to see it kept hidden and under wraps.

To acknowledge the Emeraudian bill would bring public attention to subjects which they consider "undesirable"- such as Gaullica's treatment of the natives and Bahian slaves. For well over a century, the neo-imperialist narrative of Gaullican colonialism has dominated the country, ever since Saint-Pierre's whitewashing of history began to, with the weight of the imperialist Solarian Church behind it, indoctrinate the mind of the Bahians after the physical subjugation had failed. The Holisitique movement tough history in a way as to emphasise their narrative, downplaying the real evils of colonialism to focus on the "good parts" of Gaullican colonial rule. It suppressed the language and culture of the free Chloéois people, and forced the island to become a miniature copy of Gaullica. The PCT, founded on the two-fold imperialist principles of Gaullicanism and Catholicism, denies the past that was to see that past they want it to be. They are fundamentally built upon a lie.

History is forever the enemy of the PCT, which makes this case all the clearer. The diseases, warfare and forced which brought down the Nati and Marai peoples of Higüey are undeniable facts, as well as the brutal suppression of their attempts to fight for people. The fact that these people are virtually non-existent on the isle is proof of the Gaullican's effectiveness of killing them, yet this genocide is overlooked as a "regrettable accident" in common parlance. This is not the end of Gaullica's misdeeds, however, but only the beginning. The importation of Bahian slaves, creating one of the worst systems of chattel slavery for the sake of sugar and other precious cash crops, can be solely blamed on Gaullican imperialism and the capitalistic greed for wealth. This system perpetuated itself for two centuries s of violence and oppression, and those who fought for freedom were trodden underfoot by the Gaullican colonial machine. The atrocities committed by Gaullican authorities in the wake of the so-called "Capois Rebellion" further incriminates the already damning record. Only after 250 years of extortion, profiteering and slaughter did the Bahians earn their "freedom", only yet to remain under the yoke of Gaullican imperialism. The methods changed, but the subjugation remained in a new form.

Yet the neo-functionalists of the PCT continue to side-step the issues or mince words when it comes to these facts. They look to the benefits of 'Gaullicanisation' yet ignore the glaring issues which are fundamental to its imperialist nature. Their imperialist apologists scramble for every justification they can find, provide counter-examples to, provide biased "contexualisation" of or straight up deny the horrors and atrocities the colonial government had wrought. Better still than this, however, the omission of these facts ensures that there is nothing to explain, and avoids troublesome debate. Silence is a great weapon in maintaining ignorance when necessary, and the PCT uses this to their advantage. Instead, they divert the people's attention by calling to mind trivial economic concerns, blaming the other government for a natural disaster and using the material prosperity of the wealthy to determine whether or not the country is faring well. The fewer people who ask questions, the fewer concerns over who starts thinking unwanted thoughts.

Anything that subverts their narrative is dangerous to their continued stranglehold of politics they have worked so hard to maintain over the past 70 years. They have maintained this neo-colonialist charade of "democracy" the farcical Constitution of 1953, while using the Bishops in the Deuxième Chambre to strike down proposed constitutional reforms which would remove the imperialistic Church's control over education under the guise of the checks and balances. The continuation of colonialism, although disguised now in a more polite and refined manner, is the necessary step to keep their control over the country. To this end, the Church has been a powerful boon, and continues to play no small part in deceiving the masses with empty promises of eternal redemption for earthly service. As long as the Church remains on its ivory tower, the oppression of the people will continue.

The liberals of the Social Democrat Party, although they at least acknowledge the issues, avoid them except when politically expedient. The country's "opposition" paper and second largest in the country, Liberté, has also remained somewhat closed-lipped on the issue, although they have mentioned the bill in several articles. They also wish to stick their heads in the sand, thinking that while bad things may have happened, they should focus on present affairs and deal with present issues. This is because they too have bought into the imperialist lie of capitalism, deceiving themselves into thinking that a "free market" and liberal society will magically make the problems of the past go away. They fail to realise that colonialism and its historical issues are very much among us today, and no amount of whitewashing will make them disappear. They miss the forest for the trees, for they cannot see the system which they aspire to create is yet just another form of imperialism and neo-colonialism. Just because they are better than their conservative counterparts does not excuse them.

