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Welcome to the Achkaerin News Service, the source for all news in Achkaerin regarding events at home and internationally, our renowned team of reporters will bring you the stories that matter as they happen.
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REFERENDUM DETAILS OUTLINED BY CABINET SECRETARY
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Cabinet Secretary Michelle Lowe explained the Referendum details
By: David Woods, Political Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Government has revealed the details regarding the referendum on Achkaerin's continued membership of the Commonwealth Treaty Organisation. They were announced and outlined by the Cabinet Secretary, Michelle Lowe. In a relatively short press conference Ms Lowe began by presenting the referendum details below:
1. On the 16th September 2017 those people eligible to vote shall be entitled to vote in a referendum on Achkaerin's continued membership of the Commonwealth Treaty Organisation
2. The question shall be as follows:
"Should the Holy Empire of Achkaerin continue to be a member of the Commonwealth Treaty Organisation or should it leave?"
3. 50.1% of the vote is a majority.
4. Campaigning officially begins on the 21st of August, both official campaigns will lay out their platforms within the first forty eight hours.
5. Anyone who has lived in Achkaerin or territories under its control for a minimum period of five years will sixteen years of age on polling day shall be entitled to vote in the referendum provided they have registered to vote. Voting registration shall close on the 9th of September.
6. All relevant legislation and processes in regards to political campaigning and electoral rules and regulations shall still apply and be implemented.
The Cabinet Secretary then explained a few of the details stating "The main purpose of today's announcement is to set out the rules as it were of the referendum, we make known the question that the people will be asked and we highlight some key details as to various important times throughout the campaigning period. There is of course one issue that has already been raised by Leave supporters which is the Emperor's power of veto, with many believing that with Crown Princess Serenity being a former Secretary General and now his niece Sakura Sheppard being the current Secretary General that the Emperor is somewhat biased on this issue. As an Achkaerinese citizen the Emperor is entitled to his opinion but he is mindful of this suggestion and has informed the Senate that it will be addressed promptly. We anticipate a hard fought referendum campaign from both sides and whatever the outcome the Achkaerinese Government will endeavor to have in place provisions that account for the result and how it affects the country."
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GENOCIDE TRIAL PRODUCES SHOCK MOMENT
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Crown Princess Serenity left the court clearly affected by what had transpired earlier in the day
By: James Robson, Home Affairs Correspondent[/big]
The Andean Genocide Trials have concluded the evidence stage as the Defence opened and closed its case today, the defence only called a single witness to the stand this being Charles Foster Ofdensen, the former Lord High Steward of Rokkejima as well as the second person to hold the position of Secretary General of the Commonwealth Treaty Organisation. In advance of his testimony the feeling among most legal analysts was that this was expected with many expecting a simple examination in chief to rebut specifics of the prosecution case most notably implications made by the testimony of Prince of Dartfordia and Emperor Emerita of Rokkenjima Alexander Anselmo. This they got, but the cross examination had more than a few surprises in store. (http://independentorder.net/single/?p=10063432&t=30224026) First among them being that the Prosecution utilized provisions under Achkaerinese military law that allowed Crown Princess Serenity to conduct the questioning, while initially surprising it soon became clear why as specific knowledge known to the Crown Princess was used and weaved together to take apart the alibi's of Mr Ofdensen, over the course of testimony the Crown Princess established the true extent of Mr Ofdensen's crimes each relating in some part whether directly or indirectly to the Genocide these involving the kidnapping of Crown Princess Adriana and the failed assassination of Empress Emerita Beatrice Anselmo, all of which Mr Ofdensen on the witness stand confessed to. He also confessed to burying the orders of the Empress Emerita in relation to the enforcing of Article three of the Sakura Umeko Accord, a provision which would have seen Rokkenjiman military forces stepping into Nueva Ardia and potentially preventing further atrocities in the nation. With the Defence having rested the court has adjourned while the judge determines verdict and subsequent sentences. The Crown Princess was unavailable for comment and was seen carefully leaving the court building at the conclusion of the day's evidence with several commentators believing her to be distressed at the days events.
Speaking afterwards Admiral Rankin, the Judge Advocate General, said "Obviously given the high profile nature of the case and the fact that it's being broadcast live across Mundus this appears to be a very Ostlake[note]as opposed to Hollywood[/note] moment. But the truth is we see these sorts of things in the courtroom day in and day out, witness stories not stacking up, alibi's not withstanding scrutiny. The only unusual thing about today was the Prosecution seeking to use those provisions but that has seemingly been vindicated."[/size]
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FOX'S QUALIFY FOR KNOCKOUT STAGES
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Fox's skipper Tovan Holtz was in fine form in the victory over Cantabria
By: Nick Watson, Sports Correspondent[/big]
Achkaerin's Fox's have qualified for the knockout rounds of the rugby world cup with a convincing 25-12 victory over Cantabria, the team unbeaten in the tournament brought their usual style of rugby a solid kicking game backed up with speed and pace in a free flowing attack. The team was led from the front against Cantabria by their captain Tovan Holtz (pictured above) who scored two tries in the victory. Coach David Nightingale said after the game "We've been improving each game, we've got more and more into sync as the tournament has gone on, the kicking game has got more accurate, our passing looks sharper and our set plays are getting more precise. Mercia won't be an easy game for us but we're optimistic. The interesting thing will be what the final placements are for the last sixteen because normally by this point we know at least one group winner, this year we don't, this year the top four seeds though they sit top of their groups at the moment could all lose those groups. It's the most intriguing rugby world cup to date."
The Coach of the women's team Lily Welsh, who along with the women's squad has been out in the Iwi with the men's team, was also asked for comment to which she said "It's been a fantastic learning experience for us out here, and we'll always be grateful to David and the men's squad for having us along. We've learned a lot from watching the matches and gained great experience from the atmosphere which hopefully we can use to our own advantage when we play next time."
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EMPEROR HOPING FOR PEACE BUT READY FOR HARD TIMES AHEAD
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The Emperor gave a statement explaining his reasoning
By: Olivia Moore, International News Correspondent
As the situation in Lakhzovia continues to unfold and in the eyes of many analysts becomes more unstable, the Emperor has taken the unexpected step of ordering what the military calls an Orange Flag,
this is an order that puts the Achkaerinese Military on its highest state of readiness short of actually being at war, this involves the deploying and positioning of military assets, in this case a naval presence off the Lakhzovian coast combined with billeting of forces in Rokkenjima's tiannaman base are expected, it's also been speculated that the Emperor is utilizing diplomatic channels with various other nations to find a peaceful solution to a crisis that looks ever more likely to be heading for a violent solution. Speaking exclusively to Achkaerin News the Emperor explained his reasons:
"Whenever situations like this arise we hear a lot of statements, a lot of opinions, a lot of propaganda, we've been there, we've done that and we've got the t-shirt on more than a few occasions. The people of Lakhzovia have rights, they have the right to not live in fear of terrorist attacks, as a country Lakhzovia has the right to self determination. The Utman people also have rights, they have the right to live free from persecution and free from fear, because this is what this situation seems to be about - there's a lot of fear, a lot of anger and in some places hate across this ethnic divide between Lakhzov and Utman but the thing about these things is in the words of a very famous and very wise film character 'fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.' it's a cycle and it's vicious, the only thing violence will do is keep the wheel turning and maybe in a couple of decades we'll be back with the same situation. This is not a situation that bullets, bombs and missiles will solve, it is a situation that only talking can solve. Therefore I openly announce that within the next twenty four hours I will personally be sending a letter to both the Lakhzovian Government and the Utman leaders in the hope of putting in place the framework that will allow for peace talks to take place.
The orange flag that I have ordered forms a part of this framework, I respect that the Utman wish to see a change in their relationship with the Lakhzov people, just as I respect the concerns that President Kadassa has, but I will not stand by and watch another slaughter fought along ethnic lines, we as an international community of nations have failed to handle this sort of situation in the past, well not this time, I am committed to a peaceful solution and not only will I pursue that until it is exhausted but I will do all in my power to safeguard it as well. There are plenty of people who think this is going to become a war, I'd like to believe we can prove them wrong."
It is also expected that the Emperor will be opening lines of communication with other nations on this matter in the coming hours.
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REFERENDUM CAMPAIGNING BEGINS
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By David Woods: Political News Correspondent
The referendum on the future of Achkaerin's relationship with the CTO officially began today as the campaigns kicked into gear, it's being touted as the most significant Achkaerinese vote in modern times by the remain camp who argue that leaving the CTO would affect Achkaerin's standing in the world while the Leave campaign argues that such a claim is nonsense. It's a very thin line with voter registration having opened and a high ballot count expected come polling day, many analysts are already expecting the result to be too close to call. Crucially it has been confirmed that the Emperor will abide by the result of the referendum provided it is a convincing result, which many believe to be a minimum of 55% either way, this has emboldened the Leave Campaign who feared the Royal Veto in the event of their victory.
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END OF THE TRUCKER
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
Are truckers on the way out? Well if Silver Moon Electronics has anything to say about it they might be. The electronics giant has in cooperation with automotive manufacturers been experimenting with so called 'driver less' vehicles, a technology that could if perfected see many of the traditional truckers across not only Achkaerin but Mundus as well put out of a job. And then there are those who believe this to be only the thin end of the wedge as one person who wishes to remain anonymous put it "It starts with driver less trucks and then what? Driver less trains? Cars? Planes taking off without a pilot? This could be the end of a great many livelihoods."
There has been no response from the company at this time.
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SECRETARY GENERAL BREAKS SILENCE ON LAKHZOVIA
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Secretary General Sakura Sheppard during her weekly press conference at the Palace of Nations
By: Emilia Brittaine, CTO Correspondent
At her weekly press conference in the Palace of Nations, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Treaty Organisation Sakura Sheppard broke her silence on the Lakhzovia situation, though she did maintain her silence on the upcoming referendum she did make comments on the released Lakhzovian election results saying:
"It's difficult to be able to say anything positive about these results, because while they may well be accurate no one can be certain of this because the results have to be taken with a pinch of salt and viewed with a lot of skepticism. The CTO asked for these results within a week of them not being released, there was a resolution on the chamber floor and my understanding is that that resolution was put because this might happen. I can guess how these results will play across Mundus and we've already had the notable Rokkenjiman response to them. So I'm going to ask President Kadassa to show good faith and to help resolve the election issue to everyone's satisfaction by releasing the evidence of electoral malpractice to the Mundus Crime Agency for independent investigation."
What President Kadassa's response will be is unclear. In related news the Lakhzovia issue is reportedly under discussion at LISA HQ and the build up as per the Emperor's Orange Flag order continues. The crisis does not appear to be on the road to a lasting resolution any time soon.
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"LEAVING CTO NOT A RISK" - VICE CONSUL
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By: David Woods, Political Correspondent
The referendum campaigning continues to hot up as polling day draws ever closer, today the leader of the leave campaign none other than Vice Consul Rhian Kennedy declared in an interview that "Leaving the CTO is not a risk" when asked what she meant she explained that "When we look at the track record of the CTO in dealing with situations when push comes to shove we see nothing more than the same two nations stepping up to the plate time and time again. Just look at the Uppsala situation, it's a crisis that on paper appears tailor made for the CTO, the MHO could handle the medical side the Refugee Council the refugee side, yet the response was so underwhelming it's unbelievable and this isn't the first time. It has to stop because this isn't funny anymore and we have no reason to believe that this will change any time soon, because we've heard the same promises from other nations before about how they'll contribute and they don't. What we on the Leave side are saying is 'why are we flogging a dead horse?' it's blatantly obvious, for the most part because East Moreland is the exception, that the nations that share our values and are prepared to render aid as we are operate outside the CTO these being the likes of Ui Cenneslaig, Lodja and the Iwi - wouldn't our time be better spent establishing closer working relationships with these nations? Nations that actually seem to care? What we propose is a re invigoration of the Cross Mundus Agency, it's streamlined nature coupled with the membership provides a much better foundation towards the hopes that we as a nation have for the future of Mundus."
When asked for comment Senator Matthew Patterson, the Minister of Economic Affairs and leader of the remain campaign, stated "No one's going to deny the CTO has flaws because it has plenty of them, but we can work them out let's at least try that before we walk away from something."
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CHAMBERS SLAMS LAKHZOVIAN AND SAHERISTANI ACCUSATIONS - PUTS RECORD STRAIGHT
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Minister of Foreign Affairs Richard Chambers during his speech
By: David Woods, Political Correspondent
Following reports of a 'Pro Utman Rokkenjiman-Achkaerin Axis' the Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke today in the Senate on the matter, it was to be a rare moment as there was no opposition to the speech, no points of order raised, there was however a clear undertone of frustration that such a speech was required. The full text is below:
"Mr Speaker I would first like to thank my fellow colleagues from all parties for returning to the House for this afternoon, as everyone knows this establishes that we meet the minimum threshold for matters of debate. We would all much rather be out campaigning on the referendum issue but regardless of which side we are campaigning for we come here this afternoon in a single unified cause - to defend the name of our nation.
Mr Speaker as members of the House may be aware there have been statements made by the Governments of both Lakhzovia and Saheristan in which the term 'Pro Utman Rokkenjima-Achkaerin Axis' has been used. This is a scandalous and baseless accusation made by two governments that either haven't read who has said what or they are trying to sow discontent. One may be able to pass comment on Rokkenjima as they have made official statements in regards to this matter. But has there been any official recognition of the Utman Republic by this Government? No there has not. Has there been any official statement from this Government on the election results since they were released? No there has not. Therefore to even suggest Achkaerin has taken a position on this matter is absurd, we remain as we always have committed to a peaceful solution to the crisis.
The only statement on the election results from an Achkaerinese citizen has come from Sakura Sheppard in her capacity as Secretary General of the CTO. These are comments made in her weekly press conference in the Palace of Nations, as she is the Secretary General she is considered to be independent of any and all political affiliations with her home country, she is the leader of an organisation she is not party to Achkaerinese policy making nor is she at present speaking with any Achkaerinese authority. This is a point that I would expect both Lakhzovia and Saheristan to understand as they are both members of the CTO.
We have been clear from day one of our intention for a peaceful solution. The Emperor ordered an Orange Flag in response to Free Mundus Network reports (http://w11.zetaboards.com/Independent_Order_NS/single/?p=10064214&t=11360387) of Lakhzovian military build up, because Mr Cikniye is correct you cannot negotiate in good faith with a gun pressed to the back of your head, he refers of course to the military buildup off the Lakhzovian Coast amounting to his opinion the international community forcing Lakhzovia's hand, I refer to the 'gun' that Lakhzovia holds to the Utman's head by means of their military build up an act that pre-dates our own build up. The Emperor has been clear and consistent on this from day one, we saw similarities in the Lakhzovian crisis with other recent events and decided to take the pre-emptive step of readying military assets to diffuse a crisis and to keep the death toll as low as possible, and I don't think any nation can say that the Emperor's heart was in the wrong place, over the last year Achkaerinese personnel have seen things in theatre that no one should ever have to see and we made a pledge two simple words 'Never Again' we were not prepared to see that horror or horrors of that type visited on either the Lakhzov or Utman people. We hope in fact we pray that we are wrong but sometimes overreacting and looking silly is far more preferable to doing nothing and this is one of those times.
We now have allegations of chemical weapons and what could be taken as a chemical weapon attack. We are in the process of investigating this latest development. Now we fully respect that the Lakhzovian Government views the Free Mundus Network as nothing more than propaganda, we disagree and we disagree because of the publication's track record, this is the news outlet that broke the Andean Genocide story, that named names, that dared to implicate the Cross Straits Union in that affair and when all was said and done what the Free Mundus Network reported stacked up with the evidence gathered for trial, so we will examine the evidence on all relevant issues before we make any official statements as to our position, the same as we have always done.
Until such time as that Mr Speaker our military forces will remain at their current state of readiness, the most recent allegations make it impossible for us to do anything else."[/size[
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ACHKAERIN VOTES LEAVE
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By: Emilia Brittaine, CTO Correspondent
Achkaerin has voted to leave the Commonwealth Treaty Organisation, the result was a bit of a shock to some especially given how things were going for most of the night as the Remain campaign held sway but eventually something gave as two major cities Solaria and Dovah declared for Leave this followed up by landslide leave votes in Gowu and Mossflower brought an end to Achkaerin's CTO membership. As expected following the night's events the Emperor, in coordination with the Secretary General of the CTO issued a statement (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=289.0) outlining the reasons why Achkaerin had in his opinion voted to leave and what the timetable of Achkaerin's departure will be. It begins at the upcoming summit at Aldspring where an Achkaerinese representative will hand over a letter to the Secretary General announcing the countries formal intention to leave, and ends at the end of the current Secretariat term. It's seen as surprising that Achkaerin would attend the meeting in Aldspring this was explained by Consul Michael Williams
"Originally we did not intend to attend the summit but this comes at the request of the Secretary General who like the rest of the CTO hopes to rectify the circumstances so that this does not become the start of something far more damaging than it already is. Our presence there will be constructive as we hope to outline for the CTO the reasons why this vote has gone the way it has and we hope that the CTO will take steps to address these problems and that it will ensure that it does not repeat itself in allowing the same nations to carry the ball every time. Because if this is not addressed then the CTO's future is in serious doubt. However this does not change how Achkaerin will operate on the international stage we will stand up for justice, we will stand up for the oppressed we will stand up against those who would perpetuate the evils of this world. This will be reaffirmed in our Foreign and Defence Policy Review statement in the coming days where the full policy will of course be restated."
The Secretary General could not be reached for comment as she is presently chairing a session of the General Assembly.
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EMPEROR HOPES FOR QUEEN VIKTORIYA'S SWIFT RECOVERY
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By: Olivia Moore, International News Correspondent
The Emperor has sent his best wishes to the Lodjan Royal Family following the attempted assassination of Queen Viktoriya, speaking during an interview which touched on a variety of subjects including recent revelations over what may have happened to an Achkaerinese Wasp helicopter the Emperor took a moment to talk about events in Lodja saying: "Queen Viktoriya may not have held the Lodjan throne for long, but she's already become one of the finest Monarch's on Mundus and a role model for plenty of young women and girls everywhere. I have come to know both her, her sister Alana and their family and I view them as friends.I hope for a speedy and full recovery for Queen Viktoriya at this time and my thoughts go to her, her family and her nation at this difficult time."
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MILITARY TO CONDUCT EXERCISES IN GREAT NORTHERN OCEAN
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The exercises will serve as a robust examination of the capabilities of the Kryptonite Class Frigate
By: Penny Noble, Defence Correspondent
The Achkaerin Imperial Navy is to conduct routine military exercises in the Great Northern Ocean in the coming days, the exercises that will in collaboration with the Kingdom of Vaguzia have reportedly been on the books for months and are expected to serve as a test for several things in development as well as the first real examination of how the Kryptonite Class Frigate the newest addition to the Achkaerinese navy does in its intended role. A Ministry of Defence spokesman elaborated on the exercises saying "We do these things periodically as a means of ensuring our military personnel are as sharp as they have needed to be in recent times, we intend to see simulated engagements of routine actions and also the testing of equipment in development, we have no intention of causing problems for anyone else with these exercises which is why we're doing this well out of everyone's way. We're grateful for the presence of the Vaguzian Navy and are quite eager to see just what they can throw at us in the way of curve balls."
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HIGH PRIESTESS PASSES AWAY
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By: James Robson, Home Affairs Correspondent
Anna Mirabelle, the High Priestess of the Cult of Namis has died. The seventy five year old is reported to have died in her sleep. The process for choosing the next High Priestess is likely to begin shortly, this involves the three Alha's seeking the guidance of the Goddess's through the Oracle as to which of a number of candidates should be the next High Priestess. A period of contemplation that can take many days to complete depending on on the number of potential candidates. The name on most peoples lips is Melinda Jones, a prominent Priestess within the Cult and known to many as she makes regular television and radio appearances, others suggest Rowena Braithwaite as a more traditionalist option. There are other names being thrown around but the expectation is that it will be one of these two.
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HARRISON BACK IN TRAINING
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By: Felicity Stewart, Sports Correspondent
Formula Mundus Drivers Champion Megan Harrison is back behind the wheel, albeit in a simulator. The Riviere Corporation Racing driver suffered a freak accident and severe injuries some weeks ago in qualifying for the Sisko Grand Prix, however after being spotted in the paddock at the Hambley Grand Prix and also at the Krokom Grand Prix she's now got down to the business of rebuilding her strength and is targeting a comeback towards the end of the current season. She took a moment to speak about her experience after the accident:
"I don't know if I'll ever remember any of the accident, I remember losing control at the corner but not the impact. But it's been the most frustrating period of my career just sat on the sidelines watching the races unfold and not being able to do anything to affect the outcome, Amy's been brilliant coming in mid season and I have to say when I walked down the pit lane at the Hambley Grand Prix and saw all the support efforts the other teams had made on my behalf I got so emotional, because even though as a member of the Formula Mundus family you know people are thinking about you, it still shocks you when you see how much they truly care. If all goes well I hope to be back on the grid in a few weeks, whether I'll be my old self or not I don't know but I want to get back there, I want to win more races, win more championships so we'll see what happens when I get back on the track."
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NEW HIGH PRIESTESS ELECTED
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Alexis Minette pictured in Uppsala only days ago
By: James Robson, Home Affairs Correspondent
The Cult of Namis has a new High Priestess. The Council of the Alha has following the death of Anna Mirabelle elected what is seen as a surprise candidate as the baton is passed to Alexis Minette. Ms Minette is actually a Priestess within the Achkaerinese Army and was recently deployed as part of the relief effort to Uppsala. The decision has been greeted with optimism in many quarters as an election that breaks the norm of an academic taking the role as one member of the public put it "This is great now we have someone who can speak from experience rather than just lecture." The date for the Anointing Ceremony has not yet been set though as is custom it is expected to take place in the coming days once the preparations are made. It's believed that her practical experience in Uppsala will stand the new High Priestess in good stead when addressing such matters from a faith point of view. Politicians and the Emperor have also sent their congratulations to the new High Priestess.
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ARCHBISHOP DEED TO POPE "TAKE CARE OR RISK LOSING THE CHURCH'S SOUL"
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By: Victoria Parks, Faith Correspondent
Following recent statements by the Pope of the Catholic Church, Archbishop of Ashwood Martin Deed who is the Senior Catholic Clergy member in Achkaerin has commented on the statements and he's not overly happy about the way in which it has been handled. When questioned he made the following statement:
"This whole affair has been frustrating and unhelpful and there are many reasons for this most stemming not from any history to do with Sionists and conflict but more to do with decisions taken behind closed doors in recent days. In the Catholic Church we have a principle of Papal Infallibility which means that on matters concerning faith and morals the Pope is always right. This infallibility is challenged by some within our Church on many scriptural grounds but that is a point that in the present context is wholly irrelevant as the statements made by the Pope do not concern matters of faith but economic decisions and are therefore matters of state.
In most countries there is a clear division between religion and the state that avoids the sort of confusion we've seen happen in recent days, in the Ecclesiastical State this does not exist so it is therefore incumbent upon the Pope to take great care in such matters or risk losing the soul of the Church. In making a statement on economics the Pope said the following 'barbarous socialist economic models that have destroyed the Kingdom of Heaven!' The problem is obvious it's a matter of state and yet the language and the person making the statement give a different impression they appear to make it a declaration on a matter of faith and if it ever becomes the policy of a Christian Church to abandon its core values and let's be honest these are values rooted in socialism, then the Church risks a schism the like of which it has never seen.
I hope that moving forward the Pope will continue to develop his personal understanding of his position both as Head of State of the Ecclesiastical State but also as Head of the Catholic Church there is when it comes to Theocracy's operating with this structure a balance that needs to be struck and it needs to be clearly managed and clear to the public and the world, in this instance it hasn't been but this is something the new Pope will learn with experience."
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WHAT CAN BE EXPECTED FROM POLICY REVIEW?
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By: David Woods, Political Correspondent
Tomorrow sees the much anticipated Foreign and Defence Policy Review but everyone's wondering "What's going to be in it?" given the continued commitment of Achkaerin to the principles of the CTO, despite the decision to leave, most expect a simple restatement in regards to Foreign Affairs.
However the Prefect system trial is expected to be reported on and probably formalized and rolled out proper. But it is the defence area where there is the greatest anticipation as there are rumors of a reorganization and a bag of tricks being referred to as the 'Chasm Collectibles' in reference to a series of projects that were put into motion during the 'Great Chasm' but have been given further development time because of the end of that period of time.
Finally there is the matter of Achkaerin's nuclear deterrent there is not expected to be any change in policy in that regard although there have been rumors about an announcement in that regard. But everyone will just have to wait for the review.
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FOREIGN AND DEFENCE POLICY REVIEW DELIVERED
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Ms Taylor delivering the findings of the review this afternoon
By: Roisin Shaughnessy, Chief Correspondent
The much awaited review of Achkaerin's Foreign and Defence Policy has concluded with the delivery of the report earlier this afternoon. Perhaps the first surprise was the identity of the person delivering it - Nettie Taylor, the former Rokkenjiman Councillor for Foreign Affairs and before that Premier of Rokkenjima, now she works as part of the Achkaerinese Royal Household advising the Emperor on her field of expertise in Foreign Affairs. The full text of the speech is below:
Achkaerin Foreign and Defence Policy Review Speech
"This report is the result of many weeks work by the Achkaerinese Crown, Achkaerinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence, the Military Defence Initiative, Achkaerinese Intelligence and Military leadership. Special recognition is also due for the Cabinet Secretary Michelle Lowe who has spearheaded and driven this process, we had initially hoped to present this report at an earlier date however to do so with the prospect of having to subsequently review the review due to the CTO referendum wouldn't have been the best use of time. We therefore decided to wait until the referendum result was known as this would allow a smoother and more accurate report.
The findings of the review show that Achkaerin's military has been stretched to breaking point consistently for an extended period of time, ever since Marseilles through Uppsala, Toshikawa, the Cult of Helus Genocide and now presently Phuebra and on standby for Lakhzovia should that descend into another such event. We pay a respected tribute to our service men and women returning from active service in Uppsala, to those still out on active service and also to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, considering the role that it seems our service men and women have been put in lately it was clear that there was a need to change. In the area of Foreign Policy Achkaerin has often apparently had issues with communicating it's positions with many stances being decided on a case by case basis, this is a great strength but also somewhat seemingly confusing for other nations. It was determined that steps to remedy this needed to be taken.
We remain committed to the Treaty's we are signatory to and to the principles we stand for - equality, justice, freedom to name only a few but above all truth, there are many sides to each story and only one truth and it is the truth that must be pursued at all times. To better shape our diplomatic contacts and to reinvigorate them Achkaerin has been trialing the Prefect System -this is a system that establishes a hierarchy within the ambassadorial corps in that for each continent on Mundus one Achkaerinese diplomat is appointed to the position of Prefect, this has been piloted on the continents of Ardia and Alba Karinya with great success and is now being rolled out to Aranye and Albion. The Prefects will be responsible for the Achkaerinese diplomats on those continents and be a point of contact for nations at a more localized level, they will report directly to the Foreign Office. The Prefects are as follows - Declan Cox is confirmed as the Prefect of Ardia to be based in Ui Cenneslaig, Tommy Walker is confirmed as the Prefect of Alba Karinya to be based in East Moreland, Victoria Conway is appointed the Prefect of Albion to be based temporarily in Dartfordia while permanent arrangements are made. The Prefect of Aranye is yet to be determined.
The Emperor is mindful of the need to establish broader diplomatic relations with other nations and hopes that this system will allow us to do that. Pursuing a mutually beneficial and cordial relationship is to be the cornerstone of Achkaerinese policy when making first contact with nations. We will go back to basics and build from there. We will maintain our bonds with our close friends while we make new friends.
Military force is always a final resort, it is not something we rush to, nor are decisions around the deployment of forces taken lightly. We have a very clear overriding directive when it comes to the sanctioning of or military intervention of some description. A directive which states that Achkaerin does not intervene in the internal affairs of another sovereign state unless under one of the following conditions:
Achkaerin has been attacked - this is self explanatory, an armed attack against Achkaerin will be responded to in a proportionate manner and we make clear that a nation has the right to self defence, if we are attacked we will strike back, we will eliminate the threat and we will make sure that those responsible face the consequences of their actions.
Achkaerin has been asked to step in - this would be comparable to action in Phuebra, we were asked to help stabilize the country by the democratically elected government. I want to make it clear just because Achkaerin is asked to assist does not mean we will assist, any decision made in this respect is made having reviewed the evidence and in the case of Phuebra we saw a clear case of a religious fault line leading into a civil war with a coup taking place. Having seen that we determined that it was right to step in as requested.
Achkaerin is obligated by Treaty to intervene - this is straightforward as it covers stuff like mutual defence clauses so events such as the Seaforth Eugenics War and the War of the Enlightenment, under the CIS Charter we had an obligation to defend those nations and we did.
There is an International Mandate for intervention - This would cover circumstances such as Marseilles and Uppsala, Achkaerin was not obligated by Treaty to commit to these efforts but did so following careful thought and deliberation of all the evidence and implications of such a commitment. Naturally following the referendum result Achkaerin is no longer bound to CTO resolutions but we shall continue to monitor events at the Palace of Nations should the organisation continue to exist, if it does not then we shall see what can be done to build something anew.
To not intervene would be abhorrent and or immoral - Simply put this is the Cult of Helus Genocide, when you have people being massacred because of skin colour, faith, sexual orientation or ethnicity even tribe identity it is not acceptable. It would have been completely unthinkable to not defend the innocent and save them from certain death.
The seeming continued deployment of Achkaerinese forces for extended periods of time has led to the need to refocus our efforts around the capabilities of our military, we don't have the numbers of other nations in terms of boots on the ground so we have to play to our strengths which are found in the Imperial Navy and Achkaerin Air Force. We must take measures to fight smarter as this is how we can make up the deficit to other nations. Therefore we will be bringing into service in the coming days the SCION network, as some may guess this is an Achkaerinese developed system that builds upon the principles of Rokkenjima's ICON network. We will launch the network through our new satellite generation when they go up into geo-synchronous orbit. For those interested SCION stands for Strategic Communications and Integrated Operations Network. This will allow us to identify, analyze and neutralize threats more effectively and maintain a secure communications network. We will continue the development of in progress projects that will see more strings added to our bow, it is sensible to do so as with a military that has been called on time and again in a multitude of environments and situations of late that we do everything possible to ensure that they can do the job more effectively and efficiently. Part of this will be the introduction of the Yangtzee Khiang Class support vessel to the Imperial Navy replacing our Gladius Class support vessels. This new vessel class, currently in production following successful testing, will allow us to move greater amounts of cargo around Mundus and respond to crisis situations far more quickly than our present capability allows us to. These ships are akin to the Global Pre Positioning Ships used by East Moreland and like East Moreland has before us Achkaerin will be seeking homes for these vessels.
Achkaerin is a nuclear power, in fact it is the nation that created nuclear weapons, something which we can't take back no matter how much we may want to, the current Achkaerinese arsenal will be cut down to the bear minimum required for us to be able to support a nuclear deterrent, this is what we term 'Plowshare'. A clear indication of a step in the right direction.
Our policy's are not changing that much there was not much wrong with the intent but more the practicality and logistics this will be addressed by the details of this report and the institution of these measures."
Following the review statement Ms Taylor was asked several questions mostly about the review though one did cheekily ask how she was finding life in Achkaerin to which she answered "It's different to Rokkenjima, it's a lot more relaxed up here, I don't know if that's the cold air or what. It's just nice to not have an office to work in but be able to feel like I'm working from home." As for the public opinion on the review it's been a mixed bag but is mostly positive though as with the media most were taken by surprise at the presence of Ms Taylor and her new job advising the Emperor but in the words of one shopper in the Valtheim Market "She's experienced, intelligent and she knows what she's doing I think this is a good thing."
The review's measures and recommendations are to be debated in the Senate later in the week and are expected to pass with no problems whatsoever.
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HIGH PRIESTESS ANOINTED
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By: James Robson, Home Affairs Correspondent
The newly elected High Priestess designate Alexis Minette has been anointed. The ceremony formally confers upon her the title, office and responsibilities of High Priestess of the Cult of Namis. The ceremony, a once in a lifetime opportunity, took place at the Temple of of the Trinity in Valtheim. During it the High Priestess underwent the sealing ceremony. Following the ceremony the new High Priestess held discussions with the Achkaerinese leaders of other faiths which according to various sources went well and were highly productive. It's believed that the new High Priestess has placed inter faith cooperation at the top of her list. Her first official engagement is expected to be the Memorial Day Festival of Remembrance.
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SCION LAUNCHES BEGIN
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By: Kimberley Thorn Science and Technology Correspondent
Following the acceptance of the recent policy review by the Senate the first satellite launches for the SCION network have begun, the first launch took place earlier this afternoon with several more launches planned in the coming days. The Director of the Achkaerin Space Agency Gary Hale following today's launch said "These launches are of course part of the results of the recent policy review, we're hoping to get the network up and running within a reasonable time frame, at the moment we're aiming for the new year but we're not discounting overrunning into 2018."
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AADC SWIFT MAKES TEST FLIGHT
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By: Kimberly Thorn, Science and Technology Correspondent
The first of Achkaerin Aeronautical Development Company's (AADC) three newest aircraft in development has made its first test flight, the Swift (pictured above) is designed as a jet for business or private use. It only flew for a routine test today but many experts believe the swift to be the future for private customers in Achkaerin, including according to rumor the Royal Family. It is expected to have a speed in excess of Mach one though the exact speed has not been confirmed by the AADC at this time, when asked for comment AADC CEO Darren Eagle said "There are very few areas on Mundus where this type of air travel is required, Achkaerin sits in the Great Northern Ocean being able to cross that expanse of water quickly is something of the utmost importance. But it's not just the speed that makes the Swift special. The plane has no windows instead utilizing tiny cameras sending footage to thin, curved displays lining the interior walls of the fuselage, this allows us to take things up a notch and we're very excited about the future testing of the aircraft."
It was also confirmed that Mr Eagle's daughter Lindsay who heads up aeronautics at the Achkaerin Space Agency has been consulting on the project.
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PEACE TALKS EARLY BREAKTHROUGH - PEACEKEEPING FORCE IMMINENT
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Achkaerinese soldiers boarding a plane at Rokkenjima's Tianamman base in Aeternum
By: Roisin Shaughnessy, Lead Correspondent
It has been reported in the last few hours that the Secretary General of the CTO, Sakura Sheppard, has managed to get an early breakthrough in the ongoing peace talks between the Lahkzov Government and the Utman. Speaking during a break in the talks aboard the REMNS Dalek, an East Moreland Drone Carrier, the Secretary General explained the breakthrough stating:
"With the events of Bokar village it became absolutely necessary to make preventing the situation boiling over into a full scale civil war top priority.
The package agreed with both parties is a peacekeeping force comprised of several elements operating within agreed areas and includes the Lahkzovian-Somerset border region. The elements are firstly troops on the ground within those regions, secondly a no fly zone operating above the area and thirdly a customs border at ports under Utman control at present. These are measures that are designed to allay the fears of both sides and satisfy the international community that nothing untoward is going on. The primary responsibility of the Peacekeeping force at the present time is likely to be countering the Hand of Emet militia. Command of the Peacekeeping Force has by agreement been given to General Kakashi Fuji though a request to the international community for support in these elements is likely to be forthcoming shortly."
General Fuji is presently en route to Somerset where he is expected to request the permission of the Somerset government to establish an operational base camp on their soil. In the meantime Achkaerinese troops on standby at Rokkenjima's Tiannaman base in Aeternum have been boarding aircraft and the first group of peacekeepers is expected in Lakhzovia within the next few hours.
Attention at the Peace Talks is now expected to shift to more long term issues such as the security of any future Utman state, what form of state that might be and how that state should it come into being will be established.
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CTO VOTES THROUGH REFORMS - WILL ANYTHING CHANGE?
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By: Emilia Brittaine, CTO Correspondent
The General Assembly of the CTO has voted through a far reaching reform of how it operates. The Silverhills Resolution as it is called does several high profile things it firstly brings into effect the Silverhills proposal originally formed by King David of East Moreland this is a proposal that abolishes the Security Council, removes the Secretary General and replaces them with a civil service as well as placing a President in place to represent the CTO internationally. The resolution also brings in measures to ensure that the so called "Commitment issue" is addressed as Resolutions in which military force is legislated for will now include as part of them a list of member states who are prepared to commit to the action and how they will commit to the action, while also granting the General Assembly the authority to address nations that say they will commit and then do not - a mechanism that is sure to prove popular in some nations. It may well be the case that the present situation in Lakhzovia forms the first use of such things.
This resolution also lays out the final timetable for Achkaerin's departure from the CTO, the 30th of November is set to be Sakura Sheppard's last day as Secretary General while on the 1st of December Rokkenjima will appoint the first President of the CTO and Achkaerin will formally leave the organisation.
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HARRISON MAKES FORMULA MUNDUS COMEBACK
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By: Felicity Stewart, Sports Correspondent
Megan Harrison will make her return to the Formula Mundus grid at the next race this season - the Leocaster Grand Prix in Bykrestan. The current world champion has been out of action since a horrific accident during qualifying at the Sisko Grand Prix earlier in the season. However following weeks and months of physiotherapy and training she's been declared fit to race. It's an announcement greeted with joy by Formula Mundus fans in Achkaerin.
Harrison has paid tribute to team mate Amy Ashton who has been racing in her seat since the accident notching up an impressive set of results including victory in Gowu. Speaking following the announcement Megan said the following:
"I never dared to dream I'd be back behind the wheel this season. I'd hoped but never thought it would happen. Amy's done brilliantly while I've not been around and given the team every chance of retaining the constructors title. It's shaping up to be an interesting climax to the season and while it's been interesting to watch it's been frustrating to not be part of it and I'm looking forward to putting those who are fighting to claim my crown through their paces."
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GARETH BRYCE ESCAPES PRISON
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By: Roisin Shaughnessy, Chief Correspondent
Gowu Police have reported that notorious killer Gareth Bryce has escaped custody. Bryce aged thirty five, was imprisoned five years ago following a killing spree in which he murdered for no apparent reason twenty people, all of them Christians. His reign of terror marked one of the most trying times in Gowu's history, he would likely have remained at large had he not been picked up by coincidence on a traffic offence, following which evidence was found in his car that secured a conviction. The escape occurred while Mr Bryce was being returned to prison following a hospital stay for surgery, the van he was being transported in was boxed in and ambushed, two of the three officers in the vehicle are dead and the third is critically injured in hospital. Within minutes of the escape being reported, two hours later, the Chief Councillor of Gowu issued an international arrest warrant for Bryce saying "Six years ago Gareth Bryce ruthlessly killed twenty people all from a single religious community, he sought to pit community against community in this city but we refused to give him the satisfaction of achieving his aims, rather than being divided we became stronger together. Men who seek to drive others apart will have no safe haven anywhere, we will find him and his accomplices and we will catch him."
Amber Duff, the Chief Constable of the Mundus Crime Agency and the arresting officer five years ago, has declined to comment on the development at this time.
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THE HISTORY GIRL ON HER MOMENT AT THE WORLD CUP
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By: Nick Watson, Sports Correspondent
The World Cup is looming again and once again Achkaerin start as the favorites, however there's another Achkaerinese citizen going out to Himeyama, Nerys Sherman (pictured above) accompanied by four other officials will make the trip as a refereeing team. Ms Sherman stands to make history in that she will become the first woman to referee an MFA World Cup match when she takes charge of the opening game of the tournament between the hosts Himeyama and Akhabnil. When asked about this moment she said "It's an honor to be selected to referee any World Cup match, but to be the first woman to do so is something long overdue, I was an assistant referee three years ago and with all the changes to how the game works that the MFA have brought in, which are for the better let's make no mistake about that, it's gotten harder and harder for every referee regardless of gender because we have to be trained up on all the new stuff. It's going to likely be a hard fought game when Himeyama and Akhabnil play there's no love lost between the two countries and I fully expect that it will eclipse any refereeing experience I've had to date. The MFA did ask, well rather they jokingly asked whether I'd like to take my Taser onto the pitch with me since my day job is a police officer over in Artaxia, but I hope I won't need it."
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BRIANNA AZUREWIND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT OPENS
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By: Amira Cotton, Gowu Correspondent
Brianna Azurewind International, Gowu's new airport opened today. The airport that doubles the capacity of it's predecessor Gowu International is located not on land but on the water, constructed on an artificial island in the Rokkenjiman Sea and connected to the continent by a rail and road bridge. Speaking at the opening the Deputy Chief Councilor of Gowu John Howard said "This is a great moment for this city it will open Gowu even more to the world and primarily Ardia by increasing our capabilities and our efficiency. This is something we've been waiting for for years and it's not before time."
Many major Achkaerinese based airlines have already announced their intention to operate out of the new location including Achkaerinese Airlines,
with flights expected to be operational from the new airport in the new year as Gowu International phases out operations. The good news is that staff at Gowu International have been offered the opportunity to move locations and work from the new airport.
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FOX'S READY TO GO
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By: Nick Watson, Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin's Men's Football team are ready to go in the World Cup. So says the teams coach, Dame Julia McCabe (pictured above). The Fox's ranked number one in the world won their second world cup in last years tournament in a thrilling final against Nya Aland. This year the team is pitted in the group stages against Ui Cenneslaig, Rodina and Herrunbucht, it's a group that the analysts expect Achkaerin to qualify from comfortably but no chances are being taken by McCabe who has said "It's always one game at a time in these things, we'll see what happens, wasn't that long ago we were underdogs in these things and now we're the favorites. We know we should progress and we hopefully will have more success."
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EMPEROR MARRIES DURING CONCERT
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By: Roisin Shaughnessy, Chief Correspondent
Emperor Peter Azurewind has married his fiancee Renee Sandiego (now Renee Azurewind) during the Snowflake Concert at the Royal Theatre this evening. The Concert (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=283.msg3932#msg3932), which incidentally received excellent reviews from those in the audience, was held to launch a new homeless charity initiative championed by the Royal Family with the initial focus being around making sure that no one goes without a meal on Christmas Day. However towards the end of the concert the audience was treated to front row seats to a Royal Wedding as the Emperor and his fiancee tied the knot on stage. Afterwards the Emperor explained that he was as surprised as anyone that it had happened and that it had been the scheme of his children Prince Simon and Crown Princess Serenity as well as his niece Sheriff Sakura Sheppard.
As for the now Mrs Azurewind she has also been granted the title of Duchess of Rosemoor. The Achkaerin News Service congratulates the couple and wishes them every happiness.
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From all at the Achkaerin News Service we hope you have had a Merry Christmas and that you will have a Happy New Year. As is our tradition we report on the Christmas News on Boxing Day.
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EMPEROR'S CHRISTMAS SPEECH
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By: Niamh Roberts, Royal Correspondent
The Emperor has used his Christmas Speech to the nation to pay tribute to family at both home and abroad, in his short address, broadcast live on Christmas Day, the Emperor as is his custom, spoke about things he does not normally speak publicly about. The full text is below.
Good Afternoon.
At this time of year there's so much joy whether it be Christian's celebrating the birth of their Saviour, the Odinists celebrating Yule, ourselves followers of the Cult of Namis celebrating Namira, in my house this year that is doubled up with celebrating my marriage to my fiancee now wife Renee. The world is a great family of nations drawn from all creeds, colors, orientations and faiths, when one of us is hurt all feel it, and right now there's a lot of hurt going around, the death one of the brightest Queen's I've ever met is still shocking. However there is always in our darkest hours hope. A simple four letter word but it is a word that inspires us to great things, it gives us the courage to stand up when we fall down.
Ninety years ago this nation showed that courage when it took a stand and our people both here and abroad paid for it but none doubted the cause because hope was our cause and in a world of fear hope was what we clung onto, over time others made the same sort of decision this is how contagious Hope is. Today we have soldiers, sailors and air force personnel continuing to offer that same hope, over the past year the Achkaerinese Armed Forces have seen action yet again, this time in Phuebra, in Uppsala and soon Lakhzovia as well. For those who continue to guard the gates of this world against those that would do it harm I think we can all offer our thanks. And to those that would do it harm, let us reach out to them and show them that when one walks in darkness they can be guided back to the light, for this is love of our fellow people and at this time of year it is wise to remember that Peace and Love and Hope are powerful things and that we should dedicate ourselves to these causes.
Merry Christmas
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FOX'S WIN OPENER
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By: Nick Watson, Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin's footballers have won their tournament opener against Ui Cenneslaig 3-1. After falling behind midway through the first half the Fox's hit back in the second half a free kick from Cesc Santiago was sandwiched between a brace from Danni Leonidas (pictured above). Team coach Dame Julia McCabe said afterwards "It was a professional, solid performance, we didn't get rattled when we went behind, we stuck to our game plan and we were rewarded for it. There are things we need to improve on before our next game but we'll look at the positives as well."
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GRACE ALLEINE BRINGS IN NEW YEAR AT VALTHEIM PARTY IN THE PARK
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By Lucy Sullivan, Special News Correspondent
Grace Alleine led the celebrations in Valtheim's traditional party in the park as Achkaerin welcomed in the new year. The singer who claimed Christmas Number One this year with Smoke and Fire (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlH78Tm_oUk) played the new year in with a collection of some of her best songs while fireworks lit up the sky above Liberty Garden Park. Speaking afterwards Lady Alleine said "I never thought I'd be playing this festival, it's one of the biggest on the domestic calendar and to have this combined with Christmas Number One makes this feel like a dream, so I'd like to wish all my fans a happy new year and let's hope 2018 is as good if not better than 2017 has been."
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NEW YEARS HONOURS RELEASED - SCIENTISTS TAKE CENTRE STAGE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS HONORED
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By James Robson, Home Affairs Correspondent
The Achkaerin New Years Honors List has been officially released and there appears to be a scientific focus this year. Topping the bill as has been expected over the last week is the formal declaration of the Emperor's wife the now Princess Renee Azurewind as Duchess of the hold of Rosemoor. Other major honors have been granted as stated to mainly scientific fields as Nicola Fernley (pictured above), the director of flight operations at the Achkaerin Space Agency, receives a knighthood making her a Dame and member of the Djana Azurewind Order, other knighthoods have gone to the CEO of AADC Darren Eagle who is now Sir Darren Eagle while Satella Watts the team Principal of Riviere Corporation Racing is also made a Dame. Phoebe Scott and her team of research students from the University of Artaxia receive membership of the Fawn Azurewind Order for their work with Graphene and development of a car using water as fuel. There is also special recognition for the Achkaerinese military personnel deployed to Uppsala in recent times as they are awarded Emperor's Commendation medals while the Andean Genocide Forensics Team that continue to identify the dead bodies of the victims of that atrocity are awarded membership of the Morgana Azurwind Order.
The international awards - these being the Ayanami Orders have also got some big names this year as the Emperor has awarded honorary knighthoods and admission into the Anezaki Ayanami Order to Timothy Carpenter of East Moreland for contributions to youth and international work, as well as posthumous awards of the same type, otherwise known as the Edelweiss List, to the former Head Gothi of Nya Aland Daniel Stenberg for contributions in the world of politics, the former Head of Longhouse of the Union of Nordic Peoples Willa Sunbrek for her work in international politics in the cause of peace, recognizing specifically the Uppsala Convention, and finally the late ruler of Lodja Queen Viktoriya Tar for her contributions in furthering the ground work of the Uppsala Convention and for her many excellent contributions on the international stage during her reign.
There are also junior honorary awards - membership of the Sẹnaid Ayanami Order has been awarded to Princess Georgia of Dartfordia, something most believe is an honor delayed from previous years, in total combining all the numbers together there are 138 civilian honors bestowed this year.
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FOX'S CHARGING TOWARDS KNOCKOUT ROUND
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Midfielder Cesc Santiago scored a rare hat trick as the Fox's brushed Rodina aside
By Nick Watson, Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin have won their third straight group game in the World Cup leaving them top of Group C and within touching distance of the knockout rounds,
the team's latest game saw them brush aside Rodina by a score of 4-0 with midfielder Cesc Santiago the star of the show as he scored three times in the second half to secure victory. The first goal of the game came twenty minutes in as striker James Cairns slotted home from a well judged through ball from midfielder Anders Asamoah. The second half goals belonged to Santiago, the first a free kick from twenty five yards out, the second a chipped finish from the edge of the area and the third a first time finish from the same range. Speaking afterwards the national team coach Dame Julia McCabe was full of praise saying "We're getting more and more on song with each passing game, tonight our pass and move was sharp, our tempo was right,
we created plenty of chances and we took them. I'm proud of the players they've done really well so far."
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TRUST PREMIERE'S IN VALTHEIM
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By Gabriella Tate, Entertainment Correspondent
Fiona North's debut feature film has premiered in Valtheim, the picture named Trust uses publicly released documents and information concerning the Andean Genocide to tell the story of the events of the tragedy through a dramatization of the Court Case and other associated events including flashbacks based on witness statements and accounts of survivors. The film stars the now Duchess Renee Azurewind, for the last time under her maiden name Sandiego, as the former Empress of Rokkenjima Beatrice Anselmo and noted singer and actress Alchemy Naismith opposite the Duchess as Crown Princess Serenity Azurewind, which makes for an excellent soundtrack to the film, the two women lead a high quality cast. The film has been well received by critics across the board with special praise for its approach to addressing the greatest tragedy of recent times in a very real way, speaking at the premier director Fiona North said "I'm unbelievably happy with the result. When we set out on this journey together we set out to make sure that this terrible event was remembered for the same reasons that every Memorial Day we remember the Great War fallen, so that it never happens again. I never imagined I'd get a cast like this for my first film in the chair either but it seems that the message I wanted to convey has resonated and for two leading ladies I could not have asked for better Renee's grace and elegance combined with Alchemy's power made a strong foundation for this. It was a delicate balancing act at times because we didn't want to sugarcoat or gloss over events that happened but at the same time this wasn't about making a horror film or glorifying what the Toshikawan's did, this was about giving the victims story and reminding the world that this happened and that justice was delivered."
Also at the premier her Majesty Renee Azurewind said "This was probably the most demanding role of my career. To play someone who, prior to these events, was so highly regarded was never going to be easy and when you've got scenes where you've got to be nasty almost horrible beyond belief about people who are family is just so weird. But this is a picture I'm proud to have been a part of." while co-star Alchemy Naismith said "I had to pinch myself several times when I was asked to play the Crown Princess on the big screen let alone in a film this significant because it's such a humbling thing to have been a part of."
The film opens world wide tomorrow and all the profits will be donated to the Andean Genocide Victim Relief Fund.
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SENATOR WARD ANNOUNCES MAJOR REFORMS
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Senator Ward at the start of today's debate
By: David Woods, Political Correspondent
The first day of the new Senate Semester began with the Government's announcement of what has been described as "the biggest shake up of the education system for decades." the long rumored reforms would see landmark changes to the current system as it will see so coined 'Apprentice Levels' introduced parallel to the Astute Levels Achkaerinese pupils take at eighteen years of age. At the beginning of the debate the Minister of Education David Ward outlined the reforms saying:
"Mr Speaker, for a long time now there has been an almost silently accepted truth in the education system, you attend Primary School, you attend High School, you sit your High School Finals, if you do well enough you can continue to sit your Astute Levels and based on those results you can attend university. The point Mr Speaker is that this is an approach that reduces the students to cash cows and our education institutions into a sort of sausage factory, where only the brightest are apparently accounted for, as for those who do not sit their Astute Levels there are employment opportunities, some are successful in this, others enlist in the armed forces and of course some fall through the cracks and end up in trouble. Mr Speaker the House will be aware that as part of the implementation of the Foreign and Defence Policy Review that the Age of enlistment in the Armed Forces is being raised to eighteen years of age something that brings up comparable to our allies and friends across Mundus, that means that the enlistment option in the military is no longer on the table for sixteen year olds when they choose not to proceed to their Astute Levels.
However Mr Speaker, this government does not intend to lose the benefits that sixteen year olds have gained by being able to enlist in the military in this way, it has by the accounts of several of my constituents who enlisted at that age taught them valuable life skills and principles. It is now the time Mr Speaker that these sort of skills were available to everyone at that age. The Bill before the Senate today is an educational reform that does exactly this, it introduces what we are terming Apprentice Levels, these being courses that run for students between the ages of sixteen and eighteen who do not wish to take Astute Levels allowing them to learn the skills of trades such as carpentry, hairdressing, engineering, plumbing and others, in coordination with local businesses. Mr Speaker it is time that we stopped knowingly cutting the kids loose at age sixteen, it is time that they were offered the opportunity to develop to their full potential, High School's have a duty to all their students to prepare them all for their lives in what we call the real world not just to those who have the best chance. It is time this was recognized and it is time something was done about it. So I urge the Senate to vote for this Bill and continue to show how important the future is."
Following a short recess after the debate the vote was held with the Bill passing the Senate stage by tally of 380 in favor and 119 against, as is convention the Speaker abstains. But that was not the end of the story as the Bill was signed into law by the Emperor an hour later, making it a record piece of legislation in terms of time taken.
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VIRGIL PROBE LAUNCHED
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By: Kimberly Thorn, Science and Technology Correspondent
The latest Achkaerin Space Agency mission got underway earlier today with the launch of the Virgil Probe, the mission which will see a close up analysis of a metal asteroid known as Kleaclite was launched during a routine orbital mission with an Athena Class spacecraft. Following the successful launch of the Athena into orbit, the payload was deployed by the flight crew and sent on its way by Mission Control in Djana-Ville. The probe will take months to reach the asteroid and as a spokesman for the ASA put it "Getting the probe into space was the easy part, getting it to the asteroid is much harder."
In related news the ASA confirmed a renewed Luna based focus for manned missions aiming to use them as a catapult for manned missions further out in the solar system and also released some details of project Atlantis, the ASA program designed to support such missions, it includes the establishing of a station in orbit of Luna to serve as a relay point, it’s a risky proposition for a great many reasons especially the distance from Mundus if something such as a systems failure were to occur, but the ASA is reportedly confident in the project. We’ll bring you more as this story develops.
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EMPEROR CONGRATULATES NEW LODJAN QUEEN
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By Niamh Roberts, Royal Family Correspondent
Emperor Peter has sent his congratulations to the newly elected Queen of Lodja Tatiana Kohut, who will be titled Queen Klara II. During his weekly press conference the Emperor stated: "I had the great honour and privilege to call Queen Viktoriya a friend and I still count her younger sister as a friend. I extend my congratulations to the new Queen and look forward to attending her coronation, I also hope that I will have the privilege of establishing a continued relationship between Achkaerin and Lodja with the new Queen."
The Coronation of the new Queen is set to be the first official engagement which would see the Emperor and his partner Renee attend as husband and wife.
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MILITARY BANS FITNESS TRACKERS
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By: James Robson, Home Affairs Correspondent
The Achkaerinese military is to ban the wearing and use of fitness trackers inside official facilities for the foreseeable future. The announcement made earlier today by Field Marshall William Dawson (pictured above) as he attended an urgent Senate Committee, comes in the wake of the accidental release of heat maps showing the routes taken by the wearers of these items revealing highly detailed street maps and in some cases the layout of high security facilities, in the case of Achkaerinese facilities these include the Headquarters of the Military Defence Initiative, the Whirlpool Shipyards and Coral Rift Maximum Security Prison. Field Marshall Dawson stated "This is a measure that in terms of the present situation may be futile as the damage may well be done, however moving forwards this is a measure that will prevent future issues of this nature. This is a major security risk and is being treated as such, we will be heightening the security status at military facilities immediately. The evolving nature of warfare tactics apply not only to armed forces but terrorist organisations as well in regards to those tactics intelligence plays a critical role and these heat maps represent a clear and present danger to the safety of military personnel, in fact if a criminal offence were carried out using these maps as a basis then the company concerned would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
AIR FORCE TO UPDATE HELICOPTERS
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artist impressions of the planned Eagle and Hummingbird type helicopter
By: Penny Noble, Defence Correspondent
The Air Force has announced its new helicopter developments, the move comes in recognition that the Wasp type helicopter has been in service in one form or another for coming up on fifty years and the Butterfly is becoming somewhat outdated as well. The planned replacements are the Eagle and the Hummingbird to replace the Butterfly and Wasp respectively, when asked for comment the commander of the Air Force, Sky Commander Sam Fernley, said "This is something we've needed for a long time, the Wasp and Butterfly have been long standing stalwarts of the Air Force but we've reached a point where the program of those helicopters is getting closer and closer to completion especially as the nature of the military evolves. The development of the Eagle and Hummingbird will allow us to maintain our operational capabilities within these new environments even considering the downsizing in the numbers department."
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BENE GESSERIT RECOGNIZED
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The Emperor was kept informed of the Senate's proceedings during a visit to Foxton
By: Roisin Shaughnessy, Chief Correspondent
The Bene Gesserit Faith, a religion viewed as 'evil' by the Kaitaine Government and associated with terrorist acts has been recognized as a religion by the Achkaerinese leadership. The move which was simply an affirmation of the freedom under Article Nine of the Mundus Convention of Universal Rights was first dealt with by the Senate where it achieved a landslide victory of 449 for and 50 against and then signed into law by the Emperor upon his return to Valtheim from a day trip to Foxton. The Emperor was kept up to date on the Senate proceedings throughout the day and following the Senate vote stated:
"Under Article Nine of the Mundus Convention of Universal Rights the Bene Gesserit Faith receives recognition within Achkaerin. However I wish to make clear that just because someone follows a religion associated with terrorist activities does not make everyone who follows that faith a terrorist, we know that the Sorority of Materna the terrorist group that staged a coup and briefly ruled Marseilles not that long ago were a small part of the worshipping community of the Church of Materna, we recognize the Church of Materna as a religion but we also recognize the Sorority of Materna as a terrorist group using that religion in a twisted form for their own ends. Therefore the Bene Gesserit community is recognized but that does not mean that citizens of that community are not subject to the rule of law within this nation. I am also aware that one of the four Chapterhouse schools sits just outside our nations capital, following the attack on the school in Mountjoy a police presence around the school in Achkaerin was put in place, this school has been subject to several official school inspections and also several spot check inspections by the Achkaerin Inspectorate of Schools, scoring well in each case. It will be by order subject to an official investigation in light of the revelations concrning this chain of schools and any action required as a result of that investigation will be taken."
In related news the Emperor declined to comment on the ultimatum issued by President McPherson.
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NAVY STARTS TRANSITION TO THE FUTURE: SẺNAID CLASS LEADS THE WAY
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artists impression of the presently under construction Sẹnaid class carrier
By Penny Noble, Defence Correspondent
The Imperial Navy Fleet Planning and Development Group (FP&DG) has revealed that the Imperial Navy is to upgrade its carrier fleet to replace the currently in service Intrepid Class vessels INS Intrepid and INS Sẹnaid Ayanami with the new Sẹnaid class carrier (pictured above), it has been revealed that the ship names will stay the same. In addition the Azurewind Light Carrier's the INS Djana Azurewind and INS Saya Azurewind are to be decommissioned, though it is believed that they will be replaced by a class of smaller vessels. The fate of the four vessels leaving the service of the Imperial Navy has not yet been determined with many speculating that they may be made available for sale, an option that Vice Admiral Toshiya Miyata the chair of the FP&DG didn't rule out but he did make clear that "Equipment and technology specific to the Imperial Navy would be replaced with the export equivalents prior to sale." when asked for comment on the replacement vessels the Vice Admiral stated "The Intrepid class has been in service for forty three years, the Azurewind class for thirty years both have seen plenty of action and both have performed far above what was ever expected of them in circumstances that we could never have predicted. The time has come to ensure that moving forward the Imperial Navy is capable of fulfilling a multitude of operations in a variety of circumstances this began with the introduction of the Kryptonite Class last year and is an ethos we intend to continue to emphasize in this transition period and into the future with the Sẹnaid class featuring new and innovative technologies within the navy. As for the smaller class of vessel, that will form the agenda for the next few sessions of the FP&DG."
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IS LAKHZOVIAN OPERATION SHIFTING GEARS?
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
It's been quite an interesting twenty hours in Lakhzovia with an alledged Sarin attack by the Khalinz Brigade, the beginning of an Achkaerinese military operation and most recently Lakhzovian air strikes, this chain of events has raised several questions about what the international operation will now proceed to do in the wake of such developments, we put several of these questions to the commander of the Peacekeeping Operation, General Kakashi Fuji (pictured above) in an interview at the operations command position in Somerset
Q: General what is the present state of the Peacekeeping effort?
It's at a defining point, our primary objective was to maintain the peace and this remains the case, unfortunately due to several issues we have seen trouble arising in our carrying out of this mission. As a result we hav yet again come to a point where the brave servicemen and women of Achkaerin, East Moreland and Ui Cenneslaig are shouldering most of the responsibility for what's occuring from our side. The logistical issues and political elements have meant that it took longer to be able to begin operations and as such we are facing not only a challenge of monitoring a situation but now far greater concerns.
Q: So does that mean the mission is changing?
No it doesn't, the priority remains the same, protecting the innocent and saving lives, ensuring Lakhzovian compliance with the Uppsalla Convention. We will not deviate from this responsibility.
Q: Speaking of the Uppsalla Convention what does the alleged use of Sarin mean in that regard?
First we must verify that this is a Sarin attack, this is what we are presently in the process of doing and I'm sure Achkaerin isn't the only nation looking at this. If verified then then we must seek out and hold to account those responsible it's an abhorrent act. There would also then be the question of how the Brigades came into the possession of Sarin to answer, but that is getting ahead of ourselves first we must wait until we know whether or not this is what it is alleged to be.
Q: And what about the Lakhzovian Air Strikes?
As a military man I can understand the justification for such action, there's a need to respond when such things happen. The fallout from the air strikes however is a different matter it has meant that we now have thousands of refugee's heading towards the Somerset border, this smacks of irresponsibility as it drives civilians from relative safety right into an active combat zone and forces us to come up with a solution to this development which will be announced soon. However of even greater importance now is the establishment of a safe route out of Lakhzovia for civilians and we will be communicating with JET and other agencies to facilitate their welfare once they are safe.
Quite what the approach of the General will be to the refugee issue is unclear at this time however he has been in discussions with Lieutenant Asa of the JAG Corps, suggesting that an announcement is imminent.
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ACHKAERIN SPACE AGENCY TESTS LATEST ENGINE
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By Kimberley Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Achkaerin Space Agency has tested its latest engine, the Inferno which is set to propel the Achkaerin Space Agency's Falcon heavy lift launch vehicle performed above expectations in the test. The engine and the vehicle form part of the Achkaerin Space Agency's future mission planning as they look towards the next generation of space exploration. More details on the future missions are expected in the coming days and the rumour is that some of them are high on the diplomatic agenda as well as the Agency seeks more funding for the future.
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NATIONAL TRIALS UNDERWAY
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By: Felicity Stewart, Sports Correspondent
The national trials for the upcoming Winter Games have begun, the process which sees the final selection for 'Team Snow Fox' the nickname attributed to the Achkaerinese team that will travel to the games has been occurring in Valkyria at the very venue that hosted the first ever Winter Games. The trials are being watched by Chef de Mission Princess Esme Azurewind. And there's great interest in the Achkaerin team selection as many believe that the majority of the team will be games debutants, though until the team selection is finalized that is just rumour. Of interest is that this years edition of the games sees the inclusion of Bandy as a demonstration event, meaning that although gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded they will not be counted towards the final total, it will then be the decision of the Mundus Games Committee as to whether or not the sport will be included in future editions of the games.
The inclusion of the sport in the program this year has led to an increased interest in the national trials with the surprise announcement that the Achkaerin women's team is to be coached by Emalet Silvermist (pictured above on the right), the Achkaerinese ambassador to Lodja, it may seem odd but according to Princess Esme "The blend of football tactics and strategy that can be applied to Bandy mean that Emalet has a thorough grounding in what she needs to do and how the basics of the game can be played. Emalet's agreed to coach the women for this tournament and afterwards we'll take a decision on her future in the role."
Emalet Silvermist has not yet commented on her appointment but a delivery made to the Palace of the Goddess in Lodja where she resides as ambassador is said to have contained rule books and DVD's of games so she certainly appears to be taking her role seriously.
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CARTWRIGHT PLAYS DOWN RUMOUR MILL
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By: Niamh Roberts, Royal Correspondent
The Royal Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright has dismissed rumours that scheduled state visits have been moved up due to ongoing situations across Mundus. The rumours come in response to the expected visit of the Premier of Himeyama and that of the Pope of the Ecclesiastical State. The speculation has been that the persistence of circumstances in Phuebra and the recent return of the Nurashima/Barnacle situation had prompted an urgent shift, however Ms Cartwright dismissed the suggestions saying: "Both the visit of the Himeyaman Premier and the Pope have been on the books for a long time, the fact that they coincide with certain international incidents is nothing more than a coincidence. Will the Emperor raise the matter of the island chain with the Himeyaman Premier? I can't say for certain but I imagine the probability is high. Will it be raised with the Pope? Possibly but at the moment the main international concern that will likely be discussed with Ecclesiastical State is the Phuebran situation as that approach's what we hope is a shift in dynamic."
Ms Cartwright when questioned on the Emerald Strait situation explained that the Cabinet was discussing the situation and that a response would come however there was no intention of engaging in what has in the past been termed "Battleship Diplomacy".
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ACHKAERINESE LAWYERS TO HELP VAFLEON MILITARY JUSTICE REFORM
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By: Olivia Moore, International News Correspondent
Achkaerin's military lawyer's are to carry out an assessment and if necessary reform of the Vafleon military justice system. The agreement between the two nations will see an Achkaerinese team led by Major Caroline Dawes (pictured above) observe current procedures in the country's military justice system before stepping in if required and making recommendations at the end of the process. This is expected to last a few weeks but could last longer depending on the recommendations of the report as education provisions are not ruled out as a consequence. The team is expected to depart over the weekend and start work next week.
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FIRST ATHLETES QUALIFY FOR WINTER GAMES
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By: Felicity Stewart, Sports Correspondent
The first athletes for the Achkaerin Winter Games team have been announced, both in the freestyle skiing and for added intrigue it's a brother and sister in Jim and Leah Anscombe (pictured above). The pair who will both make their Winter Games debuts this year came seemingly out of nowhere to shock the established Achkaerinese skiing community both booking their places with a strong demonstration of their skills. When asked for comment Jim spoke for them both saying: "It's so exciting a real dream come true to get to compete against the best in the world, people we've been curious about stacking up against. Medals aren't on on our minds, all we want to do is go out there and put on a good show."
The National Trials will continue over the next few days with further announcements on the team expected.
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RENEE AZUREWIND WINS OZZIE
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By: Gabriella Tate, Entertainment Correspondent
Renee Azurewind, wife of the Emperor and Duchess of Rosemoor, has won an Ostlake Film Award otherwise known as the Ozzies. She won Best International Song for the song "Don't Cry for Me Rokkenjima" from the film Trust in which she plays the former Empress of Rokkenjima Beatrice Anselmo through the events and aftermath of the Andean Genocide. It is the first time an Achkaerinese citizen has won an Ozzie and for the Duchess probably the highlight of her career so far. In her acceptance speech the Duchess paid tribute to the other nominee's, thanked the cast and crew of the film and singled out Becky Leighton, the composer of the score paying special thanks to her. Trust itself may not have won Best International Film, but it came pretty close and on this showing there are likely to be plenty of other chances in the future for director Fiona North. However no one would know there was any disappointment judging from the look of pride on the face of the Emperor as his wife accepted her award.
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CROWN ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR BEATRICE ANSELMO
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By: Roisin Shaughnessy, Chief Correspondent
The return of Beatrice Anselmo to the Rokkenjiman Throne was always going to cause shock, though I doubt anyone expected a response from Achkaerin like this. Coming around six hours after the Imperial Decreee (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=671.msg4991#msg4991) was made came the Achkaerinese official response delivered by Crown Princess Serenity:
"The events in Rokkenjima some hours ago are the concern of Rokkenjima, however considering this latest round of events there is a concern and while we would have rather not brought this out in public however what can only be described as an impulsive announcement has forced our hand to respond in public. The Imperial Decree states "At no time did I, nor any legitimate operative of my Government, offer any assistance or offer to the Borland Separatists." This implies that there was at no point any communication between Beatrice Anselmo and the Borland Separatists and is further supported by details from the Rokkenjiman Press Office (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=174.msg5016#msg5016), now this may be true however the official sworn statements entered into evidence at the Andean Genocide trial including those by Beatrice Anselmo state that Charles Ofdensen used 'the fact' of Beatrice's contact with the Borland Separatists as the means of blackmailing her into silence during the Andean genocide events. Obviously the narratives are different and the fact that one was given in a sworn statement made under oath is a major issue and one that Beatrice Anselmo must answer for.
Therefore following the revocation of the diplomatic immunity the Rokkenjiman Empress would normally receive the Achkaerinese Crown has issued an international arrest warrant for Beatrice Anselmo on the charge of Perjury, we make this public knowledge because we are obligated to and it follows review of all material relevant to the case. We hope that Beatrice Anselmo will not make this process any harder than it has to be and will voluntarily hand herself into Achkaerinese authorities on this matter. In relation to the broader matter we shall make our own determinations in regard to Lucinda Hadley but we also make it clear that Rokkenjima has a lot of work to do before it gets anywhere near where it was two and a half years ago, it would be foolish to believe otherwise."
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SWIFT PASSES INITIAL TESTING, ACHKAERIN AIR AUTHORITY CERTIFICATION PENDING
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By: Kimberly Thorn, Science and Technology Correspondent
The Achkaerin Aeronautical Development Companie's (AADC) Swift jet has passed the final round of initial testing. The jet which boasts many interesting features and an impressive maximum speed represents the next stage development in Achkaerinese air travel with many airlines in Achkaerin believed to be interested in acquiring the jet should it make it into production. The next stage for the Swift is a further, more intense battery of tests required by the Achkaerin Air Authority to determine whether or not it will be certified for production. When asked for comment AADC's CEO Sir Darren Eagle stated that he was "Thrilled that the Swift has passed the first stage of testing and confidence is high that it will achieve certified status."
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SILVER ARROW MAKES WINTER GAMES TEAM
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By: Nick Watson, Sports Correspondent
The National Trials for the Winter Games continue and today saw the first of the short track speed skaters qualify for the games. Amy Silver (pictured above) nicknamed the 'silver arrow' is set to compete in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m in addition to the women's 3000m relay. The skater who hails from Valkyria is an unknown in terms of Winter Games experience but at present she is the athlete who has the most pressure on her shoulders from an Achkaerinese point of view, it's also likely that no other athlete on the Achkaerin team will have this many medal chances. Other notable qualifiers from the discipline include Martin Fox and Louis Finley, both veterans of the two previous Winter Games and will look to impart all their experience onto the lesser known competitors and try to get medals of their own. The trials will continue over the next few days as more athletes are selected and the team begins to take shape.
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UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TO CHALLENGE SOLAR SPEED RECORD
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By: James Robson, Home Affairs Correspondent
A group of students from the University of Artaxia is to challenge the land speed record for a solar powered vehicle. The project named Dawnbreaker will if all goes to plan see the current record of 56.751 mph fall though by how much is uncertain but the target speed of Dawnbreaker is reportedly 58 mph. The project is led by research student Kit Davenport who stated earlier today: "We're under no illusions about the scale of the challenge we've set ourselves we're just a bunch of students from a university with relatively speaking limited funding. So we're not going chasing after any of EMAC's records...yet and we wish the space badger the best of luck. For the moment though we're looking at seeing just what we can do with what we have available. It's reminded us of the Intelligentsia Games in terms of having to do the best we can with limited resources."
The intention of the students was mentioned at the Senate later in the day with Minister of Science and Technology Kathryn Deed wishing the team in their challenge.
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MAKIN TRIAL BEGINS
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
The trial of Thomas Makin has got underway in Valor today. Mr Makin is charged with the murder of Ms Franchesca Owens late last year, the defendant spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address before entering a plea of not guilty to the crime, the trial is scheduled to begin later in the week. There has been no comment from any of the parties involved in the case and Mr Makin was remanded into custody to await trial. One surprise guest in the courtroom was Carla Fenchurch the Royal Counsel, which raises questions as to why the Emperor may have an interest in the case. There will be more on this story as the trial continues.
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SHOCK AT "BOLT OUT OF THE BLUE" WILDFIRE
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By Amira Cotton: Gowu Correspondent
It is a sight not seen since 1988, a wildfire rages through the hills in the south of Snow Flower Hold. Given the rarity of the event there has been plenty of speculation as to the cause but there has been no official confirmation or comment on that point, however Chief Councillor of Gowu Xiaoling Tsu has said "Everything that can be done to combat this blaze is being done, we are evacuating everyone in settlements at risk, we are indebted to our brave fire fighters who are combatting this blaze and the authorities are investigating as best they can what is responsible for this wildfire.
It's been noted that the location of the wildfire could spread into Phuebra, Toshikawa or even Nueva Ardia should the wind conditions change.
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ROYAL ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCED
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The newly engaged couple during a night out at the theatre in Saika earlier this week
By Roisin Shaughnessy, Chief Correspondent
The Count of Saika Emerson Ravenswood and the Lord Protector of Somerset, and Princess of Rokkenjima, Evanthe Rhodes have announced their engagement. The Count reportedly popped the question during the celebration's at Somerset's establishment day, the couple have already received the congratulations from the Emperor of Achkaerin, the Viceregent of Rokkenjima and the Governor of Somserset. Details on the wedding aren't yet forthcoming though the plans will be made public as the couple make their decisions, rumor is that High Priestess Alexis Minette has already been in contact with her Cult of Helus counterpart in Achkaerin Priestess Hannah Barker leading to some early suspicion that the ceremony will be a joint effort. In related news the adopted daughter of the Count, Amy Ravenswood who presently attends the Portworth Institute of Sport commented, while between lectures, that she was "Overjoyed for them."
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EMPRESS BEATRICE SENTENCED
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
The Empress of Rokkenjima, Beatrice Anselmo, has been sentenced in court. Charged with Perjury concerning evidence given to the Andean Genocide war crimes trial and more recent statements of the last few weeks the Empress was in the eyes of many legal analysts left with little choice other than to plead guilty to the charge, which she duly did. The sentence? The Empress received a six month custodial sentence in a low to medium risk prison, a fine that she must pay personally of र800,000,000 and a further custodial sentence of ten years that has been suspended. The related issue of a potential appeal of the not guilty verdict in relation to the Andean Genocide has been denied at this time due to the lack of any substantive and reliable evidence. There has been no comment from anyone in an official capacity on this matter though it is understood that the defence of the Empress was led by Crown Princess Serenity in her capacity as an officer in the JAG Corp.
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OPENING DAY OF WINTER GAMES
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
The first day of competition of the Winter Games signals the first day of a competition based around expectations but as the history of the games tells us there's usually a surprise somewhere along the way. This year the surprises seem to have started on opening day as while the favoured nations such as Nya Aland and Mountjoy picked up medals it was a day that unquestionably belonged to Nordmar as they picked up three golds, three silvers and two bronzes, and with day two seeing a wider range of competition including in Nordmar's specialist area of Cross Country Skiing there's reason to believe that the surprise package may remain in place at the top of the medal table for the moment. The hosts don't get their action until day seven of the games when the snowboarding program begins, while Achkaerin's Amy Silver will have to wait for the last two days of competition in the Short Track Speed Skating.
Achkaerinese success on day one was confined to the curling as the men's team racked up a 5-3 victory over East Moreland to secure a solid, professional start to their gold medal bid, with the mixed curling team not playing on the opening day and the women's team set to come on day two, hopes of success in this area are high. There is without question much to look forward to in the coming days.
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ACHKAERIN TESTING BUBONIC PLAGUS SAMPLES
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Achkaerin is presently undertaking action to verify whether the allegations made by the Iwi against Royal Seleucid in regards to the Bubonic Plague outbreak have an evidential foundation or not. Representative to the Cross Mundus Agency, Cheryl Holmes (pictured above), explained the steps presently being taken stating: "Achkaerinese personnel are taking samples from victims of this outbreak in all affected nations, these samples will then be compared against the strain of the plague used by Royal Seleucid thirty years ago. This will be a process where everything will be double and triple checked, we must take care to be thorough when the stakes are this high. If the samples, following rigorous testing, match the historic strain then in legal terms there is a threshold reached in terms of reasonable grounds to ask the question not only of Royal Seleucid but of any nation possessing this particular chemical weapon. After all if this was a nuclear weapon detonated by a terrorist group the international community would be asking questions of Achkaerin, East Moreland and Rokkenjima almost instantly. But let's be clear reasonable suspicion is not proof, at the moment we are establishing whether there are reasonable grounds to warrant further action, such action may involve requesting Royal Seleucid produce records relating to this strain of the plague and potentially permitting an international team of inspectors to verify that none of this strain has gone missing. This sort of action would also naturally extend to any nation possessing this weapon."
It's also believed that Major Parker, the Achkaerinese representative to the CAC of the Uppsalla Convention has been meeting with intelligence officials.
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DRAGONFLY ENTERS SERVICE
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The Dragonfly aircraft has entered service with the Achkaerin Air Force, the aircraft which is the Air Forces first foray into Ground Effect Vehicles (GEV) is designed to be a patrol aircraft for coastal waters and is armed with a machine gun and rockets. The Air Force has purchased a total of ten of these aircraft to fulfill this purpose, though there are rumours that the Dragonfly is the start of something else, a theory supported by comments made by the CEO of Riviere Corporation Catriona Rowan who said: "The journey to long term goals start with small steps, we're new to the GEV practical application stuff but we know the theory so we decided to use the Air Force contract for a coastal water patrol aircraft as our means of testing our work so far. We're pleased with the way the Dragonfly performed in testing and we're looking into other applications of the technology moving forwards."
In related news the Air Force has also announced the phasing out of the Bat type aircraft in favor of the new Dragonfire type aircraft, this phase in is expected to happen over the coming weeks and months. Suspicion is that the Dragonfire will be showcased at upcoming LISA military training exercises.
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SILVER STRIKES GOLD IN BIATHLON
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin has won it's first gold at the Winter Games, though the day belonged to the likes of Nya Aland, East Moreland, Neu Uburzis and Nordmar the highlight for Achkaerin was Danielle Silver winning gold in the women's 15km individual biathlon. Taking gold ahead of Himeyama by over thirty seconds, the biathlete who's the younger sister of Short Track speed skater Amy Silver, has at least ensured that the Silver family has one gold medal, though whether this takes the pressure off her big sister is yet to be seen. In other news from the games Achkaerin's curlers continued their good start to the competition, the women's competition promises to be interesting as four of the five major curling nations feature in that group with only Mountjoy being absent as they're in the other group. The Men's ice hockey also saw Achkaerin progress to the quarter final stage.
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"IT'S TIME TO DRAW A LINE" - DEFENCE MINISTER ON NAPALM
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Minister of Defence Adam Sheppard (pictured above) has spoken out in the Senate today about the use of Napalm against a village in Quintelia, an urgent question was brought by the Liberal Party on the matter, the Minister responded as follows:
"I thank the Honorable Senator for her question and for the opportunity to state the Government's position on this issue. Let's be clear the Uppsala Convention, that great Treaty that regulates circumstacnes such as this states under article 8.1 that "All possible care should be taken to ensure no civilian casualties." now Mr Speaker Napalm is an indiscriminate weapon, the use of it is unpredictable and it is a weapon let's make no mistake that has no place in the arsenal of any nation of this era. Achkaerin as the Senate is aware decommissioned all such weapons thirty five years ago. The point here Mr Speaker is that the very nature of Napalm makes it virtually impossible to take all possible care to ensure no civilian casualties when deploying the weapon over a residential area such as this village. Therefore Mr Speaker if this is an action by the Quintelian military then it is of paramount importance to establish who ultimately made that decision and hold them accountable for that action. The Achkaerinese government therefore recommends that Quintelia make available to the Convention Advisory Committee of the Uppsala Convention, which is the relevant authority on matters like this, any information on the use of Napalm with a full understanding that any independent investigation be allowed to go wherever the evidence leads with the potential for prosecutions if warranted.
Also Mr Speaker it is also the opinion of the Achkaerinese government that for the international community the time to draw a line has come. Napalm is not classified as a chemical or biological weapon under article 1.7 of the Uppsala Convention, this therefore technically means it's use while utterly abhorrent is actually legal, subject to the other provisions. So it is well past time Mr Speaker that the International Community came together and said of weapons like Napalm "Enough is enough, these are weapons that should not be used against anyone." We've seen enough uses of this particular weapon and enough deaths from it, it needs to stop now.
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BUSINESS LEADERS HAVE THEIR SAY AHEAD OF KEY TALKS
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Marqueeza Olivia Leonidas (right), talks with Edward McKinlay (centre) and Timothy Cross (left)
By Maggie Clough: Business Correspondent
It's been billed as Crunch Week for the Cross Straits Union as various parties talk to their governments about how best to reform the organisation ahead of key talks with the Commission of the Union scheduled for next week. Today Maqueeza Olivia Leonidas hosted Achkaerin's business leaders to talk about their priorities in regards to the Union. According to statements made after the event the mood was largely positive. There are other meetings scheduled for the next few days as politicians, teachers and others have their say on what's needed. No comment is expected from the Commission until talks on reform begin however Ĺosa Càidh the Secretary General of the Cross Straits Union has been doing the rounds of her fellow commissioners, it is a clear sign that this is something being taken as seriously as possible. Most analysts expect a strong series of agreeable reforms that do little to no damage to the Union's trading ability. Whether that will be the case is something we will have to wait and see about.
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NAVY ON ALERT IN THE KYNE
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The INS Saix left Antares Base earlier today heading for the edge of the advisory area
By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Navy has gone on alert for what has been defined as "Potential trouble" in the Sea of Kyne, the move comes following Iwi air strikes against Royal Seleucid and a subsequent Seleucid deployment. The Achkaerinese government has already issued a Emergency Shipping Advisory (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=695.msg5792#msg5792) to all Achkaerinese commercial and cargo vessels traversing the area, the intention being to take all necessary steps to avoid citizens being put at risk. The move also sees the deployment of the INS Ninetales, INS Riviere and the INS Saix to the area to monitor the situation, it's also been reported today that the INS Intrepid, the Achkaerinese flagship on it's way back to Achkaerin for decommissioning following it's deployment around Phuebra wil be diverted to the region to complete the monitoring group on what will certainly be the ship's final deployment before the new incarnation of the ship is deployed later in the year.
In the Senate Consul Michael Williams addressed the chamber on the issue stating: "This is a situation that needs to be worked out peacefully and that is what we are hoping will happen, the steps taken in terms of deployments are for the safety of shipping in the area, we are simply monitoring this situation and we encourage both sides to let the various process's be undertaken, we have two reports one from Bretonnia and one from Achkaerin both conclude that the current strain of the plague devastating some areas of Mundus is a weaponized version with an almost identical DNA match to the strain that is on record as used by Royal Seleucid in the 1980's. This conclusion amounts to a threshold that warrants the requesting of access to Royal Seleucid for the purposes of further inquiry it does not amount to proof of anything whatsoever. There are plenty of questions that need to be answered and while we understand the Iwi reasoning we also recognize the stakes that are in play we encourage that there be no further escalation, that there be dialogue and that the course of action proposed to the Cross Mundus Agency in terms of approaching Royal Seleucid take place, but we will continue to monitor the situation and if it becomes necessary act."
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EMPEROR ORDERS AID EFFORT FOLLOWING TSUNAMI
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The INS Rhyth Icerider en route to the crisis area several hours ago
By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Following the tsunami in the Mhorish that has hit the disputed Nurashima/Barnacle island chain the Emperor has ordered the Imperial Navy to undertake an aid effort to the islands utilizing assets that were in the area at the time such as the destroyer INS Sharingan and drone carrier INS Rhyth Icerider (pictured above), also being sent into the area are the amphibious warfare ship INS Athos Mishima, the frigate INS Leonaise, GPPS INS Volga and the hospital ship INS Nebula. Following the announcement the Foreign Aid Minister Hannelina Porter stated "The situation is a most concerning one, we have thousands of people affected by a natural disaster and we have the ability to help them in someway in the vicinity. This is the sort of operation we've been involved in before and chances are we will have to do a great many more of these type of things in the years to come. Contact with the Heyran Government has been made with a request to utilize the capabilities of the INS Rhyth Icerider in assessing damage and initiating an aerial survivor search. We expect that the full complement of assigned Achkaerinese vessels will be on station as quickly as they are able, with our aid operations likely to begin in some form before that. We will seek to work with our allies and international friends in this effort and we note that such an effort will need to be not only about the here and now but also as this situation progress's about the long term of the island chain both in a humanitarian and political sense."
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RESTORATION OF SEAFORTH WELCOMED
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Royal Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright
By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
The restoration of Seaforth was the headline subject at the latest Royal Press conference as Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright stated "The Achkaerinese leadership has a long established friendship with the Kingdom of Seaforth going back to our days in the CIS, this bond like the one we share with East Moreland is one that we consider unbroken. As such the Emperor will seek at the earliest opportunity to reestablish ties with Seaforth. Part of such talks will naturally include discussions as to any assistance we can offer them as the rebuilding in Seaforth continues as well as the return of other aspects of the Achkaerin-Seaforth relationship. There was some slight surprise to discover that Joshua Rhodes is not the King of Seaforth however as noted by King David, relations between nations are not about the relations between the leaders they are about bigger things than that, Joshua Rhodes or Andrew Rhodes it makes no difference Achkaerin and Seaforth were friends before and we hope they will be again."
No date for such a meeting has been released yet but it is likely to be eagerly anticipated.
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FUTURIST INDUSTRIES TRY SOMETHING NEW
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By Kimberley Thorn: Science Correspondent
Futurist Industries has opened a new power plant, not something uncommon as the Achkaerinese energy sector continues to implement sections of the Renewable Energy Transition Act (2012) however what makes this plant different is what it does. The plant opened up a few miles outside Artaxia is a Liquid Air Energy Storage plant or LAES for short, sometimes it is also referred to as Cryogenic Energy Storage or CES. What this means in simple terms is that electricity is used to cool air into a liquid state which is then stored in a tank, ambient air exposure or waste heat is then useable to bring it back to a gaseous state which then turns a turbine and as a result generates electricity. When asked for comment the CEO of Futurist Elecktra Hope said "This is something that's been thought about for a long time, to actually see this plant open and ready for a trial run is a great moment, we'll be running a six month experiment, but this is a significant step in the energy sector, we'll be looking at ways to increase the efficiency of this as we go but we hope that in a few years time that this sort of plant is found across Achkaerin as the transition to renewable energy sources continues."
In related news Futurist has also confirmed an agreement with the Nemerie Government to build a nuclear plant in the Principality, while in other science news the Achkaerin Space Agency has confirmed that the Virgil probe has achieved orbit of the Keaclite asteroid and is beginning the next phase of that mission.
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RENEE AZUREWIND ESTABLISHES CWF CHARITY
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal Correspondent
Renee Azurewind, wife of the Emperor and Duchess of Rosemoor has used an address to the Achkaerin Youth Assembly to announce the establishment of a new charity. The Duchess announced the CWF or to give it it's full title the Children's Welfare Fund. It came as a surprise to the Youth Assembly when the Duchess said the following:
"A few years ago I was proud to put my name to a piece of paper that made me a patron of the Global Childbirth Initiative, an organisation that does important work in aiming to reduce the number of women and children killed as a result of childbirth and the complications thereafter. It has been and continues to be one of the most important aspects of my life, championing that cause across Mundus. A couple of months ago I visited Hope Hospital in Valtheim, a centre of excellence for the GCI and a teaching hospital, several of the women I met that day were Phuebran refugee's and the more stories I heard, the more it made me think, the more it made me research, what happens to children who aren't as fortunate as I was at that age? I had access to food, access to safe drinking water, access to healthcare, access to an education, I was encouraged and given every opportunity. Not everyone is as fortunate, so today I stand here to announce the Children's Welfare Fund a charity with a focus on supporting children across Mundus who are in need of a great variety of support, support that we can give them whether it be in education, food, water or healthcare. In the coming days I will be meeting with various agencies and companies to establish the detail of the program's and how we embody the vision and intention of this charity going forwards."
