CCA Modern News Thread [Canon|IC]

[United Cavollon]

Lismeath Tribune
President Aerts Worries Jyau's Political Structure May Collapse


President Julian Aerts (United Cavollon) addresses the ongoing political and economic crisis in Jyau

Poinnois - President Julian Aerts addressed the country in a televised speech on Friday, saying that he has instructed the parliament to begin proceedings for possible bailouts for the Jyaueze financial systems in the wake of a growing political and economic crisis. Concerned about the unrest which has been widespread in the fellow TTPA-member nation, Aerts said that "the political structure of Jyau may collapse if nothing is done." Specifically, Aerts is concerned about the dismissal of scheduled elections after the resignation of Matthias Cerfbeer last month, saying "the first step in securing the restoration of peace is the incorporation of democratic principles."

The parliament of Jyau slated Arend Schoten to become Chancellor, navigating around scheduled elections in August in order to give executive power immediate authority in tandem with legislative authority. This bypasses civilian referendums, which was only possible through a revised constitution which Schoten signed. Demonstrations have soared throughout Jyau in response to the cancelation of elections. Aerts has called on the Jyau government to reinstall elections, as has Queen Andeu IV in a statement from the Royal Office.

"Small victories are what we hope will amount to something one day," Aerts said, "and hopefully the Jyaueze parliament will restore a timeframe for elections. I have little doubt that Chancellor Schoten, who was chosen by a large margin to represent the elected representatives, is actively working against the interests of his people, and he can prove this by authorizing national elections."

[De Yuan]

PEOPLE'S COMMITTEE AMENDS EXECUTIVE DISPLAY, OUSTING XI JINGYI AND APPOINTING QIN CHEN

Qin Chen is the new Chairwoman and Secretary-General of Yuan. She previously was the Vice-Premier.

SHANGHAN - The People's Assembly, authorized through a reliance vote of the People's Committee, has amended executive display and ousted Secretary-General Xi Jingyi from the party, effectively removing him from power in a sudden and surprising shift of the structure of the Communist Party. In replacement, the committee has appointed Qin Chen to become the new Secretary-General and Chairwoman. She had previously held the position of Vice-Premier, an office which holds secondary executive authority. Chen was a civilian member of the People's Liberation Army and held the civilian rank equivalent to Major General before she was appointed by Xi Jingyi to become Vice-Premier, upon which she was given the formal rank.

As for President Xi, he was detained by military authorities and has been placed under house arrest having been found to be "non-compliant" with the decisions of the People's Assembly, declining to comply with the instruction to step down. In a public statement, Chairwoman Qin Chen said "Yuan will progress beyond the age of Xi."

The People's Assembly has been cycling through options of replacement for Xi Jingyi after the military incursion into Tasiastan failed, and in a rare show of public disclosure many members of the Assembly have stated that they had been part of the process in removing Xi from power.

Xi had significantly centralised institutional power by taking on a wide range of leadership positions, including chairing the National Security Commission, as well as new steering committees on economic and social reforms, military restructuring and modernization, and the internet. Xi's political thoughts have been written into the party and state constitutions, and Chairwoman Chen said that "a cult of personality has developed around him."

Internationally, Xi has been labelled a dictator by some political observers, citing an increase of censorship and mass surveillance, deterioration in human rights, and the removal of term limits for the presidency under his tenure, granting him many international condemnations from the Coalition of Crown Albatross.

For Qin Chen now, she has stated that the purpose of her control will be to work equally with the People's Assembly, coordinate ACWAC efficiently, and amend Yuaneze relations.

[Pangchu]

PANGCHU NATIONAL NEWS
After Xi's Ouster, Hanying Pleads For Pangchu Relief


Prime Minister Mao Hanying

Shingzhan - Responding to the news from De Yuan that Xi Jingyi had been ousted from power by the People's Assembly, Prime Minister Mao Hanying made an appeal to the international community to place pressure on the Yuaneze government and new Chairwoman Qin Chen to end the decades long oppression of Manda Pangchu Muslims and to cancel the construction of the Anhae River High Dam in Mandrao, which has restricted Pangchu's water supply. In welcoming Xi's surprising political demise, Hanying urged Qin, whose policies and opinions remain largely unknown, to not follow her predecessor's actions of barbarity.

"Please, Madam Qin, alleviate us and remove the barbaric history of your predecessor," Hanying urged. "The Pangchu people are a proud and diverse culture. We wish not to be oppressed, we wish to be a culture among cultures. A history among histories. Allow us to be a peaceful and unobstructed nation, unconcerned with the crosses and politics around us. What we all wish for is to be in accordance with our beliefs, which is peacefulness. Rest assured, if Yuan lifts the unjustified restrictions on our people, we will remain as we always are, which is unproblematic and peaceful."

Yuan has long been accused of trying to disrupt the life of Pangchu. From constant cyberattacks, election tampering, and the mass incarceration of Pangchu Manchu Muslims who reside in Yuan, the Communist Party of Yuan has long been considered a threat. Prime Minister Hanying's warnings come amid rising tensions after the Yuaneze Secretary-General Xi Jingyi called for the Yuaneze policy to shift from their previous standings of global cooperation to a Yuan-first objective.

[Qolaysia]

BIN AAYID: "XI MAY BE GONE, BUT HIS LEGACY NEEDS TO GO ALSO"

President Nizaam bin Aayid speaks at the QYC following the news of Yuan's political switch.

LEONRAU - President Nizaam bin Aayid reacted to the news of Xi Jingyi's ouster in De Yuan with cautious optimism on Friday, saying that while the man who many in the international community called a dictator and a tyrant may be gone, the frameworks that kept him essentially an absolute ruler need to be completely done away with. Speaking to the Qolaysian Youth Conference when the news broke, President bin Aayid welcomed the ascension of Qin Chen, the former Vice-Premier of Yuan, to the position of Secretary-General, but warned that the frameworks within the Yuaneze government and power structure still "pose a threat to the integrity of security, diplomacy, and democratic values in Ausiana and the rest of the world."

"As chaotic and unpredictable as Xi ended up becoming in the course of his power, especially in the past several months, the unpredictability of what just occurred is of concern," bin Aayid said. "Of course I welcome the transition of power, but it is clear that the controlling interest in Yuan is still one of the Communist Party and the few powerful individuals within."

Bin Aayid stated that he is open to restarting diplomatic ties after having recalled the Yuaneze ambassador in May as a result of military tensions over the status of Gangkou, as long as Chairwoman Qin Chen is open to the prospect and is willing to commit to a demilitarization policy. "I do want to seek healthy relationships," bin Aayid said, "Xi may be gone, but his legacy needs to go also."

Comments [196] | E-mail
© Leonrau Sun 2022

[Angeman]

Svenn Trande Meets with President Alexander Desende

---

Home | Tine | Nortua | International | Politics | Technology | Arts | Education | Health | Opinion

16 July, 2022.
Torleif Hoen @TorleifReads

TINEGARD -A shocking announcement by Prime Minister Svenn Trande regarding Alexander Desende's proposed exit from the Alliance of Nortuan States just two days ago has the two figures meeting in the Elbresian city of Allengin. In a historic move, Svenn Trande publicly displays support for the exit of Elbresia from the ANS. The Prime Minister also hinted at a potential Tinegardian exit from the ANS. Political analysts predict Tine's exit from the ANS is very unlikely due to the precedent set by the 1992 December 8th Referendum set in motion by King Martin II. Svenn Trande's popularity has grown with more right wing politics and voters which only compromise less than 20% of the Tinegardian population.

The Prime Minister shook hands with the President Elect publicly on an large public stage. "Let there be sovereignty!" Svenn Trande said to reporters on his way to the Allengin airport.

---

TINE DAILY HEADLINES

• TineOil profits report small growth
• Yuaneze crews to be released with no charges after Chairman Xi is removed.
• Norta replacing the Tine Krone?
• Short Film Half-Radiated awarded in Tofino Film Festival

[Haduastan]

HADUASTAN OFFICIAL PRESS
HADUASTANI INTELLIGENCE LOCATES IMPRISONED XI JINGYI
Home | HADUASTAN | International | Politics | Entertainment | Science

---

Prime Minister Sartaj Bali announced that Haduastani Intelligence, working in coordination with the Zamastanian Intelligence Service and Albarinean Intelligence Agency, have determined the specific location believed to be the defacto prison housing ousted De Yuaneze Chairman Xi Jingyi, who was demoted and detained by the Yuaneze People's Assembly. According to the coordinated location effort, intelligence sources have stated that Xi Jingyi is being held by the Yuaneze government in the lower basement levels of the Zhonghai Imperial Palace in Shanghan, which is the residence of the President of Yuan, though since the government-sponsored internal coup the new President Qin Chen has reportedly been residing at the Wanzi Pavillion.

"Xi has been detained and has not been seen publicly since his ouster," Bali said, "and we are monitoring the situation along with our friends in the intelligence community. While we welcome the new administrations within Yuan and seek to benefit in our relationship with Chairwoman Qin Chen, we urge them to treat Xi as a political prisoner under guaranteed international laws. This will prove their intent to be a new fresh start in what was previously a totalitarian and oppressive regime."

Haduastan had been relatively neutral in regard to Yuan policies in the region until recently, when Bali and top officials in Haduastan promised to aid in the defense of Tasiastan if a widely coordinated ACWAC military operation was carried out it Tasiastan. Ultimately, only Yuan launched an offensive, but it was easily repelled, and public dissent caused Yuan's military officials to rescind the operation. Haduastani forces stood down from their alert, but remain on a moment's notice. Prime Minister Bali was in Tasiastan last week to meet with President Haajid Swati in Jaljur to commit to a wider protection plan in case Yuan's new government structure decides to restart their campaign.

[De Yuan]

QIN CHEN HOSTS ACWAC SUMMIT IN SHANGHAN AMIDST XI OUSTER

Chairwoman and Secretary-General Qin Chen welcomed the heads of other ACWAC nations to Shanghan to discuss the future plans of the organization.

SHANGHAN - Secretary-General Qin Chen is hosting a summit of the Alliance of Central and Western Ausianan Cooperation (ACWAC) in Shanghan only days after the overhaul of the Yuaneze power structure and the ouster of Xi Jingyi. She has stated that her intent is to provide insurance to the organization that the stated goals of the alliance as described in its charter will "not be different as a result of Xi's reckless attempt to annex a Tasiastani province," according to Qin herself, "nor will they be adapted to fit a narrative of forceful expansion." Her reiterations did, however, express sentiment towards the eventual incorporation of Tasiastan into the ACWAC Group, though she stressed the ambitions would be achieved through "peaceful and diplomatic means".

"It's clear that we have a strained relationship with our neighbors in Tasiastan," Qin said in her opening remarks. "I want to make it clear, on behalf of the People's Communist Party of Yuan, the executives of the ACWAC, and the peace-loving people of our great continent; the addition of Tasiastan to the ACWAC community is not a matter of if, but when, and this will be achieved by diplomatic means and diplomatic means only. My predecessor used unauthorized force in a barbaric attempt to circumvent the process and has thus irrevocably damaged those prospects. But I assure the government and people of Tasiastan that this committee's intentions are good and well, and your membership in ACWAC would be a progressive state for us all."

