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HEAD GOTHI DIES IN SECRET
It was confirmed today by Allsherjargoði Jin Odinsson that the nations leader, Head Gothi Daniel Stenberg has died. Shortly after a video was posted on several news channels showing a traditional boat funeral conducted in secret and the boat being pushed into the Sea of Alucard. A spokesman for the government said, "It is a sad day for our nation, Daniel Stenberg was seen by many as the father of our nation, he has lead us through difficult times and made our nation stronger, now it is our duty to ensure we continue his works to make our nation a place fit for the Gods."
A few hours later the Police, who had carried out an investigation into the death made their own statement. "This morning the Head Gothi was killed in a swordfight, it appears that this was arranged with a group of Gothi's who considered themselves loyal followers of the Head Gothi. Acting with his consent he was killed and a traditional Odinist funeral was carried out. We have determined that none of the men involved will be charged with murder, this was clearly something done by a man who made a decision to die. It was discovered during our investigation that each of those involved had a signed and sealed letter from the Head Gothi pardoning them for the murder of Daniel Stenberg, therefore we are unable to charge them. We have also discovered that Stenberg was suffering from Motor neurone disease and therefore this is likely to have been some attempt at an honourable death in the eyes of a deeply devout Odinist."
A few hours after the announcment this newspaper recieved a couriered letter which turned out to be the Head Gothi's farewell letter.
To my Brothers and Sisters
Today my earthly life has come to an end, I wish it to be known that I view the man that killed me not as a murderer but as a true brother, it is thanks to him that I have died a true noble death, a weapon in my hand surrounded by friends. It is my dearest hope that no punishment will be given to those who have helped me on my way, and that my final destination will be to Valhalla where I shall be reunited with my darling wife.
The decision I have made was difficult, my body was failing and over the last few months it has become hard for me to hold a chisel, as a Carpenter who loved his work this was heart breaking, my diagnosis of Motor neurone disease meant this would only get worse and that I would be unable to complete my duties. Our Republic deserves strong leadership, and in this difficult time needs it, I am now pleased that it will get exactly that. In the coming weeks the people of our land will go to the polls and select my successor, to whoever it is I hope Odin will bless you as you lead our people to a great future.
As I leave you I wish only to tell you that I am proud of the nation we created as a family and that I shall be watching you continue to greatness.
Go With Odin.
Daniel Stenberg.
It is expected that a memorial service will be held in Krokom for Stenberg in two days and that a memorial will be built soon after. Nominations for the new Head Gothi are expected to be opened in a weeks time with Jin Odinsson taking emergency powers until a new one is elected.
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HEAD GOTHI CANDIDATE SPECIAL**HEAD GOTHI CANDIDATE SPECIAL**HEAD GOTHI CANDIDATE SPECIAL**HEAD GOTHI CANDIDATE SPECIAL
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THREE CANDIDATES MEET REQUIREMENTS. ELECTIONS SOON
Following of the passing of the deadline to submit candidacy for the successor to the late Daniel Stenberg there have been three candidates put forward. To be eligable to stand for the position the person must have been born within Åland, celebrated their 35th birthday, served a minimum of five years as a Gothi at a shrine and have no criminal record. The three candidates will now have until the 1st October to run their campaign before the nations voters take to the ballots. The successor to Daniel Stenberg will be only the 2nd Head Gothi in the nations history and will assume responsibility for guiding the nation both spiritually and in terms of the nations foreign policy direction.
The three candidates are profiled below.
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Konrad Gulbrandsen
Konrad is the youngest of the three candidates at the age of 38. He currently is the Custodian of the Shrine of Thor in Grunwald, a position he has held for the last eight years after finishing military service in the Marines of the former Union of Nordic People, where he reached the rank of Sergeant. He is a keen fisherman and has been an invigilator in the last two whale hunts held at Spotswald. His current manner of employment is as a shipwright, is married and has two daughters aged 5 and 2. He has very little political experience beyond the work carried out as a Custodian. He was rumoured to have been present when Daniel Stenberg died, but has so far refused to comment on this. He is known to believe that the path set forth by Daniel Stenberg was a good one for the nation and believes that more could be done to make the nation more self reliant. He has also spoke of the nation expanding militarily in order to be able to fulfil obligations to Uppsala without relying on East Moreland, Achkaerin and Lodjain troops, a group he described as "gifts from Odin"
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Stein Ulfsson
The 49 year old Hjalmby native is the current Gothi at his local shrine to Tyr and currently works as a Literature teacher at a local secondary school. He is known to be a keen supporter of the arts and at one time was part of the Union of Nordic People's National Theatre Company. He is known for his outspoken views that education needs massive investment and has made this one of his priorities. He has worked in Uppsala during school holidays and helped establish educational centres there with support from East Moreland's Melissa Lusk. He is married and has three children (Two daughters aged 19 and 16, One son aged 10). He has spoken that if elected he will seek to push Nordic culture as a means of establishing better relations with nations beyond those who supported Uppsala. He has also been highly critical of the CTO calling it "a weak talking shop"
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Tessan Victorsson
The only woman to nominate herself the 70 year old served briefly as a Junior Foreign Minister in the Union of Nordic People before resigning in order to follow a path studying theology. She currently is the Gothi for Heimdall in Krokom as well as an archivist for the Odinic Order. She was a part time seamstress while raising her three children, (1 son aged 42, two daughters aged 38 and 35) as well as caring for her various grandchildren. She has voiced concerns about the nation needing to stand strong in the face of foreign pressure regarding what she has described as "Unjust international laws" as well as being a believer that foreign influence will weaken the nation. She has called for the creation of an Odinist Foreign Legion as a peacekeeping force in Uppsala stating, "The Morelanders, The Achkaerin and Lodjains, even the Maori, have done a tremendous job, but we should be self-reliant and Odinists across Mundus will be given a chance to serve the Gods".
Each of the candidates will be invited to address the Odinic Council in a televised session, the running order for these being determined by lots with one candidate speaking each day. Furthermore it is likely that each will run substantial campaigns travelling around the nation.
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LONGBOAT 3 BEGINS DEATH DIVE
Following a lengthy mission in space the nations Longboat 3 probe is due to dive into the atmosphere of Nintura before burning up in a fireball that may be observable from Mundus. Teams of scientists from what is now the Joint Nordic Space Programme will gather in mission control to bid farewell to a probe that has given us more data on Nintura than ever before. The probe has spent time manouvering around the planets various moons as well as completing a number of dangerous manouvers taking it between the planets famous rings. Within the next six hours it is predicted that radio communications will be lost with the two-ton, bus-size spacecraft as it plunges into the giant planet’s turbulent atmosphere at more than 122,000 kilometers per hour. Within seconds the gas streaming around the plummeting probe will reach temperatures hot enough to melt its aluminium chassis, followed by the iridium cladding that shields its plutonium power source. With its radio link to Mundus severed, Longboat’s last “transmission” will be the light from this fireball, a modest blaze that astronomers might glimpse from telescopes across Mundus. A minute after its final signal, the sophisticated spacecraft will be reduced to a rapidly dissipating spray of vaporized metal some 200 kilometers beneath it's graves swirling cloud tops.
The mission has sent back about 635 gigabytes of data, much of it consisting of gorgeous images. That may seem underwhelming by today’s terabyte-saturated technologies however for a mission planned over twenty years ago with so much ambition the results have been highly impressive. Around 8million people have been following the probes official twitter account where mission control has been posting images and updates from a probe which is significantly older than the social network. One of the highlights of the mission was spotting for the first time plumes of water vapour being shot high into the planets skies, plumes that in the final years of the mission Longboat first photographed and then flew through collecting unique data. The probe is now running out of fuel, and keen to avoid the spacecraft spinning out of control—striking and potentially contaminating Enceladus or Titan with any lingering Mundus-born microbes—mission planners are deliberately crashing Longboat into the planet, turning it into a makeshift atmospheric probe. As it plunges into Nintura’s clouds it will operate eight of its instruments and use its thrusters to keep its high-gain antenna pointed toward Mundus as long as possible, transmitting as much information as it can about the atmosphere’s composition until it is overwhelmed and tumbles into oblivion. Some think that data could help scientists refine their understanding of Nintura’s origins and early evolution.
The team who have run the Longboat Mission have spoke of their sadness and joy at the completion with Dr. Momssen, one of the projects longest serving members and a member of the team who witnessed the launch long ago, said. "This is the final hours of a life of work. Many of the team have dedicated their whole adult lives so far to learning about Nintura and in a few moments that will be over. It will take years to sift through the data and images we have collected, but many of us as engineers, technicians and mission controllers will not be part of that. For me this will be my final mission, at 61 I will be retiring, it seems fitting to go when Longboat does. It's been an adventure and I am proud that a mission that was intended to simply overfly and photograph the moons has achieved so much more. Many of the scientists who started Longboat died in the UNP Disaster, I hope they too will today be looking down and smiling as our baby completes its epic voyage." It was left to Dr.Momssen to transmit the order for the final dive and as he did so he recited a prayer normally used at funerals.
"Lo, There do I see my Father, and
Lo, there do I see my Mother, and
Lo, There do I see my Brothers and my Sisters and
Lo, There do I see my people back to the begining, and
Lo they do call to me, and
bid me take my place among them in the halls of Valhalla,
Where the brave will live forever. "
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CANDIDATES MEET LONGHOUSE
The three candidates aiming to become the next Head Gothi yesterday visited the Longhouse, they were given a tour of the building, meet the various representatives working there and meet with civil servants who gave them each a briefing on the way the office works. They were joined for part of the tour by Home Affairs Minister Birgit Strand, possible the nations most experienced politician. Miss Strand said, "It should be remembered that unlike other nations our leader is not a career politician, they are a spiritual person who is an expert on the faith therefore guiding us in the way the Gods would be proud of. Furthermore they are often not from a background where intricate knowledge of government procedures is important. This briefing is kind of a way of them seeing if this is really what they want to dedicate the next five years of their life to."
Each where then given thirty minutes to address the Longhouse and a further thirty minutes to answer questions. This was screened live on 24 hour news and around 40% of the nation tuned in at times. Here at our publication we have summarised each candidates stances.
| Konrad Gulbrandsen (https://i.pinimg.com/736x/5d/32/10/5d321083075620cff05ee46a76fecdc0--kristofer-hivju-gods-will.jpg)
| Stein Ulfsson (https://1.vgc.no/drpublish/images/article/2009/11/18/22329137/1/460x307/1693392.jpg) | Tessan Victorsson (https://www.document.no/wp-content/uploads/archive/karen_jespersen.jpg) |
| Drugs | Alchohol age limit dropped to 16.
Certain recreational drugs to be licenced and heavily taxed. | No change | All drugs to remain banned.
Alchohol to be taxed more. |
| Education | Extra funding for apprenticeships. | Literature to be required until the age of 18.
University to be free.
| Theology to be studied until 18.
University to be free for top 10% of students. |
| Property | No change to Private ownership Laws | Any land considered empty and owned by Thanes to be made into a collective farm. | Odinic Order to take control of all land unoccupied for two years. |
| Government | No change | Creation of a Deputy Gothi post. | Odinic Order to become part of the government in an official capacity. |
| Civil Rights | Voting to be extended to non Odinists who have resided in NA for six years. | Odinic Order to become ultimate court of appeal. | Legislation to be passed protecting transexuals. |
| Religion | Re-establish Operation Hrringhorri to make immigration by Odinists easy. | Odinic Order to establish missionaries | Crackdown on religious content by non-Odinists on TV and Radio. |
| Economy | Business tax to be lowered.
Income tax to be lowered
Removal of vehicle tax but increase on fuel tax. | Funding for overseas aid to be scrapped.
Creation of an enterprise zone. | Non Odinist owned companies to pay a 0.25% tax.
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| Health | No more cosmetic surgery for free.
Missed Doctors appointments to be charged at $500 | Establishment of mobile hospitals for remote areas. | Sugar Tax to be introduced.
Alchohol related visits to A&E to be charged. |
| Environment | Increase in use of Geothermal energy. | Ban on certain packaging
Aim for "Petrol Free" Roads by 2030. | Creation of areas of natural beauty.
Increase hunting permits
Funding of green energy. |
| Uppsala | City to be reduced to rubble on west side of river and material reused to be build eastern side on a limited size. | Refugees to be housed in disused properties in NA.
Uppsala to become an enterprise zone. | Creation of a new military unit, the Odinist Foreign Legion. Legion to be based in Uppsala and given police duties. |
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STEIN ULFSSON BECOMES NEW HEAD GOTHI
49 year old Stein Ulfsson, a former Literature teacher in a secondary school has today been named the nations 2nd Head Gothi. The father of three won a total of 41% of the vote from members of the Odinic Order, he beat Konrad Gulbrandsen into second place with 34% of the vote, while Tessan Victorsson received 25% of the vote. The new Head Gothi will be sworn in at the weekend in a ceremony attended by the nations various Gothi's and the Longhouse. Ulfsson was formerly the Gothi to a shrine of Tyr, and worked as a secondary school teacher where he taught students aged between 11 and 18 Nordic Literature as well as providing education in the Uppsala Refugee Camps. He has also worked with the Union of Nordic People Theatre Company as a writer and orator.
Ulfsson held a party for his campaign team and voulenteers in the suburb of Malken in Krokom where he lived and taught. As news of the result came in he was carried around the block by his supporters on their shoulders before speaking to those gathered.
I'd like to begin by thanking everyone who voted, regardless of who for, our nation was built through democracy and it is vital we keep that alive. I congratulate Konrad and Tessan on their fair and passionate campaigns and fully intend for them to take roles within my administration, they are both great nationalists who have much to offer the nation, and myself. I never professed to being a politician nor do I have all the answers, I believe my strength is knowing where to find answers and in the coming weeks we have many to find. I'd also like to thank my wife and children for allowing me to stand, I know their support will be vital in the coming five years.
Tomorrow once headaches are out the way work begins and there is much to do, our nation must begin to take new steps. Quiet rightly for a long period we have pulled together to support Uppsala, a city I now know well, it is getting back on its feet and we shall help it learn to walk, then run. We have relied upon the help of our friends, friends that we can never repay, from East Moreland, Achkaerin, Lodja, The Iwi and Himeyama, all nations who put men and women on the ground in difficult circumstances and saved many many lives. Additionally while no Ui Cennesliag boots touched Nordic soil they have provided shipping and supplies to those undertaking ground operations and for that we thank you. The time has come however for us to allow these men and women to return home, for after all they have families who will be missing them. I wish each and everyone of them a long and happy life surrounded by their loved ones.
Our nation can be one that joins these nations I have already mentioned in doing good, we have done it before, when pushed we entered Marseille to defend our homeland and support those brave enough to stand up for their rights. While we do not look for trouble we shall not stand by and watch others face it. While I understand there is a conference about the CTO taking place we will not take up that invite. Twice that organisation has burnt us and there shall not be a third time, instead we shall forge our own path separate to their carnage, that path may be alone, or through the CMA, that is not yet determined.
My first act as Head Gothi however shall be to ask our land registry to identify lands that are not being utilised. We have many Thanes in our nation who own estates since the 12th century. Today they use them merely to marvel at their beauty, while there is nothing wrong with admiring our nations outstanding landscape there is a need for the economy being boosted. As such any land that can be utilised will be seized from Thanes and offered to entraperneurs for a discount price. This will enable people to establish new businesses and create jobs, boosting our economy. Furthermore the money raised will be used to fund four mobile hospitals which will tour round remote areas of the nation, hopefully bringing world class health care to the doorstep of some of our more isolated citizens. It is my hope this can be achieved before the New Year.
Additionally I will be seeking a path for the Odinic Order to become the ultimate court of appeal. As in death we shall be subject to the will of the Gods, so shall we in life. Therefore it makes sense that those with the most theocratic understanding are the last arbiters of justice. This will take negotiation and research with the civil service to work out how this can be done in a fair manner, but I am sure it will be done.
May Odin watch over you, your mead be plentiful and your sword sharp.
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NEW KROKOM TEMPLE TO BE BUILT
The new Head Gothi has announced that a new large temple, the first in twenty years, is to be built in Krokom. The Temple which shall be dedicated to all the Gods, shall be the largest Odinist Temple in the nation and quiet possibly the world. The temple will cover an area about the size of a football pitch and have two levels above ground and four below. Additionally a compound will surround it containing gardens and shrines. Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson announced the decision saying, "We are a nation dedicated to the glory of Odin and his fellow Gods, yet for twenty years no new temples have been built, I know many of us prefer to worship in the outdoors, and this design still allows that, but I also want to show the world our pride in our faith."
The temple will be totally carbon neutral with wood forming the primary building material, additionally the temples heat and electricity will be provided by geothermal energy and likely include use of one of Krokom's many heated springs. The exact location has yet to be confirmed with chief Engineer of the project saying, "Not only do we want to give the Gods the perfect building it needs to be in the perfect spot. We shall examine the omens in the coming days and work out a perfect spot to enable the faithful to enjoy this new marvel."
Within hours of the announcement around 30,000 voulenteers had signed up to be part of the construction team with several large building companies pledging their craftsman if needed. One carpentry business which employs some 3,000 workers said, "This is a great idea and many of our workers wish to use their skills to help bring it into existance, we shall permit them as much time off as they need to complete the work if they wish to be involved. I would be proud to say our workers had even the smallest contribution to an epic project." Furthermore local schools are being asked to design carvings of the Gods for inside a move the Head Gothi described as "a lovely way to get the next generation to love the idea of celebrating our faith."
The Head Gothi also indicated that Operation Hringhorni will resume, however with some differences from Daniel Stenberg's original plan. Head Gothi Ulfsson explained saying, "Daniel had the idea of bringing all Odinists home. While that would be the dream, to have us all united in one nation under one banner, what we will settle for though is support Odinists across the globe and so the voyages of Hringhorni will begin again, this time as an education centre inviting people to learn about our faith, our culture and our way of life." It is expected the vessel will set sail in the coming days but no destination is known.
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HEAD GOTHI TO VISIT MARSEILLES
The Head Gothi has announced that he will be paying a "Low key and informal" visit to Marseilles. During the Materna Crisis members of the nations military undertook a range of special operations alongside a resistance cell called Real Marseilles. In the final stages of the conflict members of the Houscarl Commando unit helped the members of Real Marseille take the capital under their control and install a provisional government. It is thought some 20 members of the Houscarls died in the fighting along with three air force pilots. The numbers have never been confirmed due to the nature of Houscarl operations, however Ulfsson did say, "The families of those who died freeing Marseilles while protecting our nation will always know the truth. It is important we remember those brave men who are in Valhalla."
It was announced that while he is in Marseille he will visit the graves of all the fallen and leave Mjölnir pendants as a mark of respect. Additionally he will meet with members of Real Marseille, including their commander and the nations first President, Jacques Papin. Accompanying the Head Gothi will be Major Noah Heikke, a former member of he Houscarls who served in Marseille, the Major was one of the first soldiers into the capital and fought alongside Papin's men. The Major says, "Revisiting that city is a moment of great importance to me. A chance to pay respect to my men who didn't make it home." Furthermore it was confirmed that Heikke will make Papin and several of his men honourary Houscarls. "It is important we recognise fellow Warriors. These men fought side by side with us and will always be part of our unit."
Following this trip it is thought the Head Gothi will attempt to form other meetings across Mundus.
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ALGAE FARMS TO FILL "WASTELAND"
Jin Odinsson today announced that several square miles of the wasteland created in the aftermath of the disaster that befell the Union of Nordic People has been ear-marked for Algae Farms. The project will see seven companies granted land on condition of creating a set number of jobs as well as helping rebuild infastructure in the western part of the nation. The plan is that the algae will use salt and contaminated waters to grow algae for use as a biofuel. The project was thought up by a Professor at Krokom University called Marta Henriksson. The Professor of Environmental Sciences said, " Unlike traditional biofuel crops such as Hemp which produce 10 to 100 gallons of oil per acre, algae are mega oil producers capable of producing 1,000 to 5,000 gallons of oil per acre. Oil collected from algae looks very similar, chemically, to crop oils and can be converted to renewable fuel using existing technology. Algae also do not compete with food sources, can grow in nonpotable and saline water on otherwise nonproductive land, treat polluted waters and recycle carbon dioxide." The Professor did however mention that the project faced several challenges, "Because of algae's small size, and tendency to plug filters, harvesting it from water is challenging. Once harvested, the algae undergoes an intensive drying and oil extraction processes which at present is rather expensive. Research is ongoing to find ways to more efficiently collect oil and algae solids from their waterborne state and this will see it produce large quantities of fuel at a lower price than fossil fuels and at a less damaging cost to the food production cycles than crops like Hemp."
It is believed that this is the first large scale project of its kind in Mundus and that the project already has its first customer. One backer of the project is the widow of Willa Sunbrek, the UNP's great Head of Longhouse and a keen environmentalist. The actress Krista Rosendahl-Sunbrek married Sunbrek for 18 months and has taken up many of her good causes. Speaking at NatureOil Ltd, one of the companies investing she said, "I have already got a biofuelled moped for the streets of Krokom, I look forward to it becoming algae powered and think this experiment could become in decades to come a game changer."
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JNSP SET STANDARD FOR ION PROPULSION
The Joint Nordic Space Programme have been working on improved Ion Propulsion systems for probes for some time and today announced a major breakthrough. This technology is being followed because it can theoretically achieve higher speeds than conventional chemical propulsion.In a series of tests at JNSP’s Grunwald Research Center, researchers said they had now achieved a record power output for an Ion thruster, opening up new avenues of research."We have shown that the unit can operate at over 100 kW of power, as it generated 5.4 Newtons of thrust, which is the highest level of thrust achieved by any plasma thruster to date." (The previous record was 3.3 Newtons.)
Ion thrusters are promising because they promise high thrust with little fuel input. With little propellant needed, they can theoretically operate for much longer than conventional thrusters, achieving much higher speeds. The JNSP's longest running thruster is on Longboat 1 which is currently heading out of our solar system. However, that has a thrust of just 90 microNewtons (0.00009 Newtons). They involve accelerating plasma at extremely high speeds. Electrons are used to bump into atoms, normally of xenon gas. This knocks off more electrons, producing positive ions and thrust. Slowly, over time, this continually increases the speed of a spacecraft.In theory the thruster could get a spacecraft up to 40 kilometers (25 miles) per second, eight times faster than a chemical propulsion spacecraft with a top speed of 5 kilometers (3 miles) per second. Thus, they are hugely promising for spaceflight. If used on manned missions to Nergal (RL Mars), for example, the spacecraft could require less propellant and thus more easily be launched into orbit. It is likely such an engine will be used in the next two years on a probe.
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JNSP TO LAUNCH MICROWAVE GRAVITY MEASUREMENT
The Joint Nordic Space Programme today announced that the Hræsvelgr Gravity Measurement Probe (HGMP) will be launched this weekend. The project is the first of its kind and is intended to map variations in Mundus gravitational field as well as gathering measurements of Mundus surface that will enable scientists to study the ocean, geology, and climate of Mundus in more detail. While similar tasks have been undertaken by other nations the Hræsvelgr Probe is actually made up of two smaller probes that once released from their launch vehicle will separate and take up positions in a polar orbit. Once separated they will move exactly 220km apart and then orbit Mundus 15 times a day. The other unique factor of the Hræsvelgr probe is that while other probes have used electromagnetic waves either reflected off, emitted by, or transmitted throughMundus surface this will use a microwave ranging system to give measurements accurate down to 10 micrometers (approximately one-tenth the width of a human hair). The probes detect changes in gravity by keeping a constant distance between each other, as the first hits a change in gravity its speed changes and this is recorded.
The JNSP are already constructing Hræsvelgr II, a similar pair of probes that will be sent to the moon in order to carry out a similar procedure, these however are also going to test a system using lasers instead of microwaves giving it an even more accurate measurement.
