European Press Association

BREAKING: Brisk falls to Kadikistani forces

KRETYN - Brisk, Trivodnia's northernmost city and headquarters of the Free State Self-Defence Forces' 4th infantry division, has been captured by Kadikistan after a sustained aerial, artillery and missile bombardment.

According to estimates by the Trivodnian Ministry of National Defence and independent analysts, Trivodnian units were heavily outnumbered and outgunned by the Kadikistani invaders.

Exact casualties and loss of equipment are as of yet unknown but expected to be high.

Intermittent fighting continues between Kadikistani forces and local reservists, volunteers or FSSDF units unable to escape Brisk, a predominantly Krasnislavian city.

Brisk's surrender comes soon after it was announced Slutsk, a city in southeastern Trivodnia, was surrounded by Rurikgrad Pact forces, including Xinhese units, as the FSSDF focuses on defending Druzhnia, Proskerev and Tichin. Military experts expect Slutsk, which is mostly populated by Galicians, Ruthenes and Kadikis, to fall soon.

Kadikistani forces are now pushing on towards Izola and the capital Amstov. Fierce fighting continues around Kremenetz, Gonin and Tuchin, with the mountainous terrain hindering Kadikistan's advance.

After the Free State's quick victory over Crotobaltislavonia, FSSDF units stationed near that border region have been redeployed to closer to the fighting with Kadikistan. Trivodnia's reserves are now fully mobilised and looking to reinforce defensive positions along both the northern and southern fronts.

Burgundy has issued a 12-hour ultimatum to Crotobaltislavonia to clear its airspace and grant free passage for its forces to come to Trivodnia's aid. Eiffelland has also promised air support, while Retalian special forces are believed to be on the ground.

According to Trivodnian government sources, if Kadikistan and its allies lay siege to Amstov, the Free State may consider suing for peace to avoid the capital's destruction.

Violence erupts all over Loago

A day has passed since Masimba, the leader of the Loagan League of Communists has proclaimed the beginning of the People's War in Loago on Twatter and the country has been thrown in a deep crisis. Communist militias have mostly attacked the north-western border between Loago and the Peninsular Republic and along the main highways linking the Limestone Coast with Umtali, Chimoio, Bulawayo and Que Que.

The plans for attack have been carefully organised as the border has been attacked by militias from the Peninsular Republic, but also from already infiltrated militias. While the country is in a state of confusion in the immediate aftermath, there are reports that in certain zones, the border wall built a year ago has been breached and that militias aligned to the League of Communists are now flooding into Loago.

Immediately as reports of attacks taking place on the M1 Highway linking Umtali to Maseru and on M3 which links Maseru to Que Que have started to come over the Security Forces have been quickly deployed, first to try to pacify the border and block all breaches and then to provide security for the inland regions.

The first reports have stated the the militas were highly xenophobic, attacking especially white men, which the Loagan League of Communists have also condemned as being the main oppressor of the people of Loago. At the same time, reports of attacks on civilians of the Fante people have been reported close to Chipinge.

In this first day of fighting around 13 men of the Security Forces have been declared dead and 25 have been wounded. Preliminary reports show that around 50 rebels have either been wounded or killed, but hostilities are ongoing.

Ministry of Overseas Affairs

A Class B2 travel warning has been issued to citizens and permanents residents of New Cathy travelling to/within Loago and those who have pending travel plans are urged to reconsider and only travel to the country if entirely necessary. New Cathayan citizens and permanent residents currently within Loago are urged to download the MOA TravelStar app to maintain contact with the Ministry. Those who require emergency services are urged to contact or visit the New Cathay High Commission in Maseru. New Cathayan citizens and permanent residents are also reminded to avoid political gatherings - stay inside if your community becomes unsafe. If you find yourself in a dangerous or hostage situation, cooperate fully with adversaries and show them your New Cathayan passport - remember that due to our multi-ethnic society you will not be recognised as New Cathayan without it. Those who use and activate the TravelStar app have their GPS locations sent at all times to MOA in New Cathay via satellite. Should your mobile be confiscated it will automatically send a silent alarm to MOA if after 12 hours the TravelStar app detects abnormal phone use or failure to register user's fingerprint.