Already solidifying herself as an executive in the Yuaneze government, Qin Chen is pressing ACWAC to become a more functional group regionally, rather than taking direct marching orders from Shanghan's authority. Meeting with the heads of state and other delegates of the member nations, including President Abdul Sheihk Mahmed of Barangadesh, President Turki el-Irani of Pekastan, President Nikolai Ubotrov of Beleroskov, President Bahadar Panwar of Elastan, and Sergei Yugorunov of Ossotia, Chen spoke on the importance of each member nation to contribute their part and become effective managers, specifically to avoid issues of one-person rule and the crisis which would unfold like what occurred with Tasiastan.

"We're the symbol of the socialist principle and communism," Qin Chen said, "and this only works if every member of our collective works in tandem with one another. No sole person should make the decision, that's why Xi's actions were unwarranted. We have an executive committee for a reason; debate as per the right motivations of our ideology and the betterment of the state."

Also discussed was the proposed addition of Skarmia and Jaginistan into the organization in the future should their governments apply.

The Alliance of Central and West Ausianan Cooperation (ACWAC), also known as the Shanghan Cooperation Alliance (SCA), is a mutual security agreement formed in 1996 between Yuan, Mandrao, Tosichi, and Barangadesh. These nations seek deeper political and economic cooperation. ACWAC is governed by the Heads of State Council (HSC), its supreme decision-making body, which meets once a year. Military exercises are also regularly conducted among members to promote cooperation and coordination against terrorism and other external threats, and to maintain regional peace and stability. ACWAC is primarily centered on security-related concerns, often describing the main threats it confronts as being terrorism, separatism and extremism, though it has stood against international pressure under such incidents as the Jinchon Sea crisis.

The organization is also redefining cyberwarfare, saying that the dissemination of information "harmful to the spiritual, moral and cultural spheres of other states" should be considered a "security threat". An accord adopted in 2009 defined "information war", in part, as an effort by a state to undermine another's "political, economic, and social systems". Over the past few years, the organization's activities have expanded to include increased military cooperation, intelligence sharing, and counterterrorism. Military exercises are regularly conducted among members to promote cooperation and coordination against terrorism and other external threats, and to maintain regional peace and stability.

A Framework Agreement to enhance economic cooperation was signed by the member states on 23 September 2003. A long-term objective to establish a free trade area in the SCA was proposed in that same meeting, while other more immediate measures would be taken to improve the flow of goods in the region. SCA will prioritize joint energy projects; including in the oil and gas sector, the exploration of new hydrocarbon reserves, and joint use of water resources.

[Kossmil]

THE KOSSMIL PAPER

---

---

CHERDENKO INVITED SCHOTEN TO KOSSMIL FOR POSSIBLE BAILOUT DEAL

---

Chancellor Arend Schoten of Jyau and President Nikolai Cherdenko of Kossmil

Dabatta- On Wednesday, Chancellor Arend Schoten of Jyau arrived in Kossmil to discuss a possible bailout deal to help Jyau with its massive economic crisis and dealing with the high inflation on the national currency which so far has pushed three-quarters of the population into poverty. Both leaders met at Dabatta International Airport and they were taken to the Presidential residence to start negotiating the deal. While the negotiations are ongoing there has been sightings of protests from the Jyaueze community living in Kossmil, protesting against Chancellor Schoten being in Kossmil with some of the protester criticising President Cherdenko for negotiating a bailout deal with Schoten. “It's a complete joke that he's here!” one protester remarks while others make different remarks about the situation with one notable talking about his extended family in Jyau were making some hard choices between food or heating.

Later on the day, President Cherdenko was answering some questions from the Kossmilian press, one question was on the progress of the negotiations which Cherdenko said with “It is still early stages but it is going smoothly so far.” another question was on situation with how Chancellor Schoten became Chancellor permanently which he respond with “I make my concerns knows to Chancellor Schoten and that it is in line with President Julian Aerts of United Cavollon concern too.” The next question is on if there is anything extra with the deal, Cherdenko answered “Like I said before, it is still early but there has been talks of sending some of our doctors and nurses over to Jyau temporarily to help the Jyau health services and prevent them from collapsing.”

Prime Minister Dimitri Georgievski was also at the negotiations with President Cherdenko, and he was also been ask question by the Kossmilian press about the negotiations in which he responded “I echo with what the President said, while it still at the early stages, it going at good rate. I feel as an ally of Jyau we should help our friends in their time of crisis, we want support and help the people of Jyau.” One of journalists asks Georgievski that should TTPA members have the right to support member states in times of crisis, he replied with “I think so, but on the other you can’t expected every member to get involved, it up to them if they feel they should.” The next question was asked on subject that wasn’t related with Jyau but with the recent news in De Yuan about Xi Jingyi had been ousted from power from his own People's Assembly, Georgievski responded “While this question is not related with the situation right now but me and President are happy with Xi being ousted and we ready to restarting diplomatic ties.”

Within the Kossmilian National Assembly, a majority supports the bailout deal, only people who are against are some members of the Communist party and Populist Party which shockingly agreed with one and another on the negotiations.

Chancellor Arend Schoten of Jyau and Prime Minister Dimitri Georgievski of Kossmil

Background of the situation in Jyau

So far the situation in Jyau is quite dire with its national currency worth next to nothing with record inflation of 426.3%, the public in Jyau has their opinion on who to blame which is from the nations political parties, to the Jyaueze banks, and to private sector cronies for involvement creating an decades of ‘systematic corruption, financial mismanagement, and poor economic planning’. The Jyau economic crisis has hit Jyaueze hard with reports coming out of Jyau of people spending their wages on necessities and also fuel prices in the nation are also rising which put the public at a tricky spot.

The situation is getting bad enough that it has caused some of the population to leave the nation for better life, in a survey in Jyau it was found that 63 percent of Jyaueze want to leave permanently. With a lot of Jyaueze leaving it has overwhelmed the government on issuing passports to the point that they can’t issue more because of running out and that the Cerfbeer government has indefinitely stopped issuing them and stopped renewing passports. It in turn with some of the population is in turn causing brain drain in its sectors with a lot of skilled workers leaving which puts a massive stain on the different industries most notable being Jyau health services as doctors and nurses are leaving on mass. It is overwhelming the health services in the nation, with reports showing under half of doctors and nurses in Jyau have already left the nation, making the health services on the left effective.

Chancellor Schoten was recently voted Chancellor of Jyau five days, he was originally placed as interim Chancellor back in early June after the resignation of previous Chancellor, Matthias Cerfbeer. It was originally planned for public election in August but controversially Jyau parliament decided to make Schoten Chancellor permanently in parliament vote with the election being cancelled. The public reaction to this revelation was negative with demonstrations and protests started in Jyaueze capital of Gutaai with some reports of clashes between protesters and police. Kossmil isn't the only one planning to give a bailout to Jyau, there is also United Cavollon who are currently in process of creating a bailout deal to Jyau which was announced back by President Julian Aerts on 15th July.

[Jyau]

GUTAAI PRESS ASSOCIATE

---

---

SCHOTEN VISITS DABATTA AS KOSSMIL AND UNITED CAVOLLON PROPOSE BAILOUT
Demonstrations continue throughout Jyau as the economic crisis deepens

---

Chancellor Schoten arrives in Dabatta, July 20, 2022.

Chancellor Arend Schoten visited Dabatta, Kossmil, to attend meetings with senior government officials including President Nikolai Cherdenko and Prime Minister Dimitri Georgievski as Kossmil and United Cavollon lead an effort of proposal to bailout the Jyaueze banks amid rapidly rising inflation and a deepening economic crisis. With more than 75% of the Jyaueze population stricken with sudden poverty and a stark reversal of Jyau's former economic prowess, plagued by years of mismanagement, demonstrations have occupied major urban areas across the country in anger of the government's failed response and the postponement of national elections. Schoten's visit to Kossmil marks the start of negotiations for a bailout, which would likely need the cooperation of multiple nations.

"We are clearly in dire economic issue and distress now," Schoten said, "and I believe that we've reached the point where our government alone cannot recover it, which is why we need an international bailout. I thank President Cherdenko and President Aerts for their efforts in leading these proposals and hope that more nations can come to our aid and stabilize the banking system not just for Jyau's sake but the sake of Central Adula."

Schoten also made a plea to the rest of the TTPA, urging the Drambenburgian government to assist in the effort. So far, the optics for a bailout are being widely supported within the legislative bodies of Kossmil and the UC. Importantly, the bailout would provide serious relief for regular citizens of Jyau who are often having to decide between food or electricity on a daily basis. It would also help alleviate inflation which currently stands at 426.3% and has decimated the value of the national currency.

[Emmiria]

Islamic veil: Why fewer women in Emmiria are wearing it
The phenomenon of the hijab's decline in popularity marks a shift in the perception of traditional Islam.

Women in Hazarabad, some wearing traditional hijab and some without, is a frequent sign of changing perceptions on the Islamic dress code.

by Assan Knalla

RHAGA - Photos of women in full Islamic attire - faces covered and in long dresses - next to old pictures of women in short skirts from the 1950s and 1960s in the Muslim nations of Adula are often put together on social media to make a point. The underlying message is: "Look what has become of Muslim societies during the past 50 years or so." To those who share such photos, it is the most visible sign of how their countries have regressed and abandoned the ideals of progress and modernity, exemplified by adopting a secular lifestyle. But for the conservative forces that have shaped the region in the past few decades, it is quite the opposite: it is a positive act of asserting Muslim identity in societies that had for long been colonised and had a Christian lifestyle imposed upon them first by colonial rulers, and then by secular elites out of touch with local culture.

From Emmiria to Zalluabed and beyond, the issue of "Islamic dress code", in particular the veil or hijab, has been one of the most controversial piece of clothing. By all accounts, its spread within the region has been down primarily to one factor: the emergence and eventual success of political Islam, the phenomenon also known as Islamism. Nearly the whole of Adula has powerful Islamist movements that either came to power or nearly did during the 20th century. Even if they were removed from power, their influence over societies has remained considerable. But that is beginning to change, according to many observers. And one of the most obvious ways to assess that is by looking at the most potent symbol of the impact of Islamism: the hijab.

Many observers have noted that the past few years have seen a steady decline in the phenomenon in Emmiria. A columnist for the Rhaga Tribune recently wrote: "It's not hard to notice that the extent to which the hijab was worn in the Islamic world, and in particular in Emmiria, has gone down relatively, and that retreat and decline is to a large extent due to the decline and ebb of what is known as the Islamic current."

Young Emmirian women have spoken to local media about the social pressure, even harassment, they have to endure when they take off the hijab. But that has apparently not deterred them. Activist Huda Tarib highlights the complex motives for the appearance of the hijab in the country and its subsequent decline, saying "the hijab was once an act of resistance and opposition to secularism imposed from above during the rule of the post-independence autocrats. It then became popular in the short period after the reformations that saw the rise to power of the Islamist movement, to the extent that the veiled woman was promoted as the model to follow for the Emmirian public. But then it fell out of favor as successive Islamist-dominated parliaments failed to solve the country's many problems and Emmiria plunged into a deep economic and political crisis. When we opened to the secular world, the hijab began to fade from popularity."

In Emmiria, arguably the birthplace of the hijab as we know it today, the appearance and relative decline is tied up with the political fortunes of the Conservative Islamic Brethren. Emmirian women began throwing off traditional face coverings nearly a century ago and by the mid-twentieth century the veil had almost completely disappeared. But the hijab made its first re-emergence in the mid-seventies when then-President Rushdi el-Tahir gave a green light to the CIB to operate on university campuses to fight off political rivals from the secular left who had developed considerable influence over society in the previous decades.

