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KrisNord:




SHINTY ANNIVERSARY CUP FEVER
When it was announced that there would be a Pan-Celtic tournament to celebrate what many fans consider to be the anniversary of the sport of Shinty it was clear tickets would sell out in minutes. Today as the group stages of the tournament where released tickets went on sale with those for the final selling out in under 30 minutes. The final will take place at Eilan Grove Stadium with an expected 60,000 capacity crowd in attendance. One of those with a ticket is King Finley who will present the Caman Trophy to the eventual winner. "900 years ago our ancestors swung the wooden Caman and represented their clans in competition. We are going to honour the spirit of that with our modern nations. We shall keep alive our shared identity by coming together in a spirt of Celtic brotherhood and marvel at the skill, strength and determination of those wood swinging heroes of the modern game. I'm excited and while I naturally hope the Cenneg win I'm just praying that the tournament goes well and if successeful you can guarantee I will be ensuring this becomes an annual event and hopefully by the time we're celebrating 1000 years of this sport the tournament will have gone from strength to strength." A televised draw for the tournament took place with King Finley drawing the teams in Group A while his 17 year old son Prince Keane drew Group B. The groups stand as follows.

Group A

Preoria
Theocracy of Kaitaine
Arcaibh
Ui Cennslaig
Eskdale
Eigg

Group B

Cantabria
Dal Raitha
Seaforth
Lymm
Ruasilibh
McMoreland (Team made up of Seaforthians who resettled in East Moreland after the Seaforth Eugenics War)

Games are due to begin this weekend as the round robin phase of the tournament begins with games taking place at arenas across Ui Cennesliag. Supporters from the various competing nations have begun arriving and Claith has been busy as fans prepare to enjoy several weeks of entertainment. King Finley will be at the tournaments opening game as Ui Cenneslaig take on Eigg the King had invited Queen Aoife however the ongoing conditions of the Eigg referendum mean she will be unable to attend. King Finley did say. "It is a shame that young Queen has been hamstrung in such a way. Ui Cenneslaig will not involve itself in the referendum campaign but I wish Aoife well now she is out of custody. We have restored full relations with Dal Rathia and hope we can build on these no matter what the outcome. I will welcome all Heads of State or government officials wishing to come and support their team, I shall keep the fire lit, the whiskey ready and a warm welcome ever."

KrisNord:




PRINCE LEAVES SCHOOL
Prince Keane, the soon to be 18 year old son of King Lennox, has today officially completed his final exam at Tywysog Grammar School. The Prince will have, assuming he passes the exam, completed a Cenneg Higher Diploma where he has specialised in "Human Sciences". The Cenneg secondary system sees students gain a Standard Diploma at the age of 16 after completing studies in the whole of the nations curriculum, however students achieving well will narrow their focus of study and spend a further two years studying for their Higher Diploma. During these final two years students study just four subjects which must have a "common thread". Prince Keane opted to study Biology, Psychology, Sports Science and Sociology a combination that falls under the banner of "Human Sciences". The Prince has earned a reputation as being a good sportsman and has represented his school and County at both Gaelic Football and Hurling. The Prince also topped last years Under 18 National League goalscoring chart in Gaelic Football playing for Claith Stags however has confirmed that he does not intend to follow a career in the sport.

Depending on his results, which he should receive in two weeks, the Prince has laid out two future paths for himself. Speaking just before his exams the young Prince said, "I'm hoping to get good grades, if that happens I intend to try and do a minimum of three years in the Royal Airborne Commando as an officer. My father served in that regiment and its a positive family tradition to have served in the military. Should things not go according to plan then I'll seek to spend some time working in the National Park Rangers network. I love being outside in the wilds and to try and help preserve the beauty of my homeland would be a privilege." The National Park Rangers support the use of wilderness areas for recreation and preservation of wildlife. In 2020 King Finley passed 65% of all royal estates into the care of the Rangers and have allowed them to issue permits for wild camping, fishing and hunting on those areas.

The Prince is also expected to spend some time travelling, especially to the neighbouring Kingdom of Cantabria where he will one day be King as his future wife is the heir to the Cantabria throne when she turns 18.

KrisNord:




SCORDISCI ECONOMY HITS HISTORIC HIGH
Following the referendum in Scordisci in 2017 that saw the region vote to merge with Ui Cenneslaig the economy in the region has taken a positive upturn. With various border clashes having dominated the early 2010's the situation came to a head when the Scordisci government failed to stop a series of cross border raids that saw children abducted and livestock slaughtered. The abduction of a Gaelic Football junior teams mini bus that was later set ablaze with 13 year old Kieran McClusky onboard saw the first cross border retaliation which soon spilled over into a short lived but controversial conflict which saw members of the now destroyed terrorist group the SFU link up with Scordisci government forces. In the closing days of the conflict the government of Scordisci unleashed chemical weapons on Cenneg forces before finally surrendering. Even in the aftermath the region suffered as soon after an outbreak of Jacobson Virus saw mass migrations away from Scordisci. In late 2017 the former Republic became an official part of Ui Cennesliag and todays published economic figures show that the economy there has flourished.