The announcement was welcomed by the President of the Mundus Youth Assembly Scarlet Cox with many suspecting that the announcement comes as a prelude to the Emperor's Covenant Address to the Senate this weekend.
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SENATE ENJOYS "PEOPLE'S WEEK"
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Minister of trade Viola Summers speaking during the days events
By David Woods: Political Correspondent
As is the tradition of the Senate in the run up to the Covenant Address, which will be delivered by the Emperor this weekend, the Achkaerinese Senate does not discuss matters of policy unless there is a state emergency declared. Instead the five hundred Senators discuss the concerns of Achkaerinese citizens in all sessions in what has been nicknamed "People's Week" it is a tradition that can be traced back to the establishing of the Senate in 1718 where the Senate, comprising at that time of 100 independent citizens would constantly talk about more local issues while leaving national and international policy to the Crown, of course over time that has changed. Favourites from this week so far have included a petition for more life skills to be taught in schools, a request that the Senate outlaw certain names for newborns, a discussion of whether enough attention is being paid to the arts and various letters of congratulation and correspondence.
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NIGHT FURY ENTERS TESTING
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
AADC have begun testing their latest aircraft, the Night Fury. Designated as a strategic bomber the aircraft bears a fair number of similarities to East Moreland's Jekar's Chariot boasting similar speed, range, weapons outlay with stealth capability thrown in. The Night Fury has been in development for over a decade and is believed to be one of the most difficult projects the company has worked on with CEO Sir Darren Eagle saying today "This represents a landmark moment for us at AADC, to get the Night Fury out into testing after a few setbacks and adjustments is great we're hoping for a clear run of testing." It is not yet certain that the Achkaerin Air Force will purchase any of the aircraft once testing is complete but sources close to the Ministry of Defence suggest that an order will be placed should the testing provide satisfactory results.
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EMPEROR DELIVERS COVENANT ADDRESS
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Emperor Peter pictured just before entering Liberty Hall this evening
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Emperor Peter Azurewind has delivered his sixteenth Covenant Address, this is a tradition that dates back to the foundation of the Senate and is named after the speech given by Empress Djana Azurewind three hundred years ago. In simple terms it is an annual event where once per year the monarch travels to the Senate to deliver a speech, that outlines Achkaerin's place in the world, pays tribute where tribute is due and talks about the future. In the week leading up to the address there was a lot of speculation about what was going to be said leading to a much larger audience than previous years. The only notable absentee from the speech this year was Crown Princess Serenity as she continues to focus on her military service at this time. The full text of the speech is below:
Mr Speaker, honourable Senators tonight as is the custom of my predecessors of the last three hundred years I come to the Senate tonight to deliver this my sixteenth Covenant Address, the three hundredth in the history of our great and noble nation. It is an address where I have the opportunity to commend, to comment, to voice my opinion on matters that I would normally recuse myself from and an address where I can convey the pride I feel in the people I serve and repay the trust that they show in me for as my father always said to me “An Emperor may be the Head of State but he is nothing if he is not also a servant of the state.” Tonight I stand here to deliver an address of positivity, of progress and of hope for the future.
Achkaerin is a nation that is fortunately blessed with a great deal of friends, nations such as East Moreland and Seaforth come to mind but also Nya Aland, Lodja, the Iwi, Ecclesiastical State and Vaguzia to name but a few of them, but we must also seek out those we do not yet know, those nations who could be called strangers but who we call friends we are yet to meet, this was why the Prefect program was employed within the Achkaerin Ambassadorial System to seek out new relationships, to develop our existing relationships and to show our commitment to our hope of a peaceful Mundus for all peoples. With this in mind we will seek to maintain and develop our existing diplomatic relations, we will seek to cultivate new relations and we will continue to abide by the diplomatic agreements we make.
It would be wrong of me to not stand here tonight and acknowledge the almost superhuman effort that the Achkaerinese armed forces have once more found themselves having to put in this past year. Time and time again, without complaint and hesitation these soldiers, sailors and air force personnel have put themselves in harms way both in combat and on humanitarian operations, partnering trusted friends and trusted allies in a variety of different situations and showing their greatest qualities, qualities they are showing this very moment engaged against insurgents in Phuebra, on the lookout for trouble in the Kyne and in humanitarian operations in the Mhorish. We will not shirk our principles in this regard, we will not turn our backs, we will stand for what we have always stood for - helping people who can’t help themselves, defending the innocent and ensuring a position where we are capable of rendering assistance when it is required and when it is asked for. To all of our brave members of the forces I extend my greatest thanks for their hard work, their courage and their sacrifice.
On the 7th of November 1945, my grandfather the Emperor Harry Azurewind gave an order that would change the world at that time, he ordered the use, the sole use of a nuclear bomb against the Ardian Empire, seeing such a power arrayed against them the Ardian’s surrendered on the 11th of November that year. The use of a nuclear bomb that day most likely saved a lot of lives on both sides of the war, but it did something else it opened a Pandora’s Box, it let the Genie out of the bottle, it changed the scope of warfare, attempts to contain it were made, we recognized the significance of what we had developed, but in our arrogance, in our hubris we thought ourselves the controllers of the uncontrollable devastation, other nations obtained nuclear capability, the ability to wage a destructive and apocalyptic war was in the hands of other nations. A few days ago my friend King David of East Moreland made a statement in which he announced that Alba Karinya would be a nuclear weapon free continent in three years time, it was a bold statement and it was a courageous decision. Tonight that boldness and that courage echo in this chamber, tonight the 16th of June 2018 we join our friends in writing the final chapter of the nuclear weapons story that began on that November day, why should nations possess the ability to destroy each other ten times over when surely once is enough? Tomorrow I will initiate a course of action to decommission the Achkaerinese nuclear arsenal.
At home and abroad we are party to many organisations and initiatives of the non-military nature, bodies such as the Mundus Goodwill Bank, the Joint Emergency Team, Mundus Health Organisation, the Mundus Refugee Council, the Mundus Crime Agency, the Global Childbirth initiative - an organisation of which both myself and my wife are patrons and an organisation backed by our Achkaerin Health Service. There is also the Mundus Convention on Universal Rights, a treaty we are proud to be signatory to and the Cultural Exchange Treaty Organisation an organisation that my daughter is a patron of. Earlier this week my wife Renee added another charity to that list, she added the Child Welfare Fund this is a body aimed at supporting children worldwide whether it be providing an education, food, water shelter, medication and vaccines or just being there to listen to them. These are all noble causes, these are all causes that stand in their own way to make Mundus a place we can be proud to call home, a world where we don’t look at each other with suspicion because of the colour of our skin, the gender we identify as, our sexuality or the faith we worship. Two years ago Pride came to Gowu and this point roared loud and clear in that city, for a few days the message of unity was there for all to see, the message of peace and tolerance was there for all to see. For a few days everything else was stripped away and we tolerated each other regardless of creed, colour, sexuality and gender and you know something? It was a wonderful moment and we need more of those.
As we move forward into the future those of us who are getting on a little in years so to speak look at our children and we ask ourselves a question - “What kind of world am I leaving them in?” is it safer or more dangerous than it was when they came into it? It yields a second question doesn’t it? “What kind of world do I want to leave them?” my answer to that is I want to leave them a world better than the one I grew up in, I want them to have a world where people think about the long term issues affecting our planet, issues such as climate change and the need for a transition to renewable energy sources, some nations including our own have already begun to take these steps and it is right and responsible that we do so, the day is coming when the oil will run out, what might happen the day after that is something that does not bear thinking about, but if we take the first steps now as we have done then as a nation we can play a part in helping develop a greener Mundus so that the worries and fears we have deep at the back of our minds don’t materialize. And climate change is only one of the many persistent dragons that circle around us that we don’t see because we’re too caught up in other affairs, there’s more to consider - poverty, disease, starvation, polluted oceans, the wealth gap, homelessness, displaced people, the persecuted and the mentally ill are only a sample of the others, there are more and yes I could name them but we’d be here all night.
My point is this in the last few years I have sent the Achkaerinese Armed Forces into war on several occasions, sometimes to help our allies, sometimes to stop something terrible and sometimes to help people we didn’t even know. Well tonight I declare one more war, not on another country, not on another ideology, not on another religion. Tonight I declare war on these dragon’s - is it acceptable that people should live in poverty when we can do something about it? No. Is it acceptable that people should suffer with disease and potentially die from it when the treatment can be easily funded at a very small cost if spread evenly? No. Is it acceptable that people should go hungry and thirsty in an age where we have so much? No. Is it acceptable that our world’s oceans should be polluted? No. Is it acceptable that there should be such a huge difference in what someone is paid because of geographic or personal factors? No. Is it right that someone should be left homeless when we can build such marvellous buildings? No. Is it right that displaced people should be left wandering in the wilderness when all it takes is a little kindness and a smile to make them feel like they belong? No. Is it right for a person to be persecuted just because they don’t share the same opinions as someone else? No. Is it right that people should suffer in silence with something because they’re afraid of the stigma? No.
These are not lofty ambitions, these are not pipe dreams, these are tangible possibilities, for the first time we have a chance as not only a nation but also internationally as a community of nations to shape the world to combat the real problems that run in an undercurrent, in places some have already started on this, Queen Klara of Lodja has declared her intention to make Lodja plastic free within the next twenty five years, East Moreland is innovating new technology all the time just look at what OsmanTech came up with a so called “Cancer tattoo”, the nanotechnology being developed within Heyra is also worthy of mention and in this very chamber four years ago the Senate passed legislation compelling the formulation of a strategy to transition over the next few decades to green energy. If there’s one thing we’ve learned through watching the news over the last few weeks it’s that we can have a safer Mundus, a Mundus without the horrors of weapons of mass destruction, we can have a Mundus with clean oceans, we can have a Mundus where the planet is healthier, where the people are healthier, the steps are being taken independently already.
A few days ago King David of East Moreland remarked that the airbridge constructed by Morelander and Achkaerinese military forces during the Cult of Helus Genocide was “the most complex and ambitious military operation Mundus has ever seen.” let’s be clear we’re talking about the forces of two nations operating a long way from home in unfamiliar surroundings, under enemy fire, doing something that would be considered almost impossible...Well they did it. Now surely if two nations forces working together can manage something like that, then imagine the possibilities if the brightest minds start working together, imagine what we could say to those dragon’s I mentioned earlier. What would we say I hear you ask? Well I would say this - Bring...It...On!
Thank you.
There were no prizes for guessing the headline grabbing announcement, the decommissioning of Achkaerin's nuclear arsenal, it's a shock that's set to cause much debate within the Senate in the coming days as proven by initial response to the announcement which has ranged from "Bold" to "Downright irresponsible". The call for unity towards the end of the speech is not anything surprising as it's been a feature of many a speech before but the language has raised eyebrows. Some analysts in the immediate aftermath have commented that there appears to be some sort of hidden message within the speech though they haven't actually said what it is, leading other analysts to suggest that they're hedging their bets significantly on the interpretation. The only comment coming out of the Marble Palace following the speech was given by Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright saying "The Emperor is very happy with how tonight has gone and looks forward to implementing the details of what he outlined."
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FIRST SEONAID CLASS ENTERS SERVICE
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The first of the Sẹnaid class aircraft carriers the INS Sẹnaid Ayanami has entered service, the new vessel succeeds its predecessor of the same name, is the first of reportedly three expected carriers of this class to come into service with the INS Intrepid and INS Djana Azurewind expected to be in service over the course of the next year. The Sẹnaid Ayanami is expected to spend some time in the Great Northern Ocean for shakedown purposes before assuming routine duties with the Imperial Navy. It's also rumored that as part of the navy's development program that the Imperial Navy is looking to replace its Tisiphone class submarines, though this rumor remains unconfirmed by the Navy.
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ARTAXIA CITY WIN EMPEROR'S CUP
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Jamie Speed scoring the extra time winner
By Nick Watson, Sports Correspondent
Artaxia City produced one of the great comebacks of Achkaerinese football to deny Dovah City a league and cup double at the Fox's Den. In the build up many were expecting that the dominant form shown by Dovah City en route to claiming a surprising league title would bring them success in the cup final and for the first hour of the game that's what it looked like as the league champions passing game pulled the opposition apart with midfield maestro Michael Danvers netting fifteen minutes in to give Dovah the lead, with a goal early in the second half from a Wayne Carson free kick the league champions looked set for a double. However Artaxia City are the specialists of the Emperor's Cup, and with the introduction of winger Jamie Speed from the bench they found something as first striker Tom Oakleigh headed in from a Speed cross and as the game entered the last ten minutes striker Li Shibuki was put clear through by that man Speed to round the keeper and level the score with a tidy finish. Extra game was an end to end affair but it was fitting that it was Speed who raced clear of Dovah's defence with two minutes to play to score the winning goal and deliver Artaxia City the title.
The result means that by virtue of winning the Emperor's Cup Artaxia City will join Dovah City, Leonaise F.C and Avalon F.C in the Mundus Champions League while Valtheim United miss out due to Dovah City's defeat.
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FORMULA MUNDUS PREVIEW WITH MMA CHIEF
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
It's the eve of the Formula Mundus season with the teams having completed pre season testing and having flown in to the Kingdom of Vafleon, part of the Commonwealth of Eswen, its time for game faces to be put on and for the drivers to let their skills do the talking while the team's do the same in the pits. With the season starting tomorrow Achkaerin Sports took the opportunity to interview the Head of the Mundus Motorsport Association Matthew Baxter (pictured above) and ask his thoughts on the coming season.
What does the pre season testing tell us?
"It tells us for the most part things we already knew. The consistency of Riviere Corporation Racing is apparent and their strength on tracks towards the back end of the season appears to still be as powerful as ever. The mid season has always been the strength of Rytol-EMAC with the other teams scoring reasonably well but having to fight against this backdrop. We could well be in for another instalment of Megan Harrison vs Sam Halliday but there's reason to hope for more than a two horse race. And I say that because if you look at the way the last two seasons have gone there's something of an interesting factor in play, two years ago in the season that saw Megan win the title she won it because she was more consistent in the early part of the season than Sam was, while he was fighting around the lower order scrapping for the odd point she was challenging for podiums and victories, all of which meant that her championship lead wasn't overhauled until near the end of Rytol's purple patch in mid season, meaning she was able to safely regain her lead and take a near unassailable position into the title decider. Last season we saw much the same start until Megan got injured at Sisko, then we saw an intriguing three way fight for the title develop and it eventually went to Sam. But bear in mind this - not in either season has there been an overwhelming dominance from any driver it's been close both times and it's gone to the last race at Silverhills both times. There are no invincible teams in this."
So who might upset the odds?
"Team wise it will be difficult given the consistency of Riviere and Rytol-EMAC but Tifosi did put up a good performance last year and Ornati look to have in places a decent pace as well. It's also got to be heavily considered that Formula Mundus is a sport of evolution over the course of a season so we're going to see changes as the season progress's. So teams that have not tested well may struggle at the start of the year but they may turn things around as the season goes on, of course though the teams that tested well will also be striving to make improvements and that's why this sport is really interesting. In terms of drivers we've got a wide open field I think obviously the likes of Sam Halliday and Megan Harrison will start as favourites but once you get past them there's a group of racers that are talented enough and consistent enough to take this title. Aldous Moses for Tifosi has tested really consistently in the pre season, he could be the dark horse to look out for. But again let's not rule anyone out of the title race yet, there's such a thing as keeping your powder dry and trying not to show your true capabilities.
Which race are you looking forward to the most?
"I always like the Valkyria Grand Prix, it's a real test of all the car and it's a circuit that's very technical. It's a different type of drama from a street circuit such as Sisko or a sprint like Celestis but it's equally enjoyable."
Who's going to be the world champion?
"Whoever's the most consistent throughout the season. That's how the sport works and we've seen it in the last two seasons that when it has come down to it the most consistent driver has won, and we're not talking about number of victories it's consistent high placed finishes that get championships won. Once we get a few races into the season we'll know who the contenders might be."
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TERROR ALERT LEVEL RAISED TO AMBER IN RESPONSE TO SEPARATIST THREAT
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Saki Ryoko during her interview earlier today
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The terror alert level has been raised to Amber following implied threats by the Borland Separatist terrorist group. The announcement comes following a string of tweets apparently by Kyle Barren the leader of the terrorist group. The announcement was made by the deputy national security advisor Saki Ryoko during a televised interview earlier today during which she was explaining the work currently ongoing regarding the decommissioning of Achkaerin's nuclear arsenal, an announcement regarding this is expected when the Minister of Defence addresses the Senate later in the week. When asked about the tweets in question Ms Ryoko said "Clearly the ambiguity of the threat implies that anyone could be a target, we've been targetted before and we take terrorist threats seriously. We've therefore taken the decision to raise the terrorist alert level to Amber, meaning that an attack is believed to be imminent. This is not the first time the alert level has been raised to this point but clearly we must be mindful that whatever is being hinted at might happen on our soil and that's something we'll do everything possible to prevent happening."
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CORAL SET UP FOR LONG TERM STUDY
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Centre of Oceanic Research And Learning (CORAL) has announced a new venture that it says will allow for the monitoring of ocean wildlife and further study of both them and the ocean itself. The project dubbed 'Crystal Sea' involves the construction of a series of fifty artificial islands within Achkaerin's EEZ with each serving as a monitoring station for an area around it. The idea is to use these stations to observe the wildlife of the ocean, the coral, the plant life and other factors to see what happens as the environment evolves and changes. It's also expected that the crimson finned whale, an endangered species native to the waters of the Northern Ocean, will have its population monitored by these stations with further studies also on the table for other species. This project does mark CORAL's first major study since its establishment a few years ago. Minister of Science and Technology Kathryn Deed has described the project as "An intriguing venture and I look forward to seeing what it develops."
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AMBASSADORS DAUGHTER AMONG WOUNDED IN TERROR ATTACK
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Danielle Knight, daughter of Ambassador Churchill
By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Danielle Knight, daughter of the Achkaerinese ambassador to New Zion is among the wounded following several terrorist attacks carried out across Mundus by the Borland Separatist Group. Mrs Knight, a student at the Royal Merriman University in East Moreland was helping with their open day when she was caught up in the attack, she is presently being treated in hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. In total fifteen Achkaerinese citizens were killed in that specific attack with several like Mrs Knight injured in a subsequent blast undoubtedly intended to cause injury to those responding to the initial attack. Other attacks to date in this latest Separatist campaign have seen attacks in Lodja, Ui Cenneslaig and the Iwi. As well as directed attacks against Rokkenjiman military bases specifically Queen Katenka Naval Base in Dartfordia and Queen Adrianna Military Base in the Illumic. At this point in time there is no official figure for the death tally or estimate in regards to the number of wounded.
It is believed that Rokkenjima has tabled a proposal at LISA in response to these attacks though there has not yet been any comment on this from that organisation. Additionally the Emperor having spent today talking with the families of the Achkaerinese victims of these attacks is believed to be meeting with the Round Table tomorrow to discuss the Achkaerinese position in relation to these attacks.
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NETTIE TAYLOR TALKS ON BARNACLE FROM BARNACLE
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Ms Taylor attending a daily briefing with Achkaerinese forces committed to the aid effort in Barnacle
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Nettie Taylor, the former Premier of Rokkenjima, former Imperial Councillor for Foreign Affairs of Rokkenjima and presently Foreign Affairs Advisor to Emperor Peter Azurewind has spoken about the present state of aid operations following the tsunami that devastated the Barnacle island chain. Ms Taylor was assigned to the aid effort due to the potential for political complications resulting from an aid effort in territory that is disputed between the two nations of Heyra and Himeyama. Considering overnight developments coming from first Rokkenjima (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=174.msg7750#msg7750) and then Heyra (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=629.msg7755#msg7755) Ms Taylor stated the following:
"The statements issued by Rokkenjima and Heyra are quite surprising and Achkaerin considers them ill judged, ill timed, unnecessary, reckless and in all honesty incendiary. Firstly the timing of the Rokkenjiman statement comes at a point where there are delicate situations occurring on the ground we have discovered that Himeyaman forces are still present and quite understandably at first contact were a little confrontational but were then open to cooperation with nations involved in the aid effort, and if we're objective and honest about it right now if we consider the number of nations currently on station, the number of aid workers available and the fact that the pre-tsunami population of the island chain was 108,000 people we are most certainly not in a position to turn that help away. Contrary to what Heyra's statement suggests it is surely possible that Heyran and Himeyaman working side by side can in effect aid this humanitarian effort. Achkaerin has also asked questions of Rokkenjima at LISA in regards to their statement and given the potential consequences of that statement it is important that they be answered, Achkaerin also calls for calm on the islands and the release by Himeyama of those effectively being held as prisoners of war.
Continuing with the focus on the Himeyaman marines present on the island chain I would remind everyone first that the most warning anyone had of this tsunami was twelve hours before it hit, that is simply not enough time for a complete evacuation of Himeyaman military personnel considering the logistics involved in terms of equipment and numbers. Second it is arguable that the Himeyaman marines are acting correctly under article 2.5 of the Uppsalla Convention 'Members of the Armed Forces have a duty of care to civilians in territory they control.' now let's bear in mind that we are talking about disputed territory so it is therefore the case that for those nations that do not at present recognize one nations absolute sovereignty, but rather the reality on the ground of a majority Himeyaman controlled area with Heyra controlling the north west we have a situation where Himeyaman troops in territory they control are aiding civilians as they are required to do so under Uppsalla. But once again I point out that we do not presently have the personnel numbers on the ground to be able to tell the Himeyaman's to stand down, the fact that they have stayed, that they have rendered aid and are continuing to render aid is surely something to be commended not condemned. Of course Achkaerin as I have previously implied does not like some of the actions taken by Himeyaman forces at the first contact stage and work is being undertaken to resolve those. The simple reality is that this dispute is not going to be resolved if there is a continuation of suspicion and hostility perpetrated by the two parties to the dispute.
I must personally register my disappointment with Rokkenjima concerning their approach to this, the Empress of Rokkenjima stated when declaring war against the USR (http://w11.zetaboards.com/Independent_Order_NS/topic/10557246/1/#new) that 'today the First Empire stands against the expansion of a Soviet empire of aggression and proclaims the end of apathy, and also that Mechean self-determination is worth defending' now regardless of what anyone thinks about the sovereignty issue the reality is that for decades the two societies have lived side by side and actually according to the Free Mundus Network (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=214.msg4886#msg4886) there is a sizable population group, which according to the numbers would amount to 50% of the islands population at pre-tsunami level, that do not identify as either Heyran or Himeyaman with recent protests seen on the islands suggesting a desire for independence from both sides involved in this.
This surely indicates that the appropriate way forward in navigating this dispute is, once the humanitarian work is done, to hold a referendum, this is a position we share with our friends in East Moreland and Dartfordia. A referendum allows the will of the islanders to determine the future of the islands I would remind the Imperial Diet of the Empress's words in that declaration of war and challenge them with the following question: How can it be that the right to self determination of Mechean citizens is worth defending yet the same right is apparently not worth defending in respect of these islanders, especially given the situation on the ground? I hope the Diet will reconsider its position because the message such statements send to the international community is not a good one for Rokkenjima's image."
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ACHKAERIN CONSIDERING QKNB BID?
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Rumours coming out of the Ministry of Defence have suggested that the Achkaerinese Government might be open to talks concerning Achkaerinese forces taking over Queen Katenka Naval Base in Dartfordia, the base presently one of the overseas Rokkenjiman facilities has come into the spotlight recently that the Dartfordian Government is considering closing it. There has been no official comment from the government on this but sources suggest that "they may be prepared to make an offer to exclude vessels possessing weapons of mass destruction and aircraft carriers from using the base"
Quite how accurate this is isn't known but considering the present mood internationally and recent events there appears to be at minimum a paper thin credibility to the rumours but whether they are true or not remains to be seen.
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ELEANOR HENDRY GOING FOR ANOTHER RECORD
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(left) Eleanor Hendry (right) the solar powered vessel Sunseeker
By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
Eleanor Hendry Achkaerin's triple record holding sailor is going for another record, three years after her last voyage. The twenty year old (pictured above left) who already holds the sailing records for the first solo circumnavigation of Mundus by a woman, being the youngest person to circumnavigate Mundus and for the fastest circumnavigation of Mundus is now attempting the first circumnavigation of Mundus using a vessel powered entirely by the Sun. The Sunseeker (pictured above right) is a vessel that utilizes solar technology to collect the sun's power and to then power the engines and other onboard equipment, the goal isn't a speed record, the goal is a successful voyage. The planned route is to depart from East Moreland, go round the Horn of Ardia, through the Alucard, around the bottom of Albion and then up through the Strait of Shaw before turning west and going through the Kyne, the Matilda's and then Krimeon before arriving back in East Moreland.
When asked to comment Ms Hendry said "I'm a bit of a technology geek and I always feel most at home on the ocean, so to have the opportunity to do something like this to try and prove something is great. The good thing about departing from East Moreland is that it gives us the opportunity to do a long distance field testing of the vessel hopefully as part of the Festival of Sail procession. While we've set the provisional departure date for the morning after the festival. I'm hoping not to run into any storms though."
For those interested the Sunseeker will be on show at the Festival of Sail and we will bring you regular updates of the voyage.
ACHKAERINESE ARMY GETS ROBOGUARDS
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Army is to add to its assets with the RoboGuard, East Moreland's famed autonomous patrol vehicle. The vehicle will in the words of General James Robbins will "Further support the multi-role and multi-operational capabilities of the Achkaerinese military. This is vital considering the workload of our military in recent times. The RoboGuard represents one of the greatest advancements in our area in recent times and we're very happy to be able to add them to our capabilities.", the purchase is for sixteen RoboGuards and training is set to be provided to the Achkaerinese operators within the next few weeks.
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NATIONAL TRIALS UNDERWAY AHEAD OF GAMES
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
It's that time of year again, with the Mundus Games approaching the Achkaerin National Trials are underway to determine the athletes that will compete at the games for the country. Taking place at Djana Azurewind Sports Park in Valtheim the event has drawn many eager fans all curious to see who will be presented with their countries colours. Naturally not all decisions are made at the trials with some of the team squads being determined by their respective coaches. One of the first athletes to secure her spot was taekwondo fighter Arya Warner (pictured above), with more action expected over the next few days. It has been confirmed that Crown Princess Serenity will not be competing in the Heptathlon this year as she is presently deployed aboard on military duty within the Navy. Princess Esme, the Achkaerin chef de mission, when speaking about the trials said "This is the time of year where everything gets difficult for us coaches because we have a lot of very talented athletes, all capable of representing the nation, it's safe to say that myself and the other coaches will end up in a boardroom each evening going through the lists and it will be a series of very difficult decisions for us, but we enjoy this because it means we will hopefully have a successful games."
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ACHKAERIN TO STEP UP BARNACLE OPERATIONS
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
Richard Chambers the Minister of Foreign Affairs has announced that Achkaerin is to step up operations on the disputed territory of Barnacle/Nurashima. In a statement given in the Senate the Minister stated "Circumstances on the ground have taken a rather disturbing turn in the last few hours we have seen a noticible build up of Heyran military personnel, now there could be any number of reasons for such a presence but as we now know it is to do with the Heyran claim for sovereignty over the entirety of the islands, given the potential implications including an elevated level of risk to our personnel on the ground this government has decided to take steps to safeguard our humanitarian operations on the islands."
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PROMETHEUS II SET FOR LAUNCH
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By: Kimberley Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Space Agency has announced that the long awaited follow up to the original Prometheus mission of two years ago is expected to launch at the weekend, the probe named Prometheus II will explore the sun's outer atmosphere and help answer questions about how the physics of stars work. It will also allow improvement in the forecasting of space weather events. The probe will orbit the sun from a distance of four million miles after using seven orbits of Ishtar over an expected seven years to adjust its orbit in relation to the sun, of course such a venture comes with a lot of kit and Prometheus II is no exception with instruments designed to image the solar wind and study electric and magnetic fields, coronal plasma and energetic fields. Given the obvious implications of the mission the probe is also outfitted with a heat shield intended to keep the instruments at a tolerable temperature. Speaking about the mission the Achkaerin Space Agency's Director of Flight Operations said "We're excited to finally be able to get a chance to send this up, it's been something of a dream for a great many years and when we sent the original Prometheus up we weren't convinced we'd get to this point but we're here and we're going to go for it. We've got other exciting things coming up as well and that's before I mention KISS where I look forward to extending knowledge sharing in the way that the Nordic Space Program has always extended it to the rest of the world."
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COUNT OF SAIKA NAMED VICEREGENT OF ROKKENJIMA
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Count Emerson Ravenswood at the Red Moon Showcase last night
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Emerson Ravenswood, the Count of Saika, has been named as the new Viceregent of Rokkenjima an appointment that has surprised as much in Achkaerin as it has in Rokkenjima. The announcement came as the Count attended the Red Moon Showcase, part of the Edelweiss Festival, after the nights music the Count spoke about the appointment saying: "It's going to be interesting to say the least, I've been very clear with the Empress that isn't my job to make her look good, it isn't my job to just agree with her, chances are we'll spend most of the time debating. My responsibility as Viceregent is to make sure she does her job as the Empress, there's a distinct resolve that we share to change certain things and address certain concerns some of these are new things some are things that have been said before and others are matters that circumstances have forced us to deal with."
The Count is expected to travel to Rokkenjima in the next few days to take up his new responsibilities.
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LIFE GOES ON IN THE MHORISH AS AID EFFORT LOOKS FORWARDS
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Despite the latest round of political posturing over the disputed territory of Barnacle/Nurashima, life on the islands has been somewhat quiet as the aid effort rumbles on. In the city of Hakae-Shima, Nettie Taylor has spent a lot of time talking with Mayor Nishida (pictured above) the elected leader of the city, while workers of Nelson Construction have demolished several buildings that were threatening to collapse onto key routes through the city, when asked about this the CEO of Nelson Construction, Timothy Nelson explained saying "To an extent we're dealing with two natural disasters in one here, first an earthquake and then the tsunami, a lot of structural damage was we believe caused by the earthquake with the raised sea level as a result of the tsunami further weakening several structures, we've now had to safely demolish a number of buildings in the city to avoid further loss of life on the ground due to cumulative damage from both events. There's no question that large areas of the city are in need of either major repairs or a complete rebuild, this we will discuss with the local authority so as to alert them and allow them to follow their procedures for such an eventuality."
Later in the day Ms Taylor announced that the provisional death count from the incident for the city of Hakae-Shima was 3,000 people. Achkaerin News understands that this is a figure arrived at by comparing the latest local government records of the city against a list of survivors, however as some areas of the city are still being searched for survivors it is possible that this number will rise.
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LAWSON GOING TO GAMES
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Sammy Lawson, arguably Achkaerin's best known sportswoman and arguably the finest cyclist on Mundus is going to the Mundus Games again after booking her place at the national trials. She will once more be seen as one of Achkaerin's strongest medal contenders on both the road and in the velodrome. Lawson will lead a strong team of cyclists from Achkaerin, a part of the team viewed very much as the foundation of Achkaerinese medal success in recent years, especially last year when Achkaerin topped the medal table at the end of the games a feat that the team will want to repeat this time out.
And whisper it softly but there's a little more intrigue to the Games this year as going into the competition Sammy has ten medals to her name and Daisy Greechan, the renowned swimmer from East Moreland, has eleven to hers and with an expanded cycling program this year giving Lawson more opportunities for medals it could well be that the battle for the outright Greatest Of All Time at the Mundus Games is on. When asked about this Sammy said the following "I know everyone likes the idea of a great story and rivalry's and everything but the truth is I've never thought about that at the end of the day me and Daisy and everyone else competing we're trying to do our best as representatives of our nations. Would I like to be the record holder? Of course I would but if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen."
Sammy Lawson has also been named as the Achkaerinese team captain for this years games.
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MUNDUS GAMES PREVIEW
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
It's that time of year again, the Mundus Games are here and with competition just hours away we at Achkaerin Sports thought we'd take a look at the various runners, riders and stories circling the games and tell you what to look out for over the eighteen days of competition.
So let's start with the usual suspects the nations everyone is familiar with seeing compete in these games countries such as Achkaerin, East Moreland, Nya Aland and making a welcome return this year Dartfordia. These are nations we as fans of the games know and are stocked full of talented athletes, the top three female athletes on medal count are all present as for the first time since the games were in East Moreland some years ago we're graced by the presence of Daisy Greechan, Sammy Lawson and Sophie Harrison-Ironside with a couple of battles between those three but we'll get to that a little later. So what to look out for? Well let's look at them at a glance - Achkaerin will once again look to the velodrome and the athletics track to support its medal efforts while challenging elsewhere, but watch out for the footballers as world number one's on both sides of the game there will be plenty of expectation there. Will Achkaerin repeat the success of last year and top the medal table? That's hard to say but a good solid all round performance is achievable provided the team can get off to a good start.
If Achkaerin's 'banker' golds are in the football then let's change the shape of the ball to talk about the golds that the East Moreland public will be demanding be won, the rugby sevens gold medals yes the Honeybadgers will once again be the team to beat can anyone do it? Well if one listens to the pundits the strongest challenge will come from the Iwi but this is fourteen minutes of rugby we're talking about and anything can happen. Away from the rugby field East Moreland will look to the pool to produce a strong start to the games and with the likes of Daisy Greechan in the team it's not a set of swimmers to be underestimated. And then there's the fencing, gold medals here are perhaps of cultural significance to East Moreland and with a new event in medieval duelling making its debut this year there will be much anticipation of success. Of course if all of the above fails East Moreland do have Sophie Harrison-Ironside who competes in the marathon and cross country which could see her walk away with up to three medals.
Dartfordia's return to competition is one of the big pre games stories however how well can they do? The best chance for a medal is most likely in the Muggle Quidditch an event that Dartfordia has historically done very well in, then there's the sailing squad with plenty of strength, of great interest will be the cycling as the Dartfordian's present a challenge of unknown quantity to Achkaerin's riders and particularly Sammy Lawson as she goes hunting for records. But don't discount Dartfordia elsewhere the games do have a tendency to love a good story and a habit of throwing up the odd surprise here and there.
If we go a little way down the Albion coast we find Nya Aland, they'll hope that their strengths in shooting events whether with bow or firearm will stand them in good stead and mount a decent performance as they try to prove once again that they aren't just a winter sports nation. They boast a team with a variety of talent that can do a lot of damage to other teams medal hopefuls so if there's a surprise package among the established names it may well be this one, keep your eyes out for the Alanders.
But of course there are plenty of other nations involved and many of them have teams entered for the first time so what can we expect from them? Well the first rule is likely to expect the unexpected, a lot of regular viewers of the games will remember how Dijel topped the medal table early days in the inaugural games with a surprisingly strong performance across their team in the swimming pool, and if we look at the medal opportunities for the newcomers it's going to be interesting especially in the combat sports the boxing and Mixed Martial Arts look like they are going to provide some of the biggest highlights of the games. Our tip for a surprise package from this collection of nations? Well Kaedwen and Royal Seleucid look good on paper but do not discount the hosts.
And speaking of the hosts what do we think of Kaitaine's chances competitively? Well they appear to be quite good in truth. Their weightlifters will compete in a four way showdown with the strongmen of the Iwi, Valokchia and San Espinosa to settle who are the strongest of them all, just don't tell a certain Morelander nicknamed 'the beast' about that because chances are he'll have something to say about this in his event. Their gymnasts will look to dominate in what looks like a fairly open field and their cyclists will provide a strong contest. But as history proves a home team roared on by their home crowd is a match for anyone, the other athletes will have to be on top of their game.
Finally let's take a look at the female trio that seems to have an interesting story or two to play out in these games the Morelander pair of Daisy Greechan and Sophie Harrison-Ironside and the Achkaerinese cyclist Sammy Lawson. At the start of proceedings Daisy has eleven medals, Sammy ten and Sophie nine so it's pretty close in the battle to be the outright greatest at the games and assuming all three turn up in their best condition it should be an interesting story to watch unfold especially on day eleven of the games when all three of them are in action around the same time.
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WHAT NEXT FOR PHUEBRA FOLLOWING REBEL SURRENDER, SHOCK FINDS AND CIVIL WAR?
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By Olivia Moores: International News Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Government has announced that the rebel faction within the Phuebran army that forms the backbone of the illegitimate regime in Phuebra has surrendered. The war in Phuebra has been ongoing for over a year and has seen a faultline on religious grounds threaten to tear the country irrevocably apart. The surrender of General El-Kammal has been met with joy in Phuebra but also with great relief back in Achkaerin. However while this is a significant moment it is far from the end of the story because while the latter stages of this stage of the conflict raged coalition forces uncovered mass graves of dead civilians, further investigation of the finds has led to the detention and subsequent arrest of the legitimate Phuebran government leading ultimately to a power vacuum.
When interviewed following all of these things being made known Minister for Foreign Affairs Richard Chambers (above left) said "Obviously this is a situation that no one envisaged happening but it has happened, it is unacceptable for anyone to order or participate in such an act of cruelty as this. Now let's be clear about something what we have today is the surrender of General El-Kammal and the portion of the Phuebran military he commands, this does not however mean the job is done, the General's regime was supported by several armed insurgent groups who have not laid down their weapons, the conflict has shifted to its next stage and Achkaerin will continue to support operations in Phuebra to combat these groups. We also now have to deal, rather rapidly, with this power vaccuum which is why tomorrow myself, representatives of the other Phuebran political parties and the Free Phuebran army as well as our international partners in this will be starting negotiations aimed at resolving this vaccuum and then laying out a road map that will rebuild the nation."
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GAME ON AS LAWSON EQUALS GREECHAN TOTAL AT GAMES
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Day two of the Mundus Games may have belonged to Lodja and their sensational swimming display in the pool but for Achkaerin it was Sammy Lawson's day in the sun as the golden girl of Achkaerinese cycling won gold in the women's road race to take her medal total up to eleven equalling that of Morelander swimmer Daisy Greechan. The two women both have many medal opportunities left and both are abundantly aware of the risks of over-eventing. The race itself was an entertaining affair with breakaways and chases, the whole consetina affect on show. It wasn't until the last forty five kilometres that a decisive breakaway was made and uncharacteristically it was Lawson making that move, a small group escaped and stayed away long enough and with one final assault Lawson aided by team mate Melanie Parker (who finished 5th) was able to do enough damage to earn her gold medal.
Speaking afterwards Sammy said "That's a first for the women's road race at the games we've never had a race quite like it, usually we bunch up for most of the race and then we chase people down and capitalize but today the attacks just kept coming and it became obvious that the peloton wasn't going to hold together for a sprint so we just went for it on that last big hill and we got the gap we needed to string them out. The girls were great they did what they had to do and I'm happy to bring home the win for them. To equal Daisy's record is huge it's not something I imagined I'd be doing and to know that I have a chance of walking away in two weeks as the greatest athlete in the history of the games is crazy but it is now mostly in my hands because due to the wonders of the scheduling I'll know before the velodrome cycling starts what Daisy's total is but she's a great swimmer and she could put this out my reach before we get that far, anyway we'll just have to see what happens at the end of it all but if I race how I know I can I think I've got a good chance."
Sammy will return to action on day eleven in the women's time trial and will take to the velodrome in a handful of events concluding with her favored track discipline the omnium. So two great athletes, two experienced multi eventers, two great competitors, eleven medals each and a good few days of competition left - game on.
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AURA AND FUTURIST UNVEIL 3D PRINTED CAR
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By Maggie Clough: Business News Correspondent
Noted Achkaerinese car manufacturer Aura have teamed up with Futurist Industries to bring into existence a new car. It's called the Scarlet (and not for the colour though it is optional) but what makes this car special isn't that it's electrical but that it was produced as a result of 3D printing, the whole car is reported to have taken around four days to print and build though Futurist Industries have said that they're confident of decreasing the printing time dramatically as production moves forwards. All in all the Scarlet's electrical batteries produce enough power to cover between 160 and 190km, making it potentially suitable for daily use within a localised area or if you're a resident of Nemerie the range does put around half of the country within driving distance. The CEO of Aura, Jessica Sherman gave the following statement at the unveiling:
"The Scarlet is something unlike any other car on Mundus, not because of its power system but because of its manufacturing process. To be able to produce a car at the speed that this process may make possible is something special. It's also likely to be the cheapest car in our production range. The assistance of Futurist Industries in this venture has been invaluable, we could not have done it without them and I hope to continue working with Futurist on projects further down the line."
Positive comments were also received from Futurist Industries.
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CROWN PRINCESS CAUGHT IN BLAST
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Crown Princess Serenity has been confirmed as one of the injured following an explosion in the disputed Barnacle/Nurashima island chain. The Crown Princess, a JAG officer, was conducting routine liaison duties with small hamlets outside of the city of Hakae-Shima when the blast occurred, she is believed to be one of five wounded, it's not clear what caused the blast at this time though experts have several theories including a leftover device from the Great War to a more recent device being planted there as well as an IED, nothing can be confirmed until after an investigation has been carried out into the explosion. Senior personnel on site have explained that the wounded will be treated and stabilized aboard the INS Nebula before being airlifted out of the operations area. When asked for comment the Royal Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright stated "The Emperor and family are aware of what has happened and ask that their privacy be respected at this time. We don't presently know the full extent of the Crown Princess's injuries and until we do we'd ask people not to speculate on them."
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IMPERIAL NAVY CONFIRMS REPLACEMENT FOR CHALLENGER CLASS
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The Imperial Navy has confirmed the much anticipated replacement for the aged Challenger Class Frigate by unveiling the Dragon class corvette, it's a lightweight design but with a potent amount of firepower that will allow the class to fulfill its role within the navy. It's expected seven Dragon class vessels will be built while it's also been confirmed that a further three Kryptonite class vessels will be built. The Ministry of Defence is remaining tight lipped about the specific capabilities of the Dragon Class but many expect a fast vessel with a balanced focus.
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CROWN PRINCESS MOVED TO EAST MORELAND
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
Following her injury in an explosion on the disputed islands of Barnacle/Nurashima, the cause of which is as yet unknown, Crown Princess Serenity along with two other wounded soldiers has been airlifted out of the islands area and is presently receiving treatment in an East Moreland military hospital. The moving of the Crown Princess was carried out courtesy of the famed East Moreland Ekrabadger meaning that the journey was a whole lot quicker than it otherwise would have been. The Emperor and family are expected to visit the Crown Princess within the next few hours. There has still been no comment about the extent of the injuries the Crown Princess has suffered though that is expected once the family has visited.
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DAWNBREAKER TEAM SETS DATE FOR RECORD ATTEMPT
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By Kimberley Thorn: Science Correspondent
Team Dawnbreaker, the brains behind the attempt to break the solar powered landspeed record, have set the date that they will make their record attempt. Unsurprisingly like the Tollerbadger it will occur following the final race of the current Formula Mundus season. No comment on the driver has been made but there are rumors floating around that the three Riviere Corporation Racing drivers have been approached. The projects leader Kit Davenport in announcing the date also confirmed that the Dawnbreaker vehicle was just the first record they were chasing though she didn't specify what the others were.
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CULT OF NAMIS CONFERENCE BEGINS
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
The annual Cult of Namis Conference got underway today with the Priesthood session, this being the part of the Conference where the Priests and Priestesses consider pastoral matters while the actual business session which is where reports are received and big decisions made is still a couple of days away. This years Conference marks the first one in which the High Priestess, Alexis Minette (pictured above) will have spoken as the leader of the Cult. And she's not been shy about what is likely to be discussed in the business as the faith considers how its stances play against current national stances, there's also likely to be discussion of other issues with the recent announcement out of Heyra concerning IVF and 5000 new babies expected to feature strongly. As for guest speakers there's eager anticipation as Cardinal Martin Deed of the Catholic Church has been invited to address the Conference during the High Priestess's resource session.
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CARDINAL DEED ADDRESSES NAMIS CONFERENCE
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Normally the guest speaker at the Cult of Namis Conference doesn't really mean an awful lot but with recent events in mind there was a ripple of interest as Cardinal Martin Deed of the Catholic Church addressed the Conference earlier today. The interest undoubtedly born from recent statements made by the Pope and then the surprise news coming out of Slava Lavosk. The Cardinal, the adoptive father and mentor of Pope Peter as well as self styled 'off the wall Cardinal' is known for holding the Church accountable in public and this was an interesting speech featuring a lot of his styles:
Your Holiness High Priestess, Lady Oracle, Queen of Songs, Members of Conference.
Let me begin by telling you a little about me. I am not from a Catholic family both my parents were Church of Achkaerin Christians, my wife Georgina who I met before I joined the Ministry of that Church was Catholic, we were married and we were blessed with a daughter Kathryn of whom I am immensely proud each and every day. Circumstances led to my transfer to the Catholic Church and from there I have journeyed with God to the place I find myself now which is as the Cardinal of Santiago, quite an appropriate and humorous appointment for a journeyman such as myself to have.
It is a great honour and privilege to be asked to address you today, to be able to watch you discuss so passionately those issues which lie at the very core of our society and those issues that are not so comfortably accepted or understood. As I look around this room I see the representatives of a loving faith, of a tolerant faith and of an ever evolving faith. It would be nice if such things were remembered elsewhere. Because Christianity is a religion founded on love, the act that preachers such as myself proclaim as the Good News - the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is an act of love, the message of unconditional love is the constant thread throughout the faith's teachings, there are no questions, no door slammed in the face, yet despite this foundation there's a sense that the cowboy builders have conned their way into the building contract for the Church because despite the understanding that the unconditional love of God is for all there are those who continue to try to caveat this. Rather than moving forward and applying the gospel message to the world around them they wrap themselves in their traditions and stay where they feel comfortable. I do not believe that this is not a time for Christianity to be comfortable it is a time for Christians to show their principles and to stand up for what they believe in.
There's a common theory about science and religion, that they are incompatible, that science is something that seeks to explain or replicate the impossible and should as a consequence be fought off at all costs. And it's this kind of thinking that grounds theories like those expressed by the Pope (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=822.msg8561#msg8561), calling certain things sins against the creator - now it may be my non Catholic background but that doesn't sit right with me and honestly I taught him better than that. Is it wrong for a doctor to perform an abortion to save the life of the mother? Is that a sin? And what about that couple that can't conceive a child naturally? Is it wrong for them to seek that joy of parenthood through IVF? Christianity is a religion of love and it shouldn't matter how that love is expressed. The Pope should think about the story of the man who lived by the river and the driving force of it.
The world evolves with each new day, each new advance, each new crisis, for those of us with a faith this creates an easily described yet complex situation - we have a religious text that was likely written thousands of years ago and we live in a world that the texts pre-date, in legal terms the text has become antiquated. Our challenge is to do our best to apply our belief to the modern world. But also remember this as the world changes so to do the attitudes of its inhabitants. Take the issue of slavery, hot topic of the day following events in Slava Lavosk (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=838.msg8963#msg8963) and a subsequent Papal response (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=822.msg8967#msg8967), I won't speak to the politics but I'll speak to the morality, there was a time when slavery was tolerated, when it was an accepted practice - the Ardian Empire was built on slavery, the great Pyramids of Abydos were built by slaves, Royal Seleucid enslaved many people for a very long time. Yet over time nation after nation after nation outlawed the practice until we come to where we are today with just Tamora continuing it. So considering this I find myself to an extent in agreement with Bishop Vasic and share the frustration of not having an answer from the Pope a lot sooner. The moral question is simply put - is it right for someone to be considered effectively property? Personally I point my fellow Christians to the gospel of Luke "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free," Think about that is what I tell them to do and then say where the slave fits in there and what is going to happen to them.
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CROWDS MARCH ON ECCLESIASTICAL EMBASSY
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
A weeks in the planning peaceful protest attracted a lot more attention today making the "March for Equality" that had been planned mushroom into something far bigger than anticipated. The march, originally planned in the wake of Papal statements on abortion and IVF some weeks ago, as well as other attitudes viewed as discriminatory, set off from Liberty Plaza and after walking past Liberty Hall and through the centre of Valtheim arrived in Embassy Square where the protesters appear to have taken up residence, in a scene the like of which hasn't been seen since the Northfort protest outside another embassy. A stage was set up in advance of the march arriving and has played host to a few Achkaerinese artists. Naturally there have also been a few surprise guests, most surprisingly perhaps being the consul himself Michael Williams.
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Consul Williams appearing on stage at the protest
The Consul spoke at length to the crowd but perhaps the soundbite that will play for days is this "No one has the right to say that any human life is worth less than any other. No one has the right to demean a human life to that extent. No one has the power to deny people their dignity and their rights. And if anyone thinks differently then we're here for the long haul, come and put up or shut up."
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In related the Minister of Culture, Bonnie Harper (pictured above), was asked about Cardinal Deed's address. Appearing on morning television to talk about Achkaerin's upcoming awards season the Minister was asked what she made of the response to the Cardinal's words saying "The Cardinal's daughter is a colleague so like the other government ministers I know the family so I can say that in this instance the father in him has won out, it's very easy to understand the Cardinal's frustrations and you have to credit him for having the courage to ask the questions that he asked because that's how things move on, it's the way of the world if you don't ask questions you don't get answers and nothing changes."
In terms of awards season the anticipation is rising with the Riviere Prizes, Sports Personality of the Year, Artisan Awards, Harmony's and the Scribe Awards over the next few weeks, the opener as is always the case used to be termed the National Archaeology Awards but is now renamed the Bell Awards after the late Johnathon Bell.
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ATTORNEY GENERAL CAUTIONS ROKKENJIMA AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE OVER HIGH FELL
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By: Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
The Attorney General, Samuel White, has cautioned Rokkenjima and Ecclesiastical State following their responses to the declaration of the 'High Fell Principality' by the PLA terrorist group. In a rare speech to the Senate the Attorney General stated the following:
"I'm not a Senator so I will not speak to the politics but at the Speakers invitation I will speak to the legalities involved.
Firstly let's be clear there is no question at this stage that a state has done anything legally wrong, the Uppsalla Convention in article 1.4 states that national governments have the right to declare war, this is what Ecclesiastical State has done and insofar as that goes it is fine. The PLA is a terrorist group and under article 1.5 'National governments have the right to take proportional action against groups described as Terrorists' and this is where I must sound the note of caution in respect of both Ecclesiastical State and Rokkenjima, because they may find themselves running afoul of the wording of this article. Proportional action in a legal context here means using only as much force as is required to get the job done, According to estimates the PLA has less than 500 members, so is a carrier group deployment proportional? Depends on what they end up doing once in the area. A declaration of war conjures up imagery such as thousands of men and women going off to battle, ships sailing over the horizon and squadrons of planes in the sky it implies an undertaking of thousands upon thousands of people, is that a proportional response given what we know of the PLA? Most likely not, most likely it is closer to a disproportionate response and the responses of both nations are also a little more questionable in this regard when we consider that Bakkermaya has enough military capability to handle the situation as it presently stands. I suggest both Rokkenjima and Ecclesiastical State review their responses to this before we potentially have the most absurd Uppsalla Convention breaches we've ever seen.
Moving onto the matter of referendum's the High Fell situation does not presently warrant a referendum, it cannot presently be supported by anyone unless they wish to say that a terrorist organisation can claim land and by virtue of that claim alone force the landowner to have a referendum on the sovereignty of the said land, I can almost picture the gleeful look on Kyle Barren's face at that thought. At the present moment Emperor Benson has not stated that his nation has a sovereignty claim over the territory, therefore no dispute exists at this time and bandying around the word referendum is unhelpful to the situation at hand."
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TIMOTHY WILLOWS TALKS CWF
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
Timothy Willows, the managing director of the Child Welfare Fund has outlined his initial goals for the charity. Speaking to a varied audience of business leaders, teachers and health professionals Mr Willows stated "My aim is to help provide a world safe for children, there are a lot of them out there that feel vulnerable and there are a lot of them out there at risk as we who work in this area say. They need safe shelter, they need access to clean water and food, they need access to an education. A great number of humanitarian operations over recent times have in some ways covered elements of what we hope to achieve, if you look right now at Lakhzovia for instance we see a great number of displaced people in what was until what seems only hours ago a war zone, we also know there's been historically speaking people trafficking in Zimalia including children and we know the horror stories thereof. The simple truth is that children have a right to grow up in a world without fear of harm, as the CWF sis now operational this is what we will commit ourselves to. There is of course some overlap with currently existing organisations that we will be looking at and hoping to take advantage of. I personally am looking forward to meeting with the leaders of those organisations to see how we may be able to work together."
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"MIRACLE" MILLIE TAKES BRONZE AT GAMES
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Day Ten of the Mundus Games and as medal tallies continue to mount the table begins to slip into sharp focus. Presently Achkaerin sit second in the table behind Lodja, there have been several surprising moments over the course of the games, the Nemerie fencing display was much stronger than anyone anticipated, the Lodjan's were brilliant in the swimming pool and the Tamoran's shot really well. Achkaerin hadn't had that shock moment but today they got it courtesy of Millie Neal (pictured above) in the womens mixed martial arts as she won bronze by defeating her Bakkermayan opponent. A kickboxer at heart Millie trains out of a regular boxing gym in Meridian, due to the nature of MMA as more of a fringe sport. She won her bronze medal bout in the third of three rounds by knockout stopping the clock with forty five seconds left and thus avoiding a judges decision that would have occured at the end of that round. Speaking afterwards Millie said "I don't think it's really sunk in yet, for years I've been training in that boxing gym back home being called the 'weird girl' because I'm throwing kicks when everyone else in there's throwing punches and it's just great to see it all pay off."
In related news there's a rumour going round that the status of mixed martial arts as a 'fringe sport' may be a few days away from changing, more on that as we get it.
However back to the Games and a preview of the much anticipated eleventh day of competition, why is it much anticipated? Daisy Greechan, Sophie Harrison-Ironside and Sammy Lawson all in action. First up Sophie in the womens cross country an event she's taken silver in before both on an individual and team level and then as Daisy Greechan bids to make it fifteen medals to her name in the women's 10K open water swim Sammy Lawson will go for her twelfth medal in the women's time trial cycling. For anyone following the so called battle for the GOAT it's a big day because by the end of it we'll know the scale of the challenge in front of Sammy Lawson as Daisy's event is her last in this years games so whatever happens she will either be on fourteen or fifteen medals, Sammy can finish day eleven on twelve medals and with the velodrome program still to come the difference between four medals and five (assuming Greechan medals) to be the outright most decorated medalist what some are calling the 'greatest of all time' cannot be overstated.
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EMPEROR ON IWI SITUATION
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Following the execution by the Commonwealth of Unified Iwi of Imran Gamal, a former Seleucid Military Officer, who during the Seleucid occupation ran a biological and chemical weapons research centre at the Watkins Bay Camp Emperor Peter has spoken about the execution and the responses of the international community stating:
Sadly despite being an adopted member of the Ngāti Paoa Iwi I know very little of the nitty gritty details of how their legal system works though something tells me I'm going to be reading up on it a lot more. However as I understand it their legal system is focused around the idea of the punishment fitting the crime rather than having a set punishment for offences, for example in Achkaerin someone who commits rape is going to prison for a long time, I don't know what the punishment in the Iwi would be but I don't imagine the custody tariff is the approach they use. The point is that this is different to the norm and this is why I'm a little disappointed in the Empress of Rokkenjima this is a woman who claims that we must learn about why the general international path in regards to the abolition of slavery didn't happen in Tamora before taking any action, yet now in relation to the Iwi she doesn't afford the same courtesy? If she's prepared to take the time to understand why slavery persists in complete contrast to the international norm then she owes it to the Iwi to take the same amount of time to understand how their legal system works as it is also in contrast to the international norm.
The Iwi, like anyone else, have the right to seek justice for the wrongs done to them, I may not like their methods of executing people but my personal dislike for such methods without clear proof of illegality in this instance on the part of the Iwi is not enough for me to warrant action being taken against them at this point in time this is what is presently under consideration by our legal experts led by the Attorney General. If someone can provide me with a legal argument of where and how the Iwi have behaved improperly I will review that position.
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CROWN PRINCESSES RECOVERY "GOING WELL SO FAR"
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal Family Correspondent
Crown Princess Serenity's recovery has been reported as "Going well so far" by Royal Physician Doctor Maddy Dale. In a statement released by the Marble Palace Doctor Dale explained that the Crown Princess had been fitted with her prosthetic leg and was getting used to walking on it and living with it, the statement also included a personal thank you from the Crown Princess to the staff at the East Moreland hospital where she received treatment in the aftermath of her injury. In an aside the Crown Princess was seen (as pictured above) relaxing in the grounds of Highwick Manor, a former Royal Residence of East Moreland, which has seemingly now confirmed that the Emperor did in fact buy Highwick when it came on the market. It's not yet known what the Crown Princess will do next in her recovery but we will keep you updated on this story.
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SAMMY LAWSON GOES TO TWELVE AND AIMS FOR MORE
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Cyclist Sammy Lawson has won her twelfth Mundus Games medal with victory in the women's time trial where she beat team mates Jacqueline Armitage and Katy Primrose to secure the gold and a clean sweep of the medals for the Achkaerinese team. It was billed as a big day in the Games with a lot of action going on elsewhere, early in the day East Moreland's Sophie Harrison-Ironside won silver in the women's cross country behind Achkaerin's very own Britney Hammond and then while Sammy was out on the road cycling the other contender in the so called 'GOAT equation' Daisy Greechan was winning her fifteenth Mundus Games medal in the open water event. As we highlighted in an earlier report this means that Sammy now knows the target she has to aim at if she wants to walk away from the Games as the most decorated medallist. Speaking afterwards Sammy said "It's amazing what the pressure can do in terms of the games it plays on your mind because there's this moment on the course where you come round this sweeping curve and onto an open section of road that runs alongside where the open water was taking place and there's a temptation to glance over to see what's going on there. My mind's on the velodrome program now I've got more chances to medal and I'm going to do my best to get more medals."
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FOOTBALLERS SEND ACHKAERIN TOP OF THE TABLE
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin have gone top of the medal table at the Mundus Games thanks to double gold in the football on day twelve. The men's team led by coach Dame Julia McCabe and captain Robert Kinnay faced off against San Espinosa in their gold medal match, a game they dominated from the first whistle with their pass and move play style. The goals started coming in the twentieth minutes when striker Danni Leonidas headed home from a Rory Doherty cross, the second came on the stroke of half time thanks to a Cesc Santiago free kick. After the break it was the turn of the youngster Age Lied (pictured above) to strut his stuff as he netted a brace, the first with a crisp volley from eighteen yards and the second a poachers goal from six yards. The rout was completed five minutes from time as captain Kinnay got in on the fact with a half volley from twenty five yards smashing into the top corner. Speaking afterwards Julia McCabe said "That was a great match and a great performance that the lads put in, we knew we were favourites and we knew if we played the way we know we can play and executed our game plan that this was ours. And that's what we did, roll on the World Cup in a few months."
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And what of the women? Well the Vixens didn't have it all their own way in their match against Lodja, trailing one nil and later two one they had super sub Amy Bell to thank for turning the game around. Trailing to an early Lodja goal they seemed to have gotten out of jail through an equalizer from captain Ruth Kinnay (sister of the mens team captain) but when a goal early in the second half went against them the Vixen's faced trouble, an injection of fresh legs in the form of Amy Bell prompted a moment of magic from a Tori Silva free kick to bring Achkaerin level and in injury time it was Bell who seized the moment to slot home the winner, cue much jubilation on the Achkaerin bench but there was no question that they'd been in a tough contest as coach Tom Morrisey said afterwards "I feel the person playing monopoly who draws the get out of jail card. We got rocked by that early goal and never really got our stride until the last twenty minutes, Lodja played a great game out there not giving us space, pressing us high they should be very proud of what they did tonight and the girls pushed on, kept grinding away, kept trying hard and they got that last chance and Amy stuck it in."
The women's gold medal is the first title that Morrisey has won as the teams coach.
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EMPEROR'S NIECE UNIMPRESSED BY ROKKENJIMA
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Sakura Sheppard, niece of the Emperor, has spoken out following Empress Beatrice of Rokkenjima (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=8.msg9295#msg9295) in which the Empress spoke about the situation around the Iwi and then called the international community on a supposed "double standard." giving an interview in which she talked about several things she was asked about the situation around the Iwi on which she said:
"Let's get this absolutely clear Rokkenjima has the right to object to what it views as morally wrong, Rokkenjima has the right to withdraw offers if it so wishes, the Iwi have the right under their laws to execute those people convicted of crimes in a manner determined by their law which is that the punishment fits the crime, they'd also have this right if they were a signatory state of the MCUR. So it's hard to see what concerns Rokkenjima has unless their questioning the right to fair trial something that would require looking at if that's the case, so we now have in Rokkenjima a nation that decides to take steps against the Iwi when human rights are allegedly infringed yet when they are blatantly denied they do nothing, where was this outcry from Rokkenjima when the Lakhzovian Government had members of the Utman community executed without a trial? Oh that's right they were cuddling up to Lakhzovia.
And then it gets even more confusing when we see Rokkenjima's latest press releases (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=174.msg9300#msg9300) in which it is stated firstly that 'the First Empire shall not deny the right of the Iwi state to seek and enact justice.' and then goes on to say 'The First Empire supports the proposal put forth by Lodjan Envoy to the Ardians for the Kingdom of East Moreland to have oversight of court cases tied to the genocide' these two points are surely incompatible - when you say that you will not deny the right to seek and enact justice you are saying that the Iwi has the right to request nations extradite the people responsible for the genocide to the Iwi, you are also saying that the Iwi then have the right to enact their justice which means trial in an Iwi court under Iwi law with the sentences handed down being those prescribed by Iwi law. So to say that and to then follow it up with support for a measure which would obstruct the Iwi's right to seek and enact justice is frankly mind boggling. You don't take the right of the Iwi to deal with it themselves away from them, that's foolish and presently uncalled for, what you do is take steps to satisfy yourself that the process is fair and if it's discovered that this is a 'kangaroo court' as suggested by Royal Seleucid then take the steps concerning oversight but don't unnecessarily rob the Iwi of the right to have the accused in their courts.
The Empress also touched on the Bene Gesserit, it's worth remembering the following - the Bene Gesserit are only regarded as a terrorist organisation by three nations specifically Kaitaine, East Moreland and Rokkenjima. The remainder of the international community take a different view, they don't view the Bene Gesserit as a terrorist entity, Achkaerin doesn't because we believe that it is a very dangerous thing to say with many dangerous implications. Consider this Anna La Montagne leader of the Sorority of Materna is a follower of the Church of Materna, if we were to then say that all members of the Church of Materna were terrorists we would actually accuse Alys Arsenault of being a terrorist when she has no connection to any terrorist act, she is arguably a victim of terrorism at the hands of the Sorority. Instead the majority view of the International community is that the terrorist acts come from a small group within that faith that we differentiate from the faith.
Finally let's talk slavery what have we got? We've got partisan interpretations and projection of the same circumstances, if something's going to happen there then it's got to be following an objective look at the situation and that means it's going to take time to figure out. As for slavery itself it's not an acceptable practice and it has no place on Mundus. It's interesting that what we now have is a situation where we have King Lapu of Quintelia, a man whose signature is on the MCUR, engaging in the slave trade which is unacceptable and we also have Patricus Bateson engaged in the slave trade on Rokkenjiman soil within the jurisdiction of the MCUR. So if Rokkenjima is serious, if Empress Beatrice is serious about doing away with this 'double standard' then she will have no problems with Mr Bateson being prosecuted for violation of the MCUR will she?"
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SAMMY LEADS THE WAY ON SUPER SATURDAY
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Sammy Lawson after her elimination race victory
By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Seven golds, five silvers and five bronzes. That's the medal haul for Achkaerin's athletes on day fifteen of the games or as it's being dubbed 'Super Saturday' and what a day it was. First up the three day eventing reached its climax with Royal Seleucid in pole position for gold and Achkaerin sat in silver medal position after the cross country stage, the quartet of Jensen Hoover, Harper Pace, Cecelia Becker and Charlie Smith somehow managed to steal the gold medal from under the Seleucid's nose, not bad for a hastily put together quartet. In the main stadium it was the turn of the field events and the medals kept coming a silver in the discus for Ellie Baker, the javelin double as Ryder Whitley and Jenny Wilson took the golds respectively in the mens and womens events, a bronze for Callie Holt in the womens long jump and another bronze for Alma Blackburn in the women's triple jump capped an impressive display by the track athletes.
In the gymnastics it was a special moment for Abigail Snowden, Achkaerin's best known female gymnast in her final Mundus Games, it hadn't been the Games she'd wanted but today she got her moment winning the Individual All Around competition, with strong and consistent performances across the four pieces of apparatus she took control of the competition and secured the gold medal. A great way to end her career as an athlete, though many suspect she'll go into coaching the next generation of gymnasts now, after receiving her medal she gave her reaction saying "I knew coming in that this was it, my last day, my last competition I decided I was going to throw everything I had at it and that I wouldn't be satisfied if I didn't give everything. Last year was a miracle for me doing the clean sweep at the Games, this year bit more grounded, I wasn't expecting a repeat but I wanted at least one Gold to finish with and I'm happy it's this one."
However all of that just set the scene for Achkaerin's cyclists and the medals came thick and fast in the velodrome gold for Mark Kaymer in the men's Keirin while in the womens version Lucy Fernley picked up the silver, a bronze for Kevin Gibbs in the mens flying lap, Lee Barry grabbed another bronze in the mens scratch race, David Foster won silver in the mens elimination race and there was a silver for the womens Madison pairing of sisters Caitlin and Niamh Fernley.
But just when the Achkaerinese team thought it couldn't get any better it did courtesy of Sammy Lawson, Achkaerin's most decorated athlete won a bronze in the womens flying lap, a silver in the womens one kilometre time trial and then took the gold in the womens scratch race to take her medal tally to fifteen equalling that of East Moreland's Daisy Greechan and then Sammy lined up for the womens elimination race, a medal in this and she'd be the outright most decorated medallist in the Games history, could she do it at the first time of asking or would she have to wait for the omnium? Yes she could first time and she did it in style taking another gold and saluting the crowd. Speaking afterwards Sammy said "I don't think this is ever going to sink in, I spent the whole day trying not to think about it but you just can't as I got each medal I was at the back of my mind tallying it up at the end of the scratch race I was thinking 'no way' and then when I crossed the line at the end of the elimination race it hit me sixteen medals. But I'm not saying that makes me the greatest it only means I've got more medals than anyone else something I'm sure Sophie will have something to say about come the Winter Games if she competes because this is where I'm in agreement with Daisy she's a swimmer and I'm a cyclist, Sophie's a skater on the ice and a runner on road, track and the hills she's won medals at the summer and winter games if anyone's the GOAT it's her."
We did ask Achkaerin's Chef de Mission, Princess Esme Azurewind, to talk about the day's success however due to a party developing at the Achkaerin teams accommodation all we could get was "A great day for us and a job well done by all our athletes bring on tomorrow."
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TEAM ACHKAERIN SET SIGHTS ON RECORD
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
With just two days of competition left Team Achkaerin sit at the top of the Mundus Games medal table and now have a record medal haul firmly in their sights, their present record of one hundred and nine medals was achieved at last years games and with two days to go in this years competition Achkaerin have one hundred medals exactly, the latest batch coming from the athletics track. Samaan Saacid (pictured above) took silver in the mens 5000m and then won gold in a tense mens 10,000m race leaving Achkaerin on ninety nine medals. With no medals coming in the baseball where both Achkaerin's men and women missed out on bronze attention turned to the steeplechase in the athletics.
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Enter Britney Hammond, with two gold medals to her name from the cross country earlier in the games, and a missed opportunity in the womens 5000m earlier in the evening she was on a mission to add to her medal tally, she ran a solid race but a slight misjudgement on one of the jumps left her chasing her Seaforthian competitor and though she did rapidly close the gap on the final lap she ran out of distance and had to settle for the silver medal.
Speaking after the conclusion of the evening's athletics Achkaerin's chef de mission Princess Esme Azurewind said "We're in good stead and we're going to try and get our record medal tally, we've got strong athletes and a fair few medal contenders to come. Even if we don't manage it this has been the most competitive Mundus Games we've ever seen, with many nations who've never competed before making their mark and surprising a lot of us. They've given the fans who've come out to support them their best and that's all any of us can ask."
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RIVIERE CEO RAISES EYEBROWS AT DRAGONAII FUSION REACTOR
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Riviere Corporation CEO Catriona Rowan
By Kimberley Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Rivere Corporation's CEO Catriona Rowan has raised a skeptical eyebrow at reports out of the Chinese Republic (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1111.msg9750#msg9750) about nuclear fusion energy. Speaking after giving a speech to the Artaxia University students union Ms Rowan explained her skeptism saying "Nuclear fusion and the capability to use it as an energy source is very much a holy grail when it comes to research and development. As far as I am aware there are several nations conducting research into this, our own endeavours into it having been ongoing for thirty plus years and we're still in the early days of experimentation on plasma and we're not expecting to be in a position where we're ready to begin deuterium–tritium fusion experiments for a few years yet. And we're only just beginning the design discussions on the demonstration station should our experiments prove successful. And this is where I find myself a bit skeptical about what I read, obviously I don't know much about the ITI project except for what I've read but I find the idea that by 2020 they'll be in a position to use fusion as a sustainable form of energy a little bit odd and potentially quite dangerous when one considers the relative progress of other international research efforts in this area not to mention the costs in both money and time of then constructing the required reactors to power a nation, if they manage it fair play to them but I'll believe it when I see it."
Ms Rowan is believed to be heading to East Moreland's Technology City ahead of the CNN's Showcase in the next few days though it is not yet known if Riviere Corporation will exhibit anything at the event.
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SUNSEEKER LEAVES PORTWORTH FOR ROUND THE WORLD TRIP
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By Kimberley Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
After much anticipation the Sunseeker voyage is underway. Departing from Portworth at 10am this morning she entered the Mhorish Sea heading for the Horn of Ardia, the vessel under the control of noted and record holding young sailor Eleanor Hendry is completely powered by solar energy relying on solar cells and panels for the power to drive the ship across the seas of Mundus. The differences between this voyage and the last time Ms Hendry sailed around Mundus have called for a much different route on this occasion as outlined below:
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The route as indicated by the differing coloured lines is split into several legs, the Sunseeker after departing Portworth in East Moreland heads for the Horn of Ardia and Bakkermaya and that tends to become the theme of the first section of this trip as the planned route sees the Sunseeker travel south through the Alucard using Bakkermayan and Lodjan islands as waypoints once the Lodjan Island of Queen's is reached it's a long leg around the south of Albion to Ecclesiastical State and then up to Marseilles. A short hop across the Strait of Shaw takes the Sunseeker to Rokkenjima and then the long run out to the Iwi is followed by another long run to Kaedwen, the journey ends with two short legs by comparison first from Kaedwen to Sirinisi and then finally back across the Mhorish to East Moreland finishing where it started in Portworth.
And what of Eleanor Hendry herself? Well the night before her departure she gave her thoughts saying: "I always feel at home out on the ocean and I love trying new things out there, to take a ship around Mundus powered solely by solar power is my kind of challenge, of course this isn't a speed run it's a technology test and I've got a huge team behind me monitoring this every step of the way. The funny thing is that the trip might give me a chance to finally see my brothers Thomas and Liam play rugby internationally in the World Cup and I really hope I get that chance this year. When I leave tomorrow it's all about calm seas early doors to get some distance under the belt quickly and clear skies overhead to build up the energy and hopefully come Festival of Sail next year the Sunseeker will be sailing back into Portworth.
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"WEATHER THE BEST POLICEMAN" - RECORD DRUG'S RAID
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
Santiago Police have arrested three men in what is believed to be a record drugs haul and it's all apparently come from a uniformed officers hunch over the weather. Police Constable Paul Granger was out on patrol when he observed that in a neighbourhood of houses covered in snow there was one house that didn't have snow on its roof, upon closer inspection the constable also noticed that the upstairs windows were covered up from the inside. A raid in the early hours of the morning resulted in three arrests and the seizure of drugs consisting primarily of cannabis but the presence of cocaine, crystal meth and heroin has been confirmed. Speaking after the arrests the chief of Santiago Police Vicky Shearney said "Arrests like this don't happen often because the circumstances are highly unusual and this one only really happened because the climate Achkaerin has means we get eight months of snow a year and the inquisitive nature of a constable led him to believe that something didn't add up. The one thing we take away from this is fairly simple - whether it's the rain quelling rioters or the snow giving up drug suppliers the weather really is the best policeman."
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RIVIERE DEVELOPS CRYSTAL STORAGE DISC
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By Kimberley Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Data storage crystals might sound like something out of science fiction but it's reality. Rivere Corporation have announced they've finished the development of what's been called in some circles a "memory crystal." in simple terms the crystal is a nanostructured glass disc using the femtosecond laser writing process with the purpose of permanently recording 5-D digital data. The crystals which are manufactured as discs are capable of storing up to 360 terrabytes each and will last for billions of years. Riviere CEO Catriona Rowan spoke following the annoucement saying "This is the sort of thing we all get into this business for, to do something new, to do something that you hope will be looked back at years later as a moment where something changed. Data storage has been something interesting for a while if you look at computer games and the consoles they're played on we have games that take up 50 gigabytes each on a console hardrive of a single terrabyte, that works out to twenty games on a single drive in that situation, replace that hardrive with one of these crystals and you get the storage capacity for up to 7200 50 gigabyte games. But we're a fair way off from this sort of method being used to store gaming data and the like because there are things yet to be ironed out in that regard, but from the preservation point of view this is a huge step forwards."
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ACHKAERIN ON RUGBY WORLD CUP HUNT
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
It's almost time for the Rugby World Cup, and as the teams begin to make their way to this years tournament being held in the Alucard territories of Paracambi, Lodja and Bakkermaya it's that moment when the various coach's of the teams assess their chances. Following David Nightingale's departure as head coach of Achkaerin's national team to take up his new position as head of development at Achkaerin Rugby this years tournament sees Rayne Churchill take charge of the national side in her first major tournament, speaking to Achkaerin Sports Miss Churchill said "I'm looking forward to the challenge and the experience, I'd like us to go deep into the tournament and I'd love us to win it but that's not going to be easy by any means. What's important for me is that we continue to build and develop our own style of playing rugby, if we can do that then we have a chance of winning the world cup it may not come this year but one day it hopefully will."
In other news:
- The Achkaerin Air Force has confirmed it will purchase twenty Night Fury aircraft to comprise a single squadron of that type of aircraft while awaiting AADC reports on future developments
- Achkaerin University of Arts and Culture has announced it has named five new colleges after internationally significant figures, inviting their relatives to open the colleges.
- Princess Esme Azurewind is reportedly meeting with the Achkaerin Boxing Association the reason is as yet unknown.
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SENATE DEBATES NEW CSU TREATY
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Ĺosa Càidh, Secretary General of the CSU pictured during her address
By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Senate is set to adopt the redraft of the Treaty on the Cross-Straits Union. The Treaty redraft comes following a year of consultation in both Achkaerin and Rokkenjima, the two member states of the Union. In an interesting development it was the Secretary General of the CSU Ĺosa Càidh who opened the debate in the Senate with the following statement:
"Mr Speaker, Honourable Senators it is a privilege to be able to address you today to explain the redraft before you and to answer any questions you may have while my colleague the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs does likewise at the Imperial Diet in Rokkenjima. Before I begin the explanation I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated in the year long consultation that we have run and express the CSU's special gratitude to Marqueeza Olivia Leonidas for coordinating the Achkaerinese part of the process.
In 2016 the Kingdom of Dartfordia voted to leave the Cross-Straits Union, there were many reasons for this and I won't go into detail of them because that is not the point, suffice to say that the reasons clearly identified a need for the CSU to take steps to address the issues identified as reasons for what has since become known as Darxit. The same year saw the scandal of a CSU member being able to circumvent the established procedures of the organisation to use CSU funding to support a state that perpetrated a genocide, this echoed the Dartfordian referendum result there was a need for changes to be made. A week ago we made available to the lawmakers of both member states the relevant consultation documents, legal advice and Treaty copies as well as assessments undertaken by NGO's. Today my responsibility is to explain the changes which I will do so to the best of my ability.
Beginning with how the CSU is structured there is a significant change with the abolition of the Cross-Straits Parliament. A decision taken because maintaining the Parliament was to put it bluntly impractical and impossible, firstly the seat allocation was determined based on a nations population as a proportion of the Union's total population so essentially if the Parliament had a hundred seats in it and Rokkenjima comprised 75% of the Union's population then Rokkenjima would hold seventy five seats in the Parliament. This was found to be flawed for two main reasons firstly it was unjustly biased in favour of nations with larger populations effectively forcing smaller nations into the position of not being able to pass legislation through the Parliament while handing larger nations an effective veto and secondly by being dependent on the total population of the Union the seat allocation would be re-balanced with the accession of each new member state therefore the Cross-Straits Parliament would be forced into having elections each time a new member state joined the Union, a state of affairs that would not have been sustainable. The abolition of the Cross-Straits Parliament sees the Cross-Straits Council inherit more responsibility as the legislative body of the CSU represented by five delegates per member state, the Cross-Straits Secretariat remains in the same way as the Civil Service at the CTO an administrative body responsible for the day to day running of the organisation, the Cross-Straits Court of Justice and Council of Head of States remain unchanged in role as the judicial and oversight bodies respectively.
Trade remains the backbone and sure foundation of the CSU, this is now based on the foundation of a Free Trade Area as opposed to what has for so long been the status quo, it is a trading position intended to support the member states rather than be domineering and dictatorial. This is not the CSU way or the high way, this is an agreement between member states on how they trade with each other while permitting them the right to determine how they trade with nations outside the Free Trade Area, however as is right and proper the Cross-Straits Secretariat will retain the responsibility of negotiating trade agreements between nations and the CSU as a whole such as the existing agreement between the CSU and East Moreland but as is also right and proper any negotiated agreement of that sort would need to be approved by the Cross-Straits Council.
The theme of supporting member states continues with the Fisheries policy, this has for a long time been uncomfortable and unpopular with citizens of member states. Therefore we enshrine in this treaty the rights of the state to hold sovereignty over their own waters as outlined by and detailed in the Fair Seas Concordat. We provide for a licensing scheme to enable with regulations the fishing of states in another's waters while not limiting the capability of native fishermen to fish within their native waters. This is a compromise article but it does in the opinion of the Secretariat grant states sovereignty over their own waters and control over who comes in and out of them.
Travel remains largely unchanged, in that we ensure that the means of travel and the right to travel are qualified by criminal record checks and purpose. The environmental policies of the Union are also largely unchanged in that only respect for the spirit of the Treaty for the Protection of Hygelac and Hrothgaer is added.
The Treaty also enshrines three funds accessible by members, the Cross-Straits Arts Fund, the Cross-Straits Social and Entrepreneur Fund and the Cross-Straits Science Fund, each with clearly defined process's and requirements for access. The science position of the Union also requires respecting the spirit of the Outer Space Standards Convention.
Finally Mr Speaker the final major change to the Treaty sees the stating of several education commitments including the agreement to teach life skills, the safeguarding of children, the establishment of an annual youth conference and the establishment of student exchange programs between member states. Some of these are already in existence between members but now we build on them. And that is the theme of this Treaty to ensure a stable and manageable relationship between member states that is ultimately a foundation to build upon in the future without tying the hands of members beyond what's fair given the nature of the relationship. The proposed Treaty represents the addressing of raised concerns, the understanding of what a suitable foundation is and ultimately the reclamation of the Union's identity from the shadows and ghosts of the recent past."
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CONSUL WILLIAMS ADDRESSES SENATE ON FMN REPORT
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Following reports in the Free Mundus Network (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=214.msg10150#msg10150) alleging that the Kingdom of East Moreland carried out a series of operations across Mundus eliminating rogue elements within the Anausa, the now disgraced branch of Rokkenjiman intelligence, Consul Williams called for an emergency debate in the Senate in light of the revelations and subsequent East Moreland rebuttal. The Consul addressed the Senate as follows:
"Mr Speaker I am grateful that we are having this debate today especially given the circumstances. The last few hours have seen what can only be described as a revelation the full extent of which carries implications that reach far and wide, it is once more indicative of an ethos within Rokkenjima that despite numerous failures for inexplicable reasons persists. The question Mr Speaker is this when will the lesson be learned? We have an allegation being leveled at East Moreland that they have killed several rogue Anausa agents in contravention of international norms and accords in this manner.
Investigations carried out into the allegation turned up several names of deceased Rokkenjiman's who were killed abroad out of respect to the families we won't name names at this time but the tally is as follows, two killed in Zimalia, one killed in Ecclesiastical State, another victim killed in Lodja, one in Quintelia, one in East Moreland and one in Somerset. Mr Speaker we then approached the team undertaking the review of the Anausa and asked them to cross reference the names of the deceased against the list of Anausa agents and I can confirm to the Senate that all the victims were on the list of Anausa agents. Mr Speaker this does ring strongly of a coordinated campaign against the Anausa being perpetrated on foreign soil. By East Moreland? There is no evidence of East Moreland involvement, however it is clear that these deaths are linked together and only one party on Mundus would appear to have motive and that is Rokkenjima itself and their silence on this speaks volumes.
Furthermore Mr Speaker, and this is related to this issue, a few months ago the then Premier Abe attributed the Northfort incident to the Truthsayers (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=8.msg5593#msg5593), a statement upon which Rokkenjima's present position in regards to the Bene Gesserit is founded and it is quite likely to be a blatant falsehood. Mr Speaker this raises serious questions concerning Rokkenjima and policy thereof and in the coming days these need to be answered. This is not a world where conduct such as this is acceptable. If the former Premier lied then he must be held accoutable for that, just as anyone involved in the deaths will eventually have to answer for it."
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SENATE CONCLUDES FORMAL BUSINESS AHEAD OF FINAL DAY
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
Usually the last day of Senate business before the Adjournment Statement is a day full of procedural motions in a relaxed atmosphere however today's business was a little different as it continued to be dominated by the fallout from a Free Mundus Network story concerning the alleged deaths of Rokkenjiman intelligence operatives abroad, the Rokkenjima response (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=174.msg10168#msg10168) to the story was issued earlier in the day but it didn't appear to go down well with Senators with several senior members from all parties stating that the response was essentially not worth the paper it was written on. The Leader of the Senate, Elena Brooke, who normally outlines the business of the Senate each week and future business explained what the Government's approach moving forwards would be stating:
"Mr Speaker, forty eight hours ago the Free Mundus Network broke a story alleging East Moreland operatives had assassinated rogue elements of the Anausa. East Moreland's Intelligence Service denies this and quite correctly points out that there is at the present time no evidence linking them to any such crimes. Today Mr Speaker the Rokkenjiman's issued their response and this government finds it wanting. Yesterday Mr Speaker Consul Williams stood at the dispatch box and outlined with great clarity and accuracy several important points, that these deaths had happened, that the victims were all Anausa operatives, that Rokkenjima had motive to want them dead and that the former Premier of Rokkenjima Mr Abe had apparently lied to the world in attributing the death of one of these operatives to a Truthsayer attack. None of these very serious points were addressed by the Rokkenjiman press release instead we see a promise of an investigation which given that Rokkenjima has the clearest possible motive for wanting these people dead is a frankly ludicrous exercise.
Therefore under the provisions of section 46 of the Senate Committee's Act, the Government shall establish what we have termed the Rokkenjima Committee to look into this matter, the Committee Chair will be chosen as per our rules and regulations and the members of the Committee subsequently appointed by the chair. It is our intention that the Committee will begin hearing reports in January."
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"BELIEVE" THE BUZZWORD AFTER FOX'S BIG NIGHT
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Say it softly but there's something going on with the Achkaerin rugby team at this years World Cup the Fox's, who despite their world ranking and tournament seeding, are only seen as outsiders for the title enjoyed a huge win over expected contenders Vaguzia at the King Paul Arena winning by a margin of fifty two points to zero the game was a flowing one and a fully professional and sensible performance saw Achkaerin secure a morale boosting victory and a bonus point. The team selection saw a continuation of head coach Rayne Churchill's preference for youth over experience and a first time pairing of brothers Liam and Thomas Hendry as scrum half and fly half respectively and boy did it reap rewards as the Achkaerin team pulled one of their usual bogey teams apart running in seven tries and kicking three penalties. The Hendry brothers were watched by their sister Eleanor who managed to time her round the world sailing venture to perfection in order to attend.
Speaking after the game head coach Rayne Churchill said "I don't believe what I just saw, normally against the likes of Vaguzia and the other more seasoned Rugby nations we come unstuck but tonight from the first whistle we were in control, we passed the ball well, we kicked it well, our game management was excellent and we showed the killer instinct we sometimes fail to by taking our chances when they came. All I can say is more of the same in the next game please."
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EMPEROR DELIVERS CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal Family Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Royal Family have celebrated Christmas, or rather Trinity Day the Namian festival that bears similarities to Christmas, in their usual fashion the Snowflake concert on Christmas Eve organised by Her Ladyship Renee Azurewind and featuring several lesser known groups this year, the day itself saw the Royal Family as is tradition work from mid morning to early afternoon at Empress Djana's Children's hospital running the lunch service for the children - highlights reportedly included entertainment from the Emperor's niece Sakura Sheppard on her violin, the four grandchildren dressed as elves and a special appearance from the Emperor dressed as Father Christmas. After that it was back to the Marble Palace for their own Christmas meal and of course the broadcast of the Emperor's Christmas message, recorded on Christmas Eve, the message is one where the Emperor essentially delivers the equivalent of a family letter to the people of Achkaerin and also looks forward to the coming year, the full message is below.
Good afternoon,
Every year at this time as a nation we all find reason to celebrate one thing or another, the majority of my family like the majority of the nation mark Trinity Day the celebration of the birth of our three Goddess's Namis, Kisara and Xiaoyu others such as my niece Ashleigh celebrate the birth of a baby who according to their belief was the saviour of the world and those of other faiths have their festivals and customs as well, it's a very happy and inclusive time of year.
Inclusivity has been one of the big themes of the year, the amendments made to the Mundus Convention of Universal Rights are a great example of this as such the amendments made now allow far greater protections for people and are appropriately worded so as to increase the potential number of signatory states. The content signed up to in this document is however more than just principles, they are a series of obligations that spell out what every person on Mundus is entitled to and that is something that must be stood by and will be stood by. Historically we've seen what happens when people walk a path contrary to such implied freedoms as these, and while they bring decisions that we may not wish to have made they are freedoms that must be absolutely and resolutely defended.
This festive period marks the first time for two years that Achkaerinese forces have not been in an active conflict zone somewhere on Mundus. It is a welcome change for a great many families in this nation that those we ask to make such great sacrifices are not having to make them today. I was proud many years ago to serve in the Achkaerin Navy and I am proud of the work that the Achkaerin armed forces have done across Mundus in recent times in support of allies, when necessary on their own but always true to their code. Earlier this year at my sixteenth Covenant Address I announced the decommissioning of Achkaerin's nuclear arsenal since then it has become evident that by 2030 we will have a nuclear weapon free Mundus, the most destructive weapons we've ever known will be broken apart and that which made them so powerful put to a much better use. And now I must for a moment turn my thoughts to my own children, both serve in the armed forces and while my son is usually more at risk it was my daughter I nearly lost, an experience which has reminded me of the great work done in caring for those wounded in conflicts. As a father I have since come to be even more proud of her as she adjusts to life following the incident.