Speaking from the JNSP HQ in Krokom Dr.Momssen, the leader of JNSP, said, "The project is an exciting one, while it may not have the glamour of Longboat III it will give us an insight into hidden secrets of our own planet and allow for a deeper understanding of a whole host of other sciences." The Hræsvelgr project is likely to feature three probes with the final one being aimed at (Whatever we call Mercury)
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NEW SUPERHERO FILM BANNED
It was announced today that the latest Marvel superhero film, "Thor:Ragnarok" will not be permitted to be shown in Nya Åland following consultation with Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson. The ban was put in place because of "The gross disrespect for Odin shown in the film", it is the first time that a film has been banned on these grounds within the nation. The film is the latest installment of the globally successful superhero films made by Marvel, however the films featuring the character "Thor" have never been well received among the Ålander public. The main reason for this is the way that the God Thor is portrayed as being little more than a powerful humanoid alien rather than a God and the marginalisation of Odin.
One film critic stated, "I'm not surprised the Thor films have not done well here. They have taken a vastly interesting character ground in the various Gods, all of whom are part of an amazing saga of literary greatness, and turned them into nothing other than action figures designed to sell merchandise. Its cynical and I am sure if a film on Jesus or Muhammed took these actions there would be an international outcry."
The Head Gothi spoke briefly saying, "I have not seen the other films in this franchise, it doesn't appeal to me, but my concern is media has a great influence on young people and I do not wish people to misrepresent our Gods. We act respectfully to them at all times and that is the way I expect our Gods to be treated in our land." There have been no statements made by the film studio and it is likely other Marvel films not featuring Thor will be permitted to be shown in the country.
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SUNBREK AND STENBERG HONOURED AT BLOT
At the annual Ancestor Blot, a festival were Ålanders honour their families past, memorials to both Willa Sunbrek and Daniel Stenberg were unveiled. The two deceased politicians were honoured with statues in the gardens of the Longhouse. Members of the pairs family were invited to the unveiling including former UNP leader Willa Sunbrek's actress widow Krista Rosendahl who is currently beginning a screenplay on the life of her deceased wife.
The statues were unveiled by the latest Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson who spoke about the pair warmly.
Willa and Daniel are the people who created our nation, our homeland that has enabled us to turn ourselves to our Gods. Willa may never have been an Ålander on paper but she was a glorious Odinist who did right, saw the best in people and thrust Nordic people into the world in a positive light. She is a shining example to all of us and her death a tragedy for Mundus. Together with my good friend Daniel they laid the foundations of our nation and they created a stable, strong and republic with ambitions to achieve greatness. Daniel took the oppurtunities the UNP granted us when they agreed our seperation and made us into what we are becoming, the Odinist safe haven. I am happy that both their memories will now be honoured here at the Longhouse and that from here they will see the legacy that they have created grow and grow. It is my hope in years to come I will be able to walk these gardens and whisper to each of them the great deeds their children have achieved.
Across the nation people travelled to ancestral shrines and groves and feasted in the open, leaving a portion of their goods to be consumed by their ancestors. In the capitol a large parade was held as people carried offerings to the Gods to the various temples.
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SIX ARRESTED FOR MISTLETOE THEFT FROM SACRED GROVE
Six foreign nationals living in Helsingby have been arrested after being caught taking cuttings of mistletoe from the Grove of Odin in the towns Sacred Park. The six people where spotted by wardens of the Odinic Order around 2pm carrying garden tools and challenged about what they were doing. The Grove is considered sacred to Odinists and visited frequently by worshippers who pray in the outdoors. Following the wardens investigations it was discovered the four women and two men had cut two small bags of misteltoe from one of the trees apparently to "decorate for Christmas". They were arrested on charges of "desecrating a holy site" and are due to appear in court tomorrow. Officials have yet to confirm their nationalities however it is thought that at least three of them are here as students. Should they be found guilty they could be sentenced to a maximum of 40 hours community service, a 6,000Kr fine[1] and a two year suspended jail sentence, it is however more likely they shall get a fine of around 3,000Kr and their visas revoked unless this is a second offence.
There are generally a number of arrests of Christians living in Nya Åland at this time of year as the Christian community begin to celebrate Advent and Christmas. In past years some Christians have used the oppurtunity of the similarities of Yule to decorate their homes and this has caused little issue so long as religious imagery is not used. Last year a total of 162 Christians were arrested, all of whom were fined and 22 deported. This year it has been announced that in the coming weeks a TV and radio information advert will be aired in order to ensure that less violations of the nations religious laws take place.
Non-Odinists are permitted to reside within the Nya Åland nation however it is against the law to publically display religious symbols other than Odinist ones, additionally public prayer, preaching, distribution of religious material and various other actions are not allowed. A total of around 5% of the nation are not Odinists and as such are expected to practice their religion in private. The new Head Gothi, Stein Ulfsson has confirmed he will not be searching for a relaxtion of these rules saying. "Our nation is the last outpost of Odinism, we are his children and we are proud of that. We have no ill will towards those of other faiths, but we ask that here on our nations home soil people do not desecrate the foundations of what our nation is built on. That means we do not glorify people such as Jesus, Muhammed, Jehovah, or anything religious figure, Odin and his brood are the ones we honour and that is rightly so."
In an unrelated incident three cinema owners have been arrested for showing an illegal screening of the latest Marvel Superhero film entitled "Thor:Ragnarok", the film was banned on grounds of insulting Odin and giving "a false portrayal of Thor and his powers". Each of the cinema owners is likely to be fined somewhere in the region of 10,000Kr and could even have their entertainment licences revoked.
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YULE CELEBRATION IN KROKOM
The annual Yule celebrations in Krokom have finished today after almost two weeks of feasting and praying. The highlight of the festival was the unveiling of a statue dedicated to former Head Gothi Daniel Stenberg outside of the soon to be completed Temple of the Gods in the capital. The statue was unveiled by the current Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson who will soon dedicate the new Temple at a large ceremony to mark the first new Temple in over twenty years. During the speech the Gothi spoke of future policies regarding the country.
"The festival of Yule is to celebrate the passing of the dark times and the beginning of light returning to the world. The need now is for Nya Åland to return to the world. The last few years have been a disaster for our nation, first the disaster of Uppsala, then the chemical release, the tragedy of Daniel, all these things have knocked our nation backwards, but it has not destroyed us. I know intend for us to come back and show the world that we have much to offer. I have already been in talks with our friends in East Moreland and next year our aid package will begin to decrease slightly. One of the key concepts of Odinism is self reliance and taking money from the Morelanders is not helping us achieve this aim. It should be our duty now to withdraw ourselves from this money and replace it with our own hard work. Furthermore it is time we pay back the support we have been given, as such there shall be an increase in Nya Åland's contribution to the JET and other organisations designed to support people around the world."
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NEW TOURIST VIDEO GOES VIRAL
A new tourist video made by the National Tourist Board for the international market has gone viral. The song entitled "Hardest Karaoke Song in the World (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f88UJyCA__M) features one of the minor languages used in Åland and challenges those watching to say ever increasingly difficult words. It is hoped the video, which shows some of the nations most beautiful scenary will attract more visitors to the nation." A spokesman for the Tourist Board said, "Since the situation in Uppsala our tourist numbers have hit rock bottom, it is hoped a video like the "a to ö of Åland" will help promote our nation and show that things in the east of our nation are unchanged and as beautiful as ever."
Last year numbers of tourists hit the lowest point since records began with a numbers being just 16% of previous years. It is believed with another year like that many businesses that cater to tourists could go bankrupt.
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LHC MAY HAVE DISCOVERED NEW PARTICLE
Following a month long increase in the speed and frequency of the Large Hadron Collider in Nya Åland it has been suggested that a new type of particle, never before seen has been discovered. The particle, known as a Odderon, has been theorised by physacists for many years however here has never been a way of searching for them until now. The new discovery is yet to be confirmed but with data totalling over a Petabyte has yet to be fully examined. The information is likely to take at least 18 months to go through and even then is unlikely to be confirmed for a further year. The lead scientist on the programme is Dr. Jan Mehelsson who said. "This discovery is potentially ground breaking, it will allow us to learn so much about our universe and change the way in which we believe particles interact with each other. If this is the case this could have some exciting implications for everyone."
It is expected that the LHC will take a break for a period of two weeks now as parts are replaced during maintainence, once completed it is expected that the LHC will be fired up once more and a new range of experiments will take place. Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson sent his congratulations to the LHC team at the beginning of what he said was "an exciting week for Nordic science", later this week the delayed Hræsvelgr Gravity Measurement Probe (HGMP) will be launched. The Joint Nordic Space Programme today announced that the Hræsvelgr Gravity Measurement Probe (HGMP) will be launched this weekend. The project is the first of its kind and is intended to map variations in Mundus gravitational field as well as gathering measurements of Mundus surface that will enable scientists to study the ocean, geology, and climate of Mundus in more detail. While similar tasks have been undertaken by other nations the Hræsvelgr Probe is actually made up of two smaller probes that once released from their launch vehicle will separate and take up positions in a polar orbit. Once separated they will move exactly 220km apart and then orbit Mundus 15 times a day. The other unique factor of the Hræsvelgr probe is that while other probes have used electromagnetic waves either reflected off, emitted by, or transmitted throughMundus surface this will use a microwave ranging system to give measurements accurate down to 10 micrometers (approximately one-tenth the width of a human hair). The probes detect changes in gravity by keeping a constant distance between each other, as the first hits a change in gravity its speed changes and this is recorded.
The JNSP are already constructing Hræsvelgr II, a similar pair of probes that will be sent to the moon in order to carry out a similar procedure, these however are also going to test a system using lasers instead of microwaves giving it an even more accurate measurement.
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HEAD GOTHI CALLS FOR BAN OF NAPALM
Following reports from Quintelia of military using napalm our nations Head of State, Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson, has called for the weapon to be banned. Speaking at the launch of the Hræsvelgr Gravity Measurement Probe (HGMP) by the JNSP he said. "I have spoken to our Minister of Defence, herself a seasoned military operator, and I saw first hand what the Gungnir's use of home made Napalm did to Uppsala, ironically the city whom the Convention to prevent incidents such as this is named after. We are in effect the custodians of that treaty and while Quintelia is a signatory they must abide by its terms. Napalm is an ugly weapon, it doesn't select targets once someone pressed the button to release it, the damage it causes is torture and is indiscriminate. We therefore can not allow this weapon to be used, our own armed forces carry no supplies of it and I urge the rest of Mundus who haven't done so already to follow our lead."
The Minister of Defence Marita Kjeldson added her opinion saying, "Having served almost twenty years in the Air Force I am aware of how at times combat can be a confusing space and sadly accidents happen. I would call on Quintelia to make avaliable to us, as a non-aligned nation and as the home of the Uppsala Convention, to permit us to examine the situation. I can honestly see a case where decisions were made in good faith and some unfortunate human error lead to this incident. If that is truly the case it is in Quintelia's interest to show this is the case, and I would echo the Head Gothi's sentiment that napalm is a weapon no longer fit for purpose."
It is yet unknown how the village in Quintelia was hit and likely other nations will call for an investigation.
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MICROWAVE GRAVITY MEASUREMENT MISSION SUCCESSFUL
The Hræsvelgr Gravity Measurement Probe (HGMP) has today successfully completed its two months mission. The pair of probes have been completing orbits of Mundus monitoring variations in Mundus gravitational field as well as gathering measurements of Mundus surface that will enable scientists to study the ocean, geology, and climate of Mundus in more detail. The probes used sophisticated measurement systems to maintain a set gap between them and their speed monitored, increases and decreases in speed indicating a change in gravity.
It is expected that two further HGMP probe pairs will be used, one on the moon and the other on a planet in our solar system, the target yet to be named. The JNSP are said to be "delighted with the project so far but this is the first step in a much much bigger process that will allow us to understand our Universe in a new way."
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NEW TEMPLE NAMED THE "STENBERG TEMPLE"
The largest Odinist temple in the world was today opened in Krokom by the Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson who revealed it will be named after former Head Gothi Daniel Stenberg, the first person to hold the role of Nya Åland's theocratic head of state. The all wooden structure was built by a team of 30,000 volunteers and will be able to accommodate 60,000 people in its sunken arena. The temple features an above ground feasting hall as well as a sub-terranian worship hall and a small administration complex. The underground nature of a great deal of the structure means that geothermal energy can be used to help heat much of the complex added to the fact the all wooden structure was made from sustainable woodland it is possibly the most environmentally friendly place of worship on Mundus.
The ribbon was cut by Stein Ulfsson who then invited the guests to the opening inside where the first worship took place. During the ceremony Ulfsson dedicated the temple to "keeping alive the dream of Daniel Stenberg to spread and protect the Odinist faith and the ideals for which it stands." The Head Gothi went on to give all in attendance the mission of "Showing Mundus that our faith is one not of submission, nor guilt, is not one of saying but is one of doing. We do not bend our knee in supplication to the Gods & Goddesses. Nor do we beg them to do for us; rather, we ask them to empower us to do for ourselves. Self-realization and empowerment are at the heart of Odinism. It is known that that which made man & women 'human' was a set of divine gifts, bestowed by the Gods at the birth of humanity. Through these gifts, we know the Gods directly, for it is that gift that they shared with us. We are, in one way or another, descended from them, body and soul. We cannot "break with the Gods". Ours is not a contractual relationship - it is one of blood. So long as we exist, they exist. Our faith maintains that we neither need, nor ask for our Gods & Goddesses' forgiveness. We were not born into sin. We were born to be tested by our fate, to become the best that we can be. We were born to be great and we must seize that greatness."
Ulfsson went on to explain that the nation will not be joining the Network of Republics as many believed would happen, "The Network is not set up to promote an ideology, it is set up as an organisation serving no purpose other than to have created a backdoor for actions against the Bene Gesserit. That much is clear and while we do not share Mountjoy's world view on many things we saw their actions there as honourable. Furthermore we shall be shortly joining East Moreland in their actions against potential human trafficing of child soldiers, using those not yet at an age to make all decisions for themselves as war slaves is dishonourable and must be opposed."
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NATION CELEBRATES "DREAM" WINTER GAMES
Hundreds of thousands of Ålanders took to the streets today to celebrate topping the medal table at the Winter Games. Winter sports are seen as an obsession in Nya Åland and the table topping performance comes so soon after the great catastrophe that rocked the nation killing millions. One of those who took to the streets was Allsherjargoði Jin Odinsson who was seen in Krokom Council Square celebrating with the general public as confirmation came in. The former sports journalist, who represented Hygelac at the Football World Cup two years ago, spoke with the media saying, "You can not under estimate what this victory means. Our nation has weathered storms that possibly only Seaforth could comprehend, we have today shown the world that we are a force to be reckoned with. Everytime This is My Land (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDXNHPeRB0k) was sung and our flag was raised it was a slap in the face to those who tried to use our disaster to rip us apart, it was a big thank you to those who supported us allowing us to achieve these victories, but most of all it was a reinforcement of our nations growing confidence. We missed out on hosting the games, but that dream still lives on, Ski Jump will one day return home, for now we must settle with just the medal."
The social media reference #SkiJumpsComingHome was used during the bidding process to host the games, a campaign which sadly failed, some saying down to Heyran money being used to influence the vote however this has never been confirmed. Ski Jump would have been taking place on the supposed hill where the sport began, Høydalsmo Hill, instead the team took six medals, including half the Gold medals. Among them was Jessika Palmersson who took Gold in the Women's Large Hill and Women's Team event. The 27 year old from Grunwald will carry the nations flag at the closing ceremony and said, " Six more Golds than our nearest competitors shows just how well we did. This was a games we knew could lift our nation which has had bad news after bad news. We saw the love of the sport of Ski Jumping once more become a national obsession and that was our target, get the games to where it all began at Høydalsmo Hill, when that failed it was time to bring as many of the medals back to the spiritual home of the Winter Games and I think we can hold our head up high."
The Head Gothi, Stein Ulfsson announced that the day the team return will be a national holiday and that parades will take place at the various cities as athletes arrive. This shall culminate on Saturday when a national celebration will take place at Høydalsmo Hill, where Palmersson has already announced she will jump along with her team mates. Ulfsson said, "We celebrate our victories, we celebrate our men and women who show bravery and skill. To stand at the top of Høydalsmo Hill and throw yourself down it on two pieces of wood is bravery of the highest order and I for one will raise a horn high to toast the team. Celebrations like this will be fantastic for our nation and I pray they'll be many more."
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MINISTER OF DEFENCE URGES NO ATTACKS AGAINST THE "PRINCIPALITY"
The nations Minister of Defence Martja Larsson is the only government representative in the world to have visited the so called "Principality of Northern Borland" today she has issued caution in dealing with the entity and urged that it should not be attacked. The former Air Force helicopter pilot visited the "Principality" a self proclaimed but not recognised sovereign state completely land locked within Zimalia two years ago to oversee a measure of disarmament by the Borlander terrorist group. As such she has a unique insight into the settlement.
"I visited the Principality unannounced, our observation teams where scheduled to arrive and I just tagged along, the people there had no idea a representative of our government was coming. What I saw there was odd to say the least. There were very few white people, people I'd assume where Borlanders and those people were mainly families. They were involved heavily with helping the settlement grow. For example one was a doctor providing health care to the people. I saw others helping construct new homes, they were using old metal shipping containers and they had the most basic sanitary and electrical connections. The majority of people where Zimalians and when I spoke with them it was clear that many had moved there to simply take advantage of a free home and the chances provided. I mean in Zimalia they have to pay for education, yet here was someone running schooling for free, yes that schooling was primitive, classes were overcrowded and lacked resources but education of any sort is better than none. I even tried to teach some maths, it was tough and the utmost respect goes to those teachers there trying to make a better life for people. I've visited Zimalia a time or two, what you always see is society split along tribal lines but here that had gone. We had people of all tribes who wished to escape that chaos of Zimalian society living side by side in peace. It was a great example of what a society could be. I heard no mention of terror, I saw no outward hatred of Morelanders and I saw no high ranking Borlander living there. I did see Kyle Barren on the day that the weapons where destroyed by our teams but as soon as the job was done he disappeared. Speaking to the people there they knew he was making many of the laws that existed there, laws that essentially mimic those you'd expect in any civilised society but beyond that he had little daily input into the settlement. I was devastated to hear that weeks later the Morelanders had destroyed the settlement with an air strike. I understand they'd given 24 hours notice of the attack and so loss of life was kept to a minimum, yet still I felt grief that a small piece of Zimalia that was trying to raise itself above the day to day mayhem that exists there was knocked down. I actually rejoice in the fact the "Principality" has regrown, and from what I have seen and read about it has mirrored the first incarnation. We as a world should be encouraging that little settlement and I fully intend to revisit, take with me school resources to support the education there. For example do you know that only 15% of Zimalian girls access education beyond the age of 10? While in the Principality that figure is 100%. These are efforts worthy of commendation, were this any other place on Mundus we would be hailing it a great success, a moral victory and nations would be standing applauding, yet we now have Rokkenjima making statements that "Zimalia shall have before it two choices: dismantle the so-called "Principality" of its own volition or dismantle it with the assistance of the international community" Well I will be recommending to the Riksdag later today a series of proposals to ensure that the place is not dismantled, that it is not faced by the " military tools of the international community". The "Principality" may bare the name of shame in having the word Borland associated with it, a name associated with hate and destruction, yet all I found there was love and a hope to build something great. I urge the world to not cut down once more this sapling of hope in the wilderness of chaos" (OOC-Speech heavily edited by Libby)
Late that day the Minister of Defence presented a bill to the Riksdag that called on the following.
1. The Air Force to dispatch a squadron of aircraft to support the Zimalian Air Force against "Incursions outlawed under international law"
2. The Ministry of Education to send 25 teachers to the "Principality" for two months to help establish an educational programme.
3. The Ministry of Health to send 10 doctors and 20 nurses to help establish a health care programme.
4. Education and awareness about the spread of HIV/AIDS to be set up to try and combat the higher than average levels there.
5. The establishment of an Odinic Rite "Outpost" there to support cultural programmes within the Principality.
6. $5million in vouchers to be given to the settlement to allow them to buy resources from companies based within Nya Åland.
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AIR FORCE ARRIVE IN ZIMALIA
20 of the nations NA-X (http://w11.zetaboards.com/Independent_Order_NS/single/?p=8371080&t=11058780) multi-role fighters have arrived in Zimalia. The deployment comes amid fears of nations violating the sovereignty of the Alba Karinyan nation over fears it is harbouring terrorists. The announcement was made by Minister of Defence Martja Larsson who said, "Our nation has first hand seen on two occasions the international community threaten our sovereignty. On one occasion we saw the CTO pushing to install their own boats in our EEZ during one of our whale hunts on the pretext of protecting protesters. Next we had the whole Marseille debacle where we were "ordered" by Admiral Cole of Rokkenjima to halt our action after being hit by missiles, yet Rokkenjima just days after launched their own retaliatory strike when hit themselves. It is for these two reasons we do not believe the safety of Zimalia can be left to the hands of more militant nations."
The aircraft have begun patrols alongside an AEWACS aircraft that also joined the squadron. These patrols will be conducted alongside the Zimalian Air Force and the Air Forces of Paracambi and Tamora. Group Captain Caj Nørup who is commanding the deployment said, "We have been made to feel extremely welcome already. The climate is much different to home and we've managed to get out and see some of the unique wildlife in Zimalia. We firmly believe that nations have a right to defend their homeland and we have seen several threats against Zimalia, a nation that have suffered enough in the past. We're proud to be here."
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THIRD TIME THE CHARM FOR YOUNG DOCTOR
Olivia Robertsson is a 21 year old medical student from Krokom University Hospital, yet in the time since she was 17 she has seen as much medical action as many doctors will in their career. The youngster was a survivor from a Gungnir coup attempt during the great crisis that hit Uppsala and was discovered by East Moreland forces caring for four injured people. At that time Robertsson had just enrolled as a voulenteer medical orderly with the Joint Emergency Team and having been rescued from the fire fight with the religious extremists she spent the rest of that summer helping at the refugee camps. A year on she was once more spending her break from study working with JET in the refugee camps of the city when the chemical leak hit. Robertsson herself was on the front line and found herself at the camp that was in the direct line of the leak which caused skin damage which has left the palms of her hand criss crossed with scars. "We were working on patients when we realised the gloves were getting damaged, we didn't really have many options other than just protect ourselves the best we could. I spent the next two weeks with constantly itchy palms, like they were burning." Robertsson explains of her time there. The young woman was awarded the Merit of the Valkriyes for her dedication during those difficult days.
Now the summer has arrived again and while most of her colleagues would be enjoying some time relaxing Robertsson has once again voulenteered her time. This time the trainee doctor is one of a team of University students who are in the Principality of Northern Zimalia as part of a educational team. "We're here on a health education mission. Zimalia has a major issue with AIDS/HIV but so does the Principality. No one is doing anything about the issue and so when he heard there was a chance to do something and visit a new country I was excited to do this. Our role as medical professionals is to protect people's health, mostly by treating what is in front of us but if we can stop something before it begins that is even better. We can make a real difference to hundreds of lives here."
The 21 year old will return to University in October to continue her medical training and is already being hailed as a role model by Dr. Joachim Thorn, head of our nations JET mission. "Olivia turns up to help every time something happens. She works tirelessly and even when our medical staff were asked to withdraw from Krokom in the chemical leak she refused as long as doctors were working. I am not surprised to hear she is going to Zimalia. One day she will probably have my job and JET couldn't be in safer hands."
A total of 75 Alanders have gone to the Principality as teachers, doctors, nurses and as part of the AIDS/HIV project.
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CHRISTIANS ARRESTED FOR "DISHNOURING FREYFAXI"
On the annual Freyfaxi celebration to honour the Goddess Freya and celebrate a successful harvest a group of six Christians have been arrested in Krokom. The group where distributing "Lammas Bread" in the shape of a cross. The Christian celebration of Lammas shares many of the aspects of Freyfaxi in terms of it is a festival to mark the annual wheat harvest, and is the first harvest festival of the year. On this day it is customary for Christians to bring to church a loaf made from the new crop in much the same way that Odinists will leave bread and fruit offerings at their shrines. The nations constitution states "8.2 - The only religion recognised by the state is Odinism. Other religions may practice but must do so in private at a private residence. No religious symbols other than those associated with Odinism may be visible in public. " and by handing out these crosses the group where in violation. The group where arrested and appeared in front of a judge where they were issued with the standard 2,000Kr fine. One of the group said they refused to pay and yelled out "This nation is denying the most basic of human rights to us and we must stand in this tyranny even if it means we become martyrs for Christ."
