Słońce - Politics, Sports, Celebs & More!

[Phonx]

GOVERNMENT PROMISES JUDICIAL REFORM TO "RESTORE LAW & ORDER TO SOLÓNYA"

The Prime Minister, Świętosława Dobrzynska, speaking at a govt. press conference on the issue of reform.

Today the Government released a draft of a bill on Judicial reform after years of judges appointed as far back as the 1970s controlling, and paralyzing, the court system in Solónya. The new law would allow for the Ministry of Justice to remove judges they see as unfit to continue serving and would put in place 10 year terms for Supreme Court Justices who would then need to be reconfirmed or replaced. It will also give the President the authority to remove Supreme Court justices or the Supreme Court's powers during a state of emergency.

The opposition party, United Socialist Workers Party, along with many other minor parties, such as the Green Deal party and the New Democracy Movement, have also announced their opposition to the bill. However public opinion seems to be on the side of the government with 41% of Solónyans being in favour of the reforms, 29% against them and 30% having no opinion on them. Despite the opposition form the other parties the government, ruled by the National Justice and Prosperity Party, seems determined to get the reforms passed by the National Assembly and with them holding 347 of the 608 seats it seems likely to pass.

The chance of finally fixing the many broken institutions in our country has instilled a sense of hope in the good people of our nation. They know that they were correct to put their faith in Mrs. Dobrzynska and the NPJP and it seems that for once a politician is going to complete the promises they made on their campaign.

[Phonx]

CHURCH ATTENDANCE RISES FOR FIRST TIME IN 28 YEARS

A Catholic Church in a Southern Solonian village

Today the Solonian Catholic Church released it's annual statistics and the findings show good news for the church after years of declining attendance.

The findings showed that for the first time since 1989 Church Attendance increased by percentage. In 1989 around 96.4% of Catholics in Solonia attended church almost every Sunday. The number declined since then to ~70.2% in the period between the 9th of August 2015 and the 8th of August 2016. But in the period between the 9th of August 2016 and the 8th of August 2017 attendance increased to ~72.3%. The findings also saw an increase in baptisms with around 99.2% of babies born in the aforementioned period being baptized as Roman Catholics.

The findings present a hope for the Catholic Church that finally after years of decline the church could grow even more to play an even more important role in guiding Solonian society down the correct moral path.

[Phonx]

MIDWIVES WARNS OF CRITICAL SHORTAGE

Babies in a Solonian hospital.

Today the Ministry of Health has warned of a critical midwife shortage with hospitals unable to cope with the ~700,000 babies born on average every year. There are around 5,400 midwives in Solonia with the number growing by around 100 over the past 6 years but that's not enough to keep up with the demand.

Since the end of Communism in Solonia the birth rate has skyrocketed due to the end of limits on how many children women could have and the fact that abortion was made illegal in 1992. This has meant that more and more women are using the maternity wards at hospitals. "The raise in the number of children is definitely great but we need more funding from the government to help these women give birth to healthy children and right now we're struggling to do that without more midwives" said a representative of the National Midwifery Association.

The Government has said they will work with the NMA to get more people into the profession. "We are willing to offer whatever we can to fix this critical shortage of midwives. These women work so hard to ensure that healthy children are born and they deserve more funds and also immense respect for all they do" said the Minister of Health.

[Phonx]

GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES PLANS TO PUT SOLÓNSKI ENERGY ON THE STOCK EXCHANGE

A Solónski Energy power plant.

Today the government has announced plans to put the state-owned energy company, Solónski Energy, to try and gain investment for it and potentially allow for it to generate profits.

The move has come after years of complaints from taxpayer organizations which have criticized it's monopoly on energy and the amount of money it costs the taxpayer. The United Solonian Taxpayers organization has already stated that it supports the move by the government. "This presents an opportunity for the company to give the government money back rather than drain money from it, this money could go towards tax cuts for workers or corporations to boost the economy and make the life of Solonians as a whole better" a representative for the UST said.

The Government is expected to sell around 40-45% of the company off so that it may retain control over major decisions. Some suspect the funds could go towards the building of Solonia's first nuclear power plant.

[Phonx]

"WE MUST OPEN OUR HEARTS TO THOSE LESS FORTUNATE" SAYS ARCHBISHOP

The Archbishop of Kazimierzawa, Ignacy Mroz.