The spread of the hijab continued almost unabated until 2003 when President Abolhassan Neeshaan came to power and began a series of liberal reforms. Hostility to Islamist symbols - the hijab foremost amongst them - was palpable. There were persistent reports of restaurants denying access to women wearing the hijab, or swimming pools refusing entry to women wearing the burkini, the supposedly Sharia-compliant swimsuit. Today there is palpable decline that is hard to quantify due to a lack of objective surveys. The evidence is largely anecdotal. Still, the hijab remains one of the country's most divisive issues - a cultural and political fault-line not dissimilar to the one surrounding abortion in Christian nations, with cultural and political rows breaking out at regular intervals on the matter.

Most recently in Kuye reactions to the stabbing to death of a young university student in broad daylight by her suitor after she refused to marry him were as shocking as the crime itself. To everyone the crime was abhorrent and duly condemned. But as soon as it emerged that the victim was unveiled, reactions began to diversify. A famous tele-preacher urged women to cover their bodies properly to avoid meeting a similar fate. He actually said: "Cover your face with a basket." And when her university sought to pay tribute to her, it produced a poster of her with her photo apparently doctored so it appeared as though she was wearing the hijab. Both reactions triggered a barrage of angry responses from the secularised sectors of society.

The young man has been sentenced to death by hanging. But a campaign has swung into action to defend the convicted murderer. No-one knows for sure who is behind it, but many suspect wealthy Islamists in exile have hired the highest paid lawyer in the country to defend the culprit in the appeal proceedings. An intervention by a religious institution in Kuye to calm tension has ironically poured more oil on the fire. The Grand Imam of al-Asat, Sheikh Ahmed al-Fayeet, has said that not wearing the hijab does not make the woman a renegade, but simply a woman who disobeyed God.

The statement that was meant to assuage secular sectors of society enraged women's rights and other secular groups even more. Once again, social media were full of impassioned pleas for the hijab as an inalienable part of the faith and equally vociferous condemnation of the cloth. Although support for the hijab appear to be waning in the region, especially among the young, the perception that it is inseparable from Muslim identity has become entrenched far and wide. So much so that whenever any government - especially in Euronia or Nortua - introduces restrictions on wearing it in public institutions, that is usually denounced as a war on Islam itself. Merely criticising the hijab in many democracies has also become almost synonymous with "Islamophobia" or attacks on minority rights. But in Muslim-majority societies it is still regarded as part of a legitimate campaign for the liberation of women from stifling tradition.

Comments [ 9,069 ] | E-mail
© GOVERNMENT THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF EMMIRIA 2021

[De Yuan]

CHAIRWOMAN QIN REVERSES OLYMPICS BOYCOTT

Yuaneze athletes at the 2020 Summer Games in Vessalia, Avergnon.

SHANGHAN - Secretary-General Qin Chen has led an appeal to the International Olympic Committee to allow Yuaneze athletes to participate under the Yuaneze delegation, reversing a decision made by former-Chairman Xi Jingyi in June which announced the planned boycott of the Summer Games in Saint Raneau, Albarine next month. In a letter sent to President of the IOC Silas Anthou, Qin stated that "the athletic pursuits and dreams of Yuan are to be realized and showcased, and the People's Republic formally withdraws our former statement of abstaining."

On June 3rd, then-President Xi Jingyi had announced that the Yuaneze Olympic Committee would not be sending athletes to compete in the 2022 Summer Olympics due to ongoing tensions over the status of Gangkou, a series of maritime clashes, and the mounting threats with Tasiastan. YOC Chairman Shan Huang had confirmed that "Yuaneze athletes will not be participating in the 2022 Summer Olympic Games in any capacity under our flag due to unjust sanctions levied against our great nation." Despite the blockage of the official Yuaneze carrier over athletes, Yuaneze athletes would still be able to compete under the "Committee of Neutral Athletes" should they opt to do so. Already several prominent athletes, like record-holding swimmer Lao Jinyan, have stated they will still be participating in the games.

Yuan's performance in the Olympics has long been on significance, routinely placing in the top five nations in terms of medal counts and often placing first overall. Yuan has boycotted past Olympics before, often in response to assertive tensions with other participating nations. This year's boycott is in response to what the government has cited as a 'continued international attempt to undermine Yuaneze sovereignty". Yuan is most prolific in the Summer Olympics, with Diving and Aquatic events being its most prominent sport. Yuan also frequently dominates martial arts tournaments, notably Judo, Taekwondo, and Fencing.

At the 2020 Summer Games in Vessalia, Yuan for the first time in its Olympic history topped the medal count, winning the most medals overall and the second most gold medals behind Zamastan. At the 2021 Winter Games in Kasema, Kyti, Yuan's showing was its best ever for the Winter games. The boycott had taken many Yuaneze citizens off guard, as the general population are avid sports fans and Yuaneze tourists make up a large percentage of attendees at the Games, even abroad. Upon Xi's ouster, Qin fired Shan Huang and replaced him and much of the Olympic committee as an effort to shore up the renown of international relations which had been severely damaged.

[Jumboestanexeniouth]

[box]

Albertine Weekly

---

---

Zoygarian ambassador sent back home after criticizing Jumbosan Police crackdown

---

Albertine - Zoygariaian Ambassador to the Jumbosan Confederation Amadiu Šilažki was yesterday morning expelled from the Confederation of Jumbosa, which was confirmed by jumbosan Minister of Foreign Affairs Julia Garnier in a press conference this morning together with Ile Auxerpents's Chief of Police Maiximilien Ogier. Amadiu Šilažki has been given 72 hours to leave the country, and if he doesn't comply he will risk getting arrested. The official reason for the expulsion of the Ambassador was according to Garnier "that he had wrongfully accused the jumbosan confederation and the local police of barbaric and undemocratic actions, and that he had tried to interfere in issues he knew nothing about and had no right to try to interfere with". Julia Garnier continued the press conference with stating that "Jumbosa would be more than willing to let Amadiu Šilažki return to his position of Ambassador if he sends an official apology to the Jumbosan confederation where he apologizes for his untruthful accusations and his manners ill fit for a diplomat.". She further said that Jumbosa did not wish to escalate the situation further if Zoygaria promised to let the Jumbosan government and parliament run their country and to not try to interfere in business that did not concern them. But Garnier also sent a warning, saying that Jumbosa would not let history repeat itself and that "the jumbosan government would not be afraid to use all means needed to secure the safety of the Des Mann islands and its civilians".


Jumbosan and Zoygarian relations have been chilly in the past, after Zoygaria established a puppet state out of the Des Mann islands during the world war. Ever since has the relations between ethnic zoygarians and ethnic jumbosans on these islands been problematic and cold, and the jumbosan government has passed several laws to curb the zoygarian nationalism. The reasons for these drastic laws were that the parliament and government feared that the zoygarian nationalists would not be loyal to the country that they lived in and that they instead would try to return to Zoygaria. In recent years has the relations between Zoygaria and Jumbosa been warming up with the establishment of embassies in both countries, but the relations are expected to become chilly again after recent events.


After Minister of Foreign Affairs Julia Garnier's speech was it Ile Auxerpents's Chief of Police Maiximilien Ogier to make a public statement, where he answered on Amadiu Šilažki's criticism. Ogier stated that "the police of Ile Auxerpents acted according to the situation at hand, and that the police would never use violence unless they were forced to". He also said that Amadiu Šilažki defended terrorists, and that "it is very inappropriate for an ambassador to support violent protests and disturbance of the peace the way he did". Maximilien Ogier also said that the Des Mann legislature trusts in him and his police force, and that the Ile Auxerpents's police force only function is to serve the innocent civilians of c. Ogier ended his speech and the press conference with stating that he "do not wish for any further escalations and he hope that peace will return to Ile Auxerpents".


The actions of the Ile Auxerpents police and the Jumbosan government has been met with public outrage and huge criticism from jumbosan minorities, civil rights activists and socialists living in Albertine. Politicians in the Socialist Bloque said that this obvious corruption was the consequence of the corrupt democratic system of Jumbosa and that Jumbosa's political system needed an overhaul to allow the voices of all groups of Jumbosa, and not just the rich and ethnically jumbosan. Chancellor of Jumbosa Jospin Ramsamy has not made a public announcement yet, and the chance is big that he awaits a zoygarian response first.

[Constantio]

NORASA FEDERAL

Home · Constantio · Nortua · International · Politics · Business · Technology and Science · Arts · Education · Health · Sports · Weather

---

SYRARANTO CIVIL WAR: Two Years Later

---

Rebel factions still wage a war of attrition against the remnants of the fallen and internationally disgraced Tasoulas regime.

NORASA- Two years after the incident which kickstarted the civil war in Syraranto, a conflict which is still raging albeit in a simmered version of its once ferocious reputation, the Norasa Federal looks at the violent and barbaric strife which plagued Western Nortua, brought the Sotoan Basin Union to the brink of collapse, and the world to the grasps of battle with a nuclear-armed dictator. Tasoulas may be dead and gone, but his loyalists still remain in pockets of resistance around the tattered and destroyed country. Recovery is a slow and continuous process, often hindered by the lingering dangers. The sadness and pulpable anger left in the wake of genocide in Tirikan gripped the world to the plight of refugee communities. And amidst it all, Syraranto is the warning of what can happen to a prosperous nation when the otherwise mundane differences of secularism and religion, socialism and capitalism, or democracy and theocracy turn into savage combattism.

The Socialist Kyriakos Tasoulas government came to power in 2015 through a emergency parliamentary election following the resignation of Mirakulo Eradon's government after a corruption scandal. The unrest in Syraranto continued largely with the 2016 Syraranto Revolution protests, which grew out of discontent with the Eradon government's growing suppression of civil liberties such as the right to gather in protest. Tasoulas' government remained the dominant political authority in what had been a one-party state until the first multi-party election to the People's Council of Syraranto was held in 2017. On 31 January 2017, Tasoulas implemented a new constitution, which led to a national crisis. Unlike previous constitutions, this one did not require that the president of Syraranto be a Syraranto national, leading to fierce demonstrations in Covijo, Tirikan, Uuanain, and Jyiranua organized by the Balgita Nationalist Forces.

In response to these protests, Tasoulas implemented many strict rules against the Gurriana ethnic and religious group, which exists largely in the Western region of Syraranto and is the general makeup of the B.N.F., which Tasoulas declared a terrorist organization. The Gurriana were stripped of their right to work in government positions and their religious gatherings were largely suspended with the reason given being "houses of worship being used as areas to build dissent and anti-government coup planning."

A growing separatist and independence movement began to grow in Syraranto, especially in the West along the border with Cylata and Constantio. While militia groups did form in communities in the west, there were never instances of unprovoked violence between government and militia forces from January 2017 to July 2020. The B.N.F. became a heavily armed group, which restricted Tasoulas' government from operating in large oversight in the west, effectively creating a de-facto government under the B.N.F. and a largely Gurriana council.

On July 29th, 2020, the Balgita Nationalist Forces detonated a bomb in front of the Syraranto Parliament in Covijo, killing 23 people and injuring dozens more. An intensive investigation with international intelligence aid from the Zamastanian Intelligence Service determined that the B.N.F. had committed the attack in an attempt to kill President Tasoulas, who was unharmed in the attack. Tasoulas was at the Presidential Palace at the time of the attack, and he promised swift justice and revenge on the perpetrators of the attack. The attack was the first incidence of violence against government or civilian targets by a insurgent group in Syraranto since 2002. The attack prompted international condemnations against the B.N.F. and support for the Syraranto government.