The judge therefore ordered the man to be remanded in custody and a hearing put in place for 48 hours time where he will face trial for "Crimes against the Constitution" and could face up to 12 months in prison and a fine of up to 100,000Kr. So far there are 11 Christians serving time in prison on these charges. A member of the National Prosecution Service stated, "We don't generally put people in prison for these crimes unless their are exceptional circumstances. For example one inmate is in for setting up a religious school dedicated to Judaism, the students were listed officially as being home schooled which is perfectly within a parents right, but this gentleman was charging the parents for teaching their children and his curriculum was not inline with national standards but instead was faith based. Another inmate is in for their third offence which included cutting mistletoe at a sacred grove. Christians are free to believe their faith, they just however must keep it private. Our nation has witnessed others around the world losing their traditions, culture and way of life by becoming multi-cultural, we shall preserve ours by maintaining the strength of our faith."
The Head Gothi also confirmed today that he will not be signing the Mundus Convention of Universal Rights. Stein Ulfsson stated, "By signing we turn our back on our constitution. We've seen how Christianity has tried to encroach on our faith throughout history. Our homeland is the last bastion in keeping the Odinist faith pure we shall fight that battle with all our might." The Head Gothi spent Freyfaxi at the Shrine of Freya in Krokom before attending an Odinic Rite Centre to help distribute gifts of food to those gathered. As usual the square outside the Gothi's residence turned into a party as revellers sang songs and shared picnics.
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WHALE HUNT GOES UNDER THE RADAR
This years annual whale hunt for the villages of Mikberg, Spitwald and Grundwald has taken place without interference from animal rights protestors or foreign governments. It was kept rather low key this year as part of a media strategy suggested by former CTO Secretary General Birgit Strand. "In the past we have seen much international interest as we have announced guest Grand Marshalls and the like, however this year we asked all three settlements to keep the event more low key and local while the government even kept the quotas for the year from the media as a way of making it a non-story. With nations such as Rokkenjima having strict views of the life of animals, particularly things like Whales we hoped to avoid a repeat of when the CTO attempted to invade our sovreignty by allowing liberal snowflakes to protest our customs in our own lands."
The hunt has proven controversial internationally in the past with many nations including Rokkenjima whom have a " 'Declaration of Rights' for Cetaceans and Elephants" which states
1.Every individual cetacean has the right to life.
2. No cetacean or elephant should be held in captivity or servitude; be subject to cruel treatment; or be removed from their natural environment.
3. All cetaceans and elephants have the right to freedom of movement and residence within their natural environment.
4. No cetacean or elephant is the property of any State, corporation, human group or individual.
5. Cetaceans and elephants have the right to the protection of their natural environment.
6. Cetaceans and elephants have the right not to be subject to the disruption of their cultures.
7. The rights, freedoms and norms set forth in this Declaration should be protected under international and domestic law.
The hunt has also been targetted by supporters of Matilda Osman, Patron of the Wild Mundus Organisation who helped encourage one vessel full of Morelanders to protest the hunt four years ago. These were arrested and served 60 days in prison for disruption of the hunt and various unsafe environmental and safe shipping laws. This year around 320 pilot whales were taken between the three settlements. The meat is distributed between the residents of the three settlements and is aimed at supporting the community through the winters to come in regard to food supplies. One of the whalers in Mikberg explained, "Traditionally our diets are whatever we grown before the harvest and then what we gain from the sea. We've recently celebrated Freyfaxi and laid up for the winter our crops, what is needed though is Protein and that would normally come from fish however the seas often freeze or are too rough for us to go out and catch enough fish. Whale meat is a healthy alternative that preserves brilliantly and so is the perfect solution."
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YOUNG TRAINEE DOCTOR TO BUILD MOBILE HEALTH CENTRE IN ZIMALIA
21 year old Olivia Robertsson is still several years away from fulfilling her dream as qualifying as a doctor yet she has already seen as much action as most emergency room medics. First she was part of a small group that walked some 100km out of the disaster zone when the Uppsala catastrophie took place, the then 18 year old was named by the others as leading the group and providing life saving medical care when the group were attacked by the terrorist group known as the Gungnir. Following that she voulenteered for JET service during her breaks at University and has seen deployment with the humanitarian aid organisation to Zimalia and then again in Uppsala. During the chemical leak in Uppsala she was given an award for bravery after refusing the leave the area despite being injured due to chemical exposure. The Merit of the Valkriyes was awarded along with a $20,000 grant for her to put towards future projects. That money is now being spent as Robertsson plans her next adventure.
"I'm buying an old army truck from the Zimalians, filling it with as many medical supplies as possible and then heading out around the rural areas. I've a friend from my Emergency Hospital placement coming, he will be helping treat as many patients as we can, another friend is a nurse and will be offering health care advice and support. I'll do what I can but no being fully qualified yet can limit it, so I'll be loading up some educational resources and helping educate people in remote villages about AIDS and HIV. I hope we can make a difference, it won't be on the scale of JET or GCI but at least we feel like we're doing something important."
Once word got out of her holiday plans IFK Krokom players have each said they are donating a days wages each to the youngster. It may not sound a massive donation but with players such as international star Kristopher Godberg earning $70,000 a week that amounts to a lot of extra money. Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson has also agreed to give $20,000 from the Odinic Order to help her and said, "We already know Olivia is an outstanding young girl, she is a role model not just for Ålanders but for every youngster on Mundus. I wish her and her friends all the best of their Zimalian adventure and may the blessings of Odin go with her."
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ODINIC COUNCIL CONFIRM HEAD GOTHI'S NEW NOBILITY PLAN
The Odinic Council today confirmed the creation of a series of noble titles for Nya Åland. The nations parliament voted 374-101 to introduce the new titles and granting the Head Gothi power to name them. The new act known as the Nobility Act (2018) will reintroduce titles such as Jarl for the first time since the 18th Century. While some say it may be a throw back to the old days of aristocracy this was dismissed by Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson who waited in person outside the Council chamber as the votes were cast. The constitution dictates the Head Gothi may not enter the Council chamber unless it is a feast day. As the announcement was made Ulfsson explained the new system. "Any of the old nobility thinking they will get their land and titles back is fooling themselves. The Odinist faith talks about ensuring role models in society are elevated, sadly we live in a day where reality TV stars fornicating on sunny beaches dominate the airwaves. Women are judged on their instagram accounts rather than their contribution to society. This needs to end and therefore elevating those of great example to nobility shows society the good examples they should follow."
The new system will see 25 Jarldoms made across the nation with each being allocated an individual nominated by Ulfsson. The titles will be of "limited heriditary" meaning that when it is granted it may be given simply for life or for up to five generations depening on the person. In addition each Jarldom will be split into 25 holdings known as Thanes which will be a title held for life. Ulfsson explained the system, "Some Ålanders have done such great deeds the Gods will be willing to bless their descendants and as such it is only right their title be passed on, but at some point you must stop living on past glories and make your own and so we shall limit this. Additionally they will not be granted any special land holding rights, it shall be a ceremonial title and as far as possible we shall seek to place people as Jarl or Thane in an area they have a connection too."
Some people where concerned about people seeing appointments as unwanted by people in the local community but as Ulfsson explained this will be taken care of, "The new law allows the Odinic Order members of any Jarl or Thanes area to dismiss them. Should 10% of the members sign a petition a referendum of that areas membership shall be carried out to either strip the title or confirm the selection."
Just an hour after the new Act was passed the Head Gothi named the first two Jarls. Dr. Ragnar Momssen, the head of the Longboat 3 space programme was named Jarl of Uppsala while Birgit Strand was named the Jarl for Krokom. Dr.Momssen was given the title for, "Dedication to the most impressive piece of space engineering Mundus has ever seen and inspiring a whole generation of future scientists to push the boundaries of what is possible." He was responsible for the design and monitoring of the Longboat 3[1] probe which outlasted its estimated life expectancy by almost a decade. Meanwhile Strand was give her title for, "Devotion to her people and to good causes across Mundus as well as managing the negotiations which saw Nya Åland split on good terms with the Union of Nordic People before once more peacefully uniting the Nords into one nation." The 46 year old, who is the nations current Foreign Minister, was previously Foreign Minister of the UNP while Åland was still a province, during the independence negotiations it was Strand who acted as mediator being a UNP citizen by birth but having grown up in Krokom. She also served as Secretary General of the Commonwealth Treaty Organisation creating both the Mundus Health Organisation and Refugee Councils. Dr.Momssen's title is for the duration of his life while Strands will be passed on to her next of kin.
Dr.Momssen was said to be "Deeply honoured to be thought of in this way by the people of my homeland". Meanwhile Foreign Minister Strand said, "While I am thankful to the Head Gothi, and shall do my best to be a good Jarl, I believe their are many Ålanders out there who deserve this more than me. The brave men who helped liberate Marseille from the Soriority of Materna for one, each of those are true Viking Thanes in the tradition of our people in my eyes."
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NATION CELEBRATE YULE
The nation came to a stop today to celebrate Yule. Across the country large firelight parades took place including in the capital Krokom where local members of the Odinic Order dressed in medieval costume to lead the parade. It was estimated somewhere in the region of 200,000 people lined the parade route making it one of the largest in the history of the nation since independence. In Uppsala a similar parade took place, the first since the reunification of the ancestoral Nordic lands.
The Parade in Krokom was addressed by the Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson who carried out the ritual sacrifice of a bull. "As the darkness engulfs Mundus we ignite our torches to light the way into the future. We in Nya Åland have over the last 18 months rebuilt much of our nation. The great disaster that hit Uppsala, followed so quickly after by the chemical leak that cost thousands their lives and then finally the death of our beloved first Head Gothi Daniel Stenberg. These disasters would have seen many people give up and the nation collapse but that has not happened here. We have strived to maintain our position in the world. We have tried to be active members of Albion, we have forged a connection with the Alucard Island nations and we strecthed a hand of protective friendship to Zimalia. It is my understanding that Emperor Benson of Paracambi is soon to announce his own forces shall return to their home after our joint deployments there when Zimalia was threatened by Rokkenjima. I will today announce that with their mission of supporting Zimalia a success our forces will be home for the end of Yule. On the 12th January when the final sacrifice of Yule takes place Squadon Leader Laursen who commanded our fighter squadron in Zimalia will perform it having returned along with his comrades. However the number of Nords in Zimalia will be increasing. We have seen young trainee doctors leading the world in efforts to support Zimalia through their growing HIV/AIDS crisis and while Tamora may have supported Zimalia financially it is us Ålanders who will help them medically. We shall today begin the Olivia Project, named after the young doctor who risked her life twice to save her fellow Ålanders during the crisis's in Uppsala. When rewarded financially for her bravery she used it to estasblish a mobile health unit in Zimalia and provide public health education. We now shall commit $500,000 to continue her work, in addition all funds donated to the Odinic Order during Yule shall go to create this AIDS/HIV education group. We shall in the coming days be announcing other measures that shall be our torches in the darkness."
Young doctor Oliva Robertsson who is in the 3rd year of her medical degree was in her hometown of Greenberg during the celebration and was said to be "shocked but delighted" at the announcement. Later that evening she took to Facebook to say "I'm honoured to have my name associated with this project. AIDS/HIV is a disease we really should be beating but a lack of education and resources mean that its getting wildly out of hands in some regions. To now think they'll be something done to support people will be incredible. I'm already looking forward to returning to Zimalia and seeing how my mobile centre is going on." The medic is also topping a poll to name a Thane under the age of 30 in the nations new order of nobility. Head Gothi Ulfsson started the poll saying, "Nobility is not defined by age, we must have nobles of all ages and genders so the nation should pick us two Thanes of Youth."
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LONGBOAT TWO KEEPS ON GOING
Two years ago Longboat Two passed the last planet in our solar system having flown by most celestial bodies on its way out into deep space. After almost a year of silence a signal was received today after Longboat Two encounted a large body in what is known as the Kuiper Belt, a region on the edge of the solar system where small lumps of rock which astrologers believe were the initial building blocks of the solar system. The temperatures are so low that all chemical processes will have stalled and the small size of the rocks mean little geological processes have occured since the birth of the solar system. It was expected Longboat Two would encounter something in this belt but would not for certain be able to contact home. A message appeared early this morning in the Joint Nordic Space Programme centre in Krokom confirming that the probe would conduct a flyby of an object. The messages took close to seven hours to reach Krokom and so the probe was essentially left to automatically manage the flyby.
Dr. Jonas Gustafsson, one of the Longboat staff was onhand when the first data was received. "It's fantastic, we've just got a photo from 6.5bn km (4bn miles) away, and while this is amazing we now have to enhance and review it. We also have the first image, an image from the probes approach over the rocks surface, we know we have a full transmitter of data and the problem is its done at such a slow rate we won't have everything until around September 2020. A project that we left to float around the Universe is still going strong, what with that and the Longboat Three (Cassini) we are proud of what our nations legacy on space exploration is. These images are the ones from furthest away from our planet ever received and perhaps not the last Longboat Two can send us."
It is expected to take around eight years for Longboat Two to exit the Kuiper Belt and should Longboat Two come across other celestial bodies it will conduct flybys of them too. It is expected that the probe will be able to still send images until 2030 and then data from its various instruments until 2038.
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LHC TO GO SUPERSIZED
It was announced today that the nations scientific jewel in the crown, the Large Hadron Collider, is likely to become even bigger. Following several years of successful discoveries the team running the project have announced that they now plan to create a 100km long circular collider which will allow even greater discoveries. The project is expected to come online sometime in the early 2040's and will cost a total of around $30billion. The news was meet with dismay by some of the public who branded it a "unnecessary luxury" this however was downplayed by leading scientist Magnus Robertsson who said, "Yes the $30billion sound a huge sum of money, that's because it is, but remember we are talking about a project that if it goes according to our worst case plan would be active until at least 2080, that gives us 70 years or so of use, less than £500million a year to help us unravel the secrets of the Universe." The project will also include the construction of a small post-graduate college complex, a visitors centre and conference facilities. Additionally it is believed that the 100km long circular tunnel will be able to also house various other accelerators that will help provide data to the scientific community. Robertsson explained, "A tunnel of this proportion means that teams around the world seeking places to house their own, smaller, less complex accelerators and linear projects could have a home. This would obviously help with the cost of the project. Additionally we have already received money from various private individuals who are keen to support the sciences."
The current Large Hadron Collider is expected to continue until the early 2040's and is currently running experiments investigating the formation and destruction of dark matter.
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ODINSSON TO STAND DOWN AS PARTY LEADER
The Odinic Rite's Jin Odinsson has announced today that he intends to stand down as his parties leader. WIth elections coming later this year the 45 year old Toshikawan born Allsherjargoði has said that "it is time for a fresh hand on the rudder." The former journalist made his announcement at a political fundraiser. "I have served first the Union of Nordic People and then Nya Åland during some very challenging times. I was present when my dear friend Petter Knutsson was assassinated while we negotiated the first MCUR, I celebrated the night Nya Åland became an independent nation while simultanously mourning the fact we were leaving our brothers and sisters of the UNP behind, I served Daniel Stenberg as part of the Triumpherate when our nation faced crisis after crisis and we ordered our troops to help liberate the people of Marseille and I watched as out of the ashes of the greatest humanitarian crisis Mundus has ever seen we rose once again, one nation of Nords stronger than before. I feel I have seen and witnessed enough to fill multiple political careers and that I have little left to offer. The Odinic Rite requires strong leadership and I believe that there are those out there stronger and more willing than me to direct us towards the future. We have a new Head Gothi just a year into their term and I think with elections coming up it makes sense that the Allsherjargoði is someone new too. I know in the coming weeks new leaders will step forward and present their ideas for taking our party, and our nation onto future successes and I wish whoever gains the position well."
Jin Odinsson's father was a blacksmith in Toshikawa who began working alongside a Nord colleague who was also a Gothi. Three years before the Allsherjargoði was born his father converted to Odinism and Jin was brought up as an Odinist by his parents along with his younger brother Zao. The family moved to Krokom when Jin was five years old and the journalist graduated from Uppsala University. He worked as a sports reporter before entering politics at the age of 30 where he rapidly moved through the ranks of the UNP's Nordic Alliance Party before joining the Odinic Rite as one of its founders in Nya Åland. He had served as junior foreign minister in the Union of Nordic People before being made Foreign Minister by his political mentor Petter Knutsson. He later served as Deputy Head of Longhouse under Willa Sunbrek.
The Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson said "Jin may look among the least Nordic of anyone in Nya Åland but he has shown time and time again that he loves this nation and its people. There can never be a doubt that Jin is a patriot and that his life has been dedicated to ensuring his homeland, because this is truly his home, prospers. To drag yourself out of an exploding hotel, know that your friend has died and still drag yourself into a conference the next morning just so you can show terrorists they shall not win, that is a warriors heart and the nation should applaud him for everything he has done. I shall miss working with Jin and I wish him a long and happy retirement, I suspect however knowing Jin that he will not be sitting at home musing on his past glories. He is a man of action and dedication and I suspect before long we will see him do yet more great deeds."
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NEW ODINIC RITE LEADER ELECTED
Cathrine Nyström yesterday was announced as the leader in waiting of the Odinic Rite Party. With Jin Odinsson having announced his intension to stand down before the elections in mid April the party held leadership elections which saw Nyström win after two rounds of voting where she eventually claimed 62% of the vote. The 44 year old has served as the parties educational spokesperson for the last two years and has been instrumental in bringing about several educational reforms. It is highly likely that in the upcoming elections the Odinic Rite will retain its majority and Cathrine Nyström will become the nations first female Allsherjargoði. She has already named Katrin Björk (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebba_Busch_Thor#/media/File:Ebba.Busch.Thor.riksmotet2015.15d686.1710040.jpg) as her deputy reviving a tradition of a young politician shadowing the top position. Nyström explained the decision saying. "We've seen it time and time again in our nation. Sunbrek is one of the Nord's greatest political figures and she was one of two proteges of Peter Knutsson, the other being Jin. Willa was 27 years of age when she was named one of his deputies and she went on to negotiate peace between the USR and Rokkenjima, halt issues with the Traansvaal as well as help author the Uppsala Convention. It is therefore fitting this tradition of elevating young politicians to posts of responsibility is continued as we are a nation that values tradition."
With the elections on the horizon Nyström took the time to outline her positions on key policies, "I share many of the beliefs of Jin, after all we helped found this party. What I view as the future for our nation is reinforcing our armed neutrality. Our military has taken a back seat in recent years, the crisis of Uppsala dominating our national agenda. We must now ensure our naval heritage is restored and that all understand a devotion to nation is needed. If we retain the majority then we shall restore the warrior pride our ancestors had. National service will be reintroduced and our dockyards fired up to maximum capacity. We shall open our borders to all who worship Odin and create a nation dedicated to the service of the All Father. Our government will repay the support shown to us by the handful of nations who responded to the Krokom disaster by doing more than ever to support JET and various other organisations, however we shall not be held a slave to ineffective and unneccessary international legislation. The MCUR is something that shall remain the backbone of nations who believe a piece of paper is the definer of rights rather than their humanity. We have no need of such a document as we have the Eight Noble Virtues which guide us. I know this stance is likely to make us unpopular with many of the more left leaning liberal nations that dominate Mundus current affairs but we shall not be held to ransom by them. A collective sense of purpose dedicated to the nation and its Gods is in our view a far better way of running a country than trying to create a nation that panders to all, making all weaker in the process."
It is expected that Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson will announce the exact date of the elections within the next week or so. He did however send his congratulations to the new leader of the Odinic Rite saying, "Mrs.Nyström is a woman who has served us well in many capacities over the years. I have no doubt if elected she would serve the nation well and I look forward to working with her as I do all our nations political leaders."
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WILD MUNDUS ORGANISATION DRONE CAPTURES "WHALE FARM"
Following rumours over a period of a few months activists from the Wild Mundus Organisation have discovered what is being called a "Whale Farm" near the villages of Mikberg and Spitwald. The two villages along with Grundswald are the location for a large annual whale hunt that has several times earned condemnation from members of the international community. The latest discovery comes after some activists had visited the area ahead of the annual determination of the quota of whales to be made. Each year assessors from the Ministry of Farms and Fishing visit the area and work out how much whale meat must be harvested to see the three isolated communities fed through the winter. One activist, 25 year old Marine Biologist Thomas Sunderveld explained "We believe that over the years people have inflated the quotas. While we wish to see no whales killed for meat it is obvious we will not halt this practice overnight. We must then make certain the limits are as low as we can and if possible cast doubt over the need for the hunt at all." During their visit Sunderveld discovered what the team believe was a series of enclosed pens containing Beluga Whales. "We spotted around eight pens, about ten whales in each clearly confined and cut off from the ocean they need to be in." The team borrowed a small commercially avaliable drone and shot footage of the farm until workers spotted the recording device and began throwing equipment at it.
Åland based members of the WMO attempted to gain access to the farm by land but were halted at the perimeter of the private property. It was later discovered that the land was purchased by Teraval Fisheries, one of the nations largest fishing companies, three months ago. A spokesman for the company refused to confirm that whales were being kept in confinement instead saying, "The area is being used for a fish farm to enable the Alucard to be used sustainably" and that the facility "complies with all national laws regarding fisheries and farming."
Mr.Sunderveld however explained that the group will be seeking a warrant for police to inspect the farm. "It is highly probable based on our gathered footage that the whales are Belugas, kept in poor conditions, not enough room to move around and we can see ice forming on the pools they are kept in. Belugas in the wild swim 50km or so in a day which helps them keep warm. Here they can only swim in circles and the water looks to be less than perfect for them. We also have concerns over how they are being fed. It is our firm belief these whales, which are normally not part of the annual inhumane hunt, are being kept for food to circumvent what we hope will be a low quota this year."
The Minister for Farms and Fishing were contacted for a statement however at time of going to press they have yet to respond.
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ACTIVISTS GET INSIDE "WHALE FARM"
Following an investigation by a group of wildlife protection activists what has been described as a "Whale Farm" has been discovered close to the villages of Mikberg and Spitwald. Yesterday a group of activists managed to force entry onto the site and filmed their searches and the conditions inside. In total the search discovered 90 Belugae Whales, 16 Orcas and 12 pilot whales. The animals were kept packed in pools, some of which had begun to freeze over. The creatures were also discovered to be covered in skin lesions and flipper deterioration caused by contact with the sea ice, furthermore many seemed to be suffering from hyperthermia. One marine biologist who we showed the footage collected to stated, "In the wild the animals deal with the temperature change by moving on their migration routes, this keeps them in regions where the water temperature is bearable but also helps them keep warm by moving. They have barely enough room to swim in a straight line and so have little chance of living anything near a normal existence."
Originally it was believed that the farm was being used as a way of supplimenting the annual pilot whale hunt that takes place in Mikberg and Spitwald however paperwork shown in the footage taken by activists shows that at least some are being scheduled for sale. One document was written in Seleucid and was details for the sale of an Orca for a private aquarium owner meanwhile a pair of Beluage Whales seemed destined for a theme park in Lodja. Our marine biologist explained, "Whales while providing valuable food for our people in harsh winters can also be very profitable, I believe a Orca can be sold for around $3million while a Beluga Whale fetches around $200,000. If we look at this farm we can imagine it being a multi-million dollar operation."
The whale farm was being operated by Teraval Fisheries who stated, "This was an experiment to see if large scale whale farming is possible. We have seen other nations pull off similar schemes with Tuna and other species of Marine life. We realise that the farm experiment is hitting a sensitive period and we are learning we've made mistakes. The actions today by these wildlife terrorists endangered our workers and the animals. We naturally comply with all legislation regarding the captive farming of Whales and all other food standard laws. We shall also now having heard expert opinions, be making changes to our farming operations."
The Ministry for Farming and Fisheries stated, "We have no system in place to licence such farms, but then we have no licences for most fish farms which is as similar as we can think of. This seems to have been done clandestinely in order to avoid the attention of activists. In the coming days we shall be exploring the legal stances open to us in this regard."
Local Police were called to the farm and 16 arrests made for the crimes of trespass, criminal damage, threatening behaviour and assault. Those accused are expected to attend court for charges to be formally read in the morning. Film Star Krista Rosendahl-Sunbrek, who is a local ambassador for the Wild Mundus Organisation, has stated that she intends to pay the legal fees of those who have been arrested stating. "Whales and species like them have been shown time and again to be highly intelligent creatures. They are threatened in the wild and now we are essentially imprisoning them halting their natural life. They play a vital part of the oceans ecosystem and this is a huge problem. The hunt this year needs to be postponed and the practice halted altogether."
