In Brief Clashes between religious groups The 25th of September has, historically, held importance among various faiths within the international community with the Chrstian celebration of "Christmas"; the Odinisit celebration of "Yule"; and the Namist celebration of "Life Day", all holding the 25th in a high regard to some degree. Within the Federation there is no special recognition of 25th and while this fact has often been the subject of debate and criticism, both within the Electorate and around the country, the government has remained firm on its stance on the subject. Recent events may prove to solidify the government's stance further. Violent Clashes have erupted throughout the country following a widespread video showing a disagreement between Odinists and Christian practitioners. In the video a young couple is seen cutting off a snipping from a mistletoe plant pocketing it supposedly to take home. Moments later a group of men can be seen approaching the two demanding the couple return the snipping and leave. This leads to an argument between the two groups resulting in eventual fighting. It is suspected the cause of the fight is the mistletoe. Within the Odinist faith mistletoe has spiritual significance and is often grown for religious reasons as is customary in the Republic of Nya Aland (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=194.msg14995#msg14995). Though the Federation has no official stance on this particular practice, such plant and tree farms or "Groves" by their spiritual name, are protected under private property laws and thusly are not an uncommon sight in regions with notable Odinisit practitioners. A local legal case has found both parties guilty of breaking established laws, with the young couple found guilty of trespassing on private property, while the Odinists were found guilty of assualt. They have been sentenced to five months & 1 and 3 months in prison respectively. It is largely believed that this ruling, in addition to the video, have become the cause of an outbreak of violence by the two groups with vocal Christians voicing their anger at a government whom they see as unwilling to protect them in favor of Odinists. In contrast, vocal Odinists are voicing their own anger at the government for favoring Christians over themselves. The Government has yet to make an official statement on the subject. Firefight sees seven dead A firefight in the Region of Luchöw erupted between Local Authorities and members of the Elsheim Syndicate, an organized criminal group known for human trafficking, among other things. The incident occurred in a raid by authorities following an anonymous tip about a warehouse where the Syndicate was supposedly holding captives. According to some accounts by nearby residents the incident lasted between 25-36 minutes the resulting in the deaths of two police and four syndicate members while three others were taken into custody. Though no capitves were found, authorities have confirmed that the warehouse was being used as an isolated surgical facility, most likely to perform organ harvesting operations. The incident has become one of many in recent years with the Government having vowed to "Adress and ultimately stomp out Sudmarks rampant crime". The country has seen an alarming rise in organized crime activity throughout all regions of the federation with an estimated twelve separate Syndicate groups having been identified by the Federal Security Bureau (FSB) thus far. The Rise in crime is largely attributed to the Long Winter and its economic consequences, with many individuals taken into custody often being rather young. In recent years criminal elements in Sudmark have become infamous for establishing an elaborate and country wide network of organ harvesting and narcotic trafficking. Something that has seen the rise of many new and the thriving of old Syndicate groups | Around the Welt * Aostan Prince Dead (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1860.msg22367#msg22367) * Civil war continues in Halych (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=214.msg22360#msg22360) * DNSA makes progress (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1826.msg22273#msg22273) * EM expecting (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=150.msg22341#msg22341) * Sultan of Wadden Poisoned (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=1764.msg22344#msg22344) * Djabidjan: Kim Yoo-ri new leader of Democratic Party (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=2314.msg22340#msg22340) * Weltmeisterschaft finals (https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=2417.msg22371#msg22371) |