Normally nations can expected to see a 2-3% increase in GDP per capita per year, as has happened in the original borders of Ui Cennesliag however in Scordisci the economy prior to 2017 had been slowly shrinking, largely due to an over reliance on agriculture and poor infrastructure. Since 2017 however the economy has shown increases by as much as 8% GDP per capita and this year has broken through the $15,000 barrier. The increase has been put down by economists to two leading factors. The first is the vast improvements in transportation. Once the Scordisci territory came under the same Kingdom as Ui Cenneslaig there was investment to connect the two transport networks. This has seen Scordisci become part of various rail projects linking across the continenant of Ardia including into Lijiang and the Northern Celtic nations. Even a high speed link between Cantabria and Scordisci has become possible ensuring a better market access for businesses in Scordisci. This access to market was increased even more so as the second reason for the rapid increase can be put down to the Scordiscians being able to access Ui Cenneslaigs deals with the CNN, TUNA and various other treaties that the former Republic of Scordisci lacked. In addition the investment into modernising power system by utilising hyrdo-electricity and fraking have also helped the people enjoy lower energy bills. The Cenneg Minister for Economic Affairs is Campbell Harris who today said, "We're proud that the projects we've put in place have had a real visible outcome. The people of the Duchy of Scordisci (as the region became known in 2019) have now got access to world class transport and energy which is a back bone of creating a thriving economy. Wages and levels of employment have never been higher and as we continue to look at ways to further support the blossoming modernisation of agriculture we expect that trend to continue. While we still have a significant gap between the Duchy and the rest of Ui Cenneslaig the data is clearly showing we are closing the gap."

The "Joining Up" of Celtic nations is a key priority of King Finley who has gone on record as saying he believes that an "Economically hard working Celtic heart-land joined by a common cultural bond can be a world powerhouse in economic growth." The King will see foundations for a new generation of joining up take place around this time next year when Prince Keane will marry Princess Esmerelda of Cantabria. The Princess is due to turn 16 in the summer and an arranged marriage has been on the cards for several years. The Princess is the heir to the throne of Cantabria which is currently held in regency by Queen Cait, who is the widow of King Comegen who died after being in a vegetive state for almost a year in 2021 following a car accident. When Esmerelda becomes 18 she will inherit the throne in her own right and Prince Keane shall become King of Cantabria which will mean when King Finley passes away the two Kingdoms will share a monarchy as Prince Keane shall also inherit the Cenneg throne. Cantabria currently boasts a GDP per capita of around $11,000 and will no doubt be hopeful that a more formal joining will see their economy boost in a similar way as Scordisci's. The process of Cantabria and Ui Cenneslaig co-operating economically had been drawing close however the death of King Comegen's father and then his own accident meant that Queen Cait, King Finley's sister, has had to rely heavily on the Dáil to approve changes she wished to make and this has been ponderously slow. Prince Keane is currently taking some time away from education following completion of his Highers where he achieved Grade B in Biology, Psychology and Sports Science and a Grade C in Sociology. He is currently working as a member of the National Park Rangers caring for the forests in Calod Vale however he has stated that in January he will formally apply to attempt Royal Airborne Commando entry and do three years within the military.

KrisNord:




SAMHAIN CELEBRATIONS
The nation has today been recovering from the hangovers acquired on Samhain. Preparations for Samhain began weeks in advance, with towns and villages bustling with activity as they readied themselves for this extraordinary night. The annual festival marks the day in the year when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is at its thinnest. As a result communities across the nation prepared to welcome the spirits of their beloved ancestors while also protecting themselves against evil spirits. As a result, towns and villages took steps to protect themselves from malevolent spirits, such as wearing costumes and masks, lighting bonfires, and leaving offerings of food and drink for to welcome their dead ancestors. Earlier in the day fire places had been allowed to burn out and were swept afterward, they were thoroughly swept and cleaned in a symbolic act to rid households of any lingering negativity. As darkness fell bonfires across the nation were lit including a huge one in the grounds of the royal palace at Claith were the King welcomed hundreds of guests from the nobility to enjoy a Samhain party. The royal palace was adorned with ornate decorations, and the aroma of traditional food filled the air. Musicians played traditional Celtic tunes, and laughter and dancing could be heard echoing through the night until the early hours of the morning. King Finley also gave a short speech to the public via radio saying  "We are here today to honor those who came before us and to pay tribute to the spirits of our beloved ancestors. Samhain is a time to strengthen our connections with the past and to protect ourselves from malevolent forces. It's a night for celebration, reflection, and unity. On nights such as tonight we light the darkness to help guide us into a brighter future. In the year ahead we face a great number of oppurtunities and I am excited for each of them."

The Royals also gave thanks for the harvest which this year has been described as "ample" by experts. As a result experts believe that there will be a reduced need to import food stuffs, in particular wheat this year. As a result there has already been suggestions that certain processed foods such as dried pasta could see a fall in price.

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