Tasoulas called a meeting before the Coalition of Crown Albatross Security Council to discuss matters related to the attack and the growing separatist movement within Syraranto, which included an alarming speech in which he said "every measure would be taken by the Syraranto government and armed forces to destroy the B.N.F., as well as any other forces that might seek to cause rebellion, destruction, and loss of life." President Tasoulas' statements raised concerns, especially amidst the West Euronian Defense Alliance members, who became vocally worried that Syraranto's spiking tensions were indications of a possible interior conflict. A majority of nations in attendance, while sending condolences and pledges of support to the Syraranto government after the attack, expressed concerns and urged patience and diplomacy in response instead of a violent military approach. President Foley Sakzi of Zamastan said "we wish to see the circumstances in Syraranto and Western Nortua to simmer and ease itself out through a negotiating process," while Quetana's President, António Brafeo, stated that "Syraranto is a progressor on the world stage, not a degressor. We do not want to see an escalation in an already violent scenario."

On the opposite side of the table, regional neighbors of Syraranto, such as President of Constantio Tony Blanian, stated that he would "offer support to quell the violence through any means, whether diplomatic or militaristic." Beleroskovian diplomats stated that the revolutionist forces should be destroyed, signaling to the sign of increased Beleroskov and Yuaneze influence in the region.

Six days after the parliament bombing on August 4th, the President launched a military offensive against "terror organizations and rebel insurgents" in Western Syraranto, effectively escalating to an armed conflict after protests calling for Tasoulas' removal were violently suppressed. Tens of thousands of armed soldiers began going city to city in Western Syraranto, with air strikes from the Syraranto Air Force being reported in many towns along the Constantio border. Zamastanian observers in Constantio reported explosions seen from across the border, while a contingent of Skithan aid workers in the town of Irakiio were detained and imprisoned by advancing government forces. Tasoulas, at the helm of the assault, called for the international community to rally behind the Syraranto cause for "freedom and the pursuit of justice", but that statement was quickly quelled by many people in the international community including President Sakzi, who said "I sincerely hope that the President pulls his forces back and pursues a diplomatic solution. Zamastan is willing to come assist the negotiating process, but until the military operation halts, we will not lend any support of any kind to the Syraranto government." Within hours of the beginning of the offensive, Zamastanian Secretary of Defense Curtis Fondaden said that Tasoulas' actions "destroyed the chance for diplomacy now".

On August 5th, 2020, President Xi Jingyi of Yuan pledged military support to Tasoulas, and dispatched a contingent of the Yuaneze Navy to the Sotoa Sea, leading to a condemnation in the C.C.A. Security Council by Secretary-General Katherine von Wettin, who continued to urge diplomatic talks. On August 6th, Secretary Fondaden released a statement from the Zamastanian Department of Defense, saying, "is not for the rebel group B.N.F. in particular; it is for the nearly 7 million people who live in the combat zone. We're looking at what could be hundreds if not thousands of civilian casualties over the course of a prolonged campiagn, hundreds of thousands displaced, and most importantly are the women and children who will innevitably be caught in the crossfire." Zamastan, Gladysynthia, Cadair, and Vulkaria (the original members of the Big Four) all placed intensive sanctions on Tasoulas' government, along with Avergnon, Quetana, Emmiria, and Austrolis. On August 7th, the Syraranto military began seiging the city of Tirikan, launching a carpet-bombing campaign largely indiscriminately against the city's inhabitants. Zamastan, Caspia, and Rio Palito among other nations heavily sanctioned the Syraranto government as perceptions of an ethnic cleansing against the Gurriana people in the Western part of the country began to unfold. Drambenburg, along with contingents of the Vuswistan Armed Forces, sent relief packages to the city via airdrops.

On August 10th, eight defecting Syraranto Armed Forces officers formed the Free Syraranto Army (FSA), originally composed of defected Syraranto military officers and soldiers, aiming "to bring this government (the Tasoulas government) down" with united opposition forces. On August 12th, a nationwide crackdown nicknamed the "Mikrayako Massacre" (named after the Gurriana holy month of Mikrayako) resulted in the death of at least 142 people and hundreds of injuries. On August 13th, a coalition of anti-government groups called the Syraranto National Council was formed. The council, based in New Ansion, attempted to organize the opposition. The opposition, however, including the FSA, remained a fractious collection of political groups, longtime exiles, grassroots organizers and armed militants divided along ideological, ethnic and/or sectarian lines. Throughout August 2020, government forces stormed major urban centres and outlying regions, and continued to attack protests.

On August 21st, President Tasoulas vowed to crush the anti-government uprising. August 22nd, fighting broke out in Urikaban, and further southeast near the coast in the city of Irakiio and nearby villages in the coastal governorate of Irakiio Governorate. Government forces were backed by helicopter gunships in the heaviest clashes in the governorate since the revolt began. Syraranto forces seized the territory following days of fighting and shelling. On August 24th, 78 civilians were killed in the Irtankana massacre. According to activist sources, government forces started by shelling the village before the B.N.F. militia had even moved in. Coalition of Crown Albatross observers headed to the town in the hope of investigating the massacre, but they were met with a roadblock and small arms fire and were forced to retreat.

On August 31st, the C.C.A. for the first time officially proclaimed Syraranto to be in a state of civil war. The conflict began moving into the two largest cities, the capital of Covijo and Gurikans. In both cities, peaceful protests – including a general strike by Covijo shopkeepers and a small strike in Gurikans were interpreted as indicating that the historical alliance between the government and the business establishment in the large cities had become weak. On September 1st, a North Icadania fighter jet was shot down by Syraranto government forces in the north near Tabaca, killing both pilots. Tasoulas announced that Syraranto forces would fire on any unwelcomed foreign military forces, leading North Icadania Chancellor, Gianni Roussilis, to announce that the border would be closed and diplomatic relations would end. This kickstarted a series of Syraranto's neighboring countries to close their borders and embassies, including Vuswistan, New Ansion, Cylata, Cechena, and Constantio. Artaska also closed off diplomatic relations, but began supplying rebels in the west through financial funding.

By the end of August, the B.N.G. and multiple rebel factions had captured or battled in over 68% of the country, leaving the government with only a third control. On September 2nd, Supreme Leader Sirus III of Epsilon sent 50,000 troops to Syraranto to assist government forces. This force, alongside the already heavy presence of Yuaneze naval and air capabilities, pressured other nations friendly to the rebel cause to send support of their own. By September 6th, North Icadania announced they had targeted Syraranto government supply convoys in airstrikes, coordinated in shared effort with the New Ansion and Artaska governments. In response, a Syraranto missile strike was launched against the North Icadanian capital of Marsari on September 7th, killing dozens of citizens. After the missile attack on Marsari, Secretary-General von Wettin suspended Syraranto's seat on the Coalition of Crown Albatross, announcing that Tasoulas' government "no longer cared for civil diplomatic discussion," and that they were "actively destroying the lives of thousands, if not millions."

On September 11th, nine members of the Sotoan Basin Union attended a summit hosted by Vuswistan President Panagiotakis Nicolalis on Thursday in Tyrnatini, where leaders of the nine countries said they were ready to back CCA sanctions against Syraranto if Covijo shunned dialogue. Constantio underlined the prospect of sanctions earlier on Thursday, with Prime Minister Tony Blanian saying in an opinion piece that "If Syraranto refuses to see sense ... I see no option but for my fellow Sotoan Basin leaders to impose meaningful sanctions. Because this is no longer just about Nortuan solidarity. It is about recognizing that vital interests - strategic CCA interests - are now at stake. If the CCA wants to exercise true geopolitical power, it simply cannot afford to appease a belligerent Syraranto."

On September 16th, rebels captured Hirankya Military Airbase after a 10-day siege. The strategic airbase is located on the main highway between Tabaca and the North Icadania border. On September 21st, a chemical attack took place in the Jyaka region of the Tabaca countryside, leading to thousands of casualties and several hundred dead in the opposition-held stronghold. The attack was followed by a military offensive by government forces into the area, which had been hotbeds of the opposition.

The Sakzi administration in Zamastan, along with the successive Atticus Moreau administration following the conclusion of the 2020 Zamastan presidential election, both promised not to send ground forces into the region. However, President Moreau met with W.E.D.A. leaders in private on September 25th in Vongane, Quetana, to discuss possible intervention covertly to support the rebels, trying to avoid the overt risk of drawing an expanded conflict into Syraranto while also stopping any possible humanitarian disaster from evolving out of control. President Callum MacTavish of Ruskayn had urged Moreau to assemble routine relief supply missions to Syraranto to be airdropped into heavily affected rebel areas. Moreau and Secretary of State Jessiah Vallotis arranged a meeting with North Icadanian Chancellor Gianni Roussilis and Vuswistani President Panagiotakis Nicolalis to use their airspace to fly sorties into Syraranto. From September 30th to October 6th, Zamastanian crews aboard Vuswistani planes flew over Syraranto from North Icadania and dropped over 40,000 tons of supplies; mostly food and medical, into Western Syraranto.

On October 7th, 2020, delegates from regional countries and observer nations gathered in Tyrnatini, Vuswistan, for the Tyrnatini I Peace Talks. The aim of the C.C.A.-backed talks were to find a discernable peace settlement between the Syraranto government and the rebel forces. Civilian casualties had reached over 30,000 dead by October, making the war one of the most devastating modern conflicts for the rate of casualties among civilians. The Tasoulas government refused early in the talks to suspend bombing campaigns, and the talks quickly collapsed into governments working to damage the economic and fighting ability of the Tasoulas regime without being directly involved. Delegates largely agreed to suspend trade and diplomatic relations fully with Syraranto, while the C.C.A. suspended Syraranto and Epsilon's seats indefinitely or until Tasoulas stepped down from office and ended the military campaign. At this stage, De Yuan's Xi Jingyi decided to end their support of the Tasoulas government at the risk of sanctions. Three days after the Peace Talks in Vuswistan, a gunman linked to Tasoulas' government envoy in East Chanchajilla attempted to assassinate Zamastanian Secretary of Defense Camille Boffrand while in Vilanja. While the assassination attempt failed and Boffrand escaped unharmed, two of his aides were killed.

On October 25th, the Zamastanian Intelligence Service announced two major developments in Syraranto. The first was that the death toll from the conflict had reached 100,000 people: approximately 30,000 government fighters, 60,000 rebel fighters, and over 45,000 civilians had been killed. The second was the infiltration and rise of terrorist and extremist groups in the conflict zone, specifically that of Al-Fijar and remenants of the Malvarian Liberation Front.

For the entirity of the month of November, the Tasoulas regime forced back rebel fighters from their expansive campaign near the cities surrounding the capital. However, a swift and calculated rebel offensive in early December caused the tide of the war to shift once again, pushing the Tasoulas regime back into a defensive state. The war at this point became classified by most foreign departments across the C.C.A. as a "broken-state war", as prior to the conflict, Syraranto was a significant power in Western Nortua. Through the end of 2020, rebel forces and regime supporters stalled to a stalemate in every major city in the country.

Resumed conversations were scheduled for early 2021 in Siniapore following the collapse of the peace talks in Vuswistan.

On February 29th, 2021, a new round of peace talks restarted in Tyrnatini, Vuswistan. At this point in the conflict, 400,000 people, including over 150,000 civilians, had been killed in the fighting. The new talks came after a new guidelines set was established by neutral Lutharian moderators, which essentially stated each side of the conflict could allow no more than 2 international delegation observers and that representation from rebels will be limited to the three "most prolific groups" as opposed to the previous sixteen groups present in the October talks.

While the reinvigoration of talks received extensive praise from international diplomats, some members of the talks were skeptical.