That is why those in power would choose to remain largely silent in the face of this important bill. Whether it be fear, apathy, ignorance, malice or hubris, the result is the same. They are willingly becoming complicit in covering up the genocide of the Nati and Marai peoples and the enslavement and murder of millions of Bahians over hundreds of years. Because of their silence and refusal to take action, they are effectively supporting these actions, especially through maintaining the imperialist system through their neo-colonialism and cooperation with Gaullica. This is nothing new, however. It is just the latest manifestation of the fact that they are merely the new generation of the same oppressors from before- the names and faces may change, but the guilt remains.

This state of affairs will continue as long as they can make it last. Who, then, is to hold them accountable? It cannot be the system, when the system is corrupt and rotten to the core. No, if things must change, we must take matters into our own hands. The PCT and the liberals in the PSD rely on indoctrination and silence to maintain their dominance over the people. Bring this issue to the attention of all you know. If the foundations for the society dominated by the neo-functionalists the imperialist church are eroded, the system will have no support and will collapse on itself. Colonialism will remain until the revolution triumphs and the imperialists are brought to their day of reckoning.

Like our Emeraudian brothers, we must learn to face the problems of colonialism head on, and bring forward the revolution that will allow us to build a new truly post-colonial society for the better.

Comments [ 22 ] |

22 comments

MORE HEADLINES

INTERNATIONAL: Emeraudian Genocide Bill still under Debate.
INTERNATIONAL: Etruria blocks Adult Content.
INTERNATIONAL: Social Democrats win in Aucuria.
OPINION: We're on the Right Side of History.
Social Democrats contemplate pushing Genocide bill in S-C.

by **Caille-Sartoux and the Azure Coast** » Sat May 07, 2022 12:46 pm

LIEURON

A commuter passenger jet bound for Lieuron out of Réquista has crashed in the Obsidienne Mountains, the National Constabulary Service Field Office in Saint-Sébastien has confirmed to Reseau Une. The crash of the A550 SkyKing II jet, registered as AviaSky Flight 312 out of Réquista Metro Airport bound for McQuarrie Airport in Lieuron went down in inclement weather around 2:45 PM local time. As of this moment, no official word has been released on the potential for survivors, though local rescue efforts are ongoing to reach the remote crash site.

“The National Aviation Administration of the Azure Coast has been notified of the accident and is proceeding as per our emergency protocols,” Jean Molyneux – director of the National Aviation Administration – said to Reseau Une reporters in Sartoux. “Our current priorities are to reach the site of the accident and to assess what can be done in our search and recovery efforts. We have no comment on the total number of fatalities or casualties at this time, but we are expecting this to be a high casualty event.”

Radar indicated that the SkyKing II, a 150-seat twin-engine jet had descended into thick cloud cover from 17,000 feet around 2:35 PM around sixteen miles south of the Mount Villeneuve Observatory before unexpectedly descending rapidly. Air traffic controllers at Lieuron declared an emergency at 2:47 PM after radio contact was lost with the aircraft; radar indicated the plane had impacted the mountainous topography in a controlled descent into terrain. Rescue workers located the crash site approximately 25 minutes later via helicopter, though the remoteness of the crash site is making it difficult for emergency workers to reach the accident scene.

Clarke Walker, an expatriate working as an aviation engineer in Souchon, spoke to Reseau Une about the preliminary evidence surrounding the accident. According to Walker, the nature of the accident suggested that the pilots may have mistrusted their instrumentation and were attempting to navigate via dead reckoning. He reported that a controlled descent into mountainous terrain using older aircraft was commonly attributed to incorrect navigational decision-making in the cockpit. “It can be extremely easy to lose your bearings in the soup, especially on a short-duration flight (relative to longer international flights) through the mountains. If you lose your instrumentation, or if you don’t trust your beacons, you can get yourself into a world of trouble very rapidly.”