Looking forwards I'm hopeful of many joyous occasions, in a few days I will attend two weddings in Lodja as Queen Klara marries. In the coming months we will aim to see new relations forged and existing ones strengthened with nations across Mundus, we will strive for unity and cooperation in the cause of peace.
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KIDS GO TO NUMBER ONE AT CHRISTMAS
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By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
In a surprise twist against tradition this years Christmas Number One has gone not to a big name in Achkaerin, but a smaller name - the One Voice Children's Choir with their song When You Believe (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jAtB_UBWh0), a cover of the song from the film Prince of Abydos[1] the choir drawn from across the nation sings under the tutorlage of Renee Azurewind, who also scoops her first Christmas number one with this song having never achieved it in her singing career. Speaking after the announcement of the choir's success Mrs Azurewind said "This isn't something any of us expected, we're trying to bang the arts drum a bit by doing things with songs, adding new dynamics, having fun, making a film, showing the rest of Mundus the power music has. It's great because we're also days from the premiere of 'Caught in Rhythm' so for us to generate a buzz like this ahead of that is good and hopefully will create footfall at the box office in a few days."
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ACHKAERIN WELCOMES IN NEW YEAR
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By Emma Sullivan: Special News Correspondent
Liberty Square was packed as Achkaerin welcomed in 2019 in traditional style, fireworks, a countdown, more fireworks and of course music. This year the headline music act playing the new year party was Taylor Swift with other performances from Demi Lovato, Imelda May and Aerosmith. The evening's fireworks, set to music as well, were once more the highlight of the evening and the many wishes of 'happy new year'. It's also of course time for new year's resolutions with many of the usual suspects seeming to creep out from within the crowd thoughts such as 'giving up drinking' or 'revising more before exams' being strong themes. The Emperor, who usually attends the event, was represented this year by his niece Sakura due to pressing matters of state however a pre recorded New Years message from the Emperor was shown after the fireworks display heralding the arrival of the new year.
In related news the New Years Honours list has been announced with a sporting theme being evident among the 200 recipients. Sammy Lawson, the cyclist who at the last Mundus Games in Kaitaine became the most decorated athlete in the history of the games is made a Dame, noted swimmer Becky Brittaine is made a member of the Fawn Azurewind Order as are the captain's of the nations football team Robert Kinnay for the men and his sister Ruth Kinnay for the women. Cross Country Runner Britney Hammond is made a member of the Morgana Azurewind order. The majority of the honours have of course gone to normal citizens not in the public eye.
The Ayanami Awards - these being international awards, which are more honorary, have seen few surprises the main headline being that membership of the Anezaki Ayanami order being extended to King David of East Moreland and King Andrew of Seaforth in recognition of their role in the denuclearisation of Mundus. The Grand Duke of Bakkermaya Hugo Lascelles is also extended this honour for his efforts in the cause of Ardian continental cooperation.
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MILITARY GOES ON ALERT FOLLOWING CULTIST INCIDENT
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
Following an Incident in Royal Seleucid that saw three Cult of Helus members of the Protectorate Council killed the Emperor has placed the Achkaerinese Military on it's highest level of readiness. The move sees Achkaerin's position mirror that of East Moreland which is unsurprising given the nations intervention during the Cult of Helus genocide a couple of years ago with many quarters concerned that the potential for a second genocide exists and could materialize if the situation is not addressed. The Emperor is believed to have opened lines of communication with East Moreland on the matter and with an emergency cabinet meeting reportedly underway. The Marble Palace has commented in an official statement saying "We must be capable of responding to such a potentially volatile situation as soon as possible, measures undertaken in the last few moments including the cancelling of leave, the placing of certain troops on standby, the diverting of naval vessels and the convening of the cabinet are in keeping with our standing parameters for circumstances such as these. His Majesty hopes for a peaceful solution to the current situation emerging in the Celtic Protectorate but is equally clear that Achkaerin did not stand by while Cultists were slaughtered last time and if this situation spirals out of control Achkaerin will not be found standing by."
It is reported that a group of four vessels led by the INS Anezaki Ayanami (pictured above) have been moved out of Antares military base while preparations for potential further deployments are underway as the situation progresses.
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON ROKKENJIMA BEGINS HEARINGS
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Senate Committee on Rokkenjima, otherwise known as the Rokkenjima Committee has begun its hearings. The Committee was established following several high profile concerns over events occurring within and associated with Rokkenjima. The chair of the Committee is Senator Leanne Sawyer of the Progressive Party (pictured above), with the other members being Senators Hayes and Potter (Unity Party), Senators Allen and Monroe (Endeavour Party), Senator Cooper (Green Party), Senator Herring (Liberal Party), Saki Ryoko (deputy National Security Advisor) and Eve Acheson (Junior Royal Counsel). Today was nothing but the opening of proceedings and was when Senator Sawyer outlined the remit of the Committee stating:
"The remit of this committee is clearly established as follows, to analyse the implications and impact of recent acts and development carried out by the Rokkenjiman government and her representatives in respect of the status of the relationship between Rokkenjima and Achkaerin with a few to advising the Government on any changes required in that relationship. I will state at the outset that at this point in time our hearings do not include the actions of Patricius Bateson in their scope as he is going to court over an MCUR breach in the next few days and we have no wish to prejudice that case. We will also cover current events as they develop. With that said we shall adjourn until tomorrow morning when our first witness shall be called."
In other government news the Ministry of Defence has confirmed that it is making inquiries into how confidential information was acquired by the Defence Journal publication while the Foreign Office is believed to be concerned over a recent court ruling in Lakhzovia both matters are expected to be mentioned during the respective office question sessions during the week. There has yet to be any official comment on the Rokkenjiman referendum, though it is likely to be debated this week.(https://i.imgur.com/j9hOKAt.png)
FLYING FOX'S GET NEW RECRUIT
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By James Robson: Home News Correspondent
Lieutenant Sally Rivers of the Achkaerin Air Force has become the first woman to join the Flying Fox's, the Achkaerin Air Force's elite aerial display squadron, the Lieutenant has flown a Raptorwing for several years but will now take up the acrobatic challenge of being in the Flying Fox's. Speaking about the achievement Lt Rivers said "It's something I've always wanted to do ever since my early days in the Air Force so to finally get the chance is something that's going to take a while to sink in. I'm looking forward to meeting my new squadron and getting to grips with a different aircraft, it's been a while since I flew a Blackbird trainer so it's going to be a challenge but a fun one."(https://i.imgur.com/puLBDvM.png)
MEGAN'S SILVERHILLS MIRACLE
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Megan Harrison has won the Formula Mundus Drivers Championship for the second time and no one is exactly sure how it happened. She went into the final race in Silverhills with a mathematical chance to win the title but only the slimmest of chances in real terms given the consistency of the Tifosi and Rytol cars over the course of th season there was surely no way Aldous Moses would not score enough points to put an end to her hopes and even if he didn't surely the perennial rival of Sam Halliday would deny her, or at least that was the opinion of most people in the run up to the race while there were mathematically speaking three champions in waiting it was most likely a two horse race between Halliday and Moses for the title and for most of the race that was what it looked like.
But on lap 42 a coming together between Halliday and Moses left the Rytol driver with a stop and go penalty and the Tifosi driver out of the race. The end result was that it all left Megan in second place behind Braxton Hale, she had to pass him and win to take the title which she managed to do down into turn six on lap 52 and with the chequered flag came the cheers from the garage. Unfortunately Braxton Hale's second place was enough to deny Riviere Corporation Racing the Constructors crown but even that minor blip didn't take the shine of a memorable race.
Speaking after the race Megan said "You don't often get days like this, to win a championship you had no real right to win, it's a more special win than the first title I won because this year we didn't have the best car we had to fight a whole lot harder and when we got to our strong part of the season we had enough to get the points. It's going to take a couple of days to stop smiling about this one, but I couldn't have done it without everyone in the pits and Z backing me up and pushing me."
Team Principal Satella Watts reacted with the following: "I'm at a loss for words, we spent most of the race fighting for third with Braxton Hale and trying use Z to shield against Matt Cooke's Rytol, then when we saw the penalty for Halliday we started to believe it was on, when we got Megan past him while he served that penalty we grew in that belief but I don't think I'll ever forget the cheer when she overtook Hale for the lead. Of course someone in my position would rather their team won every race by huge margins as that leaves less room for error but you don't forget moments like this. And the best thing is that the day's not done yet let's see what the Toller Badger's got."
In other sports news the Achkaerin rugby team have made it to the final of the Rugby World Cup where they will face the Iwi, the Fox's go in as huge underdogs but will hope to emulate what the Lodjan team achieved against East Moreland at the quarter final stage.
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SENATE REACTS TO ROKKENJIMA/SLAVA DEVELOPMENTS
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
The Senate has spent the day debating the continued deterioration of Rokkenjiman and Slavan relations. The back and forth between Rokkenjima and Slava Lavosk has been a factor for months focused around the detention of ten thousand Slavan citizens of Tamoran descent on charges pertaining to the slave trade. It has since escalated to highly dangerous levels in the wake of the execution of Dilara Haghighi and the situation becomes even more dangerous when it's considered that the crisis in Royal Seleucid is right next door to where this deadly standoff appears to be shaping up. Addressing the Senate today the Minister of Foreign Affairs Richard Chambers outlined the Government's position stating:
"Mr Speaker I had hoped to be coming to the dispatch box today to update this house on our operations in relation to Royal Seleucid to explain how our aid operation has begun and what steps are being taken in conjunction with our international partners, however developments in relation to the second area of concern in Midaranye have somewhat changed the content of what the chamber will be debating this afternoon and I thank the Leader of the Chamber as well as the leaderships of the other parties as well as yourself Mr Speaker for agreeing to the urgent amendment to the order paper.
Mr Speaker Midaranye is a complicated region of Mundus to put it mildly but there can be no doubt what lies at the heart of this present spat between Rokkenjima and Slava Lavosk is slavery. The nation of Tamora does according to official statistics have forty million of its own citizens engaged in some form of slavery, this is a practice that the Senate of our nation voted to abolish in 1711, so over three hundred years ago the first Senate in the history of this nation said by a tally of 328 to 171 that the practice was degrading, disgraceful, inhumane and above all wrong and so it was outlawed and the practice abolished. Furthermore Mr Speaker when Crown Princess Serenity signed Achkaerin up to the Mundus Convention of Universal Rights we as the Senate, as the legislature had to ratify that signature this we did and we did so unanimously. Mr Speaker it is therefore clear that we as a nation have signed up to a position that states to quote the Mundus Convention of Universal Rights "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude." that is not a vague statement Mr Speaker it is a principle that must be stood by and unlike other nations we understand this, therefore Mr Speaker I should like to inform the Chamber that the Government will be bringing forward a motion concerning this matter in the very near future with a view to standing by that statement that we as a nation are signatory to.
Additionally Mr Speaker this government notes it's disappointment at the decision of the Slavan government to proceed with the execution of Dilara Haghighi, while we appreciate and respect the right of a sovereign state to make it's own laws and judicially enforce such laws we do make it known that we did raise with President Kravec our concerns over such an execution because in our opinion the issue of the forty million slaves was at risk of being drowned out by making Ms Haghighi into a martyr.
Turning now to the matter of the seemingly inevitable confrontation in Midaranye involving Tamora, Slava Lavosk and apparently Rokkenjima let's be absolutely clear about something this is not helping anything whatsoever, the concern in this situation must now be for those people who are still in those detention camps because if we look at the Tamoran, Slavan and Rokkenjiman positions that is at the heart of the issue, a concern for the safety of others is admirable, it is commendable as is a desire for justice but warmongering is most decidedly not so commendable. No nation ever takes the decision to go to war eagerly, it is never the first option on the list no it is the final option on the list. Because the reality is this war is that when the guns start firing no one knows who's going to die, how many lives are going to end, how many families will be torn apart, how much it will all cost. This is why it is a last resort, it is why governments have a reasonable procedure of options and the first one at the very top of the list Mr Speaker is sitting down and talking!
Let's be clear Mr Speaker, Tamora feels justified that the execution of Dilara Haghighi is justification and that may be so we are after all to an extent in the dark, additionally Mr Speaker Slava Lavosk has a right to defend itself and its borders, there is no way in which an armed confrontation between these two nations is going to end well. It is not a situation helped by the presence of Rokkenjima, not to mention the rhetoric of Pyrena, adding fuel to a fire that really doesn't need anymore fuel. It is also a greater problem than Rokkenjima appears to perceive it as because an armed confrontation involving the Rokkenjiman fleets in the Gulf of Auraxis carries a risk to those vessels deployed by other nations in response to the Royal Seleucid situation. Consequently and I am indebted to the Minister of Defence for providing this information, the Admiralty of the Imperial Navy has declared a cordon extending outwards for a distance of 35 kilometres around our ships in the region as a 'No Entry Zone' for Rokkenjiman vessels, this is not a step we take lightly, it is not a step we wanted to take but in the interests of the safety of our own personnel and those of our partners in the aid effort in Royal Seleucid we feel we have no choice but to do this.
Finally Mr Speaker I wish to make a statement directly to the Empress of Rokkenjima, Empress Beatrice you threatened military action against a sovereign state, your continued back and forth with President Kravec in recent days has not only escalated the danger level across the entirety of Midaranye but it also most assuredly accelerated the timetable towards armed confrontation in that region, if that happens everyone loses. Nothing that President Kravec has asked you to do is unreasonable, you threatened to attack his nation it is only logical that he would prior to entering into any talks with you want to see that threat removed, it is also understandable that he would want a third party to mediate such talks. I say this now, Achkaerin is prepared to fill that role so please have the grace and the wisdom to help slow the advance to war down, do as you've been asked to do and get your ships out of the area, you are a woman who has always passionately advocated for diplomatic solutions you conceived the CTO for just such a thing as that, don't eagerly run towards war now. It is within your gift to stop this before it gets to the point of no return, stand your ships down and give the diplomacy you always argue for a chance to work. You have a far greater chance for success at the negotiating table than you do on the battlefield. Mr Speaker I commend this statement to the House."
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GOVERNOR OF PHUEBRA APPOINTED
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
Following the announcement of an interim agreement being brokered that would appear to bring the major conflict stage of the Phuebran civil war to an end, the Achkaerinese Foreign Office has confirmed that in accordance with the interim agreement Lisa Saunders (pictured above) has been appointed as Governor of Phuebra. The role will see Ms Saunders sign a raft of international treaties on Phuebra's behalf, commission the work of drafting a new Constitution, scrutinize all legislation passed by the Phuebran legislature and assume the responsibility of approving the deployment of the Phuebran military. Ms Saunders is an experienced diplomat having served as an Achkaerinese representative to the CTO as a General Assembly delegate but also as the nations representative on the Refugee Council. The new Governor is expected to take up her position in the next few days and already has been given plenty of support with Cheryl Holmes the former Minister of Commonwealth Affairs saying "It's a task that could be seen as a little daunting but if anyone can do it Lisa can."
Another part of the interim agreement sees Achkaerinese forces likely to remain in Phuebra until February 2022 and even possibly beyond that, a point welcomed by Lt General Rhyth Icerider, the commanding officer of those forces, who said "It's important that we don't leave a job half done, we've won the straight up fighting war but now we have to not only defeat the remaining insurgents that operate throughout this country we've also got to train up a new united Phuebran military, that's not going to be an easy task, it's going to be a challenge but one I believe we're more than capable of meeting."
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"OFFER REMAINS ON THE TABLE" - SENATOR SEABORN
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
In a packed day of Senate debate, once again dominated by Midaranye, the junior Defence Minister, Senator Sally-Anne Seaborn, has updated the Senate Achkaerin's position concerning Midaranye as it presently stands in a short statement the Senator said:
"At the present time the Achkaerinese government remains concerned in regards to the various issues surrounding Midaranye, the food shortage in Royal Seleucid and the potential for civil unrest to get out of hand moreso than we have seen is worrying, the practice of slavery is concerning and this chamber continues to debate on the means to address that matter and now we have allegations of a nuclear weapons programme being developed in Slava Lavosk. Mr Speaker this may seem like a drastic situation, a minefield where one wrong step will set everything off, however despite all of these different aspects we have now some good news with the movement, finally, of the Rokkenjiman strike group away from the area, a move that means Mr Speaker that I am able and pleased to announce that the no entry zone erected by the Achkaerinese Naval vessels in the area has been stood down. This movement by Rokkenjima satisfy's the criteria that President Kravec set as a precondition to talks, so we ask that the President shows once again that he is a man of integrity and a man of his word by coming to the negotiating table, we do also leave our offer of Achkaerinese mediation in such talks on the table should the President wish to take it up."
In related news the Senate debate on Tamora has entered its second day, while there are rumours circulating that Senators have been told to be ready to meet in a Joint Session with the Royal Court at a moments notice. Finally Scotia Conway has been appointed as special envoy to Midaranye and is understood to be on her way to the region.
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CROWN PRINCESS VISITS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
Crown Princess Serenity has visited the Royal Children's Hospital in Valtheim, the Crown Princess a patron of the Achkaerin Health Service, spent the day talking to staff, patients and their families about their experiences with the health service and ways of improving it. The visit marks the first official duty the Crown Princess has undertaken since being injured while on duty in the Navy. Afterwards she spoke to the press about the visit and how proud she was of the health service, she was also asked about Princess Rhiannon of East Moreland's fight against Leukaemia to which she said:
"Let's be clear a young girl has Leukaemia, that is a tragedy - anyone having a disease like that is a tragedy. I know what it's like because I've been there myself, five years ago I had a stem cell transplant to deal with my aplastic anaemia. Finding a donor is not easy especially when your family for one reason or another aren't suitable and but for a brave young Seaforthian girl who was on holiday with her family and got tested we could very well still be looking for a donor today. Which is why I'm greatly encouraged by the initiative of Neu Uburzi's in suggesting an international database for things like this, it's got great potential and is something I'm sure Achkaerin would be prepared to get behind and help with. The only other thing I can say is get well soon Rhiannon."
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FOX'S AIMING FOR THIRD TITLE
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin's men's football team otherwise known as the Fox's have been warming up in Krimeon for the upcoming World Cup. The team has spent the day training, meeting some of the locals that live around their base camp, talking to the media and generally getting themselves settled back into what's a familiar routine of World Cup competition. The Fox's have been drawn in Group G alongside Phuebra, Nemerie and Aquitaine, it's a group draw that's been seen as excellent from the perspective of a good run in the tournament but as the Fox's central midfielder and captain Robert Kinnay said "We're the world number one team, we're the number one seed in the tournament, it doesn't matter who we get drawn against we're going to be told that it's a group we should easily progress through. Yes this could have been more difficult as we've avoided some of the more sticky opponents but that doesn't mean we're going to take our foot off the gas, we're going to take this one game at a time and treat each opponent with the respect they deserve, we saw Hygelac cause a sensation last year by winning it all so we know that strange things can happen in this game we just have to do everything we can on the field to make sure they don't happen."
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And what of the team's manager Dame Julia McCabe? Well she goes into her sixth World Cup as the most succesful coach in the tournament's history with two tournament victories to her name and after taking training today (pictured above) there's no doubt that she's hungry to add a third title to that success list, speaking to the media later in the day she said "We know we're the top ranked team and because of that we're the ones there to be shot down but we've got a lot of self belief, a lot of confidence and some of the best players in the world. We surprised a lot of people in the third World Cup to win on home soil against the odds, two years later we won it again but that time as favourites though Nya Aland gave us a right scare for most of that final. The squad's got a lot of strength and depth this year, we've got players bang in form and an experienced core group and there's nothing they'd like more than to win that third World Cup, they're capable of doing it so let's see what happens this year."
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EDWARD MCKINLAY SPOTTED IN VAGUZIA
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By Maggie Clough: Business News Correspondent
Edward McKinlay, CEO of McKinlay Naval Solutions, has been spotted in Saburi Vaguzia. The reason for the sudden trip has not been explained leading many to speculate that there's some sort of venture in the works, the manner of which remains unknown. However there is a rumour going around that the visit concerns a possible joint project in the naval area. Mr McKinlay as well as his company declined to comment on the speculation.
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FOX'S WIN OPENER
Achkaerin 4-0 Phuebra
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
The opening round of fixtures in the World Cup saw thirty two teams step out onto the field for the first time and as always the tournament attracts stories and the games have added edge to them in some cases. The Fox's opener saw them line up against Phuebra, their opening game of the world cup and a game in which it was important that they made a statement of intent. They did this in style eventually, establishing their now familiar pass and move game early on and the chances came regularly. The Fox's would have to wait until the last minute of the first half before taking the lead through striker Tom Oakleigh (pictured above) who headed in from a corner to send Achkaerin into half time ahead. After the break the Fox's struck on the hour and then again in the sixty third minute through a Cesc Santiago free kick and Dani Leonidas volley before substitute David Mace finished the job off with a clinical finish from inside the area after rounding the keeper. The result might not have been a surprise this was a game that Achkaerin were widely expected to win, however the performance was more important as summarized by Dame Julia McCabe afterwards saying: "Opening games can always be troublesome because despite all the training you do you never know how ring rusty you're going to be. We were a little off our game in the first half, we were passing it well and our movement looked good but we weren't taking our chances, fortunately Tom's managed to nick a goal at the end of the half and eased the nerves a fair bit. In the second half we switched up our game plan a little and got the result in the end, we'll just look to start our next game in a better mindset than we started this one."
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DASHCAMS TO BECOME STANDARD FOLLOWING NEW LEGISLATION
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
Dashcams are to be fitted as stanard equipment onto all Achkaerinese manufactured cars following new Senate legislation. The Road Safety Regulations (Dashcams Amendment) Act 2019 cleared the Senate stage by a vote of 348 to 152 with no abstentions and was signed into law by the Emperor a few minutes later following the traditional Herald's walk that sees a member of the Speaker's office 'the Herald' walk the short distance from the home of the Senate in Liberty Hall to the Marble Palace to present the Act for signature or veto. In detail the Act will make it a requiremnt that from the 1st of April this year all cars manufactured in Achkaerin will have to have dashcams fitted as standard equipment as part of a Government push to ensure public safety and to counter an emerging pattern of fraudulent road accident insurance claims. The Act will also require that any car on the road prior to the law coming into force will be fitted with a dashcam during its next service.
The Act's passage was welcomed by the Government with Minister of Transport Charles Paulson saying: This is an Act that sends a clear message to those who think the rules of the road don't apply to them, if you want to play around on the roads of Achkaerin then you are being watched by every car of every law abiding citizen, and these are the best witness's that prosecutors could hope for because the camera's don't lie."
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VICE CONSUL ON ACADEMICA REFERENDUM
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Vice Consul Rhian Kennedy has outlined the Government's position on the recent referendum in Academica. The vote which saw Madeline Byrne secure 45.5% and overall victory has been criticised by the two defeated candidates who have cited that the soon to be Queen lacks a majority leading most recently to protests by the supporters of Julius Flynn and Anne Ashley. When asked for the Government's position the Vice Consul explained as follows:
"Everyone has the right to peaceful protest and to disagree with someone elses opinion whether individually or collectively because that's human nature we're not robots. Now there's a lot of talk coming out of Academica saying how the soon to be Queen doesn't have the backing of a majority of the voters now that may be important for Ms Byrne in a political context once she is crowned but from the context of the vote it is irrelevant because it was a three way referendum and such referendum's mean that it's a case of largest vote share wins not majority for the simple reason that it's possible to win with less than 50% of the vote for example 40-30-30, just look at any of the nations around Mundus that have elected legislatures on first past the post you may see a similar pattern.
But let's be absolutely clear about this, firstly the people of Academica voted for a restoration of the Monarchy they voted to instruct Dr Merriman to present three candidates, based on relationship to the previous Grand Duchess, to the people. He presented Julius Flynn, Anne Ashby and Madeline Byrne and everyone was told the same thing that whichever of these three people got the most votes would be crowned monarch. If the people wanted to require that the result require a majority then the referendum should have been in two stages or by alternative vote but the time to discuss that was before the vote was put. Similarly any challenge to Ms Byrne's suitability should have been made before the vote was put. No challenge was made and it was a three way referendum in which the person with the most votes won. Madeline Byrne got the most votes, she won and is therefore going to be crowned monarch and is recognized as the head of state by this Government."
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ATTORNEY GENERAL STATEMENT ON KAITAINE INCIDENT
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Attorney General, Samuel White, has given a statement to the Senate in the wake of what has been termed in some quarters as a chemical weapons attack on the city of Seitch by the Kaitaine military. The allegation of a chemical attack was made in a blog by one of the Truthsayers presently in the city (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1317.msg11277#msg11277), the Kaitaine Government has said that it was an environmental cleansing operation (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=176.msg11275#msg11275) that targeted sandworms. With concern being felt across the Senate chamber the Attorney General stated:
"Mr Speaker, Honourable Senators. Let's be clear right from the outset that it is the position of this nation's government by virtue of its signature on the Uppsalla Convention that the use of chemical weapons is to be refrained from and roundly condemned. Mr Speaker as has been said numerous times in this very chamber when debating developments in relation to Kaitaine and the conflict there that we have two broadcasters as it were coming out of the nation one being from within Seitch and the other being the Pravda, as it is in the interests of each party to the conflict to discredit the other it is difficult to make what can be considered an objective legal opinion but this I have attempted to do and I now present it to the Chamber.
First let us consider what is undisputed, that which both accounts say happened, they both say that a Kaitaine jet, identified by the Pravda as a Tu-160 dropped a chemical substance in the vicinity of Seitch. Now at this point we would normally be asking for the Kaitaine Government to identify what the substance used was, however Alex Redfern has provided this information and identified the substance as Endosulfan. The question at this point becomes 'Can the effects of Endosulfan fit within the definition of a chemical weapon under the Uppsalla Convention?' in order to answer this I consulted with the Government's chief science advisor Doctor Tammy Axon and the Chief Medical Officer Doctor Luke Short in order to understands from those with field expertise what the effects of chemical exposure could be. The information provided by both of my learned colleagues was that Endosulfan is a neurotoxin that is harmful to insects and mammals including humans. They also explained that a dose as little as 35mg per kg could be fatal to a human or to put it another way the average weight of a five feet six inches female according to the latest information is between 58 and 65 kg. This means Mr Speaker that a girl of that height weighing 58kg would only require exposure to 2.03 grams of Endosulfan in order to receive the earlier mentioned fatal dose, in other instances the fatal dose may well be higher, in others such as children it would likely be lower. Further information revealed included the capability of this substance to travel distances and that it is an environmental contaminant. Also concerning is the dose issue firstly the Kaitaine Pravda defines this as a 'massive dose' this could be interpreted to suggest a significantly larger dose than would be expected especially as a Tu-160 has a lot of space for the chemical to be stored. Additionally this is to be an annual thing which suggests that this will happen again and even if we say that Endosulfan is not fatal in one dose, it can be fatal through the accumulation of multiple doses.
So Mr Speaker Endosulfan is a neurotoxin that can be fatal and even if the poisoning is not fatal there are documented cases of where the poisoning while not being fatal has caused permanent brain damage. Mr Speaker the relevant section of the Uppsalla Convention is article 1.7 which defines a chemical weapon as 'any weapons that use a chemical agent intended to cause permanent damage or death to an individual.' so Mr Speaker the question becomes that having considered all this information can we say that Endosulfan is a chemical weapon? Well it certainly has the potential to be classified as such in that it can be fatal and it can cause permanent damage to an individual, the question is whether in this instance the use of Endosulfan in these circumstances can constitute such a thing. Mr Speaker my legal opinion based on what I have read in the various accounts, coupled with information on the chemical from Doctors Axon and Short as well as information on the plane from the Ministry of Defence is that yes it can be considered as such if the intention guiding the action was malicious.
Further Mr Speaker assuming that intent cannot be shown in this case, then in addition other sections of the Uppsalla Convention must be considered. Can the Kaitaine Government say that there are no civilians in Seitch? If not then one must consider article 2.4 'Members of the Armed Forces shall do all that is reasonable to avoid civilian casualties.' dropping a chemical whether as a weapon or not would under such circumstances be unreasonable due to the indiscriminate nature of the chemical in that it can be fatal to mammals including humans. The effect on the environment must also be considered under article 1.10 'National Governments shall not employ weapons, projectiles and methods and materials of warfare designed to cause , or can be expected to cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment.'
Mr Speaker it is clear that whoever in Kaitaine is responsible for this incident has raised concerns within the international community, it is clear that there are questions that need answers. It is also clear that we have several potential breaches of the Uppsalla Convention which need to be addressed. This is my opinion and I advise the Chamber as such."
Following the Attorney General's statement Senator Richard Chambers the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated:
"Mr Speaker following the Attorney General's statement, and analysis of the legal implications of the events, the Achkaerinese Government states its intention to have this issue resolved. If this is shown to be a chemical weapons attack then there must be repercussions for it. We note the step East Moreland has taken in suspending it's intelligence sharing agreement with Kaitaine in light of this incident until further clarification is sought, I would humbly ask that East Moreland ask not only for confirmation of the chemical used but of the amount of the chemical used. We also call on the government of Rokkenjima to in much the same way suspend the aid package they recently announced for Kaitaine lest they find themselves in legal trouble further down the line."
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SENATE GEARING UP FOR "REVIEW WEEK"
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Senate's annual "Review Week" is only days away, the week long programme sees each Minister of the Government give a statement to the Senate followed by debate and any votes that are laid by the Senate as part of the programme, the Cabinet statements dominate the Monday to Thursday agenda with a statement from the Royal Liaison Officer inviting the debate on the Friday where Senators will be able to put concerns on the Emperor's desk as it were. As always there are rumours flying around about what the Senate may want to amend, what votes they may want to push for and what they may recommend to the Emperor, with many expecting surprises to come when the Minister of Foreign Affairs addresses the Chamber. However perhaps the most anticipated statement will be that of the Minister for Agriculture and the Environment Siobhan Williams (pictured above) who will this year bring the fifth statement on the Government's progress in light of the Green Energy Transition Act 2014 - with set legislative goals for 2020 it is seen as the first major indicator of whether the Government can meet the timetable it laid out five years ago. It is not clear how much overlap there will be with the Energy Minister's statement but what Mrs Williams says will for the first time have to account for the Treaty of Wellow, when asked about the upcoming week's business Mrs Williams said "It's always an interesting week because we mandate under the Senate's Standing Order's that every Minister in the Cabinet must make a statement to the Senate on their departments progress over the last year, informing the Senate of their present and immediate future priorities and then following any required votes submission of recommendations, reports etc to the Emperor. This is actually where the Covenant Address that the Emperor will deliver in June begins to take shape."
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RESONANCE IN FINAL TESTING
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By Penny Noble: Defence Corrsepondent
Riviere Corporation's latest addition to its underwater drone family, the Resonance, has entered final testing. The Resonance builds upon the Mermaid and Dolphin platforms of previous years and takes it in the words of Clark Franklin the Corporations Robotics lead "To the next level" the Resonance is a long range autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle with a payload capacity exceeding previous models, obstacle avoidance system, the capability of carrying mutiple different missions from a variety of different depths. The testing period is expected to run through the next two weeks with the Navy believed to be paying close attention to the process with a view to putting the Resonance into service with the Navy within the next few months.
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OZZIES ROUND UP
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By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
The Ostlake Film Awards, otherwise known as the Ozzie's have provided the Achkaerinese film industry with a strong night, producing three winners. First up Best International Song was won by the One Voice Children's Choir (pictured above just before the ceremony) with their rendition of This is Me (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhzi7Shi2H0), from a film starring the members of the choir Caught in Rhythm which lost out in the Best International Film category to the Tamoran entry Silence. The Choir is directed by Duchess Renee Azurewind, who follows up her win in the same category last year with one as the musical coach this year. Speaking afterwards the Duchess said "Winning last year was brilliant, but this year is even better in some respects because they're a group of kids I coach. It's a special night and it belongs to them and we're looking forward to getting down to business on the next in the Rhythm series."
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The Best International Short Film Ozzie went to Lego Camping, a stop motion animated lego film featuring a skunk creating mischief for a couple on holiday. The film the result of a group of fourth year students from Lady Brianna High School in Freshwater, was picked up by Jemma Fox (pictured above) on behalf of the students who said when accepting the award: "This is a complete shock, we're just a group of five students with a camera, a bunch of lego bricks and a computer who won a national competition and tonight we were up against films that were made by professionals who've been in this industry a long time. So to win is just that message that anything is possible."
In response to this particular award win Minister of Education Tim Ward said "We introduced the national animation competition to try and inspire the next generation of film makers, cameramen, animators and all that. We gave the national winner the chance to compete at the Ozzie's so for them to win is something truly special and will hopefully inspire next years national competition."
Achkaerin's successful night at the Ozzie's was concluded with Be Yourself picking up the award for Best International Documentary.
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FOX'S WIN AGAINST AQUITAINE
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin's footballers have won their second group game of the World Cup, brushing Aquitaine aside with a resounding 5-0 victory. The team picked up where they left off against Phuebra and had the lead at the eight minute mark as Dani Leonidas volleyed them in front after a series of quick passes, the second goal came on the half hour mark from Captain Robert Kinnay (pictured above) as he put away a penalty following a handball from an Aquitaine defender. The second half produced three more goals, a second for the Captain from a free kick, Defender Lucas Williams headed from a corner with ten minutes to go before the rout was completed by Tom Oakleigh's tidy and composed finish. With two wins under their belts the Fox's now turn their attention to their third group game against Nemerie, a game they will be expected to win. But so far so good in terms of their hunt for a third World Cup win.
IS MARIA CAIRNS THE NEXT SAMMY LAWSON?
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Arguably the biggest sporting name in Achkaerin is Sammy Lawson, the seventeen times Mundus Games medalist in cycling, the most decorated Mundus Games medalist in history and according to some, though she herself denies it, the Greatest Of All Time in terms of Mundus Games competitors. However winning races is one thing, inspiring others to come after you is something else. Sammy's likely got a good few more years of competition at the highest level in her but that hasn't stopped her from becoming the symbol of Achkaerinese cycling and now there's a new young gun on the book who many believe could one day be Sammy's successor. Maira Cairns is just a fifteen year old girl from Midvale but she's also the new double junior Achkaerin road race cycling champion, winning the title in a manner not seen since the days Sammy Lawson herself contested the event. Many are now wondering whether Maria will get a spot on the Mundus Games team later in the year but that is of course a decision that will be made after the national trials.
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CHIMAERA ENGINE UNVEILED
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
In a surprising announcement a joint project between Riviere Corporation, AADC and the Achkaerin Space Agency has been unveiled. The Chimaera engine is part jet, part rocket and relies on pre-cooler heat exchanger technology. The pre-cooler is designed to be compact and capable of taking an incoming airstream in the region of 1000 degrees celcius and reduce it to -150 degrees celcius in a hundredth of a second. The engine design (above) is generally speaking broken down into three sections, the pre-cooler front-end; a core combustion section with a smart thermodynamic cycle to again manage heat and fluid flow; and a relatively conventional rocket arrangement at the rear. The Chimaera engine would burn the hydrogen in the oxygen in the air that it scoops.
If successful the engine would allow aircraft to reach speeds of mach 5.5, while the option of it transitioning to a rocket mode at high altitude with a speed of twenty five times the speed of sound to get the object into space. The attraction of the project from the Achkaerin Space Agency point of view appears to be that the engine would allow for reusable space vehicles making the jump straight to space without needing several stages.
CEO of AADC Sir Darren Eagle explained the next steps for the project today saying: "What we're going to do next is test the engines respective elements out, we've got to test the pre-cooler's capabilities in different climates to ensure consistency, we're also looking at testing the core section of the engine next year."
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Artists impression of what a passenger jet outfitted with the Chimaera engine could look like
SUNSEEKER REACHES GOWU
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By Jennifer Mason: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Sunseeker, Riviere Corporation's solar powered ship has arrived in Gowu, marking the end of what is considered the second stage of the journey. The ship crewed solo by Eleanor Hendry set off from Portworth, East Moreland following last years Festival of Sail and now having travelled around the Horn of Ardia, down through the Alucard, around the southern edge of Albion and then up the Strait of Shaw it's made port in Gowu. Ms Hendry commented following the ships arrival saying "We're surprisingly a little bit ahead of schedule which is good because we're now entering the hardest part of this which is getting through the Kyne and Krimeon which are two of Mundus's busiest shipping areas and we don't stop there because we then have to get through the Mhorish at the very end of this. Tomorrow we begin our run to the Matilda's which will signify a huge milestone in this voyage because we're then set for a straight shot back to Portworth and hopefully we make it in time for this years Festival of Sail."
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SENATE URGENT MOTIONS
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
In the last few moments the Emperor has accepted two urgent motions passed by the Senate. An urgent motion the result of an urgent debate and usually only seen when circumstances arise that require such measures is a legislative measure by which the Senate makes a request or series of requests of the Monarch and the Monarch then approves or rejects the motion, in much the same way as legislation that goes through the process. The motions were tabled by the Government following the latest Rokkenjiman news (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=8.msg11406#msg11406) and were explained by Consul Michael Williams (pictured above) who explained the issues stating:
"The news out of Rokkenjima that we read this morning is I'm sorry to say highly disappointing. I find it hard to believe Mr Speaker that the Empress of Rokkenjima's legal advisors and experts on the Uppsalla Convention have not explained precisely that which our own Attorney General did from this very dispatch box and all the implications thereof and if they did then I'd be very interested to know what their advice was. This decision by Rokkenjima to continue its EMAP program is just the latest in a long and well known line of decisions that have to put it mildly raised eyebrows internationally. However this one today is in this government's view unfortunately one too many, subsequently we have tabled the urgent motions for debate. First we in the interests of our own national security motion for the suspension of Achkaerin's intelligence sharing agreement with Rokkenjima including any Rokkenjiman access to SCION via the ICON-SCION bridge, second we motion for Achkaerin to leave the League of International Security and Aid, not because we don't agree with the principles of LISA, our track record internationally clearly shows we do but because it is clear that there is no value in continued membership of the organisation especially when the principles governing the membership are not abided by by every member. We've been here before with our CTO membership and regrettably now motion the same style of thing for a second time. At the moment this is the extent of our urgent motions and we hope that no more shall be required."
The tallies of the urgent motions were:
1) This House suspends the intelligence sharing agreement existing between the Holy Empire of Achkaerin and First Empire of Rokkenjima including the ICON-SCION bridge
Aye: 386
No: 113
2) This House supports the withdrawal of the Holy Empire of Achkaerin from the League of International Security and Aid (LISA)
Aye: 312
No: 187
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GOVERNMENT APPOINTS ASYLUM SEEKER AND REFUGEE MINISTER
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Government has appointed a Minister specifically with a portfolio concerning asylum seekers and refugee's. The new Minister is Senator Sarah Cooper, the Mossflower Senator has held her seat as a member of the Patriot Party for seven years and has spent the last three years as a junior minister in the Justice department, she is held in high regard in the Patriot Party. Upon accepting the appointment the new Minister said "It's unfortunate that the circumstances for creating this ministerial portfolio exist, that in a Mundus where we have strong institutions capable of dealing with refugee crises that the effort in dealing with them is handled by an incredibly small minority and it is only by the extraordinary work of that minority that we have not seen more widespread refugee crises arising. Nevertheless there have been numerous conflicts across Mundus and an awful lot of displaced people and Achkaerin seems to be a place where a fair number of asylum seekers and refugees come to and the government feels that we need to be able to tackle the changes that each of their stories and their experiences bring up."
The new Minister is expected to make a statement during Review Week which will outline her initial departmental priorities.
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MAKIN TRIAL RETURNS GUILTY VERDICT
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
The individual known as Thomas Makin has been convicted of the murder of Franchesca Owens, the trial which due to evidential reasons has lasted over a year was brought to a conclusion in the hearing of evidence last week, with the jury deliberations having occurred since then. Mr Makin was found guilty by unanimous decision and sentenced to life in prison. In handing down the sentence Mr Justice Acheson stated "There has been a noted political interest and climate surrounding this case, which is no doubt due to the identified religion of the victim. However the principle in law is that we do not try the victim, we try the perpetrator. Mr Makin did kill Ms Owens, and he intended to do so he therefore has both the act and intent. Accordingly the defendant is sentenced to life in prison without parole."
There was no comment on the sentence from either side or from the government when asked though rumours as to the full extent of the crime continue to circulate around Valtheim.
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UNIVERSITY OF ARTAXIA AT IT AGAIN
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artists impression of a potential application of the material
By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Students from the University of Artaxia are at it again. The university science and engineering department affectionately known as 'the think tank' has worked and continues to work with Graphene, they've presently got a solar powered car preparing for a record attempt and they're looking at the future of the automotive industry in other ways. This time though one of their research teams has developed a way of separating salt from seawater in the cause of forming a new type of building material. The bricks of this new material are essentially a combination of sea salt and starch, the salt actually sticks to the starch and is extracted by algae grown in the seawater. The material is stronger than rammed earth however like that material it suffers under tension, however this doesn't detract from the intent of the project - to develop a material that could be used for construction in a desert environment.
Luke Ayanami who oversees the department responsible explained his thoughts on the development saying "It's not often that we do construction material, but this has a solid theory and we've had interest from Nelson Construction in taking this idea further. The material has a few added bonuses such as it's white so it reflects light which is practical in a desert environment. I'm always proud of the teams when they come up with something like this because we continue to show how imaginative we are."
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SECOND MURDER SEES ACHKAERINESE POLICE HEAD ABROAD
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Following a murder (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=214.msg11529#msg11529) in the city of Whitehaven in the Allied States of Ardia, there were suggestions that Achkaerinese Police may become involved in the investigation should it be the work of wanted fugitive Gareth Bryce. A second murder in the early hours of the morning utilizing the same MO as the first and with strong similarities to Bryce's previous crimes has brought forward the expected request and Achkaerinese Police officers, detectives and forensic investigators are heading to Whitehaven to support their Ardian counterparts in their investigation. Speaking about the investigation Chief Superintendent Wood, the senior Achkaerinese officer attached to the investigation, said "On the basis of the evidence shared with us by our Ardian colleagues we do believe that there is a strong link between these two murders and those of Gareth Bryce, as Mr Bryce is presently a fugitive we are of course investigating the possibility that he is responsible for these two deaths but we will be keeping an open mind. We will do everything we possibly can to catch the person responsible for these deaths and bring them to justice.
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YOUNG ARTIST OF THE YEAR BIGGER THAN EVER THIS YEAR
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Sẹnaid Hastings is one of the four finalists in this years competition
By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
This years Young Artist of the Year competition has been branded as the "Closest competition for years" according to the judges of the contest. The annual competition sees many young, aspiring artists from across Achkaerin participate in a competition with the prize of a premier exhibition at the Royal Gallery not to mention a special one off Royal Commission on the line. The final four artists are in the process of putting the finishing touches to their various pieces of work in preparation for the finalists exhibition at the Royal Gallery in a few days time. Organisers of the event have suggested that the finalist exhibition may for the first time this year be open to the public. Nonetheless the four finalists - Sẹnaid Hastings, Callum Jarvis, Harry Allen and Steven Clarke are all wished the best of luck as the competition reaches its final stage.
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REVIEW WEEK UNDERWAY
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Senate's annual review week got underway today, the week sees each Minister of the Crown to use their full formal title make what is officially termed a statement to the Senate but is in truth a report to the Senate of their departmental activities over the last twelve months, any current issues they are dealing with and plans for the future. Opening review week is traditionally the responsibility of the Vice Consul, and in accordance with tradition the current Vice Consul Rhian Kennedy (pictured above) opened proceedings on day one in the expected manner as follows:
"Mr Speaker, Honourable Senators we come now to our review week session and to the time of year where I spend a few minutes sounding like an air stewardess while I do the housekeeping announcements for the week. Senators will have had the two business volumes for the week's business circulated to their Senate offices over the last month, we have received many proposed motions in relation to the various resolutions that the Government will present this week and members are reminded that emergency motions may still be tabled through the Senate business committee, we will debate all motions provided that they are received within a timely manner as is our custom. The rules of debate for the week are similar in most respects to the norm however there is no allowance for interruptions during contributions, the timing factors are as always a matter for the Speaker's chair.
The timetable for the week is as follows today following the conclusion of my opening statement the Gowu Minister will give her statement, followed by the Minister of Sport and then the Minister of Justice. Tomorrow the Minister of Home Affairs, Youth Minister, Health Minister, Emergency Services Minister, Business Minister, Work and Pensions Minister, Transport Minister and the Minister for Asylum Seekers and Refugee's will give their statements. Day three of our business sees statements from the Minister of Culture, Minister of Education, the much anticipated statement from the Minister of Agriculture and the Environment, the Universities Minister, Communities Minister, Energy Minister and Minister for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion will also be in action. The fourth day is given over to international affairs with statements from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defence, Minister of Trade, Minister for Cross Straits Affairs, Minister for International Aid and Development and Minister for the Diplomatic Office make their statements. The final day's business has statements from the Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Economic Affairs before the Consul makes his address and the traditional close of the weeks business by a representative of the Crown in this case the Royal Liaison Officer. With the ground rules laid down Mr Speaker I move resolution 1/1 that the Senate now meet in Conference format and subject to its passing yield the floor to my colleague the Gowu Minister."
Resolution 1/1 result: Ayes 499 Noes 0
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As is review week tradition (and there are plenty more of these expected through the weeks business) it was left to the Gowu Minister, Molly Newton (pictured above) to open the Ministerial statements. Not traditionally a long statement, due to the political nature of Gowu's relationship with Valtheim, this was what Minister Newton had to say:
"Mr Speaker, the last twelve months have been interesting and positive for Gowu. The city has continued to enjoy a strong relationship with its neighbour Toshikawa and has also begun the process of establishing stronger ties with the other nations of the Ardian Peninsula, the city's new airport has brought jobs and seen economic growth. Of course tribute must be paid to the work of the Maiden Sisters order who continue to run their self styled rehabilitation program for Toshikawan Samurai with the first milestone for them approaching in the next few days. It is perhaps a marker of this success that it is from those ranks that Gowu's representative to the Ardian Assembly Kae Taira was chosen. Gowu police officers have, as some honourable members may know, recently been sent to the Allied States of Ardia to aid at that nations request local authorities in a murder investigation. A recent resolution of the Ardian Assembly also affirmed strongly the most clear opposition to the practice of slavery. The Chief Councillor of Gowu has explained that her intentions are to continue fostering relations with Gowu's neighbours and to meet with other Ardian leaders as circumstances dictate. Mr Speaker I move resolution 2/1 that the Senate receive the report on Gowu."
Resolution 2/1 result: Ayes 499 Noes 0
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George Foley, the Minister of Sport (pictured above), had an interesting contribution to make on the day saying:
"Mr Speaker my statement today is to bring four resolutions, the first Resolution 3/1 is that the Senate receives the report from the Ministry of Sport. It has been another good year for Achkaerin in the sporting arena, Megan Harrison regained her Formula Mundus Driver's Championship title in the most unlikely fashion, Achkaerin's men reached their first Rugby World Cup final and while they did lose to the Iwi, they gave a good account of themselves throughout the tournament. Within the next couple of days our proud Fox's, the men's international football team will attempt to win the Football World Cup when they face Quintelia in the final of that competition and I'm sure I speak for everyone in this chamber when I say that we wish Dame Julia McCabe and the team all the best for that match. Of course it would be remiss of me to not mention the Mundus Games success our athletes enjoyed last year, our team smashed their medal record, finished on top of the medal table and Sammy Lawson became the most decorated athlete in the games history. All in all it has been a very successful year.
The second resolution I bring number 3/2 is the rolling out of the Spirit of Sport Initiative, as members will be aware this is a project that began development four years ago with the aim of inspiring the next generation of Achkaerinese sports stars. It includes a provision that will see Achkaerinese athletes who are willing paired with a school and become what is termed a 'sports mentor' this is a scheme already piloted at Mornington Crescent high school where judo competitor Arya Warner acted as mentor, the feedback received from the school's staff, students and Miss Warner is included in volume one of the business documents and was generally speaking quite positive. Other aspects of the Spirit of Sport Initiative include an increase in accessibility to sport for young people through a stronger focus on grassroots sport, an increase in competition variety for sports and finally a dedicated sports college program. That is of course a very brief summary and the full details are in the business volumes.
The third resolution number 3/3 is the final budgeted proposal for the development of Djana Azurewind Sports Park, otherwise known as the home of Achkaerinese sport. The improvements are in general terms an upgrading of the facilities, the construction of a sports college and what is termed a sports clinic as well as three new buildings for sports that are not presently represented at the park. Finally Mr Speaker resolution 3/4 is the apportioned budget by sport for Achkaerin sport over the next three years. With that explained I move resolution 3/1.
Resolution 3/1 result: Ayes 499 Noes 0
Resolution 3/2 result: Ayes 387 Noes 112
Resolution 3/3 result: Ayes 375 Noes 124
Resolution 3/4 result: Ayes 492 Noes 7
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The final ministerial statement of the day came from the Minister of Justice, Thomas Archer (pictured above), who said:
"Mr Speaker the last year has been a busy one for the Justice department and associated bodies. A great deal of the last year has been spent engaged in various discussions abroad trying to hold other nations to the commitments they have made when signing certain international documents, because Mr Speaker these are documents that must be taken seriously by the signatory nations if they are to have any effect. Likewise when a nation breaches a treaty of this type it is incumbent on other signatory nations to take necessary steps to point that out and take action as necessary this is the principle that guided nations at the CTO when discussing the Andean Genocide and it is the principle that guides this government now. Closer to home we have seen an increase in reported crimes in terms of numbers up 5% from last year and we have also seen a notable increase in convictions with the numbers courtesy of the office for national statistics provided in your business volumes. In the coming weeks it is the intention of the Justice department to bring forward the draft legislation of the Sexual Offences (Rape Amendment) Act 2019, the Counter Terrorism Act 2019 and the Espionage Act 2019. In the short to mid term these are the Bills that will shape the departments policy. Mr Speaker I move resolution 4/1 that the Senate receive the report."
Resolution 4/1 result: Ayes 499 Noes 0
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FOX'S WIN WORLD CUP
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin's men's footballers have won their third world cup with an assured 3-0 victory over Quintelia. The team had to endure a somewhat frustrating hour where they were pressed high and consistently by their opponents, but a free kick goal from midfielder Cesc Santiago broke the deadlock in the 66th minute, fifteen minutes later it was 2-0 thanks to a composed finish from Danni Leonidas (pictured above #10) after being put through by winger Nico Heizenberg. The victory was rounded off by Leonidas in the 90th minute with a chipped finish over the Quintelian keeper. Speaking after the game the teams coach, Dame Julia McCabe gave her reaction saying:
"This is one of those games where the score doesn't tell the whole story. We played well but Quintelia did as well, they did a good job of frustrating us for an hour and had Cesc not put that free kick in then who knows what could have happened in this game, it changed on the free kick because when we got the lead Quintelia had to come out and play higher up the pitch, throw a little more caution to the wind, we got them on the counter for the second and that was it. But to win this for a third time is something I never imagined we could do, all around Mundus the standard of football is rising in unexpected places just look at what Tamora managed to do this time. We'll see what happens next time but for tonight I'll be smiling with a lot of pride."
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SENATE DEBATES CENSUS LEGISLATION
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Senate has spent the day beginning the debate over the government's proposed legislation concerning the 2020 census. The Bill was introduced by Minister for Home Affairs, Lizbeth Stewart (pictured above). The last Census taken in 2010 has been a strong reference point for analysts and statisticians for many years as it provides a baseline set of figures but next year that will change when the next Census is taken. There are many statistics that will be closely watched, the religious breakdown, the career spread, the gender balance and of course the nationality to name but a few. The Senate will continue the debate at its next sitting and will aim to pass the legislation governing the Census by the end of the month.
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DAWNBREAKER SETS NEW WORLD RECORD
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By Kimberley Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Dawnbreaker, the solar powered speed vehicle designed and built by University of Artaxia students has broken the solar powered landspeed record. Setting an average speed of 58.318 miles per hour across the two runs the Dawnbreaker took the record and ensured that there was more than just festival of Greenflowers celebrating going on in the student union. Speaking after the team took the record the project leader, Kit Davenport said "We've been building to this for a long time and it took a little bit longer than we wanted but we got there. We've taken one record today and we're not finished yet we've got our eyes on other records, maybe one day I'll be able to say 'Sir Alan we're coming for your records' but that's not coming anytime soon. Our next goal is the human powered record and we'll start looking at that in a few days but for tonight we'll celebrate our success."
The driver of the Dawnbreaker was Megan Harrison, the two time Formula Mundus driver's champion, she's used to going a whole lot faster than the record speed but she was pleased with the result of the day saying "Today's a day for the project team, the scientists, the engineers I'm just happy I could help with the driving."
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CROWN PRINCESS FOUNDS LEGACY SPORT AND LOOKS TO GO RACING
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Crown Princess Serenity has finally unveiled what she's had the local media speculating about for a few months. At a press conference called at the Valkyria Grand Prix circuit she announced the creation of her new project Legacy Sport saying:
"It's no secret that over the last few months I've had to deal with some things I never imagined would happen to me, I lost my leg in the line of duty while on deployment as part of a naval operation. During my recovery in East Moreland I met a lot of incredible veterans from that country and through sport we were able to come to terms with what we'd been through, it hasn't been easy coming to terms with a lifechanging situation but the camaraderie I found with my Morelander wheelchair rugby friends from the Legionnaire Legacy program I'll never forget just being involved in something like that, being around that picked me up off the floor, actually being able to run again as I can now is something I wouldn't have without that experience. And when I got back from my third stint with that program I remember sitting down and thinking 'why can't they represent their country on the same level as the likes of Sammy Lawson?' So I started thinking about it, then I was talking to the various sports federations and then this whole picture unfolded right in front of me, so today I unveil to you the Legacy Sport Foundation, a body that will seek to provide the opportunities of sporting competition to the wounded military veterans of Mundus. It's never been about disability it's always been about ability, we're talking about people who have the same presence of mind, strength, speed and hunger, the same competitive desire and capability as any of the great athletes we hear so much about, it's about time they had the same opportunities."
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When asked what the Legacy Sport Foundations first sports venture would be the Crown Princess answered - "Well it's very exciting because we're hoping to go racing in this years Formula Mundus championships with a team that is entirely comprised of military personnel who've all been seriously injured in the line of duty, whether they be the drivers, pit crew, pit wall, engineers, designers etc. Clearly such an ambition given the circumstances does carry a level of understandable apprehension however we've been in contact with the Mundus Motorsport Association and their experts are working with our team on areas of concern and presently we're confident of having the cars on the grid for the first race."
The Crown Princess also made it clear that this was just the start and that "You should watch this space" leading many to believe something much bigger is in the pipeline.
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AIR FORCE ANNOUNCES PATRONUS DRONE PROGRAM
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Artists impression of the Patronus drone
By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The Achkaerin Air Force has announced the Patronus Drone Program, which as might be guessed from the name is focused around the development of a new drone called the Patronus (artists impression above). The drone aims to break new ground with a design that's adaptable to numerous mission profiles and also and perhaps more intriguingly by being not only air launched but also recovered in the air as well. The drone itself is rather unsurprisingly going to be developed by Riviere Corporation, the brains behind the most significant drones in use in the Achkaerinese military and arguably some of the most significant on Mundus, the corporations CEO Catriona Rowan explained their challenge as follows: "It's going to be interesting to say the least, in the past we've built drone families and ended up with about five or six different ideas which we've then whittled down either ourselves or had whittled down by the client, the Patronus is a change in that regard because what we're looking to do is have a drone that we can swap things around with in the same way that things with the fast frigate can be swapped around with. Chances are we'll end up with a few different ideas but we're hopeful of coming up with something of the highest quality."
The big eyebrow raising aspect of this program though is the aerial deployment and recovery aspect which will be looked at by AADC, their CEO Darren Eagle stated when asked about it - "It's always fun and challenging to try something like this. It's like the navy has aircraft carriers and of course you can't go launching fighters from an aircraft though I'm going to end up with egg on my face if EMAC's skunkworks come up with that in the next few days. AADC's job in this program is concerned with the launch and recovery platform, we've got a spec from the Air Force that we'll work from and see what we can come up with that fits their requirements. The big challenge will be devising a means of recovering the drones from an aerial position but having had initial discussions we don't believe it's impossible."
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DEFENCE QUESTIONS FOCUS ON ARDIA
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
Defence questions in the Senate earlier today covered a variety of topics though the focus seemed to turn towards Ardia, which has tended to be a common theme in such question time sessions of late. The Minister of Defence Adam Sheppard (pictured above) answered a series of questions a selection of which are below:
What is the Government's position on the proposed non proliferation treaty as put forward by Rokkenjima?
"Achkaerin is committed to the decommissioning of its nuclear arsenal, we have to date decommissioned around 25% of our arsenal and will continue to decommission our weapons, that is our standing policy. In terms of what Rokkenjima initially proposed it was not acceptable for a very simple reason it put the cart before the horse, it gave only half the equation. This is a point that has since been recognized by Grand Duke Lascelles of Bakkermaya and a response to how this has developed will be made in the next few hours. In clear terms though we need to see not only the treaty text but the text that governs the proposed watchdog because no one's going to sign up to this without seeing both of those. Also Achkaerin will not sign up to a treaty or agreement that compromises its national security."
Does the rise of SANE change anything in relation to the countries defence policy?
"No it does not. SANE may be an emerging power bloc but at the present moment nothing that SANE have said or done in any way changes our defence policy."
How far progressed are the efforts in Nueva Ardia carried out by Naval personnel?
"As the Senate will be aware since the end of the Andean Genocide Achkaerinese naval personnel have been on deployment inside Nueva Ardia tasked with the identification of the deceased and giving closure to the families involved. Of the estimated thirty million victims we have at last report, received last week, identified a third of those. However this is of course a moveable feast in terms of progress because we don't know where all the deaths occured."
What does the Government think of the escalating situation in the Rokkenjiman Sea?
If the nation of Orphela wants to increase the size of it's navy then it's entitled to do so, if Rokkenjima wants to spend money on frankly pointless ship conversions then it's entitled to do so, if the honourable Senator will bear with me I'll explain why it's in my view pointless. What Rokkenjima is proposing to do on the face of it makes sense, modifying two helicopter carriers into more conventional aircraft carriers is going to be more expedient and less time consuming than developing an all new carrier. The one drawback is that the converted carrier is still the same dimensionally as the helicopter carrier that it was before so you have broadly the same length of runway which for a smaller carrier limits the type of jet aircraft that can be deployed from it to generally what are known as Short Take Off Vertical Landing aircraft or Vertical Short Take Off and Landing aircraft otherwise known as STOVL and VSTOL aircraft. Neither type of aircraft presently exist within the Imperial Rokkenjima Air Force so they've got two carriers but no jets to fly off them. This also brings up a related point in that when one considers the number of carriers in the Rokkenjima navy which I believe is eight, not including these two proposed, and then contrast that with the number of carrier capable aircraft in the IRAF it begs the question of how much money is actually being wasted in the IRN. In short Orphela and Rokkenjima may find working together more helpful to this than escalating things."
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RAVENSWOOD AND TAYLOR SPEAK TO YOUTH ASSEMBLY
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(left) Emerson Ravenswood, Viceregent of Rokkenjima (right) Nettie Taylor, Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Achkaerin Royal Family
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The Viceregent of Rokkenjima, Emerson Ravenswood, and Nettie Taylor the former Premier of Rokkenjima, former Imperial Councillor for Foreign Affairs and at present the Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Achkaerin Royal Family were the special guests at the Achkaerin Youth Assembly today, the body of Young People that meets on a monthly basis were given the opportunity to listen to a conversation between the pair and then ask questions, this is something that in recent years has seen other prominent Achkaerinese figures participate in. As was perhaps expected events of the last few days did become a theme, when asked about the closure of Queen Adriana Military Base the Viceregent was quite direct saying: "It is only natural that as regional organisations such as the Council Of Illumic Nations that seek to ensure security of a region of Mundus become more and more established that the need for out of region military presences decline until they eventually become unjustifiable. In the case of QAMB it is true that if we go back a few years that Rokkenjima did do several things in the Illumic however citing former glories in the present tense does nothing except show ignorance of the present circumstances because the fact is that over the last few years the security of the Illumic has been handled conclusively by East Moreland and Seaforth they've handled pirates, they've handled sabre rattling, they denied the USR a base in the region. And lest the people of Rokkenjima and Rishiri forget Morelanders and Seaforthians have died protecting QAMB and Rishiri so there needs to be a lot more respect shown for that. The point remains that overseas military bases are only justified when there is a clear reason for their existence, QAMB in light of the changing face of the Illumic lost the objective reason for being there and it's no surprise that Seaforth said they wanted to close the base down. It should also follow that there should be no more bases if their existence cannot be justified."
Ms Taylor was asked about the upcoming Covenant Address and what it would probably feature saying: "Obviously the speech is still being written but it's been a fairly quiet few months on the international front in terms of major commitments so a more localized theme may be the focus of the speech, the building of relations with nations around Achkaerin that we don't presently have relations with and also the establishing of relations with other nations that we've become colleagues with on the international stage, there may be a surprise or two focusing around this especially in light of treaties we've now got into force. I'd also expect an update on the decommissioning of the nuclear arsenal."
Another question to the Viceregent asked about the tensions between Rokkenjima and SANE which he answered by saying: "It's an issue that unfortunately once again generates a problem where one need not exist. Leaving aside for the moment the issues concerning the individual members of SANE what we've seen is the kicking up of a hornets nest when it wasn't necessary and then red lines have been drawn and rash statements issued. Now it's apparent that there are issues with the SANE charter but if these are dealt with what they will have is a reasonable organisation with a reasonable charter, the truth is that all SANE as an entitity did in this whole palava was remove a very limiting restriction on themselves in terms of membership criteria which is very easily illustrated when studying a map because the Cenneg border clearly looms large in that instance. We must however give Grand Duke Lascelles the credit he throughally deserves for yet again having to deal with a mess like this, it is unfortunate that this has been required on two occasions and I will do everything within my power to ensure there is not a third occasion."
Both Mr Ravenswood and Ms Taylor were also asked about the recent soft/hard power study results published the Viceregent answered "The results are objectively more or less in accordance with the yardstick that I think both myself and Nettie are familiar with which is track record, in short it's about what you do not what you say. In that regard Rokkenjima sliding down to tenth in the soft power is entirely in keeping with the position Rokkenjima finds itself in which is with a lot of questions to answer about itself and the direction it wants to take, the abolishing of the office of the Premier likely didn't help, the continuing questions of credibility do not help either I could go on but suffice to say there is a long list of issues that probably contributed to that. In terms of hard power Rokkenjima being ranked fourth is actually shocking because when we consider track record and the seeming habitual nature of Rokkenjima promising much but delivering nothing it's quite surprising to see them ranked above certain other nations, obviously we'll take it but we're under no illusions that things have to change and will change once we get the Imperial Council confirmed by the Diet in the next few weeks and when we get the report of the Anausa Review published in the next couple of weeks."
Ms Taylor answered on Achkaerin's ranking in the study saying: "It's what we'd have expected at the end of the day what the study tells us is that Achkaerin has strong diplomatic relationships across Mundus, having played major roles in various organisations and has lasting friendships with nations such as East Moreland and Seaforth. It also tells us that as illustrated by recent history if a situation requires a military response Achkaerin's brave servicemen and women are prepared to put themselves in harms way to help resolve it. That's been seen in Marseilles, in Royal Seleucid, in Toshikawa, in Lakhzovia and many many more. And that is a sacrifice that will always be honoured."
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LEGACY CLEARED TO RACE IN FORMULA MUNDUS
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
The Legacy Sport Foundation has been cleared to compete in this years Formula Mundus Championships. The team which will be known as Legacy Racing consists of personnel drawn entirely from wounded veterans of the Achkaerinese armed forces. The news was greeted with celebration by the aspiring team with many now eager for the opportunity to get their teeth into some pre season testing. The team has also announced some of their key positions for the upcoming season:
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Driver One: Leia Armitage
Leading the driver lineup for the team will be Leia Armitage, originally from the town of Djana-Ville and a former pilot in the Achkaerin Airforce who was wounded when the Raptorwing fighter she was piloting during the Seaforth Eugenics War was shot down, she lost her lower right leg in the incident as well as suffering spinal damage, she's been very open about her long term battle with depression and getting used to her new circumstances, she took up rallycross as a hobby and was chosen to race for the Legacy team as a result of that experience.
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Driver Two: Mark Keane
The second driver for the team is Mark Keane, a cross country runner in his youth who placed third in the under 16's national championship race at one time, he was a scout in the army injured during the first Safraen crisis losing both his feet and his entire lower left leg as well as severe burns on his body. He spent months in a coma following complications with his treatment. He's lost a lot more than most of the others on the team in many ways but he's also been cited as the mood changer in the team and has already established a strong relationship with the other two drivers on the team.
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Development Driver: Sarah Braid
The teams development driver is Sarah Braid, the youngest member of the team, she had only just become a badged engineer within the Achkaerinese army when she was sent on her first overseas deployment to Phuebra. The vehicle she was traveling in was hit in an ambush by insurgent forces and she lost her left arm as a result of the attack. Following that she has worked for her fathers car garage as a mechanic but soon found herself behind the wheel and racing at track days. She's got the knowledge to be able to develop the car as the season progress's but also has the ability to back up the other two drivers.
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Team Principal: Vicky Black
The overall leader of the team is Vicky Black a former Lieutenant in the Achkaerinese Navy, a submariner who lost her lower right arm in a freak accident, she's highly respected within the military community domestically as someone who has always been a vocal advocate for veterans. She's answered several questions on her hopes for the season saying that she hopes the team will be able to compete for points and hopefully podiums, but she's not oblivious to the challenges that the team will face through the course of the season. She did however confirm that the team would take EMAC up on their offer of joint training and their trailers saying "The opportunity to learn from one of the best teams in the sport is not something we'll turn down, we'd be honoured to train alongside EMAC and start to ease our way into this sport."
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AMATEURS MAKE WOMEN'S ROYAL CUP FINAL HISTORY
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Football is without question the national sport in Achkaerin, there's a very large structure in terms of leagues on both men's and women's sides of the game, a strong grassroots program has seen many of the most proficient players who've ever worn the national jersey come through its doors. But for those who've never played at the highest levels, those who never achieved that dream, those who love the romance of the underdog the place to look in Achkaerinese football is the Royal Cup. It's the only competition which sees every team from the top division all the way down to the semi professionals and amateurs compete for the same prize. Traditionally the finals occur on a weekend with the women playing on the Saturday and the men on the Sunday. However this year the Achkaerinese Football Association has been forced to reverse that scheduling, because one of the women's teams in the final is Achkaerinese Senate Women's Football Club (otherwise known as ASWFC). A team that as is expected is comprised entirely of members of the Achkaerinese Senate, an amateur level team, and as they would be expected on June 16th to be in the Senate chamber for the Covenant Address the AFA have reversed the fixture list.
This marks the first time an amateur team has ever made the final in either the mens or womens version of the competition, ASWFC did it through a 2-1 victory over Valtheim United WFC, which saw a fast start and a fighting defensive spirit late on to hold back the opponent's onslaught. The team features Senators from across the chamber representing eight of the nine parties that hold seats in the Senate, the junior defence minister Sally-Anne Seaborn plays midfield on the team as well as captaining the side said "None of us can quite believe we're going to get the chance to play at the Fox's Den. But later on in the month that's what's going to happen and of all teams we're having to play Lakeside WFC. We're going to try our best to win and make a little more history than we have so far but we're the underdogs and let's see what happens."
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SENATE VOTES FOLLOWING FLEUR DECISION
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By David Wood: Political Correspondent
Following the statement from the nation of Fleur to classify Achkaerin as a so called "C3" nation, meaning that Fleuroix military armaments and advanced technology are banned and that there will be additional background checks import controls on goods exported from Fleur to a list of nations, it is perhaps no surprise that an urgent question was laid in the Senate, the mechanism which allows Senators to summon a Minister of State to the dispatch box, saw Minister of Trade Viola Summers explain the Achkaerinese view of the Fleur action saying:
"If Fleur wishes to set rules such as this concerning their own exports and such then as long as such matters rest within their jurisdiction they are entitled to do so as a sovereign state, obviously we are disappointed with this and presumably so are an awful lot of other countries on Mundus. However matters such as this operate on a reciprocal basis and as such we will seek to, as East Moreland have already done so, impose the same restrictions upon Fleur we will also approach our Rokkenjiman colleagues in the Cross Straits Union with a view to discussing whether to take such action on a Union level. Furthermore we utterly disagree with the characterisation of these nations as 'enemies of Liberty' the track records of the nations mentioned in this release clearly show the opposite and nothing in this will deter any aspect of this Government's policy."
The vote in the Senate on the matter passed with a tally of 463-36 in favour.
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SENATORS WIN THE CUP
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Achkaerinese Senate Women's Football Club have made history by becoming the first amateur side to win the Royal Cup. Facing top tier opposition in Lakeside WFC the amateurs were expected to have a hard time and so it proved, fifteen minutes into the game Lakeside went ahead when Sandra Carson arrowed a shot into the top corner from the edge of the box, with Lakeside dominant in possession the Senator's fought hard to stay in the game and with ten minutes left in the first half they got their reward, Sally-Anne Seaborn got a little bit of space on the right wing and managed to clip the ball through for Danielle Fowler, a member of the Green Party and sole striker for the team to score with a lofted volley. Lakeside regained their lead five minutes into the second half following intricate passing and a cool headed finish. But the Senators hung in there and into injury time at the end of the game they got their chance, Fowler brought down in the penalty area, the penalty was put into the net by Seaborn and with it the Senator's faced an extra thirty minutes of play, an extra thirty minutes of their defence against the Lakeside attack, every tackle being cheered as if it was a goal, the crowd getting behind the underdogs.
And so to the penalty shootout, not an ideal way to settle a game by any means, but this was what it was to be. At two penalties each the Senator's goalkeeper Viola Summers, fresh from duties at the dispatch box earlier in the day, saved impressively and after Seaborn put the Senators ahead in the shootout perhaps for the first time the team of amateurs began to realize that it was possible. Ultimately it came down to the last Senators kick entrusted to Danielle Fowler, the keeper went bottom left corner while Fowler sent the ball into the bottom right corner prompting scenes the like of which haven't been seen in the Fox's Den since the night Achkaerin won their first World Cup. It is without question the biggest upset in the history of the Royal Cup on either side of the sport. Speaking after lifting the trophy the Senate team captain Sally-Anne Seaborn said "I don't believe we've done this, absolutely incredible...I'm speechless. We wanted to give it our best shot and we had to fight hard for it and when we got it to penalties we knew anything could happen."
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AVALON MARKS TENTH BIRTHDAY, LADY LEONIDAS ADDRESSES CELEBRATIONS
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
The City of Avalon, built on an artificial island off the west coast of Eria island[1] celebrated its tenth birthday today, the city square saw the largest celebrations and it was here that Marqueeza Olivia Leonidas (pictured above) addressed the crowds saying:
"Ten years ago the people of this city started out on a journey together, a journey towards a great many things. It was a day of joy and sorrow. When we began this we set ourselves a target, we said that we wanted Avalon to be a self sufficient city within fifty years we are still hopeful of achieving that goal. The last ten years have been about establishing this city the next ten are as outlined in our strategy about continuing to lay the foundations for the day when our long term goal comes into view. Were my mother here today to see this she'd put things in that most eloquent way she always put things, I can only say that I'm proud of each and every one of you who joined this venture, I'm thankful to everyone who has made it a success so far. Let's do everything we can to make the next ten years as fulfilling as the first ten."
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SUNSEEKER REACHES FINAL STOP BEFORE FINAL SPRINT TO PORTWORTH
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Sunseeker, the solar powered vessel on a round the world trip, has reached it's final pitstop before returning to Portworth in East Moreland. The vessel sailed solo by Eleanor Hendry is presently anchored in Seaforth, where its recharging its cells ahead of returning to East Moreland as part of the flotilla in the Festival of Sail in a few days time. Ms Hendry, who already holds three sailing records to her name, spoke to us over the phone saying "It's been a long year and at times a lonely one but at least on this round the world trip I've been able to have a few days in various different countries, I even got to see my brothers play in the Achkaerin national shirt in the rugby world cup, it's been an experience that's for sure. I'm going to enjoy the next couple of days in Seaforth and then hook up with the rest of the flotilla for the festival of sail."
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NATIONAL TRIALS BEGIN
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(left) Nick Bridges (right) James Parker
By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
The National Trials for the Mundus Games got underway in the usual manner today with attention centred around one of the new events - Snooker. Although a somewhat popular sport in Achkaerin the opportunity to see it on the international stage has sparked the imagination of many fans. Achkaerin will be represented in the men's snooker by Nick Bridges and James Parker, the pair booking their places on the team after showing excellent form in prior competitions and in the trials, the womens players will be determined tomorrow. Elsewhere in the trials the tennis selection process got underway and the gymnasts started their bids for team places, it is perhaps the last of these that promises to be the most interesting, following the retirement of Abigail Snowden a multiple medal winner after last years games, the team is to a large extent wide open. The big team events also began their training camps within the trials with the cricketeers getting a lot of exposure as they prepare to make their games debut.
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SIXTEEN YEAR OLD ERIN BOOKS PLACE AT GAMES
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
One of the questions hanging over the Achkaerinese team selection for the Mundus Games this year was over the makeup of the women's gymnastics team, following the retirement from competition last year of Abigail Snowden, for so long the anchor of that team. Her place is to be taken by sixteen year old Erin McCarthy, the young gymnast showed a strong all round showing with consistent scores across the board on all four apparatus to book her place on the plane to New Derusmia. Speaking after having her selection confirmed Erin said "It's every gymnasts dream to be able to compete in the Games, it's the pinnacle of our sport, I know people are saying I'm stepping into Abigail's shoes but all I can do is give it my best and hope that I can produce the right level of performance. I'll need to tighten up my uneven bars for the Games and polish my vaulting up but I'm looking forward to the challenge."
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MUNDUS GAMES PREVIEW
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Team Achkaerin during the opening ceremony
By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
It's that time of year again, the Mundus Games are upon us and with eighteen days of competition looming large we decided to take a look at some of Achkaerin's big medal hopes. First off, predictably, is Sammy Lawson the 24 year old cyclist dons the team captain's armband for a second successive games having been voted to the position by her team mates at the national trials, she'll compete in multiple cycling events on both track and road as she looks to add more medals to her already impressive haul. Given the Achkaerinese success in cycling across many years of competition it's no surprise that many of the Achkaerinese supporters will be beating a path to the velodrome later in the games and lining the roads over the next few days. The 'Fernley Quartet' of sisters Nicola, Kaitlin, Niamh and Ruth Fernley will ride in the womens team pursuit while doubling up on other events one of which sees Niamh Fernley go head to head with Sammy Lawson in the Omnium. On the men's side the familiar names of Tony Colt, Percy Herbert, Kevin Gibbs and Lee Barry will lead the charge with Mark Kaymer returning for another year.
The other Gold medals that Achkaerin will consider themselves to be in with a reasonable chance of winning are the two in football. Achkaerin's men and women both occupy the world number one position when it comes to the rankings and both will see the Games as an opportunity to assert that position and dominate their respective competitions. Neither squad were present for the opening ceremony as they have their first games of the competition imminent both knowing that in knockout football one bad game and its all over. Another bright hope is found in the Netball team, not a certainty to win a medal by any stretch of the imagination but the competition is wide open and with five group games before it becomes a knockout competition there's plenty of opportunity to play themselves into form.
On the athletics front the Achkaerinese team mixes youth and experience, Nicolette Young will race in the women's 1500 metres while Aiden Ward will attempt to win the blue ribbon event of the 100 metres. There's also another games for cross country star Britney Hammond and Samaan Saacid in the 5K and 10K. Perhaps though it's the return of Kayleigh Carson to the athletics team that could be the fairytale, the most experienced Achkaerinese athlete who's had two years of injury battles returns for what is believed to be her final competition before hanging up her spikes, she'll compete in the 5K and 10K for women with the longer distance being her preferred event and to give her the best chance of signing off with a medal she's supported in that event by Britney Hammond and Olivia Swire.
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SUMMER BOX OFFICE BATTLE AT THE CINEMA'S
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official artwork for Pokemon: Amy's Quest
By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
The summer is upon us and that means plenty of trips to the cinema are going to be happening. So we took a look at a couple of the much anticipated releases coming out over the next few days.
First we looked at the new Pokémon film titled Amy's Quest. The Pokémon television series has had a strong following and now for anyone who grew up with it and wants to get nostalgic or anyone into the series at the moment this is a new film that starts a new story within the Pokémon world. Set years after the television series events, we meet Amy who starts off on her Pokémon journey but unlike what most fans might expect this isn't a run around an area collecting gym badges it's something wholly different, she's setting out to solve the great mysteries of the Pokémon world and to find her father who hasn't been heard from for a few years. She'll make friends, she'll capture Pokémon and she'll face powerful opponents, the journey of this determined character and her friends is a story all the family can enjoy. Madeline Booth who directed the film spoke about it saying: "It's a huge film to be asked to do, not because of the budget or anything like that but because it's a Pokémon film set years after the events of the television series, so we had to be careful with how we portrayed it when we came to linking the film with the series because it was right that we pay tribute to the history but we had to be conscious of the investment that fans have in the series. There was plenty of mulling ideas over but eventually we settled on something that works for everyone and that everyone can enjoy."
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Secondly we took a look at perhaps the most anticipated film of the summer from an Achkaerinese perspective - the new Star Trek film, called Rogue it's a return to the classic Star Trek universe, rather than the Kelvin Timeline and also sees the first foray into the twenty fifth century in the franchise's history with the film being set in 2412. The plot? Well when Jean-Luc Picard disappears during a Romulan incursion into Federation territory the great man is accused of treason, a position made all the more believable when a subsequent Romulan attack puts Picard in the Captain's chair of the warbird carrying out the assault! Deciding there is no choice other than to hunt down their most esteemed Captain Starfleet sends the USS Dauntless under the command of Captain Emma Thrace and her handpicked crew after him with orders to eliminate the threat. However when the estranged daughter of the ships XO, a survivor of the attack, gives a different version of the story the crew of the Dauntless find themselves caught in a dangerous game where one false move could be their last as they try to determine whether Picard is a rogue or not.
The film features a star studded cast with Captain Emma Thrace played by Cassidy Raven, XO Commander Nick Starleton is played by Sam North, Lt Commander Jason Rowe (the chief security and tactical officer) is played by Timothy Knight, Chloe Owens plays the chief engineer Lt Commander Jazmine Scott, Natalie Carter plays the chief of operations Lt Rune, Luke Woods plays the Trill chief helm officer Lt Commander Tobias Aveno and James Hampton plays the chief medical officer Lt Commander Bruce Patterson. The film also introduces Rachel Kilkenny into her first major role as Danielle Starleton and stars Tamoran native Basir Kajiaan as chief science officer Lt Tyson Alexander. Rounding out the crew is Rose Parker playing chief intelligence officer Lt Kay Lyons, a department not usually seen in the franchise but making a detailed debut here.
When the cast were asked for comment Cassidy Raven said "When it comes to Achkaerinese film franchises I don't think they come any bigger than this one. So when I got asked would I like to play the Captain in this film I had to do it, I grew up watching the show so to get the chance to sit in that chair is unbelievable. It's a great cast and we've all got on well we've kind of become like family. Hopefully we can do a few more of these because the way this one ends kind of sets that up."
Chloe Owens added to this with "It was one of the toughest and yet most enjoyable shoots I've been involved in. It's just amusing when you're running in a canyon to film evading a ship and of course there's no ship so you have to imagine it. Basir and myself must have spent three days on that whole sequence, it was hard to get right but Basir's got a great sense of humour to help take the pressure out of the situation."
Sam North said "I think this is probably the film I've most enjoyed being a part of, the camaraderie between us, the way we all helped each other out, even the little improv bits that are likely to make the outtakes reel on the DVD, Blu-Ray or whatever, it was so great to do.
Finally Rachel Kilkenny said "I never thought my big movie debut would be in a film like this. I have to give Sam thanks for helping me settle down as we play father and daughter on screen we had a lot of scenes together where it was just the two of us and of course I'm a bundle of nerves because I've never been in a film this huge, it was just great to have an experienced actor there who I've learned a lot from."
Pokémon: Amy's Quest is out in cinema's tomorrow while Star Trek: Rogue is out on Tuesday the 23rd of July.
OOC Note - Ignore any face claim issues generated by the posters (it was simply a case of what I could get to work)
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PRINCE JACK LOOKING FORWARD TO LIFE IN LODJA
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal Family Correspondent
Prince Jack Azurewind, nephew of the Emperor, has said he's "looking forward to life in Lodja". The Prince who has just completed his high school education at Lady Morgana High School in Valtheim had been widely expected to spend time abroad, though Lodja does come as a surprise choice to a lot of people some insiders at the Diplomatic Office are seeing this as a move towards solidifying a relationship with Lodja, something not wholly ruled out by the Royal Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright when asked about this today when she said "Prince Jack is mature enough to be able to make this decision for himself, there is of course a minimal level of input from the Emperor in the course of this. The Prince has been to several events in Lodja over the last few months and he's made some friends out there so it's not that surprising. Not being a mind reader I can't state whether the Prince has any other reason for going out there."
When asked for his opinion on the matter whilst visiting a local police station, the Emperor said "I'm happy for Jack, Lodja is a really good country for him to spend some time in and Queen Klara has my thanks for agreeing to the detail of this."
Prince Jack is expected to arrive in Lodja at some point this weekend.
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PRINCESSES TURN OUT FOR PREMIERE
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By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
The opening night of the film Pokémon: Amy's Quest saw a star studded red carpet in Valtheim, of note was the appearance of Crown Princess Serenity and her daughter Princess Lisa (pictured above), for those who prefer the arena of the red carpet rather than the reporting of the cinematic experience itself it was the young Princess that stole the show, making what is probably going to go down as her first official Royal Duty. Speaking after the film the Princess said "I liked it." when asked for her thoughts. The Crown Princess said "It was very nostalgic for me because I grew up with the television series, ok I had to rewatch the first few series when I was a little older but it's one of things from my youth, I was a little worried because I knew they'd have to have made some decisions about how things progressed but I enjoyed it."
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TEAM ACHKAERIN OFF THE MARK AT GAMES
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Day two of the Mundus Games and Achkaerin are off the mark in terms of medals. The first medal, a gold one no less, came courtesy of Phillip Vega in the men's 50m Breaststroke and while the celebrations among the Achkaerinese supporters were for a medal they didn't expect to win there was no doubt that it was Pramoria that the day ultimately belonged to, a performance that reminded most of Dijel's strong start at the very first Mundus Games saw the swimmers put the Midaranye nation on top of the medal table with a fourteen medal haul including seven gold, four silver and three bronze.
Achkaerin's big cheer of the day came in the Women's Cycling Road Race as Sammy Lawson took gold, bringing her Games total to eighteen medals. However she didn't have it all her own way and this year the threat came from her newest team mate Maria Cairns, ultimately Cairns would have to settle for the silver but not by much. The race itself was an interesting one in the end though for much of it there was a monotony that was perhaps expected, with around forty five kilometres to go there was a large scale attack off the front that broke the peloton and as the pace continued to be raised more and more dropped off, with three of the Achkaerinese team still in the front group with thirty kilometres to go it was the turn of Melanie Parker to inject the pace and further narrow the field, when her turn was done there were only three left in the running - one Vaguzian cyclist, Sammy Lawson and Maria Cairns. Up the final small climb the two Achkaerinese cyclists created the gap they needed with five kilometres to go before putting on a grandstand sprint finish.
Speaking afterwards Sammy Lawson said "I really like unpredictable races that, it just shows you can't relax in this sport. Once we realized that we had numbers in the breakaway we knew we had the advantage and the girls did a great job of slimming the field right down and then when we got the gap at the end me and Maria just looked at each other knowing it was going to be the sprint. It's a weird one as well because when we trained for this Maria's been my leadout rider and then suddenly she's the one person who could deny me the gold medal. I just kept focused on the line and pedalled as hard as I could and today I edged it but next time that may not happen she's got plenty of talent and she'll grow into a great cyclist over time."
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CHAMBERS REBUTS NYX AND CLYSPERI STATEMENTS
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
Following a speech by Ascendant Natrax of Nyx (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1493.msg13206#msg13206) and then an address by Pharoah Beketaten of Clysperis (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1361.msg13222#msg13222), both of which were somewhat critical of Achkaerinese policy towards Aranye, it was inevitable that the Government would table an urgent statement on the matter, so it was that in the Senate today that Minister of Foreign Affairs, Richard Chambers rebutted both statements as follows:
"Mr Speaker with permission I will make a statement responding to Ascendant Natrax's speech in Xaeth and Pharoah Beketatan's statement as reported in the Clysperis News. Both statements make a series of accusations against this country including 'Achkaerin seemingly has little connection to Aranye' or 'Achkaerin, like most of Mundus, hasn't even taken an official stance on the Theocracy of Kaitine.' And then there's 'the Holy Empire is content in remaining a complacent bystander who few could be forgiven for suspecting it of holding vast sympathies for its traditional Helusian allies and their pursuits upon the world stage.' and the Government's personal favourite ' is most certainly not a part of any solution to checking the ambitions of these powers.' Mr Speaker this government roundly and robustly refutes all of these claims, in the case of the Ascendant we put this down to Nyx looking at the situation at face value in 2019 and making an assumption, whereas if one were to look at recent years they would see a strong connection between Achkaerin and Aranye. It is our position that the Ascendant's statement is to a large extent in error but we attribute this to their long isolation and therefore lack of knowledge of events beyond their borders. In the case of the Pharoah we would point out that as a Midaranye head of state she should be more than aware of the reasons for actions taken in Midaranye by international powers and more than aware of all the occasions upon which Achkaerin has checked the power of other states from outside who have sought to interfere on this continent.
The track record Mr Speaker should not need restating but in the interests of clarity we remember that when the Kaiju virus devastated Safraen it was Achkaerin alongside other nations including East Moreland and Dijel that went in and resolved the crisis, we created the cure for the virus, we treated the infected and then supported the democratic half of the country, while the Soviet satellite half while receiving the cure and necessary humanitarian aid was supported by the USR and other WARSAW nations. A few months later when the same virus was used by the Soviets in Safraen as biological weapon action was taken by the CIS of which Achkaerin was a part, we invaded the Soviet half and drove them out, we then alongside our allies moved across the border with Meche and pushed the Soviets out of there these were the actions that only a few weeks later triggered the mass protests that ultimately led to the collapse of the USR. In the course of the invasion of Soviet Safraen we also arrested a Verovian General for breaching the Uppsalla Convention due to the execution of prisoners of war, this is a man from an Ardian nation responsible for the deaths of getting on for 5,000 people from Aranye nations specifically Achkaerin, Seaforth and the then Republic of Safraen. This man now sits in prison in Seaforth having been tried an convicted for his crimes.
I will very briefly mention that Achkaerin also contributed to the liberation of Seaforth in the Eugenics War, including saving the life of Harper Rhodes and also played a part in the defeating the Enlightenment in Revana including the rehabilitation of the face of that terrorist group, the search for the actual powers of that group remains ongoing. Now to the Cult of Helus Genocide, this saw elements within Royal Seleucid's military actively engage in the mass murder of civilians who were followers of the Cult of Helus, to not intervene would have been unthinkable and let's be clear the operation undertaken by Achkaerinese and Morelander forces is one of the most significantly challenging operations in recent history but it was done and thousands of lives were saved as a result of this action, more would have undoubtedly been saved had other nations and in particular one organisation supported the effort rather than bickering over something else. Following on from that situation one might think that we wouldn't have anything to do with Royal Seleucid but again you would be wrong to think that because when a famine swept the area Achkaerin was part of the relief effort that delivered food into the country.
