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Online DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #180 on: March 31, 2020, 01:35:05 PM »



SMARTWAR TO HEAD TO KROKOM



Following the recent spate of incidents in Nya Aland which the Gungnir have claimed is them jamming communications satellites the East Moreland government have asked technology company SmartWar to help investigate. It was confirmed that Martin Dawson, the companies founder, had set off for the Alander capital with support from 20 members of East Moreland's Cyber Legion. Dawson spoke briefly with the media from his company jet as he made the journey saying, "This is a type of terrorism the planet has never seen before. It's not something anyone was prepared for and as such is going to require something original in how it is combatted. The Alanders have without doubt one of the most advanced satellite and space programmes on Mundus however they are less well renowned for their military applications of their science and that is where we come in. I'm excited by the chance to work with the brains down there but I wish it was under more favourable circumstances."

The announcement comes not long after Rokkenjima announced that it would ban sales of technology and ban sales of military hardware to the nation. This was a move criticised by Sir Harry Samuelson the East Moreland Minister of Defence. "I fully understand the comments the Rokkenjimans have made regarding the Alanders. Where as our approach to terrorism is high profile operations the Alanders have always approached it in a much quieter way. This however does not mean they are not doing anything. Let us remember that the last three Gungnir operations have been an attack on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Vanora, the crucifixion of Christians in Nya Aland and mass executions of non-Odinists during the Uppsala Crisis. The attack in Jerusalem has seen no justice served, meanwhile those responsible for the crucifixion have been neutralised, and over 1,000 Alanders died in attempts to halt those attacks against non-Odinists in Uppsala. While it is true to say that the Alanders have not successfully rooted out all the Gungnir and could in my view have placed greater pressure on them to say that substantive action has not taken place is to disrespect the lives of those Alanders who died stopping the slaughter in Krokom. When Alanders have had a chance to strike the Gungnir they have, what we need to do as Mundus is create more opportunities for them to do so and we do not create those opportunities by pushing the Alanders away. Fine advise your people not to go there because of their stance on religion, limit what they can sell to your nation, but to treat the Alanders as you would an enemy is a mistake in my view." Samuelson was asked about what the East Moreland reaction to the recent incidents would be, "We see this as a threat very different to what has happened before. People are still trying to react to the first information and things are moving rapidly. The loss of satellite communications is something that could have a huge impact for everyone on Mundus and as such we must give the Alanders as much information as we can to ensure we can work out first how this is happening and then second to stop it."

It is expected that members of East Moreland's Red Legion currently in Nya Aland for training purposes will be made operational if required by the Alanders.





IS "JEKAR'S CAT" STILL IN THE WILD?

The Alpine Lynx, known in East Moreland as Jerkar's Cat was thought to have become extinct in 2001 when scientists from Keepton University failed to find any evidence of a single one during an annual wildlife survey. These results were backed up by a 2002 study and also confirmed with a University in Hassfurt leading experts to conclude that the medium sized wild cat had been hunted to its end. However during EMTV's filming for a new wildlife documentary in the Eastern Alps a remote camera picked up an image of what is believed to be a lone female. The news excited the EMTV presenter Ed Morton who said, "I've seen a few in zoo's but never imagined the chance of seeing one in the wild. We thought they'd all gone but somewhere in the Alps one remains, hopefully that means others but we know these cats live solitary when adults so perhaps this is the last one. The problem is that its not unknown for a lynx to travel 20km in a single night and so the chances of it being seen again is going to be remote."

One interested wildlife fan is former Queen of East Moreland, Matilda Osman, founder of the Wild Mundus Organisation who was delighted with the discovery. " Of course I'm thrilled by the picture. What we now need to know is does this have a mate or is it infact the last of a species. We have a chance to save it if we can find that it is infact a pair and I'll be praying that's the case. If it is the last then we must ensure that she can live out the rest of her life in safety in her own environment. If WMO can help with this in any way I stand ready to do what I can." It is thought Miss Osman will be meeting with local wildlife experts to try and put in place a project to track the animal and hopefully find more of the Lynx.

Not all were happy with the discovery however as one local farmer explained. "We've always had livestock killed by predators, its part of being a farmer in the Alps. We've always assumed these are wolves or something similar. Now we have the threat of another predator species blossoming again. I say they need to be got rid of before they just get out of hand. If it comes near my farm I'll shoot it." The Law for the Protection of Wildlife, otherwise known as "Matilda's Law" would make it illegal to shoot a lynx unless it was shot in defence of a person or their livestock.

Online DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #181 on: April 07, 2020, 08:52:10 PM »



ROYALS BEGIN CNN "HONEYMOON TOUR"

Following the completion of the wedding festivities King David and the newly coronated Queen Stasya have departed for a honeymoon period that will see them visit all three other CNN countries. The newlyweds will first travel to Lodja where they will spend 4 days on the island of Iskor where Queen Stasya was born before spending 48 hours in Gaia. From there they will fly to Hunters Bay where it is believed that King Piripi of the Commonwealth of the Unified Iwi has loaned the couple a countryside residence for 3 days. Finally they will travel to Ui Cenneslaig where the pair will have access to King Finley's Highland estate for 4 days. While the King and Queen are travelling it is understood that the King will keep in constant contact with Northfort but will hand over day to day decision making to his sister Princess Freya who will be supported by Prime Minister Henrietta Quinn. Queen Stasya was seen arriving at Northfort's King Robert International Airport from where the couple will depart in the recently delivered royal jet. Princess Rhiannon is expected to join the honeymooners when they reach Ui Cenneslaig marking what will be her first visit to the nation.

The wedding was the most viewed TV programme of the last 10 years with an estimated 82million Morelanders watching it live with a global audience thought to be many times that number as reports of huge viewership in the Lodja reported. This far exceeds the audience that watched the King's previous marriage to Matilda Osman which saw around 60million Morelanders watch live and a limited global audience. The new Foreign Minister, Orlaith Kade, spoke about what this means for East Moreland. "The fact that a King of East Moreland getting married attracts viewership around Mundus is something that I think speaks a lot about the way King David has built relationships across the world. Granted there is something that sparks the imagination about a royal wedding but the fact several nations picked up the live feed shows they have an interest in us as a nation." There had been worries that the broadcast may have been impacted by the recent satellite outages in Nya Aland however it was reported that no such disruption took place.

While making his way through the airport King David spoke to several members of the public who were wishing him well, he also briefly spoke to the media before boarding Ironside One saying, "On behalf of myself and my beautiful new Queen I'd like to thank the people of East Moreland who came out to watch the events and those around the world who have wished us well. It was great to see so many old friends come and celebrate with us while also seeing some new friends come and share our special day. After the chaos of the last week or so I look forward to a few days of calm before getting back to the day to day grind of looking after East Moreland."




FREYA TALKS TERRORISM AS BROTHER DEPARTS

An hour after her brother King David left East Moreland to begin his honeymoon his sister Princess Freya spoke out about recent incidents of terrorism. "In the last few days we've seen what appears to be a unique form of terrorism coming out of Nya Aland and Ikhan has seen a sacred ceremony of rememberance sullied by the acts of terrorists. As I speak to you we have no idea on the condition of the Ikhan Emperor following his shooting. We pray to Helus that he recovers swiftly and that his would be assassins face swift justice soon. Against both these acts of terrorism East Moreland condemns the actions of those responsible and I repeat the fact that our nation will do whatever we can to bring those responsible for it to justice." The Princess then confirmed that the nation are looking at ways of co-operating with the Alanders regarding the satellite issue saying. " This is a totally new threat no nation on Mundus has faced before. What we must remember is that what we have seen one group of terrorists do others have tried to emulate. As a world we must unite to stop this current satellite attack or there will be grave consequences for all of us on Mundus as this attack has so far not discrimnated against nation." She confirmed East Moreland had procedures in place to ensure security of communications and transportation, "I did two years on secondment with the Air Force, all our military are trained to fly and sail not relying on GPS if necessary. I'm confident we can still operate robustly even in the worst of scenarios."

She then went on to speak of the situation in Ikhan saying, "I want the government there to know that while we may have yet forged no formal agreement on intelligence sharing should we uncover anything connected to the assassination attempt then rest assured we will pass it over. Attacks such as this are cowardly and a strong message must be sent that they can not be successful." The Princess is due to chair a briefing of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Intelligence Agencies and the military at Ostlake tomorrow where it is expected that further anti-terrorist measures will be discussed.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #182 on: April 10, 2020, 10:39:42 PM »




BOTH DRONE CARRIERS HEAD TO THE MHORISH AMID UBRIEKLLAND REFORMS

Both REMNS Cylon and REMNS Dalek left their homebases today following an announcement from Princess Freya. The King's sister had requested permission for the ships to leave port and head to the Mhorish amid reports from Ubreiklland that they are going to possibly ban faiths that "that is not acknowledged by the state religion". It is understood that the Princess had a brief conference call with her brother who is on honeymoon who gave the go ahead for the deployment. The Princess attended the daily Palace press briefing in person to make the statement regarding the deployment. "When we hear of nations beginning to take the step of banning certains faiths from even existing we naturally have alarm bells ringing. We have seen certain faiths picked out and their members isolated before and it has at times ended in attempts at genocide. As things stand we are unsure what steps Ubreikland are taking regarding the status of members of the Cult of Helus. I wish to repeat the long standing promise made by my brother, East Moreland will welcome all followers of the Cult and should any Cultist in Ubriekland feel their life is in danger we naturally will do what we can. In the past we have been the largest supporter of refugees across Mundus and in every situation where we have been successful one of the keys was having significant assets on the scene as soon as possible. The Drone Carriers allow us to launch a whole host of different assets depending on what the operation requires and its size allows us to accommodate a significant number of refugees on board if it comes to that."

When asked whether she thought there would be an issue for members of the Cult of Helus in Ubreikland the Princess responded saying, "I hope not. I have no knowledge of any issues relating to the Cult of Helus representing a problem there. We're a faith that sees service to our nation and a dedication to the law as important paths to follow. They are forms of worship in themselves. The leadership of Ubreikland have made no approaches to ourselves as essentially the Holy Land of the Cult, nor to the High Priestess, the leader of the faith. I would have imagined this would have been a sound course to head down especially given our track record of taking action against terrorist who claim to be members of the Cult. The leadership of Ubreikland even had an opportunity to address any concerns face to face with my brother the day after his wedding as many nations across Mundus did. In Northfort however we do not close the door and should their government wish to work with us then we'd be delighted to show them the truth about the Cult."

The Princess confirmed that while the vessels were deployed and waiting instructions they would be working with the Air Force perfecting a number of drills. "We're looking at new ways we can use UAV's from the carriers. This time at sea but with no clear operation presents an oppurtunity for these tests and so we shall use it to the best of our advantage." While the nations had a third drone carrier this is currently on lease to the Lodjain Navy under the name HMDS Morelander and reports suggest that it may be sold to the Lodjains in order to part fund the new aircraft carrier that is being constructed in Portworth.




"KINGSMEN" PROVIDE KING WITH LATE WEDDING PRESENT

AFC Roberton today clinched the EMAC National Trophy, the nations most prestigious knock out football competition. The AFC team were purchased by King David three years ago when they were languishing in the lower half of the 2nd tier. In his first year of ownership the team, lead by their Head Coach Joseph Renner clinched promotion to the Premier League after finishing 2nd in the table. They have since finished each of the subsequent seasons in the top 4 of the Premier League but had still never won a trophy in their almost 80 years of existence. Today AFC Roberton, affectionatly known as "The Kingsmen" since the King's takeover, defeated the nations most successful team Northfort United 3-2 in a mouth watering final held at King Robert Arena in Northfort.

AFC despite the victory found it hard going finding themselves 1-0 down after just 2 minutes and then having pulled things back level in the 30th minutes saw that lead slip through their fingers just 90seconds later. The team however put on a masterclass of attacking football in the 2nd half scoring two unanswered goals to leave the game 3-2, a scoreline which flatters Northfort United who were powerless to stop the pair of AFC wingers from causing mayhem. The trophy was lifted by the teams 26 year old captain and midfield general Andrew Steel. "I joined AFC as 15 year old boy who was told I'd never make it as a rugby player. I spent 8 years working as a bricklayer while playing football, the two years ago I was one of the first in East Moreland to sign professionally after the King took control of our club. Since then I've been living my dream but there was something missing and today that gap has been filled. Our fans have waited forever for this and I think this will be the start of regular victories." The East Moreland international went on to say, "This wouldn't have been possible without King David stepping in to fund the club in an effort to get more money into the game in our nation. Northfort United have been amazing getting to two Mundus Champion League finals despite our sport being semi-pro then. We've now had the Premier League be 100% professional for 12 months and its paying off. The King started that revolution and we're proud to have got him a late wedding present. I just hope he found time to watch."

It was also later confirmed in the day that Silverhills F.C's chairman Sir Thomas Trew had accepted a bid of around $20million for the club from the Pelagiya family consortium headed by Queen Stasya's father Duke Tobias. Sir Thomas said, "The club has been in my family for 40 years and I've done as much as I can. I love the club and I love the team. We need to make progress though and in modern football that takes money. Duke Tobias has said if he completes the purchase he intends for me to have some role in the club and I'm grateful for that, I suspect though our matches with AFC Roberton will have taken on a new element."