“It would be quite easy for a plane like the SkyKing II to struggle with downdrafts in the mountain passes if the pilots thought they were further to the east than they actually were.”

Aviation experts have long lamented the usage of the outdated SkyKing II aircraft model for domestic flights. The design, first created in 1965, relies on two Cohail-7 jets to lift the heavy airframe off the ground. The engines, though cheaper to manufacture, require increased engineering maintenance due to their propensity for flameouts and other mechanical gremlins. Three of the country’s five most recent aviation accidents – including the 1999 Dominion Air 225 disaster, the most deadly in Azurenne history – have involved the SkyKing II using the original twin Cohail-7 engine design.

“If we had our way, every single SkyKing would be retired,” Walker said pointedly to our reporters. “They’re flying baskets that should never be used in the mountain passes like they are on domestic runs. They’re underpowered and lack the needed thrust to recover from navigational errors such as the incident that most probably took down Flight 312 this afternoon.”

Reseau Une will keep you up to date on the latest developments in this unfolding situation.

by **Nuvania** » Sun May 08, 2022 7:07 am

NBCNews

"Nuvania needs to talk about its past" - Bunkata

SHARE:

Kristy Gardener (@KristyGardener)
^{May 9, 2022 (1:10pm)}

David Bunkata speaking to a meeting of indigenous leaders and activists (Credit: Andrew Nicholl)

CONSTANTIA, POMERONIA - Nuvania needs to be part of the discussion on the genocide of indigenous peoples according to the deputy leader of the Indigenous People's Party, David Bunkata. He said that the government needs to be open to the discussion "because of centuries of discrimination and repression of indigenous communities."
"We are still at the bottom of the social ladder," he said. "We're almost three decades away from the final agreement that ended the Direct Action Movement and little has changed from then or even before the agreement was signed. Indigenous Nuvanians still have high unemployment, high illiteracy, low life expectancies and are the lowest paid group out of anyone in the country."

Bunkata said that centuries of discrimination, as well as the loss of traditional lands and the economy they once supported have contributed to generational trauma that is still impacting Nuvania today. He said that many of the issues that negatively impact indigenous Nuvanians are very much caused by this trauma, and called on the government to do more for its indigenous communities.
"We've been marginalised and ignored for centuries," he said. "How much longer do we have to wait before we finally see our lands returned and justice served for the injustices inflicted upon us?"

Speaking to a conference of indigenous leaders and activists, Bunkata said that the discussions about genocide in the West Arucian island states should be expanded to include "frank discussions" about the colonial past of many Asterian states, including Nuvania.
"We have our own skeletons in the closet that we dare not bring out," he said. "We've decided that the past is in the past and that's that. But it's not how this word of thing works. It's not how we should go about this. We should be having a discussion about the past, teach our kids about the injustices and discuss what we can do to right those injustices."

Bunkata said that the government so far was unwilling to engage with indigenous communities on this issue, and expressed his frustration at a lack of willingness to accept that things have not substantially changed for indigenous communities. He pointed to a lack of increase in access to healthcare services, poor educational outcomes, and a lack of access to basic services like electricity and running water still affecting dozens of indigenous communities.
"You go into our major cities and you see all these massive buildings and flash cars," he said. "But you go to any of our remote, rural indigenous communities, and it's like you're in another world. People living in houses that are falling apart with no running water or sewage, no electricity, and very little in the way of food." Bunkata said that while the situation had improved for some communities, particularly those close to populated urban areas, he said that most communities had seen no changes.
"When we have 30% of our people living in extreme poverty, that's not something to be proud of. We can't let what little progress that has been made hide the fact that the suffering still continues."