Mr Speaker this does not sound like Achkaerin has been or is a 'complacent bystander' does it? A complacent bystander would have let the Kaiju virus run riot in Safraen, a complacent bystander would have permitted a Soviet Satellite state with a biological weapons program to exist, a complacent bystander would have allowed Seaforth to be cast adrift, a complacent bystander would have allowed Revana to have fallen into terrorist hands, a complacent bystander would have allowed the Seleucid military to slaughter the innocent, a complacent bystander would have let the Seleucid's starve. None of this came to pass and why Mr Speaker? Because we are a nation that recognizes the responsibility that comes with the position we hold.
Now to deal with the other points made the Ascendant, let's start with Achkaerin's position on the Theocracy of Kaitaine as this Government has previously stated Mr Speaker the issue of recognizing the Theocracy of Kaitaine is one presently being debated by this Chamber and the Noble Moot, there is no position formally yet due to the fact that the matter is within the legislative debating process and that is without pointing out the various complexities of the issue itself. We also state once again why Achkaerin is not a member of an international organisation such as for example the CNN or SANE. The answer is simply this - with the exception of our time in the CIS Achkaerin has found itself doing an unreasonable amount of legwork in organisations, just look at our time in the CTO the overwhelming majority of CTO actions were carried out by two nations - ourselves and East Moreland neither nation can claim to have a huge military but they did put their money where their mouth was while other nations most certainly did not. Achkaerin has a good track record on Aranye, I'm not saying it's dazzling by any means but we have relations of some sort with several Aranye nations - we have treaties with Seaforth and Revana, we have an agreement with Safraen, we have recently worked with Tamora on the fight against terrorism (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=845.msg12692#msg12692). Achkaerin also stands as the principal author of the only established cross Aranye continental organisation, an effort that saw for a time Aranye nations working together on mutual interests, sadly it no longer exists due to various circumstances but we are looking to pick it back up again and see what new interest we can garner.
Finally Mr Speaker let us concern ourselves with the suggestion from the Pharoah that Achkaerin does not check the power of other nations. This is a falsehood and one we suspect the Pharoah is aware of given the glaringly convenient omission in her address. What omission? That of Rokkenjima, it's simply the case that when such assessments are made they must be made objectively based on all the evidence not just the evidence that supports your argument. Mr Speaker the major intervention in Midaranye over the last few months does not come from Achkaerin or East Moreland or Ui Cenneslaig it comes from Rokkenjima and that's evidenced by the back and forth between Empress Beatrice and President Kravec, a back and forth that has done nothing good it has cost lives that need not have been lost, we now have a mined Gulf of Auraxis and now this has brought us to the point where Pandora's Box is rattling to open. Now in terms of checks against Rokkenjima, Achkaerin has consistently checked Rokkenjima in this regard we offered to mediate the Rokkenjiman and Slavan dispute, we actually got Slava Lavosk's agreement but Rokkenjima said no. In fact while Rokkenjima was trading jibes wth Slava Lavosk in the press Achkaerin was negotiating for the release of Dilara, something we were unfortunately unable to achieve but we at least tried. Most recently Achkaerin quite clearly vetoed Rokkenjiman operations out of QCMB as a check to the ambition of Rokkenjima on Midaranye in respect of Slava Lavosk. A position we have made clear is in place until after the talks in Paracambi at which point it will be reviewed.
It is quite clear Mr Speaker that the Achkaerinese track record on Aranye is quite different to the image painted by these two speeches. Having corrected the record I commend this statement to the Senate."
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SHOCK CABINET DEATH
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By Amira Cotton: Gowu Correspondent
Franklin Bowyer, the Defence Liaison Officer to Gowu, has died. Mr Bowyer who retired from the Achkaerinese Army at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2010 was appointed as Defence Liaison Officer by the then Gowu Minister and has served in this capacity since then until his death from a heart attack today. Chief Councillor Xiaoling Tsu visited Mr Bowyer's family and after spending time with them spoke to the media saying: Franklin was a committed and intelligent man who carried out his duties meticulously and always gave sound advice, his wide breadth of knowledge and experience was instrumental to Gowu being able to join the Ardian Assembly. Away from his work he was a caring individual, a loving husband and father I hope the press will respect his families right to privacy at this time. He will be sorely missed by everyone in the Gowu Council."
An announcement on Mr Bowyer's replacement is expected in the coming days.
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BRITTAIN BRILLIANCE ON DAY THREE
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Day three of the Mundus Games brought a handful of medals for Team Achkaerin, all of them to be found in the swimming pool. First up Gabriel Jackson picked up silver in the mens 200m butterfly, in the womens version of the same event Michelle Mejia picked up bronze, in the womens 200m freestyle there was a bronze for Faith Bates, so a reasonable performance from the swimmers but it was about to get better - enter Becky Brittain (pictured above) probably Achkaerin's best known swimmer lining up in her first event of the games the womens 400m freestyle, it was a close race but she took the gold in the end narrowing pipping her Josai competitor. Afterwards she spoke to us saying "I always get nervous when I'm up on the blocks and with Pramoria's domination in the pool so far you start to wonder because momentum is a powrful psychological thing and Pramoria have certainly got it. But I felt good after halfway and started to kick on I managed to pull away a little, I knew I wasn't going to be able to shake the field but I just needed the little bit of a gap and I got it."
She was then asked about her Morelander counterpart Daisy Greechan who's believed to be competing in her final games where she said "Daisy has been a great ambassador for the sport, she's the most prominent swimmer on Mundus and the way she's conducted herself both in and outside of the pool is a testament to her character. It's kinda weird to imagine she won't be there next year because she's become one of the major draws to the games for the fans, obviously everyone wants to see their country win but you also want to see the best compete against each other and Daisy has been one of the best for so long. Tomorrow I'll hopefully get to line up against her in the final of at least one of the events and we'll see what happens."
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MUNDUS GAMES DAY FOUR ROUND UP
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Day four of the Mundus Games was always going to be an intriguing day for a great number of reasons, the first sight of the athletics competitors as the men's marathon took place was always going to draw a crowd. This was where Achkaerin's athletes got their athletics medal tally going as Jasen Guzina picked up the silver. In the pool Becky Brittain swam to victory in the womens 800m freestyle while in the 1500m version of the event there was a bronze for Ember Aguirre. One of the historic moments of the day however came in the weightlifting where Allie Wiggins took gold however she was joined on the top step of the podium by a Tamoran and a Maori the three of them inseparable at the conclusion of the competition. The return of the cycling program in the form of the BMX events also saw Achkaerinese success with a silver for Sebastian Rees in the mens event and gold for Charleigh Harper in the womens event in the shooting Scarlet Hendricks proved her steady aim again with gold in the womens 50m pistol. However perhaps the most anticipated moment of the day was in the women's football where Achkaerin's women faced the team whose presence has caused a little surprise at the games - the Theocracy of Kaitaine. Achkaerin ran out five nil winners in a game that they controlled for large periods of time. Speaking afterwards the womens team coach Tom Morrisey said "Games like that are the worst kind of nightmare for a team like us and I imagine it was the same for Vaguzia in the last round. When you have a team that has the odds so heavily stacked against it you open up the fairy tale possibilities to the point where the neutrals in the crowd start to pull for the underdog. We had to play a disciplined game and we did, we had to be patient and we were. We had a game plan and we stuck to it. I'll also say that forgetting about nationality and politics and judging those girls we played today as footballers there are some there that have potential. Maybe we'll see them in womens leagues across Mundus at some point who knows."
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ACHKAERIN SIGNS MAEA
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
Achkaerin has signed the governing charter of the Mundus Atomic Energy Agency. The move comes as no surprise, nor does the landslide majority the ratification achieved in the Senate passing by a tally of 498-1, the sole dissenting voice coming from Robert McKinlay of the Puritan Party. Speaking in an interview following the ratification vote Minister for Science and Technology Kathryn Deed (pictured above) said:
"The MAEA represents the first part of the equation entered into last year when the three nuclear powers called time on their arsenals and initiated decommissioning The other half of the equation is of course a solid non proliferation treaty that focuses on the preventing of nuclear weapons becoming an issue ever again. The MAEA is a solid treaty that secures and regulates the transfer of nuclear materials for civilian purposes. Obviously what's also now needed is a resolution to the Slava Lavosk situation, an agreement there could very easily form the basis of the non proliferation treaty. Meanwhile we just have to hope that other efforts do not derail the best chances of success."
The Minister refused to comment on whether Achkaerin would support Rokkenjima's bid to host the MAEA or whether Achkaerin would submit a bid itself.
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ASA TAKE FIRST STEPS ON "ATLANTIS JOURNEY"
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By Kimberley Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Achkaerin Space Agency has launched the mission designated as Falcon One. The mission, a lunar orbit mission, marks the first step in what the ASA has termed the "Atlantis Journey" which was explained by the Agency's director Gary Hale as follows: "This is the start of a journey that will take us many years to travel our objective is to reach Nergal in the manned sense. There are many strands to this undertaking and there will be many different missions and projects over the next few years, our manned mission focus is on the moon for now which we're intending to use as a dress rehearsal and test bed for what we're aiming for on Nergal. Falcon One isn't a landing mission and nor will Falcon Two be, but Falcon Three onwards will be."
Falcon One is expected to achieve Lunar orbit within the next forty eight hours.
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MEDALS ON DAY FIVE
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Day five of the Mundus Games saw further success for Team Achkaerin. In the womens marathon on the streets of the host city it was Lissie Michelsen who took the gold medal, breaking clear of her Pavitr Parvat competitor in the closing kilometres to take the victory by a comfortable margin. In the pool there was another gold for Becky Brittain as she took gold in the women's 800m medley. But it was unusually in the diving pool where Achkaerin had a great amount of success, in the mens 10m platform Riley Hayes took an unexpected gold medal and then in the womens 5m springboard Amy Sutton (pictured above) took another gold medal. Speaking afterwards Sutton said "I'm gobsmacked to win gold, it wasn't expected but wide open competitions like this are the best chance for us to do something unexpected and maybe start to throw some momentum into the medal charge."
Also asked for comment was the Achkaerin chef de mission Princess Esme Azurewind who said "We're building momentum now which is good and that's producing strong performances from our athletes which is even better. We've got plenty of days left and we'll see what other stories emerge out of the games."
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AID BEING SENT TO NOOBIA
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
In response to a developing humanitarian situation in Noobia, the mobilisation of JET assets from numerous nations including Achkaerin has been authorised. In addition the Achkaerinese military, who have a great amount of experience in situations like this most notably in Safraen and following the great disaster in the former Union of Nordic Peoples, has been deployed. It is understood that the majority of Achkaerinese aid is presently en route to Ui Cenneslaig pending the approval of the Noobian Government for an aid operation to take place, meanwhile a small naval contingent including the INS Apothecary (pictured above) and the INS Arthur Mishima, on what is expected to be the final deployment for the latter, has been deployed as part of the effort and is expected to be arriving off the Noobian Coast in around four days time.
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FOREIGN OFFICE ON HASSFURT
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
The Foreign Office has outlined the Government's position on the Diarchy of Hassfurt following the nations emergence from isolation. Speaking after the Senate debate on the subject the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chloe Murray (pictured above) explained the position saying:
"On most occasions the emerging of a nation from isolation is something to be celebrated even more so in current times as many nations seem to be embarking on a course of regression rather than cooperation. Hassfurt is however the exception to the rule, Achkaerin is signatory to the Mundus Convention of Universal Rights a document that states in its very first article that 'Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.' to therefore say that your position in society is determined by your hair and eye colour is something of an absurdity and a practice that has no place in the Mundus of the twenty first century. Accordingly the Senate has passed series of motions that make clear that Achkaerin will limit its diplomatic contact with the Diarchy to the normal course of business required by embassy staff. Our ambassador who is yet to be appointed will be appointed not on the basis of their appearance but on who is best qualified for the job. We're also advising our citizens against travel to Hassfurt."
There was no comment from the Diplomatic Office about who the potential ambassador to Hassfurt could be.
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DIVERS SURPASS EXPECTATIONS
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Day six of the Mundus Games saw the Achkaerinese Diving Team do something none before the game thought likely, they finished top of the diving medal table. Following a strong performance in the individual events it was turn of the synchronized events, a discipline not just about technique but about getting the timing between the two divers spot on. Leading the way for the Achkaerinese were Daniel Bell and Timothy Diaz in the mens synchronized 3m, they took home the bronze. In the mens synchronized 10m platform Riley Hayes and Toby Cooke won silver. On the womens side of the event there was gold success in the women's synchronized 3m as sisters Adelyn and Estrella Cunningham (pictured above) took gold narrowly pipping their Seaforthian rivals, in the womens synchronized 5m the gold was won by Amy Sutton and Evie Grant. It means that Amy Sutton has made a little history becoming the first Achkaerinese diver to do the double of winning an individual and synchronized diving event at the same games.
The success leaves Achkaerin in second position on the medal table chasing after Pramoria and there's a level of optimism around the camp with many aware that the athletics and cycling programmes both of which are traditional Achkaerinese strengths have plenty of events still to come. Whether or not Achkaerin will repeat the feat of finishing top of the medal table is yet to be seen but there's a clear determination around the team to give it their best shot.
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CONSUL UNIMPRESSED WITH NOOBIA
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
As the crisis in Noobia continues to develop, the Achkaerinese Government has registered its disappointment with the Noobian Government over the handling of the affair. The comments come after two significant developments first the Noobian Government rejected the notion that there was a humanitarian crisis and then the CNN using their satellite's provided evidence strongly suggesting that there is a crisis. Appearing on breakfast television Consul Michael Williams was asked about the situation to which he said "This is a thoroughly unsatisfying situation. We've gone from having a humanitarian crisis to being told there isn't one and then to being shown the independent evidence that there is one. It begs the question just what the heck is going on here? To President Achebe I say this, the offer of help remains on the table and I urge you to think again about the offers that have been made and let's deal with this crisis before it gets much worse."
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SCHOOL RESULTS DAY
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
It's that time of year again, the major educational institutions have released their results for the year 2018-2019, it marks the first year since the introduction of the skills based employment preparation curriculum for 16-18 years olds. Overall there has been a slight increase in the number of students receiving the top grades in their HSQ diploma's (high school exams taken at 16) while the number of students reaching the magic grade of A, the third band of the marking structure in Achkaerin, in five or more subjects also increased to 95%. The most popular elective subjects at HSQ level remained largely unchanged with history remaining at the top of the list just ahead of ICT one interesting notation is a very slight increase in the number of students studying engineering the third successive year this has happened. In terms of core subjects - Achkaerinese, English, Maths, Science, PE and Religious Studies the pass level remained consistent with previous years with a slight increase in numbers. Interestingly for the first time in recorded history Lady Morgana High in Valtheim has come out on top of the high school league table at HSQ level.
At Future Level (education between 16-18 years of age) the number of students achieving grade A or above remained high with the most popular subjects being studied including history, maths, law, psychology, various sciences and sociology. A straw poll conducted among graduating students at King's Park high school in Freshwater found that 47% of those leaving school were looking towards apprenticeships rather than university education, it is not yet known whether that split is an accurate representation nationwide. In terms of the skills based curriculum the number of those achieving the required standard was 80%, a figure that may seem low in comparison to other education statistics but when considering the difference between theory and practice as well as it being the first year that the curriculum has been in use nationwide it has been viewed as a solid figure representing a good basis to review and develop from. Topping the Future Level league table was surprisingly the Centre of Oceanic Research And Learning (CORAL).
At university level the spread across the degree levels was as follows the number of students achieving first class degree's was 12%, upper second 25%, lower second 55%, third class 8%. Unsurprisingly the University of Artaxia retains its spot at the top of the league tables followed by Freshwater University and then for the second year running Elsion University holds third place. The top performing college at the University of Artaxia was Queen's College (students of which are pictured above celebrating their results).
QUEEN'S FOUNDATION EXPANDS AWARDS LIST
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
The Queen's Foundation has expanded it's awards list for the first time in thirty years. The Foundation which annually awards the Queen's Medals for excellence and achievement in a variety of fields today announced that from this year it would include a mathematics medal on its list. The foundation founded as part of Queen's College at the University of Artaxia, came about through the generous donation of funding and reading material of a former warden and lecturer of the college Doctor Percy Youngson, a teacher renowned for having students who weren't entirely sure what the subject of the lesson was and yet a man of learning and experience who as part of his will left a significant sum of money and his research materials to Queen's College on condition that every year the college recognized the achievements of people in various fields. Over the years several disciplines have attempted to get onto the awards list however since the inception of the medals in 1900 the number of disciplines to obtain this status has been quite small with only Economics (1937), Engineering (1960) and most recently Archaeology or Anthropology (2014) being awarded it, the discipline of mathematics now joins this list having received the assent of Doctor Youngson's great granddaughter Charlotte Youngson (pictured above) who as the direct descendant of Percy Youngson and therefore technically the Foundation's chair, is the only person permitted to make such decisions. After making the announcement she answered questions on why the decision had been taken saying "When we consider that we recognize the achievements in several significant fields it is concerning that for so long the field of mathematics, which often provides the foundation for many scientific and engineering advancements that we acknowledge year after year, is not in itself recognized it seems quite appropriate to do so now."
Ms Youngson is herself a recent graduate of Queen's College and will host the Queen's Foundation Awards for the first time in a few months.
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MUNDUS GAMES DAY EIGHT ROUND UP
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Team Achkaerin have continued to enjoy success at the Mundus Games, a solid display in the rowing saw two gold medals brought home, there was heartbreak in both cricket gold medal matches where Achkaerin's men and women narrowly lost out to their opponents and in the women's hockey final a penalty shootout defeat to Tytor denied Achkaerin's women the gold medal. However it wasn't all a case of so close and yet so far except when on water, in the men's mountain bike race Achkaerin's Caleb Simpson (pictured above in training prior to the games) won the gold medal in a race that was all about waiting for the right opportunity to make a move as he explained after the race saying "That is probably the most competitive field we've ever had in this event at the games and it's not often mountain bike races become bunch races like that, usually they string out a little more but when they do become tight it's important to be aware of everything around you and to make the move at the right time. I know that in training I've been pretty strong on the downhill so I tried to break away after one of the climbs and managed to pull a bit of a fast one on the field.
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TEAM DAWNBREAKER CHASE MORE RECORDS
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By Kimberley Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Team Dawnbreaker, the group of university students from the University of Artaxia that broke the land speed record for a solar powered vehicle have announced their intention to challenge for another record this time they're going for the human powered vehicle land speed record. The current record stands at 89.58mph however the Dawnbreaker team believe their vehicle (design concept pictured above) christened 'Aerobreaker' will reach speeds exceeding that, they've set a provisional target speed of 92mph. Very few details of the record attempt and schedule are currently known however the team leader Kit Davenport has seemingly hinted that the Aerobreaker could challenge for not one but two records, though no one is sure what the second one would be.
Kathryn Deed the Minister for Science and Technology commented on the announcement saying "This is why I'm a big fan of university projects, they dare to challenge the records, they dare to see how far you can push the envelope. Though I'm fairly certain we all owe the EMAC team behind their speed records a lot of thanks for all their achievements because they certainly seem to have inspired this. I'll be following the projects progress with great interest and wish them every success."
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MOLLY MAGIC SENDS ACHKAERIN TOP OF THE TABLE
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Day nine of the Mundus Games saw more Achkaerinese medal success in the morning the cyclists took a clean sweep of the medals in the womens mountain bike with gold going to Reyna Miles ahead of team mates Selene Bale who took silver and Charity Strike the bronze. The middle of the day saw the individual triathlons get underway. The event is not traditionally an Achkaerinese strength despite Games success in the last couple of years, the mens race was won by Adam Carter who used all his experience to break away towards the end of the bike leg and managed to stay away on the run, speaking afterwards he said "It was a tactical race, normally in triathlon you go flat out but at the Games there's always a different atmosphere, I saw a chance to attack towards the end of the bike and I managed to get out comfortably on the run and keep the gap constant."
In the womens event there was another Achkaerinese gold this time won by Molly Cooper (pictured above after finishing the race), Ms Cooper a corporal in the Scouts only started triathlon competition following watching the coverage of last years Games and had to wait until the national trials a few weeks ago to secure her spot on the team with the qualifying time. Her race was a little bit unusual for triathlon in that it was a large bunch race from pontoon dive through to the early stages of the run before eventually a surge in the pace strung the field out creating a smaller lead group. Speaking after her medal ceremony Molly said "I can't believe that just happened it's so crazy to think I've just won the Mundus Games triathlon. It was a bit of a tricky race because you don't imagine everyone will stay together like that but we were all out of the water within seconds of each other and then no one could break away on the bike. And then on the run it was more like the sort of race you may see when the athletics gets going in the stadium in a few days time, I was just running my own race and then when the pace was raised I felt good enough to go with it, I remember looking around and noticing there were only six of us and then I'm thinking 'I could actually win this thing' and then I just tried to stay with the leaders as the group broke down more and more until we got to the last two kilometres and then I hit the front. There's going to be a few celebrations in Maelstrom tonight I think."
Achkaerinese victories on day nine were rounded out by the team of David Nikaido and Kimberly Ravers taking gold in the tennis mixed doubles.
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NEW MARINE RESERVE DECLARED
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Minister of Agriculture and the Environment Siobhan Williams delivered todays announcement
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Government has unveiled plans to declare the area affectionately known as the Coral Coast a marine reserve. The coral reef that the reserve will contain within it is the natural habitat to a great many common and at risk species of sea life including the scarlet finned whale. The announcement of the reserves was made by Minister for the Environment Siobhan Williams who said "The reserve we declare today, the Coral Coast Marine Reserve, is one of the largest reserves on Mundus. It is a huge step towards the Mundus we want to leave to our children and grandchildren. The reserve will be managed to a large extent by the Centre of Oceanic Research and Learning (CORAL) who will continue their ongoing studies of the reef and the life within."
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The extent of the reserve
CORAL have also welcomed the announcement with the organisation calling it "A great step in the right direction" while in a related story Professor Paul Burgess, the Operations Manager of CORAL spoke about Matilda Osman's ocean school plans (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=150.msg13546#msg13546) saying "We're encouraged to see this development from Professor Osman, CORAL have to a large extent been pioneering this concept and we wish her plans all the best. In fact we would like to extend the invitation to Professor Osman to visit CORAL's facility and see how we do things if she wishes."[/size]
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GOVERNMENT ANSWERS ON CLYSPERIS MCUR MISCONCEPTIONS
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
In the Senate the Achkaerinese Government gave a statement rebutting comments made by the Pharoah of Clysperis (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1361.msg13673#msg13673), the responsibility for the statement fell to Melinda Carter the Minister for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion who stated:
"Mr Speaker with leave I would like to give a statement in relation to Achkaerin's interpretation of the MCUR and its application.
Mr Speaker this statement comes about following yet another round of comments from the Pharoah of Clysperis where she seeks to accuse certain members of the international community of acting in certain ways, in this instance of being hypocritical in regards to application of the MCUR. However Mr Speaker her argument and we have done our due diligence and read it with great care, appears to be based on a false premise because she states 'these nations use one article of their beloved MCUR to try to strangle Tamora'. Now I'm sure the Pharoah as an experienced public figure would not for a moment suggest that nations do not obey the rule of law without evidence but for the audience of doubt let's be clear - the jurisdiction of the MCUR is defined within article one of the treaty as 'The High Contracting Parties shall secure to everyone within their jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in Section I of this Convention.' in short Mr Speaker it means everyone who is within the sovereign borders of the signatory states, which clearly does not include Tamora so it is therefore an impossibility for the MCUR to be enforced against Tamora and it has not been by any nation to our knowledge. And on that basis the idea that the MCUR is used as a weapon is in our view dismissed as a huge misconception which we're sure was an honest mistake on the part of the Pharoah.
It should come as no surprise that nations who sign the MCUR have long standing positions on the rights and freedoms defined within that document, so it should come as no surprise that it is virtually certain that a signatory state will have an anti-slavery position, it should equally come as no surprise that such a state may choose, as is their sovereign right, to sanction a nation that practices slavery such as Tamora just as Clysperis is well within its sovereign rights to impose sanctions on Lakhzovia. The Pharoah is correct to state that there is no mechanism to compel nations to act and that is because it is an impossibility but there is also nothing to preclude signatory states from exercising their sovereign rights and acting on the principles that they have. It is also worth noting Mr Speaker another point on which the Pharoah is correct where she states 'Our Peoples are not granted a set of rights by a piece of paper' the idea of that is nonsense and even suggesting such shows a lack of understanding of what the MCUR represents. It is a document that states a shared set of ideals between like minded nations. It is a document based on the principles that those nations have and had before the document was even conceived and it is from these principles which largely have their basis in the teachings of faith and morality that we say our rights are derived.
Finally Mr Speaker in the interests of fairness and decency I'll make the Pharoah this offer, in a few days the Senates human rights committee will be back in session and if she would like to come and address the committee then she is welcome to do so but we would ask that should she take this offer up that she bring with her detailed evidence concerning what she sees as human rights abuses. I'll even go one better and make this an open ended invitation Mr Speaker so never let it be said that we haven't offered the opportunity to give the Pharoah's concerns a fair hearing."
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ACHKAERIN CONSOLIDATE TOP SPOT
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Team Achkaerin have consolidated their position at the top of the Mundus Games medal table. Having taken top spot on day nine it was important to keep the medal push up and the team put in a solid performance. The triathletes completed an unprecedented clean sweep taking gold in all three triathlon events - having won gold in the men's and women's individual triathlons yesterday the two sides of the equation joined forces in the mixed team relay with a team led off by Timothy Carter followed by Kim Carson who handed over to men's gold medallist Adam Carter before the final leg run by women's gold medallist Molly Cooper.
Over in the football it was medal matches day and double gold success for Achkaerin, first the men broke the hearts of the hosts by defeating New Derusmia 3-1. It wasn't an easy match by any means as the hosts went ahead in the first half and put up a spirited defence for much of the game, frustrating the Fox's but in the last twenty minutes the introduction of Adam Dawson to the centre of the midfield brought with it the turning point as he teed up team mate Danni Leonidas to equalize, Dawson was also involved heavily in the second goal an intricate passing move that saw Robert Kinnay finish it off with an accurate finish. It was perhaps fitting that it was Dawson who completed the scoring with a penalty five minutes from time. Speaking afterwards the team's coach Dame Julia McCabe said "That was a hard game, New Derusmia gave us a right run for our money out there, they didn't underestimate us, they had a clear plan which they stuck to and while it wasn't enough for them today that team has great promise. For ourselves I'm proud of the lads and especially the youngsters we've given a chance to in this competition, it's certainly going to give me a selection headache when the World Cup comes around."
On the women's side of the game the Vixen's as they're known also took gold though they had an easier time of it against Aquitaine winning 2-0 with a brace from striker Amy Bell (pictured above), the first a volley from the edge of the box and the second a cool finish after a weaving dribble. It's led to more calls from those involved in the sport for a return of women's international competition outside of the Mundus Games, a point that the Mundus Football Association has said it will address.
So with eight days of competition left we asked the Achkaerin chef de mission Princess Esme Azurewind to give her assessment of where things stand, she said: "I think I can safely say that these have been the most competitive games we've ever had. Sparked by the surprise package of Pramoria in the pool no doubt but we've had some strong performances and hopefully have plenty more to come, there are still plenty of events left and it's going to be tight at the top of the medal table I think because it looks like the Pramorian runners, jumpers and throwers are all in good shape it could well get interesting when the athletics programme kicks in properly in the stadium in a few days time."
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"CSU WILL BE ROBUST" - CAIDH
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Ĺosa Càidh, the Secretary General of the Cross Straits Union has stated that the CSU "will be robust". The comment comes following observations made by East Moreland Foreign Minister Edward Tamana (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=150.msg13834#msg13834) in light of the Morelander decision to close Hunter's Vale to Lakhzovian refugees. Ms Càidh was asked questions about the admission process for Lakhzovia into the Union while attending a function of the Child Welfare Fund with its coordinator Timothy Willows (pictured above with Ms Càidh), in response to the question Ms Càidh said "The Cross Straits Union has a very clear process for the admission of nations into the organisation, we're very clear that it is an organisation where all its members are expected to cooperate and collaborate with each other towards mutually shared goals. Admitting a nation into that requires that we conduct an extensive vetting procedure in the form of an interview with a representative of that nation in which we seek to address the concerns the Union has and attempt to discern whether or not to recommend admission to the membership. We will be robust in our questions for that is our responsibility. And come the Cross Straits Summit in a few weeks time we will see the result of those questions."
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EDELWEISS FESTIVAL ENDS IN STYLE
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By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
The Edelweiss Festival came to an end last night bringing the curtain down on the eight week classical festival for the one hundred and twenty fourth time, the last night saw the traditional pomp and pageantry for what is regarded as one of the most patriotic nights in the Achkaerinese cultural calendar. The festival which is funded by the Crown doubles up as a charity fundraising effort with a mix of domestic and international charities and causes selected each year as recipients of the money raised this years selection included the Legacy Sport Foundation, Legionaire Legacy, the Global Childbirth Initiative, Child Welfare Fund and Olivia Robertsson's medical charity. The event was brought to an end by Crown Princess Serenity (pictured above) who in addition to announcing the amount raised - ∑88,794,075 also opened up the evening's festivities in the traditional slot for the Royal Family. The Crown Princess also thanked all the musicians who had performed at this years festival, once again this included some international participation.
Highlights of this years festival have included a night with the One Voice Children's Choir, a masterclass by Duchess Renee Azurewind, a tribute to the exploration of space by the Royal Philharmonic orchestra as they played the complete Planets and in a Proms first the Achkaerin University of Arts and Culture Orchestra (otherwise known as the Silverlea Symphonic) performed a selection called "The Rhythm of Mundus" a carefully crafted medley of music featuring selections of pieces from across Mundus. Of course it wouldn't be the Edelweiss Festival without the final of Young Musician of the Year which this year went to Matthew Chamberlain on flute.
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LAWSON ONE SHORT OF MILESTONE
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Day Eleven at the Mundus Games saw more success for the Achkaerinese team, there was a gold for Britney Hammond in the Womens Cross Country - the team also picked up the gold and Millie Neal won a bronze in the womens MMA. However the main attraction for Achkaerinese fans was the return to action of Sammy Lawson, taking to the roads of New Derusmia in the womens time trial event she appeared the very epitome of calm and she delivered the performance the fans desired taking the gold medal by twenty four seconds, her nineteenth medal in the history of the Games, with the velodrome program still to come most expect her to achieve if not surpass the milestone of a twentieth medal. Speaking after the medal ceremony she said of her future prospects "I know I've got some strong events in the velodrome but I also know that I'll have some strong competition so it's certainly not going to be easy by any measure. We'll see what happens later on."
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EMPEROR IN SAFRAEN FOR MEMORIAL
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Emperor Peter pictured reading during the Memorial Service
By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
Emperor Peter was in attendance at the annual Memorial Service in Safraen. The event which commemorates the day that the country was given the all clear following the Kaiju virus outbreak in 2014 is a fixture on the Emperor's engagement calendar, it is a commemoration not just of those who died from the virus but also those who died protecting civilians - over the course of the two Safraen operations 700 Achkaerinese servicemen and women lost their lives. During the service the Emperor read the poem Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep by Mary Frye to the assembled congregation and following the ceremony took the opportunity to speak with Safraen citizens and President Dretsyj.
Accompanying the Emperor for the day was Danièle Aveline, the Duchess of Aquitaine. In response to queries over the Duchess's presence the Marble Palace has stated "It is no secret that the Emperor has played a very significant role in the Duchess's life they are very much considered family by each other and so their attending events together like this is not unexpected." Some commentators however have speculated that upcoming events may have played a part in the reasoning for this joint attendance with many believing the most obvious reason being that the long awaited Cartier Report, the results of the investigation into General Sebastien Cartier's conduct during the Marseilles crisis is now imminent.
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MISHIMA CLASS RETURNS HOME FOR THE FINAL TIME
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The Mishima Class vessel the INS Athos Mishima has returned to port for the final time, the amphibious assault ship and its sister vessel the Arthur Mishima have been listed for decommissioning following close to twenty one years of service in the Achkaerinese navy. Both vessels are expected to be replaced but there has been no official comment on that. When asked for comment Admiral Stapleton, the Director of Naval Operations, said "For many years now the Mishima class has served with distinction being one of the workhorses of many an aid effort or combat operation, however times do change, today we say goodbye to two of our most important vessels over the last few years but in time we shall welcome in their replacements that we hope will be as equally distinguished."
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PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY FOR CROSS STRAITS SUMMIT
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Crystalline Castle will play host to the annual summit in a few weeks time
By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Preparations for the annual summit of the Cross Straits Union are well underway, the summit this year will take place at Crystalline Castle in Achkaerin and is set to feature not only the seriousness of discussions between the membership and the admission votes on applicant states but also the opportunity to hear about the good work the CSU does through its three special funds and associations with charities and NGO's and finally there's the matter of a drinks reception. However the preparations have attracted a new edge in the last few hours following the announcement that the Cross Straits Treaty Organisation otherwise known as the CSTO has been refounded the announcement was colourfully described by one employee of the CSU as "Downright discourteous and blatantly disrespectful." The Cross Straits Secretariat has maintained that the CSTO issue does not do anything except force a minor change in the agenda though they have stated "It could and should have been timed better."
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AIR FORCE TEST OUT NEW MISSILES
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Air Force has conducted final testing on two new missiles it has been confirmed. The missiles named Chidori and Heaven's Dagger have both been in the development pipeline for many years both the product of Riviere Corporation's Research and Development Division. According to the released information Heaven's Dagger in this form (mark one) is the first component in a new missile family for the Achkaerinese military it's reported to be stealthy as well. The Chidori missile according to information is a non lethal missile that operates as a support weapon rather than a strike weapon. Both missiles are expected to be cleared for incorporation into the military within the next week once the various development groups have met. The Ministry of Defence has said that they are "Greatly impressed" with the days testing but not elaborate further.
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MEET MORPH THE ROBOT EXPLORER
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Concept image of 'Morph'
By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Achkaerin Space Agency has unveiled plans to build a 'shapeshifting' robot. The robot which is currently under the project name 'Morph' is in fact intended to be a number of smaller mini robots that will reportedly be capable of swimming, climbing, floating and more whether individually or as a larger robot. And if you think you've heard something like that before then it's possible that you may be thinking of the Smartwar developed swarmbots, the concept of 'Morph' is similar in that the robots will have to work together and autonomously when out in space but it's something that has captured the imaginations of many. Nicola Fernley, the Director of Flight Operations for the Achkaerin Space Agency when asked for comment said "Morph is something quite special in that it's a concept we've come up with for the exploration of space in a multitude of environments. We're targeting a run at Titan for Morph when we have it developed and ready to go, hopefully we'll be able to send a few of these things up there and learn a lot more than we know at the moment."
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PRINCESS CERYS TAKES UP FAMILY MANTLE WITH GOLD
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Day Thirteen of the Mundus Games saw mixed fortunes for the Achkaerinese team. The beginning of the velodrome programme saw two golds, one silver and one bronze added to the overall tally there were bronzes and silvers elsewhere and skateboarding made it's games debut, perhaps fittingly the mens halfpipe was won by a Morelander, though not Tim Carpenter because he didn't make the team. However it was over at the surfing that one of the stories of the day unfolded as Princess Cerys Azurewind took the gold medal in the womens individual event. She becomes the third Azurewind to take a gold medal at the games following her uncle the Emperor who took two gold medals in the three day eventing and a single gold in the puissance in previous games and her cousin Crown Princess Serenity who has a gold in basketball, two golds in pentathlon and a heptathlon bronze to her name from previous years. Speaking afterwards Princess Cerys said "I'm speechless, I mean I knew I had a chance for a medal but never thought I'd win the gold, it's going to take some getting used to.
Also watching the event was Princess Cerys's mother the chef de mission for team Achkaerin Princess Esme Azurewind, who afterwards shared a congratulatory embrace with her daughter.
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REACTION TO PARACAMBI DEVELOPMENTS
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Elodie Gliss interviewed following the news of todays developments
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Ministry of Defence has given its reaction following the news that the reason for the measures taken around the Paracambi island of Castries concerned a secret chemical and biological weapons lab. Additionally it was revealed that some of what was tested at the lab included samples found in Seleucid weapons of this type, prompting a swift response from the Seleucid King. Outlining the immediate Achkaerinese response was Elodie Gliss (pictured above), a first Lieutenant in the Achkaerinese Army who following the outbreak of Bubonic Plague last year was responsible for the testing of the samples and subsequent report (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=719.msg5744#msg5744) on the potential origin of the strain of the plague. Importantly the report stated "none of this proves in legal terms that there is direct culpability on the part of Royal Seleucid in terms of the current outbreak as a) suggestion is not proof and b) the exact nature of the current outbreaks origin can not be confirmed at this time." In outlining the response to the current situation Lieutenant Gliss said:
"When the initial testing was carried out I reported the findings based on scientific fact. I was very clear that while the report did not amount to proof it did give probable cause in a legal context to warrant an inspection of Seleucid facilities. Unfortunately action undertaken by the Iwi prevented such an inspection from taking place and now it may well be the case that the origin of the plague we saw last year is in fact Paracambi not Royal Seleucid. Therefore we would suggest that resolving the matter of origin is a matter of urgency and request that the Paracambi Government make available to us for the purposes of testing the samples they have recovered from this lab so that we may determine whether the plague of last year and the samples recovered are in fact one and the same strain. Establishing that is the first step and once we know one way or the other the answer to that question we can settle the matters that King Heydar correctly raises."
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CHIEF COUNCILLOR AGREES WITH PRAETOR
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By Amira Cotton: Gowu Correspondent
Chief Councillor Xiaoling Tsu (pictured above) has voiced her agreement with the sentiments of Praetor Julius Devaux of the Allied States of Ardia and joined him in calling for stability. During the weekly question and answer session at the Gowu Assembly the Chief Councillor was asked about the situation between SICR and Sinsu to which she responded by saying - "The situation remains concerning especially for those states that don't want to get caught in the middle of this. Two resolutions have been passed by the Ardian Assembly that will if followed see the situation remedied I urge all involved to follow those resolutions. I also echo the calls of the Praetor of the Allied States of Ardia we should seek stability on our continent, it doesn't do much to foster future relations if nations cannot or will not give the diplomatic avenues a chance."
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FERNLEYS ON FIRE IN VELODROME
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin's athletes have continued to find success at the Mundus Games. The first day of competition in the athletics stadium saw the multi eventing competitions take place with Hannah Nikaido winning her third heptathlon gold medal. In the velodrome the Achkaerinese cyclists picked up where they left off yesterday and for the Fernley sisters otherwise known as the Fernley Quartet it was a good day to savour, Kaitlin Fernley - the eldest of the four won gold in the womens individual pursuit, Ruth the second eldest won bronze in the individual points race and then the youngest of the four Niamh Fernley (pictured above) won gold in the womens individual sprint, not an event she has previously competed in. Speaking afterwards Niamh said "It's a little weird to win an event the first time you compete in it especially against women who've been doing it for years. I managed to pull off a long one in the first race of the gold medal ride off and then had the advantage of the rear guard position in the second. It was fun and I'll definitely enter this event again.
The third sibling Lucy will go in the womens Keirin tomorrow.
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AIR FORCE HEADING TO KYNE
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An Achkaerinese Night Owl Air Command Craft departing for the Kyne
By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Following the seizure of an Iwi gas tanker by Royal Seleucid forces the Ministry of Defence has announced the deployment of Achkaerinese forces to the Kyne. The relatively small deployment of Air Force assets including a Night Owl and Eagle aircraft was observed out of Gowu earlier today. Explaining the move in the Senate the Junior Minister of Defence Sally-Anne Seaborn said "Let's be very clear this is not a favourable situation for anyone it heightens tensions between two states that have a dark history. We do have some sympathy with Royal Seleucid in this, actions were taken without proof. And I repeat that the report that Achkaerin's MDI compiled for the CMA made clear that the findings did not amount to proof of culpability on the part of RS on their own, they amounted to a threshold that was sufficient to ask the question of inspection but not proof that Royal Seleucid was responsible. The Fair Seas Concordat is a document that governs the law of the seas and we will not see the provisions it lays down so easily cast aside. There must be calm and there must be respect, we are deploying Air Force assets to the area and diverting naval forces presently on station in the Gulf of Auraxis to a more flexible position. The Government also notes that some of the events that have occurred in reaction to this situation have highlighted a failing in relation to the Fair Seas Concordat that the Emperor mentioned some weeks ago, accordingly we will redouble our efforts in that regard. For the moment we appeal for calm while efforts are made to resolve this in a peaceful manner."
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YOUNG AMBERBROOK TAKES BRONZE
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Medieval MMA is a fringe sport in Achkaerin, though it is gaining popularity with an estimated five million viewers tuning in to watch the last world title fight. That popularity might well increase now following the achievement of Robin Amberbrook in winning the bronze medal at the Mundus Games in the Men's Medieval MMA event, he won the bronze by KO against his opponent from the Iwi. Speaking afterwards he said "I'm a huge fan of the sport, I was lucky enough to get selected to compete and somehow I managed to win a bronze medal. Would I like to go and do this for a living? Well it's a little early for that decision but it's something to think about over the next few days."
Two of Robin's siblings his twin sister Elianor and his younger brother Amulius are both also on the fringes of Medieval MMA in Achkaerin, unfortunately Elianor had to withdraw from the women's competition with a shoulder injury.
The other main headline for Achkaerin on day fifteen of the Games was the return to action of Sammy Lawson in the velodrome she just missed out on a podium in the women's flying lap but put that disappointment behind her by winning the scratch race and then the elimination race to take her medal tally for the Games to twenty one. Also in action in the cycling were Mark Kaymer taking gold in the men's keirin, Lucy Fernley got silver in the women's version of the event, Tom Colt took silver in the men's 1km time trial while the pairing of Lucy and Niamh Fernley took bronze in the women's Madison.
The days successes put Achkaerin's current medal total at ninety one, twenty behind their record haul of last years games (one hundred and eleven). Speaking about the possibility of breaking that record Achkaerin's chef de mission Princess Esme Azurewind said "These are the most competitive games we've ever seen, we've seen things achieved in these Games that we've never seen happen before, we're top of the medal table and we intend to stay there. Yes we'll be chasing hard after our record total and if it happens great but if it doesn't every single athlete on the Achkaerin team can walk proudly into that closing ceremony in three days time with their heads held high and so can every athlete of every competing nation because they've all done their countries proud."
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QUEEN'S FOUNDATION AWARDS NOMINATIONS OPEN
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
This years Queen's Foundation Awards nominations have opened (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1614.msg14247#new). The award's, a series of prizes given across a variety of fields to individuals or organisations each year by the Queen's Foundation (a part of Queen's College at the University of Artaxia), date back decades and this year's awards will likely be as distinguished as previous years. Charlotte Youngson, the chair of the Foundation, commented following the formal opening of the nominations saying "Every year we see the best of what Mundus can offer when the intent of the pursuit is pure. We've seen many notable advances and discoveries this year and we're looking forward to celebrating and honouring them."
Of particular interest this year is the mathematics prize as it will awarded for the first time. The Foundation also refused to speculate on specific awards and who may be in contention.
AIR FORCE EXPERIMENTING?
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By Kaitlin Noble: Defence Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Air Force has refused to comment following the publication of the above image. The picture, taken by Gregory Jordan a twenty three year old student at Elsion University, appears to show a Hawk type aircraft, used by the Air Force for transportation purposes, however the version pictured has some notable differences in particular on the tail section of the aircraft. When asked about the picture Mr Jordan said "It was just a weird thing, you know we were just doing a test flight of our glider for the University Challenge Shield at the end of November and we got up in the air and we were just about to let the glider go when we spotted what we thought was an Air Force Hawk and then we saw the tail and we thought something interesting was going on."
The Air Force responded to the publication of the image by releasing a statement saying - "It is not the policy of the Achkaerinese Air Force to comment on specific aircraft operations."
In other defence news the Navy has confirmed that the successor to the Mishima Class will be known as the Kyogre Class.
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ROYAL FALCONER IN ABYDOS
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Ygritte Amberbrook, the Royal Falconer (pictured above), will be attending the falconry festival in Abydos. Lady Amberbrook a noted trainer of the birds of prey and patron of the National Bird Society, has reportedly been invited to lead a workshop on training and health of falcons. Speaking about it she said "It's always nice to be able to visit other countries particularly ones steeped in history, that I can do it while talking about a subject I care deeply about is a bonus. I'm looking forward to it."
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BRITNEY BRILLIANCE AT GAMES
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Britney Hammond (pictured above) has won her third gold medal of this years Mundus Games taking gold in the women's 3000m steeplechase. It was an athletics session that was in broad terms dominated by Midaranye nations however medals still came in elsewhere and during the women's steeplechase Britney managed to outrun the field with a strong and hard pace. Her fellow athlete Kayleigh Carson (who took bronze in the women's 10,000m) said "We really need to stop being surprised by Britney, she's been around for a good few years now and we know how good a cross country runner she is, but she's also pretty good on the track and she showed that today, she ran a hard race and ran it like a 3000m race instead of a 1500m or 800m race."
As for Britney herself well when asked for comment after the medal ceremony she said "That was a hard race, I ran it as a hard pace, I knew if it was a fast pace I could try and outlast them, I took a few with me and we got the field split then I just kept surging, I knew I couldn't have it turn into an 800m race because I'd get outkicked, so all I could do was go long and trust I could outrun them over a longer distance."
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PRINCE JACK ATTENDS LODJAN BALLS
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
Prince Jack has been attending several balls in Lodja over the last few weeks, the Prince nephew of Emperor Peter is spending some time in Lodja, a move that some commentators believe may one day see him succeed Lady Emalet Silvermist as the ambassador to Lodja, though the Diplomatic Office has dismissed such speculation. Of interest was that the Prince was seen attending these balls as the companion of Katyusha Andronikashivili, the heiress to the Duchy of Qudaghlo and a one time candidate for Queen. There has been no official comment on whether the two are in a relationship beyond what appears to be a promising friendship but it hasn't gone unnoticed that Lady Andronikashivili is a skilled Balalaika player while the Prince is a known guitarist, the pair also share an interest in literature. When asked about the speculation surrounding the above picture, taken at one of the balls, the Achkaerinese ambassador to Lodja Lady Emalet Silvermist said: "It is not Achkaerinese policy to comment on the private lives of members of the Royal Family without their permission. What we can say is that the Prince is in good spirits about spending time in Lodja and is looking forward to learning more about the country."
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RUNNERS IN FORM WITH MEDAL RECORD WITHIN REACH
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
On the penultimate day of competition at this years Mundus Games Achkaerin's athletes have given themselves a chance of breaking their medal record tally needing eleven medals on the final day of competition to do it. On day seventeen Achkaerin's runners put down their marker with a flurry of medals, the highlight being the gold for Nicolette Young (pictured above) in the womens 1500m, she is towards the younger end of the age spectrum within the Achkaerin team and was "Overjoyed" at being able to defend the title she won in Kaitaine last year. Over in the Velodrome Sammy Lawson picked up her twenty second Mundus Games medal with gold in the womens Omnium and the Achkaerinese eventing team somehow managed to win gold in the three day eventing, a result which came as a huge shock following their very poor dressage performance that left them well down the leader board but a remarkable cross country discipline and some solid show jumping turned the competition on its head.
We asked the chef de mission Princess Esme Azurewind for her thoughts going into the final day she said - "I've said it before these have been without question the most competitive and remarkable Games we've ever seen, the medal table only tells one story. But look around at what we've been treated to over the course of the Games, the Medieval MMA was a crowd pleaser, the fans packed in to see the athletics, Midaranye nations dominated the gymnastics and put on quite the show in the swimming pool. Daisy Greechan bowed out in the grand manner with a gold medal in the open water. These are a Games that once again have lifted the lid on many things and we'll all go home after tomorrow's closing ceremony all knowing each other a little bit better than we did when we all assembled here. As for tomorrow and the potential to break our medal record, it's going to be tough for us to do but we'll give it our best shot."
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PRINCESS SPEAKS ON NUEVA ARDIA CORRUPTION
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Maki Hamer (left) socialising during her visit
By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Maki Hamer, one of the daughters of the last King of Nueva Ardia and therefore technically speaking a Princess of Nueva Ardia, has spoken about her concerns for her homeland. The Princess gave the comments while visiting a centre for survivors of the Ardian Genocide established in Gowu, the centre is currently home to around four hundred survivors who continue to require medical treatment. When asked what she thought about the current situation in Nueva Ardia Ms Hamer said:
"The people of Nueva Ardia have suffered a great deal in recent times, we've already lost millions to a genocide that the international community were prepared to act against but were prevented from doing so by one nation's alternative agenda. Now Nueva Ardia is in a new battle, this time not for its physical survival but for its soul its identity. I don't like that the government officials at local level are corrupt, but to protest against something violently doesn't do anything except continue to fuel the discontent. People have the right to protest that's unquestionable, but equally people have the right to go about their lives without fear of harm, violence or abuse. Hasn't Nueva Ardia suffered enough? Why do we have to inflict more suffering on ourselves? Let's calm down before things escalate to the point where actions can't be taken back."
The Princess declined to comment on the looming Nueva Ardian Presidential Election or President Melos.
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SENATE TO DEBATE ACHKAERIN JOINING PKCS
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Senate is to debate the possibility of Achkaerin contributing to the Paracambian Kyne Convoy System. The development comes as the situation in the Kyne continues to develop as does the related matter of the bioweapons lab discovery. The motion was laid by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Richard Chambers (pictured above) during today's Senate business, the debate is expected to take place on Monday with the vote following immediately after the debate winds up. The Minister also explained that if the Senate were to vote in the affirmative then the Emperor could be authorising the deployment of assets, the exact nature of which is unknown due to the Emperor having final say on that, on Monday night with a formal commitment to PKCS coming on Tuesday. Minister Chambers also repeated the Governments position that independent comparative testing of the bubonic plague samples from Paracambi should be carried out as soon as possible.
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THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL?
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(left) concept picture of the Insignia (right) Stella Campbell pictured at work
By Maggie Clough: Business Correspondent
Stella Campbell may not be a big name in the science, technology and business world yet but she's shaping up to be one of the big names of the future and it's all because of something called the Insignia. What is the Insignia? It's a small yacht measuring, according to initial design specifications around 36.5m long, powered by hydrogen and capable of accommodating six people inside in terms of living space, though obviously the capacity for parties and the like is higher. So it sounds just like any regular private yacht doesn't it? Not very exciting? Well you'd be wrong because this thing has a familiar party piece.
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It's designed to be a Wing In Ground Effect Vehicle, and if that terminology means nothing to you then the word Ekrabadger should. Using the same principle as the renowned ekranoplan operated by the East Moreland navy the Insignia is intended to be able to handle waves up to 3.5m in size and fly at an altitude of 4m plus it can function as a normal yacht. When explaining her reasoning Ms Campbell said "Whether people like it or not we're living in a world where the resources we've relied on for a long time are running out, they may last for decades yet they may last for centuries yet but we need to start looking at what the future of Mundus is going to be in transport terms and then I had the fortune to attend the Festival of Sail last year and see the Ekrabadger, from there this vision started to take shape the idea that we could use the concept behind the Ekrabadger coupled with clean energy to create a sustainable future for travel. Hopefully we'll have a prototype ready for the festival of sail next year and if it works we'll then take this to the next step."
It is understood that the Insignia will be developed at Riviere Corporation's Illumic Regional HQ in Chamwick as the prize for winning Achkaerin Young Engineer of the Year (Something Stella did a few days ago) is business investment and support from Riviere Corporation for an initial period of two years.
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ATHLETES RETURN HOME
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin's athletes have returned home from the Mundus Games. The team which racked up a new record medal tally did themselves and their nation proud over the eighteen days of competition with plenty of inspiring performances whether it was Sammy Lawson pedalling her way to yet more medals, the footballers showing why their the world number one team, Robin Amberbrook surprising in the MMMA or even young Erin Brooks shocking the favourites in the gymnastics. The full effect of the teams performances will take shape over the coming months, in the more short term there is a planned reception for the athletes at the Marble Palace and an open top bus parade through the streets of Valtheim.
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SENATE UPDATES EXPORT REGULATIONS FOR NUCLEAR MATERIAL
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The Senate has voted through amendments to the regulations governing the exporting of anything that involves nuclear material. The move comes following Achkaerin's signature to the MAEA and will see additional requirements placed on the exporting of material when it is nuclear in nature. The measures were outlined by Minister of Trade Viola Summers (pictured above) who explained them as follows:
"Mr Speaker the measures laid before the chamber today are a number of new regulations that govern the export of nuclear material by Achkaerinese companies in both the military and civilian sectors, they bring our export regulations into line with our signature as members of the Mundus Atomic Energy Agency and will ensure that our international obligations as MAEA members are met. Mr Speaker the measures proposed today will require any sale of nuclear material to only be sold to nations that are members of the MAEA as per article 10(d) of the MAEA charter. In addition a new category will be created in the military export regulations to incorporate the MAEA and ensure that things such as nuclear powered submarines, aircraft carriers and other such assets are only sold to nations that not only meet our pre-existing thresholds but also now meet this one."
A senator did ask the Minister what the Government's opinion was on the now cancelled sale of submarines to Tytor by Rokkenjima to which the Minister said "Commenting on that is not the purpose of today's statement but very briefly, this now cancelled sale represents what in our opinion is the latest in a long line of issues where Rokkenjima has failed to get all its ducks in a row before taking the considered action. On a side note it would also be helpful if Rokkenjima did not consistently contradict itself."
The motions presented passed through the Senate by a tally of 324-6
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ACHKAERIN REMEMBERS ON MEMORIAL DAY
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Once more Achkaerin fell silent to remember the fallen in conflicts past and present today. Across the nation many acts of remembrance took place, in Valtheim the Emperor laid a poppy wreath at the Great War Memorial, also present were the leaders of the Government and other political parties. In Phuebra, where Achkaerinese troops are serving the day was also marked with the expected two minutes silence. As is tradition the day's events concluded with the Memorial Day festival of remembrance at the Royal Theatre in Valtheim (scene from the service pictured above), as in previous years there were guests from the international community including from Dragovah and the NQF. The themed focus this year for Memorial Day appeared to be on the northern ocean, a part of the Great War which saw fierce fighting on the seas, iron resolve on the land and courage in the skies. That war may be well in the past now but the lessons of the conflict, the reasons why people went to war are just as important to remember now as they were then. As always Achkaerin News Services pays tribute on this day to the Achkaerinese Armed Forces and expresses it's most sincere thanks to all those who gave their lives to ensure the future of Mundus that we now live in.
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GOVERNMENT CONDEMNS TYTOR TERRORIST ATTACK
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Government has condemned a series of terrorist attacks in the Kingdom of Tytor. In an emergency statement, not to be confused with an urgent question as an urgent question must be laid in advance with notice, an emergency statement can be made at any time by a Government Minister with leave of the Speaker. Making the Emergency Statement was Vice Consul Rhian Kennedy (pictured above) who said as follows:
"Mr Deputy Speaker in the last few moments the Tytorian Broadcasting Service has reported (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1390.msg14604#msg14604) that a series of terrorist attacks have taken place across that nation, at present it is believed to be seventeen targets that have been hit and a provisional ballpark death toll is in the region of two to five thousand. Now Mr Deputy Speaker let me first state and I'm sure I speak for all corners of this chamber when I say that our thoughts are with the families of those affected by this terrible tragedy. Secondly let me state that Achkaerin opposes terrorism in all its forms and we without reservation condemn this attack on our Tytorian friends. On today of all days we should as a community of nations stand united. To the Government of Tytor I am pleased to say that any assistance they may require Achkaerin stands ready to provide."
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BLOOD DRIVES FOR TYTOR ACROSS NATION
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Students at St James School, Santiago
By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
In response to the terrorist attacks in Tytor, several schools across Achkaerin have held blood drives. It isn't the first time a national response of this sort has been seen - following the disaster that befell the UNP a national blood drive was but one of many response program's with others including food contributions, medical supplies and clothing. Speaking in response to the blood drives Minister for International Aid Hannelina Porter said "It's heartening to know that when something like this happens that there's a community of nations that will render aid. We hope that our aid contributions can be headed for Tytor within the next day or so."
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QUEEN'S FOUNDATION AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
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Charlotte Youngson, Chair of the Queen's Foundation during today's announcements
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The Queen's Foundation Awards winners for 2019 have been announced. The Awards, made annually recognize the achievements of individuals or organisations in a variety of different fields. This year was the first year that Chair of the Foundation, Charlotte Youngson (pictured above) was able to personally make the announcements following a long battle with illness. The full list of winners is as follows:
Chemistry - "University of Artaxia Think Tank" for developing the Sea Salt Brick (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=50.msg11570#msg11570)
Physics - The CNN for "Moon Bombing Run" (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1408.msg12216#msg12216)
Physiology and Medicine - Olivia Robertsson for Establishing measures to actively reduce AIDS/HIV in Zimalia.
Literature and Journalism - The Bene Gesserit Sisterhood for Outstanding Citizen Journalism
Peace - Duchess Anna Davidson for negotiating and securing the Environmental Treaty of Wellow
Economics - Maxime Anginer for Successful leading of negotiations with the Empire of Tamora for a contract with The Conglomerate, with great cultural differences
Engineering - TUNA for Ocean Clean Up Operations
Archaeology and Anthropology - Marcus Merriman for the Paul the Explorer and Phukbridge developments
Mathematics - Professor Francis Delacour for transforming arithmetic algebraic geometry over p-adic fields through his introduction of perfectoid spaces, with application to Galois representations, and for the development of new cohomology theories.
Speaking at the awards conference Ms Youngson said "The Queen's Foundation prides itself on judging these awards irrespective of who the nominee is, what matters is whether or not they meet the criteria that the Foundation sets out, this year we are delighted that in every field winners have met the threshold that we set. We congratulate all this years winners on their accomplishments."
OOC Note - where there was no nominee I've added in.
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ACHKAERIN SPACE AGENCY TO SEND STARLIGHT SPACECRAFT ON FIRST MISSION
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Starlight pictured after a routine test flight
By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Achkaerin Space Agency has, for the first time, put its Starlight Spacecraft to use on a mission. The Starlight is a robotic reusable space vehicle, that gets taken up to orbit by a launch vehicle and then lands as a spaceplane once the mission is completed. According to the Achkaerin Space Agency this first flight is a very simple payload carry and deployment one, the Starlight will deploy what in a nod to the television show Doctor Who has been named the TARDIS satellite because this satellite carries a deep space atomic clock, a device that will improve deep space navigation. The Achkaerin Space Agency has confirmed that this mission forms part of its long term Atlantis Project. Speaking about the Starlight Director of Flight Operations Nicola Fernley said: "We're very excited to finally have the chance to see what the Starlight can do, and the deployment of this satellite is an ideal opportunity to give it a full workout. If successful we hope to have several more missions for this family of spacecraft."
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SENATE BACKS ACTION IN CLYSPERIS
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The Emperor pictured on arrival at the Senate
The Achkaerinese Senate has voted to support a request by the Emperor to intervene militarily in Clysperis. The vote carried by a tally of 494 in favour to 5 against, this is not the first time that such a vote has been required however it is the first time since the war in Safraen that the country affected has been this close to Achkaerin in the geographic sense. As is required under the constitution the Crown (the monarch or their representative) must present their case to the Senate in what is known as an article six statement - these being the circumstances under which the monarch may address the Senate usually this is the annual Covenant Address and the weekly question session however circumstances such as tonight are also within the articles scope. In addressing the Senate the Emperor said the following:
"Mr Speaker, tonight as is required by our sacred constitution I come to this chamber to make a request of the Senate under article six for the deployment of military force. Before I address the matter specifically I would like to extend my personal thanks to the Senate Business Committee chaired by the Leader of the Senate Chamber for allowing me to make this statement tonight and I'd also like to thank the honourable members of this chamber for remaining to listen, discuss and vote on the matter I bring.
A few days ago Mr Speaker I was contacted by the Pharoah of Clysperis, in the letter she sent me the Pharaoh explained the current situation in Clysperis and then did something quite unexpected. She asked for my help. Now Mr Speaker I can assure the Senate that I was just as shocked to read that letter as members of this chamber will be to hear that such a letter was even written. In the darkest moments her country has faced since the soviet occupation of its lands she found the strength to ask something she probably never thought she would. And it is the results of this request for aid that are laid before the Senate tonight.
Under our foreign intervention protocol I am clear that the first exception to the non intervention directive is met, the Pharaoh has asked for our assistance - our intelligence services have as per that exception independently verified that which we were informed of by the Pharaoh, historical artefacts are being looted from the graves of people who have long since departed this world and used to fund this insurrection, we have people being executed and terrorized for no other reason than they choose to follow a faith that is different to that of their assailants. Now Mr Speaker I am by no means an expert on Manism or Islam but I am a Namist and while as a Namist my faith may at times take issue with the traditions and practices of other nations it does not Mr Speaker give me license to kill somebody just because they are from a different nation or practice a different faith, It does not give me license to dishonour the dead and it most certainly does not teach me to ignore a call for help.
I also want to be clear Mr Speaker that it is my position that Pharaoh Akasha of Clysperis is the legitimate head of state of that country, and that is perhaps the most significant point here because even if we disagree with her on some things are we really going to leave a fellow northern ocean nation, one of our neighbours to burn? No we cannot and we must not, for to do so would be to go contrary to everything we stand for, everything we have strived for in recent times and it would be to abdicate our responsibilities and it is not our way to do any such thing.
Mr Speaker we are a nation of laws, we are a nation that respects the rule of law, the very fact that I am standing here tonight bringing this matter to this chamber testifies to that fact, we are a nation defined by and that takes pride in our role in the international community, we are not a nation that walks by on the other side. And we all know don't we that when the rule of law is challenged unjustly, when people seek to make a mockery of the foundations of society that such arrogance, such malice, such ill intent must be stood up against and sealed away back into the void from whence it came! And if it does somehow re-emerge to cast it out again and again and again until much like the schoolyard bully it takes the hint and stops bothering you.
Now Mr Speaker I fully expect that there will be those in this chamber tonight who believe that taking direct military action in Clysperis is not the way to go about this. It is a legitimate view and it is one that I hope all Senators will respect even if they do not agree with it. And I hope those Senators that disagree with my view on this will respect my opinion when I say this - the threat posed by the so called Confederation is credible, the destabilization risk to both the Northern Ocean Community and to Midaranye is very real. We have the capability to do something about it and we have been asked to do something about it, so why would we not knowing this do something about it? The simple truth is we don't ignore the voice asking for help and the Pharaoh of Clysperis is asking. I implore the Senate not to let the Pharaoh's courage be for naught and to look beyond her past words and so I commend this statement to the House."
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FORMER PONTIFF RETURNS HOME FOR CARE
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The former Pope Peter II or to use his non Pontiff name Alexander Deed has flown home to Achkaerin. The former Pontiff resigned from his Papal role on health grounds and flew home today for care reasons. He was welcomed at Artaxia airport by his adoptive family the Cardinal of Santiago, Martin Deed (adoptive father) and Minister of Science and Technology Kathryn Deed (adoptive sister), the family relationship is known to have strained in recent times especially around controversial faith issues, one notable example resulted in a long term protest of equal rights occurring outside the Ecclesiastical State embassy in Valtheim. No comments were made by anyone however a statement released by the Cardinal's office later in the day said "It is unfortunate that the events that have occurred have come to pass, given the nature of the illness that my adopted son suffers from I believe he made a tough but selfless decision. I have extended my congratulations via telephone to the newly elected Pontiff and hope to enjoy the opportunity to celebrate mass with him soon."
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ATTORNEY GENERAL TO STAND DOWN AHEAD OF 2020 POLL
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By David Woods: Political News Correspondent
Samuel White, the Attorney General, has announced that he is standing down from the role after nearly ten years of service because he intends to run as a Senate candidate in the 2020 election, something he would not be able to do as Attorney General because the role is neutral in political terms. It is understood Mr White will stand as a candidate for the Unity Party in a few months time when Achkaerin goes to the ballot box and elects the government. Speaking of his time as Attorney General Mr White said "Having the opportunity to serve my country as Attorney General has been the highlight of my career so far, in a few months I hope to be able to serve the country in a different way as an elected representative. I extend my warmest thanks to my colleagues in the Attorney's office who have supported me for close to a decade and I know they will support whomever occupies this great office next just as they have supported me."
The replacement for Mr White as Attorney General is expected to be announced by the Marble Palace reasonably swiftly. The Attorney General is one of five primary cabinet positions that the Crown is responsible for the appointment of on the grounds of political neutrality the others being the Government science advisor, Chief Medical Officer, National Security Advisor and Cabinet Secretary. In official comments the Emperor thanked Mr White for his service as Attorney General.
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PRINCE JACK OBSERVES TRADITION
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
Prince Jack has observed the Lodjan tradition of asking permission from the Queen or her representatives to court a member of the Lodjan Royal Household. The announcement comes following rumours that the Prince and Duchess Katyusha of Lodja were in a relationship and also follows on from a reminder of the tradition from Queen Klara. In the Queen's stead the triumvirate of King Leopold, High Priestess Alla Kohan and Lord Besarian Ivanov granted the Prince's request. Later in the day following this the Prince and the Duchess were seen out and about in Gaia both pleased with the news.
The Marble Palace, which so far had declined to comment out of respect for the Lodjan tradition, has issued a statement saying "The Royal family are greatly pleased with the news and they hope to have the opportunity to meet Duchess Katyusha in the near future."
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"WE'RE READY" - COACH CHURCHILL
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Rayne Churchill, coach of the Achkaerin men's international rugby team, has said that the Fox's are ready for the World Cup. Ms Churchill, the eldest daughter of the Achkaerinese ambassador to Tytor, is leading the side into what will be her second World Cup in charge. Speaking ahead of the tournament opening games Ms Churchill said "Given how the first stage of this tournament is going to work I think it's safe to say that we'll never have seen a tournament anything like this before. To have to play nineteen games in the round robin stage is going to make things very interesting for all the teams involved, and it's going to be a crowd pleaser for the fans because they will get to see the Honeybadgers take on the Maori, they'll get to see us take on Vaguzia, they'll even get to see that rarest of things a Rokkenjiman team competing. As for us well we're ready, we lost the final to the Iwi last year and we're determined to go one better this year."
The opening games of the Tournament saw Ui Cenneslaig defeat Hassfurt while co-hosts Cantabria achieved a bonus point win over Rokkenjima. Achkaerin will open their tournament campaign against Vaguzia.
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PRINCE ISAAC KILLED IN TERRORIST ATTACK
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Prince Isaac, husband of Crown Princess Serenity, father to Princess Astrid and stepfather to Princess Lisa has been killed in a terrorist attack in Valtheim today. The Prince and his family had just finished visiting children at the Royal Valtheim Children's Hospital when the attack occurred, two gunmen attacked the family from a building opposite the hospital, the assailants were shot dead by Royal protection agents in the ensuing gun battle. The gunmen's identities have been confirmed as Chigaru Sarraf and Bassam Toma both of whom have held commissions in the Clysperi army and according to investigators served under General Nekhtou during the Clysperi war against the Soviets. When asked whether they are considering this to be an attack carried out by the so called Confederation of Clysperis the Police spokesman said "We are not going to speculate on who was responsible, naturally given the prior association of the attackers with Mr Nekhtou that will be one avenue of inquiry but we are going to be open minded and consider all possibilities."
It is understood that a thank you letter from the Emperor has been sent to both the Morelander, Uburzian, and Ecclesiastical State embassies following press statements from their respective leaderships.
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EMPEROR'S LIFE DAY MESSAGE
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The Emperor has given his traditional Life Day Message, the address to the nation traditionally recorded on the eve of Life Day was, not for the first time, re-recorded this year following the tragic death of Prince Isaac (the only other prior re-recording came following the Emperor's wedding to his current wife). In his traditional address, broadcast mid afternoon, the Emperor said the following:
"Good afternoon and a happy Life Day to you all.
This time of year is a time of celebration for many of us regardless of faith for the Namist's it is Life Day, for the Christian's it is Christmas, for the Odinist's it is Yule. It is the twilight days of one year and the approaching dawn of the next. This is a moment to spend time with friends and family and to look back as well as forwards. I would have liked to have started my traditional message by going straight to what my family has done this past year but as I'm sure everyone will understand there is a need to first address the events of a few hours ago, my daughter's husband, my son in law, was lost in a terrorist attack. It is a loss that will be felt by Isaac's family, his friends and the country, he was a remarkable young man who did so much for so many people. He embodied the way in which I as a parent tried to raise those I consider my sons and daughters, he showed kindness, love, understanding and he stuck to his principles.
It has been an interesting year for our nation, we have seen a great many changes, weathered a great many storms, we renewed our strong bonds with Seaforth, we alongside other nations have committed ourselves to making Mundus a much safer and sustainable place for the future, not at the barrel of a gun or the point of a missile, but with international understandings, the inception of the MAEA combined with the continued commitment to nuclear disarmament of not only ourselves but East Moreland and Rokkenjima will once and for all take nuclear weapons and all their devastation off the table. The Treaty of Wellow and other environmental efforts whether they be pioneered by ourselves or by others will see that the planet we live on, when our time to pass into the next life comes, is left in a better place than it was when we came into the world. For much of this year the Achkaerin Armed Forces have for the first time in a long time not had multiple overlapping circumstances to deal with, for much of the year Mundus has enjoyed a great amount of peace, it is only in the last few weeks that this has changed with the terrorist insurgency in Clysperis. To all those in our armed forces celebrating life day abroad this year you as always have the gratitude of the nation for the work you do to make sure we are kept safe.
As I said 2019 has been a year where many things have changed. In 2020 I am hopeful that everything we have been through this year will prove to not be for nothing. For out of ashes comes fire and out of darkness comes light as surely as day follows night and sunrise follows sunset. In the new year I will have many personal reasons to be happy, I'm sure many of you will as well. There are many moments ahead of us still on the road we call our life but let's embrace the journey together and be companions on the road. Enjoy the rest of your Life Day and have a happy new year. Thank you.
LIFE DAY NUMBER ONE SURPRISE
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By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
The Life Day number one has been won by new band on the block The Aces with their song Baby Who (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX4B52yeIRo). The band who made their Glastomundus debut earlier in the year as an up and coming band for the future were surprised to win the accolade given that the competition included several household names. The band are scheduled to go on their first national tour in the new year and this success will surely help them in that regard.
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ACHKAERIN WELCOMES IN NEW YEAR
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Achkaerin has welcomed in the new year and in fact the start of a new decade. The traditional party in the Valtheim Gardens saw musical entertainment provided this year by Madilyn Bailey (pictured above), Jackie Evancho and Tiffany Alvord. The music was followed by a firework display and it is estimated that some 10,000 people were in attendance according to official figures. For understandable reasons the appearance of the "Curious Royals" - a sort of new years eve tradition which sees members of the Royal Family appear on the Marble Palace balcony to listen to the entertainment didn't take place this year. The members of the Senate however have observed their tradition of posting new years resolutions on social media, most of them humorous, with favourites this year including "I'll be kinder to animals" and "I'll actually commit to redecorating my house". However with 2020 being an election year the resolution "I'll retire from politics if I don't get re-elected" was tweeted by leader of the Puritan Party and outspoken critic of pretty much everything Senator Carl Macnair, incidentally the Senator sits on arguably the most comfortable majority in the country in the University District of Artaxia.
Turning to events in the coming days there is much intrigue about a rumour that the Emperor is to host a garden party in the not too distant future though the reasons why are unknown. The Senate will return to action next week with the first item on the agenda being the 2020 census followed by the appointment by the Crown of the new Attorney General.
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STARLIGHT LAUNCHES FOR FIRST TIME
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Starlight, the Achkaerin Space Agency's latest space craft has been launched on its maiden voyage, the vessel will achieve orbit, deploy the TARDIS deep space atomic clock. orbit Mundus twice before re-entering the atmosphere and landing. While the mission includes deployment of the TARDIS deep space atomic clock, an asset that will make space navigation much easier for all space farers it is the performance of the Starlight itself that has the Agency most nervous with the ship representing a significant investment for the Agency. Other news from the Space Agency suggests that the Falcon project will make its next major step in the next few weeks with more occurring through the year.
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ACHKAERIN MMMA FIGHTERS TO GO PRO
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Medieval Mixed Martial Arts has been something of an amateur sport in Achkaerin, following its introduction into the Mundus Games program, the sport both domestically and abroad has seen interest and participation increase and now it has been announced that the Achkaerinese association that has governed it domestically on the amateur level has successfully registered with the sports overall governing authority meaning Achkaerin's fighters can step into the pro ring and face the household names. However don't get any ideas about seeing world title fights occur featuring Achkaerinese stars any time soon, first there's the small matter of sorting out the domestic titles which is why the weekend of the 18h of January will see several tournaments take place to determine the titles under the pro system. Headlining the day will most likely be James Chase (pictured above on promotional poster) who will go for the men's heavyweight title, other notable competitors include Robin Amberbrook in bantamweight with his younger brother Amulius Amberbrook going in the men's featherweight. On the women's side the Amberbrook family will hope to see success as well as Elianor Amberbrook will contest the women's bantamweight while contesting the women's heavyweight title will be Cecilia Frost.
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GOVERNMENT GIVES CENSUS RESULTS
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Government has published the results of the 2020 Achkaerinese census. In a speech given in Senate Hall, Lizbeth Stewart Minister of Home Affairs (pictured above) explained the results saying:
"According to law every ten years the Government of the day is required to carry out a census, in centuries gone by this simply amounted to a counting of the individual people to determine population, over time more data such as religion, schooling, profession, wage etc has also become discernible and such are the methods these days that there is much that can be figured out from the acquired data.
Dealing with the headlines first the population of Achkaerin, that is to say those persons living within sovereign Achkaerinese territory, is 82 million, that will to some statisticians appear to be a remarkable jump in numbers up several million however it is nothing so dramatic because this is a census where for the first time we have included Gowu in the main numbers rather than as an adjoining annex as the Endeavour Party government of 2010 did. In truth the population increase is up by a mark in the hundreds of thousands rather than the millions. We also have seen in these results a shift in age group numbers which is to be expected with people living longer. The ethnic groups are also becoming increasingly diverse which can be associated with the various refugee crises that as a nation Achkaerin has helped with. This is not something that can be predicted however it is within what we would expect to see in these figures.
The religious breakdown does resemble much of the 2010 census but also reflects the diversity we see as result of Mundus in modern times. Of note is that this is the first census where the Bene Gesserit features as a recognized faith. I remind the world at this point that it is the policy of this government that terrorist actions are carried out by individuals, it cannot be said that all followers of a faith terrorists simply because one follower carries out a terrorist act. The Bene Gesserit is identified as the faith followed by approximately 1% of those counted in the census."
The census result is expected to be debated through the week by the Senate.
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SCRIVENS SETS UP SHOP IN JOSAI
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By Maggie Clough: Business Correspondent
Janelle Scrivens, a recent graduate of the Royal Northfort University has finalized, according to reports, her maiden business venture - the company called Scrivens Medical is to be based in Josai and will focus on pioneering new medical treatment and research. When asked for comment Ms Scrivens (pictured above) said "I've had a few months to think about what I wanted to do with my life after graduating University and the more I thought about it the more I came back to my time as JET volunteer, so this company from the ground up will focus on developing new treatments and methods in the medical field - we're beginning with researching growing replacement organs. Just imagine how many lives could be saved a year if we could do this."
Of background interest is that Ms Scrivens is one of the four remaining Nueva Ardian Royals.
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ANAUSA REVIEW TO BE PUBLISHED THURSDAY
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
The long awaited review of Rokkenjima's Anausa carried out by Major Matthew Kirby (pictured above left) is to be published to the public on Thursday. The review commissioned by Empress Beatrice at the behest of her Viceregent was tasked with identifying the failings and abuses of the Anausa, establishing how the agency was corrupted and then with making recommendations moving forwards. The review is not expected to be complimentary to the Anausa and will almost certainly make recommendations that are perhaps more radical than some in Rokkenjiman political circles would like. And this will be the measure of the reports significance, once Major Kirby has delivered the findings at Pyretennia University tomorrow all eyes will turn to Pyrena and the Diet for their reaction and also interestingly to Avalon in Achkaerin to see what this means for the somewhat unfinished matters surrounding the Andean Genocide that are caught up in this. There has been no comment from anyone on what may happen as a result of this but the stakes are well known and they are significant.
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STARLIGHT DELIVERS TARDIS
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Space Agency's Starlight spacecraft has completed the primary objective of its maiden flight, having successfully achieved orbit and held it for 48 hours the Starlight safely deployed the TARDIS deep space atomic clock into Mundus orbit. The Starlight then performed a successful re-entry and touched down at the ASA's HQ in Djana-Ville a few hours later. Speaking following the conclusion of the mission Director of Flight Operations Nicola Fernley said "We're thrilled with how the Starlight did on this run, and from our initial readings the TARDIS is running well within its parameters and now we have a vital navigational assist in orbit and that's something every space agency on Mundus can be happy about."
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ACHKAERIN MMMA PRO CHAMPIONS DECIDED
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin has its first professional Medieval Mixed Martial Arts champions, the tournaments held over the weekend crowned champions on both the mens and womens side at all competitive weights. The headline event as expected was in the men's heavyweight where the championship weight pitted James Chase (pictured above left) against Michael North (pictured above right), given the quality of the match fans will hope to see many more bouts where these two go head to head, the fight was won by James Chase by knockout. An interested spectator over the course of finals day as it was termed was Crown Princess Serenity which has left many wondering whether she's looking at possibly having the Legacy Sport Foundation, the wounded veterans charity which she runs, take a look at the sport for potential exploration in the future.
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MAJOR KIRBY PUBLISHES ANAUSA REPORT
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Major Kirby has published the findings of the long awaited Anausa report, the review ordered close to two years ago by Empress Beatrice of Rokkenjima and her Viceregent came about following the revelations that the organisation had been corrupted in part and had acted against the Rokkenjiman crown. Speaking today Major Kirby said:
"With this report we looked at three periods of time firstly 2005-2013, secondly 2013-2017 and then finally 2017 to the present. In the case of the first time period our purpose was to establish an understanding of Anausa operational methodology to establish a baseline at a time prior to the appointment of Charles Foster Ofdensen as Lord High Steward. For this first time period it can be concluded based on our findings that during this time the Anausa acted and operated exactly as intended. However following the appointment of Charles Ofdensen as first Lord High Steward but then more noticeably as Secretary-General of the CTO a pattern begins to emerge upon examining the operational practices of several Anausa agents, their bank accounts and correspondence records that rather than their duty being towards the Crown of Rokkenjima there was a clear closed circle of Anausa operatives reporting to Mr Ofdensen, the details of each of these agents were found in files seized from Mr Ofdensen's premises. It should be noted that several of these agents have since turned up dead in numerous incidents across Mundus which I will come to shortly.
During the second time period mentioned earlier we come to a period of time which includes among other incidents the Andean Genocide, this is the incident which prompted this review as it is the incident where it becomes apparent that a government within a government orchestrated by Charles Ofdensen was being run. How was such a thing accomplished? Well based on our investigations findings it appears that over many years Mr Ofdensen used Anausa operatives that he trusted to acquire leverage over Rokkenjiman politicians, some imperial councillors and allegedly the Empress herself. As people may be aware when she was tried over the Andean Genocide the Empress gave a sworn in which she stated that Charles Ofdensen used a phone conversation between herself and Kyle Barren over the kidnap by King's Blood of Crown Princess Adriana as leverage to ensure that she didn't step in over the genocide. There is no evidence that any such conversation took place as such there will likely be legal proceedings put in motion but that is not within the remit of this report. The leverage over the Empress appears does not appear to exist, however this does not mean to say that Mr Ofdensen did not seek to influence her.
Following the conviction of Mr Ofdensen in 2017 the leadership of the Anausa changed hands to Mr Lelouch Lamperogue. During Mr Lamperogue's tenure several of the corrupted Anausa were found dead across Mundus in different circumstances, the Anausa put the blame on the Bene Gesserrit and a whistle blower suggested that Rokkenjima contacted East Moreland and asked them to carry out what would amount to acts of state sponsored terrorism similar to those perpetrated by the government of Kaitaine not that long ago. There is no evidence that the Rokkenjiman government contacted East Moreland about this, there is no evidence that East Moreland were in anyway involved and considering that all the dead are former Anausa it is not credible to conclude that the Bene Gesserit were responsible. Having considered the evidence it appears that the Anausa themselves, independent of any governmental body engaged in what can only be described as a civil war which has seen the death most recently of Mr Lamperogue.
Based on the contents of this report the following recommendations are submitted to the Rokkenjiman Government:
1) The Anausa to be immediately disbanded
2) The names of all suspected rogue Anausa to be communicated to counterpart intelligence agencies these persons to be detained and transported back to Rokkenjima.
3) Immediately following execution of point 2, Rokkenjima to suspend all intelligence sharing agreements that it is party to in order to allow a restructuring of Rokkenjiman intelligence to take place - this will also allow final verification on how entrenched corruption was and how far it extended.
4) The Rokkenjiman Government to comply with any subsequent legal proceedings that arise from the publication of this report.
5) Arrangements at Pyrena Castle in terms of the security of the Imperial Family to remain as they are.
Questions have already started circling about whether the decision of Empress Beatrice (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=8.msg15471#msg15471) to leave the throne was anything to do with this report coming out. There has been no comment from Pyrena on this.
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OZZIE ROUNDUP: ACHKAERINESE NOMINEES WIN THREE AWARDS
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By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
It has been another successful year for Achkaerinese nominee's at the Ostlake Film Awards otherwise known as the Ozzies. Overall the success matched last year as once again three awards ended the night flying across the Great Northern Ocean to Achkaerin. First the Achkaerin Space Agency won Best International Documentary for it's documentary on the future of space exploration. Next up the a group of Film students from the University of Valkyria walked away with the Best International Animated Short, while Cassidy Raven better known to film fans as Captain Emma Thrace of the USS Enterprise won the Ozzie for Best International Song Featured in a Motion Picture with her rendition of Blue Skies.
Minister of Culture Bonnie Harper has described the Ozzie success as "Something special." she was in particular quite proud of the students from the University of Valkyria, that nomination came about following an expansion of the Aspire Film competition running in Achkaerinese High Schools each year the prize in that case includes an Ozzie nomination for Best International Short Film, the university versions prize is a nomination in the Best Animated Short. Minister Harper did comment on this saying "One of the things that we've been trying to do in government is to engage more children with the arts such as singing, dancing and film, we've done this in different ways and we've been quite fortunate on the film side with the success the initiative has had. I'm already looking forward to seeing what happens next year.
However despite all the success there has been a note of disquiet around the aftermath of this years ceremony with many critics concerned at what appears to be a developing bias on the part of the awarding committee as summed up by one person, who did not wish to be identified: "Including 2017 the Best International Film has gone to a picture based on a historic event - we've seen Hotel Ubakasa, Au Revoir, Silence and now Time of Darkness win in successive years, we have to now surely ask if it's even worth those directors and producers who delve into the worlds of comedy or horror or fantasy actually even shortlisting for consideration, because it's starting to look like if you don't have a film rooted in history you won't win. And on top of that we've then got Achkaerinese musical performances winning the International Song award three years on the spin. There's a perceptual bias here." The Committee has been approached for comment but none was received at time of publication.
Overall however this was still a good night summed up by Achkaerinese director Fiona North saying "Nights like this show just how strong the film industry is on Mundus, they show a wide range of talent, and it's without question a very special night each year. From what I hear the upcoming year could be a very interesting Box Office battle at home there are some hugely anticipated films coming. I start filming the next instalment of the Rhythm series next week so I'm looking forward to getting back to filming and hoping it all works out for us."
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COUNT EMERSON ON "NEW FOREIGN AGENDA"
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Ever since it was announced by the now former Empress of Rokkenjima that the Viceregent would have a mandate to develop a new foreign policy for Rokkenjima there have been a lot of questions about what sort of policy this was likely to be and whether Rokkenjima would agree with it, since that announcement of course the position of Empress has changed. Speaking in an interview the Viceregent, Count of Saika, Emerson Ravenswood explained what could be expected in a few areas:
On what the General Approach will be
"It's going to be different, we're essentially starting from scratch. In term's of things already in existence we'll be looking at them and asking not 'what do we want' but 'what do we need' and we'll apply this to every treaty that Rokkenjima is party to, from there we'll determine whether we can stand by the existing treaty or whether it needs reviewing, honestly there is at least one treaty that in my view needs renegotiating. Overall this will be a much more diplomacy based approach because we're now well past the point of deployment of the IRN being remotely threatening, it's been done that many times I'd be surprised if there was a government on Mundus that did not have a piece of paper somewhere with 'what to do if the IRN turns up' written at the top of it. On top of that we need to consider that Rokkenjima used to have probably the most developed diplomatic network on Mundus and now it pales in comparison to East Moreland and Achkaerin in this area and those are two nations whose policy involves talking before threatening military action. Our starting point is acknowledging what, where and when things went wrong and developing a policy and a footing that recognizes that Mundus is a whole lot different now than it was a few years ago."
On Rokkenjiman Overseas Military Bases
"Their continued existence will have to be reviewed, with a focus on whether their continued existence can be justified. This was the yardstick that Seaforth used in deciding that the old QAMB should close because they quite rightly concluded that there does not exist a threat in the Illumic or Mhorish area that the native states of that region are incapable of handling themselves. So we now have to apply that to each of the bases and determine whether they should continue to operate."
On the Nueva Ardia Situation
"I highly doubt the change in Rokkenjima's leadership is going to change the substantive position within Nueva Ardia. I'm not going to comment on my personal view of the referendum, but I will say that anyone saying that the referendum needs to be rerun needs to explain why the result the first time around is unsafe, no one has yet done so, on top of that there's no history of electoral malpractice in Nueva Ardia so the incidents cited in the Global News Network could easily be as described, there's no reason to believe anything malicious occurred, obviously should evidence be produced then the matter gets revisited but without that everyone needs to recognize a) that Tero Melos is the democratically elected leader of Nueva Ardia and b) is permitted to seek re-election in 2023."
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PRINCESS CERYS CELEBRATES "5TH" BIRTHDAY
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Princess Cerys pictured during an interview last week
By Niamh Roberts: Royal Family Correspondent
Her Royal Highness Princess Cerys Azurewind, daughter of Princess Esme and niece of Emperor Peter has celebrated her "fifth” birthday, in truth the Princess has turned twenty this year however her birthday being February the 29th, making her a 'leap day' baby, means that this is only the fifth time she has been able to celebrate it on her actual birthday. The Princess marked the day with Royal duties in the morning, a visit to Rosevale to see how preparations for the annual Rosevale Flower Show are progressing followed by a visit to a local school to be a surprise judge at a science fair, following her return to Valtheim there was the traditional visit to the Pantheon of the Trinity and then as one would expect a birthday party in the evening. The party's guest list included a large proportion of the Achkaerinese nobility and long term patients from the Royal Children's Hospital in Valtheim, a hospital the Princess is a patron of. Also in attendance, naturally, were the Royal Family including the Princess's brother Prince Jack who dropped in from Lodja accompanied by girlfriend Katyusha Andronikashivili to attend the festivities.
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RIVIERE UNVEILS NEW SOLAR DRONE - WILL IT ANSWER "SPACE JUNK" ISSUE?