There are currently 10 league games left to play in the season with only Northfort United and Kings Crossing F.C standing any chance of realistically taking the title. Northfort United will have won their 17th League title if they succeed in holding onto first place, meanwhile Kings Crossing F.C will take their 3rd title victory.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #183 on: April 11, 2020, 09:36:33 PM »



"HELUS" VISITS NORTHFORT AND GETS ARRESTED

Yesterday Police in Northfort arrested former Air Force pilot Leyton Arkwright during his visit to the Temple of Marissa in Northfort. The 56 year old veteran currently resides in Academica where he goes by the name of Helus Unasson and has on several occasions claimed to actually be the God Helus. He has amassed a small community of followers in an isolated rural area known as Helusiandale all of which recognise him as a living God. He has on several occasions spoken openly about his belief that the High Priestess Skye Maddix should step aside and that King David is in fact his great-great etc grandson. Despite these outlandish claims which many Cultists would find heretical he was however arrested for theft. Mr.Arkwright had arrived in Northfort early in the morning and had already visited the Temples of Rolaf and Jekar. He was asked to leave the Temple of Jekar after beginning some ritual with three of his followers which he claimed would ressurrect the God of War. He was challenged by two members of the East Moreland military who routinely patrol the Temple District and was asked to move on as he was attempting to spill blood from his own hand on the temple floor. Eye witnesses described the scene. "This man with a huge beard came in with four others and they cleared a large area among the wooden seats, this attracted the attention of two members of the military who initially stood aside. He began yelling what sounded like prayers to get the attention of Jekar but we all just thought he was some idiot. The next minute he's got a knife out and is really awkwardly trying to gouge a huge chunk of his thumb out. It was then the two soldiers moved in and restrained him before ushuring him out of the Temple." The Priestess of Jekar for Northfort is Elleanor Duerden who said after the incident, "Jekar's Temples do see a fair bit of blood. Usually at the alter where people will bring their new swords and prick their thumbs to ask Jekar for a blessing. We provide swabs, plasters and various other things so the blood only goes on the metal blade, which is what is supposed to happen. The way this man was going on was as though he was going to take his whole thumb off there in the centre of the Temple. We had to mop up some of the blood once he'd gone and I'm only thankful we had the soldiers passing."

The two soldiers released Mr.Arkwright outside the Temple and when he and his followers made their way to the Temple of Marissa. There he was arrested after they witnessed him walk up to the alter and throw one of two glass boxes containing the offerings from the King's wedding onto the floor. He picked up the dagger inside and was placing it into his jacket pocket when the the soldiers placed him under arrest. The Priestess of Marissa, Claire Patrick, was there when the arrest happened. "I was giving three of our trainee Priestesses a tour of the Temple as they'd just arrived from Bakkermaya yesterday. We saw this man come in and walk with a sense of purpose up to the alter and pick up one of the glass boxes we had put the King's offering in as a way of allowing the public to see it. He then just smashed it on the floor and carefully picked through the glass and picked up the dagger. As the soldiers grabbed him he began to protest saying that the dagger was a gift to him from his grandson and he was merely collecting what was rightfully his through his wife. He kept yelling "Do you know who I am" as the soldiers dragged him away.

The military patrol was being carried out by members of the 2nd Northfort Rifle Regiment who are currently on security duties in the capital alongside the police. It is standard operating procedures for soldiers to patrol the streets and work alongside the Police and on this occasion a police officer took Mr.Arkwright into custody for the crime of theft. He was taken to Northfort Central Police Station where he was processed before being released on bail with conditions of having to appear before the court in a weeks time, not being permitted to leave the city of Northfort and having to stay away from the Temple District, he will also have to meet with a member of the Armed Forces Support Services who will assess his mental health prior to court proceedings. As a military veteran with seemingly no financial means to defend himself Legionnaire Legacy provided him a lawyer who made a statement after his clients release. "Mr.Unasson says he has committed no crime as it is not theft to simply take your own property from your own house. While we await formal court hearings we ask the press to respect Mr.Unasson's privacy and his right to be assumed innocent until proven guilty." Later in the day however he was seen being ushered away from Northfort Royal Palace demanding to be allowed to see his great-great grandson King David. The King is currently out of the country on his Honeymoon.


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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #184 on: April 17, 2020, 10:57:25 PM »



"HELUS" SENTENCED TO PRISON

Following his arrest for theft Leyton Arkwright has been found guilty and will serve 12 weeks in prison. The trial saw the man who claims to be the reincarnation of the God Helus accused of attempting to take a dagger from the Temple of Marissa claiming that it was his property. Mr.Arkwright was arrested by members of the military who were witnesses in the trial. Mr.Arkwright refused to enter a plea stating "This court meets to judge the very laws that I gave you. If it pleases me I could snap my fingers and change any law by which you seek to put me on trial so I have nothing to say to this court." As a result a not guilty verdict was entered on his behalf and a trial took place throughout which Mr.Arkwright refused to speak. His lawyer appointed by the court attempted to argue insanity however this plea was not considered accurate as the judge stated, "Mr.Arkwright has no track record of mental illness. While we believe he is not Helus he is entitled to his religious opinion." Following testimony from the two arresting soldiers as well as security camera footage the guilty verdict was reached in short order and Mr.Arkwright was sentenced to 60 hours of community service and a EM£200 fine. The judge stated, "Until now Mr.Arkwright you have no criminal involvement and have a perfect, and highly complimentary, military record, as such I believe a custodial sentence would be wholly inappropriate for a first offence." Mr.Arkwright however refused to accept the sentence and so the judge instead changed the sentence to 12 weeks in prison. Mr.Arkwright will serve his sentence at the low security Keepton Gaol, usually used for those due to be released for non-violent crimes having served more than  5 years in prison.

Mr.Arkwright's supporters had gathered outside the court and have spoken of appealing directly to the King for their leaders release. One individual stated, "Helus is the father of King David and I am sure once he knows that his ancestor is locked up unfairly in his name then he will ensure his release." The King is currently on his honeymoon and has not made any statement regarding the situation.



EMAC TO RUN HEYRAN AIRLINE

It was announced recently that EMAC had won the contract to take over the running of air routes within Heyra. The fee paid by EMAC for the routes had yet to be announced however Sir Alan Maybury said that "it was reasonably in line with what you would expect for an airline to size of the Heryan national carrier." The CEO of EMAC stated that the airline intends to maintain the old schedule and capacity for the first two months before looking at what Sir Alan described as "continent wide connectivity." It was later announced in the day that EMAC had begun preparing for the construction of three midsize passenger aircraft and Sir Alan released a statement saying, "Heyra is a place well respected for its business connections. It is our hope that we can ensure it is well connected first to the rest of Alba Karinya and then to the rest of Mundus. Once the first two months are out of the way we intend to ensure that there is at least one flight a week from Heyra to every CNN and MICA capital city. Once we've done that I hope that we can ensure a very regular and very comfortable service be established between Heyra and Northfort everyday."

Sir Alan also stated that he intends in the coming days to appoint a new divisional manager to oversee the Heyran airline venture. Sir Alan has also stated that one of the two EMAC-Rytol Formula Mundus cars next year will run with a EMAC-AirHeyra livery as opposed to the EMAC one used currently. "It is our hope that EMAC-AirHeyra will become a valuable asset to the business and tourist world." To mark the first flight of EMAC's AirHeyra operations it was announced that 50 seats would be sold to fly the first Northfort-The Defense in the companies show version of Ironside One. "When it was announced King David was seeking a new aircraft for his state visits naturally we put in. We had been working on a few super-luxury private planes for a variety of things. The Prototype One was designed as a means to show what we could do, it features four bedrooms, a cinema, a bar, a press room and various other luxuries. It was capable of transporting 70 passengers in unique luxury. Our company version naturally lacks the gadgets we put on Ironside One but its still a rather unique aircraft. We want our first flight to be special and so figured this would be a good way of doing it." The seats would be sold via a variety of charities based across Alba Karinya with the charities able to keep the money that they make.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #185 on: April 27, 2020, 12:50:38 PM »



NATION CELEBRATES FEAST OF MELANOR

People across the nation have today taken to parks and forests to celebrate the Feast of Melanor. The festival celebrates the God who it is believed breathed life into the humans Helus created. As usual families and community groups have planted thousands of trees across the nation after attending services in Temples across the nation. Usually King David III would have been among those leading the celebrations however he is currently out of the nation on Honeymoon in the Unified Iwi. The King however did release to the media images of himself and Queen Stasya planting trees in a woodland in the Commonwealth of the Unified Iwi. It was left to Princess Freya to represent the royal family in Northfort at the Temple there. The Princess was accompanied by her husband Alex Redfern and their adopted daughter Evie. The trio took along saplings taken from the woodland within Northfort Palace to distribute to groups who will plant them across the capital. It is expected that by the end of the day around a million trees will have been planted across the nation. One organiser of a major planting event was the former Queen, Matilda Osman, who planted trees along with youth groups in Portworth. Matilda Osman is the patron of the Wild Mundus Organisation and said, "I'm delighted that every year we plant so many trees. We're a nation that has always valued our connection to this land and by refreshing our woodlands every year we ensure it can flourish. We'll be creating habitats for a vast array of wildlife that help our ecosystem be so healthy."

Across Mundus the East Moreland embassies also hosted events many of them in their own gardens. In Seaforth Morelander rugby player Rollo MacAllister, who is competing in the Highland Games, took time to lead several other Morelanders competing in prayers before planting trees at the edge of the games showgrounds. The rugby start stated, "The trees we planted will in a decade or so be part of these games, they will hopefully grow straight and strong and become the caber of the future. As we take from nature we must give." In Bakkermaya the embassy opened a new herb garden which its staff have been constructing for the last few weeks.




EMAC ARCHIVE SHOWS "BONKERS" CARRIER PROPOSAL

The East Moreland Aircraft Company has today released another batch of their archive which has raised a few eye brows thanks to a proposal that was rejected by both the Air-Force and the Navy in the 1970's. The project featured huge ground effect vehicles, described by Sir Alan Maybury the companies CEO, as "the Ekra-Badger on steroids." If the vehicle, which was named as the GEV-Carrier, had been built it was theorised as having had the range of 2,000km, a top speed of around 300mph and would have been able to carry 250 soldiers, three tanks or similar vehicles and two aircraft. The project was submitted at the same time as when the REMNS Portworth was commissioned but was obviously not something the Navy were interested in. Sir Alan mused about the project saying, "It certainly is interesting. I believe they went as far as making a scale model of it but we've yet to find it. I'm not sure how practical it would have been in reality but its certainly an ambitious idea which EMAC have become famous for. Its clear you can see the Ekra-Badger in its DNA although very much slimmed down." Sir Alan cast doubts about the ability of it to meet its claimed specification saying, "I think it would have required a lot more propulsion than it could create. If we find the scale model we'll let you know."

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #186 on: May 01, 2020, 10:59:54 PM »




GIANT BADGER FOSSIL FOUND IN SILVERHILLS

Construction workers on an appartment complex in Silverhills yesterday discovered what may turn out to be a new species of mammal. The team from Beardall Construction were digging out space for an underground parking complex when one of them noticed the strange shape. They immediately thought they had found some inscriptions and called the local Universities archaeology department however upon closer inspection it appeared to be an ancient fossil. The team recovered the specimin and then handed it over to the Paleontologists who inspected it further. It was later announced that it is thought to be the first example of a new species and as such is being called Meles Morelander as the creature bares a remarkable resemblance to the nations emblem the Honeybadger. Professor Chris Markham spoke with the media saying, "We've still work to be done but the creature seems to be about 66million years old and would have existed at the end of what many know as the time of Dinosaurs. We think its likely to have been about 2 feet long, weighed around 7lbs. We've still more to learn and need more examples." The University is said to be preparing the fossil for display in the very near future.

Many are already hoping that the fossil could be on display, along with any other finds, by September 28th when the nation celebrates Honeybadger Day, which marks the day when the Honeybadger was introduced into East Moreland in 1790 by King Richard I who believed the creature he'd seen in Izhitsa was the perfect embodiment of a Morelander should be, fierce in battle, cunning and willing to die to protect its children. He brought 20 pairs of the creatures back and had them released in Northfort Palace grounds however it is understood that many escaped within hours and became widespread across the nation. The new discovery however would seem to indicate that the nation had a long lost relative of the Honeybadger millions of years ago. Minister of Culture Katy Garrett spoke about the find saying, "I think it's clear to see we took the Honeybadger into our hearts, its a proud part of who we are today. Many are already calling it the Steriod Ratel  because of its size. To think such a creature was here for so long makes our connection to our favourite animal so much deeper."

Beardall Construction have agreed to work with the local University during the rest of their construction project to preserve any further specimens found.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #187 on: May 07, 2020, 11:05:19 PM »




FIRST REFUGEES FROM UBRIEKKLAND ARRIVE

Following a series of "hops" across the Mhorish the first of the religious refugees from Ubriekkland have arrived in East Moreland. The Destroyer REMNS Christian the Dark steamed into Portworth this afternoon with around 180 refugees onboard mainly drawn from the Cultist population of Ubriekkland. Many of those who arrived however were unaccompanied children or those in need of medical care. The journey to Portworth began by boarding the two Drone Carriers currently docked in a city in Norther Ubriekkland before being ferried by helicopters and the Ekrabadger to waiting naval vessels. The initial group had been found places to stay through local Temples utilising old quarters for the Priesthood, voulenteers from the community and access to things such as local boarding schools and other such facilities. A group of national service Legionnaires at Ostlake have even been moved from their halled accomodation into tents at a base of the opposite side of the lake in order to make room. Some of the later arrivals expected will be moving to Hunter's Vale. One issue remains that East Moreland's refugee centres are still close to capacity with Lakhzovian refugees having not been returned home following the end of the crisis there. Prime Minister Henrietta Quinn was at the quayside as the new arrivals were helped ashore and stated, "We are lucky that East Moreland is a nation with a low population density, it means our nation can still afford to increase in terms of population. The problem is this takes time, houses need building, schools putting in place and various other infrastructure projects. We already have tens of thousands of Lakhzovians in Southern East Moreland and a few thousand at Hunter's Vale. We're now needing to bring in another 10,000 or so from Ubriekkland as far as intelligence tells us. Its a problem we may not be able to solve."

The Navy are expected to land two more ships this evening and the REMNS Portworth is due to arrive with a large group of refugees on Saturday evening. It is expected that the whole operation may take several weeks. Prime Minister Quinn stated, "We've been told by the government of Ubriekkland that some negative elements may try blending in with the refugees. As such we hope to put as many into Hunter's Vale as possible. The nature of the facility allows us to at least put people in secure and comfortable surroundings while they are screened. Thankfully the Cult of Helus programme of digitalising their ceremonial ritual records has allowed us to identify those of the Cultist faith escaping those wishing to do them harm. We however have turned away no one of other faiths in fear, be they Odinists, follows of Sessifet, Rosari, Manists or anything else. It will take us longer to screen those not on the Cult records and we may look at utilising family connections some of these refugees have with other nations across Mundus to help us out."