Bethany Shakriaba, an indigenous activist and an indigenous educator of the Akuwe people, said that mainstream education in Nuvania was "Euclo-centric" and disconnected Nuvania's ethnic minorities, particularly indigenous Nuvanians, from their cultures and ancestry. She said that her experiences in integrated indigenous schools left her feeling inferior and ashamed for being from an indigenous community, as both the curriculum and teachers portrayed indigenous cultures and societies as being primitive and patriarchal, with the Eucleans portrayed as a civilising influence on Nuvania's indigenous peoples.
"I didn't learn anything else other than to hate myself," she said. "I was made to feel inferior, to feel ashamed for being Akuwe and to be grateful for the white man to save me from myself. This is what we were taught in primary school, and it's stuck with me ever since." Shakriaba, who is the first member of the Akuwe to earn a graduate degree, runs the same school she was taught in, and has completely changed the curriculum, often facing sanctions and threats from provincial and central education authorities.
"They don't want me teaching my kids about the their heritage, their culture, and the struggles of our people," she said. "They want me to produce more people dependent on the white man's support for their existence. I'm actively challenging that attitude and making a real difference for my people and the futures of our kids."

Shakriaba said that the school had been officially delisted from the register of public schools in Pomeronia, making it ineligible for provincial or central government funding. She often relies on donations of money and teaching materials from non-governmental authorities, and draws a salary from the Akuwe Indigenous Trust Incorporated, an incorporated society set up by the Akuwe's leaders to manage collective ownership of the small farms and businesses owned by the Akuwe themselves. She said she should be earning three times what she earns working for a public school, but said that her role was with the Akuwe in their ancestral lands.
"If I can give my kids a sense of pride and dignity in who they are and where they have come from, then my role is fulfilled," she said. "I don't care about money, I care about giving my kids the education they need."

Among the subjects Shakriaba teaches is a revised history curriculum that covers her people's history, including sacred sites and areas, as well as the history of the people during colonisation, including the forced settlement into native reserves, the forced labour performed by the Akuwe for local cattle ranchers under the auspices of local Kasperist churches, who also forcibly converted them to Sotiranity, in addition to the destruction of their native language. She said that this was not covered in any domestic history textbook but is one of the aspects of Nuvania's colonial period that is often forgotten.
"The story of our people is the story of all indigenous peoples," she said. "It's our history and the fact that it is being ignored in the hopes of it being erased is shocking, but unsurprising."

Erin Greenwood, the Minister for Indigenous Peoples, said that the government was open to working with indigenous communities to ensure that continued progress to improve access to basic services would be made. She said that the government had already approved a number of projects that would see indigenous communities receive improved access to these services.
"We've approved new water infrastructure, new medical clinics, schools," she said. "This government was handed a significant deficit in terms of service accessibility and it is working to ensure that deficit is rectified."

Greenwood, however, did not accept that the discussions about genocide in Nuvania were appropriate but did acknowledge the country's past history of racial discrimination.
"While I would not call what we have experienced as a people to be genocide," she said. "It is true that more needs to be done to acknowledge, educate, and recognise the discriminatory actions of past governments and the suffering that was inflicted upon Nuvania's ethnic minorities."

Johannes de Kock, the Minister of Education, said in a statement to NBC News, that the government had no current plans to change the history curriculum. He said that the government was "satisfied with the subject content already provided to schools."
"This content is sufficient for a broad understanding of global and national history," he said. "While concerns about certain content has been raised in the past, the Ministry believes that this content is suitable for primary and secondary schools to use."

Bunkata said that the discussions about genocide were appropriate given the decimation of indigenous peoples to disease and decades of conflict. Bunkata, who is of the Lokono people of central Etten, said that Eucleans forced their culture and societies on indigenous communities, destroying their culture, traditions, and languages in the process. He said that the experiences of the Akuwe and Lokono "absolutely fit" the definition of genocide.
"Eucleans destroyed what was ours over the centuries and then pretend it never happened. It did, and we must talk about it before it's forgotten forever."