In a shocking speech today the Archbishop of Kazimierzawa has called out the government on it's strict stance regarding refugees and immigrants. Normally the church and the state are closely aligned but when it comes to immigration, specifically regarding refugees, the two normally agree to disagree but Ignacy Mroz has chosen to reignite the debate.

"We must open up our hearts to those less fortunate in the world" is what the Archbishop started off by saying before going into the rest of his speech. "We see so much pain and suffering. We see people persecuted just for their beliefs, whether they are religious or political ones. As Christians we must welcome them into our homes and give them shelter from the evils of the outside. They have already been through so much but they still must go through so much more because we do not allow them to come to our safe haven. Why must we be close minded?

Solonia used to have many different peoples and they all got along very well. Of course the times changed and things happened but we've done it back then so why can't we do it now? There are so many potential neighbours, friends and fellow churchgoers who are not given a chance, we can give them a chance. I beg you to remember how the world has kindly welcomed our Solonian brothers and sisters into their countries,
 so surely we can welcome others into ours too."

[Phonx]

HIGH SPEED TRAIN FROM KAZIMIERZAWA TO RÓWNOLEGŁA OPENS!

The first train leaving Kazimierzawa.

Today Prime Minister Dobrzynska opened the new Zakada High Speed Railway from Kazimierzawa, the capital, to Równoległa, the second largest city in Solonia. The linking of the two cities by a new highspeed railway presents new economic oppurtunities for those cities and the whole nation of Solonia.

Speaking at the opening the Prime Minister said "the first high speed railway in Solonia shows to the world that our nation is committed to achieving it's full potential and it also shows them that the government of Solonia is dedicated to fostering this in any way possible. This new railway has shown what can happen when great Solonian minds work together and it has also taught us a very valuable lesson as a nation. That lesson is that we must never put ourselves down and that we must always work hard towards reaching our goals. I could not be prouder to stand here before you all today and open this amazing masterpiece of engineering."

The high speed railway will commence full operations next week. It is estimated that it will increase the flow of goods and other things between the two cities by around 170%.

[Phonx]

SOLONIAN AIRLINES TO OPEN 3 NEW INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS

A LOT Solonian Airlines aircraft.

LOT Solonian Airlines has today announced that 3 new international routes will be opened to help further connect Solonia to the rest of the world. The 3 new routes are all heading to the 2nd biggest cities of countries where Solonian Airlines already has a presence.

The CEO of Solonian Airlines, Łucja Kowalska, announced that the 3 new destinations are Domanti in Vaguzia, the city of Hamburg in Balticum, and the city of Aofumiya in Himeyama. The CEO said that the destinations were selected out of over 15 cities worldwide considered for expansion and they were chosen either due to large demand for services to these countries or a feeling that there is unexplored economic potential in these cities for Solonian companies. The new routes will have Economy Class, Business Class and Business Star Class so that travellers may travel in comfort and style.

The new routes will open in December of this year.

[Phonx]

CHURCH DECLARES WAR ON CONTRACEPTION!

The Church is encouraging the faithful not to use contraception.

Today the Catholic Church in Solonia released new guidelines calling for their Priests and teachers in Catholic Schools, which make up around 95% of Solonian schools, to tell people that contraception should not be used. The Church said that people must be taught that contraception is a sin and a danger to the nation. This is just the latest installment in the churches long running moral battle against the sins such as contraception and abortion which so many other nations in Mundus adopted as norms long ago. This battle looks like it will be hard fought but ultimately the Church will prevail as it always has done.

The church has also reportedly began to call for politicians to end any state funded family planning initiatives and ban any contraception which can cause harm to a woman's uterus. The ruling party already had a rather hardline stance on contraception but the support of the Church could provide them with the power to finally pass laws against the use of contraception.

Women's rights groups have criticized the Church's move but a spokesperson for the Archbishop of Kazimierzawa said "the church will not be told by group's wish despise us and criticize our every move. If women were really opposed to our opinions on abortion and contraception then surely the 60% of church attendees nationally that are women would have spoken up to their Priests but none have so far shown any opposition to the church's position because they know it is the will of God."

[Phonx]

PROTESTS BREAK OUT OVER "WAR ON CONTRACEPTION"!

People are unhappy with the proposed changes.

It seems the government seriously underestimated support for contraception and a want for the legalization of abortion as hundreds of thousands of Solonians, lots of them young, have taken to the streets against the proposed plans to ban contraception which can "harm a woman's reproductive organs". The protests are one of the first signs of resistance against something the church in Solonia has supported since the fall of communism.