The Head Gothi waded into the debate following the actresses statement saying, "I agree that the way these creatures is being treated is unacceptable, Odin would not like to think of a majestic creature destroyed in such a manner. Miss Rosendahl-Sunbrek however is wrong, the practice of whale hunting is an age old tradition, something that makes Nya Åland the wonderful nation it is. It fills an important social, economic and cultural role within our society. This year I can understand a case for postponing the hunt as it was always controlled via a quota and while not familiar with the numbers in most years the number of whales imprisoned seems high, I believe they should be included in the quota to ensure we do not overfish, so to speak, the whales this year."
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NEW MARVEL FILM BANNED IN NYA ÅLAND
With mega-studio Marvel set to release their latest blockbuster based on a comic book the film, "Avengers:End Game" has been banned in Nya Åland. The ban doesn't come as much of a surprise as Marvel have found other films featuring Thor also banned. The ban comes despite the films such as Iron-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy having been shown and topped box office charts for months at a time. The ban was supported by the Head Gothi, Stein Ulfsson, who explained, "The films showing Thor give the interpretation that he, Odin, Loki and other Gods are not Gods at all, they are merely aliens of some sort blessed with mighty powers. This message runs contrary to the truth of our faith and in much the same way as people agree we must wage war against "fake news" we must do the same against that when it appears in film format. There is one seen in one of these films where a character states when informed about Thor's existence on Mundus that "There is only one God" and therefore shows the films push a Christian agenda and that breaks down the culture of our nation."
It is highly likely however that many people will attempt to stream the film illegally as there are many fans of some of the previous Marvel films. It is possible that as has happened with other banned films people found to be illegally streaming them or downloading them will face having their internet speeds reduced or blocked entirely.
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WHALE FARM TO BE CLOSED IN NEXT FEW WEEKS
The recent discovered "Whale Farm" will be closed within the next 14 days. The news comes from the Ministry of Fisheries and Farming following an initial investigation. The spokesman for the Ministry said, "We have no laws on the books that legislate for this process, as I am sure many nations don't. What we have found however is that the operators of the farm, Teraval Fisheries, did not have planning permission for building some of the facilities. This therefore gives us grounds to close down the operation and as a result it falls to Teraval to find alternative provision for the whales. As they have been unable to show they can do this for all but a handful of the animals the government have the right to step in." It was confirmed that those whales which had been sold to aquariums in Royal Seleucid and Lodja, sales which totalled $3.4million, however it was later in the day confirmed that Teraval Fisheries were to be fined $3.5 million for illegal construction practices. The Ministry spokesman went on to explain. "In the coming day, in the final days of the current Odinic Council we'll see legislation to stop this ever happening again."
In related news it was confirmed that this years impending whale hunt at the villages of Mikberg and Spitwald have been granted a quota of 110 pilot whales. It had been estimated that the quota would be set at 80 however the number has been increased as there are uncertainties of the winter this year as the impact of global warming means weather patterns have become less predictable. The annual ilot whale migration is likely to hit home waters in the next two weeks.
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WHALE FARM CLOSED AS SOME ARE TRANSPORTED
The so called Whale Farm between Mikberg and Spitwald has today began to be shut down. The facility was being run by Teraval Fisheries and was discovered to contain 90 Belugae Whales, 16 Orcas and 12 pilot whales. Several animals were discovered to be purchased by foreign investors and this has been honoured following checks into the purchases. Today this saw a pair of Beluga Whales being moved to Lodja, the shipment was handled by a group of marine biologists from Krokom University as well as a team of military Naval divers. The process will take around 24 hours and at the end the pair will be part of a newly built sea life centre. Dr. Leo Bakke of the Krokom University facility of Marine Biology stated, "We normally would not have taken the decision to move the whales however the issue is they are now very unlikely to survive long in the wild. The best chance these animals have for the future is to move to a centre where they can be looked after." Dr.Bakke had also visited the park in Lodja to ensure that the facilities were ready for the transfer.
The Whale Farm will also be sending an Orca to Royal Seleucid where originally it was designed for a private investor however following negotiation the investor the whale will be making its way to the new animal park being connected to the Seleucid Palm development project. Dr.Bakke explained, "A whale is not a pet, no matter how rich you are. The Orca is just a few months old and has spent a good 75% of its life in captivity. If we simply release it then its sure to die." The remaining whales are going to be released over the next few days following health checks, sadly Dr.Bakke has not ruled out euthanasia some. "There is a large number of them and they may be suffering from irreperable ill health. I'm aiming to make a decision on them in batches of four and then we can release them and see what happens, only however if they have a fighting chance."
Spoiler: Features End Games Spoiler • show
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FILM INSULTING TO GODS. FOUR ARRESTED
Despite being banned it is thought hundreds of thousands of Ålanders have watched the Avengers:End Game film. The film, the latest in a series of films based off comic book characters, has been banned for the way it portrays the Gods of the Odinist faith. The most recent two films (Avengers:Infinity War and End-Game) an entity called Thanos kills several Gods including Heimdall and Loki. The film shows the God Thor failing to save them and then falling into a depression hiding from the world on a remote island and becoming a drunken slob. The film was described by Stein Ulfsson, the Head Gothi who ordered the film be banned, as being "a disgrace. Imagine the outcry should the Manist dietes be shown as fat drunken slobs neglecting their duty. I can guarantee if Helus was shown in such a manner the Cultists of East Moreland would be up in arms. Yet we are seemingly fair game to be mocked. The entire concept of our Gods in the Marvel Universe is disgusting. They are portrayed merely as some kind of alien species, and not even the most powerful in the Universe."
The film was banned by the government and it was reported that four people have been arrested for distributing a banned film. The four people include two University students who have also been suspended from their University having apparently hosted illegal screenings of the film. The four will be appearing in front of a magistrates court on Friday and if found guilty can be sentenced to up to 2 years in prison as well as being fined up to $20,000.
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WHALE HUNT EXPECTED IN DAYS
The small towns of Mikberg and Spitwald are expecting to carry out their annual whale hunt in the next few days. The two towns are permitted to each year hunt a set number of whales as long as they conform to a set of traditional rules. This year it has been determined that 110 pilot whales may be hunted and the meat distributed among the population of the two towns and no whale meat may be traded or sold. The rules of the hunt dictate that once a pod of whales is detected that two boats carrying no more than four people each may attempt to herd the whales into a bay. Once the pod is in the bay an appointed marshall will indicate which whales may be killed, this means they have to indentify the correct species and only mature adults may be taken. The Marshall also attempts to leave a mixture of male and female whales. The whales are herded into the shallows at which point townsfolk who have been specially trained use specially designed hooks to drag the whale by the blowhole onto the beach and into the correct position while a colleague uses a dedicated spear to sever the animals spinal cord killing it instantly.
The method had in the past been criticised by foreigners who utilise picture of the bays water bright red with blood. One local resident said, "The method we use is quick, its no different to when we kill cattle, pigs or sheep for their meat. They are herded into a slaughter house, manhandled and then killed as swiftly as possible. Blood pours from them yet we do that with a whale, which has lead a life of freedom, not pumped full of drugs or growth hormones, but for some reason we are painted as evil. Its a true double standard. The pictures of course look bad, blood in water goes a long way and it does look horrific but thats just the nature of the location we do this."
It is expected that local protesters will once more be kept out of the area as members of the Armed Forces are dispatched to help with security.
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MATILDA OSMAN REFUSED ENTRY TO NYA ÅLAND
The former Queen of East Moreland, Matilda Osman, has today been refused entry to the nation despite relaxed visa regulations between Nya Åland and East Moreland. Matilda Osman is a marine biologist and is head of the world wide animal protection agency called the Wild Mundus Organisation. She had planned to visit Nya Åland to work with local Wild Mundus Organisation activists during the upcoming Whale Hunt in Mikberg and Spitwald however this will no longer take place. The decision was made on the grounds of "National Security" and was explained by the soon to be retiring Allsherjargoði Jin Odinsson. "We have always reserved the right to deny entry to anyone we feel will not benefit our nations security and stability. This is perhaps the highest profile refusal we have had so far but it is a daily case that travellers both ways between East Moreland and Nya Åland are refused. East Moreland refuse more people than us as they have perhaps some of the most high security entrance checks of many nations. We viewed Miss Osman's prescience at this time as on that potentially could disrupt our nations law and order. In the past she has encouraged activity which disrupted peoples lives and created work for our nations police and military. At this time she is not welcomed in Nya Nya Åland however should she wish to visit another time her entry will be reviewed."
Local members of the WMO have called it an attempt to stop freedom of speech saying. "The government are trying to stop us holding protests. They are trying to put us off our moral mission to save the lives of beautiful and innocent creatures. Matilda Osman is an expert in marine life and her evidence and testimony at our conferences, talks and demonstrations is heavy evidence for why this hunt should not happen. By leaving her outside of our nation they are denying her wisdom an audience. She is a former Queen of one of our closest friends and yet they disrespect her by saying she's a threat to national security, putting her on a similar footing to that of the terrorist group the Gungnir."
So far Matilda Osman and the East Moreland government have not commented on the situation.
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HEAD GOTHI CALLS ELECTIONS
Following the departure of Jin Odinsson as Allsherjargoði the Head Gothi has called for fresh elections. The Odinic Council has now been suspended for 21 days as campaigning takes place leaving the nation under the sole guidance of Stein Ulfsson the Head Gothi. It is expected that the Odinic Rite party will retain their overall majority which would mean the new Allsherjargoði would be Cathrine Nyström. The Party currently control 62% of the Odinic Council and are expected to maintain that in the new elections which people have been preparing for now for around two months following Odinsson's resignation as leader of his party. The former Allsherjargoði has already said that he will campaign for his former party and encourages people to vote for them. "The Odinic Rite are the heartbeat of every Nord and voting for anyone else would almost be like betraying your Gods and no self respecting Nord will do such a thing."
The only real rival to the Odinic Rite is the Nords First Party, a right wing party that are the second largest in the Odinic Council. Their leader is Astrid Stigsson who has already prepared herself to be runner up. "Our party is popular and shares many ideals with the Odinic Rite. We will seek to ensure that the nation has in place a government that will protect the Odinist nature of our nation and I hope to play a prominent part in that."
The party expected to come last is the People's Rights Party lead by Lilly Berg. The party also existed in the Union of Nordic People and enjoyed wide support however since Nya Åland's independence the party has seen a marked decline in the parties fortunes. It is expected they'll struggle to gain more than 10 seats as they campaign to get the nation to sign the MCUR. Historically speaking the Nords of Nya Åland have rejected the concepts of the MCUR as being designed to, in Head Gothi Daniel Stenberg's words, "erode the rockbed of the Odnist Republic by stating the falsehood that all religions are equal."
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WHALE HUNT SUCCESSFUL. 32 ARRESTS
The annual whale hunt in Mikberg and Spitwald has taken place over the last three days with a total of 112 pilot whales being caught. The number is two more than the accepted quota and as such will see am investigation by the Ministry of Fisheries and Farming. It is thought that the overcatch came about because of a breakdown in communication between the two hunt sites which meant one was not aware of the true number caught at the other site. Should it be discovered that the overcatch came about through some underhand method then criminal charges may be brought against those involved. This is the first time the two settlements have gone over their quotas as usually they fall under them.
During the hunt 32 people were arrested, 20 of them members of the Wild Mundus Organisation which is fronted by the former Queen of East Moreland Matilda Osman. Several of the protesters used small boats and windsurfers to try and get in among the hunters and disrupt their herding of the whales into bays, members of the nations Navy arrested the protesters who came from a variety of countries, 8 were Ålanders. The news has prompted Katrin Björk, the new deputy leader of the Odinic Rite party, to call for the Wild Mundus Organisation to be banned from Nya Åland. "The group have shown themselves to be terrorists. They have used violence to stop citizens going about lawful business. Most of those arrested were not from Nya Åland and shows foreign nations attempting to impose their world view of food production on us. I believe that the first steps the new government should take is to ban any member of WMO from visiting Nya Åland, even if they are ex-royals or even current royals. The group are not a legitimate special interest group or they would utilise peaceful means."
Former Queen of East Moreland, Matilda Osman, was banned from Nya Åland during the hunt season. She had been expected to attend a rally in Krokom hosted by the WMO however her travel ban on grounds of "national security" prevented her from doing so.
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ODINIC RITE LAUNCH CAMPAIGN
Cathrine Nyström has today launched the Odinic Rite's manifesto for the upcoming elections. The successor to Jin Odinsson admits that the party have made very few changes to their legislative agenda stating. "For years since the formation of the first government of Nya Åland we have followed a single unified path guided by our faith. Unlike other parties we have put traditional Odinism at the centre of everything we try and do. Sadly over that time we have not had a stable nation to build upon. Now we have stability and it is time to implement the plan our party has been mandated to deliver but never truly had the chance."
If elected the party have promised to introduce national service in the military. This has been something that has gained widespread popular support and the nation has always turned away potential recruits instead having always fielded a fully voulenteer force. Explaining this measure Nyström explained "we are descended from warriors, our Gods are warriors but today we do not reflect that our people must be ready to stand to defend our nation. Imagine the shame when we had to rely on foreign forces to help us defeat the Gungnir when the great disaster took our nation to the brink. We should have been able to easily handle that situation had we been able to call upon practically every fit and able individual. We do have a proud and well trained military, they carried the fight to our enemies in Marseille admirably despite foreign obsticles put in our way. Side by side with the people of Marseille we helped achieve victory and today they have a nation that is at peace. We can do great things but must have greater resources to call upon." It is thought around 72% of the electorate support this policy however some have questioned how it would be run without comprimising the standards of the current military.
In terms of the economy the Odinic Rite want to begin a series of trade deals, "Beyond our agreements with some Albion nations and East Moreland we have very few free trade deals. This is something that needs to be carefully balanced we have some amazing businesses in our homeland that we must support. Things like geothermal energy, boat building and technical manufacturing we are perhaps the greatest at in the world. We must ensure these industries maintain their high standards and have a chance to compete globally. Additionally we need to keep alive the traditions of the self-employed craftsman, and we shall be looking at taxation breaks to help them in that regard." It is thought businesses employing less than 10 people can look forward to a huge reduction in taxes as well as perhaps being offered support with cash flow.
With the environment in mind the party have stuck by the pledge to try and have the nation free of Fossil Fuels by the end of 2020 but have labelled it "ambitious" they have however committed that from 2020 a scrappage scheme will be in place that will see the government pay people $1000 to scrap petrol and diesel powered cars in favour of electric ones as well as put in place a total ban on sales on new petrol and diesel cars the following year. Additionally the party has pledged to create five new national parks based around centres of significant religious and cultural sites.
The group have ruled out joining any system of alliances other than the Albion Council. "Working with your neighbours is a wonderful thing. We do not however need to work with distant nations on all manner of things. On a point by point basis we can make things work. It is clear we owe JET a debt of gratitude and we shall be the most active member of that organisation it is possible to be. We shall look at other groups such as that but not one forcing Nords to go and die for another nations agenda." The party also maintains its stance on not signing the MCUR calling it "a liberalist love fest designed to make certain powers on Mundus feel high and mighty."
Polls suggest that the party will gain 223 seats meaning they will require 27 to have an overall majority but with the Nords First Party having 101 seats at present and sharing many policy ideas it is unlikely this will be a problem. The Liberal Alliance is likely to be the biggest losers with them currently expecting to get just 19 seats according to polls, down from their current number of 39.
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PRP AIM FOR NON-ODINIST REPRESENTATION
As things begin to heat up for the upcoming elections the People's Right Party have introduced their manifesto with an emphasis on protecting minority religious groups. The parties leader Lilly Berg currently represents 34 elected officials however it is expected that the party will find their share of the Odinic Council reduced significantly in the upcoming elections. Berg however is hopeful, "In the recent month or so we have seen censorship of a film by the government, the younger generations will want more liberal societies and so I think their likely to vote for us." The party have also promised that if they gain power they will lower personal tax rates significantly while increasing business and corporation tax. The Party have also promised that they would offer other nations a reciprocal free trade deal. The Party have also promised to lower the age of education from 18 to 16 stating, "The young people quiet often want to get into work, earn some money and can learn skills that they don't need to be in school for. By lowering the compulsory education age it should be possible to get more people into work, improve the quality of education by using the extra funding to help youngsters get free education at University."
The Party have also aimed to improve the environment by introducing some incentives to recycle. Individuals not recylcing properly will be fined while companies will receive tax breaks for being more sustainable. Most significantly however the party aim to increase the size of the Council to 740 Councillors with 140 seats being reserved for non-Odinists. The party also aim to increased the legal drinking age to 21.
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ODINIC RITE WIN ELECTION
The Odinic Rite Party has increased their prescence in the Odinic Council following the latest elections. The result means that the new Allsherjargoði will be 44 year old Cathrine Nyström. The party added 19 seats to their existing total however remained 12 short of a total majority and have agreed to once more bring the Nord First party into their coalition. The right wing Nords First party also added to their existing representation by taking a single seat more than previous years leading them with 102 seats. Meanwhile the People's Rights Party also increased their representation with three extra seats leaving the centre left party with 37 seats in the Odinic Council. The biggest losers of the night were the Conservative Future Party who lost eight seats leaving them with 63, the Liberal Nord Alliance also lost eight seats reducing them to 31 seats. The Nya Åland Socialist Alliance Party also lost seats seeing defeat in 7 seats leaving them with 29 seats in total which means they are the smallest party in the Council. The new Allsherjargoði meet early this morning with the Head Gothi and formally accept the position.
As she left the Head Gothi's residence she laid out broadly what to expect in the first few weeks. " The nation has been making steady progress from the recent disasters we have faced. That is largely down to the hard work and industriousness Nords possess in their souls. While we thank the various nations who came to our aid it is important that we now stand upon our own two feet. In the next few weeks I shall be presenting the Council with proposals to introduce national service. The Nords historically embodied a warrior spirit of devotion to their people, that is lacking in some of the youth and we must always be ready to defend ourselves. Next we shall seek to make 10 different sites across our nation National Parks ensuring that the Holy Sites sat among them are protected forever. We will also be seeking by September to ensure that the top 10% of students every academic year receive free university education therefore ensuring the best and brightest among us shall be be able to succeed regardless of their family background. I also intend to make sure that the Odinic faith is supported in ensuring we are capable of serving Odinists living around the world. Our faith was mainly contained close to home however since the great disaster I am aware of many people venturing across Mundus and those people must have their spiritual nourishment. Likewise we shall make it easy for any Odinist to come to our lands to live, study, work and prosper. The outgoing Allsherjargoði is a prime example of that, the son of an immigrant who embraced our faith and our way of life and helped create the state we love so much today. We will be seeking to lower the requirements to claim citizenship from five years to three should a person demonstrate a loyalty to the Odinist faith."
Jin Odinsson formally handed over the keys to the Allsherjargoði residence to his successor by saying. "Our nation today enters a new chapter. For the first time the leading individuals of our nation are not ones who helped negotiate the amicable divorce from the Union of Nordic People, nor pull the nation together after disaster. Myself and the late Daniel Stenberg believed that we had a foundation for the future that was prime to build upon. It is now fitting that the reigns are handed over and I pray that together Stein Ulfsson and Cathrine Nyström will march us towards that bright future."
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MAEA DEAL SIGNED
In Krokom the Mundus Atomic Energy Agency has come into existence. The MAEA (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1417.msg13135;boardseen#new) will feature safeguards about the sale, use and disposal of nuclear materials ensuring nuclear safety. The talks were overseen by the Head Gothi who explained, "This is an idea kicked around as part of a larger Rokkenjiman process. For several years the government there have talked about pushing to have some kind of arrangement to ensure that nuclear weapons disappear. For that to happen Rokkenjima correctly stated that a kind of independent non government controlled series of safeguards needed to exist. We have today meet as a community of nations and come to an agreement on how that process is to be done. I'm honoured to have had Krokom host the event because of our scientific love but now the serious business of enforcing and abiding by it comes into play and we must have global support. This is why it is important to now have the global nuclear nations of East Moreland, Achkaerin, Rokkenjima and Slava Lavosk sign up. So far we have three of the four but the ink is still drying and in the conference hall people are still awaiting instructions from home."
The MAEA is now likely to become part of the Rokkenjiman wider proposal for a global ban on nuclear weapons, while talks over the future of Slava Lavosk's nuclear programme continue. Ulfsson also stated, "When it comes to manpower our nations experts will be on hand. We have a fine tradition of scientific involvement and whether this organisation is based in its conceptual home of Rokkenjima, or anywhere else on Mundus, then we will naturally step up and shoulder our load." Nya Åland operates four nuclear power stations and had plans for a fifth before it was cancelled in favour of using more Geothermal energy, additionally the nation operates several nuclear powered naval vessels meaning the nation will now have to trade nuclear material under MAEA rules. Ulfsson explained, "It will change nothing for us, we simply locate a nation we wish to trade material with such as the Morelanders. We agree a fee, we pay the MAEA, the MAEA pick up the material and several days later they release the material to us having ensured we have adequate security safeguards in place for its use. If anything it means a few days added onto delivery between orders and movements"
The first order of business for the MAEA however will be to determine its home location. Ulfsson ruled out Krokom saying, "As a nation we already have several international and regional commitments. With a rebuilding politically still ongoing now would be a bad time to put the responsibility for what will become a large organisation on our own shoulders. I would expect one of the nuclear powered nations to perhaps host this as they are likely to have more need of the day to day use of it rather than an occasional client such as us." With the MAEA coming about because of moves made by Rokkenjima it is highly likely this shall be the location of the HQ however it is yet unknown whether other nations would support a HQ.
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NATION TO "SWITCH" JET ASSETS
In an announcement made today Foreign Minister Birgid Strand has confirmed that Nya Åland will begin measures to divert Joint Emergency Team assets from Noobia to Tytor. News reached the world that a storm is expected to hit the Tytorian island of Floodwater soon. As such Minister Strand stated, "We have at points had JET personnel based in Floodwater and as such our people feel connected to the people there. JET exists to support any people in need because of natural disasters, war or other factors and if Noobia are denying they need help we must put assets where they are needed. While the hurricane has yet to hit Floodwater we do have the equipment and manpower on standby to respond to a similar disaster all that would be needed is to switch their location. Once we are made aware of needs on the ground we will naturally deploy should the Tytorian government accept the support."
Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson was asked about why the nation would offer aid to a nation that has long standing sanctions against Nya Åland, he responded by saying, "When our nation needed help many nations came to help regardless of their views of our nation. Human life is sacred and must be protected so as such when a disaster strikes Odin would expect us to help people who need help. Tytor are continental neighbours and Odin told us "Wherever you know of harm, regard that harm as your own." As such it is neccessary that we do not wait for a call for help, it is important we stand ready to just act."
With that in mind the Head Gothi has dispatched the aircraft carrier Hringhhorni (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuznetsov-class_aircraft_carrier) to the Kyne ready to respond as soon as required.
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"NO SUPERSONIC FLIGHTS" SAYS ENVIRONMENT MINISTER
Following an announcement from Derusmia Wide Broadcasting Service (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1094.msg13697#msg13697) which explained that supersonic passenger flights will soon commence between New Derusmia and Tytor the Minister of the Environment has ruled out such a service coming to Nya Åland. Speaking at a conference Ulrich Svensson stated, "We signed the Wellow Treaty for the Environment which states that nations should aim to " Reduce pollution caused by air travel by 35% by 2030" however it is well known that using current technology supersonic jets will burn five-to-seven times more fuel per passenger than subsonic jets. The engines also produce around 40% more Nitrogen Oxides than a sub-sonic engine for the same journey as well as carbon dioxide.[1] Add to this issues with noise and there is no way utilising current technology these routes should be utilised. As New Derusima is a signatory nation of the Wellow Treaty I am actually surprised they are authorising a commercial flight that goes against what they have actually signed. Supersonic passenger flights are potentially a useful thing, however at the moment they are a vanity project at the expense of the environment. Only once technology has been improved will we permit such aircraft to enter our airspace and we urge other nations to do likewise."