"There are going to be significant dilemmas in this process, of course." said Abuma Malakai, a representative for the rebel group Balgita Nationalist Forces, who is part of the three-team delegation. "There are significant problems with only allowing representation from a small handful of our revolutionary cause. Tasoulas massacres us, with no alleviation for who he kills. Despite this, our differences among cells are too extreme and complex for us to represent on behalf of us all. We cannot in good conscience support some groups, exclude others, and leave thousands to be slaughtered."

During the talks, delegates agreed to a temporary 3-week ceasefire, set to end on April 1st but with an ability to be reinstated if parties agree. The temporary ceasefire would allow aid workers to enter besieged areas and deliver relief supplies. The agreement was reached after nearly a week of discussion, in which rebels suggested multiple times that Tasoulas resign and step down as president, to which the regime not surprisingly rejected. The regime suggested that rebels surrender, with land reclaimed by the government and a clearing of sentences for rebels with the stipulation of identification markers for former fighters, to which the rebel representatives also refused. Syrarantoan government officials originally tossed the idea aside, with their disagreement coming from their placement with Zamastanian officials, who have routinely labeled the government as being human-rights abusers. The Constantio government had made similar remarks, but the Blanian and Moreau administrations have both stated that the rebel forces have also committed atrocities during the war. The Coalition of Crown Albatross Human Rights Observatory estimates that nearly 400,000 people have been killed in under a year of fighting, making the war the most deadly in the world since the World War by far.

However, a survey and investigation by Vuswistani moderator Sirvan Guttaan concluded that as of Sunday, March 14th, the ceasefire that was put in place by the Tyrnatini peace talks is being "maintained and honored by all parties so far, which is a promising sign for future prospects of a lasting peace." Guttaan stated in his observations that, with the exception of a minor clash near Tirikan on March 10th, "all parties have been following the guidelines of the ceasefire. We have had only limited and unconnected sprats of violence, but since the implementation of the ceasefire, major clashes have basically halted." Guttaan said in a press release, "this is significant because it marks the first time since the summer of 2020 that there has been no widescale fighting or offensive operations." The ceasefire allowed for humanitarian aid and medical assistance to reach besieged cities.

Worries surrounding the ceasefire were the spread of diseases in populations who have lost access to clean drinking water and sanitation services due to destroyed infrastructure. Nearly 20% of infrastructure in the country had been damaged or destroyed, according to analysis from the Coalition of Crown Albatross.

Because of the ceasefire agreed to in the second round of Tyrnatini peace talks, fighting stalled and major clashes largely halted across Syraranto. Minor skirmishes were common, as was brutal trench dug-in fighting, but there were no large scale offenses by either side in the immediate months following the March 1st agreement.

A flareup in clashes occurred in July of 2021 when Tasoulas ordered his forces to move on rebel strongholds in Kayakaa, resulting in hundreds of casualties.

On September 15th, 2021, a nuclear weapons test occurred and drew international criticism, much of it directed towards continued humanitarian crisis as a result of government neglect and continued clashes. While the international community condemned Syraranto's regime for the test and its subsequent missile tests, Tasoulas remained assertive and threatened to utilize a nuclear weapon against any "international forces that would try and destroy Syrarantoan sovereignty." Multiple threats were made against the Sotoan Basin Union, specifically Constantio and President Tony Blanian, which prompted the government of Zamastan and President Atticus Moreau to promise mutual defense if Syraranto attacked.

On November 13th the regime forces surged a series of aggressive offensives against rebel-held territory, specifically the city of Tirikan and Uuanain, spiking fears of a wider conflict spilling over into neighboring nations like Cylata and North Icadania. Observers noted that the fighting in Tirikan specifically threatened to unleash a major humanitarian disaster, as hospitals and schools were purposefully targeted by the government.

The war entered a stage of international attention when Tasoulas fired thousands of rockets into neighboring countries, killing hundreds in Constantio and North Icadania. From that moment, the SBU and WEDA combined forces to conduct aerial operations against Tasoulas. Right as the war seemed to be entering a no-return moment, and after a week of clashes which saw insurgent groups break through the regime's defenses, an attack by rebel factions in the Syrarantoan capital of Covijo penetrated the Presidential compound and resulted in a massive firefight which killed dictator Kyriakos Tasoulas. When news broke of the death of the tyrant who has long plagued the West Nortuan nation with human rights abuses and clamping down on rebellion with war crimes, people across Syraranto celebrated, specifically in rebel-held territories. Syrarantoan Army General Able Masilla, the successor in the regime after Tasoulas' death, announced that the federal forces would stand down and that all conscripts could return home, and that the government was fully withdrawing and resigning from their posts.

President Blanian reacted to the news of Tasoulas' death, saying "the people of Syraranto can now decide their future. The death of Tasoulas and the resignation of his genocidal regime creates the greatest opportunity we have seen in Nortua since the foundation of the Sotoan Basin Union. Constantio will be helping with the restructuring of any interim government that requests our help, and we are seeking to make sure peace finally returns to Western Nortua."

But as international observers poured into the country to alleviate freed areas, they stumbled upon the horrors of the war. The Tirikan Genocide (also sometimes known as the Gurriana Genocide or the Tirikan Massacre) was the systematic mass murder over 110,000 ethnic Gurriana people carried out in Tirikan and adjoining regions in western Syraranto by the forces of Kyriakos Tasoulas from 2020-2022 in the regime's counter-rebellion military operations during the civil war. Massacres, forced disappearances, torture and summary executions of guerrillas and especially civilian collaborators at the hands of security forces had been widespread since 2017 and was a longstanding policy of the military regime, which many international officials were aware of.

The repression reached genocidal levels in the predominantly Gurriana province of Tirikan. There, the military viewed the ethnic group – traditionally seen as subhumans by the deeply anti-religious Tasoulas regime – as siding with the insurgency and began a campaign of mass killings and disappearances of peasants. In some areas, at least one-third of the villages were evacuated or destroyed. Children and young men were often targets of mass killings, orchestrated by a long-simmering disdain of the Gurriana held by Tasoulas.

After the 2022 West Nortua rocket attacks and the Sotoan Basin Union intervention in Syraranto, and the eventual death of Tasoulas during the Battle of Covijo, investigators from the SBU and WEDA began discovering mass graves belonging to Gurriana who were killed in massacres by regime forces. The first graves were discovered in early April, but were publicly disclosed on April 22nd. President Tony Blanian of Constantio urged the Coalition of Crown Albatross to call the massacres a genocide and to open an investigation and trials into crimes against humanity for surviving perpetrators. Resolution 239 was subsequently voted on. The genocide has been recognized by several nations, bodies of the CCA, and national and multi-national organizations.

As SBU and CCA peacekeeping and humanitarian groups within Syraranto engaged in rebuilding efforts around Tirikan, more than 370 instances of grave sites hastily dug and filled were marked and uncovered, with the largest consisting of over 2,000 bodies. Local residents in the region offered testimony to events which played out during the course of the war and prior to, where hundreds of accounts, photographic and video evidence, and satellite imagery confirmed Tasoulas' regime forces systematically rounded up and executed Gurriana peoples.

Captured regime officials, as well as Tasoulas apologists, rejected charges of genocide, typically arguing either that those Gurriana who died were simply in the way of a war, or that killings were justified by their individual or collective support for the enemies of the regime. General Able Masilla, the second-in-command for Tasoulas' armed forces and the man who surrendered the government to rebel forces during the battle in Covijo, detained by rebels and passed to a CCA detention being held in Norasa, denied having any knowledge of the massacres but maintained that Tasoulas emphasized his disdain for Tirikan in strategy meetings. He stated that he was "unaware of the horrors in Tirikan," and went further to state that "if this was a crime against the Gurriana people, those responsible should pay the dearest price."

---

Comments [ 12251 ] | E-mail

© Constantio Media 2022

[Zoygaria]

LI HERALNIKI LUMINOSI

---

---

Jumbosan Ambassador to Zoygaria Expelled in Explosion of Tensions

---

Vostok - François Lavigne, the Jumbosan ambassador to Zoygaria, has been summarily expelled from the country in retaliation for the expulsion of Zoygaria's ambassador to the Jumbosan Confederation, Amadiu Šilažki. In a violent explosion of tensions between the two countries, both now find their only recently-formed embassies devoid of envoys through which to conduct business and relations. The two sudden expulsions occurred amid a massive controversy surrounding a systematic Jumbosan police crackdown on peaceful Zoygarian protesters on Ile Auxerpents, an island that belongs to the Ashen Islands, which bear a significant Zoygarian population.

Just a few days prior, Ile Auxerpents erupted into protest as hundreds of ethnic Zoygarian activists marched into the streets demanding an independence referendum. This protest, although peaceful in nature, was not perceived as such by Jumbosan authorities, which wickedly cracked down with baton and cuff, leaving many injured and some jailed. Zoygaria's ambassador to the country spoke out against such actions, only to be ousted from his seat by the Jumbosan government yesterday after "wrongfully [accusing] the Jumbosan Confederation and the local police of barbaric and undemocratic actions" that "he knew nothing about and had no right to try to interfere with." The ambassador in question, who was given 72 hours to leave the country, has been safely returned to Vostok to the relief and outrage of La Praetoria. In an interview, Prime Minister Sajto Solski remarked that he was "astonished by the gall of the Jumbosan Confederation" to "dare try to silence our countrymen abroad and our diplomatic presence in the country." In retaliation, Jumbosan ambassador François Lavigne has been given a mere 48 hours to return to Jumbosa before he is at risk of police detainment.

Southeast Nortua descends into turmoil as its two major seapowers go head-to-head over protests. With Jumbosan hostility to pro-Zoygarian sentiment in the Ashen Islands and the rapid dissolution of relations between the two, all that can be done is to observe what is to come.

[Drambenburg]

Imagine there's a banner here for the LERBIN TIMES

THE LERBIN TIMES

Für Kaiser und Reich

International:

People Choosing Between Food and Heat in Jyau, TTPA to Help?

As inflation in Jyau has skyrocketed by over 400%, people in the country are having a difficult time. In response, Kossmil has extended a potential helping hand. A word from the emperor's office mentions a potential bailout from the Drambenburgian treasury. While not a popular opinion in the House of Lords, it is seen as a necessary risk by the chancellor and senate to keep one of our closest allies afloat, especially as international tensions reached a peak in the last month. "Jyau is a fellow member of the TTPA, and we must support them as best as we can," said chancellor Herzog earlier this morning in a press briefing. The Lerbin Times has an inside scoop on the potential funding, D$55 billion. If Jyau accepts the offer, D$33 billion will be in the form of a loan from the emperor's personal treasury, while the remaining D$22 billion will come from the general fund and will be used to purchase bonds from the Jyaueze government. The decision is unpopular among Drambenburgian citizens, who think the money would be better spent on educational reforms, infrastructure, and the like. 55% of respondees to a Lerbin Times survey thought that the money should instead be invested in bonds to Drambenburgian business. This offer of a bailout to Jyau is only the latest in a string of grants, loans, and bond purchases that Drambenburg has issued to many fellow TTPA members.

Zoygaria and Jumbosa, Small Islands... For Now

Jumbosa, a member of the Trans-Toyana Prosper Alliance, and Zoygaria have been politically engaged in spats for some time. Recently, Jumbosa has experienced several "peaceful protests" against the government, which has responded by using police to end the protests. While Drambenburg is a nation where protesting is seen as a hobby of almost everyone, Jumbosa is not the same way. The Zoygarian ambassador spoke out against Jumbosa's use of force against their own citizens, to which Jumbosa responded by threatening the Zoygarian ambassador and giving him 72 hours to leave the country. Zoygaria retaliated by expelling Jumbosa's ambassador from their country and giving him only 48 hours to leave. When asked for a statement, chancellor Herzog said, "We stand by our allies, even when their ideals go against our own."