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By Kimberley Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Riviere Corporation has unveiled it's latest product, a solar powered drone called the Phoenix Mk 2, to those who follow technological developments on Mundus Riviere Corporation dabbling in Solar technology is nothing new, they've done solar powered flight with the Phoenix Mk 1 in 2015 and they've done, in collaboration with McKinley Naval Solutions, solar powered sailing with the Sunseeker as seen at last years Festival of Sail in East Moreland. So what is it that makes this one special? Well It was explained by Riviere Corporation CEO Catriona Rowan as follows:
"An inescapable truth for some time has been that the area of space around Mundus has become quite crowded with satellites from a great number of nations, we have two space stations up there, various networks of different types, there's the Theia Space telescope as well. It's a wonder anyone can get out and do any actual space exploration right now, and as more satellites go up there the harder it will become to launch exploration missions. This is a point made most recently by Professor Kessler before he disappeared. What we hope to demonstrate is that a fleet of Phoenix Mk 2's working in tandem with each other can take the strain off the satellite network orbiting Mundus, because these drones are capable of flying higher than air traffic and of staying airborne for years at a time, we believe that we can use a network of these drones in much the same way as satellites are used to receive and relay information, something like an internet signal, maybe some phone carriers. If that works then what we've got is a change of circumstances in that we won't have nations and companies needing to replace every satellite in orbit and that in turn makes the orbit of Mundus far less crowded. By no means are we saying that there won't be satellites up there, we're simply saying that if this works there won't be as many."
It is expected that Riviere Corporation will trial the technology in several phases and if successful submit a proposal, probably with the assistance of the Achkaerinese Government to the OSSC.
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ROBERT WESTBROOKE APPOINTED ATTORNEY GENERAL
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
Robert Westbrooke has been formally appointed the Attorney General, following the resignation of Samuel White (pictured above left) so that he can stand as a candidate in the upcoming election. Mr Westbrooke was formally appointed by the Emperor yesterday and sworn into office by Lady Olivia Leonidas on behalf of the Crown - this due to the politically neutral alignment of the office of Attorney General. As is tradition Mr Westbrooke was introduced and commended to the Senate by his predecessor, in doing so Mr White explained Mr Westbrooke's stellar career experience - "He has twenty five years experience as a barrister and ten years experience as a judge in the High Court. He has also written many articles during his career and was editor of the Achkaerin Law Journal for ten years, a publication he still contributes to. He's highly respected within the profession and will serve the office with dignity, respect and above all fairness."
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FOREIGN OFFICE UNIMPRESSED WITH WADDEN
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
In a routine Foreign Office questions session in the Senate today the Foreign Office expressed its concern with the nation of Wadden following recent comments made by Sultan Yahya IV (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1764.msg15606#msg15606), the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Chloe Murray (pictured above) standing in for Minister of Foreign Affairs Richard Chambers, who was absent due to a family engagement, took questions on a variety of issues ranging from the Clysperi civil war to Nueva Ardia she was then asked by Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs Nick Lewis "What does the Government have to say in response to recent comments made by the Sultan of Wadden on water?" The response given by Senator Murray was as follows:
"As the honourable Senator knows Achkaerin is a signatory of the Mundus Convention of Universal Rights, as such we have a policy that ensures access to clean water for all our citizens. We note quite rightly that Wadden is not an MCUR signatory and let's be clear they aren't bound to the document so they can have whatever policy they wish to have on water. However Mr Speaker let us be equally clear with just how wrong, morally wrong, this statement by the Sultan truly is. The Sultan states that 'We believe only those who contribute to the tribe should get water' now on the face of it that might appear to be an innocuous statement however this statement makes the very clear implication that those who do not, for whatever reason, contribute to the tribe do not get water. Now fair enough we do not know what amounts to a contribution but the point is that those that do not contribute appear to have to go without water and as we know a human being can last for approximately three days without water. So what we have here is a policy on the part of a Head of State no less that would appear to condone withholding from people something that they cannot do without. And if that's the case Mr Speaker then this policy most certainly strays into the waters of immorality, the notion that any government would actively pursue a policy so detrimental to its own citizens is frankly unbelievable and disgraceful. This is not an argument nor observation under the MCUR, this is a biological observation rooted in scientific fact, no nation on Mundus should be cheering or applauding this for to do so would be to condone something of great criminality irrespective of a nations position on the MCUR."
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AEROBREAKER TAKES RECORD
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By Kimberley Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Team Breaker, a group of students from the University of Artaxia, have taken their second land speed record - having already taken the record for a Solar Powered vehicle last year with their Dawnbreaker vehicle they've taken the land speed record for a human powered vehicle with the Aerobreaker (pictured above), with an existing record of 89.58mph the team had initially aimed for 92mph but following a weekend of attempts they broke the record with a run hitting speeds of 94mph. The Aerobraker was piloted by renowned cyclist Sammy Lawson who described the experience as "Possibly the weirdest stint of cycling I've ever done." Team Breaker's leader Kit Davenport spoke with us after the successful run had been confirmed saying:
"I wasn't sure if we were going to manage this one really not because I doubt the ability of the people involved but we had a catalogue of things thrown at us this weekend, crosswinds, gusts, fog, rain basically pretty much everything in the weather box that could grind us to a halt. We just got that few minutes of clear sky and a dry road and just had to hope Sammy could do it. I would like to thank Riviere Corporation for their continued support of the team and I look forward to the next one."
Shortly thereafter Riviere Corporation CEO Catriona Rowan, who was present for the record attempt, stated: "It's brilliant to see success like this especially for students who want to challenge the world. They do all the theory, they do all the calculations we simply build the vehicle and make sure it runs safely our entire input on this is in the safety department it's not about Riviere it's about this group of students, maybe in a few weeks I'll sit down with Kit and Luke (Ayanami) and we'll come up with the next one. And if we do then it'll be another interesting ride."
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DID FOX'S JUST BLOW WORLD CUP WIDE OPEN?
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
As the Rugby World Cup approaches the conclusion of the Round Robin Stage the quarter finalists are slowly being determined as game numbers run out and points differences look ever larger. However following the sixteenth match day in the Round Robin there's an air of optimism around the tournament because the predicted top two in the table are not the two that are presently there - yes East Moreland's Honeybadger machine sits as predicted at the top of the table having defeated all opposition thus far but sitting second in the table at the moment are Achkaerin's Fox's, now this might not initially seem significant however a top three order of East Moreland, Achkaerin and then the Iwi has the potential to defy the pre tournament expectation as explained by now retired former Fox's Captain Tovan Holtz:
"When you come into a tournament like this there's a lot to contend with, there's what the pundits say, there's the form of the various teams and players and then there's the belief both within the squad and that of the supporters. The pre tournament expectations of the Round Robin group stage were that the Morelanders and Maori would sweep all before them except possibly each other, which would in the knockout stages place them on opposite side of the draw potentially allowing them to lock out the final. From a neutral standpoint we'd undoubtedly all like to see the best two sides in the world square off in the winner takes all game at the end of this, but that's not presently on the cards. The hard earned draw that Achkaerin got against the Iwi and now the victory over the Iwi by East Moreland in conjunction with the Achkaerinese victory over Phuebra have propelled Achkaerin up to second in the table with the Iwi third and East Moreland at the top. Now as a player you try not to look too far ahead lest you tempt fate but if that were to be the finishing order then East Moreland and the Iwi would end up on the same side of the quarter final draw and potentially meet in the semi finals which would leave the other half of the draw pretty much wide open, and of course strange things have been known to happen in finals, this tournament could now be a bit more open than it was twenty four hours ago."
Also aware of the subject was Fox's coach Rayne Churchill who said the following: "When we were preparing for this tournament we were preparing for the most likely route to the final if we were to win it which involves having to play both of East Moreland and the Iwi at some stage in the knockout round, but so was every other team except those two. Now I won't deny that on paper being able to avoid one of those teams would be advantageous but we're taking this one game at a time and when we get to the quarter final we'll see where the chips fall in terms of which team ends up where but whoever we play there are no easy games at this level."
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BYRNE AND DUFF TO "DO A LUSK?"
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Doctor Daniel Byrne, Former Chair of the MHO
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Doctor Daniel Byrne, otherwise known more widely as Danny Byrne, has announced his intention to establish a new Mundus wide health organisation. Doctor Byrne who previously served as the Lead Health Advisor of the Mundus Health Organisation, a subsidiary organisation of the CTO, explained his reasoning as follows: "In the time since the CTO in the view of many ceased to be effective we've seen a great many things happen in the field of health that shouldn't have happened as they have. We have for example in Olivia Robertsson a brilliant young woman who goes to Zimalia and runs entirely off her own back and with donations a HIV/AIDS clinic, it is frankly unbelievable that such good work does not get any MHO recognition or funding. We've now got a Midaranye nation employing a policy that adversely affects the health of its own citizens and only one nation calls them out on it? These are the sorts of things where the MHO should be showing leadership but honestly all the silence does is demonstrate yet again that the CTO is a pointless entity and it should once and for all be scrapped. However just because the CTO has to go does not mean to say that the institutions it established have to go, because let's be clear these are the ones with the potential to do great work. We have over the last year or so heard of a great many ideas in the medical field that can benefit everyone on Mundus, we have across Mundus a great variety of experts in different medical fields and we have those who speak from experience, the field of medicine is constantly advancing, each day and week we see further advances. Some time ago Melissa Lusk established an independent version of the Mundus Refugee Council in the IRSA to ensure that the good work carried out by that body continued, in the next few days I will hope to do the same with regards to the MHO by establishing something in its own right and I hope it will receive international support."
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Amber Duff, former chief constable of the Mundus Crime Agency
In the same press conference Amber Duff the former Chief Constable of the Mundus Crime Agency announced her intention to explore the options in relation to establishing a common understanding on cooperation in terms of investigating and preventing international crime and ensuring that the mechanisms to assist justice being done were in place. Ms Duff didn't comment in detail but analysts do not expect an organisation to be formed from her efforts it's more likely that some sort of treaty will be proposed. Of course given the nature of what Doctor Byrne seeks to do something along the lines of a like for like is expected.
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LEGACY RACING TAKE FIRST FORMULA MUNDUS POINT
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Legacy Racing, the Formula Mundus team of the Legacy Sport armed forces charity, a team comprised of wounded veterans of the Achkaerinese military has taken its first Formula Mundus point at the latest grand prix in Gowu. The race was won by Riviere Corporation Racing's Megan Harrison but it was Leia Armitage's tenth place finish that prompted the loudest celebrations of the weekend. Speaking after the race team Principal Vicky Black, a former Lieutenant in the Achkaerinese Navy who lost her lower right arm in a freak accident, said "For us this is as good as winning the race itself, we've been in the midfield all season and I think everyone understands the challenges we've got to face at each race. This point is for everyone who has supported us, it's for all our engineers, our designers, our families and everyone who has believed in us."
Also present at the race weekend in Gowu was Crown Princess Serenity, the founder of the Legacy Foundation and thereby Legacy Sport, when asked for comment she said that she was "Thrilled to see Legacy Racing get a point in its debut season. It shows anything is possible."
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CONSUL WILLIAMS RESPONDS TO WADDAN
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Consul Michael Williams, the leader of Achkaerin's elected government, has responded to the latest comments from the Sultan of Waddan (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1764.msg15731#msg15731), the comments come in response to a concern raised by the Achkaerinese Government that has attracted interest across Midaranye, in response the Consul said the following:
"I think it's important to make clear the significant error in what the Sultan said, he stated 'Achkaerin elected to turn its back on its ancient ways of life' as well as other comments suggesting that Achkaerin has harmed the environment. Now when the initial statement was made on this water issue Minister Murray was very careful in that she did explain that it was not known what did and did not amount to a contribution to Waddan society because we accepted that we were not completely across their culture, it is unfortunate that the Sultan does not see fit to extend us the same consideration opting instead to make statements without consulting the appropriate sources. What the Sultan should be made aware of is that the Cult of Namis, the native faith of this nation, has been followed in this nation for millenia it has been the practiced faith of the overwhelming majority of the people of these lands even before Achkaerin was a unified state and has been followed diligently and devoutly to this day. Two of the faith's seven tenets explain this perhaps in the best way the third tenet states 'All things are connected to each other the air, the land, the sea, the animals and the flowers, this is the principle of life's rhythm.' and the seventh tenet states 'Care for Mundus, for you are the caretakers of the creation entrusted with its future.' these two tenets commit Achkaerin on religious grounds to an understanding that all life and elements are linked and that we must take care to look after our world. If anything this makes Achkaerin at its core a driven environmentally friendly nation perhaps that's why the environment has for a long time been high on the political agenda domestically, we are one of the leading nations in preparing for the world where fossil fuels are no longer in existence, we take this responsibility so seriously that when we took office in 2010 the Unity Party government of that time brought into law an Act of the Senate to ensure a reasoned and managed transition to renewable energy and fuels within a set time frame, for several years our industries have utilized alternative fuels and greener manufacturing methods and most recently our signature on the environmental treaty of Wellow commits the nation to a series of targets that we are more than confident of meeting at this time."
The Consul also explained that a potential meeting between himself and his counterpart the President of Safraen was being considered following Safraen's early moves towards a green economy seen in the suggestion of banning fossil fuel cars in a few years time.
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INSIGNIA PROTOTYPE FLOATS AND MOVES, FLIGHT TEST PLANNED FOR END OF MARCH
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By Kimberley Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Insignia, a ground effect vehicle envisioned as foundation for future commercial travel, has seen its first prototype hull undergo testing on the water, in that it floats and moves with an engine powering it, however the planned fuel source of hydrogen was not used in the test, instead electricity powered the Insignia for the short test. Speaking after the test Stella Campbell, the brains behind the project, said "This marks our first milestone in that we've achieved floatation and motion, in a couple of weeks we'll come back out hopefully with the hydrogen and see if the Insignia can fly. We're still hopeful of being at the Festival of Sail in a few months time with it, but for now we'll see how we go in two weeks."
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FOX'S ON THE EDGE OF GLORY
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Head coach Rayne Churchill
By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin's Men's Rugby Team have made it to the World Cup Final following their victory over Vaguzia in the semi final. It's an achievement that matches their performance at last years World Cup, where they were the runners up and this year fans are hoping they can go one better, however it's not going to be easy because standing in their way are the Iwi, on world ranking the second best in the world behind East Moreland, the defending champions and team that beat Achkaerin in last years final. But for head coach Rayne Churchill there's cause for optimism as she explained at her pre match press conference saying:
"The thing with finals is that strange things can happen, favourites can feel the pressure of expectation, underdogs can rise to the challenge, it only takes one moment of brilliance or stupidity to change the course of a final like this. And it is only one game if we played the Iwi ten times they'd probably win nine of them but it's one game and it's a straight up winner takes all affair, we're the underdogs we've got nothing to lose. We're ready for this and we're up for it, so I guess all that's left to say it's best of luck to both sides and may the best team win."
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CROWN PRINCESS RETURNS TO ROYAL DUTIES
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
A little over three months after the death of her husband Crown Princess Serenity has undertaken her first official Royal Duty since the tragic incident. The Crown Princess was the surprise VIP at Djana Azurewind Park - the nations largest sports complex, where she was opening the newest addition to the Park - the Medieval Mixed Martial Arts gym. Also on hand was national heavyweight champion James Chase who will be one of the resident pro's at the gym. Speaking following the opening the Crown Princess said "As a nation we've got a rich sporting history and we've seen the uptake in this sport since its Mundus Games debut two years ago and we've seen a lot of gyms spring up in that time, so to see the sport get a home in this park is quite significant and it'll likely be packed when time for the national trials rolls around."
The Crown Princess did have a go at the sport but it's probably safe to say she won't be giving up the day job, but judging from her engagement with the participants it could well be that she's a fan of it. Also speaking afterwards James Chase said "For our sport nationally this is a huge thing because we've now got a program that's treated in the same mainstream way as cycling, swimming, athletics and the like. We've got the facilities and we've got the personnel so we'll have to see what happens over the next few years but I'm hopeful that we can do something good here."
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GOVERNMENT REACTION TO WMRA AND GUNGNIR
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Government has once again stated its approach to terrorism in the wake of the WMRA executing a Vaguzian soldier and the Gungir demands for Nya Aland to adopt their constitution. In defence questions this afternoon the Deputy Defence Minister Sally-Anne Seaborn (pictured above) explained the position saying - "Mr Speaker let's be very clear on this both situations will have specific and official government responses shortly, however I think everyone in this chamber and across the nation will be aware that our position is a very simple one - we do not negotiate with terrorists."
The Deputy Minister was also asked about the naval element of operations related to the Clysperi civil war to which she said "I appreciate the concern on this that is shared by Safraen and Vanora, and I'm sure they will understand that I can only speak for the Achkaerinese deployment when I answer this. From an Achkaerinese perspective the naval element of this conflict is found almost exclusively within the EEZ of Clysperis itself with the agreement of the Clysperi government, at the current moment we have three vessels operating in international waters in the Gulf of Safraen. Our intention with the naval element is very simple - to ensure that no potential aid for the so called Confederation reaches Clysperis's shores by sea. As I've said we do understand that such an operation would incur disruption however our current understanding of the situation on the ground is that the conflict is seemingly entering it's final stage, we're therefore hopeful that in a few days time we'll be in a position where the decision to stand down or scale down that component can be taken."
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EDELWEISS 2020 TO RING THE CHANGES
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By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
The Edelweiss Festival may still be just over three months away but the Royal Family have teased some of this years big surprises, the festival which is organised largely by a committee led by Duchess of Valtheim and wife of the Emperor Renee Azurewind (pictured above) is arguably the largest annual fundraising event on Mundus put on for the nation by the Royal Family. In recent years this has seen the Royals with friends from across Mundus put on a production of Les Miserables and now traditionally sees the Royal Family provide the entertainment on the festivals penultimate night. When asked what to expect this year the Duchess explained as follows:
"We're going bigger this year, we're opening it up a lot more than in previous years we're going from just having the one venue of the Royal Theatre to multiple venues around Valtheim, we're putting a stage in Memorial Park, we're indebted to the Royal College of Music and Djana Azurewind Park for providing venues for events. We're also increasing the list of charities that we raise funds for this year. Now I know a lot of people will be wondering what the Royals are going to do this year and we're going back to musicals, we're going to stagger three musicals across the festival and for a new twist the public will get to vote on what two of them should be, we will then pick the third. We're also going to do opening night and the penultimate night. As for who's involved in this we're going to unveil that on my husbands birthday in a few days time. As in previous years we're planning to have a number of international artists and theatre companies involved, we've already got the Nyx Ballet coming I believe their dates correspond with the early part of the festival. And for a bit of fun this year we're putting the Emperor's two children with some friends up against each other in a series of sporting challenges for charity which do feature a couple of world record attempts."
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FOXES WIN RUGBY WORLD CUP
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin have won the Rugby World Cup, the Foxes who were huge underdogs in the final against the Iwi snatched the victory by a point three minutes after the hooter had sounded. In a close match the scoring stayed tight with neither side getting much of a lead, with five minutes to go the Iwi led 24-20 but a 78th minute lineout and a drive put the Foxes in position for a final attack. It was won when a cross field kick by fly half Liam Hendry was tapped down by full back Samuel Bolt allowing winger Ben Colt to gather and exploit created space to score the winning try. The team's head coach Rayne Churchill spoke after the match saying:
"I'm speechless, that is a match which I don't think we'll ever forget. We knew we had to keep it close, we knew that if the Iwi started to motor ahead that we needed to stay in contention and thankfully we were able to stay within a score but even then, needing a try against a team as good as the Iwi is not easy to manufacture but a little bit of creativity and we got the space. I couldn't be prouder of the players."
When asked about issues over the tournament Ms Churchill said:
"I don't want to be drawn too much into this tonight, but I do agree with my East Moreland counterparts on this, it's a little bit silly to play a tournament that requires the winning team to have to play twenty two games. Would two groups of ten or four groups of five been easier? From our point of view as competitors most likely yes and I'm sure over the next few days you'll see several domestic rugby federations asking the MRF for clarification on future world cup formats."
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SENATE RECESSES AS ELECTION LOOMS
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Minister of Health Trini Malone
By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Senate has brought its five year term to a close ahead of the 2020 election with a round of questions to the Minister of Health (minister Malone pictured above) following the customary period of questions, the Minister moved that the Senate enter into recess for the purposes of the election, a motion that was supported and campaigning will begin in earnest tomorrow. There was some question about why the Senate was entering into recess rather than the usual dissolution. When asked this by the leader of the opposition Senator Tobias Jorgenson, Senator Malone explained as follows: "As the Honourable Senator knows our procedures allow for dissolution by the Crown upon request of the Government or entering into recess with consent of the Crown. The difference in the procedure is that Dissolution automatically means that the Senate ceases to meet until after the election, entering into recess permits the current Senate to be recalled should circumstances require it. Given the potential for escalation in several places across Mundus at the moment and ongoing commitments elsewhere the Government believes the more responsible procedure is entering into recess."
Looking ahead to the election campaign there's an expectation that a key area will be foreign affairs followed closely by the economy and then Education and Defence, and with the Covenant Address following shortly after election day the platform for the future government to outline its vision is huge. Currently the Unity Party-Patriot Party coalition holds 262 seats in the Senate a majority of 13. In terms of largest parties the Unity Party has 188 seats and Endeavour (the main opposition party) holds 150. The expectation is that another coalition government will form, as outright victory is historically rare in Achkaerinese politics, but what the future government looks like is anyone's guess.
Achkaerin goes to the polls on the 14th of May.
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"NOT TAKING CHANCES" - GEN ICERIDER
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By Olivia Moore: International Affairs Correspondent
Lieutenant General Rhyth Icerider, the commanding officer of Achkaerinese troops operating inside Clysperis, has sounded a note of caution, the comments come shortly after the Pharaoh of Clysperis announced in a televised interview that she intended to call a halt to major combat operations tomorrow. Speaking from Achkaerin's main operations base inside Clysperis General Icerider said Every conflict like this generally has three stages you have the pre-war, the main conflict phase and then finally the post conflict stage. With Nekthou captured and the mass defections we've seen over the last few days it is reasonable to say that we've reached the end of the second phase, the so called Confederation's remaining forces are scattered, they have one stronghold left in Heshiken and the rest are out in the wilderness. Let's be clear ending major combat operations does not mean we're all going to suddenly stop fighting what's the left of the so called Confederation it just means that we don't need to make the major commitments in operations that we have made so far however we're not taking any chances. We're on the edges of Heshiken now, clearing it block by block, the defections mean we're facing far less resistance than would otherwise have been the case. Once Heshiken is secure our responsibility then shifts from frontline combat to support role as we transition responsibility for areas we currently hold back to the Kingdom's forces, so this conflict isn't at its conclusion yet we've just reached the end of one stage of it."
When asked about New Derusmia's involvement in the conflict the General said "I really hope they weren't involved in this, but if they were I think they owe a lot of people an explanation for why they'd choose to support a terrorist entity."
It is estimated that some 280 Achkaerinese troops have been killed in the Clysperi conflict with a further 600 injured.
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AVALON FC SIGN NEW PLAYER IN HISTORIC DEAL
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Avalon Football club has made history today with the signing of midfielder Behdad Narsang who will become the first Tamoran to play in the Achkaerinese Premier League when the season starts following this years Mundus Games. Speaking about the signing the clubs manager Timothy Cohen said "We've seen over the last few years that football is developing across Mundus at a high rate, the standard of international competition is getting higher and predicting how the games will likely go get more difficult. We've also seen the development of new players with star potential Behdad is one of those players and we're very excited to have him join us."
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ELECTION RESULTS
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The 2020 Achkaerinese Senate Election results (displayed above) have been released. It's been a night of high drama and the odd shock but with all constituencies declared we now know the result. So here's the analysis of the night.
The Result
The Unity Party: 194 Seats (+6)
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Consul Michael Williams keeps his job as he has led the Unity Party to victory winning 194 out of the 500 seats, an increase of six seats from their 2015 result. The Consul had a long night to wait as his constituency of Broadchurch was among the first fifty to declare. His wife Siobhan Williams, Minister of Agriculture and the Environment and his son James Williams, Youth Minister, both retained their seats. Speaking once the result became clear the Consul said "We've had a great night, better than we dared to think but we're grateful to the public for the faith they've shown in us and come Monday we'll set about repaying that faith."
The Patriot Party: 82 Seats (+8)
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The minority government partner had a better night than the Unity Party if taken on the balance of the seat gain/loss equation though they did come in under the predicted 85 seats in the exit poll. The party will continue to serve in coalition with the Unity Party according to its leader Rhian Kennedy. The biggest celebrations on the night did belong to the Patriot Party as they unseated the leader of the Endeavour Party, Harrison Carmichael taking one of the longest believed safe Endeavour seats by a margin of 170 votes in what will probably become the moment that best sums up the election. Strong with the young vote last time out the Patriot Party's vote share among the younger generation remains the highest of any party.
The Endeavour Party: 100 Seats (-50)
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Where did it all go wrong? Never in the history of Achkaerinese politics has the Endeavour Party suffered a night as bad as this. Traditionally an opposition party would expect to gain seats instead they lost a third of their seats and saw their traditional strongholds fall, the town of Briarwood a long term Endeavour stronghold saw the party routed by the Green's, the Progressive Party made gains in Lakeside. In fact the night went so badly that the Endeavour Party even lost a seat to the Workers Alliance. But of course none of that will top the defeat of party leader Harrison Carmichael (pictured above) who lost his seat in the Senate and subsequently resigned as party leader. Commentators have suggested an unclear message and poor debate performance are key reasons why this manner of result was seen.
The Liberal Party: 75 Seats (+5)
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Ajax Semantar's first outing as Liberal Party leader in an election went well, the party gained five seats which is three more than the exit poll predicted, narrowly taking the Rowanoak seat from the Progressive Party by 24 votes, the narrowest result of the night. There would have been hopes that with the Endeavour vote collapsing that the Liberals could have become the lead opposition party but they fell short of this. However for the first few weeks of the new Senate term expect that with the Endeavour Party looking for a new leader that it will be the Liberals holding the government to account.
The Green Party: 24 Seats (+18)
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Arguably the big winners of the night were the Green's as they quadrupled their number of seats from 6 in the 2015 election to 24 on the night. With a clear campaign message focused on the environmental issues as well as the health and well being of the citizenry plus education, the green's garnered support so much so that they turned the traditional Endeavour red town of Briarwood completely green, a result that made party leader Thomas Lynsey (picture above) smile broadly as he declared "What we're seeing is the waking up of the people of this country and further afield across Mundus to the pressing issues that face our world whether it be the environment, the plight of those in poverty or those who cannot get access to an education. This result is a vindication of our message and we'll make sure that it's listened to."
The Progressive Party: 15 Seats (+8)
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Rosemary Carter's Progressive Party more than doubled their number of seats but perhaps will view the election as a missed opportunity to make greater gains as outside of the Unison City area successes were few and the rise of the Green Party could suggest that the Party's position as the alternative to the 'Big Four' has been supplanted, the party will have to consider in the next few weeks what it can do moving forward and how in five years time they don't become wholly irrelevant in the world of Achkaerinese politics.
The Workers Alliance Party: 8 Seats (+5)
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William Fort (pictured above) perhaps couldn't have imagined a result like this for the Worker's Alliance Party but a gain of five seats for a minor party is significant. A campaign which as always focused around worker's rights might go some way to explaining why the Endeavour Party's vote collapsed across the board. The big question though for the future will be does this signify a divergence between the Workers Alliance and Endeavour Parties?
The Republican Party: 2 Seats (+1)
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It's safe to say that Adam Lonsdale (pictured above), leader of the Republican Party would have taken holding his seat in Scyll Junction as a good result for the night, given that the Republican movement in Achkaerin is extremely small. However not only did he hold his seat but the party may have been the toast of a fair amount of the nation's households for unseating the Puritan Party's leader in Scyll Cove. While it's unlikely that two republicans in the Senate will make any real difference in practical terms, this is not a night that they'll forget in a hurry.
The Puritan Party: 0 Seats (-1)
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Sebastian Macquer, long time opinionated and in some quarters intolerable Senator, has led the Puritan Party since he founded it. However despite twenty five years in the Senate he lost his seat and it wasn't even to the expected challengers but to the Republicans, though the suspicion is that other parties threw their support behind the republicans in that one seat in a case of tactical voting. One thing is for sure the new Senate term will be a fair bit more cordial without Mr Macquer's now traditional barb trading with the Speaker's chair.
The Shock of the Night
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There were no prizes for guessing the biggest shock of the night. Harrison Carmichael, the leader of the opposition, the leader of the Endeavour Party lost his seat to Jade Nightingale (pictured above) of the Patriot Party, the margin was 170 votes. If the shock from those watching the live results was anything to go by this was on no one's radar despite a growing confidence of the Patriot Party over the last few hours of voting that they might have pulled it off. But the number 15,972 has been trending on twitter following the declaration. Mr Carmichael was gracious in defeat and wished Ms Nightingale well for her term in office.
So what happens next? Well the Senate reconvenes on Monday where the formalities of swearing in the Senators and the election of a speaker are handled, after that the business of government will begin.
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SENATE GETS BACK TO WORK
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Senate has returned to work following the recent election with the customary swearing in of the Senators and then for the first time in ten years a Speaker election, this follows the decision of Oliver Thornton the previous Speaker to not seek re-election to the role. The Senate elected Robert Knight (pictured above) of the Green Party to the role. Following the election of the Speaker the Consul addressed the chamber outlining the priorities of the Government including continued commitment to the GETA 2014 Act, an assessment of Achkaerinese policy moving forward in relation to several issues, the security of the Northern Ocean and an immediate assessment of flashpoints across Mundus and what action may be required.
After the Consul outlined the Government's program the first question session of the new Senate term fell to Minister of Defence Adam Sheppard who answered questions on the status of Achkaerinese military deployments abroad, the progress of the Navy's 2023 evolution program and the recent Gungnir hack of the Theia Space Telescope.
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INSIGNIA FLIES
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Insignia, a prototype GEV has flown for the first time, the vehicle that uses hydrogen as opposed to oil took to the air for the first time on a simple run into Gowu. The success marks the first of many tests that will be required before the Insignia is even ready for use and potentially export. Speaking after the test Stella Campbell who runs the project said [/i]"We're really happy with our progress today and now we'll continue to test over longer distances, but now we're really excited to see what happens next."[/i]
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ARMITAGE WINS IN SILVERHILLS
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Leia Armitage has won the final Formula Mundus grand prix of the season in Silverhills. It marks a significant moment for Legacy Racing as it is the teams first win, the team comprised entirely of wounded veterans has not had the strongest of seasons however winning what could be called their home grand prix in some respects is a great way for them to sign off the season. Speaking afterwards the race winner, who was wounded while flying a Raptorwing in the Seaforth Eugenics War, said "I don't believe that just happened, I thought we were doing ok in the race and then after the pit stops I get the message 'Leia you're in third and on the quicker tyre good hunting' it took m right back to my air force days and then when we pitted again and got the undercut on the other two up the road I was surprised to end up at the head of the field."
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ACHKAERINS BIG PARTY WEEKEND
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Celebrations in front of Artaxia Castle
By Emma Sullivan: Culture Correspondent
The Cult of Helus Community in Achkaerin has once again partied away on Greenflowers weekend in what has become the traditional manner, street parties, music and the much loved Aelmoor Watch Display (pictured above), the celebration in Artaxia has evolved from an annual marking of the marriage between East Moreland's King Paul otherwise known as Paul the Explorer and Achkaerin's Anezaki Ayanami, as explained by Hannah Barker the senior Priestess of the Cult of Helus in Achkaerin: "It would obviously seem a little weird for Cultists in Achkaerin to celebrate the birthday of another nation so we join in by marking the marriage of Paul the Explorer and Anezaki Ayanami which is when the Cult of Helus essentially took root on Achkaerinese soil kind of like this communities birthday, so much like East Moreland we've got an act of remembrance as we acknowledge the fallen cultists in the battle and then we have festivities including music, dance and some military drill aspects."
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As has become tradition the Ayanami family, distant relatives of the Morelander Royal family, spent the day hosting those in Artaxia who are in he most need at Artaxia Castle and then providing an evening's entertainment with a ball before the traditional firework display at the end of the Aelmoor Watch Display. Lady Kristina, the Marqueeza of Aelmoor, and her husband Lord Steven (pictured above) also sent their birthday wishes to King David.
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It wasn't just the Cult of Helus that celebrated over the weekend, the Muslim community also celebrated with Eid al-Fitr, the celebration at the end of the month of Ramadan, marks the breaking of the fast. The faithful spent the day in prayer and celebration as families gathered together to celebrate the occasion. Also the Achkaerinese Methodists got in on the celebrations over the weekend marking Aldersgate Sunday, or in simple terms the birthday of Methodism, while next Sunday the 31st of May marks the Christian festival of Pentecost this year otherwise known as the coming of the Holy Spirit.
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HESHIKEN LIBERATED
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Achkaerinese troops in Heshiken
By Olivia Moores: International News Correspondent
The city of Heshiken, the capital of the so called Confederation has been officially declared as clear of the rebels following an Achkaerinese offensive. The city officially fell last night as members of the Aelmoor watch captured what had been the central HQ of the rebels following a battle with the rebel remnants. Speaking afterwards Lt General Icerider said "It's a little odd to be out here fighting like this today of all days, the historical similarities being what they are. But today much like our Cultist brethren all those centuries ago we stand on a field of battle with the rebels routed. We now begin the process of handing over responsibility for areas of Clysperis under our control back to Clysperi forces and once that begins to happen we'll be in a position to begin a phased withdrawal as soon as we have the logistics covered."
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ECHO ARCHAEOLOGY SENDS ARK BACK TO VANORA
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
Echo Archaeology has sent what they believe to be the Ark of the Covenant back to Vanora. The Ark a long lost Christian relic was found in Phuebra, the search for the Ark became the obsession of noted deceased archaeologist Jonathan Bell so perhaps it was fate that it was a team led by his daughter Melanie Bell that found the Ark. In a search that led her from Abydos, to Royal Seleucid, to Tamora and then finally Phuebra. Speaking before boarding a flight to take the Ark back to Vanora Ms Bell, the Countess of Elsion said "I don't want to speculate on what my father would say if he were here, I hope he'd be proud but I'll never know. I don't want to make an Ozzie style acceptance speech because it's a long list of people to thank but I would like to mention Professor Men-nu Sebek-em-of from Ashmaremu University, who brough the information that allowed us to begin the journey that led us to the Ark and my team at Echo for everything they did on this."
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LAWSON ON ALBA KARINYA TOUR
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Sammy Lawson has spoken to us ahead of the inaugural Tour De Alba Karinya cycle race that gets underway tomorrow. Speaking ahead of the first stage of the race, an individual time trial in Mogebbe, she said "This is going to be a very interesting event, we're used to racing single stage races, straight point to point with first over the line winning. So to have all these jerseys not to mention the timing factor across stages to think about is another matter entirely, it's not like anything any of us have raced before so it's going to be a learning experience for everyone."
Sammy Lawson will probably be one of the favourites for the event but with it being across eighteen stages its yet to be seen what the additional factors will bring.
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PATRONUS DRONE TESTS WELL AADC AND RIVIERE PLEASED
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
AADC (Achkaerin Aeronautical Development Company) and Riviere Corporation have tested out the Patronus Drone's. The small drones built by Riviere Corporation performed according to expectations being successfully launched from the pylons on a Nightingale type aircraft, though this could easily be substituted for the hardpoint on a fighter jet or helicopter. The capabilities of the Patronus drone cover a multitude of possibilities from battlefield surveillance to cruise missile like strikes. The real trick though lies in being able to recover the drones in the air, which is where AADC's modification of a Nightingale comes in. Something that looks slightly like aerial refuelling but also involves clamping a recovered drone to secure it and bring it aboard (as seen on the above image), the hard part in the recovery is the speed because if deployed in a military environment being able to recover the drones at a reasonable pace will be significant. However the Air Force appears satisfied with the test.
In other Defence related news the Ministry of Defence has declined to comment on the recent developments surrounding the Merina Civil War however the Round Table Conference is believed to be discussing the matter.
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RIVIERE TO TRIAL DRONE BASED WIFI OVER AELMOOR
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By Kimberley Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Riviere Corporation is to trial a drone based wifi coverage system for the province of Aelmoor, the province is rural with many small villages and towns, the luck of the geography does mean that it could appropriately be described as the "back of beyond." the nature of the province apparently makes it an ideal testing area for this Riviere Project as explained by CEO Catriona Rowan who said: "About three years back we concocted a similar idea for the Republic of Frystjörd, and it worked reasonably well the system was able to provide coverage over that area. This is the first scaling up of the area we've done with this idea as Aelmoor is a larger area than Frystjörd was. We're hoping to be able to provide the communication and internet access using these drones as a network. For safety reasons we will be keeping away from the flight paths in and out of airports and so on. Our trial will last a year and we'll evaluate the project at the end of that."
The drone to be used in the trial is known as the Midnight Type (pictured above), solar powered and capable of long distance, high altitude flight according to Riviere Corporation.
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LAWSON LEADING AFTER THREE STAGES
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Sammy Lawson leads the inaugural Tour de Alba Karinya after three stages. She won the very first stage of the event, an individual time trial through the streets of Mogebbe in Zimalia, and while she has yet to win a road race stage she has managed a consistent performance so far giving her both the yellow jersey and the white jersey at this stage. However she's got plenty of competition, speaking to us ahead of the next stage she gave the following comment: "It's great to be in yellow and to also hold the white jersey as well is something I wasn't expecting. There are still fifteen stages to go and we'll see what happens in the next few stages."
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YELLOWTONGUE MEASURES ENACTED
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The White Deer herd of the Ayanami family is set to be tested for Yellowtongue in the coming days
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
With the outbreak of Yellowtongue having spread across Mundus with several nations now reporting cases and enacting measures designed to contain and prevent the spread of the virus. The Achkaerinese Government's measures were announced earlier (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=695.msg17428#msg17428) and include a ban on the importing of livestock, a testing program to be carried out through out Achkaerinese territory for Yellowtongue and vaccine development. When asked to explain the measures the Minister of Agriculture and the Environment Siobhan Williams said "We do not at present have any reported cases of Yellowtongue within the mainland Achkaerin area, what we do have are reports of Yellowtongue in the Ardian Peninsula area so we're being pre-emptive and looking at how we can take steps to prevent this virus from spreading further than it has so far. It may be a matter for continental bodies such as the Ardian Assembly, Council of Albion and the AKO for example. And we will have measures in place in the coming days to support those adversely affected by this. We're very clear that the incubation period of this virus means that no reports does not mean no virus, we may not be a huge meat importer, in fact we export more meat but we do have a lot of livestock importing so we need to be looking at what has been imported in the last month or two to be safe and apply steps in regards to testing across the board."
Development of the vaccine is to be led by Riviere Corporation in conjunction with other partners, CEO of the corporation Catriona Rowan spoke about the process saying "Development of any vaccine takes time, we're not going to have this thing figured out by the end of next week. We do have an advantage in that there are apparent similarities between Yellowtongue and the more commonly known Bluetongue so there is a foundation from which we can develop so our first step is sample analysis to determine is this virus a mutation of Bluetongue or is the similarity coincidence. But to sound an optimistic note we could well be in a better place with Yellowtongue than we were a few years ago with the Kaiju virus."
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EDELWEISS MUSICALS AND CAST REVEALED
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By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
The Edelweiss Festival schedule has yet to be released but the Organising Group has revealed which three musicals the Royal Family are putting on as well as who is starring in those productions. Following a vote the two public choices for musicals were Wicked and Anything Goes. In addition the choice of the Royal Family is Oliver! The three musicals will each be staged at the Royal Theatre and spread through the festival, the precise order is not yet known however it is expected that Wicked will be the last of the three to be performed. Also released were the cast lists for each musical:
Elphaba: Katyusha Andronikashivili
Glinda: Serenity Azurewind
Fiyero: Jack Azurewind
The Wizard: Peter Azurewind
Nessarose: Adrian Anselmo
Madame Morrible: Juliet Ninet Lili Foussard
Doctor Dillamond: Arthur Whitaker
Boq: John Gliss
Chistery: Alan Gliss
Witch's Father: Leonardo Amberbrook
Witch's Mother: Annabelle Amberbrook
Midwife: Harper Rhodes
Dorothy: Charlotte Wilmington
Reno Sweeney: Renee Azurewind
Billy Crocker: Jack Azurewind
Moonface Martin: Simon Azurewind
Hope Harcourt: Katyusha Andronikashivili
Lord Evelyn Oakleigh: Peter Azurewind
Elisha Whitney: George Whitaker
Evangeline Harcourt: Juliet Ninet Lili Foussard
Erma: Sakura Sheppard
The Captain: Tommy Atkine
Purser: William Amberbrook
Luke: Robin Amberbrook
John: Amulius Amberbrook
Oliver Twist: Augustin of Uburzis
Fagin: Peter Azurewind
Bill Sikes: Tommy Atkine
Artful Dodger: John Gliss
Nancy: Serenity Azurewind
Mr Bumble: Leonardo Amberbrook
Mr Sowerberry: Steven Ayanami
Mrs Sowerberry: Kristina Ayanami
Noah Claypole: Robin Amberbrook
Mr Brownlow: William Amberbrook
Old Sally: Juliet Ninet Lili Foussard
Mrs Bedwin: Amelia Whitaker
Widow Corney: Renee Azurewind
Charlotte: Charlotte Wilimington
Bet: Sakura Sheppard
Dr Grimwig: George Whitaker
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INFAMOUS CARRIER TO SERVE IN IMPERIAL NAVY
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The HMS Leonard I is perhaps one of the most famous aircraft carriers on Mundus however unlike the likes of the REMNS King Robert, INS Intrepid, IRN Elsa and RSS Red Crown it isn't its operational history that is remembered. It is remembered as the naval vessel that bankrupted Vaguzia, so maybe the most infamous aircraft carrier is a better description. However after four years later, most of it spent in ensuring the vessel met the standards of the Imperial Navy the HMS Leonard I is to serve in the Achkaerinese Navy, the vessel re-christened the INS Discovery is due to set sail in two weeks. Director of Naval Operations Joseph Stapleton commented on the announcement saying "This is not the sort of thing we would have ever anticipated, we didn't expect to ever have a lighter carrier after we decommissioned the Azurewind class around four years ago, so when we get asked 'can you find a use for this carrier we're going to buy from Vaguzia?' Naval Command had a bit of a smile on its face, we were hoping to have it in service with the Imperial Navy a couple of years ago but we've had a few setbacks with it, but we're past them now."
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GOVERNMENT INTRODUCES ARMED FORCES PLAN
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Government has introduced the long awaited report that details recommendations for the Achkaerinese Armed Forces moving forwards over the next few years, the report was slightly delayed following the recent outcome of the Awhaele referendum but when Deputy Minister of Defence Sally-Anne Seaborn took to the dispatch box in the Senate there was understanding and there was anticipation, the Deputy Minister outlined the program as follows:
"Mr Speaker, it is my honour to introduce to the Senate the Armed Forces Report commissioned by the Ministry of Defence. This report was asked for following the end of the Phuebra conflict and makes several proposals as to major developments to ensure the continued effectiveness of the Achkaerinese military, some will have heard this report referred to as the 2023 plan, as parts of this report detail a position to be aspired to by that year.
We begin with the Awhaele situation and how that effects the reports recommendations. It will come as no surprise that the Awhaele Defence Force will be brought under the Achkaerinese military umbrella, this will mean that the training and development aspects of this report will be applied to Awhaele this will also include for the first time since the formation of the Armoured Corps in 1912 that there will be a new contingent to the Achkaerinese Army with the creation of an Awhaele based regiment. Details on that such as name are being determined. We hope to be able to smoothly transition through training programs members of the Awhaele Defence Force into the Achkaerinese military.
Ongoing projects across the Armed Forces that are being developed for the future remain in development, however Senators will note that several projects are nearing their completion, mainly in the naval element of the Armed Forces - the Specula class is to enter service, an order for two further GPPS's is under consideration and finally there's the Elder Project. In the Air Force the Patronus Program has been completed, continued developments of projects for the future of the air force remain on going."
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THE PLAN TO SAVE THE RED SQUIRREL
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
The national animal of Achkaerin might be the fox and it might well be a fox that appears on the national flag however there's another red animal that the public has a deep affection for, the red squirrel once a thriving domestic species in Achkaerin it is now down to approximately a population of 140,000 landing it a place on the WMO's endangered species register, the species is so rare now that it's only seen in places like Valkyria National Park, Rowanoak Woods and West Vale National Park. So what has led to the decline of this beloved animal? Well it's the grey squirrel, a breed that was introduced to Achkaerin around two hundred years ago from Ardia, the grey squirrel carries the squirrel parapox virus that is fatal to red squirrels. Grey squirrels are viewed as vermin by most of the population with conservationists and landowners in particular viewing them as pests and one of the most harmful invasive species in Achkaerin.
However this two hundred year reign of the grey squirrel could be about to come to an end. Scientists from Riviere Corporation led by Doctor Alex Minchin (pictured centre above) have a plan to restore the red squirrel to its rightful place. By genetically modifying captured male grey squirrels to carry a "gene drive", the modified squirrels are then to be released into the wild, the gene would ensure that any females that inherited it are sterile, while males would be unaffected to allow them to keep spreading it to ensure the population eventually dies out. Speaking after outlining the plan Doctor Minchin said "If you go down to Ardia you'll find these grey squirrels all over the place, so this measure won't, because of the involved distances, eliminate the grey squirrel globally what it will do is domestically cull the grey squirrel and give the native Achkaerinese red squirrel the chance to thrive again."
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SHOCK INTERVIEW WITH EMPEROR PETER
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Emperor Peter and his wife Renee[1]
By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
Emperor Peter has surprised the nation and potentially many more across Mundus by revealing in a live interview (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=283.msg17939#msg17939) with Roisin Shaughnessy[2] that he has been diagnosed with a relapsing remitting form of Multiple Sclerosis, appearing live from the west lounge of the Marble Palace the Emperor, alongside his wife, explained the diagnosis and answered questions about what it meant. Within moments of the interview being broadcast Royal Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright and Royal Physician Doctor Maddy Dale were leading a press conference on the matter in addition the Emperor was receiving words of support from Senators, business leaders and members of the Achkaerinese nobility. And what of the public themselves, what of the average person in the street? The indications are that the Emperor has the support of the public.
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SCHOOL RESULTS DAY ROUND UP
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By Heather Moss: Education Correspondent
Across the nation students at all three tiers of Achkaerinese education have been finding out if they've made the grade or not. For the educational year 2019-2020 there's been a slight increase in students receiving grades in the O*-A band[1] at High School level, the amount of students receiving at least five A's increased again slightly this year up to 96%. There appears to be a scientific shift occurring at HSQ level[2] as well as subjects in that area continue to become more popular as electives. Also of interest was a substantive increase in the number of students studying an additional language at HSQ level in addition to the core two, the top performing school according to this years league tables was Mornington Crescent High School in Solaria. In terms of the core subjects - Achkaerinese, English, Maths, Basic Science, PE, and Religious Studies the pass rate averaged out at 92%. Other conclusions drawn from the statistics are that girls had a higher pass rate than boys, the children from what are traditionally held as disadvantaged backgrounds are closing the gap and record numbers of students are heading to study at Future Level.
As for Future Level[3] the O-A band was achieved at a record level of 94%, the most popular subjects this year were history, law, politics, economics, sociology, physics, engineering and sports science. Topping the table at Future Level was Empress College at Lady Morgana High School. In terms of the Skills Curriculum, now in its second year, the pass rate increased dramatically up to 90%. The split between those heading for university against those opting for an apprenticeship remains in favor of university study but now at 51-49.
University level saw the least surprises the degree level spread saw 10% achieve a first class degree, 45% an upper second class, 40% a lower second and 5% a third class. The Artaxia/Freshwater battle was won once again by the University of Artaxia as it retained top spot in the league table, Freshwater University in second, Elsion University retained third followed by the Royal Valtheim University in fourth and the Achkaerin University of Arts and Culture in fifth. For the second year running the top performing college at the University of Artaxia was Queen's College.
NEW LEGAL CENTRE OPENS IN VALTHEIM
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
The long awaited new legal centre in Valtheim has opened. The centre originally tendered for four years ago will be the seat of the Uppsalla Convention Court and the Cross-Straits Court of Justice among others in a designated court building while space for legal offices is also factored into the complex, it's understood that Shield Law, a small firm presently operating out of KHELP have already acquired some office space in the centre, it is also understood that JAG corp of the Achkaerinese military will have a building within the centre. Speaking after the opening of the centre Minister of Justice Thomas Archer said "This has been a long time in the making, for a while now Achkaerin has had the reputation of being 'Mr Treaty' which it comes to the international landscape and the result of that has been that as a nation we've been entrusted with providing a home for these courts, it is a responsibility that we as a government will always take very seriously."
The first case to be heard in the new centre is expected to be the case against the former leader of the so called Confederacy of Clysperis Nekhtou.
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SENATE DEBATES HUMAN TRAFFICKING MEASURES
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Senate has begun debating countermeasures in response to the unfolding human trafficking crisis, however it is likely that none of the Senators have ever been part of a debate quite like this one before, why? Because in an unprecedented series of events the basic detail of the Government's approach was made known to the Senators and the public by a press statement of the Diarchy of Hassfurt. A statement that saw an urgent statement made by Leader of the Senate Chamber Elena Brooke (pictured above) who said:
"Mr Speaker, today the Senate will be asked to debate a proposal for action in respect of a suspected global human trafficking network. As Senators will be aware if only from Hassfurt press release this approach includes an enforcement measure under the Fair Seas Concordat, a measure that will be outlined by the Attorney General at the start of the debate. Mr Speaker this government has always where possible and appropriate given advance notification to regional nations across Mundus when action has been considered in their locality and in this instance that was observed by communication with MICA, which ensured that the greatest number of Illumic nations were given such notification including East Moreland, Seaforth and Zimalia. And yet rather than respond to our initial communication with requests for clarification, rather than ask the questions we get this. That Hassfurt have then chosen to publish publicly privately communicated information is not in our view remotely acceptable and the government will be reassessing future communications with the Diarchy as a result of this."
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It was then the turn of the Attorney General Robert Westbrooke to outline the precise case behind the Government's choice of action stating:
"Mr Speaker in terms of what is put to the Senate for debate and vote the proposed action relies on article 110 of the Fair Seas Concordat paragraph 1 of which allows foreign vessels to be boarded on the high seas when there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the ship in question is engaged in piracy, is engaged in the slave trade, is engaged in unauthorized broadcasting, has no nationality or is flying a foreign flag but in reality is the same nationality as the warship. Therefore in order to enact this provision we require two things to be present first a reason under article 110 and second reasonable suspicion.
The nature of human trafficking by definition is "the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extraction of organs or tissues, including for surrogacy and ova removal. Human trafficking can occur within a country or trans-nationally. Human trafficking is a crime against the person because of the violation of the victim's rights of movement through coercion and because of their commercial exploitation." Senators familiar with terminology in terms of the Senate's debates on other matters will see here familiar phrases such as 'forced labour' and 'sexual slavery' and with that in mind Mr Speaker the Government contends that under this definition engagement in human trafficking is engagement in the slave trade and that is a reason why under article 110 of the Fair Seas Concordat a vessel can be stopped.
Reasonable suspicion Mr Speaker is as those who've studied the law or worked in legal fields will know is "a legal standard of proof that is less than probable cause, the legal standard for arrests and warrants, but more than a "confused and unparticularized suspicion or 'hunch'"; it must be based on "specific and articulable facts", "taken together with rational inferences from those facts" So Mr Speaker what specific facts does the Government base its action on? First we have a statement from the East Moreland Ministry of Defence (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=150.msg17929#msg17929) and I quote:
"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."
Mr Speaker this is an East Moreland Ministry of Defence statement, it apportions probable responsibility to the Borland Separatists and then says that the network in question is believed to have Zimalia as either a central or end point. In addition it suggests crossings of the Illumic from Seaforth may be occurring as part of this trafficking operation. Again Mr Speaker I come back to the source of this statement it is an East Moreland Ministry of Defence statement, this isn't idle speculation on the part of Gossip Daily or something from a sensationalist news outlet, it's not even an early doors police statement. This is a statement from effectively the East Moreland Government it has weight Mr Speaker and given the track record of the East Moreland government in investigative matters relating to and their expertise on the Borland Separatists, it is probable that the statement I quoted a moment ago is accurate and there exists no present reason to doubt its validity. From this fact then Mr Speaker we draw the following points that Zimalia is where victims of trafficking are probably being taken to, that they are probably arriving at ports in Zimalia, East Moreland and may also be arriving in other ports such as Heyra, Hassfurt and Vaguzia. The statement also implies that there may be crossings from Seaforth to Alba Karinya ports occurring and the inference drawn from that implies that sea and air crossings are both potentially involved and when one considers risk assessment nature of trafficking routes in terms of possible apprehension of the trafficker the probability of sea crossing increases, we also have Mr Speaker the fact that some of those rescued by East Moreland are from Nueva Ardia, Toshikawa and Lodja and we may see an amendment to the proposal put down to limit the effect of the stop and search to vessels flying specific flags however we know Zimalia is apparently where they are going to and there is reason to believe that there are routes from many different nations involved so based on that the question becomes "Is it reasonable when considering the context to believe that a given vessel travelling to Zimalia might have trafficked people aboard?"
Now Mr Speaker let’s look at what we have here, we have an East Moreland Government statement that puts Zimalia at the centre of this network, it’s apparent from the same statement that we’re highly likely to be talking about land, sea and air as travel methods, so given that Zimalia is at the centre of this network and people are being trafficked to Zimalia again as implied by the East Moreland statement it is reasonable to believe that ships traveling by sea to Zimalia could have victims of trafficking on them and that sounds an awful lot like reasonable suspicion to me Mr Speaker.
It is acknowledged, Mr Speaker, that reasonable suspicion does not always result in that suspicion discovering criminality in which instance paragraph 3 of article 110 becomes active "If the suspicions prove to be unfounded, and provided that the ship boarded has not committed any act justifying them, it shall be compensated for any loss or damage that may have been sustained." - if enacted this would apply to any vessel that is boarded and is in fact proved innocent of trafficking."
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MEET THE TITAN
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
It looks like something that belongs in science fiction but make no mistake about it the Titan is very much a reality. Standing at 3.4 metres tall it's a two legged exoskeleton robot with a cockpit for a driver. However let's tame those scientific imaginings for a moment this thing doesn't move like an AT-ST from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, it's not a walker instead it shuffles on its feet. At the moment it's only armed with two cannons that fire rubber or plastic balls but this latest offering from the Achkaerin Rifling Company is something a little bit different, for the moment it's set to undergo testing and it remains to be seen whether the Achkaerinese Army or police would be interested in the Titan however Lt General Wilcox has commented saying: "The days when vast numbers of similar machines march across battlefields are a very long way off, but we're certainly going to be interested to carry out the testing and see what the potential future of warfare looks like."
CEO of ARC Timothy Cross commented saying "The Titan was conceived as a proof of concept idea for the notion of robotic based defence. It's probably got more viability with law enforcement than the military at the moment but I'll be interested to see what the military says about it."
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LUNA ISLE RESTORATION WORK ANNOUNCED
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By Sophia Vilani: Religion and Culture Correspondent
Luna Isle (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=919.msg7300#msg7300) is to be the site of what has been described as "essential but non critical" restoration work. The Island home to several holy sites of the Namis faith will see work carried out on parts of the Temple of the Trinity and the Convent of the Maiden Sister Order, the details of the work were explained by a spokesperson for the Cult who said "We're in a situation where we're pre-empting what the situation may be in a few years time in terms of the building condition, it's something that is reviewed on an annual basis. In addition to the building work on the Temple of the Trinity we'll be taking the opportunity to have several of the paintings in the Temple's art gallery and features in the sanctuary area restored as well. Unfortunately this work will entail that different parts of the island will be closed off for safety reasons at different times while the work is carried out. We hope to have the work completed by the end of next year."
The spokesperson did confirm though that the annual ceremony at the Shrine of Yve, that sees the Mundus Game Flame handed over, would go ahead as normal.
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"TEAM ACHKAERIN WILL COMPETE IN MUNDUS GAMES" - PRINCESS ESME
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Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
It's been a rapid fire couple of days for the sporting community on Mundus, the Mundus Games are heading to Midaranye following a successful joint Tamoran-Seleucid bid, followed right on the heels by nations such as Tytor and Izhitsa boycotting the games over the continued practice of slavery in Tamora and indentured servitude in Royal Seleucid. In contrast however Team Achkaerin is set to compete according to the chef de mission Princess Esme Azurewind who took time away from overseeing the national trials to talk about the last few days saying:
"The first thing to say is that we never politicize the Games themselves, we've never done that and we never will. The second thing to say is that every nation on Mundus has known for months that the Games going to Midaranye was a possibility it was without question the most public of bids we've ever seen in Mundus Games history, most of the time you don't know who's going to bid until you get into the MGC building and get handed the folder, the vote was free and fair and while there is a concern with the vote that concern does not relate to the outcome. Therefore knowing that the Games could end up in Midaranye we at Team Achkaerin have had ample time to plan out what we would do in this situation, having spent a long time in many meetings with the heads of the national sporting bodies we've decided that Team Achkaerin will compete in the Games this year because we do not politicize sport and as a result we're not about to deny any athlete the opportunity to pull on the white and gold kit of the nation and realize their career ambitions. Now some will say to that "well why not boycott and athletes can compete under the MGC flag?" One of the reasons we say no to that is because the MGC flag could only cover individual events, we couldn't enter the Achkaerinese football team under the MGC flag. However while we will have a Team Achkaerin present it will be for each of the athletes to decide for themselves if they want to compete, at the end of the day it is their careers so it should be their choice.
We will however opt to base our entire team out of Royal Seleucid during the games and transport the athletes competing in events based in Tamora across the border as necessary, we do this because we have a policy of cross discipline coaching and splitting the team between two places would in our view hinder the ability of our athletes to give their best to these Games."
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GODFATHER OF SPACE EXPLORATION DIES
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Jerry Bauer the man known as the Godfather of Achkaerinese space travel has died aged 93. Mr Bauer was instrumental in the setting up of the Royal Achkaerin Space Agency[1] in 1948, he would serve as the RASA's director from it's institution until 2005 when he formally retired, having seen the first Achkaerinese astronaut launched into space, first Achkaerinese astronaut on the moon, first Achkaerinese satellite launch and many other milestones occur during his tenure. His achievements were so great that he was named Viscount of Djana-Ville in 1973 and it would be a role of significant importance for his life's work as it provided the platform for him to defend, publicly, the continued funding of RASA in the face of the then Endeavour Party led government's policies. With the future of the RASA secured Bauer retired from director of the agency in 2005 though he did occasionally drop in to see many of the new faces that have worked at the agency in more recent years. The current director of the RASA Gary Hale said "Jerry wasn't a titan of Achkaerin space exploration, he was the titan of Achkaerin space exploration this is a man who not only established and grew the RASA from the ground up but when its future was on the line he defended it to the hilt, if not for him in so many ways this agency wouldn't be here today. Our thoughts and prayers are with his daughter and family at this time. And we look forward to giving Jerry the send off he deserves."
The Marble Palace has confirmed that the noble title held by the family will be made hereditary making his daughter Mia the Viscountess of Djana-Ville.
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MUNDUS GAMES PREVIEW PART ONE
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Today the Achkaerinese team for this years Mundus Games left for Royal Seleucid, the Games are the annual showpiece event of the sporting calendar showcasing the best of sport on Mundus. For some lesser known or lesser followed sports it's also the chance to get some time in the spotlight. For others it's the chance to compete against the best in the world, this year will see medals in spikeball and rock climbing awarded for the first time. But in terms of Achkaerin's medal contenders there's only one place to start and that's Sammy Lawson, the twenty two year old cyclist, the most decorated Mundus Games medalist with twenty two medals, winner of the white jersey in the Tour de Alba Karinya and once again the team captain, chosen by her fellow athletes. Sammy will be looking to add to her medal count as she goes on both road and in the velodrome, her first chance comes on the second day of the Games in the women's road race she'll have arguably the strongest team around her that she's ever had on the road, but it is in the velodrome where most of her opportunities lie. Speaking ahead of the Games Sammy said: "It's never easy if anything it gets harder and harder each year because everyone gets better, everyone's conditioning improves and when you're the one with a target on your back you have to get used to being marked by everyone else. Hopefully I can get a few medals this year and keep my tally going but I'll be happy as long as I leave everything on the road and track."
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Triathlon is not a high coverage sport though it is popular in Achkaerin, leading by example are the Carter brothers Andrew (above right) and Tim (above left) they will both compete in the individual event and will make up half the team for the mixed team triathlon relay alongside Molly Cooper and Vicky McKenna, last time out Achkaerin's triathletes achieved a clean sweep securing all three triathlon gold medals, and they'll be every intention of repeating that success this time. But with stiff competition it will not be easy.
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Delphine Meadows is probably a name unfamiliar to the overwhelming majority of people, there are likely many reasons for this, first she's only seventeen years old, second she plays volleyball - a sport only just about to become professional in Achkaerin so very much in its infancy there and finally when the sport of volleyball is discussed we generally speak about Tytor and Floodwater, this year due to the boycott the big name players aren't there so the competition is perhaps thrown wide open. Delphine will also compete in the spikeball alongside Luke Dixon.
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Now to Medieval MMA, not a new sport to the Games but an expanded event list for this year and more global popularity will likely see increased interest. James Chase, the national heavyweight champion, will compete for Achkaerin in the Mens individual heavyweight event in one of three medal attempts he makes, teaming up with compatriot Daniel Bridges in the heavyweight duo and then alongside Alyssa Nettles in the mixed heavyweight duo. When asked about his chances James said: "To get past nations who've been at this sport a lot longer than we have is going to be a challenge, I'm really looking forward to seeing how I stack up against the best in the world and I'm looking forward to fighting alongside Alyssa the duo is still a new format in the sport so it's going to be really interesting to compete in as well as watch."
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Sticking with Medieval MMA for possibly one of the more interesting stories set to play out in the Games this year, the selection of Ren Nekhaga in the lightweight categories of the Medieval MMA for Achkaerin. So why's this interesting? Ren is the step son of wanted fugitive James Ironside, known for an attempted coup of the East Moreland throne, which makes him the step nephew of the King of East Moreland. With no real competition experience Ren gets the nod through the national trials method and while he's probably not the best medal hope in the sport he has perhaps the most interesting story to tell but will it be a fairytale moment?
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MUNDUS GAMES PREVIEW PART TWO
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Continuing our look at some of Achkaerin's medal contenders and noted competitors for this years Mundus Games we come to the area of gymnastics and the return of Erin Brooks (pictured above), having surprisingly medaled on debut in last years games on the floor individually she goes in search of more medals this time around and with Achkaerinese gymnastics still somewhat in a period of transition following the retirement of Abigail Snowden from competition two years (she's now a coach with Achkaerinese gymnastics) this years games present an opportunity to see how this new team are shaping up. Erin goes in three events, the all around team event, the individual all around and the individual floor.
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Achkaerin's footballers need little to no introduction whatsoever, three time world cup winners on the mens side, world number one's in both the mens and womens games, once again they will go in search of gold and they'll be confident of achieving that success and with good reason especially on the men's side of the game because to find the last time they lost a game in ninety minutes you need to go back to when Tytor hosted the World Cup - that year the Fox's lost 5-0 in the semi final to Blue Shadow. However while this may be the gold medal that is 'demanded' in much the same way that East Moreland fans may 'demand' the rugby seven's gold medals it s not a medal taken for granted because the Alander's have proven themselves capable of running Achkaerin close before and will hope to again.
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SENATE APPROVES CROSS STRAITS COMMUNITY SIGNATURE
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Senate has ratified the Cross-Straits Community Charter, making it the second of the Cross Straits Nations to do so. The move which sees the Cross Straits Union and Cross Straits Treaty Organisation brought together under a banner was highly praised by some Senators through the course of debate. Opening up the debate Johnathon Hunt, Minister of Cross Straits Affairs said "What is proposed is something that is long overdue, for too long we have had a situation where without reference to each other the CSTO and CSU can come to contrary positions and decisions on any particular crisis, however the current crises faced by the nations of Mundus, the current issues faced by them are not solely of one nature they require more in the way of joined up thinking as an approach, the toolkit for these things is much more now than it has previously been. We will be very clear as well that this move closes off one of the biggest loopholes and problems internal to the Cross Straits system and now that that is done we will look to the first Cross Straits Summit and the discussions to take place there."
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LAWSON LEADS THE WAY
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Sammy Lawson has won gold in the women's cycling road race at the Mundus Games, making it Achkaerin's first gold of the games. The victory will be probably more remembered for the manner of it than anything else, with help from her team mates she broke away on a climb sixty kilometres from the finish and stayed away to win gold by a ten minute margin (initial break pictured above). Speaking afterwards Sammy said "We knew we were the marked team, we knew we were the team people were going to be watching so we had to throw something new at it and we went for the long run for home. We were fairly confident it was possible if we could manage the gap successfully and I've got to pay credit to the girls I had riding with me today they pulled me up and down that climb and got me away from the pack before turning me loose."
In other Games news, away from the events a congratulatory card signed by the entire Achkaerinese team as well as a gift have reportedly been sent to King Heydar and Queen Chryssa following the birth of Prince Aali.
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NAVY STOPS TRAFFICKER SHIP - FREES THIRTY VICTIMS
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Navy has stopped a Zimalian flagged vessel in the sea of Kyne and freed thirty victims of trafficking. The incident was confimed by Minister of Defence Adam Sheppard in the Senate who was asked about reports of it during Defence questions the Minister answered: "The Achkaerinese navy as a matter of routine checks vessel registry, in this instance the vessel in question is registered in Toshikawa but was observed flying first a Toshikawan flag and then a Zimalian flag, we don't yet know where the ship was heading but the Senate will be informed when we have that information. As the ship was flying more than one flag it was appropriately treated as having no nationality and was accordingly boarded in the course of this thirty trafficking victims have been freed. We don't know what connection if any there is to other events on this but investigations remain ongoing."
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PRINCESS LYDIA...FINALLY
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal Family Correspondent
Lydia Daniels, wife of Prince Simon, mother to Princess's Aeolia and Lamia, daughter in law to the Emperor has finally, after six years of marriage, been bestowed the titles of Princess of Achkaerin and Countess of Gowu, the latter to mirror her husband's title as Count of Gowu. The investature ceremony was held as is tradition in the Chamber of Nobles and administered by the Emperor. The ceremony would have been expected to have occured shortly after the new Princess married her husband Prince Simon six years ago however Princess Lydia requested not to have the ceremony at that time and subsequent rescheduling of the ceremony led to further postponements due to international events.
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BRITTAINE BRILLIANCE LEADS MEDAL CHARGE - DAY FOUR
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Becky Brittaine lead the way for Achkaerin on day four of the Mundus Games, the swimmer secured gold in the womens 800m freestyle on a day which saw compatriot Emily Aguirre take silver in the womens 1500m freestyle. Speaking after her win Becky said "I always enjoy the Mundus Games, it's great that we have an international event of this standing to give us the chance to show what we can do. And whether you win a medal or set a personal best or even come dead last it's cheered by the crowd, there's no sporting arena like it. We've had a good swim session so far so we'll see if we can keep that up and see if we can keep in touch on the medal table before the athletics and cycling programs really kick in."
Away from the pool there was a gold medal for Nick Eames in the men's marathon, a silver for Jaycee Rowe in the womens 58kg weightlifting, a bronze for Sally North in the rhythmic gymnastics clubs, silvers for siblings Mark and Sabrina Morse in the individual BMX events and a bronze for Scarlet Meadows in the womens 50m pistol. In the team events the womens footballers advanced with a 3-0 win over Vaguzia, the women's hockey team defeated the Griss team to progress and there was also success for the tennis and badminton players, while the womens cricketers were made to work hard for their victory over Vaguzia.
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RICHMOND RETIRES
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By: Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Andrew Richmond, head of the Commonwealth Treaty Organisation's Civil Service has resigned from the role. Mr Richmond who started as the Secretariat's liaison to the General Assembly, a position he was appointed to by Crown Princess Serenity when she was Secretary General of the organisation and then later as the Head of the CTO's civil service announced his decision at his fortnightly press conference in the Palace of Nations saying: "It has been an honour to have worked here as part of this organisation however this is no longer where I belong, the CTO was conceived to serve the people of Mundus it no longer can claim that mandate, it has not had the right to that mandate in a long time. I will miss working with the members of staff here, they are dedicated people failed by people in places far beyond the walls of this building. It is in my judgement time for me to step away from this role and hope that something of what this organisation should have been can be salvaged."
It is understood that Mr Richmond is to take the position of Achkaerin's Ambassador to Cassiopeia, a position he will take up at the beginning of December following the process for his replacement at the CTO.
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HIGH PRIESTESS SPEAKS ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
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High Priestess Alexis Minette of the Cult of Namis
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
"Alarmed" is the word used by the High Priestess of the Cult of Namis, Alexis Minette, to describe her feelings in light of what many view as the single greatest attack on religious freedom - the passing of the Religious Restriction Law in Kopsje. Speaking during her weekly radio program the High Priestess was asked what her view on the situation was to which she said: "What we see in Kopsje is alarming, it's never a good day when people seek to limit the freedoms of others whether that be slavery, servitude or to say what you can and can't believe in. Let's be clear what this law in Kopsje is, it is nothing short of an attack against religion as a whole. This is not simply a case of not being able to display religious symbolism in public spaces, as is the case in Nya Aland, this is far more malicious than that. This law seeks to make it impossible for followers who are twelve years old and younger to actively participate in worship or religious centred activities, whether that be scriptural study groups, prayer groups, choirs and so on. In fact if you're a Christian in that target group this law would prevent you from receiving Communion. And yet when people ask 'why?' we are told 'because religion is oppressive' that is a falsehood. Religion is not oppressive, religion is something people choose to believe in whether it be Namis, Helus, Islyna, Ra, Aten, Mani, Allah, God, Yahwee, Zeus, Materna, Odin or one of the many others I haven't mentioned, they choose to believe, they're not forced, there isn't a law on the statute book that mandates people follow a certain faith, yes there are people who also choose not to believe and that is a respectable point of view and to say 'religion is oppressive' is not something I like or agree with but it's a legitimate opinion, however people who hold that opinion need to think very carefully about what we're seeing in Kopsje, because just as much as people can give an opinion that religion is oppressive they can also say that this law in Kopsje is oppressive it has a clearly designed intent to limit religious interaction, it seeks to prevent people from worshiping in the normal way that has never been and will never be acceptable and I will not see anyone discriminated against simply because they hold a different view to someone else. As such I am bestowing Convent status to the the Namis Temple in Yrket and I am instituting the Acolyte Order to stand alongside the already existing Maiden Sister Order."
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ACHKAERIN REMEMBERS THE FALLEN
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By: Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Once again Achkaerin has come together as a nation to mark Memorial Day, the day when the fallen of the Great War and all conflicts are remembered. The traditional horseback journey of the Book of Remembrance from the Temple of the Brave to the Royal Theatre in the afternoon, the two minutes silence at eleven o'clock in the morning and the wearing of poppies were observed, the day as always culminated in the ceremony of remembrance at the Royal Theatre. This year the ceremony marked not only seventy five years since the end of the Great War but also five years since the conflicts in Seaforth and Marseilles. It was no surprise to see representatives from nations involved in those conflicts in attendance. In Tytor Achkaerin's ambassador William Churchill along with his family attended a memorial on the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks in that nation, military personnel serving overseas held their own acts of remembrance and embassies overseas and official buildings at home flew their flags at half mast.
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CLOSE CALL AT VALTHEIM INTERNATIONAL
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed a near miss at Valtheim International Airport took place today, the incident involved a recreational aircraft drifting into the airport's airspace, an area restricted following recent incidents involving the environmental group known as the Climate Crusaders. The MOD has released a statement saying:
Following the incidents across Mundus in which this group has been involved and also given events in Kaedwen the decision was taken to restrict airspace around Achkaerinse airports. Today at 15:16pm VMT a recreational aircraft strayed into this airspace and came very close to colliding with an incoming passenger aircraft from Seaforth, the pilot of the aircraft has since been questioned by police and we are confident that this is a simple case of loss of bearings and that there was no ill intent. We would at this time remind everyone that the airspace around Achkaerinese airports is restricted and that any unidentifiable aircraft straying into that airspace will be challenged.
It is not thought that any further action will be taken against the pilot.
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SENATE VOTES THROUGH CSTO MEMBERSHIP
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Senate has voted through ratification of the CSTO charter, making the nation a member of the CSTO. It's not a surprising move and was believed to have been forecasted by the creation of the CSC according to some political analysts. This marks a return to the arena of international organisations for Achkaerin following the decision to leave the CTO. This makes Achkaerin only one of two nations currently across both the CSTO and the CSU with the other being Rokkenjima. And with the first summit of the Cross Straits Community imminent this is perhaps only the first step towards something, though quite what that is is yet to be seen.
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EMPEROR AND CROWN PRINCESS CONSIDERING OPTIONS
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
The Emperor and Crown Princess are reportedly considering surgical options in respect of their long term injuries (the Emperor's right arm and the Crown Princess's left leg). The Emperor who was spotted at a cafe with his wife today (pictured above) is believed to have taken an interest in the procedure's application following the news that King David of East Moreland is to undergo surgery designed to give him back some muscle mass following an injury to the lower back some years ago. When asked about the possibility of surgery Royal Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright said: "The Emperor and Crown Princess are both considering whether or not this surgery is something they want to try. It is likely off of what we've been informed about that the Crown Princess may have a more straightforward time of it if she elects to go under the knife as the procedure was initially conceived with leg injuries in mind. The Emperor's injury is to the arm but is in principle similar. No decision has yet been made but there will be an announcement if this is to happen."
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EMPEROR'S LIFE DAY MESSAGE
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Achkaerin has once again celebrated Life Day[1], a day when the nation celebrates the coming of its Trinity of Goddesses. In his traditional Life Day Message, broadcast in the middle of the afternoon although recorded on Life Day Eve the Emperor said the following:
"Good afternoon and a happy Life Day to you all.
This time of year is a time of celebration for many of us regardless of faith for the Namists it is Life Day, for the Christians it is Christmas, for the Odinists it is Yule. It is the twilight days of one year and the approaching dawn of the next, this year depending on ones point of view the same can be said of the decade. This is a moment to spend time with friends and family and to look back as well as forwards.
This has been a year that began in much the same way that the last ended, once again the brave men and women of the Achkaerinese military were called into action to fight the scourge of terrorism in Clysperis, a decision that perhaps shocked some given how much the viewpoints of Clysperis appear to diverge from our own but there are some things that transcend disagreements things found in the moral centre of our being - the knowledge of what is right and wrong, the understanding to do not that which we want but that which we must and then the capability to root ourselves so firmly that we can reach out beyond all the storms swirling around and say in a time of crisis 'will you take my hand?' I pay tribute to the courage and service of our military personnel and their role in bringing that conflict to an end. More recently than that we have faced a crisis the likes of which we haven't for many years, the Yellowtongue virus something that doesn't care about geography or politics tore through our world and while it is likely that we will never know the true cost inflicted on us as a global community by this virus we have endured it, a testament to the resilience of all.
On a personal note it has been humbling to see the support of the Achkaerinese people for myself and my family after I explained my diagnosis of relapsing remitting Multiple Sclerosis, it's not every day that the leader of a nation tells their people that they have a serious and incurable medical condition, it would have been easy to expect the negatives but you didn't show that, you chose to understand it, to learn about it and then with all the knowledge you chose to take it in stride and support me and my family and for that I will never be able to express enough gratitude. And it is this positive drive, this optimism, this hope that I implore us all to hold tightly to as we journey together into the future, we may not know the challenges that are to come our way but let's not meet them thinking the worst, let's not consider the half measures, let us hope that even when it looks like all evidence is to the contrary that by working together with our friends and neighbours that cool heads, diplomacy, common sense and justice prevail. The path is not easy but nothing worth doing is ever easy, but as long as we don't give up hope we will see that which we wish to see, whether it be in our own lives or that of the world. I wish you a happy Life Day and may the Trinity bless you."
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STARDUST CUP MAKES COMEBACK
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
The Stardust Cup is to make a comeback ninety years since the last time the competition was held. But in a few weeks for the first time since then the corners and straights of Artaxia's forest circuit will echo to the sound of horsepower as cars of all shapes, sizes and powers race around the circuit for twenty four hours. The event's resurrection began at the local level and a petition submitted online garnered support, including in high profile places, and with donations flooding in things have taken shape over the last few weeks and today the Achkaerin Motoring Association announced the race was returning to the calendar. The race, an open event, has already captured the imagination with several teams entering and there are all manner of ideas being entered with the only restriction being the safety test.
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GOVERNMENT TABLES NEW BUSINESS SECURITY LEGISLATION
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Minister of Trade Viola Summers introducing the legislation
By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Government has introduced new legislation in the Senate today, the proposed legislation an amendment to the Trading Regulations (Freestone Mark) Act (2018) will see an extra layer added to the trading licenses of businesses operating on Achkaerinese soil. Under the existing legislation all businesses operating on Achkaerinese soil must meet from the day of their incorporation the criteria for a bronze grade Freestone Mark and then twelve months later a silver grade Freestone Mark and then in accordance with the provisions of how the Mark operates a Gold Mark obtained by October 2021, the existing Act does make provision for companies incorporated more recently than the passage of the Act in that they are afforded three years from date of incorporation to acquire all the Mark grades. The existing legislation also makes clear that a businesses license to trade on Achkaerinese soil is dependent on having the Freestone Mark. The amendment tabled today adds that a businesses licence to trade on Achkaerinese soil is also dependent on not aiding and abetting in any form slavery. The proposal is expected to pass through the Senate when a vote is called and depending on how long the debate takes could be law by the end of the week. When asked, during the debate, what prompted the Government to bring forward the legislation, Minister of Trade Viola Summers (pictured above) said: "There is a disturbing trend that has emerged in recent times in some nations on Mundus who have begun to trade on the principles of that which they have signed, this amendment ensures that on Achkaerinese soil businesses not only comply with the letter of the law but the spirit and principle of it as well."
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AADC DEVELOPING NEW HARPY
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
AADC have released their first concept for a replacement of the Raven (the Raven was decommissioned in 2016), the proposed successor (concept image above) is called the Harpy, a name that carries weight within the history of both AADC and the Achkaerin Air Force. The Harpy was one of the most iconic fighter aircraft of the Great War years and many model replicas sit outside Achkaerinese airbases. The Airforce has not disclosed the specifications it asked for or the role it hopes this new Harpy to fill, though many analysts believe that this is not a conventional fighter aircraft rather that this is likely to be classified as a specialist aircraft by the Air Force should it enter service. In related news the Achkaerinese Airforce has announced that the Kestrel (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1660.msg14721#msg14721) is to be retired from service later in the year after over half a century in use, it is believed that AADC will be working on a replacement aircraft.
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EMPEROR AND CROWN PRINCESS OPT FOR SURGERY
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
Emperor Peter and Crown Princess Serenity have decided to undergo the new surgical procedure being trialed in East Moreland. The procedure which has already seen the King of East Moreland go under the knife will hopefully give the Emperor and Crown Princess back at least some of what they've lost in the way of their limb injuries. The announcement of the decision was made by Royal Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright who said: "As we've said in prior releases the Emperor and Crown Princess were considering this. With the Life Day celebrations now over and having a few weeks before the transition to the new Celestial year they've decided to take the opportunity to go under the knife themselves, due to the Crown Princess's current workload in her capacity as a Lieutenant in the navy the Emperor will most likely undergo surgery first with the Crown Princess at a later date. Due to the surgical procedure still being very much a new thing this will of course occur in East Moreland, as will initial days of recovery after the operation."
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CROWN PRINCESS TO HOLD THE FORT
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By: Niamh Roberts Royal Family Correspondent
The Marble Palace has confirmed that for the next few weeks Crown Princess Serenity is to 'hold the fort'. The announcement comes as the Emperor travels to East Moreland for surgery related to the injury he suffered in a terrorist attack some years ago now. In making the announcement Royal Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright said: "Given the need for the Emperor to both have the surgery and then have time to recover afterwards the majority of the Emperor's duties and responsibilities will be undertaken by the Crown Princess. This isn't the first time we've seen this arrangement happen and is fairly routine under the circumstances." The Emperor's last act before departure was to sign into law the amended Trading Regulations (Freestone Mark) Act (2018). The Marble Palace has also refused to comment on rumours that the Emperor is considering meeting the King of East Moreland during the time that he is in East Moreland. The Crown Princess spent the morning meeting with students at the Freshwater College of Performing Arts and the afternoon in a series of meetings believed to concern upcoming things to be aware of including the finalizing of the Awhaele transition and the hosting of ceremonial functions. It is believed that once the Emperor returns from recovery that the Crown Princess will undergo the same surgery as her father but related to her leg.
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GOVERNMENT STATEMENT ON PARBHANI INCIDENT
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Government has given a statement in the Senate in light of the Parbhani temple bombing (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=2189.msg19523#msg19523). Speaking to the Senate, Deputy Minister of Defence Sally-Anne Seaborn (pictured above) said "Mr Speaker regardless of signatory status of the Uppsalla Convention I think one of the things nations across Mundus can agree on is that when it comes to war is that all possible care must be taken to avoid civilian casualties. Today we meet to debate a continuing conflict occurring in a fellow Northern Ocean nation and sadly we do so following the deaths of eighteen people who were attending a temple. We offer our condolences to the families of those that lost their lives. Mundus has witnessed many times terrorist attacks that have killed civilians of injured civilians whether it be the Freestone missile attack, the bombing of a hotel in Dartfordia, the gunning down of a Prince in our very streets or the eleven eleven attacks in Tytor. It is rare but sadly not unheard of for militaries, factions within militaries or even Governments to act like this, last year we marked five years since the Andean Genocide and in a few weeks we will mark the fifth anniversary of the Cult of Helus Genocide. What happened with this temple bombing is completely and utterly unacceptable, we will be taking steps to deter such incidents and we hope there will be no repetition we suggest that the Topri leadership ensures that there won't be. We also suggest that steps towards ending this conflict are taken."
In other Senate news Minister for Economic Affairs Matthew Patterson was quizzed on the appearance of Machal Mining International on the Elysium Stock Exchange. Speaking to the Senate's trade committee the Senator commented saying: "At this point we're attempting to determine how a Tamoran company with links to slavery was allowed to do this, we will be asking questions and will be consider all avenues, diplomatic and legal to get the information required to allow Achkaerinese bodies to make the appropriate decisions in accordance with domestic law."
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NAVY HEADING SOUTH
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that a small group of naval vessels has been sent south in response to the Parbhani temple bombing incident. The deployment comes as Parbhani's leader issues an ultimatum to the nation of Topri consisting of terms that political analysts believe are unlikely to be accepted with one of them commenting "If Topri's intention is to remain an independent nation then accepting all of these terms would be ridiculous, they should certainly cooperate with bringing those responsible for the bombing to justice but anything else in these terms is asking an awful lot." other analysts are questioning whether the issuing of these conditions is an 'initial offer' in light of the involvement of "respected members of the international community". However it is perhaps that statement which has raised concerns the most, experts familiar with what has loosely been called the "Achkaerin playbook" are unsurprised to see a deployment ordered for three reasons, the geographic locality of Parbhani as a northern ocean nation, the temple bombing incident and the presence of Achkaerinese troops carrying out humanitarian work in Izhitsa. The Ministry of Defence explained saying "This is a standard precautionary measure in light of the circumstances of the situation, we are very clear as stated by the Deputy Minister of Defence that there be no repeat of the tragic incident, this deployment makes clear our close monitoring of the situation as it continues to unfold."
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EMPEROR'S OPERATION SUCCESSFUL
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal Family Correspondent
Emperor's Peter's surgery has been successful, he underwent a procedure earlier today in East Moreland, the operation a newly trialed procedure is designed to give muscle mass back to those that have lost it, in the case of the Emperor the focus of the procedure the focus was on his right arm. The Emperor's wife Duchess Renee Azurewind issued a statement after the procedure saying: "The doctors who have carried out of this operation have the grateful thanks of the family, we are also thankful to the many well wishers back home who've sent messages of support. My husband will spend a few days in recovery and then will return to full duty as the saying goes."
With the Emperor's surgery having been successful it is expected that once time permits Crown Princess Serenity will undergo the procedure in respect of her leg.
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LAWSON'S NEW CHALLENGE: POLE TO POLE
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Roughly 20,000km[1], Four ladies, four bikes and one boat. It sounds like the tagline to a film but in truth it's the scope of a challenge that four Achkaerinese ladies led by Sammy Lawson (pictured above) are taking on - the challenge? To cycle from the south pole in Hygelac to the north pole in Hrothgaer. Joining Sammy on this adventure is her fellow cycling team mate Melanie Parker, Mundus Games gold medalist in triathlon Molly Cooper and army medic Sergeant Bridget Portman. The challenge of cycling pole to pole will see the team of four have to navigate a surface of snow and ice, not the sort of terrain Mundus Games athletes are generally used to cycling on. As explained by Lawson herself "From a purely cycling perspective we're talking about going onto surfaces that generally professional sports cyclists are trained to avoid, you consider all the advances in technology and how road racing bikes work they're designed to be as slippery as possible, on terrain like snow and ice you need grip so this is really something we very rarely do."
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Now a question that some may ask is 'how exactly are you going to cycle the distance when there's water involved?' The answer to that question is the Pedal Whale as its been christened, in simple terms it is a lightweight ship that moves under pedal power, the onboard equipment is all solar powered. Molly Cooper commented on the ship saying: "It's a great ship, ideal for what we want to try and do. It's got room for four cycling stations, we've got a small sleeping cabin which will work because we're going to be working in shifts and there's a bit at the front with the food and water storage and all the equipment to make sure we're going in the right direction and so on."
In terms of the route that was left to Eleanor Hendry, a noted round the world record holding sailor and now project manager of this venture, who said "The route's fairly straightforward, they start at the south pole and cycle to the coast, they get in the ship then it's up through the Alucard and round the horn of Ardia to East Moreland, we hope to be in Portworth for Festival of Sail this year. After that it's round into the Illumic and a straight shot to Hrothgaer and the finish at the north pole, there will be a support vessel close by at all times of course but for all intents and purposes they're on their own. The four of them will be doing video diaries and some other things which we'll have on the official website and we'll stick it all together for a documentary when it's all over, who knows we may even end up entered in next years Ozzies."
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CROWN PRINCESS QUIZZED ON NAVAL DEPLOYMENT
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Crown questions in the Senate today inevitably focused on recent action taken in respect of a contentious military deployment. With her father recovering from surgery in East Moreland, Crown Princess Serenity took on the role of answering the questions of Senators. When asked what the deployment was about the Crown Princess answered "There have been a lot of wordy and somewhat odd explanations on this, let's be clear. Is the safety of Achkaerinese aid workers and soldiers working in Izhitsa a concern? Yes. Is it the sole concern? No. Let's be clear there is nothing wrong with asking members of the international community to mediate a dispute but the blanket of secrecy that surrounds the identities of the nations who've been approached is hugely concerning, I can appreciate that the Maharajadhiraja may not wish to globally advertise who has been invited to do this lest it prejudice the talks but at the same time the void of information, the lack of communication on the subject creates a situation where the nations that are native to the northern ocean do not know who is being invited into their neighbourhood that raised concerns. Further, to say that nations are being invited and to then at the same time impose a forty eight hour deadline raised additional concerns. Negotiation must be given a chance, the invited nations must be given time to do their job free from external pressure. I can see honorable members asking what will see the fleet turned around? Parbhani need only communicate to its fellow nations of the northern ocean who it has approached to mediate the situation. Do that and those ships will turn for home."