One young woman we spoke to, named Gracja, said that "the youth have had enough of the church telling the people what to do and how to live their lives and deciding what should be legal and what shouldn't be. Yes, I am a strong believer in God and I do believe that Solonians are a Catholic people but the nation of Solonia is a secular nation and the church must respect that, the times are changing and so must the church in Solonia. I do not want to have 3 children before I have even turned 25, I want to live my life to the fullest and the church is trying to stop that. I go to church, I pray, I am a devout christian but I don't want to catch a sexual caused illness or get pregnant whilst I am finishing my studies."

A poll conducted of people aged 16-30 by Słońce suggested that 51% of them are opposed to the banning of certain types of contraception, 37% support it and 12% hold no opinion on the matter.

[Phonx]

EMIGRATION FALLS TO LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 1958!

Many Solonians are returning home.

New statistics released today have shown that the number of people emigrating from Solonia has fallen to it's lowest level since the 1950s with their being a net migration of -29,721 people over the past year. The fall has mainly been brought on by many Solonians returning home as the economy in their homeland booms and the number of well paying jobs which require skilled workers increases. It shows the country is doing much better than the days back in the 1980s and 1990s when the country was teetering on total economic collapse and anywhere from 60% to 90% of people under the age of 30 said they would emigrate if they could.

However more than 85,000 Solonians emigrated in the past year with the most popular destinations for them to go to being Balticum, Vaguzia, Achkaerin and the Ecclesiastical State. The President, Gościsław Misiaszek, said that the decreasing numbers of net emigration is evidence of Solonians "pride in their homeland and determination to build a better country through hard work, blood, sweat, tears and also honour".

Słońce spoke to a returning Solonian, 29 year old Adrianna Kaczmarek, who said that "I am returning home so that my husband, my 3 children and I may live a better life. When I was growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s we did not have the great opportunities there are today. The future is very bright for my daughters and my son here and that is the way it should be. They may finally learn, play and grow up without any fears of poverty or anything like that."

[Phonx]

SOLONIA PREPARES FOR BIGGEST CHRISTMAS EVER!

A poll said 99.8% of people will celebrate christmas.

Solonia is preparing for it's largest Christmas with almost 100% of the population planning to join in with the festivities. As Solonians become wealthier thanks to a booming economy Christmas spending has grown massively with a 17% increase in spending since last Christmas according to the Kazmierzawa Fiscal Institute (KFI). A poll found that the most generous Solonians were those in the 50-54 age bracket with many stating their reason to be a desire to give their children and grandchildren nice things to make up for the fact they had very little growing up under the iron grip of the communist government of Solonia in the 1960s and 1970s.

It was also found that around 96% of Solonians say they will attend religious services on Christmas Eve or/and Christmas Day. It is estimated that during this period the church could make anywhere from $120 to $190 million in donations from their congregations. Most of this normally goes to charitable causes to help fellow Catholics around the world suffering persecution or poverty this Christmastime.

Today the President lit up the Kazmierzawa Christmas tree and Christmas lights before the 100,000 attendees of the lighting joined in a prayer with the Archbishop of Kazmierzawa.

[Phonx]

PRIME MINISTER RESIGNS!

The news has come as shock.

Today in an emergency press conference Prime Minister Świętosława Dobrzynska announced her resignation after 2 and a half years in power. Mrs. Dobrzynska, 53, said that the birth of her 3rd grandchild had made her realize that it was time for her to slow down and enjoy life. The Prime Minister said that she hopes to move to her house on the Solonian coast which she purchased last year with her husband, 60 year old Bartosz Dobrzynski, who recently retired from his job as the manager of Mazigneti Shipyards in Northern Solonia.

The President's office released a statement soon after wishing Mrs. Dobrzynska all the best in her new endeavors and they said that the President will meet with top officials of the ruling party later on today to discuss her replacement. There have been some rumours that the former Prime Minister was forced out of office by a far-right coup due to her relatively liberal stance compared to the parties leadership however this has been called out as stupid by her youngest son, Mariusz, who said that his mother would not have given in so easily to any "slime balls" trying to stop her from doing the best for Solonia. There have been some rumours that the party will appoint a younger face such as the 40 year old MP Leopold Zieliński but that remains to be seen.