Lerbin Voted Nicest Place to Live in the World

In a recent Lerbin Times poll, the capitol of Drambenburg was voted "nicest place to live in the CCA." Lerbin boasts an incredibly low crime rate, great public transportation, a low cost of living, and above-average earnings in most industries. These results come nearly a year after devastating terror attacks rocked Lerbin, leaving thousands dead and many more injured from the use of Anthrax in the Lerbin Subway and at the Lerbin International Airport.

Drambenburg:

Election Results In, New Direction for the Empire?

As the national vote came in last week, the Party of Reason lost the plurality of seats in Congress but maintained a majority in the Senate. the plurality of congress members now belongs to the Free Worker's Party. Meanwhile, the House of Lords elected Federalist, Lord Giorg Auster-Brautstadt, to become chancellor. Giorg Auster-Brautstad is expected to have a much firmer hand in international affairs. One of his main campaign points was a strong desire to reign in Aunistria and Mayotte and return them to the Holy Empire of Drambenburg. Giorg is a staunch Reformed Catholic with a decorated history in the army.

Heat Wave Forecasted in Northern Regions: Fossil Fuels to Blame?

As temperatures across the nation continue to hit record-setting highs, several regions in the north of Drambenburg are set to break triple digits for the first time since the Bundesministerium für Ozeanische und Atmosphärische Bedingungen (BOAB) began tracking temperatures in the 1920s. BOAB reports these conditions are a result of an unprecedented El Nino in Titania Bay. Alfred Tomat, Ph.D., a climate scientist and professor from Universidad de Lerbin told the Lerbin Times, "these record temperatures absolutely are a result of climate change. Fossil fuels need to be replaced with green energy. However, there is only so much that we can continue to do in Drambenburg. We have one of the lowest carbon footprints in the CCA, largely due to our switch from coal to hydroelectric, nuclear, and solar power in the late 80s. The next big step here is to eliminate fossil-fuel-burning vehicles from our roadways and train tracks."

Waistcoats Are the Latest Big Trend

As we enter the mid-2020s, the decade has finally begun to have its own sense of identity. The big fashion trend this decade? Waistcoats. Everyone is wearing them, from youths to the elderly. One can seldom attend an event, be it a high school prom or a high-society gala, without seeing all the men dressed in slacks and a waistcoat, sans a jacket.

New Flag Propossed in Congress

After several decades of the current flag, the time has finally come to replace it with one that better encapsulates the ideas which Drambenburg stands for. The new flag, pictured above, is set to replace the older flag officially on August 1st. By then, all older flags must be replaced.

Lerbin:

Mass Shooting Leaves Five Dead

Local Man Wins Courgette Growing Contest For the Third Time

Kaiser Buys Shirts For Low-Income Lerbin Family

Delicious Gin Likely To Win Village Show

[Jyau]

GUTAAI PRESS ASSOCIATE

---

---

DRAMBENBURG LEADS PROPOSED BAILOUT
The TTPA has offered a series of bailout propositions to help shrink Jyau's inflation

---

Chancellor Schoten in United Cavollon, July 21, 2022.

Chancellor Arend Schoten welcomed a proposed bailout by the Drambenburgian government on Thursday, having participated in a video conference with Chancellor Walde Herzog and new Chancellor-elect Giorg Auster-Brautstadt, both of whom led propositions to fund a loan and purchase Jyaueze bonds to not only help alleviate inflation, but recover the nation's banking system. In a letter obtained by the GPA, Kaiser Peter von Wettin XXI signed off on a plan to extend D55 billion in a 40/60 split of bonds and loans, respectively.

The terms and conditions of the proposal: Drambenburg will send a financial advisor to offer economic and financial advice to the Jyaueze government; a 30-year fixed-rate loan offered a sum total of D$33 billion at 1.99 APY, with payments due yearly (D$1,471,422,201/yr, for a total of D$44,142,666,032); and Drambenburg will purchase D$22 billion in Jyuaeze bonds. With this plan, the Jyaueze government will repay debts to Drambenburg in return for the stabilization of the economy and the easing of the ongoing energy and supply crisis, something which came as huge relief to the average citizen on Thursday.

"Thank god for the Kaiser and the TTPA," said one man who had been participating in demonstrations in Gutaai. "Hopefully this is all accepted and goes into effect soon. Our family has had to make the choice daily on whether we go without food, or whether we go without electricity, or running water. I never imagined our country would plummet from prosperity to collapse, but here we are, and the light is at the end of the tunnel."

Even with the bailout, which will be joined by similar measures from Kossmil and United Cavollon, the economic prominence Jyau once held may no longer be recoverable. Once the hallmark of banking in Adula, the collapse of the financial systems in Jyau and their long return into recovery spells a difficult path ahead. Chancellor Schoten, however, praised the international efforts and thanked the TTPA for binding together.

"This is what our organization was made for," Schoten said, while in a meeting with President Aerts in United Cavollon. "The TTPA has proven resourceful and remained steadfast. They could have forced us to drop out of the organization, forced us to double down on immediate payments, which absolutely would have destroyed our country further than it has been damaged. But the collective efforts of the Kossmilians, the Cavollonians, and now the Drambenburgians has offered our nation some relief. It won't be immediate, the recovery will be a long one, but the people of Jyau can rest easy knowing help is on the way."

Drambenburg's Minister of Foreign Affairs Johann Douglass will meet with Chancellor Schoten in Gutaai this weekend to discuss further complexities of the proposed bailout, which still faces a vote in the House of Lords, which is Drambenburg's legislative body. The decision is unpopular among Drambenburgian citizens, who think the money would be better spent on educational reforms, infrastructure, and other matters. 55% of responses to a Lerbin Times survey thought that the money should instead be invested in bonds to Drambenburgian business. This offer of a bailout to Jyau is only the latest in a string of grants, loans, and bond purchases that Drambenburg has issued to many fellow TTPA members.

[Besmenien]

Former President Otto Schulz passed away at the age of 90

Otto Schulz in 1995 during a press conference.

---

Otto Schulz in January 2021 at his home in Könlenz.

Author: Maggie Ehrhardt

Könlenz: Former Besmenian president Otto Schulz died in the early morning of July 23rd at the age of 90 after a long illness. He was the Besmenian head of state from 1985 to 1997, making him the eighth president of the Federal Republic of Besmenia. Schulz previously served as Minister of the Interior from 1980 to 1985 and Vice President of the Federal Chamber from 1976 to 1980.

"The news of Schulz's death fills me with deep sadness", said President Vincent von Schilling. He praised Schulz as a "distinctive personality" with "progressive courage". Von Schilling emphasized in a letter of condolence to Schulz's widow, Klaudia Wagner, that "the self-image of Besmenia and the togetherness in our society were shaped by him. ''With expertise, prudence and great life experience, he stood up for Besmenia and its liberal constitution. "As Vice President of the Federal Chamber, as Federal Minister of the Interior and as Federal President, civil rights and freedoms were never just abstract concepts for him”, said PM Elisabeth Rademacher in a statement on the death of Otto Schulz.

Otto Schulz was born as Otto Gahlenbeck on February 18, 1932 in Könlenz, as the son of Hubert Gahlenbeck and Eva Gahlenbeck. After his father died in a traffic accident in late 1933, he was raised by his mother alone. When his mother died in 1943 as a result of an illness, the 11-year-old Otto was adopted by his aunt and her husband Werner Schulz. After leaving school he worked in his uncle's shop. At the age of 20, Schulz entered the World War in 1952 and was involved as an East Besmenian soldier in the Battle of Pachian.

When Schulz returned to East Besmenia in December 1954, he began studying law at the University of Könlenz in 1955, which he successfully completed after seven semesters in 1959 with the first state examination in law. After that, Schulz began working as a lawyer. In 1960 Schulz became a member of the Liberal Citizen Party of Besmenia (LBB), the predecessor of today's Free Besmenian Citizen's Party (FBBP). In the city council elections in Könlenz in 1963, he became a member of the city council of the city. In 1965 Schulz married the teacher Margot Ernst, to whom he was married until 1977. Their daughter Angelika Schulz (*1969) came from the marriage. In 1980 he married Klaudia Wagner, with whom he remained until his death. At the 1968 Besmenian federal election, Schulz successfully ran for a seat for the Federal Chamber. In 1976 Schulz was elected Vice President of the Federal Chamber. After the 1980 Besmenian federal election, PM Martin Beiter appointed him Minister of the Interior in the FBBP-SDU minority government. After the snap election in June 1981, Schulz remained in the office.

Election poster for Schulz's presidential candidacy for the 1985 Besmenian presidential election. The text below means translated: With responsibility and security for Besmenia

In the course of the 1985 Besmenian presidential election, Otto Schulz was nominated as the joint candidate of the FBBP and SDU. Schulz received the most votes with 37.8% in the first ballot. In the second ballot, he won the election with 60.5%. He was sworn in as the 8th President of Besmenia on April 5, 1985, succeeding Erwin Pohl. In the 1991 Besmenian presidential election, he won re-election with 63.4%. During his 12-year presidency, Schulz made about 128 foreign visits. The highlight of his presidency was his opening speeches at the 1986 World Cup in Laitstadt and at the 1990 Summer Olympics in Melmingen. During his tenure, the assassination of PM Martin Beiter happend on May 5, 1991, prompting Schulz to give an emotional televised address the day after the assassination to give the Besmenian population renewed courage and confidence for the future. On his initiative, the Martin Beiter Memorial Day was introduced in 1992 as a nationwide memorial day.

After the end of his presidency in April 1997, Schulz worked as a lawyer again for some time and became involved in various organizations. In November 2002 he published an autobiography entitled ''With Responsibility For Besmenia''. Schulz has also been a frequent guest on political talk shows with his opinions on current political issues since the late 1990s.

RIP Otto Schulz
1932-2022

Other news
• Al-Fijar commits terror attack in Oftbon, Elbresia
• Debate on abolition of conscription for the Besmenian Federal Army

© Today's Besmenia 2022

[Selle]

Journal Officiel de Selle
Military raids protest camps, leaders arrested
Prime Minister Belbane extended the country's state of emergency

Sellean police face off against protestors.

Taravo - Prime Minister Jaques Belbane confirmed that the military in Selle has taken control of the presidential secretariat in the capital of Taravo, after what members of the country’s months-long protest movement described as a “brutal assault”. Soldiers overnight also destroyed tents at the adjacent protest site, arrested several protest leaders and cordoned off the area together with about 100 protesters.

The military assault came hours after the protesters on Thursday withdrew from the camp in front of the prime minister’s official residence. The demonstrators had already announced their intention to withdraw from the presidential secretariat on July 22.

“By around midnight, we heard that a huge contingent of military was on their way towards the protestor's camp and suddenly we saw them running into the presidential secretariat,” a young protester told Journal Officiel. “Soon after, they cordoned off the area and brutally assaulted the peaceful protesters as if we were thugs.” He sustained minor injuries, he said, while trying to run away from the military crackdown. As the military attack began, he streamed it live but later lost his phone in the chaos. “Some were very badly assaulted; inhumanely assaulted as if they have no heart. We have nowhere to go now. We are locked in the camp. I have nothing now; not even my phone. I’m now using an old phone now. I am left with only my clothes,” he said.