Melissa Lusk has also arrived at Hunter's Vale in order to try and help process those arriving. She is also seeking to establish once more the Refugee University there as well as aid in tracking relatives. As the former CTO Refugee Head and having established a separate refugee focused NGO she is perhaps one of the most experienced refugee workers on Mundus. "This is a rather awkward process this time. Hunter's Vale already has its own little community but now we need to bring in others of a very different background alongside them. It may work brilliantly, it may take some time to settle. Our aim will be to give everyone there the maximum support to feel safe and settled and then help establish a daily routine as close as we can to daily life back home. We'll be trying to do that in the coming days."




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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #188 on: May 08, 2020, 05:06:28 PM »




KING BACK IN THE OFFICE

Having returned from a honeymoon spent in the various CNN nations King David has been reported as returning to work. The King has apparently spent the morning meeting with his sister Princess Freya who had taken over the day to day running of the nation alongside the King's cabinet including the Chief Councillor Grant Nightingale. The King was given daily briefings even while on holiday and is said to have instructed his sister to take steps with the Ubriekkland refugee issue. Shortly after concluding the meeting with the cabinet the King spoke with EMTV to discuss some of the key issues he has returned to.

"While it has been amazing to spend time away with my wife that needs to be put on the back burner now and my thoughts need to return to running the day to day matters of the Kingdom. There are a number of issues that must be addressed in the coming days. Prior to heading off I held talks with several nations. One of those was Rokkenjima and I announced to Princess Evanthe that we would be placing my cousin Peter Kade as the new ambassador there along with a more seasoned and experienced staff. Peter is a member of the Ironside extended family and has expressed a desire to undertake more work on behalf of the Kingdom. A positing to Rokkenjima is an excellent way to learn the ropes and I am very confident that he will do an extremely good job. I think he may already have his first task upon arrival as this morning I have been told of the decision of the CSU over the admission of Lakhzovia. I actually breathed a sigh of relief that Lakhzovia were not admitted to that organisation. We have held a door open for diplomatic and co-operative discussions for a lengthy period now on matters of the displaced people of Lakhzovia. Rokkenjima and Achkaerin are both members of the MCUR which talk about people having the right to a nationality and a right to belong to a state. At present the tens of thousands of refugees left over from the crisis there have none of these things. To reward a nation with access to an extended and extensive trade network before tackling the issues is in my view not a way forward. Had Lakhzovia have been admitted East Moreland would have had no option other than to suspend our treaty with the CSU until such a time as Lakhzovia stepped up to its obligations. We do not expect miracles with these people returning home tomorrow. We do however expect to see steps being taken to ensure this matter will be concluded. I do not believe Lakhzovia to be a nation opposed to us, as we are not opposed to them, however you do not get a nation to face up to its obligations by rewarding it before it has meet them. I do not set Rhiannon the task of cleaning her room and give her ice cream before she does it, the ice cream comes after."

The King went on to address other issues, "Currently we are exploring ways of securing our satellite networks as it is clear the Gungnir are exploiting several key weaknesses in older technology. I think there are many ways that we can protect older equipment without disrupting the services that it provides. We are also putting in place steps to try and help cut down the search area for those responsible and I'd like to extend my thanks to Martin Dawson and his team at SmartWar for the help they are giving in that regard. We have not and we will not allow those who would exploit the idea of fear and disruption to benefit from sewing it across Mundus. Any nation who would like to work with us on this matter, be it to help track down the perpatrators or secure their own satellites."

Finally the King addressed the refugee crisis in Ubriekkland. "We need to make sure that people in danger regardless of any religion are removed from the danger. Ubriekkland need to swiftly address those threatening the people of faiths outside of the Abrahmic with death, nobody should be chased and killed for whatever God or Gods they believe in. At present we shall commit to this operation for as long as required and will work tirelessly to ensure those coming to East Moreland are supported as best as we can."

The King will attend the Representative Council tomorrow to field questions. While the King was attending to official duties the Queen was overseeing the establishment of her and her staff's wing of the Palace. It is traditional that the Queen has a wing of the Palace where she can establish her own office, staff and use the facilities for official functions such as fund raising events for charities or other such events.




SNATCH LANDROVER REPLACEMENT SELECTED

The Ministry of Defence today announced that after months of consideration they had selected the Henley Bison to replace the aging Snatch Landrover. The previous vehicle was also made by Henley and had entered service in the 1970's. The new vehicle is expected to be made in Henley's Ostlake factory and an initial order of 1,000 have been made. The new vehicle is much more armoured than its predecessor. Its cabin can accommodate up to six combat ready troops. Noise suppression and anti-vibration materials make up the interior. The vehicle also has a large cargo space, which can accommodate combat gear, armaments or equipment weighing up to 1.5t. The vehicle will also be fitted with an air conditioning system and a chemical, biological and nuclear (CBN) protection system. The vehicle also integrates data and voice communication systems. The roof can also be installed with different types of manned or remote-controlled machine gun turrets, anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) launchers, mortars or grenade launchers. A double bottom hull with anti-mine “V” shield offers protection against mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The Bison has been shown to be able to survive an anti-tank explosion of up to 8kg of TNT under the axle and the cabin. In tests conducted around Ostlake the Bison has reached a maximum road speed of 110km / h and a maximum cruising range of 800km.

Sir Harry Samuelson explained that the vehicle is a must have for the Legions, "The Snatch Landrover was superb in its day. I've probably done Star Trek miles in them back in my days on the front lines. It is however a relic in modern warfare and doesn't offer enough protection against modern weapons or tactics. As such the old vehicles will be taken out of front line service and will be found other jobs such as being given to organisations such as JET. A few will go to museums, a few may be given away to projects across Mundus. They've given decades of excellent service but a younger model is now needed."It is expected that the first of the new vehicles will be delivered sometime in early August.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #189 on: May 09, 2020, 11:01:36 PM »



GREECHAN BEGINS ILLUMIC CHALLENGE

Mundus Games legend Daisy Greechan has today flown to Hassfurt to begin her attempt at becoming the first person to swim across the Illumic. She will be swimming a  distance of 1,150km[1] and is expected to take around two months, weather permitting. The 26 year old swimmer is the most successful athlete in the history of East Moreland having secured 16 medals across her Mundus Games career. She also has already entered the history books for rowing the Mhorish with Archduchess Sophie Harrison-Ironside making them the first duo to achieve the feat. Should she complete the challenge it is likely to finish close to the start of the Mundus Games and the Naval Officer has already ruled herself out. "To think its possible to swim more or less everyday for two months and then go and compete with the best in the world is insane. I'll be lucky if I can walk. Its partly the reason why I wanted to take on this challenge. I know long term my life lies away from the games but I still want to swim and challenge myself. I'm lucky that I have the support of the Navy to do this and I hope it can do two things, first inspire others to take up swimming and second we'll be trying to raise funds for various charities across East Moreland."

The challenge will see Greechan set off swimming followed by a support boat. This support boat will offer bottles of drink and liquid meals during her swims and when she is need of a rest she will climb aboard and sleep, she will also shelter on the boat during times the weather is against her. To ensure that she can claim to have swum the entire Illumic she will have the boat anchor while she is onboard and GPS records will be kept showing that she will not travel onboard the boat. Greechan also recently completed her officer training having up until recently served her entire Naval career as NCO. She was most recently based onboard REMNS King Robert which is currently assisting in aid efforts with refugees in Ubriekkland.




QUEEN OPENS NEW SCHOOL

Queen Stasya today carried out her first official duty as Queen of East Moreland. The newly coronated royal was in Northfort where she opened the Queen Stasya Girls School alongside Jinny Denman of the Sisterhood of Helus. The school will take over the old Watchmakers Guild building which for the last ten years has been used as a private art gallery until it was closed by its owner last year. It is understood the Queen acquired the building about three months ago and has gifted it to the Sisterhood. The school will run classes following the East Moreland national curriculum for girls aged between 11 and 18. It's first students are to begin classes in September and when fully up and running it is expected to cater to around 300 students. The school will be open to students of any faith or none, but will be run with what Jinny Denman, the self proclaimed High Priestess of the Sisterhood of Helus, has described as "an ethos directed by the teachings of the Sisterhood. It is our hope that this school will be a great asset to its local community and while we have no problems with other local schools I think it important that those of our faith can have an educational system that compliments their religious beliefs. It's wonderful to know that we have the backing of Queen Stasya in this project and her name will stand on this building for centuries to come."

Queen Stasya cut the ribbon of the school and meet the first 17 students that have signed up to the school. They had a "taster" day in which the girls got to meet their teachers and explore the building during which they were joined by the Queen who helped teach a lesson on Moreland Literature. The Queen also expects to take a keen interest in the school saying, "I want this school, and all in East Moreland, to be a place where students get an amazing education and a chance to enrich their young lives in many ways. I think I can help do that especially here at the first school supporting my new faith. I hope in the coming months locations can be found for a boys school and then a primary school for younger children." The Queen was asked whether her new husband approved of the school and her plan and stated, "David is someone who considers himself a scholar. He's very supportive of education for all and I know that he will be excited to see that I am supporting his desire that all Morelanders, regardless of age, gender or faith get a world class education."





EMAC CELEBRATE LODJAIN VICTORY

The East Moreland Aircraft Company have long had the unofficial motto of "There is fast and then there is EMAC fast." To help prove this they have a raft of world speed records to their name as well as having worked alongside East Moreland based Rytol Racing. Last season marked the retirement of legendary Morelander racer and engineer Ryan Toller who esablished Rytol racing and the team became EMAC-Toller. While last year the company failed to win either the drivers championship or the constructors they have in previous years been parts of success helping Sam Halliday become world champion and winning a number of Grand Prix. This season they expanded their influence on the grid by partnering with Lodjain owned Pelagiya Racing, a team owned by the family of Queen Stasya. Today Pelagiya-EMAC, a team originally established as a kind of feeder team for EMAC-Toller clinced the Constructors Championship while their driver, Sergei Ruznetzov, has already sealed the drivers championship.

Todays race took place in Zimalia and was witnessed by Sir Alan Maybury of EMAC who following the Pelagiya-EMAC success stated, "We're very proud of what the Pelagiya guys have done. We gave them all our data from Rytol over the last few years and allowed them free reign of our windtunnels, access to our aerodynamics teams and naturally we provided the engines. The team put together a great and for Formula Mundus maybe more importantly consistent car. I'd have loved to see the mainteam of EMAC-Toller take the trophy but this is still a great feeling. Next year we'll be continuing our relationship with Pelagiya Racing as we have a contract for three seasons to work together but I truly hope this can be a long term winning partnership."

It is understood a wager between the King and Queen took place before the season began however the conditions of the wager have not yet been confirmed. 
 1. 1.1 Dave Thumbs

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #190 on: May 12, 2020, 11:46:08 AM »




BETTER AUTO TO GO TO UI CENNESLAIG

It was announced yesterday that the East Moreland based electric car and battery swap company Better Auto are set to extend their operations to Ui Cenneslaig. The company produce budget electric cars and supply charging stations across the country, additionally and maybe most innovatively they also supply a "battery exchange service." One of the biggest criticisms of electric cars is the length of time it takes to charge the battery at roadside spots however this is eliminated by the battery swap service where a car drives up to a roadside facility, which in many ways looks like an automated car wash, and has a series of robotic arms remove their old battery cells and replace it with a freshly charged one. The cars old battery is then placed on charge waiting for the next vehicle to arrive. The company established its first series of facilities in East Moreland where it began to establish a network of stations between Portworth, Northfort and Ostlake. The company runs a subscription service where members purchase credits which are stored on a swipe card which gives access to both roadside charge points and battery swaps. In total 21 battery swap stations exist in East Moreland and a total of 80,000 cars have been sold in the last two years. The system of battery charging may however be used by other makes of car so long as the owner has a subscription.

The company hope to establish a network across Ui Cenneslaig in a similar way as East Moreland. The CEO of the company, Amanda Freeman explained "The future of Mundus is electric cars, the day will come when oil is dwindling to a point the price goes up beyond the ability of the average working family. We are preparing for that day and giving the environmentally conscious consumer a choice of how to power their car." The company will make further expansions in the CNN nations, "The CNN gives us an ability to expand within three others nations relatively simply and with minimal fuss. These are our natural target but we can't rule out taking advantage of East Moreland's link through MICA, our trade deal with TUNA and the CSU."

Last year the company ran an after tax profit of around $47million despite its large investment in new projects and marketing.






MINISTER REFUTES TYTORIAN MP'S ARTICLE

The Tytorian Broadcasting Service recently published an article by Terrence Cahill MP which stated in regard to the Slava Lavosk that with the exception of his own nation and Rokkenjima  " The rest (of Mundus) either remained indifferent or, bizarrely, chose to place condemnation on those who acted in an attempt to prevent a greater crisis." This was responded to by Foreign Minister Orlaith Kade during a visit to Portworth Naval Barracks. "East Moreland during the Slava Lavosk crisis had quiet an extensive response. Almost as soon as the situation began the King released a statement which first condemned the tests, then placed the three East Moreland ships transiting the Kyne towards the Unified Iwi on high alert and had them steam towards the region. He also ordered that the REMNS Portworth aircraft carrier mobilise from the Illumic. During the same statement the King stopped all trade with Slava Lavosk, began setting in motion the whole of the CNN imposing sanctions and deployed a series of anti-missile systems to the Midaranye region both as naval assets and by basing them in Royal Seleucid via our links with Ui Cenneslaig and the Celtic Protectorate. This final measure effectively ensured it would become difficult for the Slava Lavosk regime to launch any attacks against their regional neighbours or the wider world. It is worth noting that it would have taken the REMNS Portworth task force around a week to reach the region, by which time negotiations in Paracambi had begun. It is also worthwhile noting that while Mr.Cahill talks of only Tytor and Rokkenjima responding the Rokkenjiman response was confined to merely placing its Kyne fleet on standby, and for various reasons did not take part in the blockade. I am therefore at a loss at how Mr.Cahill can claim only Rokkenjima and Tytor took action when it is clearly the case that East Moreland did take action and arguably had the talks not began that thankfully ended the stand off would have taken more. Mr.Cahill is however correct in his assessment that more nations should have taken action and in a more resolute manner. There is no reason why anyone should have stood by and stopped determined steps taking place to bring Slava Lavosk first to the negotiating table and then to a path for disarmament."