TO: Loago Foreign Ministry

We trust our Himyari friends will do all they can to protect New Cathayan citizens and permanent residents during this most unfortunate situation. We request that NC citizens and permanent residents who approach government officials/police with a request for safe passage to our High Commission in Maseru be afforded all possible assistance. Based on our passport data system there are currently 33,829 NC citizens and permanent residents in Loago: 4/5ths of them are expatriated and business persons who are semi permanently residents of Loago.

NAVY AND MARINE RE-DEPLOYMENTS

DULWICH, a statement from the Republic Naval Council of the Engellexian Republic Navy has confirmed that all naval and marine forces engaged in deployments for planned operations will be re-deployed to return to home ports and bases in NoCRER and SoCRER following devastating anti-satellite moves by the Rurikgrad Pact against the Trier Concord.

It is understood that the Rurikgrad Pact had launched a massive assault on military and other satellites belonging to the Trier Concord nations to downgrade the capability of their military forces presently engaged in a defensive war in Gallia-Germania. This marks the greatest escalation in Gallia-Germania since the invasion of Trivodnia and Occitania.

After the Engellexic Thaumantic Company and the Engell-Himyar Trading Company activated constitutionally preserved rights to sovereignty over the Elephant and Henrietta Admiralties to mount offensive assaults on contested territories of the North Thaumantic Ocean Area, it is believed the two Companies relinquished control on advice following the anti-satellite assault. The ETC and the EHTC did not initiate any operations in the North Thaumantic Ocean Area.

The Engellexic Thaumantic Company and the Engell-Himyar Trading Company released a joint statement a little over an hour ago, confirming that the naval and marine forces belonging to the Elephant and Henrietta Admiralties have been re-deployed for domestic security standing and operations.

Reports: Trivodnian communist leaders 'murdered'

AMSTOV - According to European Press Association sources, the heads of the Jewish and Krasnislavian Democratic Workers Parties have been killed in prison, where they were placed in preventive detention when war with Kadikistan broke out.

Officials within the Ministry of the Interior, which runs Trivodnia's prison system, told EPA off the record that David Abramowitz, chair of the JDWP, and Vilgelm Gey, leader of the KDWP, were found dead in their cells, having been stabbed to death.

News has reached the wider communist movement, with left-leaning forums and Twatter users accusing the Trivodnian government of orchestrating or allowing the killings.

When approached for a public statement, the Ministry of the Interior refused to comment.

'Child slaves' rescued from Implarian drug smugglers

JUGOL - An unspecified number of children have been saved by the Azraqi Imperial Navy after Azraqi warships intercepted several "suspicious looking vessels" close to the Pillars of Nearchus.

According to the Azraqi Imperial Navy, the children were discovered alongside large quantities of opiates and a stash of military-grade weaponry. In a later statement, the Azraq Imperial Navy said the traffickers were linked to secessionist rebels active in the Eastern Islands, Azraq's colonial holdings in southern Toyou.

Slavery has been banned in Azraq since the Islamo-futurist dictatorship came to power in the 1950s. However young men and women continued to be trafficked into the country from warzones such as the Badlands near New Cathay or the Eastern Islands, often to serve as household servants for wealthy noble families.

Human rights organisations have also accused the Azraqi Imperial Guard of forcibly conscripting Eastern Islanders and others, which has been denied by the Azraqi Ministry of War, which insists all Guardsmen are volunteers.

The smugglers have all been executed, the Azraqi government confirmed after the EPA approached for comment.

Pope calls for Faithful to pray for CBS conference in Bergenheim
EPA Trier

The Supreme Pontiff today at Herzogenrode Abbey called upon the Faithful to pray for Archchancellor Vogt of Bergenheim as she attempts to organize a conference to address the growing humanitarian catastrophe as Crotobaltislavonia faces invasion from both west and east along with a intervention from the north by Gunnland. Pope Ioannes asked Catholics to offer up their usual abstinence and fasting for the people of Crotobaltislavonia and the conference, that a settlement may be reached that will allow refugees fleeing the fighting to return home.