It is estimated that about 10 protesters were badly injured after being attacked. ​​​​​The assault on the protest sites came after Prime Minister Belbane issued sweeping tax increases despite looming economic collapse and growing public anger over the longtime political influence of his party.

[Apatonia]

LE DOCUMENT DE MISAMBA

Police stand guard in front of government offices after clashes in Sifondo.

CLASHES IN SIFONDO BETWEEN SECURITY FORCES AND INSURGENTS LEADS TO LOCKDOWN

President James Etémé said that at least 13 people have been killed in fighting between armed groups in the capital, Sifondo, citing a report by a spokesman for the city’s emergency services. Fighters aligned with a LDF militia group exchanged fire in a central district where several government and international agencies, along with diplomatic missions, are based, and clashes spread to the areas of the capital on Friday. It was the latest escalation to threaten the relative peace after nearly a half decade of civil war in Apatonia, where rival sets of authority are locked in a political stalemate.

A Sifondo Ambulance and Emergency Services spokesperson said at least 13 people were dead and 27 others were injured as a result of the clashes. A spokesperson for the interior ministry said three of the dead were civilians. The main sides involved were security forces of the central government and insurgents affiliated to the Lundia Defense Forces. They included the RADA force, an interior ministry spokesperson said. By midday on Friday, the situation was mostly calm in central Sifondo, where some vehicles were burned out and others pocked with bullet holes. A Presidential Council statement called on both sides to cease hostilities, adding that government and military prosecutors will conduct investigations.

Flights at Sifondo's main Azikiwe International Airport were stopped for hours, but the authorities there later said they were resuming.

The cause of the fighting was unclear. However, there were indications it was part of the ongoing insurgency of the LDF to gain independence for the eastern Lundia province or establish an Islamic theocracy in Apatonia.

CCA Peacekeepers stationed in Sifondo reported exchange of gunfire but no casualties.

[Zamastan]

---

SECOND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Virtually unopposed in national polling, Sabine Armitage and Leanne Dale were granted the most time of the four candidates in a clear show of who has captured public interest.

POLITICAL CORRESPONDANT: Travis Canterbury (@TCanterburyOfficial)
TOFINO - With less than two months until the 2022 general election and polls signaling out Rep. Armitage and Senator Dale as the only relative options for winning the ballot, the second presidential debate was held at the University of Tofino to an audience of students wherein the four leading candidates set the stage, but time was controversially given overwhelmingly to the two frontrunners. At the end of the night, polling seemed to show a continuation of the neck-and-neck tie which has defined the innevitable return to either a Conservative Party or Liberal Party executive. However, most viewers credited Dale with the upper hand victory, citing numerous instances in which she fact checked Armitage and carried resonating sound bites.

A hungry, confident Leanne Dale finally found Sabine Armitage’s glass jaw, and she scored a knockout in the decisive debate. The strategic mistake was the challenger’s. Frequently agreeing with Dale, attempting to hug the most popular portions of the Senate's foreign policy, Armitage wanted to shine for Zamastan as the sunny optimist. In short: She tried to be Cassious Castovia. But he ended up as Sabine Armitage — on her back, on the mat, a bloody mess.

Covering three key blows in the debate, it surrounded Armitage’s foreign policy arguments. Often it has never been more than a laundry list of tough-talk. She reliably repeats the same jingoistic slogans every time she hits the national stage, and Dale had evidently been studying her opponent's material. When Armitage tried to justify her plan to increase defense spending by Z$2 trillion, she launched into a familiar complaint that, ship for ship, “our Navy is smaller now than any time since 1920.” Dale fired back with a simple retort, stating that what the Zamastanian military may be behind on quantitatively, they are years ahead in quality. Stating her goal is to maintain the current size of the Zamastanian military, Dale said any future investments or cuts will be meant to phase out aging units for more streamlined, modern, and efficient firepower.

In the second blow, Dale was able to needle Armitage as though she’s a child who sees the world through a drawing rather than a map. Discussing the crisis in Tasiastan, Armitage sought to paint the government of President Haajid Swati as a proxy Yuaneze state. Despite popular opinion being viciously against her, she then completely bollixed her Ausianan geography or geopolitics, depending on the ask, saying “Yuan wants Tasiastan because its their key to Central Ausiana." Whether or not this was a gaffe, it appeared as though Armitage had ignored the expansive Alliance of Central and Western Ausianan Cooperation (ACWAC), whose member states are indebted to Yuan and surround Tasiastan, effectively isolating it. In fact, most of the member states are in Central Ausiana. Dale took the opportunity to bash Armitage, calling her an "apologist for authoritarians" and a "betrayer of our allies."

The Senator was both ruthless and efficient in calling out Armitage's flip-floppery on foreign policy. This exchange, from the opening moments of the debate, bears quoting at length:

DALE: I know you haven’t been in a position to actually execute foreign policy, but every time you’ve offered an opinion, you’ve been wrong. You said we should have gone into Syraranto to fight rebels, not Tasoulas. You said that we should still send troops in Syraranto to this day. You indicated that we shouldn’t be passing nuclear treaties with Beleroskov and Yuan, despite the fact that practically every senator, regardless of party, voted for it. You’ve said that we should have annexed Ossinia, then you said we shouldn't. Then you said we should've left the coalition in Ossinia all together, which means not only were you wrong but you were also confusing and sending mixed messages both to our troops and our allies. What we need . . . with respect to the entire world is strong, steady leadership, not wrong and reckless leadership that is all over the map."

MOREAU PLEADS TO QIN FOR PEACE IN AUSIANA, RECOGNITION OF GANGKOU

Following the internal ouster of Xi Jingyi, Chairwoman Qin Chen has vowed to restore Yuan's standing in the world.

POLITICAL CORRESPONDANT: Ryan Cesterne(@CesterneTofino)
SHANGHAN - Last week, the unpredictable and widely condemned Xi Jingyi was ousted from power by the party which kept him propped up for nearly a decade. The embattled leader has since been confined to a solitary cell in the basement of the People's Assembly, according to intelligence reports from Albarine and Haduastan, and the former-Vice Premier Qin Chen has taken his place. In the week following her rise to power, Qin has already convened ACWAC in a major summit in Shanghan, reapplied De Yuan for the 2022 Olympics in Saint Raneau, and has pledged to align closer with Tasiastan through diplomatic means rather than through force used by her predecessor. In Tofino, President Moreau welcomed the power shift, calling Xi's ouster a "optimistic sign," and urging Qin to "follow the peaceful path" by "endorsing safety in Ausiana" and "recognizing Gangkou".

While the power shift may have been met with positive response among much of the world's governments, wary of the recent tensions which engulfed the matters of maritime safety, nuclear proliferation, and stability in the most tense geopolitical situation of the past twenty years, Xi's ouster does not mean that Yuan's assertiveness has disappeared. While it is true that Qin Chen has shown willingness to readmit the international community to a more relaxed role of negotiation and diplomacy, she has made clear that dissent by the public in Yuan will not be taken lightly. Demonstrations have already been suppressed, with reports of thousands of detainings of protestors in Shanghan and police gunfire reported in Xiani by containment officers.

And as to the subject of recognising Gangkou as sovereign Zamastanian territory, that prospect is a long shot according to nearly every foreign policy expert. Moreau's plea is an attempt, says former-Secretary of State Avi Tremblan, to capitalize on the unknown of Qin's policies, which have so far been opportunistic at best and unpredictably dangerous at worst. Qin stated this week in an address to the People's Assembly that she would still seek to ultimately bring Gangkou into Yuaneze control, though she would seek every diplomatic effort, something that is in stark contrast to the often sporadic occurances under Xi.

"I have high hopes that Chairwoman Qin will be a positive force on the Ausianan continent," President Moreau said during his weekly press conference at the residence, "specifically I hope she reverses the antagonistic and provocative elements of the Xi regime. This doesn't mean of course that everything is changed that Xi is gone, but it does leave the avenue open for change. The disagreements in geopolitics and the back and forth that Zamastan and Yuan has will continue, there's no doubt in my mind about that. But Chairwoman Qin seems like a reasonable person and she has proven a willingness to be more stable in her approach to Yuan's interests. In this sense, we welcome her new administrative position and hope to work with her."

On the topic of his predeccesor, whoever it may be, President Moreau said "I hope they're open to working with Yuan in keeping the status quo. At least in the sense of keeping a relative peace."

Comments [109,811] | E-mail
©TOFINOTIMES 2022

---

109,811 comments

---

TOFINO TIMES HEADLINES

• Following Oftbon attacks, security increased at international airports and metro hubs
• Demonstrations expand throughout Jyau despite international bailout effort for banking systems
• Private plane carrying Alecburgh's Queen Diana crashes in ocean, passengers and crew missing
• Otto Schulz, former-President of Besmenia, dies
• Two years since Tasoulas' crackdown began, Syraranto struggles to recover
• Qin Chen's reintroduction to the Olympics signals a new Yuaneze intention
• PM Trande of Tine endorses Desende's desire to leave the ANS
• Capital of Apatonia sees clashes between insurgents and government forces

[Shoassau]

L'Humanité De Shoassau

---

AHEAD OF UPCOMING ELECTION, PRIME MINISTER CANDIDATES MAKE THEIR CASE
Leitner, Eurenne, and Rillue met for a debate aired to the nation ahead of Monday's election.

SHARE

Michaud Domme (@BelmanEuvOfficial)
27 July, 2022 06:21 SHO| STAVENTER, SHOASSAU

---

Prime Minister Leitner speaks during the Debate.

Prime Minister Gabriel Leitner is seeking to hold onto his office as the Democratic Party is challenged in the upcoming federal election by the Conservatives and Green Bloc. Two months ago, Leitner called a snap election to secure his party's majority in the Parliament, and tonight was the sole debate between leading Prime Minister candidates. Leitner was joined in debate against William Eurenne (Conservatives) and Mirriam Rillue (Greens) where the candidates participated in a televised series of bouts. The night was overshadowed by drama, however, as veteran opposition figure Steven Penn (Progressives), snubbed it.

Penn said in a statement that he could not share a podium with Leitner who he claimed “has no regard for ethics, public morals or shame, and lacks decency”. In a rebuttal on stage, Leitner said Penn lacked an agenda to share with Shoassauans and that he had been advised by Progressives not to attend. In an evidential show of support, other Progressive Party leaders (who already help form the remainder of the Majority Bloc with Democrats) sided with Leitner in the debate and endorsed him.

It was not the first time a Prime Minister's debate was charged with drama; in 2017, when Leitner was first seeking election, he turned down an invitation to debate, saying he had no reason to attend as his track record in Parliament spoke for itself. On Wednesday night, Leitner was tasked with explaining the challenges of the current administration economically but distanced himself from any errors in governance during his second tenure as the Prime Minister. He asserted that during the last term, the parliament declined to assign him any roles and sidelined him from government functions. That was countered harshly by both Eurenne and Rillue, who accused Leitner of casting blame on his MPs and not ministers.

"What the Prime Minister has said in asserting that he didn't have any roles beyond parliamentary appointment and that he shouldn't have accountability is plainly wrong and frankly insulting," Eurenne said. "He may be a grandstand on the world stage when it comes to forcefully denouncing tyrannies and human rights abuses, but if his only effectiveness is sound bites then there is no wonder why our country is suffering from a rise in inflation, cost of living skyrocketing, a dysfunctional relationship with WEDA, and scandal after scandal after scandal."

