INTERVIEW WITH VICEREGENT
By Roisin Shaughnessy: Chief Correspondent
Emerson Ravenswood, Count of Saika and Viceregent of Rokkenjima has given an interview on Achkaerinese television speaking about current and future events with a few personal questions thrown in. The Viceregent is visiting Achkaerin to address the Achkaerin Youth Assembly's annual 'Senate takeover' session - this being a gathering of the Assembly in the Achkaerin Senate's chamber, every year the Youth Assembly carries out its business in accordance with simulating Senate procedures and every yer the substantive motion of debate is moved by a guest speaker, this year the Viceregent. During his interview the Viceregent answered the following questions:
What will be different in Rokkenjima on September 12th?
"Nothing whatsoever will change because there's nothing to change. We're seeing a lot of misconceptions over what this whole idea of crowning Adriana as Empress. Evanthe Rhodes from day one has been acting as a regent, after all there has never once been any suggestion that the crown would pass down her line as opposed to her being a caretaker Evanthe has been clear all along that she only holds the power until the Crown Princess is ready and let's be clear Crown Princess Adriana knows this, the Imperial Council knows this, the Diet knows this, the people of Rokkenjima know this and Grand Maester Yuna knows this, the regency that people have been talking about already exists and has existed for a couple of years now and has worked very well there is no need to cause all manner of issues by crowning the Crown Princess as Empress at this point. You crown her as Empress when she ascends the throne, when she's at the age of majority and not before - we are as everyone knows years away from that being the case, why would we saddle the Crown Princess with the baggage of being Empress in name only, she won't have any authority, power or privilege any greater than she currently has, she won't have a seat on the Imperial Council, she won't be making policy decisions and she won't be head of state. Do the people of Rokkenjima really wish to make their Crown Princess into a joke? Do we really want to see nations refuse to recognize her as anything other than Crown Princess and treat her as if she's a child who needs to sent out of the room while the adults talk? The Imperial Council certainly doesn't which is why we're strongly advising all parties involved that this planned coronation not go ahead, the regency exists, let it exist and lets look forward over the coming years to the moment when Adriana is of age can be crowned with all the authority, power and privileges of the Empress of Rokkenjima rather than just in name only."
If Grand Maester Yuna knows this why press the issue?
"The Grand Maester is seeking to ensure that the core belief of Rokkenjima's Empress's being descended from the Goddess Islyna is preserved, relatively speaking this doesn't work with Beatrice Anselmo and Evanthe Rhodes because they're cousins as opposed to sisters. The Grand Maester has the right to declare that in terms of era that 'the Saisei Era is to be followed by the Sutāraito Era' no one would challenge this but she does not have the right to demand that such an era change requires a coronation as I've said before that which she is demanding in terms of status already exists, to demand a coronation is a recipe for disaster it undermines both the presumptive Regent and the Crown Princess, this can still be declared as the Sutāraito Era by virtue of Beatrice Anselmo not being on the throne, that does not require a coronation. Surely a ceremony anointing the Crown Princess formally as a descendant of Islyna is a better way to proceed, I would suggest that the Grand Maester reflects on what she has suggested and I hope sees where the flaw lies, we in Pyrena aren't treading on her ground I would ask she refrain from treading on ours, we know what we're doing we've been tasked from day one to build the foundation for Adriana Anselmo's reign as Empress, don't force us to hurry the process."
What will a coronation of the Crown Princess mean, whether now or in the future?
"Inevitably when regimes change, whether it be a change of government in a nation such as Tytor or when a crown is passed down as we've seen recently in Altona with the coronation of King Rutger, there is a reset moment though not an actual reset of relations necessarily there is a moment where the relations are put on hold while people wait and see what the new regime is like, this is what will happen when Adriana is crowned nations will pause and look at things before establishing what the nature of the relationship is to be. Sometimes things don't change, sometimes they do that's the nature of things. The advantage that monarchies in particular have is that the heir to the throne can be prepared for the crown, that's what is going in Rokkenjima right now, that's what's going in Achkaerin, it'll happen in East Moreland in Ui Cenneslaig and so on."
And what of your relationship with Evanthe Rhodes? Rumors have often linked the two of you romantically
"I think everyone knows we're involved with each other and have been for a while, we've been a team for a while and somehow managed to negotiate the daily responsibilities and happenings of state on top of preparing Rokkenjima for Adriana's reign and also making sure Adriana is ready herself, the latter has been largely helped by working with our friends internationally. Maybe one day we'll get married and we can live in Saika, maybe we won't but yes this is a serious loving relationship we're in."BEATRICE ANSELMO SENTENCED ON APPEAL
By James Robson: Home Affairs Correspondent
The former Empress of Rokkenjima, Beatrice Anselmo, has been sentenced for her role in the Andean Genocide, the appeal prompted by a successful finding perjury against the former Empress several months ago saw a very short hearing in which a guilty plea on the grounds of diminished responsibility was entered and resulted in the former Empress being sentenced to life imprisonment in an appropriate medical facility it is understood this sentence will be staggered into two parts. The sentence means that all nine of the defendants in the case have now been convicted and sentenced for their part in the affair.[1]EMPEROR IN CLYSPERIS FOR STATE VISIT
By Olivia Moore: International News Correspondent
Emperor Peter, his wife Duchess Renee (both pictured above in Clysperis), members of the Royal Family as well as an assortment of Ministers, Advisors and business leaders are visiting Clysperis on an official state visit, the first time an Achkaerinese monarch has visited the Kingdom, it is of course not the first time the Achkaerinese monarch and Clysperi Pharaoh have met however for this to happen on Clysperi soil shows how much things have changed in recent times, such a visit would have been unthinkable. Speaking to the press the Emperor said "Several years ago I had the privilege and the honour of hosting the then Pharaoh Rameses V, we talked of many things during that visit and he even introduced myself, my late wife and my daughter to a few Clysperi delicacies at dinner. However the overall theme to our talks was as the then Pharaoh said "Let the old world meet the new" many times since then I've thought about that meeting and it had looked the loss of Rameses V had robbed our nations of this chance to build something together but here we are brought together by that vision forged years ago and presented with the chance to build that future. Over the next few days we'll do everything we can to build the future that Rameses V never gave up on."ACHKAERIN GO TOP OF THE TABLE AT GAMES
By Nick Watson: Sports Correspondent
Team Achkaerin have finished day thirteen at the top of the medal table, courtesy of medals in cycling, gymnastics and archery, the start of the velodrome program Achkaerin's men won the team pursuit gold and bronze in the team sprint, in the womens team pursuit the 'Fernley Quartet' of sisters Ruth, Kaitlin, Lucy and Niamh Fernley took the gold and then as Kaitlin watched from the sidelines her sisters prevailed in a close run race with Jugland to take gold in the team sprint, a result made possible by a flying last lap by Niamh Fernley to claw back the gap and overhaul the opposition. On the gymnastics floor Erin Brooks took gold in the womens floor with her usual dynamic and musical style, she also took silver in the uneven bars. However the medal attracting a lot of attention was Achkaerin's gold in the horseback archery cross country event won by Thea Fletcher. Horseback archery is a new event to this years games and is highly popular in Daito where the games are being held, to the point where the Emperor of Daito won several medals in the event including silver behind Thea in the cross country, a result which saw the Emperor pay tribute to the Achkaerinese victor, speaking after the event Thea said "I'm a little bit in shock here, I mean I knew I was doing ok in practice coming in and I knew Stardust (her horse) was in good shape so I thought a medal was possible but to come here to where the sport is arguably from and to win gold is something I couldn't have dreamed of. Hopefully we can do it all again next year."