A spokesman for the Holy See told reporters that Pope Ioannes had not been invited to the conference, but if participants would welcome it, he would dispatch a legate to assist the peace process.

Occitania using child soldiers in war against Serenierre, claims Villesen
EPA Saulot

The Serenien foreign minister has announced that there is undeniable evidence that the Kingdom of Occitania has used children as fodder and as foot soldiers in active military campaigns against the invading forces of the Gallian nation. In a statement issued by Lt. General de Croix, commander of the First Corps of the Serenien Army, currently actively engaged with Occitanian forces, he has issued a statement in which he announced that Occitania was committing war crimes against its own populace by exposing them to frontline battle and that the Military of Serenierre remained committed to fighting only against military targets and would respect the sanctity of the civilian populace.

At present, the Serenien forces have engaged the Occitanian military in a number of areas in the northern duchies of the kingdom. Premier Martinique has reiterated that the inclusion of Occitania in the Trier Concordat is an unacceptable situation and that Villesen would not cease military operations in Occitania until Gallia's security was restored.

When asked about reports of napalming of citizens in Viasinde and the alleged use of chemical weaponry in Occitania by the Military of Serenierre, the Premier's Office declined to comment.

Accusations of Child Conscription Received by Occitania

Occitan Ministre d'Afairs Estrangers, Alexandre Alabern maintains there is no proof that the Occitan Armed Forces have used children as soldiers.

"During the last few days the invading military forces of Serenierre engaged in an urban battle in multiple cities in Occitania, including the ducal capital of Viasinde. Throughout the battle Serenien forces killed Occitan civilians and engaged in war crimes against the people of the city. It is my regret and the regret of the mayor of the city that some teenagers and women became involved in the defense of the city. However I have yet to see the supposed undeniable evidence that there was conscription involved."

Koit Sisask presents documents showing abuses and crimes of the Kuressaare regime
EPA Maseru

Koit Sisask, the ex-State Elder of Virumaa, whom has been described as the most powerful man in the country before the Marxist-Leninovist takeover has managed to escape the country and has formed a government in exile in Maseru. He is now presenting the world what he calls "the harsh realities of the life behind the red barrier". While he too has been criticised by many since he became the State Elder in 2007, accusing him of abuses in power and nepotism and corruption, the recent radicalisation of both the east and the west have made him a credible voice for the western audiences and a provocateur for the eastern ones.

In a video that was shared by the Voice of the North, the news organ of the Government in Exile, Koit Sisask tells how he was quickly arrested by the military wing of the Party of the Left and "disappeared" during the referendum campaign. He was formally declared "insane" and sent to a hospice in Loksa, but he managed to escape and made his way up to Maseru, in Loago.

Koit Sisask has claimed that the current regime in Kuressaare, led by Viktoria Sokk and Jaak Raud is waging a war against the people of Virumaa, with Catholic Christians being their main targets. Koit Sisask has produced papers that show that around 3000 people have already been arrested by the regime and have been condemned to prison labour in the White Islands for being"capitalists, exploiters and fascists". He also claimed that five monasteries have already been closed down, with the monks and nuns living and worshipping there being arrested.

"We have been divided by the gilded dreams of equity and prosperity that communism espouses, but we have been betrayed by the ruthlessness of Marxist-Leninovists, which are as brutal and barbaric as ever. We must now fight to return Virumaa to its rightful owners, its virtuous and god fearing people," Koit Sisask finished his speech at the Voice of the North.

BREAKING: Trivodnian government-in-exile announced in Bergenheim

MIDWEIS - A rival Trivodnian government led by Chancellor Alexander Kahnemann and his allies has been declared in the Bergenheimer capital of Midweis, as regional powers gather to discuss Crotobaltislavonia's future.