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NATION PREPARES TO CELEBRATE YULE
Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson today sent the Riksdag home until the 3rd of January in order to allow them to celebrate Yule. The festival has many significant meanings to the Odinist faith and among them is the Wild Hunt of Odin as well as the rebirth of the sun. The Head Gothi spoke to the Riksdag prior to dismissing them for two weeks and lighting a large candle which shall remain burning in the Riksdag while the representatives are back in their constituencies. "Today we dismiss this organisation to allow it to mark the rebirth of the sun. The organisation will, just as the sun will, return in the New Year re-energised ready to bring new life to the world of mankind and I look forward to the measures that the new year will bring. I wish all of you a glorious Yule, happy new year and restful holiday, just as I wish our citizens and fellow Odinists around the world." The Head Gothi was making reference to the way that the Riksdag had spent much of the last year readjusting laws and institutions to account for the addition of what was left of the Union of Nordic People into the Theocracy. Explaining as he spoke to the press the Head Gothi stated, "It has taken close to two years to merge everything, reorganise our RIksdag and declare the state of emergency over. Add to that the decision once the crisis was over for Allsherjargoði Jin Odinsson to retire from politics and then for his replacement to be found in the guise of Cathrine Nyström it has been a turbulent period for our nation. The Triumpherate emergency panel of Head Gothi, Allsherjargoði and Minister of Defence running the nation has been fully dissolved and democracy has been done through the election of the new Allsherjargoði. We must now trust that things can start focusing on the future direction of the Theocracy and no longer resolving issues from the past."
The period has so far been unique in that there have been no recorded arrests of Christians. As Yule conincides with their Christmas festivities is it not unusual for each year to see a handful of arrests from those flouting religious display laws. Last year a group of Christians were fined and given community service for cutting mistletoe for decorations from a sacred Odinist grove and others for singing Christmas songs on the street. There have been cases reported of where police have warned people however under the law those displaying or demonstrating Christian decorations, songs or other recognisable religious symbols are first given a warning and asked to remove the offending items or cease their behaviour. Those failing to do so are arrested and can face up to five years in prison or up to a $1000 fine, however in most cases the sentence has been a fine of around $100 for the first offence and community service of 10 hours charitable work. It is only for repeat offences or offences that directly "damage Odnism" that heavier sentences are given, for example when the group cut the Mistetoe from the sacred grove they were sentenced to 6 weeks in prison, a $500 fine and 30 hours community service to be served in woodland management. Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson commented on this years report saying. "I am pleased we have a nation dedicated to Yule. I know Christians will no doubt have their homes decorated inside, will be enjoying their Turkey dinners, exchanging presents and singing to Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and Silent Night. I wish them an enjoyable day and Happy New Year. Their festival shares some similarities with our own and I hope they can join in many of the festivities we traditionally have such as the firelight torch parades, children's hunts for sweets and the like."
The capital of Krokom will celebrate it's Wild Hunt on the first official day of Yule which is the 22nd of December. A paddling of Ducks will be released from the city square in front of the Head Gothi's residence. Each duck will have a bag of sweets tied about its neck and children will race to try and capture the ducks and retrieve the bags. Additionally in the afternoon a ceremonial parade through the cities 12 districts will take place with each district expected to bring an offering to the Head Gothi who will lead the parade. This often culminates in a great party in the city centre. This year the Head Gothi has already announced at the conclusion of the parade he will confer the title of Jarl on four people following the passing of the Nobility Act of November 2018 which allows the Head Gothi to make a new nobility so long as the Jarldom granted is not held for more than five generations. So far two have been granted ,Dr. Ragnar Momssen, the head of the Longboat 3 space programme was named Jarl of Uppsala while Birgit Strand was named the Jarl for Krokom.
The various embassies across Mundus will be reduced to a skeleton staff over the period allowing those working there to return home to the Holy Land of the Theocracy during the festival.
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NEW SECURITY SCREENS AT EMBASSY TRIALLED
There was speculation today that new "security screens" that have appeared at a number of embassies across Krokom are being utilised as a way of stopping foreign nations exploiting loopholes in diplomatic standards in order to circumvent the nations laws on the display of religious symbols. In the last 24 hours a Christian diarama showing the Christmas Nativity scene appeared at the Tytor embassy gates, that evening however blue "security screens" were erected around the embassy. In addition similar screens were installed at the East Moreland and Soviet Kaitaine Embassies. The screens stand around 2.5 meters tall and are made out of a modular metal frame covered in thick wood. They are set up around a meter away from the embassies official perimeter and have a pedestrian entrance off-set from the official entrance. In addition a section is operable where the vehicle entrance is. The barriers have also been supplemented with a four man military presence watching the pedestrian gate and the vehicle gate. Soon after Minister of Defence Martja Larsson explained the decision saying, "Sadly we have seen in the past terrorists target our nation and these have worked with foreign powers. East Moreland and Soviet Kaitaine have long been a concern with the links to terrorist groups in the shape of the Borlanders and the Truthsayers. Sadly we recently saw Tytor become the target for one of the largest terrorist attacks in history. As such we believe we need to ensure the safety of these guests in our nation and can't be soft targets. What people need to remember is that unlike many nations we have not had a chance to establish embassies over decades and develop them in line with changing security threats. We therefore need to perhaps beef up things so our guests can operate in safety." When the Defence Minister was asked whether this had any connection with the religious display of Tytor she said, "If this was about the religious display why have we put them around the Soviet Kaitaine embassy, they are a nation with no religious affiliation. The Morelanders have long held religious services in their gardens and we have never had these built before now. The answer is simply because of security. The harder we make it for the groups that dislike these nations to hit the soft target in Krokom the better it is for our residents who live here and for foreign nationals working at the embassies. We are always happy to work with others, as was seen when we offered support to Tytor during their recent tragedy. Should these barriers make the embassy safer we may role them out to others."
A reporter for this paper found that when they attempted to enter the East Moreland embassy to set up a meeting with the ambassador for an upcoming interview regarding the upcoming royal marriage in Northfort they were not challenged by the Nya Åland military and had to walk between the fence and this new barrier. About ten meters later they turned through the main gate where East Moreland soliders under took their usual routine checks before being able to proceed into the embassy. "Yes it may on the surface seem a little intimidating but like anything its something people will get used to." Speaking to the East Moreland embassy they said "We're concerned it went up quickly with little warning but we can see the value in it for security purposes. As a result we will work with the Nya Åland government to beef up security if they feel it is needed. We have also asked for permission to make the barrier more aesthetically pleasing as at the moment its a bit of an eye sore. We have asked if it can be decorated with some kind of East Moreland themed art work, maybe scenes of our nations history, the beautiful Morelander countryside or something else."
Some critics however have said they believe it is nothing other than a way of maintaining the nations religious purity laws. One local Christian priest called Gilbert Limpar said, "Its hard being a Christian priest in Krokom. You have to constantly think about your words and dress in public, generally though we are free to just be Ålanders. I understand many of our faith leave but I for one will stay to ensure that the faithful who live in Krokom can seek spiritual nourishment either at our small chapel built in a former store or in our own homes. I am suspicious that no one talked of security barriers until this wonderful scene was erected and I do believe it was done in response to the government of Tytor constructing their display."
The government have claimed that the barrier will be in place until the end of Yule allowing more security personnel to have time at home.
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"WE SHALL DEFEND OUR SHORES" SAY GUNGNIR
Following reports that the government of Nya Åland is discussing some kind of partnership with the organisation known as the Treaty of Unity for Nations of the Alucard, also usually known as TUNA, members of the terrorist group known as the Gungnir have made a video statement issuing threats. The Gungnir declare themselves to be "Warriors of Odin"and "Guardians of the True Holy Land" and have in the past taken steps to try and cleanse Nya Åland of foreign citizens as well as non-Odinist religious influence. They have also carried out terror attacks against key sites of other religions such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Vanora. This time however they have said that they intend to ensure that the government do not permit the Water Nomads to gain Ålander citizenship. One of their self proclaimed leaders Ragnar Odinsson posted a video on the internet in which he said, "The ancestors of our people are sailors and warriors in our heart so are we. Should these people from the ocean try and set foot in our sacred lands we will tear them apart. Their faith is foreign to our groves and their stench is unwanted in our land. The Gungnir have shed blood across Åland to ensure that our faith remains strong. We have much work to do. The meek children of the nailed god of Christianity have already infiltrated our lands, the prostitute Goddess of Lodja has found a toe hold and the we shall not permit this." The group have not yet said how they intend to carry out their threat however Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson has increased the nations security stance.
The new Allsherjargoði, Cathrine Nyström, has also spoken to the media stating, "We have shown before that we will not stand for the Gungnir claiming to be the voice of Odin. While we consider those with differences to our culture to be guests in our land it is important that for as long as any person wishes to be a guest of the Ålanders we extend them our protection and hospitality. While talks are still on going regarding our relationship with TUNA it is too early to comment on what our stance on the citizenship of the Water Nomads shall be. We shall however prevent them from being targeted by a group of misinformed and misguided individuals who are as far away from Odin's children it is possible to be."
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RAGNAR ODINSSON ISSUES "SURRENDER" ULTIMATUM
Today a new video made by the leader of the terrorist organisation known as the Gungnir, Ragnar Odinsson, has appeared across the internet. The new video issues a warning as the nation has joined the Treaty of Unity for Nations of the Alucard (TUNA). Ragnar Odinsson has declared himself "Head Gothi of the Warriors of Odin" and has already issued warnings to foreigners residing in the nation. This new video however focuses on what Odinsson has called the "surrender" of Nya Åland. "Today our nation has joined an alliance which is not worthy of our prescence. We have the Paracambians, a nation that weaken the human spirit worshipping a God that permits them to, no demands of them that they consume drugs. Next we have the Lodjains, a nation of whores, the Bakkermayans, a nation that some would think we share ideals with as they revere warrior ways but let us not remember they tolerate the whores and junkies of their neighbours. Now we find ourselves in their company and have to put up with these strange Water Nomads. There was a time the ancestors of Åland made alliances with their bretherin, and we would welcome an alliance with the Cenneg, their Gods may have different names to ours but their stories are similar, they are a nation that is salvageable. The Odinist faith has been weakened by a desire to fit in, we have allowed our Gods to become comic books, we have seen our heritage twisted and now we are expected to grant foreigners the right to set foot on sacred soil. We therefore today launch the new constitution of Nya Åland. We shall enforce it with the blood of the outlanders should we need to."
Later that day a document was released to several media outlets claiming to be the new constitution of Nya Åland.
On this day henceforth we declare the following to be in effect in the territory of the Gods.
1. No person not born on Ålander soil and able to trace their ancestry back to Ålander born grandparents may claim to be citizens.
2. Nya Åland shall be ruled by a King. The first King shall be elected by the citizens of Nya Åland but must be able to trace their ancestry back to Ålander born great-grandparents.
3. The King shall appoint 12 hereditary Jarls who shall form the Council.
4. The Council must give approval to all decrees issued by the King.
5. Every two years The Thing must be held. Here each settlement with a population of more than 100 people may send a representative. The representatives at The Thing must be a citizen and may propose any law they wish. All proposed laws will be voted on by The Thing with those gaining a majority becoming law at the beginning of the next calender year. The King may not remove a law passed by The Thing without a 3/4 majority of the Council.
6. The King shall appoint judges known as Lawspeakers who shall hear disputes and rule on their settlement.
7. If both sides of a dispute agree Trial by Combat may be used to settle disputes with no legal repercussions should death or injury occur.
8. All non-citizens living in Nya Åland must pay a special tax to remain residents of Nya Åland and must swear an oath of loyalty to the King.
Further articles shall be determined by the first Thing.
Naturally Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson spoke out about the claims saying, "The Gungnir clearly wish to build a time travel machine and go back to darker times. Perhaps while we are allowing laws to be settled to favour the most physically strong we should also permit the Plague to run rampant. Times change and our faith can survive those changes without us having to hate others. This so called constitution is a document fuelled by hate and I do not recognise it as representing what is best about Odinism."
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JNSP COMMISSIONS EMAC TO BUILD TEST BED
The Joint Nordic Space Programme has today announced that they are to undertake testing of a new vehicle which they hope will pave the way for easier launches of micro-satellites. The Dolk, as it will be called, is designed to be able to eventually reach speeds of around Mach 4 as well as being "ultra-quiet" by not producing a traditional sonic boom. The head of the project is Mathias Bjalmir who has said, "There are a number of issues with super-sonic aircraft, mainly the damage caused at ground level by sonic booms and then the associated issues that go along with it. To be able to launch micro-satellites effectively high speeds are required and so being able to break the sound barrier is vital. It is our hope that within a few months our full sized version of The Dolk can begin testing."
The vehicle is being constructed by EMAC and will be shipped to Krokom in two sections where an EMAC team will work alongside the technicians of the JNSP to piece it together. Mr.Bjalmir explained, "While the JNSP has a host of experience building vehicles for space exploration this is more like a traditional aircraft and EMAC have a track record of innovation and speed. We will be able to use the vehicle they build to gather all manner of data which will enable us to produce superior low orbit vehicles." The issue of supersonic air travel is likely to become more significant as several nations including New Derusima and Tytor[1] have announced routes featuring supersonic passenger flights. The Nya Åland government however has banned overflight of the nations airspace by any supersonic passenger plane on environmental and safety grounds. It is feared any sonic boom could damage people's property and it is well recorded that supersonic passenger travel is even more damaging for the environment than regular aircraft.
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NATION PLAGUED BY "SIGNAL BLACK OUT"
Over the last week or so there have been complaints about the nation experiencing what many are calling a "Signal Black Out." It has been apparent that everyday between around 10am and 11am TV, GPS and several other types of signal are being lost. In most occasions this has come in the form of static or as some reports have described a "Black Hole of noise". (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1755.0) To date no one has worked out what is causing this phenomenum which has left engineers puzzled. Professor Bran Olvid of Krokom University has stated, "It is something we know can happen but we have no leads as to what is causing it. We would maybe see such things caused by things such as certain solar flares or increases in solar winds but these would be extremely brief losses lasting just a second or two. Something is happening which is causing these to be much longer." It has been suggested by some that faults in satellites could be causing the problem or alternatively that some form of blocking is being undertaken by hackers. "We are beginning to ramp up security on the systems we have in place in orbit to try and secure the signal however this will take several days to work out."
The problem has impacted several key industries such as TV news which has seen screens go blank or jumbled. Meanwhile the fishing industry have voiced their concern that at times their GPS network goes down meaning they are incapable locating their position accuratley. Several aircraft have also experienced a loss in communications. At the moment it seems that Nya Åland is the only nation experiencing such a outage.
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HEAD GOTHI REMOVES LIMITS ON ANNUAL WHALE HUNT
The annual whale hunt in Mikberg and Spitwald have been the only locations in Nya Åland where the traditional whale hunts could take place however yesterday the Head Gothi, Stein Ulfsson, announced that this year he is removing all limits in terms of geography or numbers. Despite this lifting of limits certain rules do still remain, no vessels may be used other than those powered by oars or sail, all whales must be hunted using the old traditional "drive method" and kills may only taken place using the traditional Grindaknívur whale knife. Tradtitionally once a pod of whales is spotted boats are used to make them turn into bays with each hunt being presided over by a marshall. Once the hunters are satisfied they have herded the pod into the bay a rope is extended across the bay and any whale falling behind the rope must be let go. The remaining whales are driven towards shallow water where other hunters wait armed with hooks and Grindaknívur. There the whale is hooked and dragged into the beach where a single blow from the Grindaknívur splits its spinal cord killing the whale. Traditionally only Mikberg and Spitwald have been permitted to take part in the hunt as they are often isolated for much of the winter and the whale meat becomes a vital part of the communities diet however this year preparations are even being made by parts of Krokom where bays exist. The meat may not be sold and each member of a community must be given an equal share of the meat.
The Head Gothi explained his decision. "Our nation has carefully looked at various forms of data. It is clear the pilot whale which the ones targeted are in abundance globally. Those of other nations just hear the term "whale" and assume we're somehow dragging Orca's up the beach, or hacking up Sperm whale. This type of hunting specifically targets the pilot whale and any species such as dolphins or other neighbouring species are herded back out to sea to continue their migration. The Alucard has a huge number of Pilot Whale since the world essentially halted the practice of whaling decades ago. That was at the time a decision made badly as we can't just talk of whales as a species, they are a diverse family of creatures. We are being lead by the science, there is no threat of the pilot whale even becoming under threat and so our people should be free to gather food just as we would Cod or Haddock. Each year we shall undertake a study into numbers and make recommendations based on what the data tells us. This year our people may freely hunt within the rules of the activity as governed by our traditions. I myself shall be helping with a hunt in my childhood home of Westerhafen and look forward to making my own Tvøst (boiled and salted whale meat)
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GOVERNMENT TO REVIEW EUTHANASIA
The Odinic Council has today announced that within the next three weeks it will have a debate on changes to the Euthanasia laws of the Republic. Currently the practice is banned however in recent years Police have become concerned about the number of "honour duels" and people committing suicide at old ritual Ättestupa. Head Gothi Daniel Stenberg was killed during an "Honour duel" having been diagnosed with Motor neurone disease. The former Head Gothi's death is typical of many of these "Honour duels" were a close friend symbolically fights the victim with swords, spears or axes until the person wising to die permits their defence to be broken and they receive a fatal injury. Often the deceased either writes to police via courier or records a message absolving their opponent of blame. While these people have been prosecuted in the past it is becoming more difficult to find jury's who are willing to see the situation as murder. While this is one way those of older years or with serious illness end their lives others resort to the ancient rite of throwing themselves from the Ättestupa. The Ättestupa are cliff faces where in the past those too old to support themselves or who had become a burden on their family would throw themselves to their deaths. It was believed that both these ways of dying showed courage and therefore ensured the deceased a place in Valhalla. Police at several cliff sites across the nation have reported over the last two years an increase in suicides and have often found the deceased person's car nearby with a note explaining their actions inside.
The Allsherjargoði Cathrine Nyström confirmed that the government will begin the process of reviewing the nations euthanasia laws. "Currently euthanasia in any form is illegal in the Republic, however having spoken on the matter with the Head Gothi I can see how a theocratic arguement could be made for the practice. It therefore is something I think we should consider reviewing. My concern is that the new law if changed to allow the practice could see the old and the ill pressured into accepting it. We must also consider the way such a measure is put into practice if we do elect to proceed. I would not wish to place our medical professionals in a situation where they are torn into conflicts between their patients wishes and their own morality. However we do it must allow all to follow both a legal ruling and their own conscience."
The Head Gothi has not spoken on the matter saying, "This currently is now a debate to be had in the Longhouse and Riksdag. I will happily attend either body if requested to provide spiritual guidance on the matter but the nature of the legislation is for Cathrine and her government to draw up independent of my opinion." The Head Gothi has also indicated that he believes that the matter could end up going to referendum, "The Allsherjargoði is keen that this law reflect the wishes, needs and thoughts of the people of the nation. The best way of doing this could be a general referendum however that is for her to determine and whichever direction they go in I shall support it."
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NYSTROM TO BEGIN OVERSEAS TOUR
The Allsherjargoði, Catherine Nyström will visit five countries in just a little under a week in order to look at strengthening the nations relationships overseas. The elected Head of Government's visits will not be official state visits as those are undertaken by the Head Gothi and these have been described more as a "touching base" exercise. Mrs.Nyström will first head to Lodja before heading to Marseille, Bakkermaya, Zimalia and finally East Moreland, all nations the country has existing relationships with. The move has been praised by the Minister of Defence, and longest serving cabinet Minister, Martja Larsson who has said, "As a nation we do not do enough to keep ourselves in touch with nations that we would consider our friends. This visit is just hopefully like visiting a friend for coffee. With some nations there are things we wish to discuss but nothing will be ground breaking. With Lodja we have some ideas about their recent satellite initiative, with Bakkermaya we want to discuss their environmental projects, Marseille are a nation we've not spoken with for a while despite our shared history from a few years back. Then its off to Alba Karinya, following our own issues with natural disasters we wanted to return the favour so to speak and a lot of our citizens have got involved in projects there, I'd obviously like to see that. Finally I'll stop in Northfort to discuss with the Morelanders a few projects and we also realise that despite the massive amount of help given to us over the years by Morelanders no formal thanks has been given in their nation." Mrs. Nyström added, "This is the first of several short tours we want to take part in. Some times it will be me going, other times it will be the Head Gothi. Should something have a chance of resulting in a formal treaty of agreement then we'll maybe both need to go, but that is some way off."
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HERO MEDIC QUALIFIES AND GETS HONOURED
At the age of 19 Olivia Robertsson shot to national recognition for leading a group of injured survivors from the Uppsala Disaster which damaged a large part of the Eastern part of the nation to safety. At the time Miss Robertsson was a first year medical student and with the aid of a military radio and first aid kit was able to save the lives of several of her party. This however was not a stop to her adventures, if the aftermath of the Uppsala Disaster she signed up for duty with the Joint Emergency Team during her University breaks and saw stints in first Mavrosia and then the Krokom Chemical Leak as a medical assisstant. During the Krokom Chemical Leak she was one of a number of medics who, when caught in the chemical cloud refused to leave patients despite protective equipment failing. She spent several weeks in and out of hospital following that with chemical burns on her arms and hands. For her actions she was granted several awards and commendations some of which included financial rewards, all of which she invested in setting up mobile health clinics in Zimalia. Today however she has achieved her ambition of qualifying as a doctor. The 23 year old graduated from her medical degree from Krokom University and will now begin a probationary period as a junior before being officially recognised as a licenced doctor. As she graduated with her classmates a special video message was played from the Head Gothi who sent his congratulations to all those graduating before making a special announcement regarding Miss Robertsson.
"Today we recognise a class of individuals who have made the decision to dedicate their lives to making others better. I wish every single graduate today a long, successful and happy career and thank you in advance for the great work you will do on behalf of the nation. One individual among this graduating class however already as made a legacy many of us strive to emulate. Olivia Robertsson is too many in Zimalia a hero and I echo that belief. The Longhouse last year approved the creation of 20 new Thanes for the nation based on merit, so far we have only approved 2 of them but today I am honoured to name Olivia Robertsson the Thane of Jokkmokk. The title shall remain in her family for two generations. We believe that Thane Olivia will continue her tireless efforts to follow the Eight Noble virtues and we thank her for her dedication to the country and its people."
Thane Olivia now joins Ragnar Momssen (Flight Director of several JNSP missions) and Birgid Strand (Foreign Minister and Diplomat) as the new Thanes for the Republic.
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NATION CELEBRATES MIDSOMMER
Today the nation has taken to the countryside to celebrate the festival of Midsommer and give thanks to the God Baldur. The Head Gothi, Stein Ulfsson held a ceremony to welcome the sun at around 3:30am this morning. As the sun made its first appearance over the horizon he appeared in the square before his residence in the capital and addressed the gathered crowd, many of whom were dressed in white carrying mistletoe. "Today we remember the death of the God Baldur. Tales tell of how he was a generous God who brought joy to those around him. We celebrate the goodness that he brought to the world. His death was mourned by all things in creation except Loki, thus confining him to Hel until Ragnarok." The Head Gothi then carried out the traditional sacrifice of a lamb in the square before asking the Gods to grant the nation "security from harm, a bountiful future and warmth of friendship" Ulfsson then used the blood to bless around 200 members of the various Odinic shrines across the nation, these people will then take the blessing back to their own shrine and thus it will filter down.
People then began heading out to the countryside in order to be in a place of nature for the midday rituals of saluting the sun. Across the nation people stopped at midday and raised a hand towards the sun and recited a traditional prayer (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/27/6e/08/276e08c3342c6d5256bd100e87905756.jpg) to Baldur. This being over people enjoyed large outdoor feasts and picnics. A tradition saw young unmarried girls pick 7 different varieties of wild flowers in silence, it is believed that if these are woven together and put under the girls pillow that evening the man she dreams of that evening will be the person they marry. During the suns descent the people took to river and lakes to bath. It is believed that this will help wash away the evil of the prior year and cleanse the spirit. People will then build bonfires and sit around them until sunrise the following morning.