MORE HEADLINES

Airliner crashes in Cote d'Azur
Bohn "happy" at Social Democrat victory in Aucuria
Etrurian government targets pornography
NLM hints at new service to Alikianos
Genocide recognition bill debate in Emraldian Senate

by **Union of Akoren** » Sun May 08, 2022 7:59 am

Heavy fighting across Bedjene as government forces make gains
Adunis' forces on verge of seizing north-eastern Bedjene province as they advance on Al-Qasr but stall in the south-east

29 April 2022 · Written by: Jim Wickham

Government forces successfully retook Bani Haiyyan after heavy fighting.

Tsabaran government forces have made strong gains in Operation Eternal Spring after a week of heavy fighting. In the north, federal forces captured the town of Wardiyeh and ten surrounding villages. Along the M8 Highway toward Al-Qasr, government forces seized the town of Bani Haiyyan and eight villages but are locked in bitter house-to-house fighting in Deir Seryan and Meidoun. In the south along the M7 Highway toward Trifaoui province, unconfirmed reports say a battalion of the 8th Mechanised Brigade was rendered combat ineffective after being ambushed by ILR forces, heavy fighting is also being reported there.

After a week of heavy fighting across eastern Bedjene province, Tsabaran government forces have begun to make solid gains in the north and central areas of operation:

Al-Qasr Area

The primary focus of “Operation Eternal Spring” is the easterly push along the M8 Highway toward Al-Qasr, the largest ILR-held city in Bedjene province. The 22nd and 38th Armoured and Mechanised Brigades respectively are spearheading the assault. The Atudite and Sotirian brigades respectively, broke through ILR positions and entered the towns of Deir Sayan and Bani Haiyyan – the control of these towns would secure the northern side of the highway.

After five days of heavy urban fighting, government forces captured Bani Haiyyan’s town hall and central square. According to local sources, the fighting was the “most intense” seen since the civil war’s beginning. Images and clips from the town revealed bitter house to house fighting and repeated air strikes on several locations. The 22nd “Z’ev” Armoured Brigade allegedly lost up to 20 tanks and armoured vehicles according to images posted on social media and verified by ICM.

Eight villages to the south, north and west of Bani Haiyyan have been captured by federal forces, despite heavy resistance by the ILR. The village of Meidoun, home to roughly 3,000 people before the civil war was the site of major fighting, with government sources claiming up to 300 ILR fighters were killed, though this has not been verified. On the ILR side, they claimed to have destroyed up to 30 armoured vehicles, including 10 tanks at Meidoun, this also cannot be independently verified.

As of publication of this article, the heaviest fighting in the Al-Qasr area of operations is to the west of Deir Seryan, where bitter house-to-house fighting is taking place. Deir Seryan was home to roughly 15,000 people prior to the civil war and has been transformed into a “fortress” by the ILR according to government sources. The town has been the focal point for much airpower from the government, as well as Estmere and Gaullica. The capture of Deir Sayan would removed all fixed ILR positions west of Al-Qasr, leaving only farmland and small villages between federal forces and the city of 800,000.

Last night, Adunis was forced to confirm reports that 18 soldiers and crew had been killed when their CH-1 helicopter was shot down by what appears to have been two shots by MANPADs. Earlier claims by the ILR that a plane was shot down was denied, no evidence has been provided either.

Government forces have reportedly faced stiff resistance in the south-east toward Trifaoui province.

Wardiyeh-Northern Area

In the northeast of Bedjene province, Federal Forces have made the most ground, capturing Wardiyeh and ten surrounded urban areas. ILR resistance in this area was markedly weaker than seen elsewhere in the province.