Denouncing Trivodnian President Meier Lauterpacht, who is currently negotiating the small Slavo-Germanian country's future after surrendering unconditionally to the Rurikgrad Pact, as a "traitor", Kahnemann urged all "patriotic Trivodnians" to resist Kadikistani and Xinhese occupation. "The war against Communism for our freedom isn't over," the Chancellor continued in a public statement, claiming "thousands" of Trivodnian military personnel had also joined him.

It is unknown whether Kahnemann and his alternative administration will stay in Bergenheim, a constitutionally neutral nation, for the long-term. The mountainous republic is currently hosting a regional summit to decide Crotobaltislavonia's fate, with several Crotobaltislavonian factions attending along with the kingdoms of Elben, Eiffelland, Geotri and Gunnland.

Pope calls for prayer in response to reports of persecution in Virumaa
EPA Trier

During his Wednesday public audience at Herzogenrode Abbey, Pope Ioannes XXIII called for prayers for the faithful of Virumaa suffering persecution under the present regime. "Those who have been detained, those who have been arrested, those who have been disappeared, we hold them in our hearts as we lift up our prayers." He urged Catholic states to work together to support resistance.

Pope addresses situation in Virumaa, @Justosia
EPA Trier

During his Wednesday public audience at Herzogenrode Abbey, Pope Ioannes XXIII called upon all Faithful Catholics to pray for the White Army. "The Church Militant must at times fight to throw off the shackles of ideologies that would destroy the Faith and eliminate the Faithful. It is right and just to use violence: God wills it."

The pontiff urged non-Catholic states to turn back to the Faith and end heresy and schism, mentioning specifically Justosia. "We call upon Carlos Francisco to return to the Catholic Faith and communion with Tibur. Sovereigns must do what is right for the well being of their peoples not only in the temporal realm, but for their salvation for all eternity."

OFFICIAL DISPATCH. Royal Palace Foreign Ministry Liaison Department:

In keeping with the forgiving spirit of Yahweh, we forgive the preceding offender of his trespasses. For never has Justosia been Catholic. Never will it be. We are one with our National Justos Episcop Church. The true path lit with Yahweh's love.

Our Holy Kingdom has only recently ended its period of isolation. As such we forgive His Excellency for any misinformation he's been fed. Nor do we know what Tibur is. Nor have we ever had Communion with it.

HRM King Carlos Francisco II is sovereign by Divine Right. To further national unity & to end rumors, actual schisms, Marseilles Alessandro resigned his holy post. Both have done what is good, righteous. For all realms. Justosia & Heaven. May Yahweh bless you.

Phillipe Alejandro
Royal Palace Foreign Ministry Liaison Department Spokesman

Azraqi upper house to block decolonisation

JUGOL - In a rare show of near-unanimity, an overwhelming majority in the Council of Elders, the 200-strong upper chamber of the Azraqi Imperial Parliament, has vowed to block any legislation by the incoming government that would lead to independence for the Spice Islands, Azraq's colonial holdings in the Implarian Ocean.

A total of 183 Elders signed an open letter declaring the Azraqi Empire to be "indissoluble, indivisible and eternal". Published in major newspapers across the country, the declaration comes just the day before the new administration, a coalition led by the left-wing Justice Party, is formally sworn in.

Local commentators say the move demonstrates the considerable obstacles the Justice Party and its allies, the Shamo People's Liberation Front and the Movement for the Poor and Dispossessed, face in governing. "There is a deep hostility to their agenda," Tadesse Dibaba, an Azraqi news columnist, says.

The coalition, which won a shock election victory earlier this month, still has yet to name an Imperial Cabinet as internal negotiations continue over who gets what roles.

Decolonisation was a key pledge during their joint campaign, with the three parties accusing the then ruling Party of Principles of wasting money on counter-insurgency operations in the Spice Islands instead of health and welfare projects at home.

However, with the coalition short of the two-thirds majority needed to ram laws through the upper chamber, any attempt to end Azraqi dominion over the islands would be defeated in the Imperial Parliament. "The Azraqi elite, especially the Dawamalians, see the country as an Implarian, even Toyouan power and the Spice Islands are central to that," Dibaba continues.