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YELLOW TONGUE CAUSES STAND OFF
The remote inland province of Rolsbaek has for centuries been home of large herds of domesticated Reindeer. These animals are used as both transportation in parts of Nya Åland during heavy snow falls as well as being eaten as a part of the nations culinary delights. The news of an outbreak of a deadly virus among livestock called Yellow tongue however has seen the Ministry of Agriculture state that they intend to inspect herds of animals for signs of the disease. While this has been largely co-operated with by typical animal farmers the Reindeer herders of Rolsbaek have refused to co-operate. The remote area sees almost all year round snow making reindeer the most suitable for of livestock. The farmers there are rather traditionalist and believe that the disease will not have been able to reach their herds. They are however concerned that during the elections the now Allsherjargoði, Catherine Nyström talked about the need for areas like Rolsbaek to modernise their agriculture to better protect the environment and diversify the regional economy. In one speech the Allsherjargoði stated, "Reindeer require huge tracts of land to roam and that is land that could be developed for a vast array of industry that would bring much more money into the economy than the pittance reindeer herding does. The Reindeer are also in such numbers that they actually harm the environment, rampaging through woodlands and damaging the more lucrative sustainable lumber industry."
Mads Thomasson is one of the Reindeer farmers and has had a herd for 30 years as of yesterday he was refusing to allow inspectors from the Ministry of Agriculture onto his land. "I know what their aim is. They will look for the smallest problem, a lame Reindeer who has probably just been kicked hard by a rival in the herd. They'll use that to say my herd have this made up virus and then kill the hundreds I have. This Yellow-Tongue is something we've seen before just given a new name. People are saying its a high mortality rate, but lets look at the nations that are reporting problems, The Allied Ardian States, Solemani, Achkaerin and several others. These are all nations that farm intensively and have lost the traditions of proper animal husbandry. Our Reindeer are as close to naturally reared as possible. All we do is protect them from predators and in times of severe weather do our best to shelter them, not a single drug or chemical enters their body while a ASA cow will be shot full of a chemical soup. Is there any wonder the Gods have unleashed a virus on them. Those of us who cling to the old ways toil much harder but enjoy much sweeter rewards, and of course the protection of the All Father." Thomasson and his four sons were seen blocking access to their homestead with farm machinary and were visible throughout the day riding Reindeer around the edges of their land armed with shotguns.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture stated, "Its important we ensure Mr.Thomasson's animals are not ill and potentially spreading this disease. To claim its some kind of man made illness is ridiculous and his antiquited belief can not be allowed to jeopardise his neighbours herds. We think it unlikely that we would find anything but we would not be doing our jobs if we did not carry out checks." This newspaper visited the six farmsteads closest to the Thomasson one and each of them said they would also not allow what they called the "Allsherjargoði's Animal Assassins" onto their land. As nightfall fell the Ministries staff left the area but only after two Ministry cars were found to have had their tyres slashed and another had a set of antlers set into the grill. The Ministry have stated they shall seek a court order giving them the right to force an inspection if the farmers don't comply.
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"ASSAULT ON THE HOLY LAND" CLAIMS ODINIC RITE
Allsherjargoði Catherine Nyström has today commented on claims made by the head of the Rosari faith along with several others. Yesterday the Grand Master of the Rosari faith called upon different faiths to support action aimed at Nya Åland's religious laws stating they intend to fund legal cases and offer finances for people convicted of crimes. The nations Head of Government and leader of the nations largest political party, the Odinic Rite, spoke out about this steps saying. "The Rosari Grand Master and those who have called to support the programme are in effect encouraging criminality. To put a sympathetic hand on a persons shoulder and throw money at them once they have broke a law legally passed by a nation is unheard of and amounts to nothing more than an attempt to carry out an assault on the Holy Land. Through our nations history the Union of Nordic People's various composite parts each suffered at the hands of Christianity making inroads, thankfully the Ålanders stood fast against that storm and preserved the Odinist faith in its truest sense and managed to restore it. Now as an independent nation once more we will not make the same mistakes again however it now appears that a multitude of religions wish us too. It is interesting however that places like Mecca which have had a rule of no non-Muslims for centuries have not been talked about, nor have the fact Fleur which has almost the exact same laws as us been mentioned. We see this being a "Nord" issue therefore leading us to conclude that for some reason we are being targetted."
Among several other comments include that by the Pharoah of Clysperis, the High Priestesses of the Cult of Helus and the Cult of Namis and the High Priest of the Ishitic Faith. Mrs.Nystrom went on to explain, "As a nation we do not target people by faith. We ask them to respect the Holy Land in the same way that a follower of the Cult of Helus would expect me visiting the Temple of Helus in Northfort to show respect. This land is the land upon which the saga's of Odin and his kin took place and so to us is no different to the Temple of Helus. I'am sure the people of that faith would not tolerate me walking in and damaging it, we do the same only our Temple is the whole of Nya Åland. We do not bare ill will to any of those who have spoken out, it is naturally they wish to weaken other faiths to advance their own just in the case of the followers of Odin they will find our shield wall is strong."
The Allsherjargoði and Head Gothi are said to be meeting regularly and will "steadfastly protect the land of Odin"
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N-AX TO BE DISPLAYED IN JOSAI
Two years ago the N-AX the nations first domestically produced fighter in over 40 years entered service. The aircraft is slowly phasing out the Angurvadal fighter which entered service in 1974 and to date 45 out of a total of 130 have been delivered. The aircraft is capable of being both launched from conventional airfields as well as flying from carriers thanks to its unique approach to vertical and short take off and landing design. It is hoped that showing the aircraft off at such a large international event could lead to interest from elsewhere.
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THANE OLIVIA ROBERTSSON SETS SIGHTS ON WADDAN
Following completion of her first year as a qualified doctor Olivia Robertsson, who was made a Thane last year, has signed up to go and work in Waddan for six months. Robertsson sprang to national and then international prominence for her successful rescue of a large number of victims of the UNP Disaster when aged just 19. She single handedly established a medical post at a remote airfield where around 20 refugees had fled. At that time Robertsson had only just finished her first year of medical training. She was then responsible for guiding her group of survivors to a military outpost where they received further medical care. Around twelve months later she voulenteered to work with the Joint Emergency Team when the Uppsala Chemical Leak caused thousands of deaths. Robertsson recieved several awards for her actions which saw her refuse to leave a medical aid post despite recieving chemical burns to her hands and experiencing breathing difficulties of her own. As part of one of her awards she was given an annual pension from the government which she has never accepted and has instead used it to fund mobile health clinics in Zimalia where she has spent a great deal time promoting public health, vaccinations and providing health clinics to remote areas.
Robertsson has now completed a year of working as a doctor in the Accident and Emergency section of Grunwald Hospital and is now going to move to Waddan for 12 months. She has stated that, "Waddan has a rather interesting society and that presents some unique medical challenges. They have one of the lowest life expectancies on Mundus and I suspect that is connected to issues such as access to health care in remote areas. I'd be interested in seeing what similarities there are between the situation we've seen in Zimalia where we've made some major steps forward in terms of helping their medical systems." Thane Olivia will be joined by two other medics from our nation who will spend time in the capital as well as taking health care to remote areas.
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"THE DOLK" CLEARED FOR FIRST FLIGHT
The Joint Nordic Space Programme have today confirmed that following successful wind tunnel trials the prototype of an ultra-quiet supersonic aircraft built by EMAC. The design was put together by scientists at JNSP however utilising ideas from EMAC's "Ghost Dragon" programme it was determined the East Moreland based company would be seen as the best construction partner. The aircraft has undergone several scale model tests including a half size remote control model having been flown for around 400 hours. Now the full size prototype has completed wind tunnel checks and will be examined by the Åland Aviation Authority over the next few days to be given an airworthiness certificate. Once that has been issued the Dolk could be flying as early as next Friday.
The aircraft was initially designed to fly at Mach 4 however at present the JNSP have confirmed the first tests will not allow the aircraft above Mach 1.6. The Dolk was developed as a way of trying to reduce the impact supersonic passenger flight may have on people living near ground routes following a surge of nations planning on reintroducing supersonic passenger routes. Currently no Supersonic passenger aircraft is licenced to operate from Ålander airports. If successful the aircraft would produce a 75 Perceived Level decibel (PLdB) thump on ground, as loud as closing a car door, compared with 105-110 PLdB (comparable to music at a pneumatic drill) for existing supersonic aircraft.
The JNSP have also confirmed that the first five flights will be remotely piloted.
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I.C.A.V LAUNCH EXPECTED THIS FRIDAY
The Interplanatery Cube-sat Analysis Vehicle mission is due to launch this Friday. The mission is designed to complete a series of hierachal objectives designed to test the various potential uses of miniture satellites for space exploration. The launch will see a pair of satellites, each weighing around 1.5kg into a path that will see them escape Mundus' orbit and head towards Nergal. The primary focus is the ability to communicate with satellites such as these over large distances. The satellites will also collect data on solar winds similar to that obtained by the 2014 mission of Longboat One and later Longboat Two. This will allow the teams at mission control to compare the data produced by the satellites in terms of their accuracy. The satellites will also be expected to be able to act as communication relays passing information back to Krokom where the mission will be controlled by the JNSP. It is hoped that should this test mission be successful that Cube-Sat's could be used for a variety of missions such as providing multiple roles in support of deep-space human missions, e.g., external inspection of flight systems, "third viewpoint" observation of operations, advance reconnoitering of exploration sites, and continuous monitoring observations after humans depart a site.
Should the programme work it is expected ICAV will be adapted to a mother-ship style probe which will deposit a network of Cube-Sats across the solar system as a foundation for more ambitious projects down the line.
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I.C.A.V HEADED FOR NERGAL
Following a successful launch the JNSP has today confirmed that the two small cube satellites are on track heading for Nergal. The satellites are part of a programme that will undertake a variety of tests aimed at, among other things, improving communications through the solar system as well as improving data accuracy on a variety of connected projects. It is hoped that if the initial pair show promise that a further 25 will be launched in short order. Speaking to the media today a spokesman of the JNSP said, "These types of satellites have a great potential for deep space exploration and so we are keeping our fingers crossed. We plan to launch a version of them in the next six months that can be used to inspect the exterior of spacecraft easily and even potentially be recovered and reused."
It is understood a JNSP crew will be venturing to the East Moreland "inflatable space station" for a two week series of experiments in the coming weeks. This crew will become part of the communications tests with the ICAV launch.
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BIOCHAR PROJECT GOES LIVE
In an attempt to help reduce carbon emissions farmers across the country are being asked to take part in an experiment utilising Biochar. The project is being backed by the Ministry for the Environment and the University of Saurri. The idea is to take agricultural waste such as parts of crops left behind after harvesting or failed crops. Normally on many occasions these are simply burnt releasing a significant amount of carbon in the process. Under the new programme a farmer can call for a Biochar kiln to be brought to their site where the waste can be put into a kiln where temperatures reach 400–500 °C. The process produces a form of carbon rich charcoal which can be turned into pellets which can be ploughed into the fields as a form of fertiliser but also locking away carbon for hundreds, possibly thousands of years. In addition to the charcoal the process can also be used to produce a bio-oil which can be used as a fuel as well as a gas, known as syngas, which can also be used for a variety of purposes. On a typical processing run a burn will produce 60% bio-oil, 20% biochar, and 20% syngas however changes in temperature can be effected which will change this make upto favour more biochar.
The process has however been criticised as some as to burn the waste energy is required, however Professor Ullich from the University of Saurri explained, "The process see's us gain more energy than we use. Our mobile plants can use the syngas output and yield 3–9 times the amount of energy required to run. While we still will be releasing CO2 the amount is cut by at least 50% as the biochar is returned into the earth and the oil and gas mean we require less fossil fuels which produce much more CO2. In addition we are now utilising something that would normally have been wasted CO2, by that we mean carbon dioxide that is just released, we now get multiple uses out of this CO2. The Biochar helps create a habitat for beneficial soil micro organisms and we hope that it will produce higher yields in farms allowing us to also tackle food production issues. We also hope to prove we will have a process that will reduce soil emissions of greenhouse gases, reduce nutrient leaching, reduce soil acidity, and reduce irrigation and fertilizer requirements, all things that will help the planet."
So far six of the mobile kilns have been given the go ahead with the Environment Ministry hoping to see a much larger fleet in the near future.
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HUSCARL OFFICER CALLS "TIME FOR JUSTICE"
Captain Noak Heikke who lead operations by Ålander special forces units known as Huscarl's has today spoken publically of the units growing demands for Marseille's former military officer General Cartier to finally stand trial. During the conflict in Marseille several units of Huscarl's infiltrated Marseille and working with local militia forces managed to help liberate large areas of the capital. Following the conflict it was one of these local militia leaders, Jean-Pierre Cantona, who became the newly created Republic of Marseilles first President. The bond between Nya Åland and Marseille has remained strong with regular visits between the two nations militaries. Today after returning from one such visit Captain Heikke spoke out about the situation.
"In 2016 we were promised that Cartier's crimes would be investigated and justice would be done. Stupidly our nation left that in the hands of the CTO never expecting that a war criminal responsible the execution of POW's would outlive the organisation that ended his actions. Cartier has sat in Achkaerin custody for years and now myself, and those of both Åland and Marseille who served in that conflict demand that he is handed over for trial. His crimes took place in Marseille and as such a now stable Marseille should have any of their citizens who committed crimes handed back to face justice."
Heikke won the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in Marseille and then the Silver Spear for service during the Uppsala Crisis. He is considered one of the nations most decorated military voices and has also spoke about the conflict saying. "The case against Cartier is open and shut. Many Ålanders wore cameras when we were on operations, we made frequent use of close air support via aircraft and drone. One of the victims of the execution of POW's was Jonas Ekdahl, a pilot whose aircraft was shot down over Marseille during our attempts to prevent mass executions at a prison in the capital. His execution was witnessed by UAV's. This case smacks of a hold up by the CTO and former CTO members who not only tried to keep us out of the conflict despite us being struck by missiles, but then threatened up with violence and then made separate settlement deals without including key members of Real Marseille, our own forces and other militia groups. The CTO, now in its decay, owes Marseille and Åland a debt and Cartier must pay for it."
It is not yet known whether Marseille or Nya Åland will make a formal request for extradition however a meeting is due to take place between the President of Marseille and the Head Gothi in the coming days.
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COUNCIL VOTE FOR SYMBOLIC UPPSALA GESTURE
Following over a month of waiting for action over the return of disgraced Marseille military officer, General Cartier, the Odinic Council today voted on a symbolic protest over the action. The Council voted to withdraw recognition of the Uppsala Convention, a document authored by Willa Sunbrek, Birgid Strand (nations current Foreign Minister) and King David of East Moreland. The gesture was made with the statement that, "Withdrawal is neccessary because the Convention, a cornerstone of international diplomacy, has been utilised in a manner never intended. The Treaty was designed to prevent criminals getting away with the most horrendous of crimes. We now see it actively protecting such a person. Article 1.2 states. "National Governments must ensure that all military personnel comply with this document at all times.". Marseille have been denied the oppurtunity to ensure an example is set for their own, and other nations soldiers across Mundus. Cartier is most likely guilty of the crime of murder in Marseille and as they are not refusing to prosecute him he should face trial. At present we are seeing the ghost of the CTO "Big Nations" imposing their authority on a nation who is more than capable of handling this situation themselves."
Following the statement being read by Allsherjargoði Catherine Nyström a second vote was taken an hour later where the Council voted 82-11 to rejoin the Uppsala Convention. This time it was left to Minister of Defence Martja Larsson to make a statement saying. "As a veteran of our nations armed forces I am only too aware of the importance of this treaty, especially as its bares the name of one of our cities, the fact we have felt a need to take this action should show the anger we and Marseille have in the current process. Cartier should be standing on trial for murder of citizens of Marseille and soldiers of Nya Åland. The Uppsala Convention was designed to bring those who had committed war crimes to justice when there was no other course of action. It will now be six years since the killing there ended and nearly as long since Marseille repaired itself. Those who have died need justice."
At almost the same exact time as this action was taken in Nya Åland similar actions were taken in Marseille where their own government voted to leave before also resigning the treaty.
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JNSP SET "SPECIAL PROTECTION" AGENDA
The Joint Nordic Space Programme (JNSP) have today announced that they have formed a new policy that may influence future space operations. The agency have announced following reviews of several decades worth of data from various missions that potentially space exploration itself could damage future discoveries. Speaking to the media ahead of preparations to launch the Nergal Trekker (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin_(rover)) in the new year. "Following reviews of several of our own missions to other planets or their moons we have come to the realisation that the discovery of some form of life out in the solar system is possible. That though is very likely to be nothing more than bacteria or small single celled organisms. The scale of this life may not be spectacular but they will be vital to protect. As such we are now committing to take action to protect this kind of life by taking extra precautions when exploring several regions which will be called Special Protection Zones."
The Nergal Trekker will be the first mission to utilise these rules. An area will be classified as a Special Protection Zone if it has a water activity level of between 0.6 and 1.0. It must also have a temperature of at least -25 celsius. The JNSP classification will also apply if it is likely the region has experienced these conditions at any point in the last 500 years. While these rules will now only apply to the JNSP missions it is hoped other space exploration programmes will also utilise these measures. A spokesperson explained "We have the Outer Space Standards and these have been an excellent foundation for space exploration. They though are now being faced by changes in technology and knowledge which will mean that the Standards must change eventually too. We will be using these criteria as a judge and anytime we think of operating there the probe or lander will have extra precautions to ensure no contamination takes place, this will see certain materials not used, strict use of -100,000 clean rooms, gas sterilisation and various other safeguards."
At present no zones on any planet or moon that fulfil the criteria have been discovered but as more exploration begins to take place it is thought that eventually some will be.
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SHOCK PRP ELECTION VICTORY
Following the resignation of Roger Heldstam as the Odinic Council member for Southern Uppsala it was expected that Nord First Party would retain their seat however a surprise increase of around 8,500 votes saw the People's Right Party take control of the position. Lily Bergstrom was elected as the areas new representative running on a ticket of campaigning for more rights for minorities, a rejoining of the MCUR and referendums on all international institution memberships. In the last election, which came just after the joining of former UNP territory into Nya Åland, the Odinic Rite took the seat with 10,003 votes, meanwhile the People's Right Party had 1,483. It was therefore expected that the Odinic Rite would take the seat again in this election however that has not been the case as the People's Right Party gained 10,837 votes compared to the Odinic Rite getting 3,821. The vast shift was explained by the reopening of Universities in the city which have attracted a large number of younger citizens who are considered to be more liberal and internationalist in their outlook. Additionally many of the former citizens of the Union of Nordic People have returned home and the PRP had always traditionally done well in the elections before unification.
After the result was announced the new Councilwoman Bergstrom spoke with the media to say she was looking forward to taking her seat. "We still have the Odinic Rite with a huge majority in the Council. We are still the smallest party within the Council but as more elections are due over the next 12 months we are hoping to make inroads into that majority and be a vocal opposition." Bergstrom courted controversy during her campaign by finding a loophole that permitted the long banned Avengers series of films to be shown. The film series was banned as it portrays the God Thor as more of an "alien" than a God and also see's a character deny his divinity. The film was banned because it's "message runs contrary to the truth of our faith". Having consulted with a lawyer and then tested in court it was revealed that by editing out that line and several others the film would not meet that threshehold. Bergstrom hosted a "Avengers Movie Marathon" which saw large scale protests while still attracting several thousand people.
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THANE OLIVIA ROBERTSSON SETS UP LOR PARTY
Dr.Olivia Robertsson, the Thane of Jokkmokk, has today launched a new political party. The 26 year old medic has set up the Liberal Odinic Rite along with a group of fifteen other medics from Nya Åland who serve in the Joint Emergency Team. Last year Dr.Robertsson was appointed Thane of Jokkmokk, a traditional holding just outside Sprigwald where she was born. To become a Thane the government selected the recipients from a short list off put together by the local community attached to the holding. Now though with a ground swell of support Dr.Robertsson is attempting to change Nya Åland's political landscape. Speaking at the launch she explained the background to the party. "Since the Uppsala disaster we have always had some of us, those who were born outside the old borders of Nya Åland, that never truly felt at home among the system here. Nya Åland always was more traditional and inward looking but as those of us who were youths during the reunification have got older we've begun to feel that the way the nation runs doesn't really reflect what we want. Time is changing but the political parties of Nya Åland don't."
The party agenda is aimed at "ensuring the nation retains its special place in the world as a heartland for Odin, honours Norse traditions but excludes nobody." Launching the new manifesto Dr.Robertsson outlined six key objectives.
* The creation of a society that reflects the proud history of Nordic people and Norse traditions.
* The protection of sacred sites of all faiths.
* A return to the policy of Armed Neutrality
* The economic development of the former UNP territories.
* The creation of a political system secular in nature that reflects Norse traditions.
* The realisation that while a nation can be built on Odinist values these values are not exclusive to those following the faith.
The new party has already gained 18,000 members in the 24 hours since it was launched. It is sure to concern the established Nya Åland political establishment as just two months ago the more liberal minded People's Right Party overturned a 9,500 vote majority of the Odinic Rite in the Southern Uppsala seat for the Council. It reflects a growing trend among younger Nords towards a more liberal outlook, something that some political commentators are calling "UNPifying" as it seems to reflect more the older days of the Union of Nordic People.s
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ROBERTSSON QUALIFIES AS A GOTHI
26 year old Doctor and Thane, Olive Robertsson, has today confirmed that she yesterday passed the entrance exam to make her a Gothi. Speaking of her success she explained, "While I have always wanted to develop a better understanding of my Odinist faith I must be honest and explain that I have no intention of entering into the Priesthood. At the end of this year we shall have elections for Head Gothi and I can now add my name to that ballot. Many young people are disillousioned with the way the current Head Gothi has taken very few steps to make us once more a nation on the world stage as we were in times of old. We are intent on sitting in our corner of East Albion minding our own business. The reconstruction of Uppsala is finished and we've seen grander projects in places like Tartu and Setri and now we must show the world just how ingenious us Nords are. We need younger and more global outlooks." If successful Robertsson would become the youngest Head Gothi in the nations history and the first female.
Current Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson however is critical of the newest addition to the ranks of the Gothi's. "I admire anyone who works hard enough to gain the knowledge to pass the exam. What I don't admire is when someone seeks to corrupt the title Gothi for aims other than tending to the faithful. Dr. Robertsson should renounce her claim to be a Gothi and focus on her medical career."
In an initial poll it would appear that Robertsson would get around 35% of the vote in a head to head with Ulfsson however the vast majority of voters under the age of 30 interviewed stated support for Robertsson.
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PROJECT ICARUS LEGACY SENDS NEWS IMAGE
The joint project between East Moreland and the space programme run by as was the Union of Nordic Peoples has released a new image before going off line for roughly a year. Project Icarus was the first of several joint missions to map solar winds and various other pieces of solar activity, these were taken over by the Joint Nordic Space Programme when the U.N.P. collapsed. The project has been sending back images from a distance of around 75 million kilometres for the past four years however the latest one is the closest yet. The project will go offline in terms of sending images for roughly 12 months before beginning to take images of the top and bottom of the sun. During its mission it is likely that the probe will experience temperatures upwards of 500 degrees celsius. Once its mission is over it will aim directly at the sun and as have various other Icarus probes sent before burn up.
The JNSP have said they are currently in talks with the Royal Aeronautical Society of East Moreland to explore future project unrelated to Icarus. A spokesman for the JNSP said, "There are many adventures we want to pursue in space and the old relationship with East Moreland was a very productive one. We hope in the coming months to re-energise this relationship and explore much more of the Universe."
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HYGELAC "RIVER" SHOWS LIFE
A team of researchers in Hygelac have today revealed footage taken that shows the discovery of a new ecosytstem on the icy continent. The team from Nya Åland's science base there has been undertaking a wide range of projects however it was the team dedicated to a recently discovered network of under ice rivers. The team used a hot water hose to create a hole some 500 meters deep and then put a camera probe down. Dr. Karla Ekstrom who is in charge of the project stated "As soon as the camera entered the water it was surrounded by tiny 5mm long creatures, these turned out to be amphipods, creatures related to shrimp. In this environment seeing one would have been quiet a discovery but we had a swarm of hundreds if not thousands showing that a vibrant econsystem exists below the ice."