Federal Forces broke through ILR positions at the village of Kwakaba, where up to 80 ILR fighters surrendered. Elements of the 38th Mixed Mechanised Brigade pressed on from Kwakaba and entered the southern limits of Wardiyeh after four days. The isolated nature of the Wardiyeh region had denied the ILR abilities to reinforce its defenders there, who were according to government reports, swiftly overrun by the better equipped and more numerous 38th Brigade. At least 10 soldiers were killed and 9 injured after they tripped a booby-trap inside the city’s municipal building according to the Ministry of Defence. At least 8 ILR tanks were destroyed and over 20 armoured vehicles were damaged or captured by government troops.

Also, in Wardiyeh, the government revealed that army forces had discovered a “drone factory” inside a former bakery. The discovered a mixture of commercially bought drones as well as tools and equipment to turn them into suicide drones.

Just as concerning were testimonies provided by civilians that the ILR had murdered the 304 Sotirians and 111 Atudites who resided in the town. The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that investigators have been dispatched to the town to work with locals in locating burial grounds for the suspected victims. The claims that the ILR had murdered the Atudite and Sotirian populace within Wardiyeh also corresponds to other alleged incidents. During the Siege of Bayadha, up to 500 Atudites and Sotirians were allegedly killed in towns across the peninsula, though this has yet to be verified.

Qatlabah-Southeast Area

In the southeast of Bedjene province, the 15th Armoured and 20th Mechanised Brigades focusing on the capture of Qatlabah and securing the provincial border with Trifaoui appears to have made the least progress and has suffered heavy losses according to government sources. There are unconfirmed reports that 40th Mechanised Battalion of the 15th Armoured has been rendered combat ineffective due to a pre-planned ambush by ILR forces.

The south-eastern front of the operation appears to be the weakest of the three areas of operation in terms of government advances. The region surrounding Qatlabah, was reinforced by the 88th and 102nd Brigades of the Irfanic Liberation and Resistance according to the Tsabaran government and is one of the most heavily defended. A number of provisional militia are also present in the region.

Social media posts, including images and videos reveal that government forces launched an assault at the operations beginning and came under intense fire from ILR artillery, entrenched positions, and well-coordinated tactics. From this came reports of a successful battalion-level ambush by ILR against the 40th Mechanised Battalion, which reportedly broke through a weak point west of the village of Bire Akkar and advanced rapidly down the B33 road toward Qatlabah. Though not verified, ILR-linked social media accounts have published hundreds of images and clips showing heavy fighting, the destruction of numerous vehicles and tanks travelling the road and artillery strikes.

There has been few statements by government sources or the ministry of defence on these reports, as well as the south-eastern area in general – indicative that perhaps not all is going according to plan in this area of operation.

However, sources west of the frontline in government-held territory are reported streams of ambulances and transport vehicles. Several posts on social media, since deleted, but posted by medical staff in Tabessa reported “hundreds of wounded.” Federal forces have reportedly suffered heavy losses at Bani Haiyyan, reportedly due to a well-conducted ambush on an armoured column using anti-tank guided missiles and improvised explosive devices. There are also unconfirmed reports that at least 8 tanks were destroyed by ‘suicide drones’, this could indicate loitering munitions, which would confirm earlier reports that Zorasan has begun providing the ILR with such explosive drones.

Irfanic Liberation and Resistance efforts to reinforce the frontline has been hindered by air strikes conducted by government and allied warplanes. At least 10 vehicles were destroyed in one strike on a convoy south of Al-Qasr.

This offensive is ongoing, we will provide more updates as the situation develops.

More from the International Conflict Monitor

Zorasan begins resupplying Behera's military
Tsabaran Air Force strikes two supply depots near Sidi Amar
Yemet Coup: Will this undo progress made by Girota?
Zorasan is gearing up for total war in Tsabara

The International Conflict Monitor is a think tank based in Morwall, that is dedicated to breaking conflict stories, events and providing unique analysis. The ICM hopes to utilise its wide network of sources to establish a greater understanding of human conflict, to then use that knowledge to assist policymakers in conflict resolution.

News Thread [Kylaris|Canon|IC]

Who is online