The Forgotten Land
EPA Hartem



The war in the east is over. But peace continues to elude Crotobaltislavonia's as yet unnamed "new east". Native moms and dads, too old to flee, have been left to their fates. Nekmet gangs stalk the land, stealing anything they can take away: property, vehicles, people. Yiddish militias, their ranks swollen with Trivodnian veterans, engage in regular firefights with Crotobaltislavonian security forces and foreign troops. And camps house thousands of Crotobaltislavonian refugees in lawless squalor as they wait for housing and work assignments from faraway Banja Luka.

My first day in the "new east", I was introduced by aide workers to a Yiddish grandma named Katya. Interviewing her, I learned the sad story of how Katya had been abandoned by her granddaughters. "They are sweet, beautiful girls," she said. "They have always dreamed of the city. And I wasn't in their dreams." Katya went on, telling of the first time Nekmet thugs burst in at night and took everything of value, including her meager cache of food. "There are no locks on the doors here. I woke up when the big one put his hand over my mouth. I thought he would rape me while his friend stole my things. But the brute only laughed and said something in Slavonese I couldn't understand." When Katya told me what she had heard, I told her he'd called her big nose. Katya laughed and said, "that's about it, an ugly old woman, waiting to die."

On day two, my guide and I crossed the frontlines and visited a Yiddish field hospital. The hospital was surprisingly empty considering how high-intensity I had been told the fighting can be. When I asked a doctor about this, he looked down in sadness. "We have no medicine to work with here. No modern medical supplies. All we can do is clean and bandage wounds, and hope for the best. Many of our soldiers die. From their wounds. From infection. From despair. It's a hopeless war. But the Crot 'fugees and those Nekmet savages will die here with us." After speaking with the doctor, I met a Yiddish girl, barely into her teens, named Rebekka. She had been on patrol and had stepped on a landmine, losing both her legs. "The doctor says I will be okay and that I will walk again with prosthetics someday. I know I am dying. So I spend my last days praying to God that he grant our people revenge."

My last day was spent back in Crotobaltislavonian controlled territory, visiting one of numerous refugee camps. Calling it a camp is generous. It's more like a shanty town surrounding the place along the road where an aide agency dumps a load of tasteless nutritional paste. Toughs immediately steal every new load and then sell it to their fellow refugees, forcing the poor souls to do the most terrible things. Cagefighting is a common way for the men to make money. Prostitution is usually the only way the women can earn enough to survive. A refugee named Slobodan explained his routine in the camp. "You have to have a buddy and something sharp if you want to sleep at night. In the morning, I wait in line for hours for work at an ex-Yid mine or factory. If I'm not chosen, I go see a guy about the night's action. I was in the service and I can take care of myself pretty good. A lot of guys aren't so lucky. Can you imagine, Nekmet, SPA goons, even Yids with guns, all sitting alongside each other like nothing, watching me beat some guy's head in." I ask Slobodan if he makes enough to eat. "Hell no. I don't get much and they skim. After my fights, I go across the camp and work for the girls. They always need protection, doing what they do. And anyone can come right in and take a girl away like nothing. I could charge the girls a lot. But I don't. I'm not a savage, you know. I have my dignity."

Forgotten. Without hope. Maybe without a future. Will the "new east" ever taste the peace and prosperity the politicians in Midweis and Ivar and Banja Luka have promised. Until that happens, every day is a struggle to survive. And most here would say they are only surviving long enough to die.

(Written by freelance reporter Malina Nikolić for the European Press Association.)

Crotobaltislavonian National Assembly Opens Tomorrow

EPA Banja Luka

The Office of Crotobaltislavonia's Prime Minister announced this morning that final preparations are completed and the restored National Assembly will meet for the first time tomorrow morning. The PM's Office said that the first order of business would be to address the status of non-citizen Jews and Gentiles currently present in Orlitz-Slavonia District. It should be noted that this area has not yet been legally annexed by the Free Canton and citizenship has not been conferred on its native inhabitants.