Mr.Cahill's comments also drew the attention of Tim Carpenter, one of the founders of the Freestone Abolition Society. "I am please Mr.Cahill believes more should be done to combat slavery. I am delighted that East Moreland's government so readily supported our work of the Freestone Mark which essentially stops companies who trade in human misery benefitting from their actions. To date several other nations have also supported us including Lodja and Ui Cenneslaig. I am also though clear that other people have taken action. One such person is Grand Duke Hugo Lascelles who pushed through measures that ensured the Ardian Assembly members en mass support our steps, the Ardian Assembly resolution entitled "Slavery and Sanctions (2019) states that no nation in the Assembly may import goods from a slavery permitting nation without it having the Freestone Mark. I would urge more nations across Mundus to put in place measures such as this. I do not believe blanket sanctions against Tamora are the way as their laws on debt would only push more people into slavery, however by offering a carrot of being permitted to do business so long as they give up their slaves will drive companies to be able to do business more widely across Mundus and thus free their slaves. I also find it strange to say that no one has done anything as the Unified Iwi went so far as to actively liberate some slaves from Tamora. Should Mr.Cahill wish to come and see the work the Freestone Aboloition Society is doing and the work we do with our partners in governments across Mundus I'd be happy to host him or anyone else."

Duchess Orlaith Kade has also spoken of how in the coming weeks she intends to head to Cliath and the CNN HQ. "We need to make measures that ensure the CNN in future move more swiftly. We needed a way of making sure when situations like that take place that we can move as one organisation in a manner that can happen swiftly. We have seen in the past TUNA be excellent at this and therefore should explore how they can be so swift and pro-active and we can't." The Duchess added that there are also some significant differences that need to be addressed between the nations in the CNN. "We are in need of some talks to help us work out a way forward on several issues. First there is the situation with the Maori and their pursuit of war criminals, this is something all the CNN should be supporting in a much more significant way. We then have issues with the Bene Gesserit while our Cenneg allies host a school there. Finally we do as an organisation have the ability to perhaps sort out supporting Lodja with their Water Nomad issue. These are all things I shall seek to support in the coming days via meetings with representatives at the CNN."
« Last Edit: May 12, 2020, 12:01:01 PM by DaveIronside »

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #191 on: May 19, 2020, 06:42:03 PM »




EMAC-HEYRA TO SEE ROUTE INCREASE

Following the acquisition of the national carrier for Heyra by EMAC the new airline EMAC-Heyra has today announced a major increase in routes that it will service. The airline will from the 1st June operate a twice weekly flight from airports in Heyra to the capitals of each CNN member nation. Additionally they will run flights designed to connect with services to the CNN capitals from Northfort and Portworth on a daily basis. The airlines new executive, Jackson Mayfair, made the announcement saying, "We promised when we took over the airline that we would connect Heyra to the world on a scale that is beyond what it already has. The CNN is a good place to start as it the involvement of EMAC means we can smooth through many issues beginning new routes can bring. The residents of Heyra can now access multiple times a day flights to the East and West of Ardia and Albion, additionally by utilising the agreements in place through MICA and the AKO these citizens will be able to access flights from Northfort to places across Mundus."

The airline is likely to add more routes in the coming months potentially looking at other cities in Ui Cenneslaig and Lodja as a first addition. "The islands of Lodja are being developed as a tourist destination. Again the CNN connection will allow us to easily put a route in place if there is demand by Heyran tourists." The airline is expecting to increase its fleet of aircraft in the coming months and naturally will be looking to its sister company EMAC to supply them. The airline has also announced that with Greenflowers Day and King David III's birthday approaching they will be offering all those flying on those days a "celebratory occasion" with everyone being given the meal usually reserved for first class passengers as well as a takeaway goody bag. Mr.Mayfair explained, "While we're an airline operating out of Heyra we are very proud of our Morelander connection and heritage. Many of our staff are Morelanders and will be celebrating that day, we'd be thrilled to think our customers would join in the celebration of both East Moreland's birthday and our monarchs."





"STABLEGIRL" BECOMES NATIONS YOUNGEST DUCHESS

Annabeth Bennet has today formally become the Duchess of Aldcliffe and also the youngest Duchess in the nation. The 23 year old inherits the title following the death of her father following a long battle with illness in early April. Today the Duchess attended a ceremony at the Royal Palace in Northfort where she was formally given the title by the King and Queen however is no stranger to the Palace as for the last two years she has worked as one of the staff looking after the horses of the royal family. Speaking to the media after the ceremony the new Duchess explained that she still intends to work with the Royal Stables saying, "I love working with horses and the Royal stable has some of the most wonderful creatures I've ever seen. I'd be crazy to give up the career that I have now after all as much as I love Aldcliffe it's not the biggest of estates and is already being run fantastically." The Duchy of Aldcliffe is one of the oldest in the Kingdom having been established by King Robert in the 7th Century to reward Simon Jonesman who marshalled together a band of peasants into what after the battle of Greenflowers were called the Red Legion. Today the town is the location of the HQ of the modern day Red Legion, East Moreland's elite forces. Duchess Annabeth spoke of her connection to that unit saying, "My grand-father was a member of Red Legion and I know first hand how protective the people of the town are of those men who have served and are serving. I can not explain the sense of pride I have being the Duchess with Red Legion in my Duchy."

The new Duchess has also been named potentially one of the East Moreland team at the Mundus games in the Modern Pentathlon having set a East Moreland record during last years East Moreland Championship. 

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #192 on: May 21, 2020, 09:44:20 AM »




HUGE FLY PAST FOR NATIONS BIRTHDAY

The nation will get a huge military fly past to mark the Festival of Greenflowers. The annual event marks the occasion when a final battle between the Borlander King Niall and his younger brother the future King Robert the Unifier took place at a spot some 50km North of the city of Northfort in 642. The battle marked the final defeat of the the Borlanders and in the aftermath King Robert renamed the Kingdom and established it with some extended territories in the west. This year the celebration will see 48 Dragonheart fighters lead a fly past of Northfort along with around 160 other aircraft ranging from the nations VIP transport plane,Ironside One, and the nations most recent air force acquisition the Sea Dragon. The Festival has always featured a heavy military presence as the nation gives thanks to those who died creating the Kingdom however this is the first year that the Air Force have played such a prominent role in the celebration. The fly past will also feature vintage aircraft with the oldest being a fighter from the 1930's that is today part of the National Air Museum. Once the fly over has taken place at around 10am the aircraft will split into smaller contingents and carry out fly overs across the Kingdom.  Sir Harry Samuelson, the nations Minister of Defence has been one of those tasked with helping to make the arrangements for the day "The Festival gives thanks to our military men and women throughout history as well as celebrating the creation of our beloved Kingdom. The Air Force may not have existed in the 7th Century but they have cemented themselves as a cornerstone of this nations defence. We must also remember the skill and dedication they have shown flying humanitarian operations across Mundus."

The day also marks King David's 38th birthday and following taking part in the days official commemorations the King will be attending a party in Rockhampton at the Royal retreat. The King will also the following day be hosting a meeting between himself and the monarchs of Hassfurt.



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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #193 on: May 23, 2020, 12:32:40 AM »



THE MARCH OF TRADITION

As the sun sets on the evening of the 22nd of May the tourists at the site of the Battle of Greenflowers are ushered out of the national park. Usually the parkland is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the exception is the evening before the Festival that marks the victory at the Battle of Greenflowers. During a frantic evening preparations are put in place to ensure that at sunrise the commemorations with thousands in attendance to mark what is in effect the nations birthday go off without a problem. As the dark falls and the moon illuminates the flat piece of open moor figures begin to emerge from the foothills. Dressed in dirty camo clothing with rifles strapped to their back they look as though ready to take part in some warzone conflict however these are the men who consider themselves the ancestors of those that ensured a Morelander victory on that day in 642 AD. In a rare oppurtunity we were permitted to watch what has become known informally as "The Vigil" from around 11pm until 2am they kept coming, some on their own, others in groups of two or three all in silence until the point a GPS beeped and the men touched a large flat rock. This rock is referred to as King Robert's Throne and these men are all members of the elite East Moreland force of Red Legion. An unnamed Liutenant explains the tradition to us as we watch two more figures appear from the shadows. "In 642 rumours spread across the land that a do or die battle between the Borlanders and Robert Ironside was taking place. The West of our modern day nation had been largely pacified by Robert and he'd taken many of the trained soldiers off chasing the Borlanders East with terrible results. Both sides knew it was do or die and so ended up squaring off at Greenflowers. Luckily for Robert rumours of the need for more soldiers reached the West and the peasants of places like Aldcliffe hefted on their packs, picked up whatever armour or weapons they could and made their way towards the battle, many ended up never getting here as they heard different rumours but just over a 1,000 arrived just as the battle was on a knife edge. They charged the field and while many of them would end up dead, they weren't professional soldiers after all, their arrival did enough to allow Robert to swing things in his favour. Every year those of us in Red Legion try and recreate that march to stand guard at this stone through the night." The distance from Aldcliffe where the modern Red Legion is based to Greenflowers is some 100km and the soldiers give themselves 24 hours to complete it. There is no order to do "The Vigil" nor any expectation but by 2 am I'm joined by about 45 soldiers who are forming an ever growing ring around "King Robert's Throne". They stand chatting quietly or sit enjoying coffee from a flask. No fires are lit, no stoves used. "We have to think like the original Red's did, travel light, travel fast. For us its one night knowing tomorrow we can go to the pub, have a nice meal with family. For those peasants who did it for real they had no idea if they'd see out the day." the Liutenant explains.

At about 3am though things change, a new shape begins to appear out of the gloom and a few of the Red's begin to shift a little. I found myself nervous but soon a feint round of applause fills the air and as the shape jogs into the ring of Legionnaires to touch the stone handshakes and brotherly hugs are exchanged. This figure is Steven Holbrooke, he's in his 60's and is carrying a lightweight rucksack from which with care and love he unfolds a jacket, bright red in colour and removing his hiking jacket proudly dons the trademark red coat all Red Legionnaires are presented on their admission into the elite force. It fits a little snug around his middle now but the pride to keep it so immaculate having left the unit 20 years ago is remarkable. He is the first of what the Legionnaires call the "Old Brigade" and until sunrise more and more of them arrive swelling the number of Red Legionnaires at the stone to around 100. The "Old Brigade" stand within the ring of the Legionnaires on their symbolic guard and chat about old times while passing around a flask of whiskey or two. I ask Steven why he does it, "I don't do the 100km anymore. We all do whatever distance we can, I got the wife to drop me off about 20km away and came in. Next year it will probably be about 15km. Even when I'm 90 I'll still do it even if the wife has to drop me in the car park 100meters away. Its about us paying respects to those that created us. As a Red Legionnaire you're taught that you make sure victory is obtained no matter what. You're taught that hardship is just a part of life and what matters is that you move forward through it. We gather every year to pay respect to people who didn't have to take up arms but did because they felt it was the right thing to do. That's the whole point of the Festival of Greenflowers to remind us that is what we should do."

The sun is beginning to raise now and the hurried preparations through the night close to the national parks visitors centre and car parks are finishing. A crew of Royal Enginners are approaching with pre-fabricated stands on a truck ready for the days ceremonies that will take place shortly. The Red Legionnaires and the "Old Brigade" are still standing looking in the early morning light like a bunch of dirty and dishevelled ruffians. While on formal parade Red Legionnaires may look immaculate but when on operations, or apparently traditional route marches, the same can not be said. An Engineers officer approaches the circle of men on guard and spots a Captain of the Reds, the two men are the same rank but with no discussion of seniority the Engineer flashes a smart formal salute, it is not returned but a respectful nod is given, the Lieutenant I'm spoke to earlier in the night telling me its just as good. The Engineer asks if the men would mind moving so his men can set up the area. Without a word the Reds heft their packs and form themselves up in a neat little parade group. With less haste the "Old Brigade" join them and the Captain places a large tin mug on the "King Robert Stone". With no signal, the sign of years of repetition voices begin to fill the air. It is the Parting Glass, legend saying a song written the night after the Battle where the original Red Legionnaires realising they would return home and may never see their comrades again each toasted their friends before beginning the journey home. A 80 year old man is the first to march forward a skip in his step beyond his years. He salutes the "King Robert Throne" and picks up the tin mug, raises it towards the stone and says loudly and proudly "To the first Reds. May Jekar give them rest." he places the mug back down and pours some more whiskey into it he then passes through the ranks of the formed up mass shaking each person by the hand before without a backwards glance disappearing off. The Royal Engineers have now begun their work and it is remarkable to see how they attempt to work with such care and silence around these men who in order of age repeat the process the first man had undertaken. All the while songs fill the air as the sun creeps every more quickly above the horizon.

The last to drink is a Legionnaire who we shall call Henry. He is 25 years old and has been a Red Legionnaire for just 3 months having passed selection. He steps up, alone now he raises the tin mug, "To the first Reds. May Jekar give them rest." he exclaims loudly. He fills the mug one last time and turns now to face the sun which is filling the battlefield with sun from the East. "To all the Reds still to come. May Jekar give them strength." He pours the contents of the mug onto the stone, wraps the mug in a cloth and places it in his backpack. He hefts his rifle onto his shoulder and disappears off the way he came several hours earlier his vigil and his duty to his ancestors done for another 12 months. Within the next two hours King David will arrive to lead the nation in paying their respects to those who gave birth to this nation. That ceremony will be full of fancy music, religious prayers, imagery and plenty of pomp and ceremony, it however will never be as moving as watching these men retrace the steps and stand Vigil for those who birthed East Moreland.

An Exclusive by Sally Jones.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #194 on: May 23, 2020, 09:40:05 PM »




THE NATION CELEBRATES

The Kingdom of East Moreland today celebrated a double birthday as both the nation and its monarch turned a year older. The days celebrations began as formal ones for the King as he and Queen Stasya travelled to the site of the Battle of Greenfields where he paid his respects to the ancestors of the nation who fought in the battle that birthed the nation. The large crowd who gathered were treated to a ceremony headed by the High Priestess Skye Maddix who paid tribute to the nations past. Following prayers and offerings being given a military march past began by a representative of every unit within the armed forces, each of whom laid an offering to Jekar. The King and Queen were the final people to pass and Queen Stasya left a bouquet of flowers while the King left a shield with the sigil of King Robert the Unifier. Following an end of the ceremony the King and Queen boarded the royal helicopter known as Rotor One and flew back to Northfort.

