Jomhuri (Republic) is the largest newspaper in Albactana with an estimated circulation of 7.2 million copies per day. The newspaper is affiliated with the nations ruling Republican People's Party. Jomhuri was founded as an underground newspaper in 1923 after the Jarakanaj shut down its predecessor, the Arbazor Herald. Jomhuri's first 30 years were slow & painful with very small sales however in 1951 when opposition to the regime of the Jarakanaj began to take off the newspaper began to grow rapidly and by early 1953 the newspaper sold almost 4 million copies per week but when the Jarakanaj massacred thousands of protesters in the 1956 nationwide democracy protests the newspapers circulation shrunk once again. In 1960 when hundreds of thousands of protesters stormed & occupied the Jarakanaj's compound, Jomhuri was finally granted the freedom to publish without persecution & circulation hit 18 million per week, which was almost as many copies as 3/4 of the nations population at the time. In 1964 Jomhuri aided the stoking of the revolutionary embers when almost 70% of the population voted for a pro-democracy party in the nation's first elections, however once again the Jarakanaj crushed the freedom the people had found. From 1964 to 1967 the paper was once again oppressed by the government but despite this growth continued. In mid-August 1967 when millions of people from all political  backgrounds took to the streets in the largest uprising the nation has ever seen Jomhuri was once again on the front lines fighting for freedom & it succeeded. On June 27th 1968 the Jarakanaj was forced to flee the country as people overpowered his security forces and stormed government buildings nationwide. After this Jomhuri worked closely with the new Socialist Provisional Government to bring about a true democracy for Albactana but this was stopped when the Council for an Islamic Albactana declared war on the Socialist Provisional Government and proclaimed the whole of the nation an Islamic Republic. The following 5 months devastated Albactana with almost 430,000 people killed by the fighting. Following this Jomhuri's worst period of oppression began when the Islamic Republic began a nationwide purge of anyone opposed to their rule with almost 900,000 people from the military to the judiciary to the press to the business communities taken in the dead of night or in the light of day and executed or imprisoned. Jomhuri had been destroyed and all hopes of democracy in Albactana seemed to have been destroyed. In 1974 the last opposition within the military managed to overthrow the Islamic Republic and for the next 6 years the nation was under a provisional military-led government. On March the 11th 1980 the constitution of the first Republic came into effect and Jomhuri was re-founded by supporters of the newly created Republic People's Party (Hisba Sheba Jumhurrita) to advocate for the secular republic and it's values. Since then Jomhuri has been the nation's largest newspaper growing to its peak of 10.2 million copies sold per day in 2002.

Today the Kolumpa Royal Palace anhnounced that King Lansakara XXVI and his wife, Queen Tharindi, would be separating after almost 16 years of marriage. The couple first married in November 1998 when the King was 16 and the Queen was only 13 in a traditional Kaumu wedding, however they divorced soon after and the King decided to continue with his studies. In 2002 when the King was 19 and the Queen was now 16 the couple remarried and within 3 years they had their first child, Crown Prince Dehideniya. The couple also have 3 other children, 11 year old Princess Dilana, 7 year old Prince Marasingha, and 3 year old Prince Chathuranga.

Some people have expressed doubt that the separation would lead to divorce as the couple separated in 2012 before reuniting and having a 4th child. Rumours about why the separation has took place have swirled around the news and internet with some people saying the King is having an affair with Anushika Jayewardene, the star of the highly successful Nuveena, and others saying the Queen is to blame due to her constant arguing with her husband and reportedly abusing her 4 children by beating them for the smallest thing.

Before the couple can divorce they will have to have a discussion with the Bhikṣuva of the Kolumpa Vīrayā Golden Kaumu Temple and if he does not believe they have a suitable reason to divorce then under law the couple may not divorce. Many Palankars expressed their upset on social media over the separation with many saying that the King and Queen are setting a bad example for the many Palankars who seem them as idols of how to lead an honourable Kaumu lifestyle.

Statistics released today by the Ministry of Finance have estimated that in 2017 the economy grew by about 5.8% to $615,451,775,192. This would place the GDP per capita at $15,833.76 when the Solonian population, estimated at 38,869,591 for the end of 2017, is taken into account. The Prime Minister's party has said in a statement that "this is strong evidence that we are creating a stronger and more prosperous Solonia through our work in government and we hope to continue this for the 2018 year."

Economists have attributed the large growth to a surge in international trade between Solonia and many other nations this year. They have also attributed it to the return of educated Solonian workers as living standards and wages grow. The Kazimierzawa Economics Institute, a policy think tank, has predicted that this growth will continue for a few years before going down to levels of about 3-4% and eventually economic growth stabilizing at about 2% per annum. The think tank also said that the current growth is being powered by the booming workforce thanks to the high birth rates the nation has. They said that as the birth rate declines to below replacement level that the growth will decline because there won't be as much cheap labour for companies to come in and take advantage of.

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Palanka Nadu, officially known as the Kingdom of Palanka Nadu, is a unitary sovereign state located off the coast of North East Albion. Palanka Nadu has a population of 26 million an an area of AMOUNT sq km. It's capital and largest city is Kolumpa. Other major cities include CITY 2, CITY 3, and CITY 4. Palanka Nadu is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King still holds vast powers and he may dismiss any Prime Minister and dissolve Parliament. Their is a history of the military getting involved in civilian governance of the nation through coups and other actions. Palanka Nadu's state religion is Kaumuism, and the official languages are Sinhala and Tamil.

Government Type:- Unitary Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Population:-:- 26,000,000
Capital City:- Kolumpa (1,800,000)
Demonym:- Palankar

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Currency:- Palankan Tankam
GDP per Capita:- $7,800
Unemployment Rate:- 13.2%
Main Industries:- What does your nation make money from.

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Ethnicity:- Sinhala, Tamil
Languages:- Sinhala, Tamil
Religions:- Kaumuism (state religion)
Average Life Expectancy:- 76 years

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Head of State:- King Lansakara XXVI
Head of Government:- State Chief Thimira Jayatilleke
Name of Legislative Body:- Visva Sabhava

In a shooting today in San Esperito City 17 people have been murdered. The murders are believed to be drug related. This is the 26th shooting in SE City this month with the police believed to be at a breaking point with around 2 shootings everyday. The murders have lead to calls for the government to declare a state of emergency to deal with the situation. This year there has already been a 58% increase in drug related violence compared to last year.

The impact is also felt on the youngest in the country with around 237,000 under 16s having lost at least one parent to the gun violence. On the scene of the shooting a young girl could be seen crying over the body of her dead father. "The impact on our young people is immense. Sometimes it can lead their family to fall even further into poverty because if they lose a parent, especially a father, a large proportion of their income is gone. So then they may be forced to leave school to help support the family meaning that facilities to help them with their mental health are lost. The government really needs to step up in this regard." said child psychologist Dr. Luisa Murillo.

The good news from this extremely sad story is that the SE City police chief, Raul Arboleda, says the police are on the trail of the person who committed this horrific crime.

PLACEHOLDER

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

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

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