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DIG UNCOVERS SURPRISE SAMURAI
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discovered sketch of Janile Riafsette, the "Outlander Samurai"
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
For the last few months an archaeological dig in Toshikawa has quietly proceeded as normal, the site is believed to be the location of the Battle of Tanagra - the final victory of Toshikawa over the Ardian Empire in 1714 at the climax of the Fushiri Wars. It is something of a symbol for Toshikawan society and history as the battle represents a defining moment where all twenty of the Samurai clans united together on the same battlefield against a common foe. Assisting on the dig were Echo Archaeology, the team led by noted archaeologist Melanie Bell, called in because of the Achkaerinese connection to the battle. However despite the magnitude of potentially unearthing the site of such a significant battle, there was a more shocking discovery hiding beneath the ground. Among the skeletons found was one that didn't seem to belong, as explained by Ms Bell:
"Finding the site of such a historical event is a huge thing and we're really happy that we were able to assist our Toshikawan colleagues in this endeavour. Everyone was surprised when we found a skeleton in among the dead that we couldn't initially attribute to either side, our analysis of the skeleton suggested a bone structure more in keeping with Albion than Ardia which suggested the slave trade of the time as a means for how this person ended up in Ardia, upon testing the skeleton we confirmed this hypothesis and were able to get a limited DNA sample from the bones which allowed us to get an idea of what this man would have looked like. Our big breakthrough came when we discovered some items in his bag, items that suggest there's a reasonable possibility that this person hailed from Paracambi, the skeleton was also found wearing Samurai garb making whoever he was unique as far as we are aware there has never been a non Toshikawan Samurai. The seal on his sword and armour indicated he belonged to the Miroma clan, when we consulted the clans records we found a name marked with the word 'outlander' the name was Janile Riafsette. That's who we believe this skeleton to be and we do believe he is from Paracambi."
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PRESSURE MOUNTS ON BOARD OF TRADE
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By: Thomas Carson: Business Correspondent
Several lobbying groups have called for the Board of Trade to take action in the wake of news that Machal Mining International has received investment from several companies from several nations (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1071.msg19753#msg19753). In a letter to the Board of Trade the groups called for "action to be taken against companies that have traded on the principles that their national governments have signed up to." in response the President of the Board of Trade, Caroline Cotton (pictured above) has said "This is on our radar and we are looking into it, however there will be no knee jerk reaction, the powers that the Board of Trade is afforded in respect of this scenario are very significant and we don't wield them lightly nor do we wish to employ them incorrectly, investigations must be allowed to run their course and then the legal step will need to be taken before any decision can be made by the Board. If any of the nations named by TINS Zimalia want to help expedite our investigations they are welcome to contact us to do so."
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"FOX'S UP FOR THE CHALLENGE" - COACH CHURCHILL
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Rayne Churchill (pictured above), head coach of the Achkaerin men's rugby team, has said that "Fox's up for the challenge of defending our crown". Achkaerin the unlikely winners of the last rugby world cup are heading to Lijiang to try and do what no one has done before - successfully defend the title. Both East Moreland and the Iwi have come close to achieving this, both teams having won the title and then been runners up the following year. Coach Churchill is under no illusions saying "We'll give it everything we've got but this is arguably the most competitive tournament on Mundus and if everyone turns up then there are a lot of teams who can with good reason be eyeing up the trophy." The team is likely to feature the usual blend of youth and experience with the Hendry brothers returning to lead the charge once again. The squad also features six uncapped players.
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PRINCE JACK VISITS QUDAGHLO
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
Prince Jack Azurewind, nephew of the Emperor, has started a visit to the Lodjan city of Qudaghlo. The Prince, who's been living in Lodja for over a year now, is dating the heiress to the Duchy of Qudaghlo Katyusha Andronikashivili, but until now has not visited the city. Speaking on the trip the Prince said "I've been looking forward to visiting Qudaghlo for some time now and hopefully I'll get the pronunciation right, Katyusha has been making sure I know the dialect around town and she's going to show me the sights around town. Maybe we'll even do a little impromptu music in one of the parks." The length of the visit to the city has not been stated however the Marble Palace has always maintained that "The itinerary of Prince Jack during his time in Lodja has always been managed through careful consideration of a variety of factors and involves plenty of consultation with the Lodjan authorities."
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EMPEROR BACK AT WORK
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
Emperor Peter is officially back at work. The Emperor had taken time away from official duties following his surgery, he was seen last night with his wife Duchess Renee (couple pictured above) attending the Royal Music Academy's annual dinner, the Duchess is a member and patron of the Academy. The Emperor commented to the press that "I'm in good spirits and after a few days of doing plenty of running, walking and other exercise I'm feeling good, the arm is going to get some getting used to, a fw years ago I had to get into the habit of doing quite a lot of intricate tasks left handed, now we'll see how much of that is reversed. Tomorrow I'm back at the desk, on the end of a phone and all that and we've got a busy schedule coming up."
It's understood over the next few days the Emperor will be hosting several visits from foreign nations with Safraen, Seaforth, Vanora, Abydos and Lakhzovia confirmed, it's believed that visits in respect of other nations may still be being worked out but cannot yet be confirmed. The Emperor's return to official duties now casts the surgical spotlight on Crown Princess Serenity who has confirmed that she will undergo the surgery for her leg following the conclusion of the trial she is prosecuting.
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FAEJEON ALLIANCE SWEEP AWHAELE ELECTIONS
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Faejeon Alliance Party has swept the elections held in Awhaele, under the terms of the transition to Achkaerinese sovereignty the island is home to the constituency's of thirty Senate seats of those thirty the Faejeon Alliance won twenty two, the Liberal Party won four, the Patriot Party two with the Unity and Green Party each winning a single seat. Awhaele's provincial elections saw the Faejeon Alliance take a majority of the eighty seats on offer winning fifty of them and therefore meaning Vivian Tasis (pictured above) has been elected First Minister of Awhaele, the second largest party Provincially will be the Labour Party, a sister to the Vaguzian Labour Party which won thirteen seats, third is the Unity Party with ten seats and then the Izraïte Union Party with five and the Patriot Party with two. The Queen of the Faejeon people Siora Qivalur has welcomed the results and has already had a "detailed and constructive" conversation with the new First Minister. In Valtheim the Speaker of the Senate, Robert Knight, said "I'm looking forward to meeting all the newly elected Senators and I congratulate each of them on attaining their new office." the Marble Palace has also sent out its congratulations to all those elected.
In other political news the Ministry of Defence confirmed the successful testing of the Phoenix Project, a ground effect vehicle comparable in appearance to East Moreland's original Ekrabadger, the Ministry didn't divulge much in the way of details but stated "We're very happy with how this test has gone, the navy is very happy with how it has gone and it's now a case of the ball is in their court."
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FOX WINS SECOND OZZIE
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By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
Jemma Fox (pictured above) has won her second Ozzie. The young director's film Pip a story about the struggles of an aspiring guide dog who doesn't do very well at first but overcomes the challenges before them won the Best Animated Short Film category, two years ago Ms Fox then a high school student was responsible for the Lego Camping stop motion animation that won Best International Short Film. Speaking after the ceremony she said "Winning one of these awards is huge, to win two is incredible. It would have been nice to have won the big one but you can't have everything. It's been another great night for the industry."
Following the ceremony there was a resurgence of some criticism of the awards citing 'category unfairness' and in some areas bias on the part of the award panel a criticism made last year, when asked to comment Ms Fox said "I don't think there's any bias at all, I think history and real life events create excellent opportunities for powerful film making and emotive story telling and when quite a lot of films in the market are based on true events it's highly likely that particular genre will do well. As for the suggestion of unfairness, I don't believe the panel is unfair but I do believe there is a perceptual unfairness. There's nothing wrong with what we saw tonight with a documentary winning Best International Film, but I am concerned that a documentary can be entered into that category and it's own category of Best International Documentary while something such as the Unknown Saint can only be entered into the broader category of Best International Film and not have something like a Best International Motion Picture category to also compete in. It's something the panel will need to look at."
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MKNS ATOM SAILS FOR AVALON
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
McKinlay Naval Solutions's Atom has set sail for Avalon, the vessel a floating nuclear power plant is a joint venture with Riviere Corporation and the final piece in the puzzle of Avalon's long term durability. An added bonus of the Atom is that it can be modified into a desalination plant capable of producing approximately 240,000 cubic metres of fresh water a day. The Atom is believed to have a future powering the city of Gowu at some point, though there's been no official comment on the matter. Speaking at the launch Jared Cohen, the Senator for Avalon said "This is a significant landmark for Avalon. When that city started to be built all those years ago there were a lot of people who thought it was a waste of money but to get to this point, where the city is going to take total responsibility for its own power supply is something huge."
Riviere Corporation and MKNS released a joint statement saying "The Atom represents the most difficult civilian venture that we've jointly undertaken, there were significant hurdles to negotiate but we believe we have and we're confident that the Atom is more than capable of carrying out the task that it was designed for. Both companies extend their congratulations and thanks to all those who have worked on this vessel project over the last few years."
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GOVERNMENT RAISES TERROR THREAT LEVEL TO RED
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The Government has raised the terror threat level to Red. This is the highest level and means that a terrorist attack is believed to be imminent, the decision was announced by National Security Advisor Mark Sharpe (pictured above). The last time the terror threat level was this high came in the wake of the terrorist attack on the Royal Hunt that saw the Emperor sustain the injury that he recently underwent surgery for. No comment has been made beyond a statement raising the threat level however it is understood that the Purification Festival will go ahead as planned but under tighter security.
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CYCLISTS START JOURNEY
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
The Team of Sammy Lawson, Melanie Parker, Molly Cooper and Bridget Portman has started their pole to pole cycling attempt, they departed the south pole earlier today and will cycle across the snow and ice to a predetermined point on the Hygelac coast where they will board their pedal powered vessel and travel across the seas to Hrothgaer. Speaking before the start the four cyclists were in good spirits and looking forward to the challenge. There's no estimate on the journey time but the three athletes on the team are keen to try and compete in the 2021 Mundus Games if they can. The first indication of how the team are doing on the journey will come shortly after they hit the water, they'll either be heading north through the Alucard, their intended route or north through the Strait of Shaw, given they're on pedal power it is entirely possible that they could get pushed off course quite easily. For those who are interested there have been a couple of falls and one wheel replacement required so far.
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ACHKAERIN SIGNS AGREEMENTS WITH NEIGHBOURS
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
It's been a busy few days for the Emperor, with visits aplenty to Achkaerin from fellow Northern Ocean nations and a multitude of agreements signed. Following his return to official duties following his surgery the Emperor has signed agreements with Abydos, Vanora and Safraen. Following the ratification of the agreements by the Senate the Emperor addressed a press conference outlining the agreements saying:
"These three agreements are very straightforward and cover various different areas. They mark a continuation of our pursuit of positive relations with our fellow northern ocean nations and are what we colloquially call first contact treaties, they are the foundation, they are the starting point. The agreements are likewise very straightforward very uncontroversial.
It was a pleasure to have the Pharaoh of Abydos visit Achkaerin, as those of you who have seen the released photographs will be aware it was also a visit that coincided with the Royal Hunt at Crystalline Castle, the Pharaoh is a very knowledgeable man and a keen falconer and it's safe to say our falconer's were paying close attention to his thoughts on the subject, and I will be happy to welcome him back anytime so he can see how our falcons are getting on. In terms of the agreements with Abydos we've agreed to ensure that we have active embassies with each other, a twenty four window for an ambassador to present themselves once summoned has been agreed to and we've also agreed to a trading relationship.
A few days ago we hosted Prime Minister Einat Woolf of Vanora in the town of Santiago, it was a very positive meeting in which talked about several issues. The agreements with Vanora are the same as those with Abydos we have agreed to active embassies, presentation of an ambassador within twenty four hours of summoning and trading relationship.
Achkaerin's relationship with Safraen is one that goes back many years, yet despite all that our respective nations have been through we didn't have any formal relations, this is something that myself and President Dretsyj sought to remedy when we met a couple of days ago. The agreement with Safraen includes all that has been agreed with Abydos and Vanora, it also includes a travel arrangement in which travel may be visa free subject to conditions, these conditions include reason for travel, no criminal record for serious offences and length of stay. Finally we have agreed to a criminal intelligence sharing and extradition agreement. I will add that I will be in Safraen as I am each year to mark the anniversary of the conflict that occurred there and to remember the fallen on all sides of it.
All of these agreements were ratified by the Senate and I hope that these will not be the last agreements that Achkaerin makes with any of these nations. I also look forward to my coming meetings with other nations."
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PURIFICATION FESTIVAL BEGINS
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
The Purification festival, the biggest Namist festival of the year began today. The festival takes place over nine days each associated with one of the nine sacred beasts of the faith, building up to the last day otherwise known as Purification day where the new Celestial year is welcomed in. As is tradition the first day sees festivities honouring the sacred beast Okan the Basilisk, this sees Namists leave offerings at their temples or leave things such as milk at open grounds that might contain snakes as they are associated with Okan. The day also sees the Noble Moot convene in full (including members of the Royal family normally barred under the Constitution) to hear the concerns of the citizens of Achkaerin, the Senate also began the tradition of debating the Ambassadorial Resolution.
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NATION CELEBRATES PURIFICATION DAY
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The nation and the Namist community across the world have celebrated Purification Day, otherwise known as the Day of Renewal. It is a day where people turn the page, where they symbolically lay their demons of the previous year to rest and commit themselves anew, each year sees the guardianship of the year passed from one of Namis's Sacred Beasts to another, this year the mantle passes from Kovrien the Stag to Yve the Phoenix, across Mundus ashes were used to mark those who attended Purification ceremonies, The High Priestess of the Cult of Namis - Alexis Minette gave her traditional sermon from Luna Isle in which she themed around new life, new starts and the future. There were also street parties and in many cities there were fireworks displays.
As for the Royal family their busy day started with the traditional procession on horseback to the Chapel of the Trinity, the traditional place chosen by the family to worship at, followed by attendance at the Noble Moot to receive petitions of the people and then a quick journey down the road to the banks of the river Seraphim to watch the annual Artaxia-Freshwater University Boat Race, this year won by the University of Artaxia in both the men's and women's categories. The Emperor takes a keen interest in the race having competed in it during his time at university and was seen sporting the midnight blue scarf of his Alma Mater - the University of Artaxia. There was a flyover by the Flying Foxes and in the river the Blue Mermaids also performed, following that it was back to the Marble Palace to await the presentation of the Ambassador's resolution. This resolution is an annual resolution debated and passed by the Senate, it confirms who represents Achkaerin as Ambassadors and who ultimately is there to help citizens should something happen. Once passed the Resolution is carried the three mile distance, between Liberty Hall (home of the Senate) and the Marble Palace, on foot by the Royal Liaison Officer Roslyn Williams whose job it is to present the Resolution to the Emperor, once signed the Resolution is then published.
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CRUISE LINER TO GO GLOBAL AS FLOATING MUSEUM
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Fiona Villani: Culture Correspondent
The Sunflash a cruise ship owned by Moby Lines is to become a floating museum. The vessel scheduled to be removed from the Moby fleet has been acquired by the Achkaerin University of Arts and Culture, the bid utilised available education grants and funds to secure the vessel. The plan to turn it into a floating museum was explained by lecturer at the University, and Achkaerin's representative to the CETO, Doctor Donna Steele who said: "One of the stated aims of the CETO is to 'To allow all citizens of the world to experience and appreciate the culture and traditions of their neighbours.' This is what this museum will hopefully achieve, it may sound a little bit like KHELP and there is a tad of inspiration that we've taken from that but the application is very different, rather than a floating business park a floating museum and we're not talking about learning about going aboard and learning about the history of the vessel we're talking about a ship where you have exhibition spaces onboard, where the food court is somewhere to find restaurants representing cuisine from across Mundus, where traditional craft practices can be demonstrated and experienced and where you can with a little help from virtual reality tour other museums, art galleries, historical sites, where you can through the wonders of modern technology experience a historical event possibly even in an interactive manner. Also although we take our mission statement, our goal from the CETO charter this is not exclusively for that organisation, we will be open to all nations."
Public information regarding the project is set to be announced soon, it has however been confirmed that the ship will be rechristened The Spirit of Mundus
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HOME GROWN VACCINE LEADING THE WAY
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
Riviere Corporation's Yellowtongue vaccine has been cleared for use following certification by the Achkaerin Medical Authority. The vaccine has been in the development stages since the very first days of the outbreak of the virus and the Corporation's CEO Catriona Rowan (pictured above) has attended several meetings across Mundus as the effort to develop an effective vaccine intensified. The Riviere vaccine is the second one to be developed after the Fleur based Pasteur vaccine. Speaking today Ms Rowan said of the vaccine's development "It's always a good day when something that's been worked on like this, something that can protect people or this case animals from harm. I'd like to thank everyone on our team who've worked on this and everyone across Mundus who've helped make it happen our comrades in this effort at Osmantech and Pasteur for example, everyone who we've met with. We will be making this vaccine available to all countries who need it, regardless of any existing restrictions, sanctions or barriers as this is our long standing policy."
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NEKTHOU CONVICTED AND SENTENCED TO DEATH
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By Henry Klein: Justice Correspondent
After many weeks of evidence and legal argument the former Clysperi General Nekthou who led the failed attempt insurrection against Pharaoh Akasha has been convicted under the Uppsala Convention, he had been charged with multiple violations of the Convention including mass deaths of civilians and the looting of civilian property. In passing sentence Commander Armitage of the Achkaerinese Navy, who was heading the judging panel, placed great emphasis on understanding the rights of an individual to hold a contrary opinion but also that it must be understood that there is a line that should not be crossed and when it is crossed a person enters criminal territory. Mr Nekhtou was sentenced to death, a sentence not handed down by a court on Achkaerinese soil for over three hundred years as it became abolished during the reign of Empress Djana Azurewind in 1718, what makes the sentence deliverable is the international nature of the Uppsala Convention Court and that the judges are permitted to use the laws of the accused's home nation as guidance, Mr Nekthou being a Clysperi national therefore had Clysperi law factored in when the matter was deliberated by the judging panel. The sentence is expected to be carried out in the next few days.
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EMPEROR GIVES COVENANT ADDRESS
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Emperor Peter and his wife Renee walking to Liberty Hall before the Address
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Emperor Peter has delivered the monarch's annual Covenant Address, potentially the most anticipated one of recent years. The speech is the fruit of many weeks of labour, begun firstly by the Emperor and his advisors and then broadened out to include the consultation of the government and field experts, the history of the Covenant Address dates back to the establishment of the Achkaerinese Constitution in 1708, since then it has taken place every year in front of the Senate. Each Monarch has during their reign put their own stamp on it, Emperor Peter has put his own quirks on the address by giving his Address's titles and perhaps more notably by traditionally walking the distance between the Marble Palace and Liberty Hall on the evening of the Address. The full text of the Emperor's Address is:
Mr Speaker, Honourable Senators, members of the Noble Moot and all those watching at home. Tonight I once again come to these hallowed halls of our democracy to deliver the Covenant Address. I have a habit of giving these addresses titles and tonights address is no exception, tonight I title this Address 'Hope of the Future'
Mr Speaker, three years ago myself, King David of East Moreland and the then Empress of Rokkenjima Beatrice Anselmo each independently of the other two made statements that when combined amounted to nothing other than a promise of the total decommissioning of every last nuclear weapon on Mundus. It was a watershed moment, the first of many in this endeavour, there were moments where what seemed like real promise teetered on the brink of becoming a pipe dream, but the course was stayed, the challenges seen off one by one, some called it an impossible undertaking but East Moreland completed their decommissioning then so did Rokkenjima and tonight Mr Speaker I can report that earlier today, the final nuclear warhead in Achkaerin's nuclear arsenal was decommissioned. The era of nuclear weapons is over, the last page of the last chapter written, the book is closed. However, and this may seem strange to some, the decommissioning was in truth the easier part of this historic undertaking, the hard part will be in ensuring that the book stays closed, that these weapons now consigned to history stay in the past and do not rear their heads again. This is now a solemn duty for not just ourselves but for all those who wish to see these weapons remain in the past and it is one that cannot be undertaken unilaterally, it requires a clear universal understanding of what happens if these weapons return to threaten the international community once again, a treaty on the non proliferation of nuclear weapons is a requirement, the Empress of Rokkenjima has floated one to the international community however there's a different between floating an idea and getting something nailed down, it is time to take the idea beyond the floating stage and to nail down the precise details, I suggest it is time for a summit where the proposed treaty can be put, discussed, amended and so on. We have the starting ingredients what we need is the final product. However I will be clear the resolve of this nation on this matter is steadfast and deeply rooted, we have not consigned them to history to see them re-emerge and be used again, anyone who seeks to develop these weapons will face the strongest possible opposition.
We must not lose sight however of all the good that nuclear energy can do, as we see resource stockpiles continue to diminish the need for alternative energy sources increases. Nuclear power is going to be a major part of our energy sector for the forseeable future, eventually it is hoped that Riviere Corporations STAR project will yield results and that nuclear fusion will become a reality this combined with the continued development of other energy technologies and the answering of key questions will see a stable future for our nation on the energy front. Another hope I have for the future Mr Speaker is seen in the response of many nations to the Yellowtongue outbreak, in the past we have seen many nations in such circumstances pursue the lonely path and leverage what they can for their advantage, this time an international effort in collaboration has seen the development of not one but two vaccines and I hope that the spirit of this collaboration will continue with a clear message that when faced with crises of this scale that a unified approach is preferred, viruses and diseases don't care what nationality you are, they don't care what gender you are, what sexuality you are, what faith you follow, what ideology you stand by and so on, they are indiscriminate in such times against such things what unites us becomes far stronger.
Mr Speaker I would like to take a moment to address something that I had hoped I would never have to address in this speech or any other I have made the matter of freedom of religion. Let's be very clear, freedom of religion is not oppressive, it is not by force making people follow a faith, such things would violate the principle of freedom of expression. Freedom of religion is the right to worship any faith or no faith, it's a personal choice. To see a state effectively say "No you can't worship at all." is not freedom of religion it's freedom from religion and that is also a violation of freedom of expression. It is worrying that while great strides and great sacrifices have been made that we now have to consider something so harmless, what religion a person chooses to follow is not a matter for anyone other than that person, people will ask what about religious terrorism? To that I say that there is a need to be wary of confusing the acts of an individual with that of the faithful at large, for example the Sorority of Materna are terrorists the Church of Materna is not, the Gungnir are terrorists Odinism is not.
I would like to pay tribute to our soldiers who are returning home from deployment in Clysperis, with our withdrawal comes a developing relationship with the Kingdom of Clysperis and while the Pharaoh knows well that there are hurdles to be addressed it is a positive start, despite the various contrary opinions our nations hold on certain things at present we're able to have civilised discussions. Will this develop? I hope it will. Mr Speaker I commend this Address to the Senate.
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DEFENCE QUESTIONS AHEAD OF SUMMER BREAK
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By: Mark Woods Politics Correspondent
The Senate has begun to conclude its business ahead of its summer recess, the next few days see the beginning of what many Senators call 'the mad scramble' as the elected representatives try to get through any remaining outstanding business, this includes the last cycle of departmental questions beginning today with Defence questions, taken by the Deputy Minister of Defence Sally-Anne Seaborn (pictured above). In the traditional two hour questions period the Deputy Minister was asked questions on a variety of topics including about what happened in Rakalin, when asked what the Achkaerinese governments position on the incident was the Deputy Minister responded:
"Mr Speaker the Achkaerinese Government's position on this is quite clear. We support and recognize that Queen Klara is the head of state of the Queendom of Lodja. Now while I'm sure many Senators including myself are concerned by the imagery of a nations military being called in to do a job and likewise be may be concerned about the steps taken it is important to also recognise that in regards to Rakalin that nothing illegal has occurred on the part of the Lodjan government. People may not like what happened but that doesn't make it illegal. The Uppsala Convention of which Lodja is signatory permits the use of proportionate force against terrorists, the people who were on the receiving end of the air strike certainly meet the definition of terrorist under the Convention and given the circumstances involved it can be said that the force was proportionate, we appreciate that people may not like what happened but there's a difference between that and accusing a nation of breaching international law. More broadly on the Lodjan situation we continue to support our friends in the search for the Morelander and Leopold Hamsik."
On the developments involving Rokkenjima's weapons developments the Deputy Minister said:
"Mr Speaker, we would encourage Rokkenjima's military leadership and or the leadership of Abstergo to focus on practicality and functionality rather than stuff that looks and sounds cool because judging off the statement relating to the Ifrit HGV Mr Speaker it would appear there are things that have been overlooked. It's no secret that Kaitaine's introduction of the Zircon missile some five years ago redefined the landscape of this area and we will have our own developments in this field forthcoming in the near future and the chamber will be apprised of those developments as they occur."
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CROWN PRINCESS BOOKS SURGERY
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal Family Correspondent
Crown Princess Serenity has booked her surgery according to the Marble Palace, the Crown Princess who suffered damage to her leg a few years ago due to a mine explosion while on duty with the Navy will undergo the surgery in East Moreland following the success of her father's operation by the same team. The Crown Princess will undergo the operation in the next couple of days and then spend some time at Highwick Manor before returning to Achkaerin. it is believed that the Crown Princess will visit Legionnaire Legacy in Silverhills during her stay, the organisation that supported her following her incident and that her own Legacy foundation is inspired by.
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AADC BEGINS TESTING RAVEN
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
AADC has begun testing of the Raven (pictured above), the aircraft is intended to replace the weird child of the Achkaerin Air Force, the Kestrel. Speaking following the initial test Sir Darren Eagle, CEO of AADC, said "Today we've tested the Raven's agility, speed and tolerances, we believe it's equipped to replace the Kestrel as a critical part of the Air Force's capabilities, able to land and take off on rough ground without much space with a decent transport capacity. We're also still developing the Harpy which will be due for testing later in the year and we're continuing work on the Seahawk." It's also been rumoured that AADC have begun development of a new transport aircraft for the Achkaerinese Royal Family, there was no comment from AADC on that today. In terms of the Raven unofficial sources within the Ministry of Defence have said that they are "encouraged by today's tests", a comment taken to mean that the Air Force will be acquiring some of the aircraft if testing continues to produce positive results.
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CROWN PRINCESS RECOVERING AFTER SURGERY
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
Crown Princess Serenity is in recovery following a successful operation on her leg, the surgery carried out in East Moreland mirrors that which her father the Emperor underwent some time ago and was carried out by the same team. In a statement the Marble Palace said "The Crown Princess's surgery has been successful and she will now spend a few days recovering in East Moreland, the Royal Family is thankful to all well wishers at this time and extends its thanks to the team of surgeons in East Moreland that carried out the operation." The Crown Princess herself (pictured above) has said that she's "Looking forward to learning how to walk for the third time in my life." the Crown Princess has been joined in East Moreland by her daughters Princess Astrid and Princess Lisa and her boyfriend James Chase.
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WALBY WIZARDRY
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin women's tennis number two Alice Walby has played her way into the semi finals of the Kvinne Cup in Jugland, defeating Christa Lorentzen of the FOA in straight sets. The 'Queen of Spin' as she's called by fans showed fine form to dominate the match without losing her serve and was at times simply unplayable. Speaking after the win Alice said "I felt good out there, got a better start than my last sixteen match got the first serve working and got the early break and didn't look back. It's going to be a tough match in the semi finals but I'll give everything I've got to get the win and a shot at the title."
Also in action was Achkaerin women's tennis number four Eleanor Truesdale who went down in three sets to Iduuna Juul from Jugland.
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REACTION TO ABSTERGO FOOD DEVELOPMENTS
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
It's been a busy day for Achkaerinese politicians as they continue to prepare for the Senates summer recess. Today the Senate spent most of its time concerned with tee matter of [ur=https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=8.msg20878#msg20878]Abtergo Industries recent announcement in the food industry[/url]. Taking to the dispatch box on this matter first was Minister of Home Affairs Lizbeth Stewart (pictured above), who said in response to the question brought on the matter:
"Mr Speaker the matter raised is one that has spiraled out of proportion to say the least, primarily because of a poorly worded statement from Abstergo Industries, however the question before us concerns at first the issue of sale of such products. Mr Speaker the Senate is aware that the Board of Trade keeps the register of goods that may be legally sold on Achkaerinese soil, the Board has not certified either product that Abstergo has begun development of. There are a fair amount of issues involved here of legal and scientific and ethical nature and until those are satisfied and I'm not sure whether they can be I don't believe these products would get certification for trade within Achkaerin. I mentioned earlier a poorly worded statement, it may not be Abstergo's intention to do farmers out of a job, however the initial statement made on this implies the contrary stating "AFM is working to produce meat which does not require the slaughter of animals while Pyrettania Dairy is utilizing microbial fermentation. The process Abstergo is utilizing sees milk proteins reproduced in a tank to create real dairy products which are functionally identical to cow's milk without the need of cows." so in one statement Mr Speaker we have two processes that presently involve livestock that Abstergo are seeking to remove livestock from the production of. If that's not threatening to farmers I don't know what is. The reason Mr Speaker is that this is a simple case of economics, when a farmer sells to a supermarket for example they factor into the negotiated price continuation of the herd in question. Now if a supermarket can buy the end product from a lab for a cheaper price as would likely be the case then surely the livelihood of the farmer comes under threat. In addition Mr Speaker the CEO of Abstergo Mr Relkin should should also choose his language more carefully and not cast again by implication vast aspersions on the integrity and character of farmers across Mundus, using a tone of arrogance, fear and nigh on guilt tripping is well and truly beneath a man of his standing."(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/media/images/68719000/jpg/_68719369_dmiliband.jpg)
And what of the Cross Straits Union or even the Cross Straits Community in this? What will they do? Well for an answer we asked Minister for Cross Straits Affairs Jonathon Hunt who said:
"There's not really a need for either body to do anything at this time, there are many reasons for this. Firstly the ball is still technically speaking not in play for them, there's an awful lot of legal matters to deal with before we get as far as having these products at market, second at least as far as the CSU goes Abstergo would have issues under the terms governing the Cross Straits Free Trade Area you can't dump goods so you can't sell a product for less than it cost to produce so at the moment Abstergo would be running at a probable loss. Third every nation has control over what can and can't be sold within its borders in Achkaerin that control is vested in the Board of Trade and they haven't and aren't likely to certify these products, which brings on point four Mundus is full of countries that are aware of the issues cited by Mr Relkin, anyone would think steps to address them aren't already being taken, they are. So where with all this in mind is Abstergo going to sell these things, a product that while innovative is ultimately questionable? It's a very tricky situation."(https://www.womeninthefoodindustry.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Roberta-Hall-McCarron-Great-British-Menu-2020-_-2.jpg)
And finally an industry perspective, Jenny Hamer is a noted chef in Achkaerin who runs the 'Hunter's Lodge' restaurant just outside Valkyria in Greencliffe National Park. When asked what she thought about the situation she said
"Would I buy them to serve in the restaurant? No I wouldn't because when we buy meat in for business I go out to the local farmers and I get to see the animals in question before they're ultimately slaughtered, and let's be clear sustainable farming is a legal requirement in Achkaerin, but the point is I get to see where the meat is coming from and I know the process that it goes through from purchase to when its served on a plate. Now if I for example look at this AFM suggestion, I'm not convinced because the human body is fickle and by using cultivated meat you introduce a whole new level of liability if you sell it in a restaurant. It's honestly not worth it from a business standpoint to consider using at this point not without greater understanding of what the effect is at the end of the process so to speak."
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LAWSON AND TEAM REACH NORTH POLE
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
The team of Sammy Lawson, Melanie Parker, Molly Cooper and Bridget Portman have completed their adventure across Mundus cycling from the south pole to the north pole, the journey saw the quartet travel through storms, busy shipping lanes and even have to deal with course changes due to international incidents. With the Mundus Games on the horizon the end of the journey is well timed for Lawson, Parker and Cooper all of whom are expected to feature in the games and their focus will now shift to preparation. The Pedal Whale, the human powered vessel that carried the team across the waters of Mundus is to be housed on display at the National Museum of Science and Engineering.
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MUNDUS GAMES KICKOFF
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
It's that time of year again, the Mundus Games are upon us, athletes from across the globe have gathered in Arashkai for the eighth incarnation of the sporting festival that is the pinnacle sporting moment of the year. As always the Achkaerinese team will feature in most sports across the Games, before the first day of competition Princess Esme Azurewind (pictured above), the chef de mission for the Achkaerinese team along with selectors from across the different sports picked the athletes and now on day one with Martin Sanders claiming bronze in the mens cycling road race and success elsewhere with Achkaerinese teams advancing it's been described by Princess Esme as "A solid start."
As for potential medal contenders for Achkaerin the Princess said "We're in a bit of a blessed position in that coming into these games we've got a lot of big names in form, we've got probably our most in form cycling team ever, our runners are looking good, team sports are strong and we've got a lot of young talent across a variety of sports who are eager to get a taste of what the Mundus Games are like. These will be interesting games though because there are so many medals that are wide open, so many events which could go anywhere."
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LAWSON LEADING THE WAY
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Day Two of the Mundus Games this year will undoubtedly be remembered for the performance of the swimmers from Solace and Heyra as they propelled their nations to first and second in the medal table respectively, with Heyra's nineteen medals in a day being a Games record. Achkaerinese medal success on the day was led by renowned cyclist Sammy Lawson as she took gold in the womens road race, breaking away with thirty kilometres to go with team mate Maria Cairns alongside her as well as a small number of other riders she took control of the race on the final climb and rode alone to the line, Cairns would go onto to narrowly lose the battle for silver and took the bronze. Speaking afterwards Sammy said "It's difficult every year when you come back knowing you're the marked rider and this year knowing that I've spent most of it with Melanie and Molly and Bridget cycling the oceans I wasn't sure how good I was going to be coming in, how rusty I was going to be. Maria and the rest of the team did a lot of the work, kept me there, kept me out of harms way and then when we attacked Maria pulled me up that climb until I was ready to go."
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HARPY TO ENTER SERVICE WITH AIR FORCE
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Air Force is to acquire the Harpy following the aircraft's successful testing earlier today, the Harpy will be it is believed the fastest jet in the Air Force upon its entry into service. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said "We are very pleased with the results of the Harpy's rigorous testing program, the aircraft has performed well and we believe that its presence in our military significantly increases the potency of the Air Force both offensively and defensively." the spokesperson also confirmed that testing on the Raven is set to continue in the coming days as that requires situational testing, while the Seahawk is not expected for testing until much later in the year. The Harpy has attracted some attention due to its capability for high altitude flight, something not seen in decades, some have even questioned whether th spirit of the Outer Space Standards Convention may be ignored by it, a suggestion strenuously denied by the Ministry of Defence.
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DUFF AND MACDONALD SHARE GOLD IN JUDO
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Team Achkaerin have continued to win medals at the Mundus Games, sitting third overall in the medal table with fourteen gold medals so far and plenty of opportunity to add to their tally as both the cycling's velodrome program and a large amount of the athletics program are yet to take place. However it is perhaps the mens 60kg judo event that will live longest in the memory from as Achkaerin's Luke Duff and Seaforth's Damien MacDonald decided when regular time on their gold medal bout finished with them tied at eleven points apiece to not move to golden score time and instead share the gold medal. Speaking afterwards Duff said "After the three minutes we were both gone, you could see it, we'd put everything into it and thrown each other. To settle it in a luck of the draw type manner as golden score would have been unfair on one of us no matter which way it went so we decided to share it."
Swimmer Becky Brittaine has also been in action taking silver in the individual 400m medley and gold in the 800m individual medley and Achkaerinese teams have continued to have success in the knockout tournaments, progressing well and winning gold in the cricket events.
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CLYSPERIS EVOLUTION WELCOMED
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Recent reforms in the Kingdom of Clysperis including the removal of indentured servitude have been met with positive reactions in Valtheim, in an interview on Politics Tonight, Hannah Cartwright, the Royal Press Secretary (pictured above) said "Several the Emperor had the opportunity to meet with the then Pharaoh Rameses V, in the course of that meeting several ideas were exchanged in what we would in jargon call a laid back round table conversation. Some of the proposals of that meeting we've seen introduced in Clysperis and that's welcomed, also welcome is Clysperis's signature on the Uppsalla Convention and the Emperor is hopeful of a bright future in Achkaerinese-Clysperi relations."
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TRIATHLON TRIUMPH AS MEDAL CHARGE SURGES
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin have risen up to second in the medal table at the Mundus Games with a string of medals across tennis, sailing, equestrian and perhaps most notably on day nine in triathlon with two golds and a bronze, it was victory for Adam Carter in the mens event and Molly Cooper (pictured above) in the womens event. The mens race saw a tight affair as the leading group couldn't be separated after the swimming and cycling legs but on the run Carter was able to stay in contention and eventually win the long sprint for home, a finish not often seen in triathlon competitions. In the womens event Molly Cooper had team mate Jenny Kemp in contention with her, Kemp lead out of the water and a solid cycling leg saw both still in medal contention but the run is Cooper's strength, with a leading group marginally ahead of her after transition two she ran them down and put a decisive distance between them to win her second Mundus Games individual title, Kemp would take the bronze in the same event. The medal surge over the last couple of days has seen Team Achkaerin sit on a total of twenty three gold medals and according to chef de mission Princess Esme Azurewind they don't intend to stop there, when asked for comment she said "We're into the second half of the Games now, we're second on the medal table and we've got our pre game target in sight, we're optimistic that we'll hit that target and it's game on to see if we can catch Heyra."
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SUPER SATURDAY AT GAMES
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By Felicity Stewart: sports correspondent
Day eleven at the Mundus Games saw more success for Team Achkaerin as they closed the gap at the top of the medal table to just two gold medals behind Heyra. A haul of two golds, one silver and one bronze was the medal tally led by Sammy Lawson (pictured above) taking gold in the womens time trial winning by a margin of twenty eight seconds, team mate Rachel Staff finished fifth in the same event. In the cross country there was a silver medal for Ben Cunliffe in the mens event, losing out in a sprint finish to a Centralian competitor, in the womens event Britney Hammond broke away from the pack on the penultimate lap and stayed away to win the gold. The bronze medal on the day was won in the womens kendo event. Elsewhere Gabrielle Sawyer advanced to the quarter finals of the womens badminton singles with a routine win over her Centralian opponent, the mens baseball team also enjoyed success against Centralian opposition booking themselves semi final place, over at the snooker Nick Bridges and James Parker both advanced to the quarter finals with comfortable victories.
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INTERVIEW WITH VICEREGENT
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Emerson Ravenswood, Count of Saika and Viceregent of Rokkenjima has given an interview on Achkaerinese television speaking about current and future events with a few personal questions thrown in. The Viceregent is visiting Achkaerin to address the Achkaerin Youth Assembly's annual 'Senate takeover' session - this being a gathering of the Assembly in the Achkaerin Senate's chamber, every year the Youth Assembly carries out its business in accordance with simulating Senate procedures and every yer the substantive motion of debate is moved by a guest speaker, this year the Viceregent. During his interview the Viceregent answered the following questions:
What will be different in Rokkenjima on September 12th?
"Nothing whatsoever will change because there's nothing to change. We're seeing a lot of misconceptions over what this whole idea of crowning Adriana as Empress. Evanthe Rhodes from day one has been acting as a regent, after all there has never once been any suggestion that the crown would pass down her line as opposed to her being a caretaker Evanthe has been clear all along that she only holds the power until the Crown Princess is ready and let's be clear Crown Princess Adriana knows this, the Imperial Council knows this, the Diet knows this, the people of Rokkenjima know this and Grand Maester Yuna knows this, the regency that people have been talking about already exists and has existed for a couple of years now and has worked very well there is no need to cause all manner of issues by crowning the Crown Princess as Empress at this point. You crown her as Empress when she ascends the throne, when she's at the age of majority and not before - we are as everyone knows years away from that being the case, why would we saddle the Crown Princess with the baggage of being Empress in name only, she won't have any authority, power or privilege any greater than she currently has, she won't have a seat on the Imperial Council, she won't be making policy decisions and she won't be head of state. Do the people of Rokkenjima really wish to make their Crown Princess into a joke? Do we really want to see nations refuse to recognize her as anything other than Crown Princess and treat her as if she's a child who needs to sent out of the room while the adults talk? The Imperial Council certainly doesn't which is why we're strongly advising all parties involved that this planned coronation not go ahead, the regency exists, let it exist and lets look forward over the coming years to the moment when Adriana is of age can be crowned with all the authority, power and privileges of the Empress of Rokkenjima rather than just in name only."
If Grand Maester Yuna knows this why press the issue?
"The Grand Maester is seeking to ensure that the core belief of Rokkenjima's Empress's being descended from the Goddess Islyna is preserved, relatively speaking this doesn't work with Beatrice Anselmo and Evanthe Rhodes because they're cousins as opposed to sisters. The Grand Maester has the right to declare that in terms of era that 'the Saisei Era is to be followed by the Sutāraito Era' no one would challenge this but she does not have the right to demand that such an era change requires a coronation as I've said before that which she is demanding in terms of status already exists, to demand a coronation is a recipe for disaster it undermines both the presumptive Regent and the Crown Princess, this can still be declared as the Sutāraito Era by virtue of Beatrice Anselmo not being on the throne, that does not require a coronation. Surely a ceremony anointing the Crown Princess formally as a descendant of Islyna is a better way to proceed, I would suggest that the Grand Maester reflects on what she has suggested and I hope sees where the flaw lies, we in Pyrena aren't treading on her ground I would ask she refrain from treading on ours, we know what we're doing we've been tasked from day one to build the foundation for Adriana Anselmo's reign as Empress, don't force us to hurry the process."
What will a coronation of the Crown Princess mean, whether now or in the future?
"Inevitably when regimes change, whether it be a change of government in a nation such as Tytor or when a crown is passed down as we've seen recently in Altona with the coronation of King Rutger, there is a reset moment though not an actual reset of relations necessarily there is a moment where the relations are put on hold while people wait and see what the new regime is like, this is what will happen when Adriana is crowned nations will pause and look at things before establishing what the nature of the relationship is to be. Sometimes things don't change, sometimes they do that's the nature of things. The advantage that monarchies in particular have is that the heir to the throne can be prepared for the crown, that's what is going in Rokkenjima right now, that's what's going in Achkaerin, it'll happen in East Moreland in Ui Cenneslaig and so on."
And what of your relationship with Evanthe Rhodes? Rumors have often linked the two of you romantically
"I think everyone knows we're involved with each other and have been for a while, we've been a team for a while and somehow managed to negotiate the daily responsibilities and happenings of state on top of preparing Rokkenjima for Adriana's reign and also making sure Adriana is ready herself, the latter has been largely helped by working with our friends internationally. Maybe one day we'll get married and we can live in Saika, maybe we won't but yes this is a serious loving relationship we're in."
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BEATRICE ANSELMO SENTENCED ON APPEAL
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
The former Empress of Rokkenjima, Beatrice Anselmo, has been sentenced for her role in the Andean Genocide, the appeal prompted by a successful finding perjury against the former Empress several months ago saw a very short hearing in which a guilty plea on the grounds of diminished responsibility was entered and resulted in the former Empress being sentenced to life imprisonment in an appropriate medical facility it is understood this sentence will be staggered into two parts. The sentence means that all nine of the defendants in the case have now been convicted and sentenced for their part in the affair.[1]
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EMPEROR IN CLYSPERIS FOR STATE VISIT
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Emperor Peter, his wife Duchess Renee (both pictured above in Clysperis), members of the Royal Family as well as an assortment of Ministers, Advisors and business leaders are visiting Clysperis on an official state visit, the first time an Achkaerinese monarch has visited the Kingdom, it is of course not the first time the Achkaerinese monarch and Clysperi Pharaoh have met however for this to happen on Clysperi soil shows how much things have changed in recent times, such a visit would have been unthinkable. Speaking to the press the Emperor said "Several years ago I had the privilege and the honour of hosting the then Pharaoh Rameses V, we talked of many things during that visit and he even introduced myself, my late wife and my daughter to a few Clysperi delicacies at dinner. However the overall theme to our talks was as the then Pharaoh said "Let the old world meet the new" many times since then I've thought about that meeting and it had looked the loss of Rameses V had robbed our nations of this chance to build something together but here we are brought together by that vision forged years ago and presented with the chance to build that future. Over the next few days we'll do everything we can to build the future that Rameses V never gave up on."
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ACHKAERIN GO TOP OF THE TABLE AT GAMES
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Team Achkaerin have finished day thirteen at the top of the medal table, courtesy of medals in cycling, gymnastics and archery, the start of the velodrome program Achkaerin's men won the team pursuit gold and bronze in the team sprint, in the womens team pursuit the 'Fernley Quartet' of sisters Ruth, Kaitlin, Lucy and Niamh Fernley took the gold and then as Kaitlin watched from the sidelines her sisters prevailed in a close run race with Jugland to take gold in the team sprint, a result made possible by a flying last lap by Niamh Fernley to claw back the gap and overhaul the opposition. On the gymnastics floor Erin Brooks took gold in the womens floor with her usual dynamic and musical style, she also took silver in the uneven bars. However the medal attracting a lot of attention was Achkaerin's gold in the horseback archery cross country event won by Thea Fletcher. Horseback archery is a new event to this years games and is highly popular in Daito where the games are being held, to the point where the Emperor of Daito won several medals in the event including silver behind Thea in the cross country, a result which saw the Emperor pay tribute to the Achkaerinese victor, speaking after the event Thea said "I'm a little bit in shock here, I mean I knew I was doing ok in practice coming in and I knew Stardust (her horse) was in good shape so I thought a medal was possible but to come here to where the sport is arguably from and to win gold is something I couldn't have dreamed of. Hopefully we can do it all again next year."
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RECORD BREAKERS
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Team Achkaerin has reached 130 medals in this years Mundus games smashing their total from last years Games, the team punched through their previous total on day fifteen with medals coming from seemingly everywhere, most notably it was another good day in the velodrome as the cyclists racked up the medal count, the highlight being an Achkaerinese clean sweep in the womens elimination race, a simple enough event the cyclists ride around the track and on every sprint lap the last one across the line is eliminated from the event. The race was won by Sammy Lawson (pictured above centre) with Niamh Fernley (above right) taking silver and Melanie Parker (above left) the bronze. The race had quite the climax with Niamh Fernley making a long break for home and while she built up enough of a lead to secure the silver she couldn't quite hold on for the gold but she had no regrets speaking afterwards saying: "When you race Sammy you've got to mix it up, you've got to have something she may not expect, that's a hard task at the best of times yeah but I thought about it once I could tell it would be the three of us and I just went all out on the sprint backing my team pursuit experience but she has some acceleration and she got me. I've got no regrets about going long, if I wait and play cat and mouse I don't like my odds against her.", as for Lawson she spoke after the medal ceremony saying "As long as Niamh couldn't break the tow I knew I had a chance she almost did but she never quite had the full length of the straight and I was able to bring it back but she's shown she knows the event and she's learned it very well so I look forward to the rematch next year."
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RIVIERE & AADC TAKE PHOENIX PROGRAM TO NEXT STAGE
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Riviere Corporation's Phoenix Program has been reported on many times and is probably one of the best documented aerospace programs presently ongoing. The program's aim is to develop a solar powered aircraft capable of filling the same role as the passenger aircraft of today, over the years of the program's existence there have been solar powered drones and small manned aircraft each testing the theory of solar powered flight on a larger, more challenging scale in the past the program has flown a solar powered craft around the world. Today's advancement of the program sees the first foray into what the final vision is expected to look like, however it isn't solely a solar powered airliner, while that remains the goal this first aircraft is to be a hybrid model, using conventional power sources and solar energy. Speaking in a press conference following the announcement Riviere Corporation CEO Catriona Rowan said "We've been eagerly looking forward to this for a long time, we know our theory works on the small scale, we've proven it, we now need to see if it works when we scale it up, we can't jump straight to pure solar power we're still a ways off that, what we're doing with this development is we're testing our theory on that scale but in a controlled manner using a hybrid model as the safety net, we're not attempting to fire the engines with solar energy we're using electrical power to fuel the onboard systems and using the solar panels to recharge those batteries while the plane is in the air."
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JOCELYN OF RHODES UNRAVELED
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a painting of Jocelyn of Rhodes, credited to a member of the Knights Hospitalier
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Jocelyn of Rhodes is a giant of Mundus history, a woman with a great number of deeds to her name and someone who played a significant part in the founding of Seaforth, however unlike many of her contemporaries very little is known of her life before the 1130's, this lack of knowledge has led to many theories about her earlier years including that she was a peasant farm girl, a nun initiate or a sailor but now archaeologist Melanie Bell and her team have unraveled this mystery as explained by Miss Bell herself:
"When Princess Harper of Seaforth contracted us to look into the Isle of Rhodes we were expecting to be spending plenty of time scouring the oceans for a long forgotten island, we weren't expecting to find it hidden in plain sight. For a long time it's been assumed or believed that this island was out near the Illumic or the Mhorish, now maybe the Illumic could make sense after all travel to Vanora during the crusades era would require way points if going by sea but there have always been issues with these ideas. Rather than pursue existing theories at first we started with a blank canvas and a very big net. This search threw up extracts written by Paul the Explorer that placed Paul and his wife Anezaki Ayanami in Vanora at the time of the Blood Libel in 1135, the same writings also mentioned the name Jocelyn and the rescue and protection of Jewish people from the slaughter being carried out by some knightly orders, and so the picture of the siege of the Isle of Rhodes took shape we had the knights hospitalier and as we discovered the knights of St James defending against an army of knights led by the knights templar, rather than the likely expected showdown of the era we had what modern militaries might refer to as blue on blue. But more significantly we found the island, and we found it right under our noses, the modern city of Caesarea built on the ruins of the old, the modern city technically sat on an island with fields of roses around it. And it was these fields that set us thinking, very little was known about Jocelyn because her name derives from the island, a language expert told us that Rhodes means Rose, so Island of Rhodes became Island of Rose.
That probably sounds like job done, we were asked to find the island and we found it, but we're archaeologists and we still had a few questions we wanted to figure out, basically the more we delved into the Isle of Rhodes the more questions about Jocelyn were raised, given the translation of Rhodes to Rose we took a leap and queried what Jocelyn meant and were told it meant chief, lord, knight or something similar. This hunch was our breakthrough, Knight of the Rose is a phrase we know but not used to describe Jocelyn, it's a phrase written by Paul the Explorer when he describes his first impressions of Anezaki on Luna Isle, there's a famous sketch that goes with this also titled that and this raised a question given the timelines and events, being able to put both of them in the same places at the same time - what if Jocelyn of Rhodes and Anezaki Ayanami were the same person? We looked into it, carrying out analysis of the Sword of Somerset and also DNA tests and we can now confirm that they were the same person. Which helps scholars who study Paul answer a few questions of their own because we now have a date of death for Anezaki in 1142, this makes Paul and Anezaki the parents of Siobhan Rhodes who is the next Rhodes we see in history. It's been another weird one, I'm not quite sure how or why we attract the interesting mysteries but we enjoy them."
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WORLD CUP FEVER
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
With the Football World Cup about to get underway in Vinitsia anticipation among football fans are flocking to the Albion nation to see their country's players take to the field. This years event sees not only the mens world cup occur but the womens as well. Achkaerin's women's team known as the Vixens (pictured above) finished warming up for the tournament with a 4-0 victory in a friendly with the Allied States of Ardia, following earlier victories against Nueva Ardia and Toshikawa. The Vixen's fly to Vinitisia in good spirit's and are led by head coach Scarlet Hayes for who this will be her first tournament as head coach. On the men's side the Fox's will go for their fifth world crown this time around, the team's head coach Dame Julia McCabe spoke as the team arrived in "We know we're a good team and we know we're tough to beat, we're going to give our best to play our game the way we've always played."
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EMPEROR'S LIFE DAY MESSAGE
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Achkaerin has once again celebrated Life Day[1], a day when the nation celebrates the coming of its Trinity of Goddesses. In his traditional Life Day Message, broadcast in the middle of the afternoon although recorded on Life Day Eve the Emperor said the following:
"Good afternoon and a happy Life Day to you all.
This time of year is a time of celebration for many of us regardless of faith for the Namists it is Life Day, for the Christians it is Christmas, for the Odinists it is Yule. It is the twilight days of one year and the approaching dawn of the next. This is a moment to spend time with friends and family and to look back as well as forwards, to remember the good and the bad, the joy and the sorrow, a time to celebrate, a time to laugh, a time to eat, drink and play a lot of games.
This year began in much the same way as the previous one ended with Yellowtongue and the winding down of operations in Clysperis being primary themes at that time. The actions of nations in both taking appropriate preventative actions and then the scientific cooperation with each other enabled containment and vaccination against it. They are some of the moments this year that remind of us of what can be achieved when people come together and work together. Another moment, one that will live long in the memory is that was the year that we bid farewell to nuclear weapons, a journey begun some years ago ending with the most destructive weapons ever seen removed from existence. In the arena of international relations this has been a year where more has occurred around our neighbourhood of the Northern Ocean than abroad, we've signed several bi-lateral treaties with our fellow Northern Ocean nations and we've got a developing relationship with Clysperis, a relationship brought to fruition we might say by Pharaoh Akasha and my daughter but one conceived of by the previous Pharaoh Rameses V. Most recently we've seen nations turn their eyes back to the stars and seek to discover what is out there. Like many I will watch with interest to see what the future in that field holds, where will the next journey's into that great unknown take us? What will we see that astonishes us, that moves us? What will the next steps of our journey be? Let them be bold, let them be courageous, let them be full of hope, let them be ones of daring, ones of dreams to bring us all to a future that we never believed possible.
Closer to home it's been quite the year for my family, my granddaughter Astrid started school with a first day that won't be soon forgotten, my daughter and I underwent surgery to assist us following our injuries, and it's interesting to now be ambidextrous and we'd both like to thank the fine and pioneering team of surgeons that carried this out. I wish you all the blessings of the season."
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CEO AND HIGH PRIESTESS ON CLONING
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(left) Catriona Rowan, CEO of Riviere Corporation and (right) Alexis Minette, High Priestess of the Cult of Namis
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Her Holiness High Priestess Alexis Minette, of the Cult of Namis, visited Riviere Corporation today. The visit follows reports in Heyran press on the FPA (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=507.msg22442#msg22442) and more recently an apparent DNA market (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=507.msg22477#msg22477), all to do with sustainability of the Heyran population, why is such a thing of interest? Mention of the word cloning, the High Priestess was shown around by Riviere Corporation CEO Catriona Rowan who showed Her Holiness the Corporations work in this field, following the tour Ms Rowan explained the scientific viewpoint and implications saying:
"It's important to separate what Heyran companies have done and are doing out from what may be interpreted because there's a scale to be aware of. Pre-existing Heyran program's used IVF as a basis but as Professor Dahl remarks in a lecture (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1055.msg8968#msg8968), there were limitations to the original proposed approach particularly around the size of the gene pool and the ramifications thereof, now it appears that Heyran law is expanding that gene pool which is a good thing because it should wind back Professor Dahl's ticking time bomb, but we're still talking about IVF which is an accepted medical practice and can be found and undergone in the vast majority of nations on Mundus and isn't viewed in a controversial way by most people, scientifically IVF was one of the most significant breakthrough moments. So there's nothing wrong with what the companies have previously done but it's when we go to the next step that things get iffy.
Genetic manipulation is where we begin to get into murky territory, the appropriate term in the context is 'designer babies' now those are two words that many a debate in this area has seen before, what we're talking about here is manipulating the DNA of the fetus so let's say you want to change the hair or eye colour - seems harmless right? And yeah I can see that, after all there's logic to that argument I can see how parents from a lower strata in Hassfurt would find this idea appealing, the chance to change the child's fate to open up their future chances by manipulating the DNA to give them blonde hair and blue eyes thereby making them an Ermwhal and I don't hold that against anyone. But this is a very slippery slope because if you can manipulate aesthetics what about other things like illnesses, mental disorders and so on? Again this sounds innocent and reasonable and arguably it is, but this is the point where hard questions are going to start to be asked not just scientifically, but ethically, morally, legally - starting with the legal side you would have to first classify the various conditions which may seem like common sense but here's where things get troublesome, take autism for example how are you going to classify that? It's a spectrum of many different conditions we might say so classifying each individually seems the reasoned conclusion but let's take Aspergers Syndrome, two things to consider there firstly most laws are mistaken in classifying it as a mental disorder when it is in fact a specific learning difficulty, the second is that no two people with it are affected in exactly the same way so there's no way of knowing how it will effect that person at the time any genetic manipulation would take place, and this is where questions around ethics and morals come in, you're changing a persons genetic makeup, if you're changing anything around their mentality especially you are most likely affecting their personality, how they see things and that runs the risk of robbing Mundus of its next great mind before they're even born, genetic manipulation of this type could deprive Mundus of advancements in many fields, if regulated properly there is merit to it however.
Cloning is probably the most complex aspect of this because here questions of legal and moral nature combine, we're no longer talking about IVF we're now talking about taking a DNA sample from somewhere and making a genetic duplicate of that. Riviere Corporation's ambition in the cloning arena is nowhere near on the scale of Nugac Enhancement's, our focus is different and on a smaller scale what we're looking into is the cloning of human organs, hearts, livers, kidneys and so on with a view for use in organ transplant, the key difference here is that to all intents and purposes the heart is a pump, the kidneys are filters and the lungs are bellows or to put it another way they're component parts. So it begs the question, let's say I was cloned the clone looks like me, it has my DNA, but here's the thing it isn't me it's something else. Is a clone intelligent? Yes if what Nugac Enhancement are saying is understood correctly the clone would be intelligent as it would seem to have the ability to learn and understand new situations and cope with them, is a clone self aware? Presumably yes the awareness of their own ego would seem certainly able to develop at the very least. Does it have consciousness? If the answer be yes which appears probable to be the case given the articles in question, then we arrive at something significantly important that must be borne in mind moving forwards, to clone one human is an achievement of huge proportions it would probably win a Queen's Foundation Award, but when you get to cloning ten, a hundred, a thousand humans that has another implication, isn't that creating a race? And people will judge on how that race is treated."
From a spiritual point of view the High Priestess said "Today I wanted to learn about what cloning involved so as to form an opinion on it. This is a very bundled up situation to comment on, IVF is an accepted practice and as Namists there is no judgement there. Where there appears to be spiritual uncertainty is also where there is scientific uncertainty. We believe that all human life is individually unique, but if I'm cloned am I still unique because there's a genetic copy of me? We're grasping in the dark for an answer there. On top of that there's the question around whether cloning a human is playing God? But the truth appears to be that the spiritual opinion can only be informed by the scientific fact should the science advance to the point of this being achieved, when we have light in the dark we will be able to make decisions in full clarity. Both science and religion are on this journey together"
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ORACLE LAUNCH'S
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Achkaerin Space Agency has launched the Oracle Space Telescope. The Telescope, which will succeed the Theia Space Telescope, has successfully been deployed in Mundus orbit and will now make the journey to the Lagrange point, where it will deploy. Oracle will be capable of seeing a greater range of and further than any previous telescope of its type. Speaking following the launch Director of Flight Operations Nicola Fernley said "We're really happy that the launch has gone well but we're not out of the woods yet, the hardest part of Oracle's mission is getting the telescope into the correct position, once it's there then we can start peering out at the final frontier. We have quite the bucket list of things to see when we get that far as well."
As far as the Cross Straits operation on the SPETNAZ station goes Ms Fernley said "We don't have an Achkaerinese astronaut involved in this due to logistical constraints. Our involvement in this operation is focused on ground based liaising with our counterparts in Rokkenjima, Daito and Tytor as we seek to plan ahead the future of that station, hopefully beginning with renaming it."
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SPECULA CLASS ENTERS TESTING
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
McKinlay Naval Solutions have put the first Specula Class (pictured above) into testing, the class is intended to replace the Valiant Class and build on the capabilities of the Dragon Class. If testing proves successful the navy is expected to order four of the vessels. When asked for details on the Specula Class's capabilities a spokesperson for McKinlay Naval Solutions said "It is not company policy to comment on the specific capabilities of our products in public, however the foundation of this class is to retain the mission and capabilities of the Valiant class while also building in a defensive capacity that will ensure a greater level of protection from threats."
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EMPEROR PETER ON KYNE SITUATION
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By David Woods: Politics Correspondent
Traditionally the first Emperor's questions after the festive season is a more lighthearted affair, questions in previous years have included "Will the Emperor share what gift his granddaughter gave him for Life Day?" however this time there was a far more serious tone to the affair, the reason? Questions focused around the situation in the Kyne. The Emperor answered questions virtually for the first time, this being due to bad weather preventing him flying home from Gowu yesterday. When asked what he thought about the situation in the Kyne the Emperor said:
"It's a simple yet complex situation, we can't have signatory nations blatantly tearing up that which they have signed whenever it's convenient for them to do so. To advocate for that, to permit that is to undermine the integrity of international law. In terms of the question - do the Iwi breach the Fair Seas Concordat, the answer is unequivocally yes they do, why? Because the reason for the Iwi to board the vessel does not exist under the FSC, that's the legal issue at the root of this. But the incident happened in 2017 so quite why when there are far more concerning situations occurring on Mundus we have this escalation in the Kyne I don't know, I can understand Rokkenjima wanting to ensure compliance with the FSC and they have that right, just as any signatory does but this does feel like the wrong tool for the job. Now let's turn to the issue that motivates this behaviour - the Iwi seeking out those who committed crimes against them during the Seleucid occupation, this is the Iwi's right, they have a right to justice, they have a right to hold those that wronged them accountable whether in their courts or before the established CNN Tribunal. We're at a point where correct application of law is rightly or wrongly, real or perceived obstructing what is viewed as right. So rather than continue to escalate the situation and potentially revisit this situation should it happen again, perhaps we should take the alternative route. With this in mind we will be tabling an amendment to the FSC in the coming days that we hope will reassure Rokkenjima that they can stand Operation Typhoon down by removing the possibility of a repeat performance of the 2017 incident from the equation and also give the Iwi the ability to pursue Justice without breaching the document."
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ASA UNVEIL STARSHIP ENTERPRISE
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Almost four years into the Atlantis Program, the name attributed to their Nergal Program, the Achkaerin Space Agency has unveiled the design of the spacecraft that they intend to take humans to Nergal, the intended lander for the program is being tested out by their Daito counterparts. The spacecraft has been given the name Enterprise, likely a nod to the famed starship of an Achkaerinese television franchise, speaking about the Enterprise the ASA's Director of Flight Operations Nicola Fernley said "It's very weird to be talking about this, because to be at the point where we're actually talking about the spacecraft that we hope will take us there makes it real, we're not only talking in theory now we're talking reality. Enterprise will utilise all the lessons we've learned over the years as well as new ideas to take us there and if it works, maybe even further than that as the technology is developed, but we'll settle for Nergal for now. Of course we've got other work to do, preparatory missions, more testing, but we can walk and chew gum at the same time and with plenty of CSSEA help, which we're seeing from current missions by Rokkenjima and Daito, we're lining everything up now."
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PRINCESS ASTRID IN HOSPITAL
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
Princess Astrid has been admitted to the Royal Valtheim Hospital. The five year old Princess was on a school trip to Valtheim Zoo when she displayed signs of being unwell and was taken to hospital. The Marble Palace has released a statement saying "Princess Astrid was admitted to hospital and has since been diagnosed with Meningitis, she is currently undergoing treatment for this and is expected to stay in hospital for a few days for observation purposes. The Royal Family extends it's most heartfelt thanks to the staff of the Royal Valtheim Hospital as well as the first aid staff at the zoo and the paramedics. At this time the Royal Family asks that people respect the privacy of the Princess."
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PRINCESS ASTRID OUT OF HOSPITAL
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
Princess Astrid has been released from hospital, the Princess had been in hospital since being diagnosed with Meningitis and after undergoing treatment and a period of observation she's now continuing her recovery at home. The Princess did say "I'm feeling better and can't wait to get back to school. I'd like to thank everyone who sent get well soon cards." while her mother Crown Princess Serenity thanked the hospital staff for looking after the Princess.
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AIR FORCE TO ORDER RAVEN
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
Following an extensive testing program dating back to June last year (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=50.msg20890#msg20890), the Achkaerin Air Force has decided to place an order for the Raven aircraft to replace the Kestrel. The Raven is a STOL transport aircraft designed to fulfill the same role as the Kestrel and will continue to further develop the military's capability to operate in varying circumstances. A Spokesperson for the Air Force expressed their happiness with the test performance of the Raven but didn't elaborate on numbers or dates in terms of the order. In related news AADC have confirmed development of the Emolga (formerly known as the Jolt) remains ongoing while the Army has sent the Titan back to the developers with a list of required improvements for practical use however the concept was appreciated.
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AADC SLAM LIES OVER RAVEN
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
Following statements made about the Raven (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=2504.msg22894#msg22894) Sir Darren Eagle the CEO of AADC, the manufacturer that designed, developed and produces the aircraft has spoken in response to the statements and it's safe to say he is less than impressed with this new media outlet. Speaking in response he said "It's an outrageous accusation and one which I believe has been made purely for the purposes of attempting to score cheap political points instead they've scored an own goal. Short Take Off and Landing aircraft otherwise known as STOL aircraft are nothing new to Mundus they have been around since the 1930's that's getting close to a century since they were introduced and they've come in many guises both propshaft and jet propelled, they are today utilized by many military's on Mundus including but not limited to Achkaerin, East Moreland, Centralia, Safraen and Kermah, clearly the technology exists so quite what have we done wrong? Nothing instead we are accused by implication of misrepresentation when we have not done so. This is either incompetence in the research department in respect of Unite Vision, a mistake the likes of Free Mundus Network or even Gossip Daily wouldn't make, or this is deliberate malice, in either case it is a false statement in print and as such AADC will sue Unite Vision for libel unless a retraction and apology is published."
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EMPEROR RESPONDS TO PARACAMBI CONCERNS
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
Emperor Peter has responded to concerns raised by Emperor Benson of Paracambi around events concerning Clysperis. The Emperor, who was attending a performance of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang the musical with his wife, was asked for his response prior to the performance and took the opportunity to give the response saying:
"First let's be clear Emperor Benson has every right to ask questions, and the questions he has asked are fair. I will however start not by answering a question he has asked but correcting his understanding around post war support provided to Clysperis, no financial aid or investment in Clysperis has taken place by Achkaerinese businesses or by the Government and I believe Emperor Benson will understand when I say the barrier to such support being provided was the continued possibility of people being placed into slavery and the continuing practice of indentured servitude, the extent of post war support was mainly in the form of medical supplies and medical aid, this being due to several hospitals having been seized and largely rendered inoperable by Confederacy forces as well as some manpower assistance carried out voluntarily by Achkaerinese forces, the count for that I believe at time of withdrawal stood at emergency work on seven schools, three hospitals, ten temples including the mosque in Apne and finally the market in Heshiken. Now while that would be classifiable as aid I wanted to be clear what specifically we were talking about when we define what aid Clysperis has received from our end.
Turning now to the list of concerns first that of sharing a common cause with slavers, when the Pharaoh wrote the letter requesting our support it was a very surprising moment for me, it was also equally surprising to the Tamoran ambassador judging off their initial reaction, and yes I did have my suspicions as to her motives something the Pharaoh will hopefully understand. However we were presented with a situation where without support there was a chance of a terrorist state forming on the Gulf of Safraen, that being something that we judged wasn't in our interests and given the closeness of the Tamora-Clysperis relationship at the time it was fairly safe to say that it wasn't in Tamora's interests either, so once we took the position that we didn't view a terrorist state as an acceptable outcome to the conflict we were by the law of unintended consequences in a position where ourselves and Tamora were going into this side by side, was I overjoyed at that prospect? No of course I wasn't after all I could see how it looked, an MCUR signatory and staunch anti-slavery nation on the same side of something as the nation that advocates for slavery is not a good look, but and I hope Emperor Benson will understand what I mean here, the issue of slavery was not the sole consideration in the calculation we had to make. It was apparent that regardless of what we did that Tamora was going to intervene and that brought with it a risk of its own, the prospect of in effect a Tamoran outpost on the Northern Ocean was not something we regarded as desirable but even accounting for all of this I had someone coming to me and asking for my help, and the decision wasn't an easy one to make we went all round the houses before myself and the Pharaoh even met, in the end we did what we believed was best in the circumstances we took the path that ensured the sovereignty of the legitimate Clysperi government and opened the door for further conversations later down the line, conversations we're now beginning to see the first fruits of - as people may be aware I recently had the opportunity to visit Clysperis, many things were talked about, many things happened and we've signed a treaty which the Senate will be debating and voting on in the next few days, this is without doubt the most heavily caveated treaty I have ever entered into, it makes a lot of commitments but each of these commitments is conditioned upon the removal of slavery from the statute book in Clysperis and a clear understanding that neither slavery or indentured servitude return, if they do then this partnership that the Pharaoh has spoken so much of would end and she is more than aware of that. Ultimately what we say with this treaty is "we're prepared to give you a chance but we're going to hold you to your word." Emperor Benson can be assured that we are going to do just that so when Pharoah Akasha says "All businesses will be required to comply with the Freestone Mark or they will be removed from Clysperis." we're going to make sure that's exactly what happens in practice and steps towards that have already been taken with the inclusion in our treaty of an independent office to monitor the situation in terms of slavery and indentured servitude within Clysperis and to submit an annual report to the Freestone Abolitionist Society. We've got a reputation as a nation for holding other nations to account and everyone can rest assured that will be the case with Clysperis.
Emperor Benson also asked about the prospect of POW's being taken as slaves during the Clysperi Civil War, the Pharaoh has I believe addressed this but I will reiterate that before any Achkaerinese forces were deployed we had in place an agreement that every military involved in combating the Confederacy was going to comply with the Uppsala Convention, the reasoning for doing that is for the situation Emperor Benson has laid out we did not want to see Clysperi or Tamoran forces using the conflict to practice the slave trade. Their agreement to comply was the assurance we had and some will raise eyebrows at a piece of paper being such an assurance, after all we all remember Verover going rogue in Safraen, but consider that Midaranye is a region where great stock is placed on a persons word and breaking your word is seen as a grave dishonour, we also made it known that there would be consequences if that word was broken - not least the withdrawal of our support and potentially others but also the clear likelihood of further intervention by others not yet committed, after all as much as we had the capability to fight the Confederacy as we were, if we had seen it morph from a counter terrorism situation into a counter slavery one I'm sure many more nations would have been stepping in on principle. Like Emperor Benson I want to see an end to the slave trade and I believe we will see it, I also believe that these reforms we're seeing in Clysperis represent a significant step towards that. If Emperor Benson has further concerns or wishes to discuss this I'm happy to meet him."
Following the performance the Emperor commented that he had "Enjoyed the show very much"
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THE NEXT GENERATION OF BRITTAINE'S EYE WINTER GAMES SUCCESS
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
People familiar with the summer version of the Mundus Games will perhaps have come across the name Becky Brittaine, Achkaerin's most decorated swimmer, she's treated the public to many fine races over the course of her career and now at this years Winter Games the first of her three children, Isabel Brittaine otherwise known as Izzy (pictured above) will make her Games debut aged 17, competing in three snowboarding events - the slopestyle, halfpipe and the aerials. Speaking about her prospects Izzy said "I'm looking forward to the Games, it's my first chance to compete, I'm going to try my best and we'll see what happens, maybe I do well, maybe I don't but I'll have a smile on my face when I come down these courses and if I stick the landings who knows what might happen."
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QUEEN SIORA TO REVIVE TRADITION
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Queen Siora Qivalur of the Faejeon people is to revive the tradition of Royal Pilgrimage, the tradition historically saw the Faejeon monarch travel to each of the nineteen tribal settlements and get to know their people. Queen Siora will when she undertakes this become the first Faejeon monarch since 1698 to make the journey. The Queen has indicated there will be changes to it saying: "Historically this was a Faejeon tradition for the Faejeon people a chance for the Monarch to meet their people, today I have something of a dual status I am not only the Faejeon Queen but also the Marquesa of Awhaele so my responsibilities are broader, with that in mind I intend to not only travel to the nineteen tribal settlements but all the other villlages, towns and cities on the island as well. I will also visit the many memorials to those Faejeon who lost their lives at the whim of King Leonard I as well as being permitted to address the Awhaele Parliament on the subject of our future, thus we will honor the past, we will mark the past but we will also look to the future, a lot changed in the years between the execution of the last Faejeon King and my coming to the throne so now we see what we will see."
The presence of a chess set during the interview she gave also prompted a question about her interest in the game to which she said "I'm at best reasonably solid, I'm not some prodigy to whom it comes naturally, but I enjoy the game and I like learning about it, maybe one day I might try my luck at the Mundus Games, who knows?"
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CROWN PRINCESS TALKS SLAVERY WITH YOUTH ASSEMBLY
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Crown Princess Serenity found herself responding to a press conference from Elysium (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=2530.msg23094#msg23094) during a meeting of the Achkaerin Youth Assembly, a body that operates much like the Senate, the Crown Princess who was attending to give her annual Q&A at the assembly was asked by one member what she made of Anginer's statement, following a short break while she consulted what had been said the Crown Princess returned and gave the following response:
"In answer to the question I find Mr Anginer's remarks offensive, unbecoming of someone in his position, ignorant and blinkered. It's frankly unbelievable that the Governor of Elysium does not understand the issue here. Let's look at the facts on the23rd of June 2019 Polakis Energy incorporated a subsidiary in Elysium (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=845.msg12692#msg12692), on the 1st of July 2019 Jalal Deer Agricultural Conglomerate incorporated in Elysium (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=845.msg12871#msg12871), on the 22nd of September 2019 Machal Mining incorporated a subsidiary in Elysium (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=845.msg13900#msg13900), you also have Tamora Imperial Bank incorporating its now infamous subsidiary in Elysium a few months later in 2020 (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=845.msg16844#msg16844). Now look at these companies they all engage in the slave trade and they all have slaves on their books Tamora Imperial Bank (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1082.msg16387#msg16387) has 30,000 slaves, Jalal Deer (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=862.msg9495#msg9495) has almost 500,000 slaves, Polakis Energy (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=862.msg10954#msg10954) has 20,000 slaves and Machal Mining (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=862.msg13651#msg13651) has 20,000 slaves on its books. You get the picture these are businesses that because of their ties to the slave trade cannot do business outside of Tamora because of the sanctions placed upon Tamora by other nations, so then we consider why they choose to incorporate in Elysium? There's a very simple answer to that and it's very well put by first Polakis Energy who said "Conglomerate commercial law makes it easier to handle foreign operations", second by the Manist International Art Fund (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=845.msg12860#msg12860) who cited the “hostile environment aboard” for Tamoran entities as the main reason for registering in Elysium." and then from an analyst on the Tamora Imperial Bank incorporation “Tamoran companies incorporate in Elysium when they need to deal with foreign partners outside of MidAranye and need to shield themselves from potential sanctions." this makes very clear what a lot of Mundus already suspects that Elysium represents nothing more than the equivalent of a criminal front and is used by Tamoran companies as a convenient means too dodge sanctions.
You may also have noticed that that list of dates I ran through earlier are all dates that fall after the April 2019 resolution of the Ardian Assembly, a resolution which Mr Anginer correctly says states "Nations of Ardia agree that they shall deny financial or material support to any Tamoran business that does not hold the Freestone Mark." Polakis Energy, Machal Mining, TIB and Jalal Deer all have slaves therefore they do not meet the criteria for the bronze level Freestone Mark so on that basis they shouldn't receive any financial or material support, yet they're allowed to incorporate in Elysium? The act of allowing that incorporation is material support which would put Heyra in breach of the resolution. This isn't about are there any slaves in Elysium, because if there were it would be known, it's about the potential money trail, these Tamoran companies do business through their subsidiaries, this means business is done outside Tamora but in such a way that the money and goods exchanged are avoiding scrutiny and ultimately likely end up going back across the border to Tamora where the central HQ's are, thus these companies benefit without any risk. if I were Mr Anginer or in fact anyone in the Heyran Government, a Government which has stated on numerous occasions that it opposes slavery this would greatly concern me, is it negligence? Corruption? Complicity? Why are we in this position? Why do we have a nation that opposes slavery actually hindering the fight against slavery? If Mr Anginer didn't know the numbers before today he certainly knows them now, it's time for him and for the Chairwoman to choose which side of this they want to be on, playing both sides won't cut it anymore, I suggest they think long and hard on what they wish to do and act accordingly."
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WINTER GAMES PREVIEW
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
With the Winter Games opening ceremony having taken place in Keepton, it's that time where we take a closer look at the Achkaerinese athletes and try to estimate where the medals may come from. The first place to look will be on the ice sheets of the curling competition, Nina Dixon (pictured above) returns to the games leading a new look team, she's joined by Sally Carter, Wendy Portman, Sora Aozora and Lucy Young, the mens team is led by Gary Mount and he's joined by Daniel Snowden, Paul Hamilton, George McBride and Charlie Glass, in addition Mount and Carter will team up for the mixed curling. It is likely that curling will be one of the most heavily contested sports at the games with many familiar and new faces taking part. Elsewhere on the ice Achkaerinese medal hopes will most likely lie in figure skating where newly crowned national champion Georgie Scott makes her games debut, while on the snow the sporting prowess of the Brittaine family will be on show as Izzy Brittaine goes in the snowboarding, the Anscombe sibilings of Leah and Joe make returns to the games in the freestyle skiing and are joined by younger sister Niki. The Achkaerinese teams target for the games is fifteen medals.
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SENATE RATIFIES TREATY
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By David Woods: Politics Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Senate has ratified the Achkaerin-Clysperis Treaty by an overwhelming margin, the final tally was 450 in favour, 20 against and 60 abstentions, leading the final days debate for the Government was Minister of Home Affairs Lizbeth Stewart (pictured above). The Minister opened the debate, answered questions, listened to Senator's contributions and then closing for the Government. Following the ratification the Minister addressed the chamber saying "Mr Speaker tonight we have ratified a treaty, this treaty is one that says the path Clysperis is on is recognised, it's one that welcomes them warmly as friends, but it is also one that is sensible, I have said it many times in the last few hours but I'll say it again the burden is on Clysperis to show us and the world that they mean what they say and this Treaty does that it gives Clysperis the support it needs but has safeguards in place should slavery and/or servitude rear their heads again. Tonight we have taken a leap of faith and we trust that it will not be misplaced."
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TWO DAYS ONE MEDAL
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Two days into the Winter Games and Team Achkaerin have one silver medal, won by Harry Dawson in the Mens 12.5km pursuit event in the biathlon program. An unexpected medal but a personal best shooting performance kept Dawson in contention and as others faltered he was able to take advantage of penalties to get into silver medal position, there would be no catching the Nisavan athlete who took gold but he was more than happy to settle for silver. Also in action Achkaerin's mixed curling pair advanced to the semi finals of their competition with a 5-4 win against Lijiang.
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NEW STAFF AT THE PALACE
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The Marble Palace has hired a new member of staff, Val Kirby (pictured above) has been hired as a sign language interpreter for Princess Astrid. In making the appointment the Marble Palace also confirmed that Princess Astrid has suffered, as a side effect of her recent Meningitis, hearing loss. Ms Kirby's responsibilities will include translating for Princess Astrid at home, school and other events and teaching the Royal Family sign language. Ms Kirby is a dance student at the Royal University of Music and will continue her studies while in the role.
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OZZIES ROUNDUP
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By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
At the Ozzie's the Achkaerinese film industry enjoyed more success. Most notably the success of "Pole to Pole: Cycling Not as We Know It" the documentary following a team of women led by Sammy Lawson (pictured above) as they cycled the length of Mundus. Accepting the award Ms Lawson said "Well this is weird, we didn't expect to be nominated and we certainly didn't expect to win. I've got to thank those three girls who pedaled the distance with me Mel, Molly and Bridget, a big thank you to Eleanor Hendry for running the back up team and a shout out to Jemma Fox for producing the whole thing in a film format that I'm sure we'll watch when we're old and grey and reflect on how mad we were to do this."
As Jemma Fox was mentioned by Ms Lawson it should be noted that this is Fox's third Ozzie and each in a different category having previously won Best International Short Film and Best Animated Short Film.
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ACHKAERIN STRIKE GOLD ON DAY FIVE
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Team Achkaerin have their first gold medals on day five of the Winter Games, the breakthrough moment came in the mixed curling as the pairing of Gary Mount and Sally Carter won the gold medal match beating Jugland 7-5, a tight affair in which the scores were level much of the way through, Carter made the decision to blank the ninth end to take the hammer into the last a decision that made the difference as they picked up two and won. The other gold medal won by Achkaerin came in the mixed biathlon relay, certainly a more surprising medal. Achkaerinese athletes will hope this is the start of a medal run.
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STRATOS GAMING MOVING FROM KHELP
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By Maggie Clough: Business Correspondent
Stratos Gaming has announced that it's moving its base of operations from KHELP. The move, which comes about two and a half years after KHELP was launched is driven by an unexpected rise in demand for the company's products - Stratos Gaming produces tabletop games and various trading card games. The company's owner Thomas Hathaway (pictured above) commented on the move saying "I'll always be thankful for the start KHELP allowed us to have by providing an environment for small business's to take their first steps in. That we're now at this point shows the idea behind KHELP works and we'll see how things go from here." Mr Hathaway is due to give March's Steele Lecture.
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BRITTAINE BRILLIANCE
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Izzy Brittaine has had a Winter Games debut to remember, the daughter of noted Achkaerinese swimmer Becky Brittaine took to the slopes on her snowboard and brought home three medals two silvers and a gold, good runs in the halfpipe and aerials saw her narrowly lose out to snowboarders from Cassiopeia and Djabidjan respectively but in the slopestyle she put clear distance between herself and the rest of the field. Speaking after her day she said "I'm not quite sure it's sunk in yet, I over rotated on the aerial jump and didn't quite get enough height on my last halfpipe trick, it's just irritating to know that maybe I could have got those golds as well, but you've got to put that behind you and go again and then the slopestyle was harder still, I was the last to go, so I'm there trying not to pay attention to what anyone else is doing and that last big jump I'm just hoping I can stick the landing because I really didn't want to be having three 'if only' conversations with my coach. But yeah I'm really happy right now."
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GOWU PREPARES FOR ANNUAL FASHION SHOW
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By Amira Cotton: Gowu Correspondent
Preparations are well underway for the annual Gowu Fashion Show. The event one of the highlights of the year in the city sees designers from across Mundus, some experienced and renowned, some up ad comers and some new kids on the block come to Gowu and showcase their clothes, their jewelry and their accessories. Visiting the venue was Councillor for Home Affairs Aika Riiko who said "This is one of the most looked forward to events of the year and we're all getting excited about it, we're interested to see what the next big trend in Mundus fashion is." There was at time of reporting no confirmation of attendees beyond Black Rose and a few smaller fashion houses, though this was not regarded as surprising.
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QUEEN OF SONGS TO WRITE SONG BOOK
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
Queen of Songs Phoebe Wolfe is to write a book titled "The Chorus of Life" which will include the words and history of many traditional Achkaerinese songs from many different areas the book could potentially become comparable in stature to the Book of Life and Rhythm of Life, the two sacred texts of the Namist faith, which could theoretically make it revered as the third sacred text. Speaking on her decision the Queen of Songs said: "I've never really understood why none of my many esteemed predecessors didn't do this, we're a bardic people much of our history is told through song whether it's how 'Flower of Aelmoor' tells of the deeds of Erin Ayanami during the crusades or how our national anthem is about the first ever Covenant Address given by Empress Djana, it's surprising no one's ever written a compilation of this sort, in my view it's long overdue so that we may pass our songs down and ensure they aren't forgotten."
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SPACE AGENCY LAYS FOUNDATIONS
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Achkaerin Space Agency has launched a new module for Pegasus Station, the module will in the words of Director of Flight Operations Nicola Fernley "Serve as our construction berth as we assemble Enterprise in orbit, it's one of our first steps as we line up our manned mission to Nergal, it's quite probable that Pegasus Station's operational role may expand to accommodate docking berths for ships like Enterprise, on top of this we're very eager to see the results of the Chimaera engine test next week and next month we'll be launching the first of two preparatory missions. We're on schedule and we're also looking beyond what we hope will be a historic mission at how we further explore Nergal and develop a blueprint for deeper space exploration. It's a very exciting time in our line of work and to be involved in what could be the most significant part of it is huge."
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KIDS TAKE GOLD
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Gary Allen and Jacinda Darcy have won the pairs figure skating gold at the Winter Games. The pair aged 16 and 15 respectively were making their games debut and courtesy of a very dynamic, engaging and intimate routine stormed to the gold medal. Speaking afterwards Allen said he was "Lost for words" while Darcy described it as a "dream come true.", their success sees Team Achkaerin hit their pre Games target of fifteen medals, elsewhere on day eleven the Anscombe sisters picked up medals in the freestyle skiing with Leah winning a bronze in the slopestyle and Niki winning silver in the halfpipe.
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SCOTT'S STUNNING GOLD IN PODIUM SWEEP
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Fifteen year old Georgie Scott, on her winter games debut, has taken gold in the womens individual figure skating. Scott was joined on the podium by team mates Taylor Flyde and Hetty McNamara who took silver and bronze respectively, it was a tight contest with Flyde sitting in gold medal position for most of the competition and as it turned out setting a high standard that only Scott would beat and even then it wasn't close as Scott's routine saw her win comfortably. Elsewhere there was gold in the womens skeleton for Kelly Cowen and a bronze in the short track speed skating for the womens 3000m relay team.
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SENATE COMMENDS VALANCE AND CONDEMNS VIOLENCE
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Senate has by unanimous vote passed a motion commending the statements made by Archbishop Valance in respect of present religious tensions and condemning the actions of the Iskaabin Aamin-ah militants. Consul Michael Williams introduced the motion saying: "Mr Speaker, the motion before the Chamber does three things, firstly it commends Archbishop Valance for what in simple terms could be described as speaking common sense, the manner in which he addresses the issue without stirring the pot and without asserting, whether actively or by implication, that the Deity he worships is superior. The second thing is a condemnation of the religious militant group in Djabidjan, their actions amount to terrorism and they should be treated as such. Third the motion declares our hope that, recognising the numerous times we've seen religious conflicts on Mundus and the associated death toll, leaders of faiths will take a step back, look at what has happened and choose their words more carefully in the future, no one wants another religious confrontation."
Of note is that the last time the Senate, outside of the Report rules, passed a unanimous motion was the passage of the Green Energy Transition Act in 2014.
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AADC UNVEIL EMOLGA
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
AADC have revealed their latest project, the Emolga, a light ground attack, support and trainer type aircraft. The aircraft's development is it was revealed a joint venture involving international partners though only Aperture from Revana has been rumoured at time of going to press, though domestically it has been confirmed that Riviere Corporation will be involved. No further details concerning the capabilities of the aircraft were revealed, but the general vibe of the press conference and mood of Air Force suggests there's a lot of excitement about this one.
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THE MOST SACRED OF WEEKS BEGINS
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The most sacred week of the Achkaerinese year has begun, across the nation people have been participating in street parties and celebrations as the Purification Festival begins, this being for the Ezoltlistic faiths[1] the celebration of the victory of the Goddess's Namis, over the warlord Ahkiy and his patron the Great Unspoken. The week's end traditionally sees the change of the Celestial year and this year will herald in the year of the dragon, other events occurring throughout the week will include numerous purification and blessing ceremonies at many temples, many performances of traditional song and dance, and on Renewal Day, the last day of the week, the handing over of guardianship from Yve the Phoenix to Fryseirth the Dragon, interest will also focus on the annual boat race between the universities of Artaxia and Freshwater and the Crown Cup Achkaerinese Football match, the latter set to feature the debut of Princess Renee. However this is not solely a week for the Ezoltistic faiths, it is also Holy Week beginning with Palm Sunday today and culminating in Easter Sunday next week, faith leaders across the nation have rejoiced in the celebrations.