Last year the CNN Supereye Satellite identified a groove in the ice shelf which they predicted would be some kind of subterranean water way. This has now been confirmed and furthermore while observing the creatures found in the water way probes identified that there were five very distinct layers of water indicating that many more ecosystems could be present with further observation. With each of these water ways travelling in a different direction due to how the water circulates, raises and falls beneath the ice packs it is likely that global warming and other oceanic events could lead to changes in these delicate balances. Scientists lead by Dr.Ekstrom will over the next few months carry out a variety of different probes and observations in order to gain a better understanding of one of Mundus less known ecosystems.
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NATION CELEBRATES SUMMER SOLSTICE
As the years longest day came people across the nation celebrated the solstice. Farmers across the land prayed for an abundant harvest from the Norse gods of fertility, Freyia and Freyr while almost every settlement hosted rituals for the year ahead. Huge bonfires were lit across the country and pilgrims made their way to sacred sites to pay their respects to the Gods, their ancestors or holy men of the past. One of the highest bonfires happened in Miksberg and measured some 47 meters tall. People there brought sacrifices of flowers and food to be thrown into the fire and feasts continued into the evening where dancing and singing took place.
The national sacrifice of a goat took place in Krokom carried out by the Head Gothi.
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LOR RALLY BIGGEST IN RECENT MEMORY
The first of what is expected to become an annual event by the Liberal Odinic Rite political party took place in the city of Grunwald. The party was established by Dr.Olivia Robertsson in February this year and has grown steadily among two key demographics for national politics. Many displaced Nords who are not native Alanders find the party appealing. This group is largely made up of citizens of former Union of Nordic People's citizens now under the flag of Nya Åland. The second group is voters between the age of 18-25. Polls show that the party is the most popular among this category of voters. An estimated 120,000 people attended the rally which saw a march through the city to the old market square where supporters of the party enjoyed a three hour long show of music, speeches and campaign videos. The headline act was an address by Dr.Robertsson herself which outlined her agenda for next years elections where she intends to stand for Head Gothi. The 26 year old, who is also the Thane of Jokkmokk and qualified as a Gothi this year, spoke for twenty minutes. During her speech she said "Historically our ancestors were fierce warriors who lived a life devoted to the Gods and died safe in the knowledge that they had lived by the nine noble virtues. One of those is courage, why should we as Nords and followers of the All Father cower at the thought of walking among Christians, Cultists or Muslims. Our courage should be that we live safe in the knowledge that our people will stay true to the Odinist way of life we have created. We value truth, I believe this is why we have become a nation famed for our scientific endeavours. Science seeks to uncover the truth about how things work, why they work and aim to make the world a better place. Science works because people are encouraged to challenege and consider view points. We do ourselves and our people a disservice if we allow challenges to science but not to religion. In the UNP days we were much more liberal in regards to religion, 95% of our population were Odinists, they were also one of the most valued nations in terms of international relations. Politicians of today sit in the shadows of Willa Sunbrek-Rosendahl, Helene Öman, Birgit Strand and Peter Knutsson. These four individuals were leaders. Willa Sunbrek-Rosendahl helped negotiate an end to potential hostilities with Rokkenjima and the USR, she gave the world the first ever global pride event. Helene Öman authored the UNPs Decree of Neutrality, the foundation of our foreign policy that we were all so proud of. Knutsson a giant that navigated us through several crisis and set us up to aim for the stars both literally and figutively. Finally Strand, a woman who helped steer the CTO to create the Mundus Health Organisation and Refugee Council. Since then Stenberg and Ulfsson have looked inwards. They have been leaders concerned only with religion. A Head Gothi is a religious figure but also a political one. Samantra have walked a similar line of merging faith and politics. Samantra's current foreign policies eclipse our own and look at the foundations Ulfsson and Stenberg had compared to that of the Duma of Samantra. The eight of our Noble Virtues is industriousness and in this regard they have been lazy. Meanwhile look at us, look at the youth of the Nord heartland. We are proud of our ancestors, we though wish to leave a legacy that our children will be proud of. This will be the focus of our election campaign. Ulfsson is a career Gothi playing at politics, I am a woman with a wealth of international experience. I've worked in warzones, I've worked with international agencies. In days of our ancestors we looked for people to lead from the front, that is what the very definition of the word leader is. You all know me. You know I walked out of the disaster zone those years ago, you know I stayed in Uppsala as it fell apart, not once but twice. Since then I have travelled Mundus, first to Zimalia, then Lijiang, to try and use my medical skills to help people. Now join with me as we embrace our Viking spirit once more and become a nation without fear."
The crowd gave Robertsson a warm reception and polls indicate her speech was well received by a lot of voters who have described themselves as "floaters". Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson however spoke about the speech to this publication saying "Olivia is still learning the ways of being a Gothi. She has been acknowledged as one for just six months. It takes decades of study and practice to really understand the role. She has not tended to a religious community in the way that I have. People will realise that she is simply trying to game the system in order to drag us away from our virtues. She forgot to mention that of loyalty. To be loyal means many things including to shun temptation. We have built a society so pure here that the Gods will walk among us. Olivia seeks to chase them away in favour of international approval while I seek only the approval of the Gods."
With elections for Head Gothi taking place at the end of September the Liberal Odinic Rite is being viewed as more of a threat to the traditional Odinic Rite Party. Former Allsherjargoði Jin Odinsson, who is now residing in Lijiang, has so far been impressed with Dr.Robertsson. "I am one of the political figures whose career spans both the UNP and Nya Åland. I was a Minister under many of the people she called political giants and was the first elected Allsherjargoði of Nya Åland. That was at a time when it was more important to look inwards and Stenberg can be forgiven for that as he had to deal with a great many crisis. Meanwhile Ulfsson has thrown away a great deal of what we had in the bank in terms of political capital. I like the direction Olivia is heading in. I know she is a lady with a tremendous drive and has experience way beyond her years. If I was voting back in Nya Åland I would look at the candidates, and realistically it will come down to two Robertsson and Ulfsson, I'd see a man devout in his faith and who has achieved very little for the nation and then I'd see a young woman who earned the title Jarl from the general public. I would see a young woman with experience of working with some of the most intriguing governments on Mundus, not politically perhaps but at least she will have contacts, and I would see a woman who is very in touch with the way Mundus thinks in general. If it comes down to those two in a run off I would put money on Robertsson being able to mobilise the youth vote in huge numbers and that demographic has traditionally stayed away from elections. She spoke of our ancestors and it was the blood and sweat of the young warrior class that helped form our nation and I believe youth will do so again."
It is also understood that Birgid Strand, current Home Affairs Minister and the only non-politically aligned cabinet member was also at the rally as an "Intrigued observer." Strand is not a qualified Gothi however polls suggest that should she become one and stand for election to Head Gothi she would be considered red hot favourite.
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PROF.KRISTOFFER TALKS GREEN FUTURE
Since Hans Bethe discovered the process of nuclear fusion was possible people have been saying we will see it utilised within "the next 30 years." That was in 1938 and the world is still waiting. Since then there have been numerous experiments that have seen it become a closer reality than ever before with the recent groundbreaking experiment in Achkaerin claiming to have produced a "net energy gain" this week. The RF2 facility claim that they produced 3.15 megajoules of energy as output, exceeding the 2.05 megajoules used to power the experiment. While the scientific world hailed this as a major step towards nuclear fusion Krokom based Professor Torben Kristoffer of The Krokom University joked, "The truth is that while fusion is in theory a great glimmer of a energy efficient future it is still 30 years away. It was 30 years away 30 years ago and I am sorry to say in 30 years it will still be 30 years away. The issue is we see experiments such as those in Altona and those in Achkaerin bringing very interesting headline figures. To the eyes of the non-science world expending 2.05 MJ to get what could be described as 1.10MJ profit seems good. However what must also be remembered is that the close to 200 lasers needed to create the beam required around 320 MJ during the experiment. We perhaps therefore are basing success on the wrong thing. While the idea of ignition is to create more energy than is used we only measure the actual end part of the process. It is also worth mentioning that the system used to carry out the tests is designed initially not for energy experiments of this kind but for nuclear weapons scientists to study the intense heat and pressures in explosions. While it is commendable that these men and women have now sought to harness the atom for peaceful means it remains the fact that the need to examine how this discovery can be harnessed for electricity production has yet to take place. The vast costs of projects like the one in Achkaerin are likely to make the process not a reliable one for electricity production however a glimmer of commercial light exudes from Altona's "Pistol Shrimp" method which while having produced less total output currently would be 1,000 times cheaper, per joule of energy, than using a laser. Traditionally laser or magnetic containment have been used for these projects. Laser has so far produced the higher yields but magnetic the more commercially adaptable technology, the Altonan path is the outlier which is why I'm very interested in that approach in the next few years."
Professor Kristoffer highlighted another key problem that the commericalisation of nuclear fusion could face. " these reactors will require deuterium and tritium. The good news is deuterium exists naturally in seawater and can be easy to acquire however tritium does not occur naturally in significant quantities. Some fission reactors produce tritium and it is likely some of those in operation globally could provide some. It is likely though that fusion reactors have to produce it themselves from lithium as there is only around 20kg of tritium available commercially. As lithium is in high demand and heavily used in places like the Gigafactory in Royal Seleucid and Tamora it is likely we have to choose between batteries or power production. As a planet we may find that we do better for the environment proiritising energy storage technology than energy production. We have many means on Mundus of creating clean and often reliable energy but it is often wasted. Take for example the large river in Lijiang. It is capable of providing vast amounts of cheap, clean energy 24 hours a day 365 days a year. The issue however is that it can not be stored during the night when very few people are actually utilising it. If we had a large scale means to store this then it is likely Lijiang and similar nations could all but cut the use of fossil fuels. We could even see nuclear fission benefit from the funds being devoted to fusion to make it even cleaner and safer and thus hand in hand with storage systems ensure our needs are meet."
Currently Professor Kristoffer is working on the final touches to the Alucard Ammonia Facility. This project is seeing a combination of solar panels and wind turbines utilised to create hydrogen through electrolysis of water. This hydrogen is than passed through a Haber-Bosch reactor utilising more hydrogen for heating to produce ammonia. Around 150million tonnes of ammonia are used a year with 70% of this being used in fertilisers, however it could also be utilised as a potential zero-emissions fuel for energy intensive applications where batteries are not possible. Traditionally ammonia has been acquired by burning methane in the process and its manufacture is estimated to be responsible for 1.8% of global carbon emissions. If the project, which is likely to be fully operational by 2030, is successful the plant could produce 2.2million tonnes of ammonia a year. Dr. Kristoffer said, "It is our hope to do two things. First we can help clean up the planet by producing an important product needed across Mundus for very little carbon production. Second this could be a great boost to the national economy. We are currently living at a time to be very excited about advances being made in green technologies and I hope we can ensure the AAF is at the forefront."
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STRAND STEPS DOWN AS MINISTER
It has been announced today that Foreign Minister Birgid Strand has resigned from her position as Foreign Minister. She is considered by many to be the nations most respected diplomat and with elections just a month away this has sparked rumours that she is removing her support from the Odinic Rite Party. Strand has had a career as a diplomat for the Union of Nordic Peoples, the Commonwealth Treaty Organisation and most recently Nya Åland. Upon receiving her resignation the Head Gothi, Stein Ulfsson, released a statement saying. "Birgid has served her people with the highest levels of commitment and honour. She is a figure that in years to come those who follow in her footsteps will dream to emulate. I wish her well in her future and give her the well deserved thanks of the nation." Ulfsson has not yet confirmed who will be the new Foreign Minister however they could well be the shortest tenured official should the Odinic Rite's Ulfsson lose the upcoming election.
While traditionally the Odinic Rite have dominated politics in Nya Åland over the last few months the relatively new Liberal Odinic Rite Party have been making huge inroads in local politics. In the last month they have won control of three city councils and won the mayorship of Grunwald. The success in these elections have been put down to those places having a large university student population. The party, with its more relaxed version of Odinism, has shown itself to be very popular with those aged under 35 and its leader Dr. Olivia Robertsson is seen as a role model for many youngsters. Current polls say that if the party can stand candidates in all seats at the upcoming election they would likely take control of the Odinic Council meanwhile Robertsson is expected to get around 36% of the vote for Head Gothi while Stein Ulfsson is currently estimated to be on around 40%. This means if the Head Gothi election goes as expected a run off would likely be triggered with other minor parties and independent candidates dropping out of the race.
Dr. Robertsson has stated should she win she would seek to ensure that the "Brave spirit of our ancestors prevailed without the fear Ulfsson shows the world."
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ROBERTSSON AND STRAND ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP
With the elections a month away the Liberal Odinic Rite have announced an official leadership partnership. The parties founder and leader, Dr.Olivia Robertsson, confirmed at the parties rally in Uppsala that one of their candidates in the upcoming election will be former foreign minister Brigid Strand and that if the party is successful in taking control of both the position of Head Gothi and a majority in the Odinic Council that she would become Allsherjargoði. The Party are standing on a platform designed to give the nation less of a theocratic controlled way of life while simultaniously ensuring the Odinist faith remains an important part of the nations identity. The party have been successful in local municipal council elections with the party now controlling 35 out of the 58 within the nation. The party have also enjoyed a huge amount of support from the younger demographic with a massive 82% of those aged between 18 and 30 polled saying they would vote for the party. In the 20% of the Ålander population who describe themselves as "Nords" rather than Ålanders the party currently poll around 60% of the vote. These two statistics mean the party stand in a strong position heading into the nation elections which have for close to a decade been considered a one horse race. Even when Nya Åland was part of the Union of Nordic Peoples the Odinic Rite Party always won elections within the nation however since the referendum under which Åland left the Union that parties grasp has gradually weakened.
At Uppsala Indoor Sports Arena the medic, who is also one of the non-heriditary Jarls of the nation, addressed a crowd of around 38,000 people. She was joined on stage by Birgid Strand. During the speech she laid out the policies of the party. "If elected our course of action is clear. Live out the nine noble virtues. Under our programme the nation would have the courage to intervene at times of crisis across the world just as we needed people to do on our behalf. We would expose the truth that following the path of closeting ourselves away has cost us in terms of economic opportunities lost, in terms of friends lost. Our faith talks about the importance of honour and to enhance it the need to do good deeds, when truly was the last time we as a nation did anything good for the world, Marseille? And then were have we been on the recent Troyes situation. It can be argued that shoulder to shoulder with Real Marseille the Ålander forces we sent into Marseille created the road-map for that nations freedom from evil. But since then what? Nothing. We are expected to show discipline, self discipline, yet as a nation we have allowed Stein Ulfsson to control our morality, we are not his children. We are to be self-reliant, we have the ability to stand as a nation alone, yes but self-reliant means we equip our young to face Mundus and be confident in their own skills and knowledge. How many of us have truly seen our nation equip us with the ability to navigate a life on Mundus, a handful of us who have partaken in the More and Mundus project have ever truly known a life without religious rules dominating our lives. Our faith teaches us to be industrious but what oppurtunities have Ulfsson extended to us to fulfil this? We are supposed to perservere in the face of hardship, but how have we really tested ourselves. Finally to me the most significant of these virtues is hospitality, how do we make guests to our nation feel? I would say not welcome. If we are elected we shall make these virtues central to everything we do. If you elect Ulfsson you elect a nation of fear. Fear of the outside world, fear of other Gods, fear of failure. Elect us and we show the world that Odin has nothing to fear from Mundus and guided by his wisdom we shall resume a place of respect and co-operation with the world."
Following Dr.Robertsson's speech Strand addressed the crowd briefly saying, "Nya Åland stands at a cross roads. We turn one way and we remain the same. A nation speaking of its love and devotion to Odin. We turn the other and we become the living, breathing embodyment of the All-Fathers word, a nation living without fear and a nation not willing to take a backwards step. Make your decisions."
Stein Ulfsson's Odinic Rite Party responded to the speeches saying, "The Liberal Odinic Rite are a party with no track record of international politics. They are unaware of what it takes to keep a nation safe and secure and rebuild after one of the worlds largest disasters. We have turned places like Uppsala from a wasteland back into a thriving city in just a short space of time." This comment however was rubbished by many on social media as one user pointed out "No track record of international politics? Strand ran the CTO! Strand helped draft the Uppsala Convention! Ulfssons a clown."
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SPECIAL FORCES RAID "MEDICINE FARM"
The Ministry of Defence have announced today that the nations Special Forces until known as the Mjölnir have conducted a raid just outside the village of Mikswald. The Mjölnir had been told by law enforcement that it was believed that a criminal gang had established a facility there for smuggling narcotics and potentially also weapons. The Mjölnir raided the facility this morning and discovered that the intelligence was not accurate and rather than it being a facility for drugs and firearms it was discovered that six swimming pools had been created and that Dolphins were being stored there. Several arrests were made including one who was a Lijiang citizen. As well as the dolphins illegally in captivity several freezers were found containing dolphin skin and vials of various oils. The seized items are reportedly used in a variety of medicines traditionally used in Lijiang medicine. There were in total 12 Dolphins in captivity, thought being houses ready for their flesh to be removed and oils extracted. Vetenary practiners were called and despite their efforts only 8 of the animals are being prepared for release back into the wild while four of the animals have had to be euthanised. Those arrested have been charged with animal cruelty, various wildlife offenses and smuggling.
Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson said "We will be contacting authorities in Lijiang to work out whether this is part of a wider operation and to ensure that we have captured everyone involved. Some may say it strange that we take an approach to try and prevent farms such as these, this is now the second we've found in four years. We as a nation consume whale and dolphin however only in two small settlements where it is as much a necessity as it is a tradition. There animals are taken quickly and painlessly from the wild, however these people have inflicted lengthy captivity in horrendous conditions and that is unacceptable."
Head Gothi candidate Dr.Olivia Robertsson also spoke about Ulfsson's statement saying "There is no place in our nation for two things. First is cruelty to animals. The second is to apologise for the traditions of our people. The Gods are clear animals are sacred creatures, and that they were closely connected to the gods. It is important to hunt respectfully, and to avoid taking more than was needed. When those two settlements hunt they do so with that in mind, there is no need to explain to the world why we do it."
Those arrested will appear in court on Monday.
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HEAD GOTHI "SHOWCASE" TAKE PLACE
Last night national TV aired a pair of interviews with the leading candidates for the position of Head Gothi. As people are just two weeks away from the polls opening it was a chance to see how each stood up to scrutiny from the media and assembled audience. Dr.Olivia Robertsson and current Head Gothi Stein Ulfsson were both interview by Krista Rosendahl and asked the same questions before random questions taken from a box provided by the audience were addressed.
If elected what would be your top priority?
SU - The Theocracy needs to begin establishing a wider network of friendship. There are several nations such as Marseille and East Moreland that we consider close friends, to some extent Achkaerin too. Our problem has been a the way some of the former CSTO have sought to make us outcasts. If I am re-elected my first foreign policy move would be to seek membership of the Sovereign Union of Nations, a group that have tried to stand against those imposing an agenda on the world. Once we've forged membership of S.U.N we'll seek to become active in growing their science section and becoming a valued member of an interesting organisation.
DOR - Its simple I want to show people of our faith they've been tricked. Nya Åland became independent because it viewed itself as a strong nation free from control by others. No sooner had it gained that than it began to show fear of the wider world. Odin is a God that wants us couragous, self reliant and disciplined, he is not a God that fears religions I would consider false. You want to be a Christian, fine be a Christain, but when you meet the All-Father that becomes a you problem. If elected the idea of us hiding away behind the Gods will end. We will send missionaries across the world to promote our faith and while Odinist teaching will be at the centre of everything we do it won't be because of fear.
How would you grow the economy?
SU Assuming we're members of S.U.N that will bring with it closer trading links. If we are not then I'll be looking to move our nation towards better utilising our access to the Alucard. There is a thriving market there and I want us to grab as large a slice of that as possible. I want us to be one of the largest economies in terms of size of population on Mundus and we'll need to begin exporting and that requires networks.
DOR There would be a two prong approach. Stage one takes care of itself. We'd relax the religious laws and thus, I hope, end the sanctions against us. This will in itself help create new growth. Then secondly we'd look to promote what Nords do best, we innovate. We've a thriving science sector of our economic landscape and by investing in that I believe strongly we can become world leaders. If we improve the way we monetise our science know how that boosts everything else too.
If you had to pick one nation to sign a treaty with in the next twelve months who would it be?
SU That is relatively easy. Holmvik. They share around 90% of our faith and I believe we at heart are kindred spirits. We are natural partners and as such I think we have a lot to offer each other. I would love to conclude some arrangement with them as our culture, history and faith is so closely enshrined.
DOR First of all I wouldn't be silly enough to limit ourselves to just one. I would be interested though in making arrangements with local Alucard nations. I've got experience of working with Lodjians through various agencies I've been part of and so perhaps that might be a logical first step but if elected my plane will be getting in the air miles and my door will be open.
What do you think is the biggest weakness of your opponent?
SU - Let me begin by saying Dr. Robertsson is someone I'm proud to say is an Ålander. Under my time as Head Gothi we introduced a system of new Jarls and Thanes and she was one of the first names put forward. She is though very young and as a result has very little experience as a Gothi. She is not equipped to lead a nation dedicated to the Gods and as such I fear that she is incapable of leading in such a way as the All-Father would desire. A vote for the good doctor is a vote to turn away from the tradition and values that have held our communities strong through all manner of disasters.
DOR - He's weak. There is no kind way of putting it. I believe he is a nice guy but he is blind to the world outside our homeland. He has made very few overseas visits and we can't live in a village. Our ancestors raided the coasts of Mundus and while I am not advocating we return to Viking ways I do think we need to stop looking inwards. Another term in office by Ulfsson will see us become even more stagnated and out of touch with the world.
What makes you the best candidate?
SU - Out of the two of us it is clear I have the best theological knowledge and the most experience in government. I am capable of ensuring our nation runs smoothly and continues to be the Holy Land of our faith. No one else in this race is capable of doing this. I know the people of our country better than any candidate and I believe that none of them love the Gods as much as me. I have wisdom the other candidates don't and I have the backing of the Odinic Rite.
DOR - I don't quit. Throughout my life I've faced challenges beyond any of the others. When the disaster hit the UNP I was in the midst of it and hiked out. When Uppsala became chaos I was a trainee doctor who manned medical centres. Then when the gas disaster happened I, like so many other medics, refused to leave the contaminated zone. Like them I have the scars of refusing to quit (she shows camera scars on her hands from chemical burns). I've ran medical centres out the back of flatbed trucks, I've brought medical care to places in Zimalia that hadn't seen doctors for years. I've been in J.E.T operations on several continents. I don't have political experience but if you need a Nord to get a job done in hard circumstances I'm your girl.
Following the shared questions it was revealed that Stein Ulfsson wants to make reforms to the nations environmental policies. "I believe we have the capability to over produce energy. If thats the case then we could easily export our surplus to places like Vynlandia or even the Lodjain islands." He also stated that he would increase the amount of whaling that the nation takes part in.
Meanwhile Dr.Robertsson explained that she intends to reform education to make it ensure that all students gain neither 100% academic nor vocational qualifications. "We'd bring in a new diploma, students will be expected to learn at least one practical skill such as carpentry if their academic or if they're more practical they'd be required to study at least one academic subject." She also explained that schools would be free to set their own policy on religious education and whether to teach faiths other than Odinism.
The election is 14 days away however Monday marks the final chance to register to vote. To vote a person must be registered with their local Odinic Order[1] and forms can be found both online or at your local office.