In explaining the cost of living, Eurenne blamed the government for failing to implement projects in the agricultural sector that would ensure food security. Responding to a question about a major irrigation scheme that the government had promised but failed to implement, Eurenne said the project was sabotaged by the handshake between Prime Minister Leitner and Lester Beussemame, the CEO of Dairtech which is a GMO processing company. Eurenne claims a deal between the Prime Minister and Dairtech destroyed the prospect of increased jobs in agriculture.

When pressed about a report by the auditor general detailing controversies that engulfed the project at the contracting stage, long before 2018, Leitner admitted that it had issues from the start, hence the cancellation. He also agreed that the three current government subsidies in place to manage the high cost of living were “all right”, but asserted that prices should not have been allowed to skyrocket in the first place. Maize flour, petrol and fertilisers are currently being subsidised after exponential inflation. Maize flour, which is one of Shoassau's staple food products, has doubled in the last few months, from $0.84 to $1.94. The high cost of fuel was said to have driven inflation.

Meanwhile, Eurenne blamed the government for having at least 15 taxes on petrol and driving up the cost of living. Reminded by Rillue that he had pushed for the increase in 8 percent value-added tax during his time as Conservative Leader, Eurenne said he has since changed his mind and will scrap some of the fuel taxes if he becomes Prime Minister.

During the debate, Eurenne said he would deal decisively with corruption in the country. When Leitner was asked why the government in which he serves was advancing corruption and had utterly declined to make project contracts public in accordance with the law, he said his hands were tied. Eurenne said the buck stopped with the Prime Minister and that his constitutional functions would allow him to remove specific cabinet members and launch inquiries into corrupt officials.

The general election is scheduled for Monday, August 1st.

Michaud Domme is the chief foreign commentator and journalist at L'Humanité De Shoassau.

Comments [ 3,249 ] | E-mail
© L'Humanité De Shoassau 2021

---

MORE HEADLINES

• Security increased after Terehan places bounty on Shoassauan leadership [ 7632 ]
• PM Leitner dodges reporter's deeply personal questions [ 2611]
• Parliament Passes Aid Package to Expand Support to Hurricane Victims in Janapa [ 2130 ]
• OLYMPICS. Watch live! [ 7622 ]
• PICTURES: King Darien IV's State Visit to Lutharia [ 3272 ]

[Drambenburg]

Imagine there's a banner here for the LERBIN TIMES

THE LERBIN TIMES

Für Kaiser und Reich

International:

TIDES CHANGING IN THE SOUTH

In a recent address, president Moreau of Zamastan requested Yuan to recognize.... (more on page 10).

Drambenburg:

LORD AUSTER-BRAUTSTADT: FRIEND OR FOE?

A week after Lord Giorg Auster-Brautstadt won the election for chancellor, big changes were already felt in the capitol mall. Auster-Brautstadt is known for increasingly nationalistic speeches, especially on the campaign trail, often waxing poetically about the golden age of the Empire. Yesterday, he renewed the effort to increase military presence along the northern border of Drambenburg, especially in Den Haag. Many worry that Lord Auster-Brautstadt's actions will have consequences and await a response from Avergonese officials.... (more on page 4)

Lerbin:

New Variety of Kohlrabi Set to Revolutionise Our Eating Habits

Small Earthquake Forcast

Camel Escapes From Lerbin Zoo

Woman With Bleeding Heart Tattoo Arrested for 37th Time

[Elbresia]

7/27/2022
ALEXANDER DESENDE INAUGURATED PRESIDENT
The Conservative Party Leader, former-Mayor of Oftbon, and ANS-skeptic has been sworn in as President


Newly-inaugurated President Alexander Desende waves after being sworn in.

ALLENGIN - President Alexander Desende. The words were anticipated by conservatives and dreaded by liberals when the results of July 4th's national election were revealed. Today, those words are an affirmation of his position. Sworn in at the official ceremony at the National Parliament in Allengin, Desende shook hands with the former Presidents who flanked him during his address moments later. Gilles Martin (2019-22), Sophie Amteès (2015-19), Carson Stephenson (2011-15), and Audrey Irving (2003-11), all of whom are members of the Liberal Bloc and have long clung to the Alliance of Nortuan States and its principles, sat behind Desende as observers to his speech where he made clear his intentions of leaving the ANS.

"I am the voice of this great nation," Desende roared to the crowd, "and my first priority is this: reclaim our national sovereignty. Leave the stranding whims of the Alliance of Nortuan States. Become solely dependent on our own selves once more. Return to the greatness that our nation once enjoyed."

Desende comes into office after a contested election which had been pushed up by Prime Minister Matviy Loka in an attempt to secure and expand the Liberal and Democratic Party's control of Parliament after a narrow referendum to leave the ANS was defeated in the legislature. Loka's gamble failed and Desende was elected President, ousting President Martin, costing the Liberals their majority in Parliament for the first time since 1992, and although the Conservative lead remains narrow with only 7 seats, it's enough to oust Loka as well. Loka's replacement is almost sure to be Arlo Robinson, the politician and university guest lecturer who is the national leader of the youth branch of Conservative Party.

Security at the inauguration was heightened more than usual in the wake of the 7/10 attacks in Oftbon, which killed 294 people. Two suspects who were caught on camera planting devices prior to the explosions, have admitted to carrying out the bombings.

Desende started his career as a lawyer, and later as a journalist. He joined the Conservative Party in the 1970s, becoming a Deputy-Mayor of Oftbon in 1978. During that time, he helped draft Elbresia's reformed 18th-constitution in 1981. Since 1999, Desende has been the leader of the Conservative Party. He created a center-right coalition, the Democratic Alliance, with the People's Party in 1998. He has long pushed for conservative policies, including less government overreach, a more nationalistic/individual-approach to global affairs, increased reliance on the mining and drilling of natural resources, and lower taxes. His most notable pursuit is the end of Elbresia's membership within the Alliance of Nortuan States, despite Elbresia's leading role and positioning of the Nortuan Congress, which is ANS' legislative body.

[Saint Croix and Bens]

SAINT CROIX JOURNAL
URSKABAU SET TO RESIGN NEXT WEEK, OPTING NOT TO SEEK REELECTION IN 2024
The president has been in office since 2008.

President Urskabau announces his resignation effective on Thursday next week, at which point Deputy-President Wira Santoso will become President

Saint Elmenau - President William Urskabau announced his resignation, effective on August 4th, deciding that he will not seek reelection to a 5th term in 2024 and instead allow Deputy-President Wira Santoso to replace him in the constitutional line of succession. Urskabau, a member of the UCNO party (United Croix National Organisation), has been in power since 2008 and was reelected three times to consecutive four-year terms, most recently in 2020, with generally high approval ratings among the SCB population. In his decision to step down, he cited an ongoing health concern as well as a recent cancer diagnosis, and announced that while he was saddened to leave he believed it was the right decision for himself and the country.

"The past 14 years have been a remarkable period for our nation," Urskabau said, visibly holding back tears and wiping his eye in the emotional address. "Under my administration I have overseen the growth and expansion of our economy, our foreign standing, our remarkable national identity, and the strength of our people. Saint Croix and Bens has prospered and I have been honored to be your President. I have no doubt in the hope our future will hold."

At the age of 69, Urskabau is still young by the standards of the average SCB politician. However with his now public diagnosis of lymphatic node cancer, as well as widely documented health concerns in the past from broken bones to heart attacks, the statesman will step aside on August 4th and will oversee Deputy-President Wira Santoso's inauguration. In speaking to reporters following Urskabau's resignation announcement, Santoso said "[the President] has confided his faith in me and I am truly grateful for it. He has been a remarkable patriot and leader for our nation and his shoes are ones that are difficult to fill. I will of course do my best, and with the path he paved I am certain we're in good standing for our future prospects."

William Urskabau, a former neurosurgeon, was the 28th and current President of Saint Croix and Bens. He was elected in 2008 and has won three bids for reelection, with his most recent reelection being in March of 2020. As President, he has overseen a thriving economy as Saint Croix has quickly expanded its Gross Domestic Product, has nationalized the health care of the nation, proceeded over an expansion of the Armed Forces, and led the nation through numerous threats from foreign powers, such as the Northeast Croix Islands Standoff when Alecburgh sent forces to the border in an attempt to annex Saint Croix's northeastern Maddis Island and Pirvia Island, and the Tarijar Strait crisis which involved insurrectionists from Qolaysia attempting to commit attacks within Saint Croix.

The President's stand-firm policy in the wake of social unrest in neighboring Alecburgh was seen in the tensions between himself and former-Prime Minister Benjamin Warren, who ordered troops to SCB's border. When Alecburgh's southwest provinces attempted to secede and the country plunged into a constitutional crisis, Urskabau leaned into diplomacy with allies and expanded WEDA's allowance of forces in SCB military bases. Urskabau also oversaw last year's controversial admission into WEDA amid flaring tensions with De Yuan. The decision, however, paid off according to Urskabau, who this past spring had to skim the line between peaceful negotiation and assertive pushback against the Yuaneze during the Jinchon Sea crisis.

On the economic front, President Urskabau nationalized the oil industry but allowed foreign companies to invest in shareholder permits, which allowed the SCB economy to strengthen, centralize, and diversify at the same time. Urskabau's massive investment in education is credited with taking the country from mass illiteracy to a major international technological powerhouse. The country's national economy benefits from a highly skilled workforce and is among the most educated countries in the world with one of the highest percentages of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree. Saint Croix and Bens's economy was one of the world's fastest-growing from the early 1960s to the late 1990s, and was still one of the fastest-growing developed countries in the 2000s. It recorded the fastest rise in average GDP per capita in the world between 2011 and 2019. Saint Croix and Bens citizens refer to this growth as the Miracle on the Croix Sea, referring to development in the South Coast's industry region.

Comments [ 1,228 ] | E-mail
© GOVERNMENT OF THE SAINT CROIX AND BENS PRINCIPALITY 2021

[Serra Leon]

Sersiu News

---

Serra Leon mudslides ‘kill more than 1,000’

SERSIU - More than 1,000 people have died from the mudslide and flooding that hit Serra Leon‘s capital, Sersiu, according to a local leader and a minister. The government had earlier put the death toll for the mudslide at 450 dead, while rescuers and aid groups warned that many of the more than 600 people missing would likely not survive.

“Over 1,000 perished in the mudslide and flood disaster, and we will never know the exact number now,” President Julius Maada during services honouring the disaster’s victims. Al-Regent is an area on the outskirts of Sersiu where the mudslide hit. Hundreds of burials have taken place, while rescue and recovery efforts have continued through rain that could bring fresh tragedy due to unsafe housing conditions.

Reverend Bishop Emeritus Arnold, who delivered the Sunday sermon at a Methodist church near Regent, said an accurate count was important for accountability. “It may well be over 1,000 Serra Leonians we are mourning now. But why should about 1,000 of our compatriots’ lives end tragically like this?” Arnold said. “Who should we really blame? We are bound at a point in the blame game to attribute the blame so that corrective measures can be put in place so that never again should we allow this to happen.”

First lady Sia Maada, wife of the President, also spoke during the ceremonies. "I stand here with a heavy heart. We have been through many calamities in our country,” she said. “We should all do self-examination and learn to be obedient to man-made laws, especially when the government plans to take action for the development of the country.”

Thousands of people living in areas at risk during heavy rains have been evacuated. Aid groups are delivering supplies and helping provide clean water to prevent a health crisis. Some critics accuse Serra Leon’s government of failing to learn from past disasters in Sersiu, where many poor areas are near sea level and lack good drainage. The capital is also plagued by unregulated construction on its hillsides.