Once in the capital a huge military parade began as the royal couple were joined by the Princess Rhiannon, Archduchess Sophie Harrison-Ironside and Princess Lilian at the gatehouse of Northfort Palace. The military, veterans and community groups marched through the streets as crowds lined the pavements singing traditional folk songs as the units passed. As tradition dictates men from Red Legion lead the parade on horseback while the veterans of Red Legion brought up the rear. It was only once the final veteran marched past the King that the large fly past began. The fly past saw close to 500 aircraft head over the city including 48 Dragonheart Fighter planes as well as a large collection of vintage aircraft. The aircraft then split up and took part in smaller fly overs across the nation.

The afternoon in Northfort saw a musical concert in People's Park and this year marked the first year that the King did not attend instead preferring to head to Rockhampton where he spent the rest of the day with family at the Royal Retreat. It was left to Prime Minister Henrietta Quinn to be the official representative at the concert which saw an estimated 70,000 people in attendance. Across the nation similar and smaller concerts took place as streets turned into party venues with large crowds out celebrating. As has become tradition the East Moreland embassies across Mundus have also distributed food to the local communities by inviting those in need for a meal.

The King however can not indulge to much on his 38th birthday as tomorrow he is scheduled to host a reception for the new King of Hassfurt and their Queen on their first official visit to East Moreland since the King's appointment earlier this month.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #195 on: May 28, 2020, 08:32:23 PM »




PALACE TO UNDERGO "GREEN" REVOLUTION

The Royal Palace has today announced that a major investment will be made to make the King's Primary residence more energy effiecent. The Palace was constructed in the 17th Century and has over the next 300 years or so of royal residence seen various lodgings constructed in its grounds as well as large extensions. As such the Palace is more like a large university campus than a residential home and on a normal business day it is not uncommon for over 1000 people to be present in the grounds ranging from staff in the kitchens to groundsman and from cabinet ministers to military advisers. As well as the Palace having extensive grounds and waterways it also has a large underground complex. All this according to Princess Freya means "the palace is like a giant energy absorbing maze. I shudder at the monthly electric bill and it can't be good for the environment." The Princess joined the rest of the Royal Family as they hosted an event for young "Greentrepreneurs", individuals under the age of 25 who had won prizes for environmentally sound business ideas. It was during this event that plan were on display for the Palace to cut down its own carbon footprint.

The plan will see the waterways utilise a series of small water turbines designed to create hydroelectricity. Additionally the Palace fence which stretches around the whole of the Parkland will feature micro-wind turbines while other parts of the parkland will be turned into vegetable patches which will be used to supply the Palace kitchen cutting down on the amount of food needing to be transported into the Palace. The building itself will go through a series of alternations with ancient light fittings being adapted for low energy usage, motion detection lights being put in as well as automated systems to ensure power usage is reduced. The King explained the decsion saying, "We signed the Treaty of Wellow sometime ago and the nation has begun putting in place various measures to try and bring ourselves closer to the targets set. It's important that we try and take a lead in this and the Palace is in need of some reduction in its power use. I'm hopeful we can get all the work done without disrupting the business there too much."

It is expected that the work will take until December and that up until that time the Royal Family will utilise Rockhampton Royal Retreat more for residential purposes with the King running day to day business from Northfort Military Barracks. Upon re-opening of the Palace fully it is expected that some of the outlying buildings will be used for more public uses such as charitable events for causes associated with the Royal Family and museum space.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #196 on: June 03, 2020, 07:58:19 PM »



OSTLAKE GAMES START TOMORROW

East Moreland's annual inter-military games begins tomorrow. Dubbed by some as the armed forces equivalent of a Mundus Games the tournament pitches units from the East Moreland Armed Forces against each other in both military and sporting events. For the last five years the games have also seen invitations extended to foreign nations with whom East Moreland shares a strong bond. This year it comes as no surprise that teams representing Lodja, The Unified Iwi and Ui Cenneslaig have been invited as the nations share membership of the CNN alliance. However the remaining two spots are taken by Seaforth, with whom East Moreland has long shared a friendship and Bakkermaya who despite their cultural connection to East Moreland will be attending their first games. The week long event will take place spread around the city of Ostlake at the four military bases which sit on the lake which the city takes its name from. Before emerging from isolation the games were often the highlight of the East Moreland sporting calendar and have bred a generation of East Moreland's top sporting stars including Daisy Greechan who this year will miss the games as she is mid-Illumic on her attempt to become the first person to swim the channel. Several Mundus Games and sporting stars will also feature as Rollo MacAllister has been selected to play for People's Legion in their Rugby 10's side, a sport making its debut replacing the more traditional Rugby 7's, meanwhile Archduchess Sophie will feature for the Air-Force in both the Orienteering competition and the Cross Country.

The event is also a huge boost to the local tourist industry with tens of thousands of people venturing into the city to take part in spectating the games as well as enjoy the nightlife which accompanies the festival. Restaurants tend to be fully booked up to three months before and many people who attend the festival and stay in hotels will book for the following year as they leave. One fan of the games is 60 year old Nigel Aveyard he competed in 10 Ostlake Games for the Air Force in a variety of sports ranging from rowing to the tug of war, he has two gold medals and a bronze to his name. "The games are a great way of demonstrating pride in your unit and for us veterans a chance to meet and catch up with friends. Since I competed in my first one at the age of 20 I've never missed one. This year me and my wife will be watching the football, rugby and band competitions with great interest."

For those serving in the military the evenings become a rather festive time as each unit is billeted together around Ostlake and often have their own beer tents and BBQ's. The Seaforthian BBQ's have been a feature of the event for the last few years and had until this year often seen a rivalry between Princess Freya and the missing, presumed dead, Joshua Rhodes who was the former King of Seaforth. Princess Freya will not be competing this year for Pegasus Legion but will be attending the games in her capacity as a member of the Royal Family. She explained, "There is a bond between soldiers of all nations. Put two soldiers in a room together and you're likely to find them getting along rather well after a few minutes. The Games are no different, during the day we compete hard but in the evening its feet up, a beer of three and some good food and music. Its a great occasion and I will miss Joshua being there."

The games will run in parallel with the Legionnaire Legacy games which will feature injured veterans competing. In previous years King David has competed for Pegasus Legion in rowing however he too this year will only be a spectator. The King however will be hosting social events each night in the officers mess at Ostlake East. The culmination of the Games is the Ostlake Ball which will see the King expected to accompany a female NCO to the NCO's Ball before heading to the Officers Ball on the opposite side of the lake. Last year however there was some controversy over the dress worn by the now Queen of East Moreland, Stasya Pelagiya after many considered her choice of dress too revealing. This year rumours have already begun of the Queen meeting with several young designers leading to much debate over who will be asked to make her ball gown for this years event.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #197 on: June 05, 2020, 05:05:17 PM »



OPERATION FORAGER UNDERWAY

In a surprise announcement the Ministry of Defence have announced that the East Moreland military and its Achkaerin counter-parts are to begin a large scale military exercise. Over the next month or so East Moreland will utilise facilities and ports in Achkaerin to replicate a huge humanitarian aid operation, at the same time Achkaerin forces will do the same utilising Portworth and Illumic Command. Operation Forager will see several convoys head through the Northern Sea back and forth, in addition a simulated air bridge will be put in place. Minister of Defence Sir Harry Samuelson explained the operation saying, "We timed it to fit alongside the Ostlake Games to place a sense of pressure on the situation. The military have to be able to adapt and we've done our best to simulate an occasion where they have to do that. The military often have to reorganise patrols and routine operations around the games, now we've a major operation they are having to adapt to. East Moreland and Achkaerin have for a long time been the most active in humanitarian operations and we need to keep practicing those skills."

The first vessel due to arrive in Achkaerin will arrive on Wednesday and is expected to off load a variety of supplies before resupplying and returning home. The first aircraft left Ostlake early this morning and is due to land in Achkaerin this afternoon. Sir Harry also explained that the exercise could be rather short lived, "We've seen the situation in Merina begin to escalate and as such will have one eye on that problem. It would be very easy for us to switch Operation Forager off and divert its resources to Merina. We however trust that the Council of Albion have that under control." Sir Harry was at the first day of the Ostlake Games where the Royal East Moreland Air Force won the competitions first ever Rugby X tournament defeating Hunter's Legion in the final.




NORTHFORT PRIDE ORGANISERS FILES CHANGE OF SCHEDULE REQUEST

The annual Northfort Pride festival has today filed a request with local police and security forces to change the timing and route of their event. Traditionally the event coincides with Glastomundus and two weeks ahead of the event the Pride festival is seeking to now march up Embassy Row. The parades route traditionally takes it through People's Park , alongside the Palace entrance drive and then through the Temple District before returning to the Park through nearby business districts. This year however organisers have asked for the Parade to go down Embassy Row which runs parrallel to the Temple District and have filed for a 10 minute stop outside the San Huberto Embassy. The request comes after Police stopped a Pride Festival in San Huberto as reported by the local media. The organisers have said that they will remain there for 10 minutes and then resume their march. In previous years other protests have taken part on Embassy Row such as when Pride 2.0 saw a protest following that years pride festival about KasierAdolf's unjust LGBT rules. The most famous protest on Embassy Row however was the one during the Regency Crisis which first focused on nations opposing the East Moreland government before being the starting point of Tim Carpenter's charge against the Palace during which he was wounded. Tim Carpenter spoke about the change requested by the Pride organising committee. "I think its a great idea to use Embassy Row every year. We know not all nations on Mundus allow same sex marriage, but by the same stroke not all that don't allow it persecute the community. By marching down Embassy Row it gives those nations that support LGBT rights the chance to show it and gives protestors a chance to engage with the nations that don't. I hope that this protest shows the LGBT community of San Humberto that we in East Moreland stand with them."

Pride Organisers are likely to be allowed their changes as Prime Minister Henrietta Quinn explains, "We as a nation have always allowed peaceful protests. This Pride parade is always good natured and well behaved. I see no reason why they should not be allowed to make their point on a day when significant changes to the routine of the city have already been approved." The measures were even supported by Pegasus Legions commanding officer, General Yacobs,  as her units would be on duty in the capital that day. "Providing security for the capital is always a challenge and large events like this more so. We will be ensuring the safety of all Embassies, all those taking part in Pride and the historic street. I am confident that the day will go without a hitch."

 

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #198 on: June 07, 2020, 12:20:11 AM »




CHIEF COUNCILLOR URGES CAUTION OVER QAMB

Following reports that Rokkenjima have effectively destroyed the military establishment at QAMB amid a diplomatic spat with Heyra the Chief Councillor of East Moreland has spoken of his concerns about escalation. The nations highest elected official Grant Nightingale is responsible for offering guidance to the monarchy and essentially being a conduit between the people and the King. Speaking during his attendance at the Ostlake games the head of the Traditionalist Party stated, "The whole situation stems from the bizarre situation where we have our friends in the Council of Albion striving to create a peace deal in Merina and putting in place steps to try and halt the spread of weaponry into a combat zone. This is something I would hope everyone can get behind and support however I am concerned that Heyra have implied they would adopt a rather combative stance over checks. I am confident the government of Heyra do not wish to see the civil war in Merina rumble on and if that assumption is correct they need to show it with their actions. I am not surprised that Rokkenjima sought to support the Tytorian stance of a naval enterprise to check for illicit weapons and other contraband but I am surprised at the speed and extent to which this caused a breakdown between Heyra and Rokkenjima. The destruction we have seen makes sense from a military stand point in a time of war however I am confident that Rokkenjima and Heyra could have reached an agreement about a more sensible and less aggressive means of decommissioning. The fact we now have chemical spills and fires are a concern and it may well be a miracle that no one died. It is certain now that the two nations have a rift between them that should be fixed as soon as possible." The Chief Councillor joined the King to watch todays drill competition where he said he would "urge the King to ensure the impending environmental disaster has no impact on East Moreland's interests.

It is apparent that the Chief Councillors words were agreed with by King David who has confirmed that the nations Royal Logistics Corps, who are experts in Chemical Weapons decommissioning, are on standby to assist if requested. A Ministry of Defence statement released later in the day stated, "The Royal Logistics Corps have been involved in the decommisioning of chemical weapons in Academica, Scordisci and through involvement with Borland plots. While we are yet to be fully briefed by Heyran sources of the extent of the problem in their nation they can rest assured we will stand ready to help in any needed clean up operation. Furthermore we can use the Ekrabadger to help swiftly bring equipment and supplies to help with the situation."



YOUNG MARINE OFFICER DOMINATES DAY 2 OF GAMES

As the Ostlake Games hit day two it was Royal Marine Commando 2nd Lieutenant Liv Skinner who became a star. The 23 year old became only the 2nd female to pass the units demanding training programme and currently serves in the Navy onboard REMNS King Robert. The day began for 2nd Lt.Skinner when she won the women combined weightlifting competition. The competition saw competitors have to complete 3 squats, 3 bench presses and 3 overhead clean and jerks with the best weight in each counting towards their total. The 23 year old Marine defeated her nearest rival by 10kg to take the gold on behalf of her unit. Four hours later she took to the field as part of the Navies female tug of war team anchoring them to victory in the final against the team from The Commonwealth of the Iwi. In the final event of the day Skinner was part of the Navies team for the traditional gun run which see's a 1910's field gun taken over an obstacle course which requires the gun to be dismantled and heaved over several pieces of apparatus. The day of success for the Marine creates a new record for the games for the most gold medals in a day, a record previously held by sporting legend Daisy Greechan who won an open water swim and a gym test competition in the same day. Skinner was presented her final medal of the day by Queen Stasya who had been attending several of the events during the day.

Skinner spoke to the media while at a BBQ at Ostlake East being run by Seaforthian Marines and said, "I had no idea that Greechan had only won two, I thought she'd done three. When my commanding officer told me I just was speechless. I love my time in the gym and I'm just blessed to be in a unit that spends literally all day everyday working out in some way or other. I'm an exercise junkie. Its why I wanted to be a Marine, and I hope in three years time I can join Red Legion. I've got three days off now before the rowing I'm part of so I'd love to make it four from four." Just as Greechan was Skinner is a crew member of the nations flagship REMNS King Robert the captain of the vessel said he was "proud that the Royal Rob continues to produce champions."