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EXPERTS PREDICT CLOSE RUN ELECTIONS
With elections for the Odinic Council and Head Gothi running today political experts are divided on their predictions for the final results. There are four candidates running for the position of Head Gothi however all believe that it will be a two horse race between incumbent Stein Ulfsson and the Odinic Rite party and political newcomer Dr.Oliva Robertsson who is leader of the newly formed Liberal Odinic Rite. It is thought that Astrid Stigsson of the Nords First Party and Lucas Jakobsen of Conservative Futures are unlikely to worry bookmakers and there odds of 150/1 and 200/1 respectively reflect that. One expert is the Professor of Politics at Krokom University, Dr.Theo Larsson, he believes that in fact votes for Stigsson and Jakobsen are likely to be ones to help Dr.Robertsson. "The traditional power in Åland has sat with the parties right of centre. The Odinic Rite, Nords First and Conservative Future all often agree on matters within the Council however it is this block that have fielded in effect three candidates. Meanwhile the centre ground and the left have only got Dr.Robertsson to vote for with neither the Peoples Rights Party, Socialist Party nor Liberal Rights Alliance seeing their candidates for Head Gothi gain enough support in hustings. As a result its likely right leaning voters will see that their votes are split between three candidates while the centre and left between just one. The sad fact of the matter though is that could damage Dr.Robertsson's chances is that some on the left may feel no one fully represents their views and as a result may not vote at all." Turnout however by mid afternoon was described by observers as "higher than normal" and in particular the youth vote was "considerable". Many believe that this youth mobilisation will be the key to any victory by Dr.Robertsson as Dr.Larsson explained. " Since the independence of Nya Åland and then the disaster that saw the merger of the UNP young people have believed that they are not acturatley represented in politics. The arrival of the new Liberal Odinic Rite party has fed into this political homelessness. Its given the youth a way of expressing their love of their Norse culture while also being rather more globalist in outlook. I believe they could be a real threat."
Meanwhile elections for the Odinic Council are more problematic. Martja Larsson, formerly Minister of Defence and now member of the Norse Albion think tank explains, "We've gone from a system with six parties to a system with seven. The Liberal Odinic Rite have been very savvy. They've taken a position very central with a slight right wing lean. They are great at using modern communication and have been shown to be able to get people, particularly those under 30, many who have never voted in an Åland election before , to get excited about the change they propose. They speak of opportunities at a time when the nation has stagnated meanwhile Ulfsson has been talking about doing things which he's had several years to do and failed. This election has boiled down to a decision between the status quo or change. I think we'll see the new party take votes from some of the centre left who see a chance to get a tiny bit of what they want and I think the Conservative Future Party is in trouble as the Liberal Odinic Rite share a fair few policy ideas. I think the Council is likely to be very split between the traditional Odinic Rite and the Liberal Odinic Rite. If I was to put money down I think for the first time we'll have a Head Gothi from a different party than the Allsherjargoði.
Should the Liberal Odinic Rite succeed in becoming the most supported party in the Council it will be Birgid Strand, assuming she wins her seat, that would become Allsherjargoði. She spoke this morning as she cast her vote, "Naturally I'm voting for Olivia, she is the person who will actually make us a nation that doesn't self isolate. We're a nation that has the potential to lead the world in thing like science but we don't capitalise. If we can sweep both positions then we stand a fantastic chance of making our homeland the envy of Mundus."
Meanwhile Stein Ulfsson cast his own vote and said "I have every confidence that Odin will help guide people to making the right decision. As a nation we stand as the last of the Holy lands of Odinism, pure uncorrupted and strong. We have walked this path and I believe that it is right that we continue to do so. I am confident that once the election is done we can get on with building a strong economy built on good honest hard working people's commitment to the Gods."
Polls close this evening at 9pm and a winner is expected to be announced early tomorrow morning.
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ELECTION MAYBE NOT "DONE DEAL"
With the polls closed and results counted it would seem Nya Åland is set to have a change of leadership however as of yet incumbent Head Gothi, Stein Ulfsson, has said "the result is not a done deal.". When all results declared Dr.Olivia Robertsson had scored 43% of the vote, meanwhile Stein Ulfsson had scored 40%. This saw Astrid Stigsson of the Nords First Party (8%) and Lucas Jakobsen (9%) of Conservative Futures sharing the remaining votes. As the results stand this officially would mean Dr.Robertsson will on 13th November be sworn in as the new Head Gothi of Nya Åland however in a shock move Stein Ulfsson has asked the Supreme Court to rule that the election should be re-run as a head to head, something that has never happened before. The constitution states "The candidate who receives the greatest support of the people shall be elected." and Stein Ulfsson believes this means that an individual would require at least 50% of the vote to take the position of Head Gothi, this however is countered by Dr.Robertsson whose team have stated, "It is clear out of the four candidates Olivia has the greatest amount of support. Its therefore straight forward that she is Head Gothi in a weeks time."
The Nya Åland News' legal expert is Karston Frohm who stated, "Many of us in the legal profession have known, since its introduction, that there were weaknesses in the constitution. We advised at the time that these needed closing and it was also agreed that the chaos of the formation of the constitution following the absorption of the UNP required something in place speedily. Daniel Stenburg always said their would be a revision and review process of it in time, that never came and now we face a potential political limbo. The courts will now be asked to interpret the constitution but my concern is if the court rules in favour of Steinsson that Dr.Robertsson will likely be able to suggest that as all members of the Supreme Court have been appointed by Head Gothi's from the Odinic Rite they could be bias. The crux of the argument is the 17% who voted for the other candidates. I would like to see in future years either a transferable vote system, which I think will be quicker, or a run off election."
Meanwhile the elections for the Odinic Council have been no less significant. With 500 seats up for grabs and a new political heavyweight party in the guise of the Liberal Odinic Rite arriving on the scene it was always likely to see radical changes. With 500 seats up for grabs the Odinic Rite managed to retain their status as the largest party in the council winning 181 seats, down from 219 in the last elections. They lost seats in the heavily student dominated areas close to Universities and colleges. The Nords First Party saw victory in 78 seats down from 101 in 2018 most significantly losing the seat of Mikswald an ultra religious region of in the west, that seat was won by Viktoria Silsgard from the Liberal Odinic Rite. Conservative Future saw major loses with almost half their seats disappearing as many saw them as the most direct competition beyond the Odinic Rite for the newly formed Liberal Odinic Rite. With 40 seats they are likely however to hold a significant say in the future of the nation. It was mainly parties on the left that saw significant loses, Liberal Alliance slipped from 39 seats to 15 while the Socialist Party fell from 36 to 11 seats making them the smallest in the Council. The People's Right Party are the second smallest with 12 seats a loss of 22 seats. The nights biggest winners, as expected, were the Liberal Odinic Rite contesting their first election which picked up 163 seats making them the 2nd largest party in the Council. The result now see's the Odinic Rite holding 36.2% of the vote while the Liberal Odinic Rite hold 32.6%. The party able to command the support of the Council is able to appoint the Allsherjargoði and control the legislative agenda of the Council. While this decision can not be made until the Head Gothi is in place there are likely to be several days of political manovering as the two lead parties seek to strike deals to form a coalition. Naturally the Nord First party would seem like a strong match for the Odinic Rite, a deal would see the two parties control 51.8%. Meanwhile the Liberal Odinic Rite would likely need the support of all other parties to gain control.
In conclusion it would, if things go as predicted, see a first for the nation. We will likely end up with a Head Gothi and Allsherjargoði representing different political parties meaning there is a chance that the nation could face some form of political limbo for the near future.
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"WE WILL DEFEND DEMOCRACY" SAY GUNGNIR
Following the recent legal challenge on the recent election results the spectre of the nations most worrisome terrorist group has emerged. A post has appeared on several social media platforms that has since been verified by several media outlets claiming to be from the Gungnir. The Gungnir have been active on several occasions most recently having briefly attempted to damage radio and broadcast signals across Mundus. The groups stated aim is "to drive the foreign faiths out of Albion and return the land to the All-Father." In addition they have stated that "Christianity has driven a wedge deep into the heart of Albion and that insult to our Holy Land must be avenged." In the past the group have even taken responsibility for attacks on sacred sites in Vanora. On this occasion though their statement has been particularly vague. The video shows groups of men training in military tactics somewhere in the forests of the interior on the nation. It then shows a man using the name Magnus Odinsson who claims to be the leader of the Gungnir Hearthguard Regiment. In the video Odinsson states, "The recent election results have not yielded a result that shows we have a strong leader. We now rely on the honour of our nations judges to do the right thing. We ask the All-Father to bless the judges with the wisdom to make sure that the true will of the faithful people of our nation is permitted to manifest. Should they fail to do so we will defend democracy and ensure that the government is just, pious and determined to ensure the Nords prosper above all." Security forces have moved to high alert.
Dr.Olivia Robertsson won the highest number of votes however incumbent Head Gothi, Stein Ulfsson, has asked the Supreme Court to rule whether the fact she did not get more than 50% should mean a run off election is needed. Dr.Robertsson has today called Ulfsson and the Odinic Rite Party "a group seemingly trying to cling to power. The courts are being involved when there is no need. On Monday I intend to walk into my new office, sit down and begin making the change we have promised the people of our nation. It is my hope Mr.Ulfsson will have packed up by that time."
Meanwhile Stein Ulfsson has said "The election should see the Head Gothi command the support of the majority of the nation. Dr.Robertsson has not done that and so as such until she actually defeats me then she is not able to run this nation." The statement from the Gungnir does not however state which of the two leaders they are calling for to be named the winner. The Supreme Court have convened a special weekend session in order to begin discussions on the matter at hand.
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CHAOS CONTINUES
The seven person Supreme Court meet today in Krokom to determine the result of the recent election for Head Gothi. It was expected that the matter would be cleared up and the swearing in of the Head Gothi taking place later in the evening. This however has not been the case as a rather unique situation has occurred. The Supreme Court is made up of seven judges appointed by the Head Gothi and currently all those in position were appointed by either Daniel Stenberg or Stein Ulfsson. At the beginning of proceedings judge Lennart Omdahl recused themselves from proceedings saying "As someone who was appointed to office by Stein Ulfsson and therefore owing my career to the man's decision making I feel that it would be very easy for someone to look at me and should I support him in the decision then I am favouring him through bias. I therefore believe the only safe course of action is to not be part of the panel."
The court then heard arguements from the legal representatives of both the Odinic Rite and the Liberal Odinic Rite about the decision over who should be the Head Gothi, and therefore Head of State of the Nation, with the power to appoint the Allsherjargoði. The Odinic Rite argued that as the constitution states "The candidate who receives the greatest support of the people shall be elected." It requires an individual to have a minimum of 50% plus one vote to become Head Gothi and that if no individual has that then there should be a run off election. They cited that there are various precedents in other nations with similar arrangements. This was then followed by the legal representatives of the Liberal Odinic Rite who argued that the terms stated in the constitution amount to a simple case of whoever gets the most votes wins and like their opposition provided various examples of where that is the case. The judges went and deliberated for several hours after they confirmed that they would announce their decision verbally with a more precise written decision made available in the morning. They returned just after 6pm and announced that they had been unable to reach a clear decision with a 3-3 split. This has then plunged the nation into continued chaos as there is apparently no clear way forward. The decision was left that the judges would publish their written decisions in the morning at which time they would be given to the two potential Head Gothi's who would then consider whether they still maintained their positions.
Speaking after the hearing Stein Ulfsson indicated that he had no plans to concede saying "I believe that if the vote came down to a one on one between myself and Robertsson then I would emerge the clear winner as such it is my sacred duty to maintain the position of Head Gothi until the courts make the appropriate decision that ensures that the position has the fullest support in the nation." Meanwhile Dr.Robertsson stated, "I am hoping tomorrow this matter is concluded formally. We already know that I am the true Head Gothi and I fully expect to be in my office soon and getting down to work." While awaiting the decision Dr.Oliva Robertsson had visited the building belonging to the Head Gothi and sought to gain entrance stating that the guardsman "work for me now" when they prevented her going inside. The Head of the Guard, Major General Gerhard Jönsson, stated "The Republic Guard are in a difficult position. As a result we have made a decision that we will maintain the status quo until the court tells us the result."
Meanwhile some political commentators say that situation could soon become difficult as one expert told us. "On the 21st of every month those who work for the government get paid. That payment is technically authorised by the Head Gothi. If we have none in place then I wonder will these people get paid?"
Discussions in the Odinic Council have however been slightly more productive. It was confirmed that there had been discussions between Birgid Strand, the leader of the Liberal Odinic Rite in the Council, and Karina Ottosson who is the leader of the Liberal Alliance. Miss Ottosson confirmed that "if requsted" she would add her parties vote to the Liberal Odinic Rite meaning that party would enjoy 47.6% of the vote within the Council, 2.4% shy of being able to be the majority party. Meanwhile it is thought that Andrea Jacobsson, the leader of the Councils bloc of Odinic Rite members has been meeting with Astrid Stigsson of the Nords First Party which if the two made a deal would see them have an unassailable 51.8% of the vote.
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UNIONS BEGIN TO DRAW LINES
This morning at its annual congress the National Union of Students voted 78-2 in favour of supporting a campaign to show support to Dr.Olivia Robertsson in becoming Head Gothi. The body which represents students at Universities and affiliated Colleges saw a last minute motion filed and after a brief discussion a vote was called. Only two of the 80 institutions which are members of the NUS voted against the Union making their voice heard. Those who voted against where Krokom Institute of Sciences and Edelmead University. Klara Gessler of the Krokom Insititute stated "I voted against as this was a matter we had not considered coming up here and as such I felt it morally wrong to cast a vote without gauging the opinion of my fellow students. I personally voted for Robertsson but in my position of our Union Rep I should consider a bigger picture." Meanwhile Bjorn Timosson of Edelmead stated, "I think where the nation has a mechanism to make a decision we should allow that to play out, trust the process and then make decisions if we feel its been unfair, I think this may just be jumping the gun." With the motion passed the Union is sending a letter to Stein Ulfsson on behalf of its membership asking for him to concede defeat in the recent elections and if he does not then the Students will begin a "campaign of protest against an illegitimate Head of State."
Several hours later the National Alliance of Cargo Workers (NACW) which represents those who work in dockyards handling all manner of cargo also released a statement on the recent election. Their spokesman stated, "We have held since, the announcement that a court case would be had, a poll amongst our members. 72% have backed us taking a stance to support Dr.Robertsson. We believe that with another term in office under Ulfsson our export and import industry would be harmed and of course this would then hurt our members jobs. As a result we are calling on Ulfsson to stand aside by Sunday or we will be considering strikes to show our support. Naturally we will be watching the Supreme Court with interest."
The Supreme Court has ruled that they are unable to reach a decision as yet with the panel split between the idea that there should be a run off election and those who believe Dr.Olivia Robertsson should take the position of Head Gothi. Today the Supreme Court however have issued an advisery ruling that the National Centre of Mediation (NCM), a body set up to mediate in employment disputes, should be asked to work with both parties in order to find a solution. Dr.Robertsson's spokesperson has today said, "The NCM would have one purpose, make Mr.Ulfsson step aside. We have clearly won this election and as such we should be three days into the Robertsson administration, however we now sit in political limbo with some very worrying deadlines approaching." Meanwhile Ulfsson's camp have stated that the NCM should be tasked with establishing the framework for a run off and that Ulfsson should remain as Head Gothi until this has been resolved."
Several other Unions have announced that they are meeting with memberships over the next 24 hours to determine what stance their members would like them to take. This evening there is also a meeting of the Joint Command Committee, the panel made up of the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Forces. This military meeting has been called "illegal" by Dr.Robertsson who has stated, "As the rightfully elected leader of the nation I should be present at the Joint Command Committee however I will be sat outside this illegal meeting while an invitation is still extended to Stein Ulfsson." We have contacted the military but as of yet they have not commented.
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ARMY TAKE CONTROL OF LONGHOUSE
In a surprising twist to the ongoing saga over the disputed election results General Tobias Dahlsson has ordered the army to seize control of the Longhouse. The move came after the chiefs of the armed forces had their weekly meeting on Sunday and it was reported that they had denied incumbent Head Gothi, Stein Ulfsson, from entering meaning that it was the first time that no politician had been present during the meeting. Earlier in the day Dr.Olivia Robertsson, who many claim is the Head Gothi, had attempted to enter the meeting building only to be stopped by members of the Naval Guard who were on duty. Dr.Robertsson was joined by several hundred students from the National Union of Students who called upon Dr.Robertsson being recognised as the Head Gothi. Early this morning camoflauge clad soldiers of the The Republic Guard, an infantry unit who are more commonly seen guarding government facilities, seized key parts of Krokom. They were seen setting up positions in and around the Longhouse and the various Council buildings, they also took control of the train station, airport and dock yards. Shortly after a joint statement was televised from the General, Admiral Jonas Stromberg and Air Commodore Timothy Ravenburg. "We have seen that the courts have failed to settle this arguement. While the National Centre of Mediation (NCM) have begun offering to settle the dispute that is a process which can take weeks if not months. Tomorrow is a difficult deadline for the nation as with no Head Gothi to authorise the release of funds our public sector workers can not get paid. There is provision in the Disaster Management Act that states that if communication is lost with the government then the heads of the armed forces may act in the stead of government until such a time as communication is re-established. Consulting with our own legal teams we are now past the time when a Head Gothi should be in post, therefore I can not as leader of the military contact the Head Gothi, as such myself, Jonas and Tim are going to act as a triumvirate until this matter is solved. We will ensure the public sector gets paid tomorrow and we will keep the nation running. We give our word that we will enact no new laws or policies."
Throughout the day the Republic Guard were supplemented by extra members of the Marine Commando, Air Force Security Regiment and Army Engineering Corps who have hastily constructed metal barriers around the government complex. It was witnessed that the military denied all political representatives access to the complex however civil servants were permitted entry. A large group of students arrived shortly after midday calling for the military to recognise Dr.Robertsson as Head Gothi, a simultaneous and much smaller group gathered at the opposite end of the plaza in front of the complex supporting Ulfsson. There was a brief confrontation between a few of the two groups however members of the Air Force intervened and both returned to their places of protest.
In a statement Dr.Robertsson stated, "The military I hope are pushing this matter to a swift conclusion, however not only do we need a swift conclusion we also need the correct conclusion. The armed forces should not run our nation and the sooner we can send them back to their usal duties the better." Meanwhile Stein Ulfsson stated "The military now need to bring this matter to a close. I remain their commander in chief and they now need to clear the plaza of these borderline rebels and allow me to get back to the business of running the nation."
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SHOTS FIRED AT LONGHOUSE
As the confusion over the future of the position of Head Gothi enters its second week there has today been a worrying development. With the Armed Forces effectively taking control of the day to day business of government members of the military have been maintaining a kind of no go area around the government buildings denying both Stein Ulfsson and Dr.Olivia Robertsson access to the facility. This morning a group of around 200 supporters of Dr.Robertsson and her Liberal Odinic Rite arrived at the Longhouse and set up a static protest just outside the area established by the military. While initially things were peaceful at around midday two shots rang out sending the assembled crowd into panic. One protestor, 21 year old Miks Vasillson was shot in the stomach while the second shot luckily missed everyone. The Marine Commando soldiers who were on duty managed to reach the injured youngster and a smear of blood was left on the white marble stones as he was dragged to cover. The Commando searched the surrounding area however with exception of a single bullet casing from the roof of a nearby apartment block discovered nothing. A spokesman for the military have since announced that they are reveiwing security camera footage in the area in attempts to trace the shooter. Lt-Col Brigsmann of the Commando stated, "The distance and the nature of the shot leaves us to believe that this was someone with a significant skill and knowledge of firearms and marksmanship. We do not believe Miks was targeted for any reason beyond being there and as of yet we have no motivation that presents itself beyond the idea that this was politically motivated."
Miks Vasillson was evacuated to Krokom Infirmary using the helicopter kept on standby for medical evacuations from the Longhouse complex and was operated on upon arrival. His condition has been described as "Poorly but stable" Police have mounted an armed guard at his bedside however a spokesman for the police stated "This is a precaution taken in many shooting cases where we do not know the reason for someone being targeted nor have any idea who did this. At the moment this is a basic precaution in a live ongoing case."
As a result of the ongoing crisis over the future of the nations leadership a three person panel made up of General Tobias Dahlsson, Admiral Jonas Stromberg and Air Commodore Timothy Ravenburg have taken on day to day management of the nation. This has allowed payments to be made to public service workers which would normally be needed to be approved by the Head Gothi. The three person committee have said they intend to meet with judges tomorrow to discuss options on how to resolve the issue. Despite Stein Ulfsson still claiming the be Commander in Chief of the Armed forces the three men have released a statement saying "Stein Ulfsson's term is over. He does not command us, at the moment we answer directly to Odin and the people."
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UPPSALA SEE'S STREET FIGHT
Following an attack earlier this week on the Longhouse defences in Krokom have been bolstered however yesterday the city of Uppsala, the once capital of the Union of Nordic Peoples, saw a gun battle between members of the Armed Forces and an armed group who tried to seize control of the town hall. The incident started just after midday when a group of six men armed with assault rifles walked into the town hall and took the mayor and several other local politicans hostage. They declared that they were members of the Gungnir Hearthguard Regiment and that Magnus Odinsson is the Head Gothi of the Odinist Republic. Shortly after there were reports of sniper fire at several police stations in nearby areas while in Ronstan, a main train crossroads, the local train station was captured. Shortly after helicopters containing members of the Mjolnir Special Forces were seen on site in most of these locations and just after 2pm gunfire could be heard in Uppsala. While initially they believed the Gungnir were just in the town hall it soon appeared groups had taken various office buildings in the area. Eventually heavy armour arrived and by 6pm the area was back under the control of the armed forces. It was confirmed 22 members of the Gungnir were dead while another six were captured. Meanwhile three members of the armed forces have been confirmed as dead with another two in critical condition. The Gungnir released a statement saying, "What we have attempted to do today is for the good of the nation. It is clear that the mechanisms we have in place are weak. We have two weak individuals unable to proceed in running our nation. We have though seen that we are ready to take hard action to ensure the continuation of this nations governance. We now have seen the military declare themselves essentially the government and we the peoples true champions can not abide watching them steal the nation."
General Tobias Dahlsson, Admiral Jonas Stromberg and Air Commodore Timothy Ravenburg have declared themselves currently as a form of caretaker government until a solution to the problem has been resolved. Under this agreement two of the three must approve any decision. They have however stated that they are considering adding the Allsherjargoði as it appears that the Odinic Rite and Nords First Parties may have agreed a coalition which would give them control of the Odinic Council. As a result the military command have said it would make sense to include the voice of the general public in their decision making on "all matters save the Head Gothi question, on grounds of bias".
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FUTURE CICRULAR COLLIDER PROJECT GIVEN PROVISIONAL OK
It was confirmed today that the local council of the Uppsala region has given the OK for the Large Hadron Collider to be extended with a 2nd collider which will dwarf the first. The Future Circular Collider will be housed deep undergound and run in a tunnel some 90-100km in circumfrance. This compares to the LHC which is 27km long. The LHC has over the past decade helped physicists gain a deeper understanding of the way atoms and particles work however it has yet to fully explain several other theories. As such the team at the Uppsala LHC hope that this new set up will help understand that. Speaking to the media Professor Joachim Bjorklund stated "The field of physics has enjoyed lots of data from the LHC and we believe that this flow will continue for a good while yet but what has become clear is that we will eventually reach the pinnacle of what the LHC can teach us and therefore we need to be ready to move onto the next phase. The Future Circular Collider is clearly a major project that will take around a decade to construct if all goes to plan and lets face it no science project on this scale ever rarely does. The first hurdle was to get permission from the local council and then traditionally the national government have always given such matters the green light. On this occasion though we face the nation being in some kind of political limbo meaning that we have to wait for the Head Gothi position to be resolved. We have though various members of the Odinic Council telling us they will campaign on our behalf which gives us cause to believe this will happen."
One of those council members is Monia Plosja, herself a former physics teacher, who said, "Over the years the people of our nation have rightly earned a reputation as being at the forefront of scientific research. The LHC has done a great deal to ensure that not just Nords but also our partners have had access to one of the most sophisticated machines ever built. Like any positive reputation once won they can be easily lost and are hard to maintain this project will ensure that for the coming decades we stand as one of, if not the, leading supporters of ground breaking global research." Not all Council members though are as positive. Markus Stromberg explained "This project is going to cost billions to learn very little of practical use. It is my belief that the project funds could be better used tackling some of Mundus more immediate problems." The project however will receive much of its funding from contributions from private donations and learning institutes. One such sponser is Akentech, the nations largest provider of Geothermal energy and whose founder and owner Lukas Akenberg is said to have provided funding of $5million a year for the next ten years. The 52 year old businessman told us, "Science is wonderful and fascinating but also expensive. The money I donate will not fully build the project and will likely be a drop in the ocean but it will mean I'll have the satisfaction of knowing that in some microscopic way I've helped support break throughs in science that let us understand the Universe just a little bit better."
Work will begin once the new Head Gothi is in place which considering the recent outbreaks of violence and bomb attacks is likely to take much longer than anticipated.