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NATION CELEBRATES RENEWAL DAY
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Across Achkaerin citizens have celebrated Renewal Day, the day at the end of the Purification Festival where the new Celestial Year is welcomed in, this year the year of the dragon. High Priestess Alexis Minette, Oracle Temari Fuma and Queen of Songs Phoebe Wolfe led the nations celebrations from Luna Isle, while elsewhere the annual schedule of events saw the Royal Family begin their day in worship at the Temple of Namis, then welcoming the dragon's parade before heading to the banks of the river Seraphim to watch the annual boat races between the University of Artaxia and Freshwater University, both the mens and womens races were won by the University of Artaxia although Freshwater won both the reserve races, suggesting that next years races could be very very close. In the Crown Cup match the Crown's XVIII defeated the Invitational XVIII 17.5 (107) - 10.17 (77), the first time in ten years that the Crown's XVIII has won.
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SCRIVENS MEDICAL LAUNCHES ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS TRIAL
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Harriet Lewis, one of the trial patients, holding her insulin pump
By Stephanie Deacon: Health Correspondent
Scrivens Medical is launching a trial an artificial pancreas that could reshape how diabetes is cared for. The trial, which will feature one thousand people with type one diabetes, involves a minor procedure to install a sensor under the skin that monitors the patients blood sugar (glucose) levels, the sensor then communicates via a closed loop system with a pump that calculates, based off of the sensor readings, how much insulin is required and then pumps it in. The readings and pump can be monitored from a smartphone or similar device which is used to input the amount of carbohydrates eaten at meal times, an important piece of information in this equation, the trial is expected to last for a few months after which the Achkaerin Medical and Pharmaceutical Executive (AMPE) will make a decision on whether to roll the treatment method out more widely, however medical professionals are already hailing the possibilities for this technology with one paediatric consultant calling it "a game changer that will greatly improve the patients quality of life. To actually be able to constantly monitor the blood sugar level and to see that they fall within the target range we set is very exciting." Of the thousand patients taking part in the trial 186 are children, a parent of one of the children said of her daughter "She loves days out with her friends and sleepovers, but we had to stop these as soon as she was diagnosed because other people couldn't manage her diabetes, but with this now we can let her go to these social occasions when we're not there."
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Janelle Scrivens (pictured above), commented on the technology saying "This sounds like what you'd see on Star Trek or Doctor Who but this is very much reality, the technology and machines are very much part of our every day lives. This isn't a fully automated system, but it's very close and we're going to work on developing that, we could see a world where people with type one diabetes can go about their daily lives without having to worry about medication or glucose levels. A world where people aren't having to wake up in the middle of the night to do finger pricks and monitor their levels, where they can go to work or walk the dog without worry. The potential to dramatically transform patient quality of life for the better is huge, and all through one minor surgical procedure and a short time explaining how an app works and if a device is needed to run that app on we're providing that as well. Who knows maybe in years to come this technique can be used to monitor other conditions."
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VIXENS GEAR UP FOR WORLD CUP
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
With the Rugby World Cups approaching, Achkaerin's men's and women's teams have been warming up for their tournaments. The Men, world champions two years ago, are set to play a series of games against Seaforth in the build up while the women's team have been engaged in a tour of Marseilles and Aquitaine, in today's game against Marseilles they ran out victors by a score of 36-9. This year marks the inaugural women's world cup, with team captain and scrum half Lyra Silver (pictured above) saying "This is a bit of an unknown, we've played against all the big rugby nations on Mundus when it comes to the seven's format but this is the first time we've had a major international tournament where it's going to be fifteen aside, we're going to give it our best shot and we'll see what happens."
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DAWNBREAKER GOING FOR HAT TRICK
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Team Dawnbreaker, a group of students associated with Queen's College at the University of Artaxia, is to go for their third speed record, the team currently hold the records for the fastest solar powered land vehicle and the fastest human powered land vehicle, now they're chasing the speed record for an electric powered aircraft the record currently stands at 182 knots (337 km/h). Team Dawnbreaker's attempt will be done in an aircraft named "Electrobreaker" (engine bloc pictured above). Team leader Kit Davenport spoke about the project saying: "It's new territory for us, we're used to land record attempts so going for something in the skies is going to be fun."
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SPECULA CLASS COMPLETES TESTING
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The Specula Class has completed testing the vessel, which is planned to succeed the Valiant Class, has completed several weeks of sea trials with no major faults recorded although as a spokesperson for McKinlay Naval Solutions said: "We've tried a lot of things with the Specula class, some have worked, some need a little bit of tweaking but this is certainly the most technologically advanced vessel of its type that we've produced." by comparison Minister of Defence Adam Sheppard said "The Specula Class has shown a solid performance in testing and we're looking forward to seeing its capabilities employed on the seas." It's understood that the Navy has ordered four of the vessels.
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EMPEROR PETER IN LODJA
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Emperor Peter and his wife Duchess Renee have been visiting Lodja, the couple has spent time with Achkaerinese military personnel who were involved in putting an end to Leopold Hamsik's attempts to take control of the country, as the Emperor served in the navy prior to ascending the throne this was not surprising to see he is understood to have congratulated the personnel involved and was also involved in a memorial service for the thirteen Achkaerinese casualties of the battle. Related to this the INS Intrepid and most ships involved in the Achkaerinese effort in the Alucard during the crisis have been seen heading out of the area with just the INS Excalibur and INS Phoenix remaining while they undergo repairs. The Emperor and Duchess were then seen attending the coronation of Queen Natalya the third such coronation in a little over six years that the Emperor has attended. The Emperor spoke to the press later in the day saying: "For many years now we've had the honor of being able to call Lodja friend, a friendship we cemented in Queen Viktoriya's reign, a friendship we continued during Queen Klara's reign and one we will hope to see continue to grow during Queen Natalya's reign."
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CHIMAERA ENGINE ACHIEVES MILESTONES
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Chimaera Engine (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=50.msg11402#msg11402), unveiled three years ago, has undergone a successful series of tests, the engine which uses pre-coolers to reduce air temperature in a fraction of a second with the potential for faster speeds has completed a heat exchanger test simulating Mach 5 speeds as well as testing on sub scale air/hydrogen injectors for the preburners and a heat exchange module. This is a microtube heat exchanger that connects to the preburner and exchanges heat between combustion gas and helium. The advanced hydrogen preburner and heat exchanger together provide the heat source to the core engine to enable flight from sea level. As the aircraft accelerates, the heat energy converted in the engine intake and extracted through the precooler gradually takes over the energy provided by the preburner extracted through the heat exchanger. The recent testing campaigns, which were conducted by AADC and Riviere Corporation used full size test rigs to validate computer modelling and de-risk high temperature operation in advance of their further integration into the engine. The preburner test campaign also demonstrated that the fuel injection system would function at full scale, and that the heat output can be precisely controlled to provide even temperature to the heat exchanger. A spokesperson for the project said "We are very excited by the results we've got from this long period of testing and based on those results we are ready to move to the next stage of this technology's development."
In other science news the Achkaerin Space Agency has launched the Enterprise core module up to Pegasus station where assembly of the vessel will be taking place.
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CONCERN OVER INCREASE IN WEAPONS SMUGGLING
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Concern has been expressed following the seizure of illicit weapons aboard a freighter traveling through Achkaerinese waters, the haul which included according to firearms, ammunition and varying missile types was discovered during a routine training exercise. Arms trafficking is nothing new to Mundus and has been reported on many times, a spokesperson for the Navy said "We're investigating both the origin and destination of the shipment, the vessel flew a flag of convenience which is common practice in our experience of this problem, we think it probable that the shipment was destined for a current flashpoint on Mundus such as Centralia but that's speculation at this time, we will update when we know more."
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HOPE CLASS TO BE UPGRADED
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
For a good few years the Hope class of the Achkaerinese navy has provided early warning and search and rescue capabilities to Achkaerinese forces and those of its allies, perhaps most notably observed stationed outside Slava Lavosk's waters during that countries brief dabbling with nuclear weapons, now the Ministry of Defence has announced that "As part of what we are calling our fortress program we have decided to explore upgrades for the Hope class to take advantage of its substantial monitoring and tracking capability in ensuring the safety of our citizens and nation." such vague wording is par for the course when announcements such as this are made, however some analysts believe there is a strong likelihood that the Hope class upgrades will in some way integrate the Hope class into the Cerberus missile defence system, when asked for comment Deputy Sky Marshall Sophie Wall, Director of the MDI, said "We do not comment on the capabilities of Cerberus, nor do we speculate on potential expansions of the system."
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THE UNSUNG ACHKAERINESE HOBBY
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
"What are your hobbies and interests?" it's a fairly standard question on job applications, CV's have parts dedicated to this question sometimes, schools have clubs catering to a wide variety of interests and while pursuits like football, rugby, cycling, tennis, badminton, martial arts, chess, pool and snooker garner most of the attention, there's been a notable rise in the number of citizens listing tabletop games as an interest with favourites including games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Star Trek Adventures, Doctor Who, the Star Wars series and Journeys in Middle Earth. Today being international tabletop day[1] the hobby is far more prevalent, school classes spend the day enjoying playing a game for example. So what is it about a simple tabletop game that allows the format to stay somewhat popular in a world where computer gaming seems to dominate the market? Thomas Hathaway CEO of Stratos Gaming, the company that produces these games, commented on that earlier today saying: "I guess it's the creativity, these games are about more than just rolling dice, you get to create a character, you get to escape and not be yourself and play out ideas that you don't see elsewhere, the ability to mess with events in a well known series as well for example when playing a game in the Whoinverse you may play a game where the Time Lord's become the Weeping Angels, there's no limit on creativity, whereas in other games the rules place the limitations on how you can play." It was a significant day for Stratos Gaming for another reason as they released their newest tabletop game set in the Harry Potter world.
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SENATE VOTES THROUGH AVAL
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By David Wood: Political Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Senate has voted through AVAL, otherwise known as Awhaele Votes for Awhaele Laws, the legislation brings Awhaele into line with the other Constituent Nations of the Empire in that any law passed by the Senate requires ratification by the Constitutent Nation's legislature. The vote passed the Senate unanimously, which wasn't surprising given the routine nature of the legislation. Following the passage of the legislation the Emperor signed it into law an hour later. It is expected that Consul Michael Williams will name the cabinet role of Awhaele Minister in the coming days with there being no clear favourite for the role, though the Consul will want to appoint a Minister before the Covenant Address, until then Molly Newton the current Gowu Minister has stepped in.
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QCPM RESULTS SHOW ABC TRENDS
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Fiona Wells head of the QCPM
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The ABC soft/hard power study is certainly the most well known study of power and influence on Mundus, less well known is the Queen's College Power Metric, both set out to do the same thing but there are differences, the QCPM team is led by Fiona Wells (pictured above) who gave an interview discussing the studies:
How does the QCPM work?
"The QCPM works as a points metric using a plus and minus scoring system based on events that occur throughout the year, we then add the points to a nations score from the previous year to get a new score and track them. This is one of the differences between how we and the ABC team operate, because our total scores are cumulative over multiple years rather than a snapshot taken of a twelve month period we generate a different ranking list on both soft and hard power, that does have its margin of error but so does every system. We however are less concerned with rankings and more interested in the trends."
How does the scoring work?
"When something happens we evaluate a nations response, if any, to the circumstance and award points, so for example signing a bilateral treaty scores both nations points, hosting a major sporting event scores points. On the other end of the scale things that throw up barriers result in a minus, so things such as slavery, terrorism and diplomatic troubles apply here."
You mentioned trends, what are they?
"The trends we've seen this year do reflect those suggested by the ABC team, our rankings are different because our methodology is different, but we do agree with the suggestion that some nations have not increased their soft power influence at the same rate as others, this doesn't necessarily mean that nations have lost any standing it just means that others have been a lot more proactive where others have been a tad complacent. It's no surprise for our rankings to see little change in the positional sense, East Moreland, Achkaerin, Lodja, Ui Cenneslaig and Bakkermaya occupy our top five for soft power, but their points gains are not as high as Altona for example who sit further down but have the largest points gain of any nation this year, closely followed by Clysperis. The point is that people can and will quibble over rankings in study's and no study is perfect in its execution but here we've got two different methods showing the same findings when looked at."
What do you expect to see next year?
"I expect we'll see the nations that are becoming more isolationist falling away, I think we'll see resurgences, because while I may be here saying don't pay attention to rankings and that one poll is not something on which to base policy, national governments sadly do."
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ELECTION OBSERVING TEAM HEADING TO LAKHZOVIA
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
A team of election monitors is to travel to Lakhzovia to observe the upcoming Presidential elections in the country. The head of the Achkaerin Electoral Commission, Charlie Wells (pictured above), said "Electoral monitoring has always been a routine thing and is something that we've done an awful lot of over the years, this however is one of the biggest undertakings we've had in recent times, we all remember what happened in the aftermath of these elections a few years ago and no one wants a repeat of that and we hope that this international mission ensures the return of a safe result that the people of Lakhzovia and the international community can have trust in."
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FINAL ENTERPRISE MODULES LAUNCHED
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Achkaerin Space Agency has launched the final modules for Enterprise, the vessel's assembly is expected to be completed by the end of the month after which it will undergo testing in the environment it is intended to operate in. Director of Flight Operations Nicola Fernley commented saying: "It wasn't that long ago that I was pinching myself with disbelief at actually getting to the construction stage of this, now though here we are with the ship about to be completed. I know there will be keen stargazers out there who will have already got to the understanding that if testing exceeds our expectations then we may well find ourselves facing a very specific decision in a couple of months time. I'm not going to say anything on that other than we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
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VIXENS WORLD CHAMPIONS
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Achkaerin's rugby finals experiences produced contrasting fortunes for the mens and womens team. In the mens final the Fox's went in as big underdogs against pre-tournament favourites and world number 1's the Honeybadgers, in a game that was close for large parts the Achkaerinese team just ran out of time towards the end as they chased what would have been their second world crown. Despite the defeat the team's head coach Rayne Churchill was upbeat saying "I'm proud of the team, they played with no regrets and they gave everything they had, everyone knows how good the honeybadgers are and beating them isn't easy, their defence was just so solid at the end that we couldn't get over the try line one last time, but we'll learn and we'll be back next year."
By contrast the Vixen's took on a Daito team in a game that was called wide open, the first half was tight but in the second half the Vixen's ran out comfortable winners on the scoreboard. A hat trick of tries from Lyra Silver capped off her player of the match performance. Head coach for the Vixen's David Nightingale spoke after the game saying: "I can't quite believe this has just happened, I'm not quite sure what to say, the girls played the match of their lives in the semi final against the Iwi to get here and then when they needed to top that performance they did so tonight, in control, no risk taking, simple passing and our solid kicking game, we played our rugby and we've claimed a place in sporting history. I'm proud of each and every player in this squad and I'm thankful to our backroom staff and our fans. Now comes the hard part we must build on this we must inspire the next generation of players."
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"NERGAL AND BEYOND" - FERNLEY
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
"Nergal and Beyond" the words of Director of Flight Operations Nicola Fernley as she explained what comes next for the Achkaerinese space program on the day that the Enterprise was powered up in orbit for the first time, a routine step producing an expected result, however with the vessel complete the question becomes 'what happens next?' Director Fernley answered the question as follows:
"The next step is testing Enterprise and simulating within that testing the Nergal mission landing, this allows the crew to become familiar with the ship and we can test out most of what we're taking on the actual mission, these tests will happen within the next six weeks and then following a review of them we'll potentially be contemplating where we stand or we'll be conducting more tests. However there's far more to the Nergal program than Enterprise, the challenge of Nergal is in the getting there, the windows for travel are quite far apart which makes studying the planet up close far more difficult than Luna, our next mission after Enterprise is therefore what we've called 'Nergal Station' the idea here is obvious to use all our amassed experience from Enterprise to station a vehicle in orbit of Nergal permanently, thus allowing a greater opportunity for study of Nergal of course this comes with a fair few considerations, long crew rotations, transport logistics, potential health issues and so on, there would also be the need for a vehicle or vehicles to transport crew to and from the station but that's our next few years. Beyond Nergal we have a few unmanned missions in the early development stages and then it's all about technological development to allow us to continue the exploration of space."
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ORCHESTRA THEATRE TO HOST ANNUAL DINNER ON EDELWEISS OPENING NIGHT
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
Orchestra Theatre, is to become the home of the Annual Charity Dinner that takes place on the opening night of the Edelweiss music festival. The dinner, which sees the announcing of which charities will benefit from this years festival fundraising, is hosted each year by the Queen of Songs as part of her official duties for the year and sees invitations extended to music lovers, charity patrons and each embassy on Achkaerinese soil. The Orchestra Theatre itself is the home of the Achkaerin Youth Theatre and Youth Orchestra. It has also been announced that this years musicals are to be Company, Frozen and Phantom of the Opera.
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WHAT CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THE COVENANT ADDRESS?
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
It's something of a usual routine but once again eyes are turning to the Marble Palace as the Covenant Address approaches. The Address given each year by the Monarch is an opportunity for them to speak on a variety of subjects and while there is officially no restrictions on content it has become traditional that it focuses on affairs foreign and domestic. How does the Address work? We asked the Emperor's Chief of Staff Kumiko Arkwright to explain, she said: "It's a quite lengthy process that starts many weeks before the big night, it starts with the Emperor, senior royals and his advisors sitting down and throwing around initial ideas, discussing the theme of the speech, it's what we call the dreamer phase because we usually end up with a whole raft of ideas, some of which we can do something with, others that we can't, then we move to consulting with the cabinet, trying to see if what the Emperor is thinking about saying is workable, then we get to the point where we get lobbied and buried under letters, emails and so on, which leads to a fun couple of weeks as we read and deal with all of that, which brings us to where we were a couple of weeks ago with the speech beginning to be written, we lock in each idea, go over it and that doesn't stop until the speech goes into the Emperors bag before he makes his traditional walk to Liberty Hall."
Analysts expect that this year the Address will have a heavy international slant, though the exact nature is unclear. It is known that Emperor Peter likes to give his Address's titles though so once that's known the topics may be easier to predict, though as one analyst pointed out "There's a lot more to talk about this year than there has been for a couple of years. Who knows the Emperor may make his longest address yet."
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MARINES TO BE OFFERED HELLCAT
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Marines are to test out the Hellcat (pictured above), a tracked patrol and scout vehicle. The development of the Hellcat was begun as a result of soldiers
experiences in the Phuebran civil war where large amounts of the countries terrain proved significantly challenging, in the words of General Rhyth Icerider who commanded Achkaerinese Forces in that conflict "One of the biggest challenges faced in Phuebra was when we were fighting in certain areas of the country we found that our vehicles were running into problems caused by terrain which hampered our progress and undoubtedly contributed to the conflict becoming dragged out, we needed a fast, mobile and tracked vehicle and we didn't really have it. But the Hellcat that definitely does the job." trials of the Hellcat are expected to take several weeks.
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UNITY PARTY WIN BY-ELECTION
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Roslyn Williams, the newest member of the Senate
By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Unity Party have won the Forest Glade by-election by a margin of eighty votes, making it one of the tightest Senate seats in the country. The seat was vacated following the sudden death of the previous incumbent Senator John Carson from a brain hemorrhage at the age of seventy eight three months ago. The Unity Party was expected to hold on to this seat but analysts did predict a far more comfortable margin than this. The winning candidate Roslyn Williams (pictured above) amassed 12,924 votes while her closest challenger the Green Party candidate obtained 11,844 votes, the Endeavour party came in third with 8,158 votes. Ms Williams is expected to be sworn in as a Senator at the beginning of next week.
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ENTERPRISE BEGINS FIRST TEST FLIGHT
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The first test flight of the Enterprise has gotten underway in the last few hours. The test flight has been described as a "Run around the block" the ship will leave Mundus orbit, travel to the moon, carry out an extended orbit of the moon before returning to Mundus orbit, the flight is expected to take just over a week and if successful will be followed by a full simulation test flight in early to mid August.
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EMPEROR PETER DELIVERS COVENANT ADDRESS
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Emperor Peter and his wife Renee during their traditional walk to Liberty Hall before the Address
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Emperor Peter has delivered this years Covenant Address, the twentieth of his reign. As always the day was full of traditions, mostly of the Emperors own making, the Emperor visited the Chapel of the Trinity on the Royal Estate before holding a virtual run through of the Address with what has been referred to as "the kids", a group of people whose upbringing the Emperor has played a part in, following that the Emperor made some phone calls and presented a series of military and civilian medals before making his way, with his wife Duchess Renee, to Liberty Hall on foot perhaps the most obvious of traditions as he walks to the home of the Senate. The full text of the Address is below:
The Covenant Address 2022
"The Journey"
Mr Speaker, Honorable Senators, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight I come here to this most sacred of chambers in the most hallowed halls of our democracy to deliver the Covenant Address, tonight is the twentieth time that I have had the honor and privilege of giving this speech. In the past I have talked a lot about building the future, about how we must leave Mundus a better place than we found it in, tonight I return to the topic of the future, to talk about where we are, how we got here and where we may be going, I can already see a few wide eyed looks from members of the cabinet, who I hope will relax when I tell them these are the thoughts of one man who does not and never will make policy, all I ask is that they listen and think about what they hear tonight, maybe it sparks an idea, or maybe I’ll get a flurry of letters tomorrow correcting me telling me why something doesn’t make sense, such is the beauty of our democracy that the one who wears the Crown can be made to seem like quite a novice when compared to those who have spent many years working in their respective political arenas. I have a tradition of giving these addresses titles, this year I’ve titled it “The Journey”.
Tonight I begin with something I didn’t expect to be able to say according to the Renmin University Democracy Index (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=2705.msg24904#msg24904) our nation is home to not only the most functional government on Mundus but is also the most democratic sovereign state. When I walked into this building tonight I walked past the statues of our nations most renowned lawmakers, the people who crafted our Constitution, who developed our robust system, who authored and sponsored landmark legislation - the abolition of the death penalty, the legalisation of same sex marriage, the establishment of the AHS, and most recently the reformation of our ambassadorial system, to name but a few. On the walls of the Speaker’s gallery in this building there are plaques for each of the sixty three Senates that have sat on those famous green benches, hundreds of names are etched on those plaques. If I took a walk down the road and entered the Supreme Court I’d find the roll of Supreme Court Justices and the register of Judges, the names of our finest justices and keenest legal minds adorned on the walls there and logged in the registers of every level of court from the magistrates to those who wear the ceremonial green and silver robes of the Supreme Court and of course the red and gold of the Chief Justice, people who’ve shaped the law of our nation, who said that a woman can commit rape, who legalised abortion, who’ve stood firm and ruled justly even under the most severe of public pressures and who’ve given the odd government a bloodied nose or two. If I walked down the famous corridor of Cerulean House I would step past the portraits of all those who have served this country as Consul, people who played their part in leading and guiding this nation, through the good times and the bad, who stayed the course despite the circumstances of their time and who weren’t afraid of saying what they thought even when it wasn’t going to be well received, truth not spin. The finding of the Index is a tribute to these men and women who have served our nation, who’ve spoken eloquently, debated passionately, ruled in a reasoned manner, shaped the very fabric of our nation and voted with their consciences on matters that have changed our lives and at times the world around us. So tonight in recognition of that service I exercise one of my few Constitutional powers and present the Consul, the Speaker of the Senate and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, as representatives of the executive, legislative and judicial, with a Proclamation of the Crown, to be hung in Cerulean House, the Supreme Court, the Noble Moot and right here in Liberty Hall thanking all who have served and continue to serve, in government, in law making and in the judiciary. Further I am ordering the creation of a special commemorative service medal to be awarded to all those who currently serve to be awarded posthumously to those no longer with us and in the future to be awarded when someone leaves office. Let this moment tonight be the moment where we reaffirm the oath of service we’ve all sworn and commit ourselves to the continued strengthening of our democratic system.
I’d like to as a fan of Doctor Who take this moment to invite you all to step into the TARDIS and travel back in time a few years to 2014, a significant year for a great many reasons, the formation of the CIS, Sammy Lawson won her first gold medal at the Mundus Games, Achkaerin got to the semi finals of the football world cup and our friendships with our two closest allies East Moreland and Seaforth were forged. It was a year where the international community did something significant, they brought into being the pillars of international law and standards the Mundus Convention of Universal Rights, the Uppsala Convention, the Outer Space Standards Convention, the Cultural Exchange Treaty and the Fair Seas Concordat, each carefully thought out, each with a clear purpose and each to this day standing the test of time, though not without challenges over time, through the years since other treaties have joined those for example the Environmental Treaty of Wellow. This year, in fact in the last few months we’ve had presented to the international community two further treaties to join that pantheon the Historical Crimes Treaty and the Abrahamic Declaration. The Historical Crimes Treaty is one that the Senate will be asked to ratify in the coming days, it is a statement that no one should be able to escape justice and the more nations that sign it the fewer hiding places there will be for such fugitives. The Abrahamic Declaration is without doubt the most intriguing treaty I think I’ve ever read, I say that because all the backdrop to it suggested that we would be presented with something far more removed than what we have been, the more I read it the more curious I got so like the scholar I used to be in my days of studying history I decided to a little comparison, I put a copy of the Abrahamic Declaration on the table alongside a copy of the MCUR and the Uppsala Convention and found something interesting - article one of the MCUR covers ground covered by articles one, ten, eleven and fifteen of the Abrahamic Declaration, article two of the MCUR covers the ground that articles two, four and five of the Abrahamic Declaration accounts for. Article three of the Abrahamic Declaration matches up with article one point seven, two, three, five and eight of the Uppsala Convention. Articles one point ten, two point four through to two point eleven, three point one, five, eight and nine of the Uppsala Convention stand beside article six of the Abrahamic Declaration. Article eight of the MCUR works with articles seven, twenty three, twenty seven, twenty eight and potentially twenty two of the Abrahamic Declaration. Article twelve of the MCUR equates to article nine of the Abrahamic Declaration, article fifteen of the MCUR stands with articles twelve, thirteen, fourteen and twenty four of the Abrahamic Declaration. Article nine of the MCUR stands with article nine of the Abrahamic Declaration. Article six of the MCUR goes alongside articles seventeen, thirty and thirty one of the Abrahamic Declaration. Article seventeen of the MCUR works with articles eleven and eighteen or the Abrahamic Declaration, article twenty of the MCUR goes with article thirty five of the Abrahamic Declaration. Article ten of the MCUR covers the ground of article thirty two of the Abrahamic Declaration, article three of the MCUR equates to article nineteen of the Abrahamic Declaration. Article fourteen of the MCUR goes with articles twenty one and twenty six of the Abrahamic Declaration and finally article sixteen of the MCUR goes with articles eleven and twenty five of the Abrahamic Declaration.
Now those who’ve kept up with that may have noticed that I haven’t mention article five of the MCUR once, this being the prohibition of slavery, I haven’t mentioned it because when I read through the Abrahamic Declaration I became concerned by an apparent ambiguity in the writing particularly on this issue, the lack of clarity on this point creates a potentially very disturbing interpretation of article seventeen of the declaration “Human beings are born free, and no one has the right to take away this freedom without just legal cause.” this sounds great and in principle it is after all everyone would agree your liberty should only be taken away as a result of arrest and detention as ordered by a court but, and I cast no aspersions on anyone here for I don’t imagine this to have been the intent, in Tamora one of the ways people end up in slavery is by sentence of a court or to put it as the article does “just legal cause” a legal sentence is cause to take a persons liberty away. However I used the word potentially at the beginning of this and that’s because article thirty one of declaration says “Taking hostages under any form or for any purpose is expressly forbidden.” it can be argued with that wording that slaves are hostages can’t it? And if we assume that to be the interpretation, and given who certain signatories are I believe it to be so, then we do have a prohibition of slavery equivalent in there, I still think it could be clearer, and this brings me to why ultimately I find this to be such an intriguing document. With all the rhetoric going on at the time, this document was pitched in some quarters as something that would challenge or counter the MCUR, I don’t agree I think this does something different, I think rather than counter the MCUR the Abrahamic Declaration compliments it, now before people start taking to social media and tweeting at me about how one is better than the other I will say this what matters at the end of the day? Squabbling over which treaty is better or protecting the rights of people across Mundus? I know which I value more, we have two treaties that between them deliver protection of human rights, what the Emir and those he worked with have achieved is what was hoped for by Queen Klara and others when the MCUR was adjusted, the outreach the inclusion of more people within a global jurisdiction that respects and protects these rights. For that I will happily, when the time comes, nominate the authors for the Queen’s Foundation Awards. I would however just make one suggestion to them, in article twenty change the word “safety” to “status” simply because the country of refuge is safe territory, so ascertaining safety is done on arrival, what asylum processes generally do is determine whether the asylum seeker qualifies for refugee status.
Stability on Mundus internationally has historically come down to a variety of factors, one of which is international organisations, some are born of necessity, others grow from the roots of friendship, but regardless of how they come about or what their purposes may be, all are judged by two things how they police their own, how they hold their membership accountable and then how they evolve as the world around them changes. We can look to past incidents to see both fine and flawed examples of the former, the decisive manner in which the CIS handled Verover’s actions in Safraen, the concerted and determined will of the CTO to hold Rokkenjima accountable despite attempts to put certain people above the law are the two that most easily come to mind, both achieved what needed to be achieved however where the CIS were swift, the CTO was not, ultimately this among other things contributed to the CTO’s downfall. Achkaerin’s policy on membership of organisations is simple enough, we’re open to membership of them but like every reasonable person on the planet we have certain expectations, we expect fellow members to behave rationally, to understand the nature of the proportional response, to recognise that the character and perception of an organisation is determined by the actions taken by its members whether collectively or independently so when blindsiding, knee jerk reactions and lack of communication become order of the day then it is time to have the conversation about whether the nations interests are served by continuing membership, whether implementing changes will in fact do anything or whether it’s past the point of no return. My daughter once famously described the Saisei Empress as stubborn to the point of foolishness, the stubbornness she described is the single greatest obstacle to the process of evolution, it’s what leads to organisations becoming stagnant, losing relevance and eventually going the way of the dinosaurs, focusing on today and tomorrow rather than clinging to past glories is how things should be, as some will be aware the Foreign Office regularly reviews agreements that we are party to and makes recommendations, this summer’s report is undoubtedly going to make for interesting reading and I will when I am conversing with the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the report be asking a lot of questions about all the possibilities.
When I was a child we had a family holiday in Aelmoor, staying at Pilgrim’s House in Angel’s Rise, I remember my father took me and Esme out for a walk in the hills, it’s a day I don’t forget for a great many reasons, first it had rained very heavily the previous night and for some of that morning, but Dad being Dad was determined to have this walk so off we went. When it got to lunchtime, we sat down at this rock and looked at the scene in front of us, there was this old, tall tree sat there almost an oddity in the landscape but it was at a bend in the river, while we sat and ate our lunch my father pointed at this tree and listed all the qualities of the tree, strong, stable, ever present and so on, he was trying to convey what was expected of myself and my sister, to be like the tree, to be the strong, reliable leader, but when I looked at that scene my eyes were not drawn immediately to the tree but to the river and how it changed to get beyond the obstacle that the tree presented, yes there are times when it’s right to be unmoving on an issue, to draw the line and say no further but absent a few issues world wide that doesn’t really apply. I prefer to style after the river I saw that day, persistent, inventive, always finding a way, unceasing in flow and effort. For the last twenty years that river has been the bedrock of our diplomacy and it’s an approach which has yielded and continues to yield impressive results, we have a wide reaching treaty network that continues to expand, in recent weeks Achkaerin has agreed a partnership with MICA, which the Senate and the Awhaele Parliament will debate and determine ratification status thereof, it is an agreement which recognises the rather unique position of the people that live on that island, it’s an agreement that establishes what will hopefully be a lasting friendship between ourselves and the nations of that region we have no prior ties with while also continuing to build on the ones we already have and critically this is an agreement that avoids the creation of a two tiered illumic and the potential for further trouble later down the line. A few months ago I signed what is without question the most heavily caveated treaty I’ve ever been involved in, our treaty with Clysperis, historic for so many reasons, the realisation of the dream of Pharaoh Akasha’s father Pharaoh Rameses, a solid foundation on which a lasting partnership can be built, hopefully one that stands for as long as the great monuments of both nations. And perhaps just as the spring of water on the mountain slope becomes a mighty river we might see our diplomatic ties with our neighbours develop into something. There are many nations out there we have had very limited contact with, nations which I believe we could build lasting friendships with,I hope that we will see such things come to fruition in the months and years to come.
The characteristics of that river extend beyond just the diplomatic arena as well, take a look at the evolution of the Achkaerin armed forces, the adaptation to the changing nature of the conflicts we’ve become involved in, the era of regiment meeting regiment on the battlefield is long gone, as is the era of the battleship, when the nature of the threat changes you adapt, this adaptability has become the hallmark of our armed forces, learning from every crisis that happens, developing new approaches to situations. And always, always in accordance with our long standing policy on under what circumstances we take the intervention step. The result? One of the most professional, best equipped, experienced, innovative, respected and recognisable armed forces on the planet, that is the standard we have set and it is one that we must ensure we meet or exceed whenever our forces are called upon. Today we see our soldiers stationed overseas lending a helping hand in the training and development of other nations armed forces and providing assistance to the Queendom of Lodja during the recent crisis there,I also want to mention the vaccination program being carried out in the Alucard Island Chain by our forces in that region. The day before Queen Natalya’s coronation my wife Renee and I met with Achkaerinese personnel who’d been involved in hunting down Leopold Hamsik, and who alongside friends and allies combated the rogue vessels under his command, my lasting memory of that meeting was of an expressed opinion that they could do better it was staggering because what they achieved in the circumstances and the time they had was exceptional, yet here they were saying that they felt that they could have done more. I admire and respect that attitude, that’s there’s always more to learn, that there’s always something to improve on, and we will give all assistance to our Lodjan friends in the search for Leopold Hamsik, so that he may face justice for his crimes. A few years ago some quarters of Mundus labeled us as part of the “world police” a somewhat disturbing label because honestly if we’re going to say that the stability and security of Mundus depends on a handful of nations then there’s something seriously wrong, the nature of the threats and challenges that face Mundus now are substantively different to those of the past, combatting piracy, human trafficking, terrorism, smuggling and the drugs trade take more than just a small number of nations doing stuff it takes coordination, it takes communication, it takes reaching out, it takes an understanding that the proportionate response is usually the correct one, that military force is not the first resort but the final resort. There are many issues that come around again and again like a carousel and they could be resolved by very simple means if people concerned didn’t cling to grudges or resort to insults, problems don’t go away when you do that, they persist and usually get a whole lot more complicated. The stability of Mundus must be built on respect and communication, that doesn’t mean every nation has to go running around negotiating treaties, it’s about nations maintaining open lines of communication with each other, it’s about getting on, criminal entities thrive when they can exploit the barriers of society, take those out of the equation and you restrict the ability of them to operate, get active cooperation going and you restrict them evenmore, it’s now about about action, reaction and counter reaction, as the world develops new methods, new strategies to tackle things, the targets adapt and then that adapting must be adapted to, and if you can adapt quicker then you have the advantage, this is something that we can do because it’s not that difficult to say something, it’s not that difficult to do something because that’s all you can do, whether the other party believes you is another matter but you know you’ve done the right thing and I believe that the nations of Mundus are moving towards this, we see it each day, one by one the connections build and the barriers tumble.
When I served in the navy I would when off duty take to standing on the deck, looking up at the stars and thinking about the days when the sailors of old would use the stars to chart their courses across the seas and oceans of Mundus so it’s quite exciting tonight to know that as I’m giving this address that up there the Enterprise, an interplanetary vessel intended to take humans to Nergal, is conducting its first test flight, from wooden ships sailing across the oceans of Mundus, navigating by the stars, to a ship of all manner of materials, sailing across the ocean of space, navigating through the stars. As a species we took our first steps on this planet, then we went to the moon and now we stand at a point where the next step can be taken as we go to Nergal, the progress is amazing, it makes you wonder where will be in a century? How far will we have gone? What sights will we have seen? What secrets will we have uncovered? How will our understanding of the universe have been challenged and how will it have changed? How will our world have changed? With every step humanity takes whether it be those first steps out of the cave, the written language, the printing press, inventing electricity, constructing the earliest sailing vessels, the first heart transplant, the first vaccination program, the first cesarean section, the first supersonic flight, the first person in space or pushing the depths of our planets oceans, each step taken affects us all, develops us all, shapes the world around us. Does it matter who makes the step? No, the beauty is the step, something doesn’t become less wondrous because someone else gets there first, what matters is someone got there at all.
Let’s come back down from the stars to Mundus and look at the future of energy, one of the big questions for many years has been what are we going to do when the oil runs out? No one absolutely knows when that will happen, it could be in twenty years, fifty years, a hundred years or more, we don’t know for sure when but we know it’s going to happen at some point, many nations have strategies in place and are working towards it and this is a good thing. Speaking personally I’m interested to see how the current stage of AADC and Riviere Corporation’s Phoenix Project (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=50.msg21825#msg21825) plays out, I’m interested to see how the big questions of energy are answered, it’s a challenge like no other because we know the day is coming and I am encouraged in our ability to face it on a global level, we see continued investment in nuclear fusion research pursued in Achkaerin, East Moreland and Altona among others, we see the growth of the use of nuclear power in general, we see developments in affordable electric cars including one being produced as a result of 3D printing (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=50.msg8713#msg8713), step by step, technological innovation by technological innovation, research project by research project, we prepare for the future, so that when the day comes Mundus does not grind to a halt, we prepare so that on that day planes will still fly, ships will still sail, cars will still run, homes will still have power and heat and business’s will still have working facilities. We prepare so that generations to come will have a planet and a quality of life that we want them to have, that is our duty to leave Mundus in a better place than we found it.
This is one of my favourite times of year, the Mundus Games looming large on the horizon, I had honour of competing in two different games several years ago, my children like to say I started the tradition of our family competing in the games, maybe I did but that’s not what I’m here to talk about. The symbolism and tradition of the games is something special to behold, for about eighteen days of competition athletes from across Mundus come together and put on the greatest festival of sport on the planet. Like all sports fans I will be following the Games closely, I’ll be cheering the household names like Sammy Lawson, Becky Brittaine and James H’Daen and I’ll be cheering for the debutants like Charlotte Brittaine, who joins her mother in this years edition of the Games. But regardless of which nation you’re from the special thing about the Games is that everyone cheers for everyone, there’s no other sporting event like it, it’s not about winning or losing it’s about giving it your best shot, it’s about the taking part, that’s what makes it a festival of sport rather than any other sport meet we see throughout the year, the Games have seen some inspirational moments over the years, they’ve seen tears of joy and tears of sorrow, records smashed year after year. I wonder what sights and memories this years installment of the Games will create? The beauty of sport is that on their day even the longest of longshots can claim victory and those are the stories that inspire and live long in the memories of those who saw it happen.I wish good fortune to all those competing in this years Games and I look forward to hosting Team Achkaerin upon their return to hear their stories.
I’ve been proud of a great many things in my life, I guess that comes from having worn so many different hats over the years, I’ve been the captain of a naval vessel proud of his crew, I’ve am the Emperor proud of what the nation I lead has helped build, but I think more than any of that I’m the happy family man, the uncle proud of his nephew Jack who went to Lodja, studied hard and came back more knowledgeable on Lodjan culture than a great many people, he also came back with his lovely girlfriend Katyusha. I’m proud of both my nieces Cerys and Sakura both of them have faced so much in their young lives and have emerged much the stronger, I’m the grandfather who gets pranked by two of his granddaughters Aeolia and Lamia, on a regular basis, I look at Lisa and I see a young girl bonding with the family she now knows as her own, I look at Astrid and I see a five year old girl leading by example, coming to terms with something so life changing, yet not once has she asked “why?” instead she’s done what I’ve said a few times tonight she’s adapted to it. I’m proud of both my children Simon and Serenity, both continuing what’s becoming a bit of a tradition of military service, both are developing into fine leaders, both are fine parents. When we were growing up myself and Esme used to compete all the time, used to push each other, we made each other better. And finally my wife Renee, the words I’m about to say don’t come close to expressing the pride I have for her, she’s a woman who is so generous, so loving, so accomplished that I’m reminded every day how lucky I am to be married to her, she came into my life and the life of my family at a time when we were still hurting, she brought life, energy and music back into the Palace, as the saying goes we got our mojo back, she’s carved her own path, won an Ozzie, reinvigorated the Edelweiss Festival and become the most unshakeable of support pillars. Now I’m sure there will be people watching who are wondering why I’m talking about my family, my point is this attitude reflects leadership, I wear the crown but I don’t lead alone, my family, advisors, members of the government they all bring their own experiences and qualities to the table and together we figure it out. The hardest thing to do is tell someone something that they don’t want to hear, I say that as a father, a grandfather and an Emperor who has many times over the years been put in the position of talking Rokkenjima down. Tonight among our distinguished guests is Crown Princess Asuna, twenty years ago when I stood here for the first time her mother the Saisei Empress was sat in this chamber. Attitude reflects leadership and attitudes can be positive or negative, which way that goes is up to us to decide, does Mundus need more beasts given the amount of blood, sweat and tears that have gone into slaying the ones that we’ve faced? No, for the first time in a long time, hope blooms absent of a threat, there’s no reason to stifle its growth by becoming that which we worked so hard to overcome.
I’ve always tried to be an optimist, always looking for the good in things or the silver lining when things go wrong, tonight I came here to deliver an address looking not only back but forwards. When I look at the world I’m filled with confidence and reassurance that when that wind blows to the future that each and every person and nation will be ready to overcome whatever is thrown our way, so ready that they can say the time honoured phrase “Bring it on” thank you and goodnight.
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CROWN PRINCESS IN GAMES RETURN
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Crown Princess Serenity has a fair bit of history with the Mundus Games, she's won gold as part of Achkaerin's womens basketball team in 2015 and individually in the womens modern pentathlon in 2017, but the medal that's eluded her is the heptathlon her record being tenth in 2016 and fourth in 2017, she hasn't competed since 2017 due to her foot injury but now she's making a return to the Mundus Games, qualifying with a win in the heptathlon at the Achkaerinese trials. Speaking prior to leaving for the Games she sai "Ever since I got caught in that blast I've just been happy to be alive, it could have killed me and but for the presence of East Moreland troops and the Ekrabadger it may well have done. I feel good, I've got my pace back and I'm throwing ok so we'll see what happens. I have missed this because, in truth, there's nothing quite like the atmosphere the Games generates, for eighteen days sport is centre stage, it's something very very special."
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LAWSON LANDMARK KICK STARTS MEDALS
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
Sammy Lawson has taken her fortieth Mundus Games medal, gold in the womens cycling road race, as Team Achkaerin tried to build on Luke Riley's silver in the mens road race the previous day. The Achkaerinese team made their move on the series of climbs, moving to the front of the peloton and upping the pace, stringing the race out before Lawson went off the front with team mates Niamh Fernley and Melanie Parker the latter of which got her a good lead before leaving Sammy with the solo ride to the line, Parker would cross the line in fourth after being caught in the closing kilometres, but there would be no catching Lawson who won the race with close to a six minute margin. Speaking after the race Sammy said "It's always difficult when you come in as the marked rider, but the girls did great, we knew that if we could get away on the climb we could make it a long one, Maria and Chloe wound it up on the flat, Chihaya got us halfway up the climb, then Niamh pulled me over the top and down the other side and once it was just me and Mel it was just about getting to the point where she could let me go. Forty medals is surreal, I never imagined I'd get that many."
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Away from the cycling it was a historic day in the pool as Charlotte Brittaine made her games debut, she took bronze in the fifty metres freestyle before winning gold in the one hundred metres freestyle. Of interest is that Charlotte's mother - renowned Achkaerinese swimmer Becky Brittaine is also competing in the games and the pair could conceivably go to head to head at some point during the meet. Also in action in the pool will be Matthew Brittaine, Charlotte's brother.
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FAMILY DAYS AT GAMES
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
The Mundus Games have seen many great and historic moments over the years but the last two days of competition have seen something special, first in the womens rock climbing, with Games veteran Gwen Spark ruled out with injury Achkaerinese medal hopes rested on the young gun twins of Heather and Fiona Loy (pictured above), not the first siblings to compete for Achkaerin that accolade belongs to the Fernley sisters in the cycling, but certainly the first twins to compete. Rock climbing at the Games is always close and so it proved again but for the twins it was a good day, Fiona took bronze while Heather went three hundreths quicker and took gold. Over in the swimming pool it was the battle of the Brittaine's as mother and daughter, Becky and Charlotte, squared off in the eight hundred metres freestyle, a close race that Becky appeared to have won at the six hundred metre mark, but a fast finishing Charlotte closed in and in a grandstand final fifty metres edged ahead to take the gold medal, her third of the Games, as for her mother her silver is her sixteenth Mundus Games medal.
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HAVE RIVIERE JUST CRACKED THE GREEN ENERGY PROBLEM?
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The movement towards renewable sources of energy is something seen across Mundus, experts disagree on how long it will take for fossil fuels to run out but there's no disagreement that they will run out eventually, the question becomes 'what are you going to do when they run out?' the answer generally is green energy - solar, wind, tidal being the main ones and then nuclear power not far behind, however green energy poses its own great challenge - how do you keep the lights on when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow? The initial answer would appear to be large scale batteries for storage, but given that most batteries are made with lithium, the large footprint involved and that these batteries don't have much excess storage it doesn't seem that plausible. Foxton is home to Riviere Corporation and it's here that a different approach is being tried - a sand battery (pictured above), as explained by Riviere CEO Catriona Rowan:
"It sounds a little wacky but it's workable, when electricity is generated some of it gets used instantly, but the vast majority of it will go into the sand battery where it's stored as heat, the battery is full of builders sand which we keep up to temperature by using resistive heating, this generates hot air which is circulated around the sand by use of a heat exchanger. The properties of the sand are so ideal for this that we believe it could store this heat for months, this means that we can accumulate energy in storage when prices are low and then when the prices are higher which stereotypically is the winter months the hot air is discharged, that warms water which in turn is pumped around homes, business's and other buildings. We've got one battery operating in Foxton which we're going to watch carefully over the next few months and then we can think about more of them."
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BRITTAINE EQUALS GREECHAN TOTAL
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Becky Brittaine has won her seventeenth Mundus Games medal, equaling the total of renowned Morelander swimmer Daisy Greechan and placing her joint second alongside Greechan on the all time list of medal winners. The seventeenth medal, a gold, came in the womens 800m individual medley. A tight race that only started to see gaps open up on the breaststroke leg and then on the freestyle leg Becky was able to edge out her Rokkenjiman competitor to finish first. On equaling Greechan's total she said: ""It's weird, Daisy's a fantastic swimmer and to be level with her is something I didn't think would happen, it's going to take a while to sink in, but maybe it's a little fitting that it was this event where it happened, the event where I have the winning record against her, she beat me at everything else."
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TEAM ACHKAERIN MOUNT MEDAL CHARGE
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
As the Mundus Games continue team Achkaerin have mounted a charge up the medal table to sit third overall after eight days of competition. It was a day for teams as Achkaerin's footballers won both golds on offer, the men beating Floodwater 3-1 through a Richard Turner header, a Bradley Greenwood volley and Mark Howe penalty. For the womens team it was the story of Ciara Ryder (pictured above), brought on as a substitute with twenty five minutes left she picked up a hat trick to guide the team to the gold medal, the first a tap in following a very good save from the keeper, the second a close range finish following a cross and flick on header while the third capped a fine performance as she chipped the ball neatly over the keeper. Away from the football, hockey produced more success a bronze for the men and a gold for the women. In pool there was a gold for S'Raia Starleton as she held off a spirited fight back from her Derusmian opponent. But it was the womens 4x200m freestyle relay where history was made, a stunning final leg from Charlotte Brittaine saw her overtake the Rokkenjiman team to edge the gold medal and in so doing she helped her mother obtain her eighteenth Mundus Games medal.
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HARD WORK CONTINUES IN ALUCARD
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By Frank Lane: Health Correspondent
The Ministry of Defence has given its latest update on operations in the Alucard, the operations prompted by the discovery of a viral outbreak of what appeared to be the Kaiju virus among Water Nomad population during the Lodjan crisis has seen the Achkaerinese navy delivering medical treatment, vaccines and humanitarian aid to the water nomad population throughout the Alucard island chain. Minister of Defence Adam Shepard stated during defence questions "We believe at this time that we have vaccinated approximately one third of the Water Nomad populace, as honourable members will be aware the unique challenges of the situation mean this will take time, this is a nomadic population this is not Safraen, but we will get it done." The Minister later confirmed that the source or ground zero had not yet been found but that it was only a matter of time. The Minister was also asked what disruption the Eigg referendum might cause to the operation to which he said "We don't anticipate disruption to be likely however should the referendum result see tensions boil over to the point where there is an issue we will of course deal with it, again we don't believe that large scale disruption is likely."
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FIRST MEDAL FOR CAIRNS AS ACHKAERIN GO TOP OF MEDAL TABLE
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Team Achkaerin has gone top of the medal table at the Mundus Games, on a day that will undoubtedly be remembered more for the exploits of the Iwi's boxers than for other things. The highlight from an Achkaerinese perspective was the return of Sammy Lawson in the women's time trial, it was never really in doubt that she would take gold what was unexpected was her team mate Maria Cairns (pictured above) taking the silver, the difference of six seconds was put down to Lawson's greater climbing ability, however for Cairns this was her first Games medal and afterwards the seventeen year old spoke to us saying "It's unreal, I've been chasing a medal for a while now and I'm so happy to finally get one, and only six seconds behind Sammy I'll take that."
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CROWN PRINCESS ON EIGG
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Crown Princess Serenity has commented on the Eigg situation, speaking in an interview ahead of her event at the Mundus Games the Crown Princess was asked what she thought about the situation to which she said: "There's an awful lot of confusion most of it created by actions around the referendum and some by the misunderstanding in places internationally. Recognition of the voice of the Eiggite people and supporting Queen Aoife does not equate to recognition of Eigg as an independent sovereign state. What appears to have happened is no different to me going into my daughters school and asking the students whether they support increasing the amount of hours they spend doing PE from three to four, it's an opinion poll, and the findings are not rendered null and void because the school governors haven't given permission, consequently the Eigg vote result is a legitimate vote insofar as 61% of those voting on the day support independence. However we then come to the more pertinent question - is the referendum binding? Logically the answer here would be no, as has been pointed out the lack of a duly followed legal process is key but as we would then say the referendum be non binding we then have to question the actions of the Federal Government, if the referendum is non binding, something which Queen Aoife and the Federal Government would know then the actions of the Federal Government are completely unnecessary in fact those actions lend credibility to the idea that the referendum was in some way binding, checkpoints set up the day before that appear to have been designed to intimidate voters, the seizure of ballot boxes and attempts to arrest officials, all of that because the Federal Government did not desire a strong showing for Eigg independence. But here's the thing all these actions of the Federal Government, you know what they amount to legally speaking? Election Fraud, the very same thing they've arrested Queen Aoife for and yet the Queen hasn't on the face of it committed the crime so if you're going to arrest her then every police officer that seized a ballot box and stopped cars should be facing consequences, because election fraud requires a legally recognised election or vote to be in existence."
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PROSECUTION TO APPEAL ANDEAN GENOCIDE SENTENCE
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By: James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
For the second time the sentence of the Saisei Empress, Beatrice Anselmo, is to be appealed. The former Empress of Rokkenjima is presently serving a life sentence but serves it in the Redwall Medical Facility with her conviction being on the grounds of diminished responsibility owing to her having Parkinsons. Counsel for the Prosecution Lt Nell Foster released a statement saying: "What the then Empress knew and was in a position to do has been at the core of this case from day one. We were originally told she was manipulated by one of her co-defendants, this fell. We were then told based on medical evidence that she had Parkinsons and that her decision making capabilities were compromised, we now have been provided with information that this is not the case and as such have filed to appeal the sentence."
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NERGAL STATION MODULES LAUNCHED TO ORBIT IN WINDOW RACE
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concept image of the station in Nergal orbit once operational
by Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
It's been dubbed "the final piece of the jigsaw" by the Achkaerin Space Agency, Nergal Station a permanent facility in orbit of the red planet today the Agency launched the stations modules into Mundus where they will be assembled by remote before the station heads for Nergal. The importance of station was explained by Vicky Acheson, the Agency's senior mission strategist who said "The biggest obstacle, beyond the technological, that we face when we consider the manned exploration of Nergal is in the orbital logistics, if or when Enterprise and Sojornur succeed in 2024 we then can't repeat the run until 2026 so in effect we lose two years worth of exploration and study due to the laws of the universe. What Nergal Station does is give us the ability to station a presence in orbit of Nergal allowing for more regular exploration of the planet surface and the moons it has. It does mean long duration missions but that's a given however you try to slice it. We're not sending it off crewed, we're assembling it and then it'll head for Nergal unmanned and wait for crew which will be dropped off as part of the Enterprise mission doing it this way we believe saves us time in the long run. It also means we can turn our attention to further developing the necessary infrastructure to facilitate future deep space missions."
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AIR FORCE HAPPY WITH EMOLGA
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The Emolga (pictured above), has cleared flight and performance testing set by the Air Force and is expected to go into service with them in the coming weeks as a light combat and support aircraft. An Air Force spokesperson said "While we had our initial concerns when AADC originally pitched the Emolga, what we've seen from the testing far surpasses our expectations both in terms of capability and performance. It provides new options when approaching a situation and subject to testing and development of a further project will provide a very solid defence capability in respect of the modern Mundus."
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SYLFIEL'S FORGE DISCOVERED
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
As storms battered much of Achkaerin last night they unearthed something surprising, through a landslide caused in the vicinity of Mount Purity a stone structure was discovered, built into the rock itself, examination of the interior of the structure concluded that it is a smithy that was used by Faylen Sylfiel, a figure of Achkaerinese folklore dating to many centuries ago, a swordsmith that little is known about. Speaking from the site Doctor Donna Steele, Achkaerin's representative to the CETO, said: "We know very little about this woman beyond the era in which she lived, that she crafted many blades and that her practices were carried on by the Maiden Sister Order. We do know that each blade she forged has a name, so now we're going to see where this takes us, if we find the swords maybe we can learn more about the woman who made them."
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GOVERNMENT LOOKING TO THE STARS FOR ENERGY
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Government has announced its new energy initiative, a space based solar power station that transmits the energy to the ground by means of a beam, it sounds a little like science fiction but this is no Death Star. The theory is to use a number of satellites in Mundus orbit, outfitted with lightweight solar panels and mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto the panels, the experts involved believe that approximately 3.4 gigawatts of electricity will be generated on a satellite, this is then converted to RF microwave radiation at approximately 85% efficiency. The microwave frequency is proposed to be around 2.45GHz to be transparent to the atmosphere and moisture, while a net 2.9 GW of power is beamed to a receiving antenna at a fixed point on the ground below where it's received by an antenna. The ground antenna sends a pilot beam back up to the satellite ensuring that the correct spot is hit by the beam, this ground based antenna then converts the electromagnetic energy into direct current electricity and then through an inverter which delivers a net two gigawatts of AC power into the power grid. The angle between the solar collector and the microwave transmitter is constantly changing as Mundus rotates. Thus if the mirrors are always pointed towards the sun, the microwave beam is steered to always point at the correct location on the earth. In this way the system can deliver full power levels day and night, in all weathers, and all year round. The intensity of the microwave beam is around 240 W/m2, which is about one quarter of the intensity of mid-day sunlight. So the system cannot be used as a beam weapon, nor is it harmful to life on Mundus. The Solar Power Satellite (SPS) weighs several thousand tonnes, and the specific power in Killawatts per kg is a key parameter for estimating both the cost of hardware and its deployment into orbit. Estimates for leading SPS designs independently calculate the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) at less than 5 Iso's per MWh.
Initial estimates are that a first satellite could be operational by 2030 with the full network in place by 2040.
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CHIEF COUNCILLOR INVOKES CHERRY-LOTUS AGREEMENT
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By Ariel Vilani: Gowu Correspondent
The Chief Councillor of Gowu, Xiaoling Tsu (pictured above), has invoked the Cherry-Lotus Agreement. The Agreement which has formally existed since the end of the Toshikawan Civil War in 1986 following the battle of Gowu pass, established stability between the Achkaerinese territory and Toshikawa. In making a statement to the Gowu Assembly the Chief Councillor said "The Cherry-Lotus Agreement requires by law that the same trading conditions exist on both sides of our border to enable the passage of goods and services this having been more important since 2017, the current Shogun is a man I count as a friend, he has been a very supportive figure for my daughter and he is the man who signed the 1986 agreement. I am frankly astonished to be reading about an agreement, this EAFTA that appears to hinder this very critical foundation especially after we had to remind this same Shogun of this very point not that long ago, once again we see an avoidable set of circumstances because people didn't line things up properly."
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MARINES APPREHEND FORMER DUCHESS IN ROUTINE STOP
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The notion of a stop and search snowballing through multiple offences is nothing new for police officers across Mundus, today it proved true for the Achkaerinese military a routine stop of a vessel resulted in the arrest of Alys Arsenault, the former Grand Duchess of Marseilles. In a statement a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said: "Earlier this morning the INS Pegasus, operating as part of ongoing efforts to combat slavery, human trafficking and smuggling stopped a vessel. In the course of the subsequent search thirty people being trafficked were freed. One of these thirty was during processing confirmed to be Alys Arsenault, the traffickers were carrying a false identity passport for Ms Arsenault and we have no reason as yet to believe that the traffickers were aware of her real identity. With the confirmation of Ms Arsenault's identity the existing international arrest warrant for her was executed. The Diplomatic Office has been in contact with the Governments of Marseilles and Aquitaine notifying them of this."
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ELECTROBREAKER TAKES RECORD
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Team Dawnbreaker has taken their third speed record, already holding the records for fastest solar powered land vehicle and fastest human powered vehicle with vehicles named Dawnbreaker and Aerobreaker respectively. The record they took today is the record for an electric powered aircraft, taken by the Electrobreaker (pictured above), with a speed of 186 knots, beating the previous record of 182 knots. Project leader Kit Davenport spoke after the record was confirmed saying: "This was new territory for us, we weren't used to the challenges involved but we got there, everyone involved has put in a lot of good work and I guess we'll have to figure out which record we want to challenge next."
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"LAWSON AND PHOENIX ROBBED" - EXPERTS ANALYSIS
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
As the Mundus Cycling season heads towards its final weeks before taking its winter break experts have not held back in their criticism of event organisers, highlighting several issues that in their opinion indicates a "concerted agenda against a rider and team for no other reason than being successful.", it has already been posted on social media that Phoenix Cycling has demanded an investigation into the conduct of the race officials at the womens Tour of Ardia and many now expect the same to occur in respect of the Avignane GP. This latest race saw Olha Mikhailov take the win and the Mundus Cycling Cup, pipping Sammy Lawson to the title. A result which has been greatly questioned as one expert put it "It's highly convenient that the second place rider in the standings wins the race and happens to have two team mates that lock out the two positions that would deny them, meanwhile the strongest team in the peloton, with the strongest rider are somehow incapable of pulling that rider to the front? Something's very fishy if you ask me. These results suggest that the team on the day rode for Zoe Carpenter which is surely a nonsense, excellent rider though she is this is not a situation where she is the lead rider." this is a point reiterated by Christopher Warrington the head of Achkaerinese cycling, who said "We'd have no issue with this if it had been fair and square but there's been a clear undercurrent in the latter part of the season to sabotage this team, we saw it at the Tour of Ardia on day two a traffic cone was thrown in front of Melanie, she crashed, got back up and was then prevented from continuing by a race official, this undoubtedly influenced the race. Then on day seven, the day we managed to get Niamh and Sammy clear in a breakaway what happened? The lead car for no good reason slows down and Niamh goes right into the back of it. And then it gets even better, Sammy only managed a single top twenty finish in that tour, which considering that she is a stage racer, an excellent climber and consistently performs well in the mountains is very odd, so we investigated her bike and found evidence of interference."
Another expert raised similar concerns saying "On consistency, reputation, performance and ability we know Phoenix Cycling is the strongest team, we know they have the strongest rider, yet they can't set up a sprint train or sit on the front of the peloton? No. And then let's consider how convenient it is that Olha Mikhailov is allowed, in a race to decide a title which multiple people could have won, break away. It's not tactically sound, it doesn't make sense and is frankly speaking nothing more than a farce."
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BEATRICE ANSELMO APPEAL OVER
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The former Empress of Rokkenjima, Beatrice Anselmo, has been back in court for the latest hearing concerning her conduct related to the Andean Genocide. The charges against her pertain to her failure to enforce the Uppsala Convention, a charge that has been the subject of "legal ping pong" according to one analyst and has seen all manner of things occur, this latest installment was the result of medical discoveries invalidating the longstanding position that the former Empress was suffering from a mental illness, rather that she was taking medication that simulated the symptoms. The outcome of the hearing did not see the length of the sentence change, however the life sentence is now to be served under house arrest. Speaking after the hearing Achkaerin's representative to the CAC, Major Kaitlin Parker, said "It's now hoped that the back and forth over this particular aspect of the Andean Genocide is finally concluded. The focus of the CAC has always been on bringing to justice those who have breached the Convention's provisions and we are relentless in that pursuit whether it be the Marseilles crisis, the Cult of Helus Genocide, the Andean Genocide or any conflict since its inception."
The saga of the Andean Genocide however seems destined to continue for a little longer at least as Charles Foster Ofdensen's legal team, within hours of the conclusion of the day's proceedings, filed their own intention to appeal his conviction.
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GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE SOLAR PANELS NATIONWIDE
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Government is to provide "at least one solar panel per building" across the nation. The measure announced by Energy Minister Maggie Anderson (pictured above) forms the latest step on the road map laid out by the Green Energy Transition Act 2014. In announcing the step the Minister said "Mr Speaker when this chamber passed the
Green Energy Transition Act we did so by unanimous vote, a rare thing for our country. Today we inform the Senate that the Government will be supplying at least one solar panel for every home, school, place of worship, office block, shop and so on, in short at least one solar panel per building nationwide, an important step as we continue to move away from fossil fuels. The plan we have in place and that this House approved is a multi string bow and this along with the recently announced space based solar power station is the first string of that bow, we're under no illusions, this is a marathon it is not a sprint but it is one we intend to complete."
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STINGRAY ENTERPRISES IN SEARCH FOR TESTING GROUNDS
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By Amira Cotton: Business Correspondent
Stingray Enterprises is on the hunt for testing grounds for the 'Dolphin' as it's affectionately known (pictured above). The company has spent many years working on the application of Ground Effect Vehicles as a viable method of decreasing air traffic pollution, the Dolphin marks the first attempt by the company in this area as explained
by CEO Stella Campbell: "When we exhibited the Insignia, our luxury yacht GEV, at the festival of sail a couple of years ago it was a proof of concept moment for us, proof that we'd built something that could fly and function as intended, the Dolphin is quite different to that but the principle theory is the same, what the Dolphin is is an attempt to build what amounts to a viable GEV airliner so to speak, we know it flies, we know it's functional so it's viable in that sense. What we're looking for are travel companies, governments and so on from across Mundus to let us test the Dolphin out alongside more traditional ferries, we're looking for wide variety of willing helpers because Mundus geography varies immensely and therefore the Dolphin's best environment can be more easily determined. But before the big airlines on Mundus start worrying this isn't going to spell the end for you, a journey from Valtheim to Northfort is substantively quicker by conventional aircraft however to get from Gowu to Daito for example may not be as straightforward, there are a variety of factors for us to think about."
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SCIENTISTS REPORTEDLY HIT MILESTONE
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Riviere Corporations Foxton fusion research facility where fusion research and experiments have taken place
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Producing a net energy gain has been a goal of nuclear fusion research from practically day one of its conception, fusion research has been taking place across Mundus including in Achkaerin, Altona, Daito, East Moreland, Rokkenjima and several others. An experiment taking place at the Riviere Fusion Research Facility (RF2 as it's known) using a process known as inertial confinement fusion in which a pellet of hydrogen plasma is bombarded with a laser to trigger a nuclear fusion produced 3.15 megajoules of energy as output, exceeding the 2.05 megajoules used to power the experiment. Speaking following the experiment Riviere Corporation CEO Catriona Rowan said "Today's experiment has been successful and now we'll go and analyse the data and see where we go from here, we're still a ways from the end goal but it does feel a significant step closer today than yesterday."
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GREAT WAR RAID GETS BIG SCREEN TREATMENT... TIMES TWO
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By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
It's one of the lesser known operations of the Great War, Operation Tempest, a daring commando raid on an Ardian dockyard that resulted not only in the hindering of the Ardian war machine but also the capture of one of the most powerful battleships of its time the Escarion. It's a raid that to some historians marks a turning point in that conflict and now two films are set to be released about this raid, the first a dramatic retelling based on the historic accounts is called The Great Raid, the second a documentary featuring testimony from those involved is called Tempest: The Commando's Story both are being overseen by noted Achkaerinese film director Jemma Fox who explained the concept saying "As a film director you're always looking to tell a story and Tempest is a story the likes of which you don't see much of, innovation, courage, questionable, daring, heroism and outright unthinkable, but as we did our research we discovered that we were looking at the single operation where the most Djana Cross's have been earned so we decided to in parallel with the film produce a documentary on that aspect." Both films are released to cinemas on the 15th of December.
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CROWN PRINCESS SERENITY AND PRINCESS EUPHEMIA SPOTTED AT DINNER
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
Crown Princess Serenity was spotted out at popular science fiction club/restaurant Midnight earlier tonight with Princess Euphemia of Rokkenjima. Midnight is a known favourite eatery of the Crown Princess and while her presence was not surprising that of Princess Euphemia was leading to speculation as to the nature of the relationship, after requests for comment were made Royal Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright said: "Crown Princess Serenity is free to date whoever she chooses, I know people like to speculate about it but after everything she's been through she deserves some happiness, so let them enjoy it please."[/i]
Crown Princess Serenity is scheduled to be spending a few days away with her daughters at Highwick Manor prior to Life Day festivities, it has been speculated, although not confirmed that Princess Euphemia will join them.
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EMPEROR'S LIFE DAY MESSAGE
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By: Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The Emperor has given his annual Life Day message, broadcast around the Empire and Mundus. This years message marks the hundredth such message to be broadcast coinciding with the centinery year of the Achkaerinese Broadcasting Corporation, founded in 1922 for radio and later moving to television. This year the Emperor's message was as follows:
The Emperors Life Day Message 2022
Good afternoon. Every year at this time a substantive amount of Mundus is united in rejoicing on religious grounds, whether it be Life Day, Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule or any other across Mundus we come together to celebrate, to give and receive gifts, to observe traditions and eat a lot of food. One of the great unifying features of Mundus is the belief in the Divine and with that comes many things, including the reminder that the things that people have in common far outnumber the differences, we've seen it many times over the years and undoubtedly will do so again in years to come. This year I've seen that in my family, my granddaughter Astrid, was ill and became profoundly deaf as a result but we've become closer, we've become more aware of each other, more mindful and the outpouring of love and well wishes from the country was truly humbling and once again I thank everyone for that. This notion of unity being greater than division has rung true in our relations, when I gave this years Covenant Address I spoke about the need to review, to look with fresh eyes - we may have taken hard decisions and left organisations but ties with friends are not things to throw away so easily those are things to be cherished. The future is our great unknown for we do not know what tomorrow brings, but it's easier faced with friends and family at your side, we've all been blessed with many people who come into our lives for many different reasons and today is a day to show what they mean to us.
Have a very happy and joyful day.
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PARODY SONG TAKES LIFE DAY NUMBER ONE
By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
A Star Trek parody song titled "My Blue Underwear" has taken the number one spot on Life Day in the Achkaerinese charts. The song is a parody of "Winter Wonderland" but no one is entirely sure how it happened as this bit of fun by music teacher Paul Farthing pipped established musical acts such as the Aces, Against the Current, Paramore, Taylor Davis and many others to the top spot, Mr Farthing has said he's "shocked and this will likely never sink in. But I've got a few more songs planned."
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CROWN PRINCESS ASUNA ABDUCTED AS TERROR HITS STREETS
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Crown Princess Asuna of Rokkenjima has been abducted during what has been described as "an act of terror" the incident resulted in the deaths of two of the assailants,
two police officers and further injuries to twelve members of the public. Mark Sharpe spoke to the press on the incident saying "Today an attack was carried out on our soil and we will not rest until those responsible are brought to account for it, our investigation is at an early stage and progress is being made, the Rokkenjiman Government has been made aware of what's happened and we will update as things progress."
In related news Emperor Peter has been admitted to hospital following a relapse of his relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and a subsequent head injury, the Emperor is according to doctors "currently in a coma as a result of the head trauma and is being monitored closely."
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OFDENSEN WALKS
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
Charles Ofdensen has won his appeal against his conviction regarding the Andean Genocide. The team representing the former Lord High Steward, who when he was convicted was seen as the guiding mind from the Rokkenjiman side, successfully argued that the case against Mr Ofdensen was based on now tainted evidence and unsafe testimony. Mr Ofdensen was later confirmed as having departed the country for Rokkenjima.
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SCRIVENS MEDICAL SHOWCASES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENTS
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology correspondent
Janelle Scrivens (pictured above) has outlined the major developments her company, Scrivens Medical, has been working on. Firstly looking at what she refers to as 'biological alchemy' this research comes following examination of the Leprosy disease, as Ms Scrivens explains "We were experimenting with the bacterium that causes the disease, Mycobacterium leprae, because it has this ability to convert one type of bodily tissue into another which it does to give itself more tissue to infect but what if you could harness this biological alchemy and turn it to the purpose of helping rather than hindering? So we did these experiments using armadillo's, because they can catch the disease, we showed the infection heads to the armoured animals' livers, where it performed a controlled hijacking of the organ to reprogram it for its own purpose. showed the infection heads to the armoured animals' livers, where it performed a controlled hijacking of the organ to reprogram it for its own purpose. The results, showed the liver nearly doubled in size. Now you might expect such growth to be defective or even cancerous - but detailed analysis we did showed it was both healthy and functional, complete with the usual array of blood vessels and bile ducts, there's no cell therapy that does it, it appears the leprosy bug is rewinding the developmental clock in the liver, we don't know how it does it but we're hoping to figure that one out. These results could pave the way for new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of liver diseases such as cirrhosis. However, as the research has been done using armadillos as model animals, it is unclear if and how these promising results can translate to the biology of the human liver. And of course the bacteria's nature requires that the method be refined prior to any clinical translation, but if this works it could one day be as simple as a jab in the arm, and as our understanding of this increases it could potentially be used in respect of other organs."
The second development Ms Scrivens showed us was 'the blood farm' this is essentially a laboratory where blood is grown from stem cells. There are two potential near-term advantages of using lab-grown blood. First, the approach could address the donor shortage for those with rare blood types who require regular transfusions, such as patients with sickle cell disease and thalassemia. Secondly, the lab-grown blood is expected to outperform standard donor blood. Red blood cells have a lifespan of about 120 days and a normal blood donation will contain cells of varying ages. By contrast, the lab-grown blood cells are all fresh, so should perform better and last longer. This could reduce the frequency of transfusions for patients who regularly need blood and help avoid iron overload, a complication linked to repeated transfusions where too much iron accumulates in the body and has to be removed. Two healthy volunteers have so far been transfused with the lab grown red cells, as part of a clinical trial, no negative side-effects have been reported. At least 10 participants are expected receive two mini transfusions at least four months apart, one of standard donated red cells and one of lab grown red cells, to find out if the young red blood cells made in the laboratory last longer than cells made in the body.
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GOVERNMENT UPDATES ON OPERATION WREN
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Marines involved in Operation Wren simulate a boarding exercise
By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
Defence questions turned into an impromptu Government statement following a tweet by the Pharaoh of Clysperis (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=180.msg26156#msg26156) saw John Olsen, the Shadow Minister of Defence, ask for the governments position to which Minister of Defence Adam Sheppard said "The honorable senator will be aware of the governments positions in respect of the matters reported in Bahia specifically terrorism and slavery, our record opposing both is clear. Operation Wren, our standing multilayered counter slavery strategy continues to produce results this calendar year we've so far detained fifteen individuals involved in the slave trade and freed sixty slaves, and our counter terror efforts remain among the best in the world. Our relationship with Clysperis is one based on many things including politely telling each other when we think they've got it wrong, this is one such instance. Terrorism requires funding, because there are weapons, materials and equipment that are required, this funding is often accomplished through other criminal means including drug sales, hamper that and you hamper the terrorists as there is a domino effect but taking drugs off the streets saves lives."
The Minister was later asked about upcoming Air Force training exercises which were rumoured to include the Rokkenjiman Akuma to which the Minister said "As people will be aware these are routine exercises that are always conducted well out of the way with all precautions taken, the MoD is excited about a few things this time around and we will notify the chamber in time. The Akuma will be present but will be on the away team so to speak, there is no intention to look at such a thing for purchase."
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CROWN PRINCESS ADDRESSES SENATE ON SLAVERY
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Crown Princess Serenity has addressed the Senate in what is known as an article seven session, a reference to the Constitutional provisions that allow the Crown to address the Senate, the session originally scheduled to be a debate regarding the annual treaty reaffirmation, became an article seven following a Heyran Press Statement (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1886.msg26172#msg26172), this marks the first time the Crown Princess has requested to address the chamber rather than being there due to necessity or upon request made by the Senate. Speaking to the chamber the Crown Princess said:
"Mr Speaker I thank you for granting leave for this statement to be made. Before I come to the substance of the statement I would like to apologise to honourable members I was expecting to be following coverage of planned debate it is a very important piece of business. As members may be aware in the last couple of days there has been a back and forth between the nations of Clysperis and Heyra about events in Bahia, this has since snowballed following what can only be described as an ill judged press release by Heyran authorities, it'll become clear why I say that and it's got nothing with baseless accusations which we of course dismiss as falsehoods, we have a very clear longstanding policy that we call the Quadruple Lock, in very simple terms this details the four circumstances that can lead to an intervention and not once have we acted outside of this, we do not define an intervention as a person making a statement that's called freedom of expression. Equally, despite what some choose to believe Achkaerin always acts in accordance with international law.
Slavery is one of if not the greatest evil still persisting on Mundus, it should not exist today yet it does and it does so largely within Tamora which at last count had forty million slaves among its population, so it should not come as a surprise to anyone that Elysium's location raises concerns for those combating slavery because without the appropriate checks, safeguards and due diligence Elysium represents a very clear opportunity for Tamoran companies engaged in the slave trade to incorporate subsidiary or daughter companies on Heyran soil, allowing them to trade in the international market and send the proceeds back to the parent without penalty. These concerns were ignored and look what happened, despite an Ardian Assembly resolution on the matter passing in April 2019 on the 23rd of June 2019 Polakis Energy incorporated a subsidiary in Elysium (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=845.msg12692#msg12692), on the 1st of July 2019 Jalal Deer Agricultural Conglomerate incorporated in Elysium (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=845.msg12871#msg12871), on the 22nd of September 2019 Machal Mining incorporated a subsidiary in Elysium (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=845.msg13900#msg13900), you also have Tamora Imperial Bank incorporating its subsidiary in Elysium a few months later in 2020 (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=845.msg16844#msg16844). Each of these companies engages in the slave trade and they all have slaves on their books Tamora Imperial Bank (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1082.msg16387#msg16387) has 30,000 slaves, Jalal Deer (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=862.msg9495#msg9495) has almost 500,000 slaves, Polakis Energy (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=862.msg10954#msg10954) has 20,000 slaves and Machal Mining (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=862.msg13651#msg13651) has 20,000 slaves on its books, and so things have stood, the Heyran authorities putting on a masterclass in political agility, asserting their compliance and commitment to opposing slavery despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary, I'm not sure how they managed it but they did but the thing is you can't play both sides forever sooner or later you have to make a choice. Today's press release by the Heyran authorities states and I quote "The Heyrana Respublica have a long-standing diplomatic policy of respect of local authorities and non-interference, unlike the Holy Empire of Achkaerin to which the Kingdom of Clysperis is allied to. The Heyrana Respublica in fact, have been many times in the past threaten by foreign powers for its will to neutrality and respect of local customs." this is frankly shocking, the last sentence rings alarm bells, it is a very clear reference to the Elysium situation because that's the only time anything remotely like that has occurred but that's not the shocking part it's the justification that takes that prize. The local customs the release states Heyra respects are in this context Tamoran local customs which includes by implication the institution of slavery.
Today Heyra's government made its choice and it has chosen to side not with the cause of freedom, not with the cause of liberty, not with the oppressed but with the oppressors and the slave owners, it has chosen to prioritise a deal with Tamora above its commitments and obligations under international law specifically article five of the MCUR. Like a fair few of Mundus's leaders I have in my time had the privilege of knowing Joshua Rhodes and I'm going to quote something that Empress Evanthe shared with me from a few years ago in relation to that article something Joshua said "every single nation that is a signatory to that document is in violation if they accept any form of slavery. It says there in black and white - No one shall be held in slavery or servitude. No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour. It does not say, excepting for Tamora. It does not say excepting in the instance of culture and tradition. Signatories to the MCUR must oppose slavery without question. You can't ask Tamora 'please stop enslaving people'. You can't buy slaves and free them later, Tamora will just take more slaves. MCUR signatories must unequivocally take action to stop this. They must refuse diplomatic access to Tamora, refuse them on the world stage, refuse them in the diplomatic corp, refuse to allow them access to ports or trade." He would collapse of shock if he were here now because his words are absolutely right, the principle of human rights is that they apply to all humans and when you sign the MCUR that is what you sign up to, lest we set foot upon a very slippery slope. The greatest test of any treaty or organisation or entity is what do you do when one of your own breaks the rules? For far too long this issue has been danced around and now we see the true colours of it and as someone committed to the MCUR I say this and this is no threat, this is my promise to every last person held in slavery and servitude across Mundus, I will not rest until the scourge of slavery is eradicated from this planet once and for all. If I have to make it my life's work then so be it but we will see the chains broken and voices raised in freedom, that is my vow and I commend this statement to the House."
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"ACCOUNTABILITY EXTENDS BEYOND THE CRIMINAL"
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
Elecktra Hope (pictured above), founder and senior partner of Shield Law LLP has been instructed by the Achkaerinese branch of the WMO in respect of what might be termed "Irift gate" with a brief of exploring what legal avenues are available for the organisation to pursue, speaking from her office she said: "It's a sometimes forgotten legal aspect that when it comes to the vast majority of cases we generally find ourselves dealing with criminal or civil cases. That's down to most high profile cases being of the criminal nature and most civil cases being settled before they hit the courtroom, it's one of the more positive points in the history of Mundus's various international forums that nations do take responsibility but regardless of that accountability does extend beyond the criminal sphere to the civil one. In the case of this Irift test, we
have first Admiral Kisho who should face charges under the Uppsala Convention, depending on answers to specific questions this could extend to the Rokkenjiman Government. Secondly we have the damage caused, I would contend Rokkenjima to have done the opposite of their obligations under the Treaty of Wellow in respect of ocean acidification. I would also then have broader questions as to how the Decree on the Rights of Nature is actually implemented in respect of certain business sectors."
AADC WORKING ON DRAGONFLY MK II
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
AADC is working on a new and improved Dragonfly, the current aircraft - a relatively basic maritime patrol aircraft and technology demonstrator was found to have significant failings that prevented it from fulfilling its intended role, this new aircraft according to an AADC spokesperson will "Allow for not only the failings of the original Dragonfly to be addressed and overcome but also a significant increase in the anti submarine warfare capability of the aircraft."
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RARE FOX BREED NOT EXTINCT
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By Martin Thorpe: Wildlife Correspondent
The fox is no stranger to the Achkaerinese landscape or Mundus in general for that matter whether it be the common red fox, the arctic breed found in Hrothgaer, the blue fox notably found around the Aelmoor countryside, the gray fox's found in the woods or the Melanistic black fox that can be spotted around Meridian. To date most experts had believed the rarest fox breed to be the albino fox, a white breed, found almost exclusively in the countryside around the town of Midvale, so rare is the albino fox that it is considered an endangered species and appears on the WMOESR. The picture above is of course not an albino fox, or any of the breeds mentioned so far in this article, it is a pink or pink champagne fox cub. The discovery was made by the Royal Fellowship for the Conservation and Protection of the Countryside, Environment and Animals (RFCPCEA) during their annual census of the albino fox population, as explained by a spokesperson who said: "According to all our wild life census's the pink fox was last seen a century ago, there have been no recorded sightings since, the species was believed extinct, whether it actually was or not we will never know due to the breeding, a pink fox is bred by cross breeding a red fox, albino fox, gray fox and other species, the progenitor species being more common in relative terms means the pink fox could have died out and then by the slightest chance been reborn. Our discovery was of a family of an adult male and adult female with five cubs. We'll be adding the species to our list of species for this years WMOESR."
NORTHWIND CLASS CONFIRMED AMID AIR FORCE EXERCISES
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
It's been long awaited and delayed for a variety of reasons mostly of a technological nature but over twenty years on from its first mention in the Defence Review of 2000, the so called 'SCGSW' now named the Northwind Class has been confirmed as being under construction, the confirmation came from Minister of Defence Adam Sheppard following speculation about activity spotted at Whirlpool Shipyard. Speaking to the press the Minister said "The Northwind class represents the final recommendation of the 2000 review being met, construction of the first ship has begun and we'll see what the eventual testing brings, we hope it will live up to its billing, a cutting edge vessel across the board." The Minister was speaking while attending scheduled Air Force training exercises which saw several new pieces of equipment tested including a first test firing of the Heaven's Dagger hypersonic cruise missile, which was registered as a success although further tests are planned, and the 'Jolt Pod' which needs further work as the Minister explained "Heaven's Dagger represents the first foray for Achkaerin's military with a weapon of this type a proof of concept if you will, today's results show it has potential though we need to do more testing before thinking about rolling it out. The Jolt Pod needs a little more development but such is the way of things." The Minister declined to comment on further specifics.
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NAVY SENT TO TOKARA ISLANDS AMID INCIDENT RESPONSE
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By: Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Achkaerinese naval assets stationed at Antares base have been ordered to the Tokara Islands as part of a response to the recent incident which saw Rokkenjiman aircraft engage and shoot down their Daitojin counterparts without provocation, the deployment featuring the INS Seonaid Ayanami (pictured above) is to operate in a peacekeeping manner to deter both sides in this from further escalation. The move is likely to be the final deployment from the base as the Achkaerinese Government has announced that it is revoking the lease for QCMB and giving Rokkenjiman forces until the end of the month to depart. A final step has seen the Achkaerinese embassy in Rokkenjima closed, further measures have not been ruled out.
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MILITARY CARRY OUT SECOND HEAVEN'S DAGGER TEST
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The Heaven's Dagger hypersonic missile has undergone a second test this time in the hands of the Navy, though precise details regarding the missile have not been released details regarding the test have been - the test missile was launched from the INS Mossflower and successfully struck its intended target six hundred kilometres away at a speed of mach seven. While not stated the fact that the navy conducted this test has been viewed as a very clear indication of the missile's multi platform nature, something not uncommon and perhaps expected. Analysts have speculated that, given the controlled nature of the test, the range and speed of Heaven's Dagger may exceed that demonstrated. Speaking following the test a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said "The Government is happy with the initial results of today's test and our first foray into the hypersonic arena, we will now await more detailed analysis and go from there. "
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CAIRNS CONJURES VICTORY IN ARTAXIA
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
It was an exceptional day for Achkaerinese cycling with victory in both the mens and womens races at the Midvale-Artaxia Classic. In the mens race Andrew Mason after making a late breakaway held off the challenges of Daisaku Fujimoto and Lars Aaltonen to take the sprint victory over the cobbles of the Royal Mile. While in the womens race a Phoenix Cycling instigated breakaway led by Chihaya Lei and Maria Cairns at two thirds distance broke the peloton apart and then on the ascent through Artaxia, Cairns surged clear as part of a trio with Daria Pasternak and Nanami Esashika, taking the final technical sprint on the line, a sight rarely seen as most editions of this classic end with solo victories. Speaking afterwards Maria Cairns said "Winning this once was unbelievable, to win it for a second time is even more so. We'd talked about how to go about this, what to do and with Sammy being the marked rider we lined up to take advantage of that and it worked, Chihaya got me in a breakaway and when we looked around we felt like we fancied our chances and once she got me past the last long flat I went for it and got there just."
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NERGAL STATION ARRIVES IN ORBIT
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Nergal Station, the Achkaerin Space Agency's intended long term base camp for study and exploration of the red planet, has arrived in orbit of Nergal ahead of the planned Enterprise mission in 2024. The station carries multiple docking berths for vessels like Enterprise and Sojourner as well as berths for landers allowing not only for the cycling of crew and replenishing of supplies but also continued exploration and study of Nergal in the period between launch windows. Speaking on this Director of Flight Operations Nicola Fernley said: "Exploring beyond the moon has many challenges, we've said this before. The major hurdle is in the logistics of launch windows, they only come along so often, it doesn't matter if it's Nergal, Marduck, Titan or beyond they are something we wrestle with, there is an element of risk to having a station essentially isolated for significant periods of time but the same risks exist aboard Pegasus Station, the difference is distance which is why we're taking plenty of steps in advance to safeguard. Infrastructure is going to be the name of the game as we look to go further out there."
Miss Fernley also commented on the Ozzie success the Agency had had with their documentary on the Oracle Space Telescope saying "Documentaries like that are why we do what we do, to share what we find out there and maybe just maybe we inspire the next generation of explorers."
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QUESTIONS ABOUND AS BARON WATERSTONE SPOTTED IN ATTICA
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Questions abounded following the sighting of Baron Sebastian Waterstone of Lakeside in Attica, a somewhat unusual location to spot an Achkaerinese noble. When asked for the reason the Baron's office stated "The Baron is the Chancellor of the Lakeside College of Economics and is visiting Attica to extend the College's invitation to the Queen of Attica to speak at this years spring graduation, given the Queen's quite successful economic background and substantive knowledge in this area the invitation is quite routine practice."
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SENATES MOTIONS TO IMPEACH EMPEROR
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
In a historic first the Senate has voted, unanimously, to file impeachment charges against Emperor Peter the grounds for doing so being the Emperor's incapacity making him unfit to hold office. The unanimity of the vote was far from unexpected given that the Emperor is stiil in a coma, speaking following the announcement of the vote the Consul, Michael Williams addressed the Senate saying "Mr Speaker I wish to pay tribute to all members of this House, today we have sat and listened to evidence for a great many hours and everyone has been gracious, thoughtful and attentive on this historic day when we have carried out this most solemn of our proceedings for the first time in respect of a sitting monarch. I would like to extend the Senates thanks to Ms Hope for presenting the Government's case and to Ms Acheson for providing the other side of the discussion. This is not a condemnation of the Emperor, this is a finding of fact, he is not currently fit for office and may not be for some time if ever, continuity of government and leadership required this constitutional step. Once again I thank all those involved."
The Noble Moot is expected to deliberate the Senate motion in the next couple of days.
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EMPEROR IMPEACHED, COUNTDOWN TO CORONATION BEGINS
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The Noble Moot has voted to impeach Emperor Peter on the grounds of incapacity effectively ending the Emperor's near twenty one year reign. The result was the expected outcome of the proceedings. In passing the motion the Noble Moot noted that Emperor Peter would be granted the title of Emeritus and that he would continue to hold the title of Duke of Rosemoor. Within moments of the decision the Changing of the Colours took place, a ceremonial function that sees the national flag lowered across the nation and the provincial flags raised in place, the act is a nod to the manner in which this process in pre Constitution times was conducted. The Noble Moot also an hour later issued the proclamation of Crown Princess Serenity to be Empress starting the countdown to a coronation. Doctor Donna Steele, Achkaerin's representative to the CETO, explained what to expect saying: "The impeachment of the Emperor puts two processes in motion, first there's the ceremonial - the pomp, the pageantry and the
patriotism, the destruction of the symbols of office and the forging of the new ones that ends in the coronation. But there's also the legal process, within the next twenty four hours the Noble's proclamation will be joined by those of the People, represented by the Senate, and the military. These three proclamations grant the Crown Princess
the authority of Empress in all but name, it's how continuity of government is ensured rather than having periods of uncertainty."