Tomorrow the cross-country race takes place which Archduchess Sophie Harrison-Ironside is favourite to win.


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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #199 on: June 07, 2020, 09:29:12 PM »



HIGH PROFILE BENE GESSERIT CAPTURED BY EAST MORELAND OPERATIVES

It was announced today by the Ministry of Defence that East Moreland Intelligence operatives investigating the case of the desertion of James Gillespie from Red Legion have captured a high profile member of the Bene Gesserit. During an operation within Kaitaine a team of EMIA operatives believed they would confront a convoy in which Gillespie, who now goes by the name Nathanial Corrino instead they found themselves emboiled in a fire-fight after which they discovered an individual known as Holly Cathcart. Despite her young age Cathcart is a Honored Matres to Nathanial Corrino making her part of he highly influential Corrino family which according to the Bene Gesserit faith are seen as being one of four Holy Houses. The Honored Matres are members of the family they are connected to tasked with essentially being breeding stock to allow the genetic continuation of that families DNA. The East Moreland Intelligence Agency is sharing information with Kaitaine over the Bene Gesserit after they attempted to steal nuclear waste from East Moreland in 2017 occasionally they have carried out their own operations to gather intelligence on Gillespie and have according to one source been given free reign to carry out any operation they think will capture the rouge Red Legionnaire.

Cathcart is currently being confined to the East Moreland embassy in Kaitaine and will be moved to East Moreland in the coming days to allow her to be questioned over knowledge of Gillespie and his movements within Kaitaine. She may also face charges relating to the Uppsala Convention as it is believed the Corrino family have been issuing orders to Truthsayers in Seitch, a place where it is suspected child soldiers have been used. Additionally it is not yet known whether Cathcart had involvement in the planning of the attack the steal nuclear waste. Minister of Justice, Darren Bone, explained, "Miss Cathcart has many questions to answer before we can determine what charges are appropriate, if any. This is the first time a high profile member of the Bene Gesserit terrorist organisation has been captured and so we must ensure we do a thorough job gathering as much information as possible before beginning a trial if appropriate." The Minister of Justice also announced, "The Cenneg have carried out a recent review of the nuclear waste incident and have provided information creating a link between a suspect we had in mind, Gillespie and a member of the so called Sisterhood. We shall be working hard to follow these links in the coming days."

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #200 on: June 17, 2020, 07:38:49 PM »



EKRA-BADGER HEADS TO QAMB

Following Rokkenjima's destruction of QAMB in Heyra the Royal East Moreland Naval Service have dispatched the Ekra-Badger to the region is its guise as a mobile field hospital. Onboard the ground effect vehicle were 200 members of the Royal Logistics Corps who among their varied duties are experts in the safe disposal of chemical weapons. Alongside them were around 100 members of the Royal Medical Corps who are likely to be dealing with people from the local area who are experiencing medical problems following the release of toxic chemicals. The Royal East Moreland Air Force will also be flying in various construction and decontamination supplies in the coming 48 hours. Lt-Col David Hughes of the Royal Logistics Corps explained, "The task at hand is containment. We have the problem of chemicals potentially leaking into the water table, finding its way into fresh water supplies. Additionally soils can be contaminated with various chemicals that will then begin a vicious cycle in which what grows is contaminated, then the wild life becomes it and so on. We need to move rather quickly to ensure this doesn't become a multi-generational disaster."

It is understood that the government have been speaking with Bakkermaya and Heyra to construct a joint plan to address the problems on the ground, meanwhile Bakkermaya have tabled a resolution within the Ardian Assembly to try and ease relations between nations moving forward. Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker explained, "Talks are being productive but are ongoing. This is a matter the King feels is important to get right and will fully support action to ensure Mhorish security militarily, economically and even environmentally is prioritised. East Moreland fisher man utilise the Mhorish for their living, the last thing we want is some contaminated fish finding its way into our food supplies." It is understood that the Kingdom is being represented by Princess Freya and General Katie Yacobs both of whom serve in Pegasus Legion which is where the HQ element of the Royal Logistics Corps is located.

During the press briefing Malcolm Tucker was asked if the attack would damage relationships with Rokkenjima and replied, "The Kingdom evaluate our relationship with nations based primarily on actions. We are currently rebuilding a relationship with Rokkenjima under their new Empress. This incident comes in the midst of that and the steps Rokkenjima take next I think will be more important in the relationship moving forward than the last few days."




SCANDAL FREE DRESS AT OSTLAKE BALL

Following last years eye popping display at the Ostlake Games Officers Ball the Queen went for a more conventional dress this year. Queen Stasya appeared last year in a low cut, thigh revealing dress however she was soon spotted having changed following what appeared to be a heated discussion with her now husband King David. The ball is the traditional close to the week long Ostlake Games and is one of two that goes on simultaniously across the lake. The games concluded with the Air Force taking overall victory, defeating Ui Cenneslaig by a single point over the week. This is the first time the Air Force have won the competition in ten years. Among the Air Force champions was Archduchess Sophie who is currently a Flying Officer in the Force Protection section of the service. The Archduchess won the cross country competition and was part of the team that finished third in the orienteering.

The King began the night at the NCO Ball over the opposite side of the lake where tradition dictates the King begin the dancing with a member of the forces. This year the King and Lance Corporal Melissa Kenner of the Army Aviation Wing began the dancing. Lt.Cpl Kenner was selected as she had set a new record for the individual orienteering as well as captaining the football team of Duke Legion. The 22 year old said, "It was an amazing evening to get the recognition of my fellow Legionnaires and spend time with the King. He was very nice and we talked a lot about my time in the military and I asked a lot about his daughter, as we share a birthday." The King spent roughly an hour at the NCO Ball before taking a helicopter across the lake to meet his wife for the Officers Ball.

He meet the Queen, who was wearing a floor sweeping red dress, and spent the evening socialising with members of his own military as well as those from the CNN nations who had been invited to attend. The King was joined at the ball by Prince Lennox of Ui Cenneslaig who had competed in the rifle shooting event as well as Baron Roman, the former King of Lodja and Tane Sevesi, King Piripi's cousin and Royal Envoy. The ball at both locations was reported to have continued until 2am. The games are now over for another year however the King has indicated that military competitions may not be done. During the ball he explained there is a chance the Legionnaire Legacy competitors may have a chance to compete globally. The Legionnaire Legacy games, which contribute to the Ostlake Games scores, are events for servicemen and woman injured and in need of rehabilitation.



 


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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #201 on: June 18, 2020, 08:59:22 PM »




ROYALS OPEN NEW ACADEMY

King David and Queen Stasya today travelled to Silverhills to open the National Aviation College, the first military academy dedicated to the Air Force. East Moreland has a long history of military academies with the oldest being the Portworth Naval Academy which opened in 1745 and was designed to recruit youngsters from poorer backgrounds and teach them skills needed to become successful officers in the Navy. The school at Portworth still exists today and while a good many of its students end up in career military roles the emphasis now is to prepare them for a wide range of careers after the age of 18. East Moreland has a total of 8 military academies with 6 being dedicated to the Army and 2 to the navy however today saw the Air Force join what is referred to as the "Jekar Schools". The National Aviation College will see students aged between 11 and 18 educated in the East Moreland curriculum but with a large focus on subjects deemed important for officers in the Air Force such as Maths, Science and Computing, in addition subjects such as History focus on military history to give students examples of significant military developments. Students must also undertake a variety of extra-curricular activities including shooting, gliding, hiking and military drill. The school has three routes of entry, parents can pay an annual fee expected to be around $12,000 a year, alternatively students can sit an exam at 11 and depending on their results be given either reduced fees or free education. The final route to entry is for students who have both parents in the military or have had a parent killed or severly injured while in the service. When at full capacity the school will be home to 900 students who will board at the school and wear military uniform to class.

The King and Queen arrived at the schools official opening by the old Ironside One aircraft which landed at the schools private airfield where the schools first students greeted the royals with a guard of honour. The pair spent the day visiting lessons as well as having lunch with students before taking part in some of the extra-curricular activities. King David spent time with the Long Bore Shooting team where as well as joining in the firing he gave tips to the students. The King said, "It may have been about five years since I last went onto a military range but you never forget what you've been taught. It was nice to see these youngsters learning those skills and learning about being responsible firearms operators." The King signed the targets of the students as souvenirs of the day. While the King was on the firing range Queen Stasya joined students at the schools own airfield. She went up in a EMAC T8 alongside 17 year old Jenny Sterling who gained her private pilots licence at 15 through the Air Training Corps. The Queen received her first flying lesson of 40 minutes and afterwards said. "I am amazed at how much fun that was, its very different to the planes I'm used to and Jenny was kind enough to try teaching me how to do some aerobatics but I think my stomach isn't quiet strong enough for it.

The school aims for each student to get a minimum of 30 hours flying time a year and extra time will be given as a reward for good academic work and conduct. The schools first head master is Wing Commander Richard Mayweather who served 20 years in the REMAF he explained, "Aviation and everything associated with it is fascinating and can form an exciting curriculum. We're a nation with a proud aviation heritage and I'm confident that in the next twenty years this school will produce many more pioneers to keep us at the pinnacle be that our students being amazing officers in the Air Force or designers for EMAC or even pushing the boundaries of space with the RAS."

The King and Queen are expected to spend the next few days in Silverhills.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #202 on: July 06, 2020, 06:06:56 PM »




"UNIVERSITY REFORM BILL" INTRODUCED IN RC

The Chief Councillor, Grant Nightingale, has today begun steps to reform University education in the Kingdom. Currently students attending University may study any degree deemed "rigouorus" enough by the National Education Board (NEB) who are tasked with ensuring different subject areas conform to a level of challenge for the exam standard. For example they ensure all Moreland Highers are of equal difficulty regardless of whether you study Ancient or Modern History or even Physics. Once accepted onto a degree course by a University a student must pay their course fees however those from less well off families receive discounts and all students may take out loans from the government to cover the full cost of their education post the age of 18. These loans are paid back once an individual earns a certain amount and comes out of their pay along with their taxes. Under the new reforms proposed by Mr.Nightingale the system would see three key changes.

The first key change put forward is a streamlining of courses on offer as the Chief Councillor explained. "Currently the NEB approve all courses that meet a certain number of teaching hours. This has seen Universities set up not as places of academic excellence but as businesses. For example I can go to an institute called the Keepton Big Top University and study a BA(Hons) Degree in Circus Art, I can go to the University of Food and Drink at Rockhampton and gain a degree in Baking Science. The need for these so called degrees is puzzling. I am not saying don't work in a circus if that's your ambition, I am not saying don't become the best Baker you can be, what I am saying is I don't think three years and nearly EM£30,000 of funding is needed. Now people will say the government recoup's that through the loans being paid off but we still need to pay out in advance on their behalf and some of these subjects put students into jobs where they will never reach the threshold to begin repayment, meaning that money is effectively lost to the government. We need to cut down the number of degrees being given out to ensure they are qualifications that mean the holder is someone who is a member of an academic elite." The Chief Councillor produced statistics showing that around 19% of students are currently on what he has called "unnecessary degrees."

The second key change was to create an annual "Statement of Shortage" for students. "The Statement of Shortage would be a document released six months before students make their applications for University. It would show which professions that benefit from degrees have shortage areas. For example at the moment within the military I know we have a shortage of dental staff. We would therefore add dentistry and related degrees to the Statement of Shortage. Students may see these professions as a way of ensuring upon graduation a brighter future allowing them to identify a career path likely to be successful. Currently we see an absolute deluge of people studying Computing, a vital subject for the nation, but it means competition is fierce, meanwhile a subject like say Robotics which is connected has a shortage. By advertising these shortages in advance some of those Computer students may have switched to Robotics. In addition those subjects on the Statement of Shortage would receive more favourable grants and loan conditions meaning a student is likely to leave University with much less debt."

The third key change is the way the loans will be repaid. "If passed we would contribute towards a service persons student loan repayments. The exact way we would do this would be once you reach the appropriate pay-grade to begin repayments the government would pay for the first year 10% of the loan repayments, then 20% for the 2nd and so on until the loan is repaid. Effectively this will give our servicemen and women a pay raise. I would also seek this to begin for those already serving."  When asked where the funding for this would come from Mr.Nightingale explained saying "By cutting the funding for unnecessary degrees we would free up funds to help those identified by this reform additionally if we retain our Legionnaires for longer we can save money on training replacements at such a rapid rate.

The reforms were however immediately opposed by the Royal Artist in Residence, Jocelyn Hopkins. "Mr.Nightingale seems to consider certain subjects unnecessary. The Arts for example would not be as well supported as currently if he gets his way. The subjects such as art, drama and music make a huge contribution to our nation and the economy. They teach transferable skills such as creative and critical thinking. Just because it just tap into some form of military hardware it doesn't mean a subject is lacking in merit. The Chief Councillor has also insulted our Queen, Her Majesty holds a degree in Baking Technology, a subject that Nightingale has called an unnecessary degree. I am sure the Queen valued her education and it taught her a great deal beyond the kitchen and Baking."

We asked the Palace for comments and Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker stated, "Queen Stasya is a proud alumni of Iskor University. She and her husband, His Majesty King David, both place a huge emphasis on the value of good quality education and this has been shown by several programmes they have supported. While the proposal is passing through the Representative Council the King and Queen decline to comment on the proposal of Chief Councillor Nightingale as they believe this would perhaps sway the debate." Currently Nightingale's Traditionalist Party have a 21 seat majority in the Representative Council.





DR.MERRIMAN'S NEWEST BOOK HITS SHELVES

The well respected Historian Dr.Marcus Merriman today saw his latest work hit book stores across Mundus. It marks a very different approach to History than his previous works which have sought to create discussions around key historical events such as the formation of East Moreland and his favourite subject the life and times of Paul the Explorer. The 80 year old Professor retired officially from lecturing last year having counted among his vast number of former students King David. Since retiring from day to day lecturing however the Professor has sat and cataloged the wars of the 21st century. As the book was released one of the first to get a copy was King David who said, "Dr.Merriman had a huge impact on my education. I know he's told me this book is a vast shift from his usual work and is more an attempt at creating a reference tool but its still a useful tool for anyone with an interest in military history."