Tomorrow's session promises to be lively. The ruling Otpor League holds a slim majority of seats. The League of Farragoists and the Association of Pochenkoists, considered to be "loyal opposition" parties, each control sixteen seats. But the last sixteen seats belong to the Free Jewish Coalition of Crotobaltislavonia, which observers expect to be a fiercely indepentent advocate for Jews and Jewish affairs. It is unknown if the Jewish party will take up the cause of the Committee for a Free

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, which was decimated in the post-war purge.

The National Assembly is also expected to rubber-stamp Prime Minister Yevheniy Musayev's New Economic Program, a raft of reform measures that, despite strident government denials, inches Crotobaltislavonia back towards a capitalist economy.

(Filed with the European Press Association by freelance journalist Malina Nikolić.)

Partial text of Secret Directive by Serenien Premier leaked as Serenierre goes dark from the internet

DIRECTIVE 11091/2018
1. Effective immediately, all connections via the internet or other digital service are blocked and severed and only military shall have access to foreign networks.
2. The Government of Serenierre shall not sponsor or support actions by third parties against any nation-state. Any hostile action by such force is not under authorisation or consent of the Villesen Government and as such, Villesen is not liable for any such measure or operation.

News Blackout In Crotobaltislavonia Continues

EPA Eschenbach

Yesterday evening, right around the time a Free Jewish Coalition-sponsored march was set to begin, authorities instituted a news blackout. There are now unconfirmed reports of a major clash between Jewish party marchers and state-sponsored Farragoist counter-protestors. Police are said to have stood by during the violence. Casualties are estimated to be in the dozens, mostly Jewish partisans, who were unarmed. Outside observers are not surprised. Dr. Elizar Montepelier of the European International School of Thought, a noted expert on Crotobaltislavonian affairs, had this to say via telephone:

"It was only days ago that Farragoist leader Lončar promised that the Yiddish population would not be allowed to dictate policy in Banja Luka. And that's exactly what this march was attempting to do. But we all know who is calling the shots in the Free Canton now. Someone in Kadikistan said to crackdown, so there is a crackdown."

(Filed with the European Press Association by freelance journalist Malina Nikolić.)

Conservationists hail tighter Azraqi hunting laws

JUGOL - Wildlife conservation groups have welcomed plans from the new Azraqi government to impose new anti-hunting legislation in a bid to save some of the Himyar country's most famous animals, although others warn the measures will only increase illegal poaching.

Under plans being actively considered by the Azraqi Ministry of the Environment, killing popular game such as elephants, cheetahs and lions will be completely prohibited, and strict hunting quotas introduced for other species such as the dik-dik, kudu and oribi antelopes. Game farms and commercial hunting ranges will be closed down, and national parks and nature reserves hugely expanded.

Charity Save The Animals said if carried out, the Azraqi government's plans would be "setting a gold standard" for wildlife protection. "This represents real leadership by Azraq," continued the Save The Animals chair Jürgen Klopper.

Others say the new laws would see regulated hunting replaced by illegal poaching. "Pushing an otherwise traditional pastime underground will only benefit criminals," warned the Himyar Hunting Parks Association in a press statement.

Until reforms in the early 2000s by the previous Azraqi government, only Azraqi nobles could legally hunt wild animals. However a thriving global black market in skins, fur, ivory and other animal products saw many poor Azraqis hunt anyway. Lax enforcement of these laws had seen wildlife populations plummet, especially near expanding urban areas.

Then in 2001 the Azraqi government of the time, led by the Party of Principles, relaxed hunting restrictions to attract wealthy tourists and also open up the activity to Azraq's growing middle class.

Despite the Principlists promising to introduce a mass breeding programme to protect hunted species, iconic Azraqi fauna now face extinction, prompting the new Azraqi coalition government to act. "Azraq would not be the same without its lions," declared Prime Minister Hika Qiltu when questioned on the plans.