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CROWDS GATHER AHEAD OF CORONATION
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Crowds have flocked to the streets of Valtheim ahead of the coronation of Crown Princess Serenity as Empress, along the processional route from the Marble Palace to the Temple of the Daughters members of the public have essentially pitched camp to get good vantage points of the various processions that will occur on the day. Initial estimates suggest that this will be one of the highest concentrations of people in Valtheim on a given day in recorded history, the last highest being the 2015 Football World Cup Final in which Achkaerin beat Dartfordia 1-0. Valtheim Police have stated that "We're expecting a very sizable crowd on Coronation day and we're confident in our ability to keep everyone safe throughout the duration of the days festivities." The Crown Princess has spent some of today attending the weekly Questions for the Crown session in the Senate, which turned out to be a far more lighthearted affair than is normally the case with questions mainly focusing on who would the Crown Princess dance with first at the coronation ball and had she been practicing her signature. The serious business of government is expected to resume following the coronation.
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EMPRESS SERENITY CROWNED
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Serenity Azurewind has been crowned Empress of Achkaerin in a ceremony at the Temple of the Daughters. The ceremony, attended by leaders from across Mundus saw the usual traditional elements beginning with the challenge of the Guard, the pledge of the Crown, the affirmations of the people, the Nine Grand Nobles and then the Brave before finally the crowning itself. Perhaps the most intriguing and hotly debated thing in advance of the coronation was the question of what was the Empress going to wear? Well she chose to wear a white dress, with the expected blue cloak but it was the various accessories that made a statement, securing the cloak in place were two brooches one a representation of the torque that the nation of Nya Aland gifted her as wedding present some years ago, the second bore the insignia of the Ngāti Paoa iwi, the iwi that adopted Achkaerin during the Matariki of 2017, around her neck was the amulet of sovereignty representing her authority in Revana. When asked for comment the Royal Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright said "The Empress has over her years of diplomatic service been to a great many events in a great many nations and become someone who is quite friendly with many of them it's not surprising that she would choose to display things that represent who she has become over those years." The coronation was watched nationwide while the streets of the capital were lined with well wishers out to celebrate the day.
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RADIO SHOW MARKS CENTENARY WITH ROYAL SPECIAL
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By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
With the Achkaerinese Broadcasting Corporation still celebrating its centenary year, many of the stalwart radio shows have also been celebrating anniversaries the most notable of these being Desert Island Discs as it celebrates eighty years of programming. The format of the program sees a guest otherwise known as the "castaway" marooned, by their imagination, on a desert island with three books (one of which is the complete works of Shakespeare and another is a religious or philosophical work), eight recordings (which are usually but not always music) and a luxury item (which must be inanimate), the idea being that the various choices allow the castaway to review their life by discussion of the aforementioned choices. Regular listeners to the program this week got a surprise as the castaway was Empress Serenity. What were her choices and why? Well they're as follows:
The book: The Complete Works of J.R.R Tolkien - "These were the stories that my dad used to read to me when I was a kid, these were the stories I studied in school, revised for exams and these are the stories that have been my escape a great many times."
The Music:
Piece 1 - Hushabye Mountain (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jwNJT5lGxU) (from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) - "One of my earliest memories is hearing my mother sing this when I had trouble sleeping, which was an awful lot of the time when I was very very young, it was my comfort, my sanctuary knowing that you had that perceived invincible figure there and that nothing could harm you. All the monsters under the bed, ghosts under the stairs or whatever they were. It was a way of resetting your mind and everything else, it still is for me."
Piece 2 - All Time High (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_hFby8G6qE) (Rita Coolidge) - "I don't think there's any surprise I'd include this, it's the song that was the first dance at mine and Isaac's wedding, it was a joint pick and it was the words that sold it to us because it was practically our story neither of us were really looking for anything in New Reach when we met, then we ended up playing basketball and a week later he's flying over to Valtheim, after that we were practically speaking inseparable."
Piece 3 - On My Own (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwtfUwI76sg) (from Les Miserables) - "Back in 2015 I had the pleasure to play the part of Eponine in our production of Les Miserables as part of the Edelweiss Festival. It was a fun and weird experience for a few reasons, Simon was playing Marius which was odd because Eponine has a romantic thing for Marius but obviously Simon's my brother so it was a little difficult. It's a song that hits differently in places for me now because I do think about Isaac a lot and the references in the last verse basically describe things I've done a lot over the years since I lost him."
Piece 4 - Brave (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOyPHDBQlJQ) (Beau Dermott) - "One of the big things I've done in my life so far was finding myself in the position of CTO Secretary-General at the time when the Andean Genocide was being dealt with, those will probably go down as some of the most difficult days of my life because what should have been a simple case of agreement became a battle of wills so to speak, one I'm happy was won because to concede to Rokkenjima in that instance would have set a most dangerous precedent that people can be above the law that is not a principle I subscribe to, whether you're the highest of the high or the lowest of the low all are equal before the law and all have recourse to the law, that's the guiding principle of justice. At the time it was even more difficult because I have to sign off on a resolution that effectively charges people I know with crimes that I can't believe they've committed but the responsibility is not to judge based on opinion but fact and the facts were clear, it happened, steps were missed, meetings didn't happen, messages weren't sent, authorisation not sought and reports not investigated. Sometimes we wonder what would Rokkenjima be now if Beatrice Anselmo's signature had never adorned the Sakura-Umeko Accord. We'll never know but we do know that history pivots on such moments whether for good or not. I've never regretted my role in the aftermath of the genocide because securing justice was imperative to resolve the matter, but the question will always wander around my head 'what if...' it's one of those things I'll have to live with."
Piece 5 - All Our Days (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgXsRlZ7xhA) (Jeff & Casey Lee Williams) - "This is probably my weirdest pick but it's for my daughters. They've both been through a lot Lisa spent years away from me and it took us a long time to get to know each other after I got her back, and Astrid well I don't need to say much about everything she's been through, having to learn sign language, having to adjust to a new normal for her. I'm in awe of both of them at times because when you go through dark times and get knocked about it's easy to break but I haven't seen that from them, they've taken everything in their stride and I couldn't be prouder of them, it's weird to think that we're almost at the point of Lisa going to high school and Astrid won't be far behind."
Piece 6 - Sound of Surviving (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaOExJJa_YA) (Nichole Norderman) - "I guess when I think about this song it reminds me about being captured by terrorists twice and ultimately getting blown up while on duty in the navy but also the recovery from the latter it was always more a mental thing and that's where Legionnaire Legacy came in, I'm not forgetting that group of rugby loving tough guys anytime soon, not least because they kept knocking me out of the wheelchair every time we played rugby. But it's always hard when something life changing throws you off but as long as you don't let it get to you and you have the right people around you it gets better, that's a lesson I've learned a fair few times."
Piece 7 - Run (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcfDWPwmbSk) (Leona Lewis) - "Sport means a great many things to many different people on Mundus, it's been a fun part and a healing part of my life. I supposedly hold a Mundus Games record of three gold medals in three different sports, winning the basketball in 2015 in East Moreland was big, winning the Pentathlon in Tytor was surprising but I missed out on the Heptathlon that year and then I got blown up and never thought I'd completely recover. The surgery in East Moreland was something I never imagined possible and I wasn't completely sold on it but then I got all these messages from the people I'd met and played the odd game of wheelchair rugby with over at Legionnaire Legacy telling me to go for it. Once I was recovered from the surgery the Mundus Games loomed up on the horizon and I had this unfinished business with the Heptathlon so I started running again, then I started throwing and then I started jumping, I even recruited my two daughters to help. Just getting to the start line of the hurdles was something special and it wasn't easy after that I remember lining up for the eight hundred metres knowing I had the overall lead, looking down at my left foot and thinking 'hold together just a little longer' I thought it was going to come off with how much it ached after that race, but it was either do it or wallow around at home."
Piece 8 - Sunshine on Leith (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjovsCoKFXo) (The Proclaimers) - "As a Leith A.F.C fan this is something I originally knew as a football chant but it's come to mean a lot more in more recent times. It's something especially in the last few days when I've listened to it I've thought about more as a promise, similar to the national anthem in that way, the Empress to the people of the nation she serves. But if I was going to be a bit more selfish about the pick I guess it's something signifying something which was always going to be difficult for me - moving on. After Isaac I was always worried about what came next, I can put up a good front but inside I was broken, and then we come to the last few months it's got better, I don't know what was behind it but having someone right there with you is always
the same even if the person is different and hopefully we'll be together for a long time to come."
The Luxury Item: "It's got to be my pool table, with the cues and the balls obviously, the one I'm thinking of lives at Commonwealth House though I'm thinking about moving it up here, the bed is made of toughened glass so you don't have the knap of the cloth that you get on other tables when you play some shots at certain speeds, would probably have to go in the shade of a palm tree so it doesn't get way too warm."
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EMPRESS ATTENDS PRIDE FESTIVAL
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The month long Pride Festival in Liberty Square had a special guest today as Empress Serenity, joined festival goers in the celebrations. The Empress was accompanied by Princess Euphemia of Rokkenjima which has been taken as confirmation of a relationship between the two and marks the first time they've been seen publicly as a couple. This years festival, which began at the start of the month, includes many popular Achkaerinese musical acts as well as drama companies, plenty of dancing and a new addition this year - open air weddings in the square. It's always been possible to have same sex marriages in places of worship, in accordance with the view of the respective faith, however for the purposes of the festival the City of Valtheim Council has issued a marriage venue license to the square itself and in a first of its kind domestically the license is multi denominational allowing those of all faiths or none to utilise it. The Empress commented on the festivities saying: "Festivals like this are a testament to how far Mundus has come that things previously viewed as wrong, demented or mental instability are now accepted for what they are - displays of love and identity."
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ACHKAERIN CARDINAL TRIALS ONLINE COMMUNION
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By Georgina Lane: Faith Correspondent
The most sacred of the Christian sacraments, regardless of denomination, is Holy Communion which put simply involves the sharing of bread and wine within the gathered congregation. Today Cardinal Martin Deed (pictured above) administered the sacrament in an online format as he included it in his midweek online worship which prompted outcry from some quarters and intrigue from others. The Cardinal is known to be highly critical of certain practices within the Church and an advocate for change, the last time he spoke out it sparked the still ongoing protests outside the Ecclesiastical State embassy in Valtheim. When asked about this apparent controversy the Cardinal said: "I accept that it's different but I believe that the Church must recognise that it doesn't exist inside a bubble, the messages that we as preachers deliver week after week are shaped in part by the world around us. I answered God's call many years ago and have been a preacher for a large amount of the time since, in that time society has changed, we've entered into the digital revolution, we now have the capability to use technology to reach a far larger number of people, our congregations exist now as they always have not just within but beyond the walls of our places of worship for that is the nature of itinerant ministry. So while I understand there are those who will always back away from the new because it is the new I believe that this method of Communion is theologically permissible. We accept God as all powerful and as existing outside of linear time and existing all around us, so if God exists everywhere does that not include existing in cyberspace? If the answer to that be yes then we accept that God's power extends into the online world which surely means that online worship including the Sacraments becomes possible, if the answer be no then we are limiting God and that's counter to what we believe, it is not the place of the created to limit the creator."
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GAMES COMING HOME
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
"The Mundus Games for 2023 are awarded to the City of Valtheim" - the declaration from the Mundus Games Committee greeted by cheers and celebrations across the capital, the great festival of sport that can trace its origins to Moonvale on the banks of Foxton Lake is coming home a decade on from their reincarnation as the Mundus Games. The Valtheim bid drew on both the history of the Games and the ambition of the Achkaerinese team to deliver the occasion. Iconic venues such as the Fox's Den, where the Achkaerinese won the 2015 football world cup will be used, the Sammy Lawson velodrome often referred to as the "medal factory" will finally have its moment on the big stage, and in a nod to the history of the Games Foxton Lake will host the rowing events while the Goddess's Court, the arena of gladiators in ages gone by makes a little more history for itself by becoming the oldest building to stage an event as it is to host the Medieval Mixed Martial Arts. The centre piece is the Djana Azurewind Stadium which will of course host the athletics as well as the opening and closing ceremonies which it has been confirmed are to be directed by three time Ozzie winning director Jemma Fox. Reacting to the news of the Games being awarded Empress Serenity, just prior to the opening of the Festival of Sail in East Moreland which she is attending, said - "To be hosting the Mundus Games is a great honour and privilege especially in their tenth anniversary year. I would like to thank the team that put together the bid, figured out the venues and crafted this magnificent balance of heritage, modernism and ambition. I know people have been asking am I going to try and defend my heptathlon title? Not this year, it's been a very busy last few months and I'm nowhere near competition ready, however I'm looking forward to watching the Games and getting to know people during them."
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EMPRESS GIVES HER FIRST COVENANT ADDRESS
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Empress Serenity has delivered her first Covenant Address, the traditional speech given by the Crown to the Senate, in keeping with the reign of her father there were many familiar events on the day itself - the Empress visited the temple of Namis and attended the traditional boat race between the universities of Artaxia and Freshwater, presenting both winning trophies to Freshwater, the Empress also spent time with family before making the traditional walk to the home of the Senate, Liberty Hall, where she gave the speech, the full text is below:
The Covenant Address 2023[/size]
Mr Speaker, Honourable Senators, my Lord’s, Ladies and gentlemen, all those watching across our nation and the world. Tonight I come to this most sacred chamber of democracy to give a speech that apparently earns me a place in the record books as the youngest monarch of this Empire to deliver the Covenant Address, not a record I ever thought would be mine but mine it is. My father did twenty of these addresses and for each one he gave a title, that’s a tradition I intend to continue,and I take the title for tonight from the musical version of the Lord of the Rings and the music “The Song of Hope.” Before anyone says it no I’m not saying I’m Aragorn or Arwen that’s not my point, my point is despite all that is thrown at us every day, all the challenges we face, there is one indisputable fact time waits for no one, we still stand, we still endure and we still walk along the road before us one step at a time.
It’s strange to think that I’m only the second woman to deliver this address, the last time it happened was of course Empress Djana, when she delivered this address for the first time this building was still the school of philosophy, a place where our greatest thinkers came together and discussed the great issues of the time, debating long into the night on occasion. When she signed the Constitution of our nation she didn’t do it at the Marble Palace, she didn’t sign it in a temple, she didn’t sign it in the Noble Moot. No our Constitution was signed out in the middle of Liberty Square on a simple wooden table, made by a local carpenter in full view of everyone, the eternal contract between Crown, Senate and the People put together not behind closed doors but out in the open for all to witness, for all to hear. And here over three hundred years later I stand and that document is as strong as ever, our commitments both domestically and internationally have bound us together with friends. We’re a nation forged by sword, shield and spear in a war nobody asked for but we’re a nation sustained by all the oaths made throughout our history. Next year we will mark the tenth anniversary of our signature to several of the pillars of international law and I’m fully expecting that we will end up doing so in all the glorious pomp and pageantry that this nation expects for such an occasion - the flowery stuff can wait for the appropriate points next year but ceremony is one thing, words are one thing, anyone can sign a document but you have to back that up with action, you have to live up to your obligations or those words are meaningless. No one should be under any illusions that this nation signed that raft of international treaties because we saw all our principles contained within them - equality, justice, freedom. And it is that vision, that understanding and our own moral grounding that means we will abide by that which we signed, that means we will back it up with action and that we will hold our fellow signatories to the mark. Why is it we do so? Because there’s no place for tokenism when it comes to the law, you don’t get to sign something and then ignore it when it’s convenient, it’s not one rule for you and another for everyone else. All are equal before the law because justice is blind and justice is accessible to all.
I was there when this sacred principle was tested, I was there the day that the international community upheld this principle, I may have damaged my hand banging it on a podium at some point that day as well but I was and always will be thankful for the integrity shown that day because to not do so would have been to say that some can be above the law and escape accountability. That is how democracies turn to dictatorships, it’s how good leaders turn into tyrants, it’s how open nations become police states, we were reminded not that long ago just how slippery that slope is, we saw one nation near enough destroy its own democracy rather than trust it and when they got called on it, rather than listen they doubled down, the various paths of life are most certainly paved with good intentions but one should never use the sledgehammer to crack the nut especially in politics it has the unfortunate possibility of hitting your own hand as collateral. With power comes responsibility, there cannot be power without responsibility on the part of those who wield it or our entire world will crumble like a house of cards, irresponsible use of power must always be challenged and checked because when we speak truth to power, when we hold those in power accountable we are exercising our rights to do so, just go out to the square in front of the Ecclesiastical State embassy, site of the longest running protest in our nations history it’ll be five years in November, the observed right to criticise, to say you’re wrong, to speak your opinion without fear. Those who would deny such basic freedoms and wave off such criticism when voiced need to take a long look in the mirror for as one particular iconic character of science fiction observes “matter of internal security, the age old cry of the oppressor.”
I’ve spoken many times about slavery in recent years, I’ve been very critical of various aspects around it including how the nation that is the chief proponent of the practice was allowed to not only continue it unchecked but prosper through it. In all seriousness that isn’t acceptable. The Mundus Convention of Universal Rights and the Abrahamic Declaration both outlaw slavery, between them those two documents are signed by a large chunk of the international community and yet one signatory was allowed to act contrary to this position without consequence, and it gets worse there is a long list of prominent international figures who have done business in the slave trade and only one prosecution has arisen from that and let’s be clear this includes people whose signature is on one of those documents. It’s simply not good enough is it? There are things that define who we are as a people, struggles that show our progress as a people, we did it with nuclear weapons, it took a long time but we got there we got rid of them. Just because something has always been a certain way doesn’t mean we can’t do better. The fight against slavery is one of the most significant challenges of our time and it is one that we must overcome and that means taking action to combat it, it means making the hard choices and it means sending a very clear message that one person cannot own another. Those days were consigned to the pages of history by the majority of the world a long time ago and that’s where it should remain. All those held in slavery and servitude deserve the best efforts of everyone who signed up to outlaw the practice to bring about the end of it. We will do our part in that and we hope others will continue to do theirs. Together we will cast slavery back into the abyss, that’s not a threat, that’s a promise and it’s a promise very easy to be kept. Before someone says this is warmongering no it’s not, I don’t desire a violent confrontation any more than the next person, what I do know is that the back door Tamora had with Mundus has been closed, its access to international markets is restricted and will remain restricted, the international community was slow out of the gates last time around, I wouldn’t bet on it being so again.
A year ago Achkaerin left the CSTO and served notice of intent to leave the CSU, in a couple of weeks time the CSU departure will be complete, many have asked why this happened. It happened because the CSTO as it is was served no purpose and gave no benefit in exchange for that membership, both organisations essentially duplicated pre-existing ties and there was no march of progress in fact every time progress was attempted it was shouted down. I’m not worried about belonging to no bloc, as a nation we’ve charted that course before and we’re more than capable of doing that again. In recent weeks my focus has been understandably on domestic matters but in the coming weeks I will be looking outwards again, I hope to get to visit many different nations and meet many different leaders and hopefully make many new friends as well. I share my father’s belief that we can a lot by experiencing different things and by making new friends we can foster understandings that avoid or help handle problems later down the line, communication and conversation is always the first resort, we have a friendship network of which we can be proud and rightly so but we won’t stop there we’ll seek to expand it.
In a few weeks time we will host in our nation the great festival of sport that is the Mundus Games, in more ancient times these were held at Moonvale on the banks of Foxton Lake and now in their tenth year since being brought back in a modern form, we get the chance to bring the sporting world to our nation and to put on the biggest show of the year. It was quite the interesting experience to be involved in making the video that formed the bid presentation and it also develops a great appreciation for all those who work on both sides of the camera. Like many people across the world I’m looking forward to seeing the best of Mundus in action in the great competitions of strength, speed, skill and endurance. To those that spearheaded our bid I can only say you brought the Games home, well done and you have the grateful thanks of a nation for that achievement. I hold a little bit of Mundus Games history myself in having won three gold medals in three different sports which I was amazed to discover puts me at the top of some ranking or other. Anyway someone, namely my brother, got hold of this information and decided it would be a good idea for me to do something in the build up. So in the coming days as we build up to the Games opening ceremony I shall be finding out what it’s like to take part in each of the sports on the Games program, some of these I’m looking forward to and some of them will be more challenging and not to plug this too much but the last time I was on a trampoline it didn’t go so well.
Year on year we call on our brave citizens in uniform to put themselves in harms way to defend ourselves and our friends. Earlier this year we found ourselves in a trickier than usual position as two of our friends engaged in conflict with each other, we were forced to put ourselves between them. This they did and they did it in the professional manner that we have come to expect from them, fortunately nothing came of the stand off and diplomatic heads eventually prevailed. But this is a reminder of what we ask of those who protect us and we know that the capability to defend ourselves and others is an ever changing equation, it is with that in mind that we will continue our vigilance and our innovation. We will continue to maintain one of the most professional, mobile, highly trained, best trained and experienced militaries on Mundus, we will continue to evolve and we will continue to defend ourselves and our allies with the same conviction and principles we always have and always will. A question that has been asked a few times, especially recently, is how do we maintain fighting effectiveness in relation to the changing climate of our planet? After all the fuel which propels our tanks, ships and aircraft oil is finite, it will run out one day, I don’t profess to know when that will be but I know it is an inevitability at some point. The answer that the Ministry of Defence has forms part of a larger energy shift, some of this has already begun to happen but let’s be clear what’s going to happen, we will begin to transform our military from one that relies on the finite to one that relies on the renewable, and then using what we learn and develop as we go we will continue the march towards zero carbon on schedule, we will continue to secure our energy independence and security. We will continue to build a nation that our children, grandchildren and all the generations to come will be proud to call their home. Achkaerin is deserving of our very best, Mundus is deserving of our very best, let’s give it our very best, let’s be bold, let’s be ambitious, let’s reach for the stars. That Mr Speaker is my hope and I commend this statement to the House.
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The address had plenty of questions in advance of it - what style would the Empress adopt? What would be her focus? What would she choose to speak about? The Empress in the end chose a traditional style reminiscent of her father which in itself is perhaps to be expected as she continues to settle into the role. Overall the Marble Palace will be happy with how the speech has gone and how positive the initial reactions to it are. Tonight was billed as a 'getting to know you' moment, the first major speech of the Empress's reign, and she came out strong, clear, personable and principled.
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GOVERNMENT ISSUES TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS ON KALASIN
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
Following the threat of secession (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=2925.msg27370#msg27370) made by the Kalasin Regional Assembly the Achkaerinese Government has issued travel restrictions on the nation, announcing the move in the Senate Minister of Foreign Affairs Richard Chambers (pictured above) said "The measures we take today are for the protection of our citizens in the event of escalation and civil conflict. We are immediately ordering the suspension of all travel to the nation of Kalasin from Achkaerinese territory, we strongly advise any tourists in country to make arrangements to leave and if they are having trouble to immediately contact the Achkaerinese embassy or regional consulate. This is a preemptive action but by acting in advance of any potential escalation to the situation we hope to minimise the potential for civilians to be caught in the crossfire, if this doesn't escalate then this is a happy overreaction but if it does then it means that we have things in motion to safeguard civilians. The Government will of course continue to monitor the situation in Kalasin and will bring further measures as appropriate."
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ADMIRAL HARPER CONCERNED BY IGNORANCE AND COMPLACENCY
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
Admiral Lucas Harper of the Achkaerinese Navy appeared before the Senate's defence committee today to discuss the latest version of the Harper-Càidh manual, the document is an evolution of the guidelines for armed conflicts at sea that have been employed by the Achkaerinese navy for the last thirty years, the manual is expected to be presented for formal adoption following this final scrutinising process . In the course of questioning the Admiral was asked by one committee member about comments made by Hiraoka Toshiko (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=8.msg27374#msg27374), a naval warfare expert employed by Abstergo Industries about the Zircon missile, and what he thought about them to which the Admiral said:
"Ms Toshiko's comments read like a decent paper however they are largely based on supposition and speculation and reliant on things that are not wholly correct. Start with the claims around the 'tracking' this is at minimum technically false and Ms Toshiko has provided the argument that indicates this, the Zircon missile does as she describes due to air pressure fly within a plasma sheath which absorbs radio waves and other such things to do with the missiles targeting however what she doesn't say is that the effect of the plasma is the same when trying to detect and track the missile from the targets perspective, it's called plasma stealth, so by simply traveling at hypersonic speed you have a situation where the missile is highly unlikely to be detectable. You then have to consider that what makes the Zircon the deadly threat that it is is that the speed the missile travels at does not give anywhere near sufficient time for any counter reaction and even supposing it does need to drop speed to acquire the target you're then in the realms of pitting a targeting computers reaction time against a humans and we all know who wins that one. Fifteen seconds is a very generous estimate, my understanding is that it would be closer to ten seconds but either way you have to consider what physically happens in that time because it's not a yawning chasm it's the blink of an eye, first the computer detects it, then the report is made - now assuming that the ship has not been struck while the report is being given, and such a strike is highly likely to be the case, the person in command at that point has to then give an evasive action order and the ship must then turn to that course and increase speed significantly that without question will take longer than the window of time between detection and impact. The suggestion that the Zircon can "fly fast or hit a moving vessel, it cannot do both," is therefore falsified by this point, because the fifteen second window is based on a Zircon flying at mach 5-6 which is hypersonic speeds or to put it another way fast, equally as we assume that proposed scenario is occuring in the final stage of its trajectory when it is utilising sea skimming capabilities to make detection even more difficult the suggestion of the missile can either be hypersonic or it may be low observable, but it cannot be both in tandem is also refuted. You don't take chances in warfare, you don't assume that you have an advantage unless you know you have an advantage, absence of information does not mean absence of capability, Kaitaine had more than enough time to develop this missile and must be assumed to have the support capability to field it and Miss Toshiko would do well to ground her opinions in solid fact and evidence rather than an unfortunate typical Rokkenjiman assumption about equipment capability. Let's put this whole claim into perspective at Mach 8 the Zircon can hit a target at nine hundred kilometres away in about five minutes and thirty seconds. The fastest military naval vessel out there can in ideal conditions hit sixty knots so assuming it has the engines right up to max in such conditions it can only cover just over ten kilometres between the launch and impact so once the missile acquires the target that's about two seconds or so to impact at Mach 8. Taking an average speed of twenty knots means the ship has only moved three kilometres, but remember that's at nine hundred kilometres the shorter the range, the less time between launch and impact and the less distance can be covered by the ship in the meantime. Miss Toshiko's opinion is based on unlikely circumstances being prevalent, assumes a level of efficiency on the part of a ships crew that is well beyond the physically capable and relies on what is quite likely an unsubstantiated hypothesis as to the technological capability of a state actor it is a flawed analysis. Is the Zircon a significant danger? Yes, does that mean you abandon hope when facing it? No but what you don't do is treat the threat as if it's anything less than what experienced military personnel know it to be."
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LODJA NIGHT AT EDELWEISS
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By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
It's become something of a tradition now but the Lodja Prom had its fifth outing at the Edelweiss festival last night, the special evening sees the oval section of the Royal Theatre floor vacated by festival goers and taken over by dancers including staff from the Lodjan embassy, professional dancers and VIP's including Prince Jack Azurewind and his Lodjan girlfriend Lady Katyusha Andronikashivili (pictured above), the pair are regular attendees at various balls throughout the Lodjan ball season usually including one in the Duchy of Qudaghlo a region of Lodja where Lady Katyusha is from, the couple have been together for almost four years having met while the Prince was studying music at university in Lodja, a course he graduated from earlier this year. There's been increased speculation about the couple's future in recent months with some wondering if wedding bells are likely to be in the offing, there has been no official comment on this from the Marble Palace or the family of Lady Katyusha.
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EMPRESS GIVES THOUGHTS ON ASSEMBLY OF NATIONS
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
It was perhaps inevitable that during this weeks Questions for the Crown session that Empress Serenity would be asked about the Assembly of Nations mentioned in a social media post by the Empress of Rokkenjima (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=180.msg27388#msg27388), the question put by Minister for the Diplomatic Office (and former CTO ambassador) Cheryl Holmes was "Can I ask Her Majesty what she thinks of the proposed Assembly of Nations and whether she would commit Achkaerin to it at this time?" In answering the Empress said:
"I thank the Minister for her question, my answer is going to sound an awful lot like the answer King David of East Moreland gave when answering Tim Carpenter (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=150.msg27391#msg27391). On paper the idea of a grand diplomatic forum for all the world sounds like a brilliant idea, a place where nations can sit together and address the issues of the day, but organisations of this type not only require debate they require willingness to enforce and/or carry out the actions agreed to. The Commonwealth Treaty Organisation was conceived in 2015 in the aftermath of the fall of the USR, the collapse of the warsaw alliance and the end of the eugenics war in Seaforth, it was entered into at a time when every month seemed to be bringing a new crisis and a fresh military deployment whether for peacekeeping, combat or humanitarian purposes. The idea of the Commonwealth Treaty Organisation therefore made sense in 2015 and critically had an international community that was prepared to take the leap of faith together but through the course of time we got to a point where it became very obvious that the burden of taking the organisations actions was falling on the same two nations every time, both Achkaerin and East Moreland without complaint sent forces into harms way shoulder to shoulder, we'd done it before the CTO, we did it during the CTO and we have done it after both nations left the CTO, if you consider crises in recent times you will find at least one of East Moreland or Achkaerin playing a part in resolving them, whether together or alone our nations have played and continue to play their part, if there is one thing East Moreland can be assured of it's that when they need help Achkaerin will be there, and we have buried more than our fair share of dead defending what we stand for and this is what largely led to the demise of the CTO. Consider that the CTO comprised upwards of fifteen nations some with far larger military capabilities than either ourselves or East Moreland and yet they sat back and let the hammer fall on the same two nations every time, it got commented about a lot at the time but the legacy of the CTO is an organisation that had great potential but in the end is a trail of empty and broken promises. The most common example is well known during the Marseilles crisis Rokkenjima pledged thirty thousand grounds troops, significant naval assets and a lot of airpower to the CTOMM such a contribution would have made a significant difference but not one Rokkenjiman soldier, ship or aircraft ended up in theatre. Then it gets even more unbelievable while a genocide is happening in Royal Seleucid the CTO is being bombarded with all manner of resolutions attempting to undo arguably the most important resolution it ever passed, is it any wonder East Moreland and ourselves took unilateral action? And more than that having taken such action successfully and having seen that does it not then suggest that something was wrong with the CTO?
But here's the most significant point - the Mundus of 2023 is not the Mundus of 2015, we are not lurching from crisis to crisis without chance to catch our breath, this is actually the calmest Mundus has been in a long time, I dispute that we're in a wild west, if we ever were that was back in 2014-2016 but now? No. The political and diplomatic landscape between then and now has changed significantly, we've seen the rise of regional organisations - MICA, TUNA, Ardian Assembly, SOI all developing and all capable of resolving crises when they occur and some of them have managed to do so without recourse to a CTO esque body, so it begs the question does Mundus need a CTO type body? At this point I'm not convinced it does, and given the amount of skepticism that is present in the international community towards such bodies it seems Mundus isn't wholly convinced either. Naturally I'm prepared to be convinced and will follow this as it develops but this needs a significant amount of work which I hope is going to be undertaken before we get near a summit rather than just hoping it all works out."
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EMPRESS VISITS ATHLETES AS TERROR SITUATIONS ESCALATE
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By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
Empress Serenity visited Team Kalasin today, the team already in the country for the upcoming Mundus Games have become victims of circumstance as the crisis in their homeland escalates, the Empress was joined by her cousin Countess Sakura Sheppard in talking with the Kalasin athletes and it was the Countess who later explained the nature of the meeting - "At this point in time we're doing several different things in relation to the Kalasin situation, we currently have assets in monitoring positions and we're dispatching aid to Daito as well as undertaking in cooperation with our Daito allies an investigation into what exactly happened and who is responsible so that appropriate responses can be made. Today we've met with members of the Kalasin Mundus Games team to talk with them about what happens if this situation remains ongoing after the Games have concluded, if that does become the situation we'll be prepared to process asylum claims from team Kalasin and their supporters."
The Empress meanwhile was asked about the situation in Mersch to which she said - "We are monitoring the situation in Mersch closely, we've increased the terror alert level in Awhaele as a precautionary measure given what we know and can infer so far. We've also increased the alert level at Maelstrom and we'll be liaising with our Morelander allies on this issue."
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SENATE APPROVES MILITARY ACTION IN KALASIN
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
In a late night session, held under Article seven of the Constitution, the Senate has voted unanimously to approve military action against the Separatist Government in Kalasin. Article seven is one of the exceptions under which the Crown, in this case Empress Serenity (pictured above) may address the Senate, in her speech laying out her case the Empress said the following:
"Mr Speaker, Honourable Senators, as you are all aware I come here this evening to lay out a case for military action under article seven of the Constitution before I get into the details of this I would like to first thank the Leader of the Senate Chamber for finding the time to have this matter debated, I would also like to emphasise that while I come here this evening to address the matter in Kalasin that in no way means we aren't concerned by what is occurring in Mersch. I met with Queen Siora earlier today and we discussed what the situation feels like and what action to take and what may potentially need taking, as previously stated our position is one of monitoring that situation and we are liaising with our friends in East Moreland, and I do ask Senators to hold the people of Mersch in their thoughts in the coming days.
Now turning to the reason I'm here this evening, a few days ago a political crisis in Kalasin was begun by the regional government in Pattani that government effectively declared independence from the national Government in Paechon. This isn't anything Mundus hasn't seen before, Senators will recall the end of the Marseilles crisis in 2015 saw Aquitaine claim independence months before it was formally agreed under the ten point plan. The situation in Kalasin was ostensibly no different to that, precautionary measures were taken, diplomatic questions were asked, fact finding was begun. On the 25th of July a missile struck the city of Awara, a missile we can trace the point of origin of to the separatist controlled region of Kalasin. I'll say that again, the missile that struck Awara was launched from the area under the control of the separatist government and that government such as it is must answer for it, for if they have any intention of becoming an independent sovereign state then this is the kind of thing they have to get used to it's called accountability, this happened on their watch is this lack of awareness? Incompetency? No Mr Speaker it is not, given the circumstances, the history and the tone with which the separatists in Pattani have spoken the word that best sums it up is conspiracy. If the Government in Pattani were serious about their national ambitions they would make the diplomatic overtures to the many notable international bodies and engage diplomatically on the matter, their choice not to do so casts doubt on that intention and suggests that they're more interested in settling scores than they are in acting in the best interests of their own people and if their choice was to try and create a position of strength then attacking civilians is not an acceptable means of achieving that, resorting to terrorism automatically loses you the argument.
We're almost exactly seventy eight years on from what history calls the Precipice of Armageddon the nuclear strikes at the end of the Great War one in Daito carried out by the Ardian Empire and then the retaliation carried out by ourselves on their behalf against the Ardian Empire for the one and only time in history there was a distinct possibility of these new destructive weapons leading to a nuclear genocide, yet it didn't happen why? Because there was a level of responsibility, a level of sensibleness, in the face of nuclear brinksmanship, in the face of Pandora's box being opened the Ardian Empire stood down, hope prevailed that day. Two years ago my father stood at this lectern and declared the end of nuclear weapons on Mundus, declaring the closing of Pandora's box, a long time held hope was fulfilled that day. Yesterday someone sought to pick the lock of the box when they carried out a shocking and cowardly attack in Pyrettania, to try and drag Mundus back into an age gone by, to sabotage the achievement made and try to send us back to an age of suspicion, fear and darkness around nuclear weapons? No. A week after my father made that declaration this very Senate ratified a policy document that made it clear that attempts to develop nuclear weapons would be met with appropriate responses, in the case of national governments that means diplomatic approaches first. But we are not facing a national government we are facing a terrorist entity with the trappings of state, and policy dictates that this nation does not negotiate with terrorists, now before the separatist regime takes to social media or issues a statement claiming that they are not terrorists I have a simple question - how else do you describe what we have witnessed? How else do you describe the targeting of innocent civilians, the use of a dirty bomb, launching an attack on a hospital ship? Legitimate warfare? I'm fairly certain the Uppsala Convention has something to say about that, specifically the word no.
Mr Speaker we are a nation that has over the last decade played a significant part in resolving many international crises, we've never walked by on the other side of the road and I don't believe we ever will. I recently stated in relation to East Moreland that Achkaerin would always be there to help if needed, that principle applies to every friend we have and every friend we have yet to meet. We have proven the meaning to those words time and time again, this plea tonight is not just a call to aid injured friends, it's not just a call to play our part in resolving another crisis, it's not just a call to stand by our principles. No it's all those things and more, it's a plea to stand up to the schoolyard bully, to make them answer for the pain, suffering and harm they have wrought on others and the regime in Pattani should be under no illusions they will answer for what has happened over the last few days, we will stare down the nuclear barrel, we will not flinch and we will take that weapon out of their hands. Honourable Senators will have seen circulated the initial course of action we intend to take should this motion pass. This is not simply our treatied duty to Daito and Rokkenjima, this is a plea for action made on behalf of those who cannot ask, those who have sadly lost their lives in the last few days, we owe it to the dead in Awara, in Pyrettania, the dead crew of the RNS Gleidhidh and the dead across Mersch, all lost to acts of terrorism. They will be mourned, they will be remembered and they must have justice, theirs is not a plea for vengeance, it's for those responsible to be held accountable, it's to not let the terrorists win and that is why I ask Senators to vote for this motion tonight."
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MUNDUS GAMES BEGIN
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By Felicity Stewart: Sports Correspondent
After all the build up, all the speculation and all the anticipation the Mundus Games got underway with the opening ceremony last night. All through the day the crowds had flocked to Valtheim and as evening came around they took their places whether in the seats of the Djana Azurewind Stadium or in the many fan zones across the city and in fact the nation, and with three time Ozzie winner Jemma Fox responsible for the opening ceremony there was expectation of something wondrous, they'd come to see a show and they were not to be disappointed - from the word go all the elements of Achkaerinese society were present, the prominence of science fiction, of film, of history, of fantasy, all woven together with the threads of music and musical theatre. There were contributions from Prince Jack Azurewind and Lady Katyusha Andronikashivili, Duchess Renee Azurewind along with notable musical acts and the whole thing held together brilliantly by the Achkaerinese Youth Orchestra. If Fox's intention was to create memorable moments she certainly succeeded, the arrival of Empress Serenity aboard Thunderbird One and the Starship Enterprise flyover will live long in the memory. The athleties parade is of course the centre piece of the occasion and when the Achkaerinese team entered led by Becky Brittaine carrying the Achkaerinese flag it was to a deafening roar. It had been predicted by many in advance that torch lighting responsibilities would be given to Sammy Lawson and they were accurate in such predictions.
Attention now turns to the eighteen days of sport and competition that form the Games and in front of a home crowd there will be plenty of opportunities for the lesser known Achkaerinese competitors to play and compete in what will probably be best described as a partisan atmosphere. The Mundus Games start here.
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LAWSON GETS GOLD MEDAL COUNT TICKING
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Sammy Lawson has won Achkaerin's first gold medal of their home games, taking the women's road race title with a margin of nine minutes to the second placed rider from Daito while Zoe Carpenter took the bronze medal. The manner of the victory was explained by Carpenter after the race as "When we compete in the Mundus Cycling Cup and the various tour races it's a lot harder to give the peloton the slip because every rider is hooked up to a radio and there's near constant communication between team and riders so even if the riders don't count off who's gone up the road the teams do. In the Mundus Games the radio's aren't present so it's a lot easier for us to break away and get someone off the front. We upped the pace out in the country and then on the approach to Valtheim I did what I needed to do which was pull Sammy off the front and then we were in time trial mode, I'm happy I managed to hang on for the bronze." Sammy Lawson meanwhile commented saying "We got there, that's got to be the most pressure I've felt in a race in a long time, a home Mundus Games and being the event favourite. We tried to thin out the field and then when me and Zoe looked around we were on our own. It brought back memories of the first time we raced against each other though on that occasion Zoe was shocked to see me on her wheel, this time it was surprise that we'd manage to get a clean break and then we held it until I went solo."
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EMPRESS MEETS WITH PRESIDENT AND DUCHESS
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Empress Serenity has hosted President Emile Sauzee of Marseilles and Duchess Danielle Aveline of Aquitaine, the meeting held during the Mundus Games saw the trio journey around several venues to take in some of the competition, including the judo, the open water swim and the womens football. As might be expected though this wasn't just a sports tour, there were diplomatic matters discussed as well. An agreement reached between the three nations will see members of the Sorority of Materna terrorist group, presently detained in Achkaerin following the Marseilles crisis, extradited to Marseilles and Aquitaine to face trial for their crimes. Speaking about the agreement Empress Serenity said "This is well overdue, we extradited Sebastian Cartier to Marseilles not that long ago after the Marseilles government gave the requested assurances, what we've agreed builds on that by extending that out to include the other members of the Sorority of Materna presently in Achkaerinese custody, we've also broadened out to include Aquitaine in this because when we consider the extradition of someone such as Alys Arsenault we find ourselves considering not only what she's accused of against the people of Marseilles but also what she's accused of against the people of Aquitaine." the Empress was then asked about the situation around Troyes to which she said "In the Marseilles crisis we sent people to die to free a nation from the grasp of a terrorist regime, we fought for the freedom of Marseilles and we're not backing off from that position, Marseilles is a sovereign state it has control over all its land and only it can choose to give any part of that land away, it never made that choice because it was never asked to make that choice and that critically is the absence of consent."
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AADC WORKING ON SUPPORT DRONE
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
AADC has announced it's developing a support drone named the Vingilot, the drone is intended to compliment the military's support capability from the perspective of aerial refueling thus making the Vingilot, should it enter service, the latest addition to the Air Force's tanker fleet, designed to launch and recover to a carrier the Vingilot would be able to support air force operations. Sir Darren Eagle, the CEO of AADC, commented at a press conference saying "We're optimistic based on developments so far, this is to some extent like many drones we've developed over the years but the Vingilot provides the additional challenge of being the tanker in an aerial refuelling scenario, in essence this works similar to the recovery system we devised for the Patronus drone however applied to refueling. Today we tried it out with three different aircraft models, we have plenty of work and testing to do before we offer it but at moment we're happy with the direction of travel."
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STEWART ON CLYSPERI SENTENCES
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By: Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Following the arrest, trial and sentencing of four foreign nationals in Clysperis on drug offences questions have been asked in the Senate about the matter, Minister for Home Affairs Lizbeth Stewart appearing on ABC Breakfast was asked about the situation to which she said: "It's always concerning when you only get the headlines and none of the detail, even more so when it concerns something like this. The law of the land is the law of the land that is a key principle of sovereignty, however there are other concerns not due to comments made in Daito but those actually contained within the Clysperi news item, these concerns raise questions as to what has transpired and whether or not it is appropriate, as a result we strongly suggest that the Clysperi authorities stay the execution until such concerns are satisfied. Let's have the sense to check everything before something rather permanent is done."
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TEAM ACHKAERIN CLIMB THE MEDAL TABLE
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Eleven days of the Mundus Games have been contested and there has been plenty of drama across the various events, earlier in the Games Abertone took twenty one medals in a single day (a new Games record) but today saw something not seen previously - a three way tie for gold in a race type event. Joint gold medals are nothing new to the Games, they usually happen in the jumping or throwing events and occasionally in the combat sports when competitors cannot be separated. Today in the womens individual cross country Achkaerin's Lily Carter (pictured above) crossed the finished line neck and neck with fellow athletes from Clysperis and the Theocracy of Kaitaine, so close were they that the technology could not separate them so a joint gold was awarded. Ms Carter spoke afterwards saying "It's incredible to have a result like this, I just tried to stick with them, I kicked on the last hill, kicked in the home straight they were still there and then at the line, I'm sure there's a difference but you'd have to go down to ridiculous levels of time analysis to separate us at which point you're not really in the spirit of the sport."
Elsewhere at the Games Achkaerin swept the medals in the womens road time trial with Sammy Lawson taking her second gold of the Games and forty eighth overall, silver was taken by Zoe Carpenter with Aveline Lei taking the bronze.
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SCRIVENS MEDICAL BEGIN SMART GLASSES TRIAL
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
Scrivens Medical have begun a trial of what they term "smart glasses" the headline is that these glasses will allow deaf people to 'see' conversations in real time. The glasses use augmented reality to convert audio into captions that appear in front of the wearers eyes. The glasses are tethered to a smart phone, a similar technology use is already seen in the company's development of an artificial pancreas (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=50.msg23949;topicseen#msg23949), essentially using an app alongside the device's audio receptors and bluetooth to accomplish the feat of turning sound to word. The initial trial is expected to last until the end of May 2024, during which time the company will continue to refine the app software before rolling it out more widely. One of the participants in the trial is Princess Astrid (pictured above wearing her new glasses) who got quite emotional during her first experience of the technology, the Princess lost her hearing almost three years ago due to side effects from Meningitis. Scrivens Medical is planning to trial the technology with around 80,000 people. It caps off a pretty good week for Scrivens Medical as the Achkaerin Medical and Pharmaceutical Executive (AMPE) has licensed the artificial pancreas developed by Scrivens Medical for use in general.
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INVESTIGATORS ARRIVE IN CLYSPERIS
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
A team of investigators has arrived in Clysperis at the invitation of the Clysperi Government to examine the cases against four foreign tourists who have been sentenced to death for allegedly taking drugs into Clysperis. The team led by Detective Amber Duff comprises, police officers, forensic scientists and legal practitioners, upon their arrival the Detective gave a statement saying: "This isn't a rubber stamp, if everything is above board then we will of course report that as such. However our duty is to the truth whatever it may be, we will be examining every piece of evidence, interviewing each of the people concerned, reviewing the court documents and so on, our responsibility is to determine the safety of the convictions and to make a report on that, if they be safe then the report will show that, if they be unsafe then we will include not only the findings as to why but recommendations thereof. We're know we're on the clock so to speak but we believe we can get this done before the fifth of October."
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LAWSON MAKES IT FIFTY MEDALS
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Sammy Lawson has won the fiftieth Mundus Games medal of her career. The cyclist who sits atop the list of most decorated athletes in the Games history started the day on forty eight medals, she won her forty ninth medal in the scratch race with a well timed final sprint to take the gold. Her fiftieth came in her victory in the elimination race, her favourite event of the velodrome program, the race sees a number of sprints with the final rider across the line each time being eliminated from the race, Sammy kept herself towards the front of the field for the whole race and took the victory out sprinting her team mate Niamh Fernley who took the silver. Speaking afterwards Sammy said "If you'd told me ten years ago when I won my first title out in Kazarovia that one day I'd win my fiftieth Mundus Games medal in front of a home crowd, I wouldn't have believed it and now its happened I still can't believe it, it's going to take a few days for what just happened to sink in but when it has, they'll be plenty of smiling before we get back on the road in a few weeks."
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GENERAL STARLING TO SUCCEED PORTMAN AT ASF
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
When General Neil Portman announced his intention to retire as head of the Achkaerin Special Forces a few months ago, the hunt for his successor was expected to be a difficult one especially considering Portman's experience in the role and throughout his career, having been involved in many crises throughout recent years, whomever was to replace him would undoubtedly have big shoes to fill. That unenviable task has been handed to General Lassie Starling, someone who has served in the ASF for most of her career, she will become the first woman to hold the position. Speaking following the formal announcement General Starling stated "I'm honoured and humbled to be appointed to this position and I'll do my very best to make sure that our special forces retain their reputation as being right up there as one of the best in the world." General Portman is reportedly to take over as commandant at Army Training College Ivyfield.
In other defence news the Ministry of Defence has provided an update on current projects announcing that the Thunderchild project is progressing to the initial trial stage, that the Quillbolt project is in the design phase and that the Marill project is to enter production in the coming weeks.
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PETER AZUREWIND LEAVES HOSPITAL, NATION CELEBRATES
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Over nine months since the episode that saw him admitted to the Royal Valtheim Hospital, where he has since been in a coma, the Emperor Emeritus and Duke of Rosemoor Peter Azurewind has left hospital. The Duke's condition had according to Royal Physician Doctor Maddy Dale "Been improving slowly but steadily for roughly the last six weeks, it's very tricky to say what brings people out of coma's like this because there's so much we don't know but it is known that during the Mundus Games while the Empress was conducting diplomatic talks with various nations that the Duke was visited by dignitaries including King David, I know someone's going to say this is the power of friendship and I can't rebuff that medically speaking because it's possible that external stimuli is a factor in how the Duke regained consciousness. He will continue his recovery at the Marble Palace."
The Duke and his wife released an official statement thanking the medical team at the Royal Valtheim Hospital for their care as well as everyone for their thoughts.
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ACHKAERIN SPACE AGENCY CHASE COMET
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By Kimberly Thorn: Science and Technology Correspondent
The Achkaerin Space Agency is celebrating tonight following the successful landing of a probe on comet NS-2013. The mission which forms part of the Agency's Star Map project will see the comet explored by robots, with samples being taken and readings transmitted back to Mundus for analysis. The Agency hopes to retrieve the samples the next time the comet passes by Mundus. Director of Flight Operations Nicola Fernley commented saying "This is the type of mission we get really excited about because we're exploring another celestial object, and every one of those presents its own challenges. We've achieved something special today and we look forward to seeing the data it yields."
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LAWSON TAKES MAIDEN STAGE WIN
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Sammy Lawson (pictured above in foreground wearing white) has taken victory on stage four of the Tour of Khelvakheli, the victory her first tour stage win is another addition to her already impressive sporting CV. The win takes her into second position in the overall standings six seconds behind Érika Corythia of Naukles. Speaking afterwards Sammy said "Today everything worked well, we were able to take advantage of the hills to fracture the peloton and whittle it down gradually and when we had it down to seven and we still had me, Chihaya and Niamh there and no one else had team support we really fancied the job, Niamh did great pushing the pace, making them chase and then we lined up the sprint train and got it done."
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NEARLY SEVEN MINUTES DOWN, ONE STAGE LEFT CAN SAMMY PULL OFF A MIRACLE?
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
With one stage of the Tour of Khelvakheli left Sammy Lawson sits in second place in the General Classification, almost seven minutes behind Higanbana's Tsuneko Hijikata, the tour has provided many a surprise but would Sammy Lawson pulling back the gap and winning be another one? To some extent yes it would seven minutes across a single stage is a lot in road racing but there is cause for optimism Hijikata is a sprinter and the final stage is a long mountainous one, by comparison Sammy is far better at altitude, she's won many a race on climbs and descents in the past, she's also won plenty from breakaways including this years Mundus Games which she won by a margin of fifteen minutes if she replicates that result she will be the champion. There is also the fact that the onus to cover things, to try to control matters falls solely on Higanbana meanwhile Phoenix Cycling, Naukles and Eyrie Racing among others all have a vested interest in trying to drop Hijikata out of the back of the Peloton tomorrow to try and bring their rider victory. What would normally be a stage with many contenders for victory is in fact a fitting stage set for the few left in contention. If Higanbana can nurse Hijikata through the mountains in touch with the peloton then she will likely be the winner but if Phoenix Cycling can produce a performance and break the peloton one more time then maybe just maybe Sammy may win it all.
The determining factor may well lie in Sammy's team mates after losing both Maria Cairns and Chihaya Lei earlier in the tour, Sammy's hopes for getting her into position will ride with Zoe Carpenter, Melanie Parker and Niamh Fernley. Speaking earlier tonight Niamh said "It's going to be an interesting one, and we're going to give everything we've got left to give Sammy the best possible chance of winning this thing, it's fairly straightforward we know what we've got to do, and we're going to give it our best shot, these are the situations we train for and we back ourselves, it won't be easy but there's no stage eleven, this is the day we leave everything the course." as for Zoe Carpenter she said "We've seen Sammy do the seemingly unbelievable many times, she's been a marked rider on so many occasions now but this, if she can do it, would top everything I've seen her do."
And what of Sammy herself when asked about her chances she said "It's nearly seven minutes, yes on paper I should finish stage ten ahead of Tsuneko on the day but the overall is a different matter. It's not going to be a day for second guessing, it's a day for seizing the opportunity and that's what we intend to do, I believe Zoe, Melanie and Niamh can get me into position and I believe if we can get the race plan executed then we have a very good chance of winning the general classification when all is said and done."
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EMPRESS BUYS LEITH A.F.C
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
If you take a short six mile trip north of Valtheim you come to the village come suburb of Leith, it's a place known for many things such as its pottery, its abbey that played host to the Medieval Mixed Martial Arts at this years Mundus Games and it's also where you'll find the home of Leith A.F.C, a founding member of the Achkaerinese Football League, the club has in recent seasons become more known for its off the pitch struggles leading to fears that it would have to disband after the current season if it continued to not be able to meet its financial obligations. The club unveiled its kits for the new season today and also announced that the club had been bought by Empress Serenity, a lifelong fan of the club, when asked about the decision to buy the club the Empress said "It wasn't a difficult decision, I've been a Leith A.F.C fan since I could understand the game, I've held a season ticket for years and I rarely miss a game, with the club in trouble I asked a few questions and decided to buy it. I don't expect instant success, a cup run or a meteoric rise up the leagues, it'd be awesome if those things happened but an eighth tier semi pro non league side getting there is likely to take some time. I know someone's going to ask whether I've spoken to King David or Alan Maybury yet and the answer is no not yet."
Leith A.F.C Men's team start their Achkaerin Western League season against Wayfarers while the womens team will open their fifth tier campaign in the Conference League against Angel's Rise.
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WORLD CUP PREVIEW
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By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
The World Cup is back and this time it's four titles that will be contested, not only will the mens and womens competitions take place but there's also going the introduction of blind football this time around. The Achkaerinese mens team the Foxes (pictured above training) stand atop the world rankings and are the only nation to have won the tournament multiple times, having lifted the trophy on three occasions. Are their odds of a fourth crown good? Yes, they will go in as one of the pre tournament favourites but this appears to be one of the most open tournaments in years as explained by the team's manager Dame Julia McCabe who said after the teams latest training session at their base camp in Rallate "There's going to be a lot of attention on us and Nya Aland we are the top two teams here on ranking by a significant margin, but Lodja have come on leaps and bounds, we're playing in a football crazy nation with a crowd that's going to create a huge atmosphere whenever Abertone play. Every year the gap between teams gets smaller, players develop. We really want that fourth crown but our group is stacked we've got Tytor who are one of the few teams present who've beaten us, Rokkenjima are improving every year, Ui Cenneslaig are a tough team and then there are two unknown packages. We should get out of the group but we'll be taking it one game at a time. The tournament structure has this wide open feel about it because there are so many teams that will fancy their chances of progressing, this could be the most competitive and entertaining tournament we've ever seen."
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As for the Vixens, history beckons as they chase a three peat, they go into the tournament at full strength according to their head coach Clarissa Quinn who has named a squad including several debutants at this level, two have caught the imagination - midfielder Priscilla otherwise known as Prissy Salem and winger Sandy Lane who play for Valtheim United and Avalon FC respectively make their tournament bows. The Vixens will open their title defence against East Moreland, a game which they will be expected to win but like their male counterparts nothing is being taken for granted. The potential road for the Vixens to what could be their third title includes potentially having to play the Theocracy of Kaitaine and Lodja both of whom are the main rivals to the Vixens but much like the mens tournament the womens tournament has a lot of unknowns as many nations have entered for the first time, there are many games that many fans of the sport across Mundus will want to watch.
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ACHKAERIN MARKS MEMORIAL DAY
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Once again Achkaerin has marked Memorial Day, the day on which the nation remembers the fallen in the Great War and conflicts since. The day is a busy one for the Royal Family and Government Officials as they participate in several events, for the Royal Family this sees the Empress involved in a ceremony at the Tomb of the Brave in the afternoon, Prince Simon has marked the day aboard the INS Seonaid Ayanami as he is currently on active duty with the air force. The Senate marked the day with a special ceremonial session of business where they pay their tributes to those who serve. The day culminated with the Memorial Day festival remembrance at the Royal Theatre with the now traditional ceremony (pictured above) in which members of the Armed Forces, families of the fallen, singers and musicians and other performers mark the day. It was the first Memorial Day for Empress Serenity since taking the crown and much like her father has over many years she wore her naval uniform to the evenings event.
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EMPRESS COMMENTS ON NYA ALAND
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal Family Correspondent
In a weekly radio interview Empress Serenity (pictured above) has commented on the current situation in Nya Aland, when asked what she thought about what was going on she said "I think there's a need to recognise that this is nothing to make a mountain out of a molehill of yet. What's happening is legal recourse to the courts over an election result, that's a right that every person seeking office in a democracy has. Ulfsson is entitled to ask the Constitutional question if he wishes to do so because he has the right of recourse to the courts, that is a legitimate process it certainly isn't holding democracy hostage we're not there yet. I am watching the situation with as much legal intrigue as I am with intrigue as head of state. I do however hope that this state of limbo so to speak is resolved quickly because what I'm certain no one wants is for opportunists to take advantage of the situation."
The Empress was also asked about comments made by Grand Maester Yuna to which she said "I'm not going to be drawn into a spat on that but I think the Grand Maester should perhaps consider what the records say and what her own words have said, she should also consider future hypotheticals. I'm fairly certain that the High Priestess up here would have a thing or two to say about a Namist potentially ending up as the Blessed of Islnya as in it wouldn't happen, but that said the Grand Maester should know better."
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GOVERNMENT MAKES STATEMENT ON NYA ALAND
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
Following the continuing uncertainty of the situation in Nya Aland the Minister of Foreign Affairs David Chambers (pictured above) has delivered an update on the Achkaerinese Governments position in respect of the issue, the statement came in response to an urgent question raised by the opposition, a routine mechanism of effecting Government statements, in response Minister Chambers said:
"I thank the Honourable Senator for asking this question and for giving the Government the opportunity to provide this update. As Member's of the chamber will be aware the Government's original position was to wait and see what happened in respect of the legal avenue in the hope that the Court would resolve the matter as is its remit. This did not happen and the situation has since escalated there is now no clear elected government, there is what we would call an emergency government and now we see the Gungnir rearing its head once again. The Government's position remains that the Gungnir are a terrorist organisation, we continue to advise citizens traveling to Nya Aland to take care not to get caught up in this. We also urge both the Ulfsson and Robertsson camps to come to an agreement of a path forward before we see further violence on the streets. This is a year where terror has been visited upon multiple nations - Mersch, Daito, Rokkenjima and Abertone are the most prominent victims of such and now it is visited once again on Nya Aland. We have full confidence in the Alander authorities to handle the current situation and if they require any assistance we are willing to provide it."
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ACHKAERINESE DUO ENTER CONTEST
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
The competition to be the wife of Emperor Orion of Neu Uburzis has attracted plenty of attention both within that nation and across the world with a high profile list of entrants already declared from sports stars, nobles, a Rokkenjiman Princess and many others. From Achkaerin two entrants have been confirmed as Catrin Waterstone, the daughter of the Baron Sebastian Waterstone, and perhaps more well known Poppy Locklyn (pictured above) a noted pianist, singer and chess champion, a regular on the concert scene in Achkaerin. She's caught the eye of some following the competition for being a bisexual with some speculating that this could give her some sort of an edge a point she dismissed when asked about it saying: "I can see why people may think that but I'm not looking at it that way, does being part of the LGBT community mean I have some sort of edge in the competition? Ultimately this is a competition where the jury so to speak is near enough the entire population of a nation so I don't think it does, I think what helps me is that I'm aware of what I'm actually competing for. Maybe I end up winning this thing, maybe I don't, I'll just have to see what happens."
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QUESTIONS FOR THE CROWN BRINGS SENATE CURTAIN DOWN
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Empress Serenity answering questions in the Senate earlier today
By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Senate has concluded the calendar years business program with the final session of Questions for the Crown, the session which is a weekly occurrence when the Senate is sitting sees Senators pose questions to the Monarch, this the last session before Life Day is typically more jovial and light hearted, it sees those involved in the session turn up in festive jumpers as well. The questions posed to and answers given by Empress Serenity were as follows:
Can the Empress tell the Chamber what her engagements are for the festive period? (Consul Michael Williams, Unity Party)
"I intend to spend Life Day with family and friends, I'll be attending a Constellation Ball in a few days time, I'll probably be eating a fair bit more than I probably should, getting into snowball fights and building snowmen with my daughters."
What does the Empress think of the situation presently unfolding in Nya Aland? (Senator Barbara Mason, Endeavour Party)
"I thank the Senator for raising this matter. The situation in Nya Aland is one that we had hoped to see resolved without violence, sadly this hasn't happened. Appropriate steps in regards to safety will I'm sure be taken by the Foreign Office, and I can see the Minister nodding in his seat, the Government remains committed to supporting the people of Nya Aland at this time, the year 2023 will be remembered for many things including the reaffirmation across the international community that we stand against terrorism, and it doesn't matter who you vote for at the ballot box that remains the commitment. I have faith that the Nya Aland leadership are capable of handling this issue and if they need our help then we'll be there just as we were several years ago in Uppsalla."
What reaction does the Empress have to the Rokkenjiman Imperial Address? (Senator Ajax Semantar, Liberal Party)
"I found it underwhelming and greatly disappointing. To see the Empress of Rokkenjima take aim in the way that she did is not befitting of the office she holds. Neither King David nor Princess Freya need me to ride to the defence of East Moreland, because they've both articulated very well why the Rokkenjiman Empress is wrong. My reaction in more detail is this - The Empress of Rokkenjima speaks about how 'the Northfort Experiment has failed miserably, leading to losses of life not seen since before the Covenant/Commonwealth era' first is there such a thing as the Northfort Experiment? No. What I've seen over the last decade is that as the international community has grown the political landscape has changed, the CSTO is no longer fit for purpose, the international community is no longer as it was it's no longer a group led by Rokkenjima and a group led by the USR it has far more to it than that now. East Moreland are very good at not only making but keeping their friends, rather than criticising them Rokkenjima would do well to learn from them. The Empress states what is true insofar as the loss of life now is something not seen since before the the Covenant/Commonwealth era, but and it is a big but the Covenant/Commonwealth era extends from 2014 through to 2019, therefore it is also true that the loss of life during the Covenant/Commonwealth era was far greater than anything since. Insulting the armed forces of the two nations that carried so much of the load at the CTO is not going to help the Empress's pitch especially when we look at what happened in Marseilles and ask what happened to the 30,000 Rokkenjiman soldiers, fleet and aircraft that were promised. It makes you wonder how many people who died liberating Marseilles would still be alive if those Rokkenjiman's had shown up, how many civilians would have lived if more support had been on the ground. What would have helped the Empress's pitch is her taking a swing when the opportunity was there which was at the Festival of Sail."
What is the Empress's opinion of the Concert of Democracy proposal? (Senator Adam Lonsdale, Republican Party)
"For me it's a non starter, there will be a formal response once it is written but having read the proposal I will say this - no sovereign state would ever in their right mind give up their right to defend themselves and no organisation should ever attempt to impose by proxy conformity to international treaties that its members may not be signatory to. It's not a viable proposal and we will not be involving ourselves in it. If the Empress of Rokkenjima truly wishes to restore a common international forum then she must look at why the predecessor failed. And that's not a difficult answer, it failed because the same two nations, Achkaerin and East Moreland repeatedly bore the load of having to enforce what the resolutions required, it failed because nations preferred to rake over old ground rather than focus on the real issue of the moment, it failed because the overwhelmingly majority of its members treated it as box to tick rather than a serious diplomatic forum, as evidenced by who did and did not show up when push came to shove. It's not pride that causes us to avoid engaging in such endeavours, it's experience we've been there before and we've seen what it brings. Restoring a common international forum requires assurances that we have not yet seen."
Is the Empress looking forward to the Constellation Ball? (Senator Judith Roberts, Green Party)
"Yes I am, I'm going to be attending the one in Midvale and I'm taking my daughters along. I believe we're in for quite the season this year."
What are the Empress's early engagements in 2024 and what is she looking forward to? (Senator Carolyn Oakes, Progressive Party)
"We're going to be hosting the President of Kalasin early in the new year to discuss the post war situation in that country and what we can do to support the rebuilding effort there. In January we will mark ten years of the Fair Seas Concordat, one of the pillars of international law. I'm looking forward to following the Senate's business when it returns because it will be getting to grips with the matter of artificial intelligence. There is the matter of my niece's wedding to attend and we'll see what else comes up."
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EMPRESS'S LIFE DAY MESSAGE
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The Official Festive Postcard Released by the Marble Palace, featuring the Empress and her girlfriend Princess Euphemia
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
The Empress has delivered the first Life Day Message of her reign, the pre recorded speech, typically done two to three days before Life Day is shown on television in the afternoon of the day. The Marble Palace also revealed a Festive postcard (pictured above) sent out to every home in the nation, a multitude of charities, Achkaerinese embassies abroad, foreign embassies based in Achkaerin and foreign governments, a short message wishing the receipient(s) well and looking forward to the new year is on the reverse side.
The Empress's Life Day Message was as follows:
Life Day Message 2023
"Good Afternoon and a Happy Life Day, Christmas, Yule, Hannukah and festive season to all of you. For many people across not only Achkaerin but Mundus this is a time for family and I'm reminded more of that this year than I have been before, at the start of the year things weren't looking brilliant on that front with my father in a coma but little did I know that my family is actually a whole lot bigger than I thought it was at least in the biological sense myself and Simon now have two sisters another niece and a nephew and so on, and then of course as a family we rejoiced when my father came out of his coma some months later. Having that support that guidance, that advice especially over the last few weeks has been of great assistance as Mundus continues to tackle the many issues that face it.
I gave this message once before a few years ago, with Simon, when my father was unable to do so and I keep trying to figure out if it feels any different doing it now. I guess it does because now I'm speaking with more years of diplomatic experience and of course the crown is now on my head. I will always fondly remember that day in Valtheim, the gathering of friends to attend the coronation and to support the friendships between our nations and theirs, to see all that was something truly humbling and unforgettable.
It's important to remember those who are no longer around to celebrate this festive season, tragically this year will go down as a year littered with terrorism, from Mersch to Daito, to Rokkenjima, to Kalasin and now Nya Aland, it is a stark reminder of the sacrifices we ask those brave men and women of the military to make to keep people safe, not since 2014 have we had such a sequence of events. With the international community we stared down the unthinkable if not once then twice this year, when some tried to reopen Pandora's Box we kept it closed, something only possible because people were prepared to put themselves in harms way to make it happen. The festive season is a time for giving and I would like to offer all those involved in that my thanks.
2024 is a landmark year, a decade on from the formation of what we could call the first international pillars being established, I'm looking forward to the many celebrations throughout the year marking that, I'm looking forward to seeing what's in store for the family and I'm looking to see what bears fruit on the international landscape. Domestically it's a big year for our Government's environmental program many of the checkpoints under the Green Energy Transition Act are about to be hit and I'm sure we'll be up to the challenge there, terrorism must be combatted, diplomacy must be pursued and must be done in earnest, nations must get along for developing friendships breaks down the barriers, but all of that's for naught if we leave Mundus worse than when we found it, 2023 undoubtedly saw struggles in this respect so 2024 must be progressive, it must be better, it must move the needle. I hope that when I talk to you all this time next year that I can do so knowing that has been really achieved. I wish you all a joyful festive season and a happy new year.
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CHIPMUNKS TAKE LIFE DAY NUMBER ONE
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By Zoe Tate: Entertainment Correspondent
The Chipmunks and Chipetes, a CGI and AI generated group spun off from a television series and based at the Royal University of Music, have taken Life Day number one spot in the charts with their cover of Bad Romance. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwwmhcGbvt0) It is a significant milestone for the prestigious honour as this is the first time the award has gone to technically animals instead of humans although as Dina Mellor (the bands 'manager') explains it's a little more complicated than that saying "This is a huge achievement for us, we're just a group of research students that produce a childrens music based show that runs for half an hour in the week, so to win something like this is great and shows that innovation in music can be successful, we only started using AI a few months ago in respect of the voices to create a more authentic vocal range for the six characters we have and then syncing that up with the CGI, we are considering using the AI to assist in other ways as well but for the moment we're really happy."
The winner of Life Day Number One traditionally headlines the New Years Day concert in Valtheim, it has been confirmed that the Chipmunks and Chipettes will be doing so, event organisers commented saying "When it became possible that they could be number one on Life Day we started planning for it and we believe that we can deliver a fully immersive experience for the audience even though we're talking about digitally generated characters singing as opposed to a live band."
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SENATE STARTS NEW YEAR WITH DEFENCE QUESTIONS
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The Senate has reconvened following its break for the festive period, it had been scheduled to resume business with debates relating to committee appointments however events elsewhere on Mundus prompted the Leader of the Senate Chamber and the Senate Business Committee to adjust the schedule and bring forward questions to the Minister of Defence Adam Sheppard (pictured above). In a prolonged session the Minister answered questions across a variety of issues including the following:
Can the Minister update the Senate on the status of Achkaerinese forces stationed abroad?
"I thank the member for his question. Our forces remain stationed abroad in Phuebra, Kalasin and Vaguzia in accordance with our treaty obligations. We continue to ensure that the fledgling Phuebran military is trained to the highest standard, our counter terrorist operations based out of Vaguzia continue to see success and our forces in Kalasin continue to keep the peace there. We do retain the capability for further military deployment should it become required."
What is the Government's response to the testing of missiles by Kusan?
"The Government has taken note of the tests and will be monitoring further developments as and when they happen. I will inform the Senate that the Achkaerinese navy has in relation to the tests of the Harbinger 5 and 6 missiles reported multiple successful catch and claw operations, this level of success has been verified by the MDI. In addition Cerberus platforms positioned in Gowu also conducted successful operations in relation to this matter."
Does the Minister anticipate a swift set of prosecutions in relation to the Kalasin conflict?
"As the Senator knows we have members of the Rangsitpol regime, separatist military and terrorists in custody they will have their day in court. I will not comment beyond that so as to not prejudice any proceedings that may occur but to answer the Senators point I do hope that we see them brought to trial more expediently than the Andean Genocide prosecutions were."
What is the Ministers response to circumstances concerning Rokkenjima?
"The situation in Rokkenjima is being monitored, we are liaising with our allies and partners on the matter and hope to have a clearer understanding of the situation soon."
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GENERAL FUJI ON PROVOCATION AS TENSION RISES
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By Olivia Moore: International Affairs Correspondent
As tensions around the northern side of the Matilda Channels, General Fuji (pictured above) the commanding officer of Achkaerinese forces in Kalasin has spoken about the situation saying:
"It's absolutely pointless amount of sabre rattling that is not going to achieve anything except the opposite of the expressed intent. The Kusan government will be aware of the terms under which Kalasin surrendered to the coalition forces, specifically that the Kalasin military largely a separatist militia engaging in terrorism was disarmed, therefore when Kusan mobilises a military force to the border how is that to be read? It is a needless escalation, it has to be read as a provocation and it has to be read as Kusan threatening Kalasin, that's why we're now forced to mirror that Kusan deployment because our duty is to protect the Kalasin people, we're engaged in making sure that the terms of the surrender that lay out the path forward are met and once they are met then the coalition is under those terms withdrawing its forces, that's all public information that the Kusan Government has access to and I would also remind the Kusan Government that the Achkaerinese military conducts its operations to treaty provision. Coalition forces will not be in Kalasin a moment longer than the governing authority, which defers to whomever is elected in February, likes. If Kusan wants to see that withdrawal happen sooner rather than later then quite simply they need to stop giving the governing authority reasons to ask us to stay - mobilising military units, missile tests, and now an air force scramble following apparently a drone incursion, these are all part of provocative snowball surrounding this and it all amounts to reasons why we'd be possibly asked to stay. Dangerous rhetoric and dangerous actions will not see a resolution here and they certainly won't take our eyes off what our responsibilities are. If the Kusan government thinks that putting military forces on a border with a nation that has no substantive military of its own isn't a provocative or threatening act then they are welcome to consult any one of the many military commanders across Mundus who will tell them that it can be interpreted in that manner, we as the forces presently responsible for the territorial integrity of Kalasin must perceive it as a threat and act accordingly this is why Achkaerinese military units have been deployed to mirror the Kusan units positions. I suggest Kusan begin to deescalate this situation by standing down those units, remove the perception and let us do our jobs, because the sooner those jobs are done and the better the circumstances the sooner the coalition forces are not in country."
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EMPRESS ADDRESSES KUSAN
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Empress Serenity has responded to accusations levelled by the Government of Kusan against the nation, in a statement given under article seven of the Constitution she gave the following remarks:
"Mr Speaker I thank you for permitting me to make this statement, I promise not to take up too much of the Senate's time but I do believe it important that when accusations are made, especially when they are false, that they are robustly responded to. Let's start with the obvious General Kakashi Fuji is not an idiot he is one of if not the most experienced battlefield military commander on Mundus, any nation's military would be fortunate to have someone of his skill, professionalism and experience in their ranks and there are those that do. The chairwoman has called the deployment of Kusan forces basic steps to securing the security of its borders noting the turmoil that Kalasin is in. This may shock her but I agree with her in that respect, every nation on Mundus has the right to defend itself so when the Chairwoman says that the PDRK is reinforcing their borders because they perceive a spill over of said turmoil, I'm going to assume there's truth to that statement, I'm not sat in their meetings, I'm not in their chain of command, I don't determine their policy, I don't determine their doctrine. However by the same token of nations having the right to defend themselves when General Fuji sees a deployment of forces across the border he has to react to it because he is charged currently with the defence of Kalasin territory, if the Chairwoman and her leadership can perceive the situation in Kalasin as potentially spilling over then a seasoned military commander can certainly perceive a troop deployment across the border as potentially threatening, potentially aggressive and considering the rhetoric that went before from all sides concerned potentially if not probably provocative and escalating. Perception may not be truth but perception is what preparation and action is based on. Whether I like it or not the chairwoman has deployed troops, whether she likes it or not I agree with General Fuji deploying troops to mirror the Kusan positions it is a reasonable response. General Fuji is correct to imply that the reallocation of troops in this manner does take resources away from current operations which are counter terrorist focused - these are operations which are intended to prevent the very thing that she and her government are concerned about.
Now let me turn briefly to what I will politely refer to as the ill informed comments regarding Achkaerin's relationship with Rokkenjima. The Achkaerinese presence in Rokkenjima is limited to personnel who currently have responsibility for the safety of the Imperial family and before someone says it yes the Viceregent is Achkaerinese. That presence operates independently of influence from Valtheim, the Viceregent is not accountable to our Senate in the way of being a member of the Noble Moot would make him, that responsibility was deferred upon his appointment as Viceregent and will remain so until he no longer holds a position in the Rokkenjiman Government but as this point no one other than him can tell us when that may be. The Chairwoman stated 'the Achkaerinese an opportunity to impart upon the Rokkenjimans the importance of disavowing the actions of the Federal Republic instead of embracing them and whitewashing them from their history books.' Mr Speaker let's be clear this is an outright lie. I don't doubt that Rokkenjima hasn't disavowed the actions of the Federal Republic however I know very well that we have strongly recommended it on several occasions, I encourage both the Chairwoman and the Empress of Rokkenjima to read the Covenant Address of 2006 where my father, and the father of the then Empress though she didn't know it, strongly recommended such a disavowing. The Chairwoman may also be interested to know that the very man she has called an idiot was involved in the planning stages of the Anselmo restoration and made clear exactly the same thing. I don't know why Rokkenjima didn't pay heed to that but I do know that the matter was raised and here I am raising it again.
In the next few days I will be meeting with President Kaikaew where I expect most of the conversation to be about the post war situation in his country and what assistance Achkaerin may be able to provide. Kusan has the opportunity to form part of that but it must recognise that if they desire a minimising or complete removal of the coalition force in Kalasin, which based on the rhetoric appears to be the case, then creating perceptions which increase the timescale is not helpful to anyone. I suggest the chairwoman apologise to General Fuji, I suggest she downscale that military deployment and I suggest that she let the coalition forces do their jobs."
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ADMIRAL RANKIN SPEAKS ON LATEST ANSELMO APPEAL
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Admiral Rankin (pictured above), the Judge Advocate General, has given an interview, while much of the content concerned the upcoming war crimes trials relating to Kalasin which were described as "still in the evidence gathering stage, it's always tricky when you have multiple parties involved, accusations hurtling everywhere and to try and see what the case was pre conflict in some instances but above all we need to get it right we're looking at prosecuting new ground. But we've been here before and we have the most professional and best trained legal staff working on it."
The Admiral was then asked about the latest appeal lodged on behalf of Beatrice Anselmo to which he said "Everyone has the right to appeal, however that's not how appeal processes work if you're going to appeal something then you have to show relevant grounds for the appeal. Kanda Takeo has not done so, the perjury matter isn't about what happened between February and May in 2016 it's about a sworn statement given by Beatrice Anselmo in August 2017 which she later contradicted in February 2018 and when asked stated that the February statement was the truth that is textbook perjury and if memory serves she got a hefty fine for it which is an appropriate sentence for the crime of perjury. The verdict is sound, the conviction is sound and trying to shoehorn a second rerun of the Andean Genocide trial into what is an open and shut procedural matter is an absurdity."
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GOVERNMENT TO INTRODUCE AI BILL
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By David Woods: Political Correspondent
The Achkaerinese Government is to introduce a bill concerning Artificial Intelligence to the Senate in the coming days, the much anticipated Bill named the Artificial Intelligence Regulatory Act (2024) will detail the laws regarding AI, the focus was explained by Minister for Science and Technology Katherine Deed (pictured above) who said: "Our focus with this legislation is around how artificial intelligence is used rather than what we use it for, we're phrasing it that way because the nature of the beast is that AI reacts to a task it has been set, if I ask an AI to generate an image it'll do that within the parameters I set, if I ask it to write a sermon for my dad to preach it'll do it, point is there is a person inputting the query and that is the person with the guiding mind. So at this point the intent of the person doing the data inputting is what's important, they may have innocent or malicious intent but it is their intent not the intention of a computer entity, hence why we're focusing on how AI is used rather than attempting to limit what artificial intelligence can do."
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THREEPEAT FOR THE VIXENS
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By Mark Watson: Sports Correspondent
While the Achkaerin's mens team succumbed to penalty shootout heartbreak in the mens final the womens team came from a goal down to beat Rokkenjima 2-1 in their final and achieve an unprecedented threepeat in the history of Mundus international sporting competitions. Falling behind to a shock goal ten minutes in, the Vixens rallied and under the watchful gaze of manager Clarissa Quinn they went on the attack, continued to play their possession style of football and asserted themselves on the game - the equaliser came with twenty minutes to go, a well timed through ball from Ciara Ryder found Sandy Lane and the winger fired home into the roof of the net. The winner came with two minutes left on the clock, some intricate play saw Prissy Salem break clear through the Rokkenjiman defence, she got the ball around the keeper and while she was brought down in the attempt striker Holly Swift was there to put the ball away and seal the victory. Speaking following the medal presentation Clarissa Quinn spoke with the press saying "It was one of those games, you could feel it through the whole match it was going to be a whole lot closer than we'd have liked, credit to Rokkenjima they set up well, they got us on the counter and then made it very difficult to break them down, but we stuck at it we kept trying to run them and we started to create the space that we needed to get our goals."
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EMPRESS'S PARTNER RUSHED TO HOSPITAL
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Princess Euphemia of Rokkenjima, the partner of Empress Serenity, has been admitted to the Royal Valtheim Hospital, the Princess is understood to have felt ill during the day and was advised to go to the hospital by the Royal Medical Staff. In a press conference at the hospital Doctor Maddy Dale, the Royal Physician, said "Princess Euphemia has been admitted to the hospital upon medical advice, she has been diagnosed with a parasitic infection of the liver and we are in the process of coordinating with members of her family in regards to next steps. The Princess is in good spirits and we'll make sure updates as to her condition are released in due course and in accordance with her wishes."
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PRINCESS CERYS CELEBRATES "SIXTH" BIRTHDAY
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By: Niamh Roberts Royal News Correspondent
Princess Cerys has celebrated her "sixth" birthday, the Princess born on the 29th of February 2000 usually celebrates her birthday on the 28th of February however as a "leap child" every four years she can celebrate it on the actual day. A birthday party that is rumoured to have been organised by Princess Cerys's brother Prince Jack and his girlfriend has taken place at the Marble Palace. The Princess spent the day, prior to the party opening a new water sports facility in Djana-Ville, Princess Cerys is a Mundus Games gold medalist in the surfing events, speaking earlier in the day she said "It's always fun when we get to a leap year because I get referred to as being a quarter of my actual age and things like 'the youngest Azurewind' trend on twitter and Jack gets to act like he's the older one of us, but it's all in good fun."
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TRANSPLANT TO HAPPEN IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS
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By: Niamh Roberts Royal News Correspondent
Princess Euphemia of Rokkenjima is to receive a new liver within the next twenty four hours, the Princess who is presently in the Royal Valtheim Hospital with a parasitic infection of the liver is in need of a transplant. According to Royal Physician Doctor Maddy Dale the operation will be "a live liver transplant, this is a routine operation in which Princess Euphemia's liver will be replaced with a portion of a donor's in this case Empress Serenity's. I know someone's going to raise an eyebrow at that but that is the situation, the Empress is the donor. We believe the operation will be successful, once again it's a routine operation. Following the operation both the Princess and the Empress will need a few days to recover."
A statement from the Marble Palace confirmed the details announced by Doctor Dale in a press conference Royal Press Secretary Hannah Cartwright provided further information in respect of decision making authority saying "The Empress has signed a letter addressed to the Noble Moot and the Speaker of the Senate, this letter delegates the Empress's authority, normally this delegation would be to the next in line to the Achkaerinese throne however both Princess Astrid and Princess Lisa are underage and Prince Simon is presently serving overseas so in this instance the delegation will transfer the authority to the Emperor Emeritus Peter Azurewind. It will be in effect from the moment that the Empress is taken to be anaesthetised and will last until she comes round following the surgery. Upon which point a second letter will be sent and she will resume her duties with the authority returning to her."
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NEW PORTRAIT UNVEILED TO MARK CORONATION ANNIVERSARY
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By Niamh Roberts: Royal News Correspondent
The Marble Palace has released pictures of a specially commissioned portrait of Empress Serenity to mark her first year on the throne. The portrait painted by Sẹnaid Hastings was commissioned earlier in the year, however recent circumstances around the Empress and her partner recovering from surgery delayed certain aspects of its production, the Empress commented on the painting expressing her happiness at the result saying "It's a little weird to see that sort of portrait about you for the first time, the gallery wing at the Palace has all the pictures of all the Emperors before me and of course the only other Empress before me and you have the reproductions of all the swords of mark as well. I look back at the coronation and I can't remember half the day because there's a lot of stress involved and you're thought process is on so many other things than enjoying the day, even though I tried to. Seeing this portrait which is beautifully crafted and Ms Hastings is a fine artist it's a reminder and helps me remember a little bit more about it. But it also marks a year since the coronation, the settling in period is over, my feet are under the table now so it's time to get down to work."
As for the artist Ms Hastings commented saying "To be asked to do this painting was a great honour, I thought I was being scammed when I got called and told 'we'd like you to take a Royal Commission' they're the words you dream of hearing but you never expect it and then yeah you find yourself taking pictures of the Empress and then going and painting the portrait. It's been challenging and I've redone sections more than once because I wanted to do it justice but I'm happy with how it's come out."
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JOLT POD GETS LONG AWAITED TEST OUTING
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By Penny Noble: Defence Correspondent
The Jolt Pod has been one of the most talked about projects for the last few years that it at times has appeared to take on some sort of mythical status. The project was first theorised in 2016 however wasn't actively pursued until late 2019, theories to do with this have presumed that the development of the Rokkenjiman Akuma sparked the surge in development. The Jolt Pod is a counter drone device working on the same principle as the Chidori missile already fielded by the Achkaerinese military. The Jolt Pod was given a test run during the latest series of LTTE's (Lateral Tactical Training Exercises) Deputy Sky Marshall Raymond Holman spoke about the project and the exercises in general saying "These are the exercises that the military does regularly to be as ready as we can be when a curveball gets thrown at us, it's exercises like this that put us on a solid footing in the Lodjan crisis, both early on and when our military and the Aostan military found themselves combatting the Morelander. The Jolt Pod is a niche bit of kit and has scored at 65% by no means is that ideal, but it's where we expected the pod to be on the first run considering what this actually is. We've got another test for it in a few weeks if it comes up to scratch the Air Force is likely to add this pod to its toolbox."
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EMPRESS IN SEAFORTH TO TALK TROYES
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By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Empress Serenity has arrived in Seaforth for talks with the Seaforthian government on the matter of Troyes, the visit comes following the apparent seizure of the city by the Real Marseilles group who have proclaimed a 'Republic of Troyes', a move that has not gone down well with either the Empress or the government in Valtheim. Speaking following her arrival in Seaforth the Empress said "The Achkaerinese position on Troyes has been very clear from the start, the only authority who can grant sovereignty over land is the legitimate government that owns that land, that didn't happen a few years ago and it didn't happen a few hours ago, but we are now in a far more potentially dangerous place than we were a day ago on this issue. While the frustration of the citizens of Troyes is understandable, the current situation has the potential to put several nations all of whom support the position that Troyes is the sovereign territory of Marseilles on opposite sides of matters because of existing international relations. The hope now is that diplomacy can resolve this issue before anyone is put in the position of having to make hard choices. Achkaerin and Seaforth share a significant history of cooperation dating back to our days in the CIS and beyond, so hopefully that puts us in a place where a path forward can be developed. While I'm here my cousin Sakura is in Marseilles meeting with President Sauzee and Prime Minister Deschamps, the aim is the same to develop a path that resolves the Troyes issue in a peaceful manner. But this is contingent on the situation not escalating any further, there's a substantial difference between what we might describe as a creative protest and where this might go, it's the responsibility of all those who want to see this resolved to exercise restraint at the moment."
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LADY KATYUSHA TO BE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF EDELWEISS FESTIVAL
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By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Lady Katyusha Andronikashivili is to be the new artistic director of the Edelweiss Festival, the annual classical music festival that runs over the summer annually in Achkaerin. Lady Katyusha, the girlfriend of Prince Jack will assume responsibilities concerning the festival schedule which will include things as such as deciding which pieces are performed, which orchestra's are performing when, which musical or musicals are selected for performance by the Royal family and when the various competitions that occur during the festival happen. The announcement of Lady Katyusha's involvement was made by Duchess Renee Azurewind who is chair of the Edelweiss Festival, in making the announcement the Duchess said: "I'm really pleased to welcome Katyusha into the wondrous world that is the Edelweiss Festival, last year she was vital in ensuring the festival's success as between Peter being in hospital and Serenity's coronation and all the rest of it there was a lot that we had trouble with behind the scenes, Katyusha provided a lot of support. It's a really exciting moment for the festival to have her onboard in this role, she brings a lot of energy, a lot of new ideas and she has active interests in pretty much every aspect of the festival."
As for Lady Katyusha herself she expressed her excitement and eagerness to get on with the job, she also announced the first thing that she was doing in her new role "We're hoping to take Lodja night to the next level, currently its a case everyone gets dressed up and listens to Lodjan music while we have a few professional dancers on stage, it simulates a ball atmosphere which is what the night is about. We're currently working with the Lodjan ambassador in applying for and hopefully obtaining a license to make Lodja night an official ball."