The Professor however said he see's the book not as a finalised piece of work. "Sadly wars never stop. The book contains details of the Merina conflict which is still ongoing. It is my aim to keep updating the book every two years. We'll sadly see new wars come out and we may learn more about previous ones as new documents come to light. When I'm unable to do the updates anymore its my hope that people at the Royal Merriman University can take over." The Professor founded his own University in 2017 following a falling out with Royal Northfort University. The new University was granted a royal charter immediately and one of its first students to enroll was King David in order to obtain his Masters degree. The Royal Merriman University is today ranked No.3 in the ratings for History in East Moreland behind the Royal Northfort University and Keepton University. It was the forth University to be granted a royal charter. 

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #203 on: July 11, 2020, 11:07:51 PM »




FESTIVAL SAIL SEE'S EMAC ANNOUNCEMENT

With the grand opening of the annual Festival of Sail the East Moreland Aircraft Company announced via King David that they would be making improvements to the Waterbadger and seeking to add to the record that they set back in 2015. The high speed boat set a new record of 321mph beating the previous world record by 4mph. The boat was used to open this years festival of sail where its pilot Danny Jules brought the Kings Sword ashore before handing it over to Royal Marine Corporal Gatland. The Corporal was a veteran of the Seaforth Eugenics War were he lost a leg however since then he has rehabilitated at Ostlake with the Legionaire legacy programme and has requalified in a military support role within the Marines. He was awarded with the Morelander Cross for "acts deemed inspirational to Morelanders" and restored to his former rank of Sergeant. The King then gave the speech which confirmed the record attempt.

Sir Alan Maybury is the CEO of EMAC and stated following the King's announcement, "We're exceptionally proud to have the support of the King for this project. When we established 321 five years ago we felt at the time there was a little more to come but the weather conditions hindered us from being able to do anymore. We've a few aerodynamic tricks we want to try and we also hope to play about with the fuel we use and that could get a few more MPH out of the vehicle." Sir Alan was asked why this was a project to return to and stated, "Each time we do something like this we tend to get ten or twenty or so new patents from them. This time we can learn a great deal about projects we can build into future naval projects despite being an aircraft company." It was confirmed that Danny Jules will not be piloting the new attempt saying, "Piloting such vehicles put a tremendous strain on the body, Danny hasn't been in the cockpit of anything other than a prop aircraft for a while and so we're going to put someone else behind the wheel for this. Danny however remains part of the project and his advice will be massively important."




FIRST BISON ROLLS OUT

The first of East Moreland's new Army Mobility vehicle, the Henley Bison came off the production line in Kings Crossing today. The vehicle is set to replace the Armies Snatch Landrover which entered service in the early 1980's. The Landrover has been heavily modified over the years but was deemed earlier in the year unsustainable for further modifications. A total of 1,500 Bison will eventually enter service with the Snatch Landrovers being given over to the East Moreland contingent of the Joint Emergency Team. The Bison will first be given to Red Legion who will then cascade training to other units. This marks the first non-armour vehicle purchase for the Army in five years. It is hoped that the vehicle will be in front line use by regular Army units by the end of November 2020.




CHIEF COUNCILLOR'S UNIVERSITY REFORMS PASS FIRST HURDLE


The proposed reforms of the East Moreland University system put forward by Chief Coucillor Grant Nightingale have passed their first stage towards becoming law. The proposal would see certain University courses cut while other would receive extra financial support, additionally graduates would be incentivised towards a career in the military with help towards student loans. The proposal passed 227-220 and will now proceed onto the Executive Council who will consider the bill and vote on it late next week. Should the proposal pass this hurdle it would require the Kings approval to go into effect. The Executive Council may prove a stumbling block. One member of the Executive Council is Prime Minister Henrietta Quinn who has already gone on record saying. "I do not agree fully with the proposal. I agree University should be for the academic elite, but the academic world is a large place and narrowing it down does no one any favours. I have always held the belief that the nation should do everything within its power to support our servicemen and woman and rewarding their service with what in essence are discounts on student loans is a proposal I would support. I shall be speaking against the bill but hope that we can perhaps work with Chief Councillor Nightingale and amend the proposal before giving it another go."

The Palace have yet to state the King's position on the proposal other than Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker stating, "His Majesty carefully considers any proposal that completes the transitition through the councils and lands on his desk. He views Chief Councillor Nightingale as a good representative for the voice of the people and is happy to work with him to ensure that East Moreland's educational system continues to move from strength to strength with the aim of being the best in the whole of Mundus. Should Mr.Nightingale's proposal end up on his desk rest assured it will be given fair and careful consideration."

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #204 on: July 19, 2020, 09:11:25 PM »



HEALTH WARNING OVER WILD VENISION

Minister of Health Rufus Maddison has today issued a warning over the consumption of wild venison and has not ruled out a connection to Yellow-Tongue. Over the weekend 12 people were admitted to Silverhills General Hospital having developed blindness. During doctors taking their history it was discovered all had eaten at the Manor Road Brasserie on Thursday evening. Public Health officials visited the restaurant and discovered that there was nothing concerning about the establishment but it was discovered that all the customers effected had ordered the same dish, Venison loin. It was then discovered that the restaurant had purchased the meat from one of many wild game markets in the area. Having undertaken a rapid survey of the local deer stocks the Yellow-Tongue virus was discovered in 2 out of 10 captured however as a precaution all 10 animals were destroyed. This has sparked fears that the virus , which up until now has been thought to have not made its way into East Moreland. The discovery has sent alarm bells through the hospitality industry as many establishments serve game on a very regular basis as well as many Morelanders hunting for their own wild meat.

Mr.Maddison took to TV and Radio throughout today spreading the news of the discovery and the governments response. "We are sad to say we believe we may have found the first cases of animal to human transmission of the Yellow-tongue virus and it is rather unexpected in its presentation. We have only recently discovered that the virus appears to damage the optical nerve in rudimentary mammals however we had not expected to see this as the only impact in humans if and when the virus made the jump. Our concern is that this virus clearly seems able to linger in prepared meats. We are therefore issuing a ban on the sale of wild game for the next 14 days. Those who make a living from providing wild game to butchers or the hospitality industry are expected to within this time not hunt for food. We will however be offering them contracts to bring in specimins for testing and they should contact their local mayoral office if they are interested in undertaking this work. Anyone found breaking this order will be liable to a $1,000 fine and six months imprisonment. Farmers are instructed to obtain test certificates for disease from their local vet prior to selling farmed meat of any kind. In order to help provide support for testing and also protecting farms from intrusion by wild game we will be reducing the numbers streamed to national service in the cultural and medical fields and creating a Yellow-Tongue Task Force. Those part of it will help eliminate intrusions onto farmland by wild game and will support farmers in testing."

The government have also established a help line for anyone concerned about the situation.
« Last Edit: July 20, 2020, 03:44:06 PM by DaveIronside »

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #205 on: August 02, 2020, 09:01:44 PM »



DRUGS BUST SPARKS NIGHTINGALE CALL FOR DRASTIC ACTION

An operation lead by the nations Royal Marine Commando's yesterday has sparked a radical call for action from Chief Councillor Grant Nightingale. At around 5am yesterday REMNS Rhiannon the Fierce and her Marine detachment boarded a Zimalian flagged vessel passing through the East Moreland EEZ in what was described as an "intelligence lead operation." The operation saw not a single shot fired but around 1,100kg of uncut heroin was discovered taking the 2020 seizure at sea to around 2,000kg. During the whole of 2019 3,000kg were captured while at sea with several more seizures taking place at docks and airports as planes and ships arrived. The crew were all arrested and work with Zimalian authorities will take place to determine what steps happen next. The drugs are expected to have a value once cut by gangs in the region of around $280million. Lt-Col Danny Frost of the Marines lead the operation and from the deck of the REMNS Rhiannon the Fierce stated, "One of the less glamorous roles of Marines is the regular searches of vessels for illegal imports. Often it involves crawling around pallets of cargo with a flashlight looking for things that don't exist. However occasionally we get to a vessel knowing we are likely to find something and when we do it means Morelander citizens are protected which therefore makes all the thankfully fruitless searches worth while."

The ship was taken under East Moreland control and sailed to Seabrooke where it will remain until searched from bow to stern and then if the government are convinced the company that own it are not involved it will likely be returned to them. The crew of 34 have been detained pending questioning. The Ministry of Defence later explained, "The nations intelligence services acquired information about the potential shipment and put in place the operation. It is believed that the shipment was organised by the Borlanders and would have somehow entered East Moreland via an offload of some sort in the Illumic before the vessel continued onto Zimalia. Alternatively the drugs may have entered Zimalia and then across the border from there. Either way these drugs would likely have helped fund Borland operations as we have long connected a large number of drug enterprises to the terrorist cells and are in no doubt that this is one revenue stream for the Borlanders."

The seizure lead to Chief Councillor Grant Nightingale to announce that he will be pushing for the King to change some of the laws around drugs in East Moreland. The leader of the Traditionalist Party announced during a radio interview, "There is no difference between someone selling drugs on behalf of the Borlanders and someone simply handing money over to them. Both are funding terrorism. I am therefore going to sit down with my team tomorrow and draft new proposed legislation that would see anyone caught dealing a certain level of drugs charged not only with that offence but also with terrorist offences, in particular providing comfort and aid to terrorists or even treason. Every penny that would have been made from these drugs would have gone into funding the murder of Morelanders and our allies across Mundus. Those offences in East Moreland carry the death penalty and this is something we must consider. It is bad enough drugs ruin the lives of those who take them but they also ruin the lives of those the money made from them ends up killing." It is not known whether the idea will get support in the Representative Council or get the support of King David should it pass however the fact that it is being proposed shows the level of concern the government have of this funding route for terrorists.




GREECHAN CLOSES IN ON SEAFORTH

Mundus Games legend Daisy Greechan set off from the military base Illumic Command with the intention of swimming the Illumic. Having had to deal with jelly fish and storms the Royal East Moreland Naval Service rescue diver is now within days of reaching the small village of Glenkardy in West Seaforth. Greechan has been swimming for around 14 hours a day and sleeping onboard a support ship which anchors in place each day. The attempt in four days behind schedule after a series of storms meant that the swimmer had to take shelter below deck. While swimming she had been fed using baby food and high calorie gels often remaining in the water during meal times. The attempt did seem in danger though after Greechan was stung swimming through a group of jelly fish and was struggling to see however utilising sound from the support ship and a long pole used for feeding used to tap her on the shoulder to change direction that was overcome.

Speaking last night from a bunk onboard the support ship Greechan stated, "We have a schedule worked out in our heads. It would mean I get to Glenkardy sometime mid afternoon on Wednesday however lots can happen, strong tides may take me off target and I'll have to track back, we could have more storms, I could get jelly fished again and so we'll be more likely to know Tuesday morning whether the arrival ETA is going to be accurate. I've already been told I should expect the walk up the beach to be horrific as my legs haven't really bore weight properly for months now. We've spoken to our medics and they are checking me in with the Legionnaire Legacy programme as essentially according to them I'm going to have to learn to walk again. I suppose though this will end speculation about whether I'll attend the Mundus Games as while Team Honeybadger is off killing it I'll be at Legacy HQ." The swim has raised around $3,500,000 for good causes across East Moreland.




2021 NATIONAL SERVICE EXTENDED

From the 1st January 2021 the length of National Service will be extended by a month. The announcement will now mean all those serving will now complete 25 months of service. All Morelanders complete two years of national service either at the age of 18 or once they have completed further education such as University. All Morelanders complete an initial 15 weeks of military training before being streamed into either more military service or completing roles under one of five other classifications those being Cultural (protecting national heritage), Religious (caring for religious sites) ,Health (Helping in hospitals) , Environmental (Woodland management) or Humanitarian (being attached to organisations like JET, WMO or refugee centres). The new change will mean the streaming will now take place after 19 weeks of military training.

The decision was announced by Sir Harry Samuelson the nations Minister of Defence who stated, "Since 1922 the manner of our national service has changed little, the last change was in 2018 when we added humanitarian service to the different streams we can assign individuals to. National Service is important in allowing our nation to be able to defend itself, to teach young people responsibility and to allow them to serve their people as Helus demanded we do. The problem is military technology is getting more complex, its no longer a case of picking up a rifle and just pulling a trigger. This extra month will take the form of learning about uses of these new technologies, be they drones or cyber warfare. These are skills that will be useful to all Morelanders post national service too as we have often seen." Sir Harry used Martin Dawson the CEO of SmartWar as a good example. "Martin was a young man with a University background in various computer based subjects, national service saw him learn exactly how that could be applied to a large number of problems. Our nation got so much from him during his two years, in return he left able to set up a company that has in my view revolutionised so many pieces of technology with our armed forces, and made him a rich man. It shows just how beneficial for both parties national service can be."


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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #206 on: August 04, 2020, 11:14:10 PM »




22 SET FREE IN BORDER CHECK

At the border crossing between East Moreland and Vaguzia at Pickford a truck was pulled over by Customs Agents following reports of something suspicious. The vehicle was asked to pull over to the inspection area however the driver attempted to flee the scene but was stopped by members of the 2nd Light Scouts who were providing security at the crossing point. The driver was arrested and when the Scouts made entry to the rear of the lorry discovered that among its cargo of cardboard were 22 individuals being smuggled across the border. 16 of the individuals required medical treatment for dehydration while the remaining 6 were taken to the nearby police station for processing. Bryce Cokes is the Head of Customs at Pickford and said after the incident, "We robustly check the vehicles coming across the border from Vaguzia and generally the most worrying thing we find are the odd overloaded lorry or a little bit of drugs. We very very rarely find people as we have relatively relaxed travel arrangements with Vaguzia. We are now investigating who these people are however as of yet none of them have spoken to us meaning we are struggling to find out where they are from."

The Ministry of Justice confirmed that the driver was being charged with breaking customs rules and potentially kidnapping. The individuals, who ranged in age from an estimated 15 to 40, are going to be moved to the secure section of Hunter's Vale which is normally reserved for refugees who have committed crimes while on the former military base. Minister Darren Bone explained, "Normally we would deport someone entering the nation illegally back to where their home nation however with these people no telling us where they are from that may prove impossible for now. Hunter's Vale has a small section of the former Army Base that we can secure and in the past was used as a kind of holding centre for refugees who may have committed crimes while in the facility. These people will be moved there until we can work out what to do next." Mr.Bone has suggested that should the nationalities of the group not be confirmed they may look at handing them over to Vaguzia. "We can not allow people who, for whatever reason, want to get to East Moreland by circumventing our processes to succeed. These people have passed through Vaguzia and if they wished to claim asylum then Vaguzia is a perfectly safe country."

In response to the discovery the Customs Agency will be reinforced by members of the Armed Forces to allow for more checks to take place with minimal disruption to cross border traffic.





KING APPROVES "NIGHTINGALE EDUCATION REFORM BILL"

The King has today signed into law the collection of reforms to Higher Education in East Moreland brought about by legislation drafted by Chief Councillor Grant Nightingale. The new legislation is the first brought about by Nightingale and will now mean that certain courses at University will lose governmnet funding, students will be able to see which professions requiring degrees have shortages and those who go to serve in the military as a career will receive support in repaying student loans. The move will now see some University courses no longer accept applications unless fully funded by outside bodies. One example is the degree in "Applied Circus Skills" which will no longer accept applications unless an outside funder can be found. Mr.Nightingale explained, "Universities exist to be hubs of academic excellence. Finances for education are finite and as such should go to fulfilling the goal of what a University is. People who wish to learn applied circus skills can still do so, they just now have to focus on learning through doing." It is estimated that the change will ensure funding streams for students will be able to be spread more effectively now the numbers of University students is likely to decrease.

The move though has drawn criticism as the National Union of Students says "The new legislation devalues the hard work and skills gained by individuals in a wide variety of fields. People will see their dreams shattered with little to no warning and we stand the risk of losing avenues for people to better themselves." Within minutes of the King signing the proposals into law the National Union of Students launched a petition calling for the new rules to be overturned.

The Minister for Education, Rosa Meadows, stated that she had actually advised the King not to sign the legislation into law because to her, "Studying at the highest level possible is something everyone should strive for. We should not be in the business of telling people whether or not their dreams are worthy of study or not. We should be supporting students. Today we have sent a message that education is only important in certain fields of study."

The King has yeto tp speak in person about the new laws however a statement read by Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker said, "The King has always attempted to rule in a way that the decisions he makes are ones that the majority of Morelanders support and are in their best interests. This legislation passed the Representative Council stage on its first attempt, it then passed the Executive Council with no amendments. This sends a strong message to the King that this bill is what the people want and thus is something he should support. No law is perfect and rest assured the King will look now at ways of supporting students with desires to study courses that may now no longer get funding through the traditional routes."

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #207 on: August 08, 2020, 10:33:33 PM »




KING INTRODUCES NEW FUNDING FOR STUDENTS

King David today announced something that will support students of "less traditional academic" routes. The Student Development Fund will offer funding to businesses associated with qualifications that will no longer enjoy government support at Universities. The new system used one of the courses which was highlighted by Chief Councillor Nightingale in his recent successful reforms, Applied Circus Skills as an example. The system will pay Circus' an annual stipend for them to accept students in addition these students will still be eligible for student loans at the same rate as previously. The move will according to the new legislation provide students with "in depth on the job training that places them at the forefront of their fields from the out-set. The stipend will enable first class providers of skills to allow their current employees to spend quality time mentoring the students and helping them progress in their own skills."

The news did not however reassure the National Union of Students who said , "While this will be a slight beacon of hope for students who saw their University course disappear with little warning. All this does is turn ambitious Morelanders into cheap labour. The Union is concerned about there being no standard programme within fields and therefore we are puzzled at how this can ensure those finishing their education can be said to be up to a certain common standard in their field."

The new measures are expected to come into force in 2022.




GREECHAN LIMPS ASHORE IN SEAFORTH

Daisy Greechan today completed her epic cross-Illumic swim yesterday by struggling to get ashore in Glenkardy in West Seaforth. The Mundus Games swimmer completed the roughly 3,500km in just over 60 days. She was joined by around 100 locals for the last kilometer and many of her crew-mates from REMNS King Robert were on hand to welcome her ashore. Having made her way to the shallows Greechan struggled to get to her feet and despite several people wanting to help her they were reminded that the feat would not count unless the swimmer was able to fully exit the sea and be clear of the breakers. She stumbled and fell several times before finally being declared to have completed the swim at which point medics from REMNS King Robert moved in to help her. It took several minutes for Greechan to be at a point where she could speak to the media. "I'd like to thank everyone who came out to support me and who has donated money to the good causes I'm supporting. The final day was fine in terms of the swimming but the exit to the Illumic was one of the hardest things I've done. I felt like my legs were just plates of jelly and they just wouldn't do what I wanted them to. Now I've been on dry land for the last half an hour I feel odd that the world isn't moving. Tomorrow we start what is essentially rehab."

One of those who welcomed her ashore was Lieutenant Peter Stevens who is the doctor onboard REMNS King Robert and has spent the last few weeks onboard Greechan's support ship. "Daisy has done amazing. She's overcome a lot. We had bouts of salt-tongue where she saw parts of her tongue literally falling off. We've also seen her physique change, she's put on around 5kg of pure muscle in her shoulder, back and arms while losing lots in her legs. Then we have her feet, her arches have collapsed and we've some minor ulcers to deal with. We're also going to have to get her back to a normal diet, she's been eating around 15,000 calories a day in essentially liquid form. From my point of view its safe to say her challenge is only half way over. The 2nd half now begins with her rehab. That could take her anywhere between a month or three, it depends how quickly her body responds however it is clear she is an amazing athlete and its likely she will respond to the rehab quickly."

Greechan will be helped in her recovery by Legionnaire Legacy who she has raised funds for. Their patron is Princess Freya who said, "We expect the military personnel of our nation to do great things and be able to push themselves harder than they ever thought possible. Daisy has today shown just what a determined individual can do  and we are all proud of her."




RED LEGION RAID DISCOVERS 27 DEAD

Residents in a quiet suburb of Roberton today were awoken at 5am when two explosions were heard. Over the next ten minutes several more were heard along with several vehicles entering the area at high speed. Local Police began patrolling the streets informing people to stay inside due to an "ongoing terrorist situation" One eye witness said, "We saw guys in black moving through people's gardens and climbing over back walls for about an hour. We also heard helicopters low overhead." It was not however until about 9am that an official statement was released.

The Chief of the Roberton Police stated, " We received a tip off from military intelligence about a potential problem. We thought it best at that point to hand the situation over to Red Legion who were willing to conduct the necessary operation. As such at 5:04 am the Legionnaires used dynamic entry techniques to effect an entrance into a warehouse complex in which we had the belief that contraband was being stored for criminal purposes. It was necessary to keep members of the public indoors as some of the intelligence we had indicated a potential hazardous substance and a possible suspect evading the assaulting force. We however did not find any suspects inside."

It was only later in the day that a further statement confirmed that they had found 27 dead bodies. "We have now confirmed 27 individuals who have died within the facility we raided. Coroners put the time of death as being close to 24 hours before the raid and the individuals were discovered inside a locked shipping container that it appears some kind of gas, possibly car exhaust fumes, was used to murder those inside. Investigations are continuing but so far the identities of those inside are yet to be established. 18 of the dead are adults with 9 children. None of those who appeared to be in their 20's came up on the military database leading us to believe these were not Moreland citizens."

Police are calling on anyone with information to come forward. 

Online DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #208 on: August 12, 2020, 09:24:52 PM »




MILITARY UNCOVER NEW BORLANDER "FUNDING STREAM"

Following another raid on a warehouse in Stoneton it is believed Red Legion have uncovered what is being described as a new "funding stream" for the Borlanders. Following information obtained from previous operations a raid on a second floor warehouse unit in the town uncovered a further 13 people being held. Unlike other raids though this one featured a brief exchange of gunfire and a gunman was rushed to medical facilities however died while being operated on. Several documents and phones were recovered and in the early afternoon a statement was released on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

"Over the last few days the East Moreland Intelligence Services along with their counterparts within the military have been dealing with several potential incidents. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our intelligence officers and our service men and women these have been foiled. We however sadly suspect several other Borland operations have managed to get through the net. We have sadly uncovered a human trafficing operation, focusing primarily on children and women. It appears that the Borlanders are acquiring people from various nations across Mundus and funneling them into Zimalia via ports in Zimalia, East Moreland and potentially Heyra, Hassfurt and Vaguzia. We also believe crossings of the Illumic from Seaforth may be taking place. Once in Zimalia it is believed that the people are being effectively sold or in some cases smuggled elsewhere. We are now looking to stop such shipments of human life reaching Zimalia. We also warn nations across Mundus to be aware of the situation and take precautions."

It is understood some of those rescued in recent operations are from poor families in places such as Toshikawa and Neuva Ardia as well as a small number of Lodjain plebs who appear to have been tricked into believing they would be getting a better life outside that nations caste like system. The nations Foreign Minister, Orlaith Kade stated, "Our primary duty is to ensure these people retain their liberty. Once we have rescued these people we hope their ordeal is over. Should any feel they can not return home we will listen to their asylum claims after all East Moreland has a reputation for taking in those in danger in their homeland. Any who wish to return home we will do everything we can to make that happen." She also announced that ships arriving in ports and vehicles crossing land borders should expect their entry to East Moreland to take longer as security is stepped up in order to identify people being brought into the nation illegally.




QUEEN BECOMES FIRST TO GET APPROVAL FOR VOCATIONAL FUNDING

Following the announcement late last week that certain subjects deemed to be more vocational focused would lack places at Universities in the future it was hoped businesses would step in and offer on the job training for students in fields such as Fashion, Beauty, Applied Circus Skills and Culinary fields. Today it was announced that Queen Stasya's bespoke fashion company Stagia would be relocating to Silverhills and had been given permission to take on 16 students for Fashion Design and a further 10 for various business qualifications. Queen Stasya has also confirmed that the company will no longer be run to make a profit. Queen Stasya has a large social media following and while a Lady in Waiting in Lodja was seen as a fashion icon for many young Lodjain woman, this has also seen her gain a following globally. Her fashion company Stagia was set up in 2017 and last year made $2.1million profit, a respectable amount for a small boutique company.

The Queen stated, "I believe the fashion industry is something that can easily expand within East Moreland. There are lots of traditional aspects of East Moreland society but I've seen that particularly younger people are keen to mix the styles they see in global media into their way of doing things. As such the future designers of East Moreland need opportunities. Stagia today will seek each year to recruit the best up and coming student and give them a chance to learn on the job. Should the company be profitable we will at the end of the year pay the students loans off for them. Any extra funds will be split on a dividend style basis with 60% going to charity, 25% going back into the business and the remainder being put into a fund that upon graduation students can apply for in order to establish their own business. It is my hope that perhaps students will leave with no debt, a massive amount of experience and be able to be an asset to the industry."

It is expected several other companies will this week be given recognition for being able to deliver qualifications. 

Online DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #209 on: September 01, 2020, 07:36:48 PM »




NO ACTION AGAINST QUEEN AFTER DATA BREACH

Several days ago media sources across Mundus received files supposedly originating from Lodja which contained details of many potential scandals. Among them were several relating to East Moreland and even implimenting the Queen from her time as a Lady in Waiting for the Queen's of Lodja. It was reported that Queen Stasya meet with representatives of Rokkenjima during a time when relations with East Moreland at a low. The files include a report of a conversation between the then Lady Stasya and the then Empress Beatrice where in return for trying to persuade King David to repair the relationship between the two nations the Rokkenjimans would support the advancement of the Queen's brother in the Lodjain Navy. The Head of the Queen's Household Alexandrea Samuel stated, "It is not a surprise that a Lodjain Lady in Waiting had a conversation with visiting dignitaries from other nations after all that was how Queen Stasya and King David began their relationship. Just because Her Majesty spoke with the former Empress and may have expressed a desire to see better relationships between two significant nations on Mundus there is no crime or no scandal."

A further scandal rocked the Pelagiya family as the King's Father-in-Law , Duke Tobias, was discovered to have had prostitutes visit him on the Lodjain Royal Palace. It is understood because of these actions the Duke has been removed from the Palace in Lodja and no longer serves as the Envoy for Alba Karinya. Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker said, " Duke Tobias has acted in a manner we can not respect. He has been punished for his actions and is now having to work at rebuilding his relationship with his family. King David is naturally concerned how the Queen is handling the emotion of the situation and will do whatever he can to support his wife during the process. The Queen of Lodja, not King David, is responsible for managing the nobility of Lodja and so action has been taken."

There were also allegations of East Moreland's Red Legion having helped corrupt elements of the Lodjain military covertly move weapons to avoid shipments being discovered. This is something that Red Legion have denied and their Commander Brigadier Kelly has stated, "I am confident no Legionnaire has acted in this way and while the various files may indicate this we are currently undertaking our own investigation which will unearth the truth about what has happened. It is clear to see that over the past three years our military reviews and support we have given Lodja has seen an improvement in their armed forces. This year we saw less equipment than ever unservicable or missing and the quality of their training has improved significantly. I am confident we can soon share with you the truth of what has happened."

Queen Stasya has yet to be seen in public since the leak with many speculating that she has headed to her private residence in Silverhills.




ATHLETES TO DETERMINE OWN STANCE ON GAMES

The Ministry of Culture, which includes Sport within its remit, today stated that the government have determined the nation will not make athletes boycott the games and will instead allow the governing bodies of each sport to make the decision. Katy Garrett, the Minister of Culture, explains "The games are the pinnacle of each athletes career. We have made it policy that we do not involve politics in sport. We see this by several times not instructing players to boycott games against fake nations like the Borlanders when for some unfathomable reason they were permitted in the Football World Cup. We shall maintain this stance while making it clear to our athletes who do choose to compete our expectations. We as a nation are responsible for making sure our athletes are safe while overseas and as such we have instructed Team East Moreland to base all athletes in Royal Seleucid accommodation and will provide executive jets to fly them into Tamora for the day of their competition, returning them to Ipsus immediately after."

So far no athletes have announced that they will boycotting the games however it is understood that several governing bodies will meet in the coming days.