Die Nordzeit: News from Varinia

Natal · Jun 24, 2020

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The Northern Times is the most popular newspaper in the Duchy of Warnen - Since 1880 - 2 Krone - Anglisc version

Royal Midsummer Ball begins the ball season in Arensburg

The traditional Midsummer Ball, celebrating the summer solstice and the peak of the midnight sun in Varinia has taken place yesterday at Schloss Katherine in the centre of Arensburg, along the banks of the Gothic Sea. The Royal Ball is traditionally seen as the one opening the ball season in the city and the country itself, lasting up until mid September. While originally the balls which created the typical atmosphere of the Varinian Waltzes were mostly open to noble families in the 19th century and were popularised as the epitome of high living in the Kingdom of Varinia, but today, especially during the season, balls are open and affordable to everyone, from being organised during corporate events, to ending graduation ceremonies or even just party-like events organised by all sorts of establishments like clubs or restaurants, with accessible entry fees.

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The Midsummer Ball originally has its origin in a yearly ceremony in which during the Midnight Sun period of the year, the local counts, dukes and chiefs would be travelling to Arensburg and reassert their oaths of fealty to the King of Varinia, with the period of the Ball Season being pushed by the Kings in Arensburg as a period of social concord between the rival usually warring dukes and counts. While the original ceremony was much more complex, and the ball took place at the end to celebrate another year of righteous rule, today, as Varinia modernised and feudalism became obsolete and the old subjects became citizens, much of it has been abandoned, with the Royal Ball being the only surviving element of it.

The Royal Midsummer Ball is an event that was used for quite some time by the Varinian government and monarchy to attract all sorts of diplomats and build friendships in a different environment than the typical diplomatic summit. It has become a tradition for the monarch of Tyskonia to participate too in it, and this year, Arensburg has hosted her royal highness, Queen Marie-Charlotte, but also the representatives from the Northern Tiburan Empire, the United Salian States, allies of Varinia through the council of the North, but also the Kingdom of Eiffelland, the Federal Kingdom of Etruria, the Grand Duchy of Furlanie, the Grand Duchy of Bourgogne, the Empire of Pelasgia and the Empire of Azraq but also from republican nations such as the Westernesse States of Ambrosia, the Continental Repubic of Sylvania, the Aurarine Republic and Remuria.

The ball was presided over by his Royal Majesty, King Manfred III, as with this ball he celebrated his third year since his investiture as King of Varinia and the North. Traditionally, an Elbener prince would have participated too, showing the closeness of the nation in the same way as with the Tyskonian monarchy, but since a member of the von Eschenbach dynasty has been invested King in Varinia, the tradition has been discontinued. The Ball has managed to attract 6,000 people in attendance and the money money coming from the tickets to it have been donated to a series of charities aiding ailing communities in the far north of the country, with an approximate 50 million Krone being donated.

OTHER NEWS

Extreme temperatures in the whole country: A heatwave is creating concern between meteorologists as temperatures such as 30 degrees are to be expected in Arensburg and Reps and up to even 24 in Eishaven, a region where the melting of the permafrost could pose serious problems. In the Yugran region of the Saaremaa archipelago, even 15 degrees are to be expected in the following days.

A Cheese War: Pelasgians want to sue a Varinian dairy producer for flooding the market with that they describe as a "fake feta". The issue brings again into attention the importance of trademarking food products from certain specific areas.

Agrarianism on the rise?: As the Varinian Dream seems to transform from the modern city live to a chilled out life in rural areas, paining an idyllic image of farm life, our analysts wonder if this could transfer in politics as a rise in support for the Landespartei's agrarian sister party, Rübenliga, the Turnip League.

Pelasgia · Jun 24, 2020

Pelasgian Cheesmakers' Association
Public Statement to the Pelasgian Press

The production of fake feta cheese by the Varinian company [...] is in direct violation of Imperial copyright law and regional product protection regulations. We reserve the right to legal action to defend the goodwill and trademark of our product, unless the Varinian government takes concrete steps to protect feta from foreign imitations. We urge the Pelasgian government to heed our calls and support us by pressuring the government of Varinia.

Thaumantica · Jun 24, 2020

Ambrosian State Department
Press Release

Ambassador Bower, representative to Varinia, was delighted to have attended the Royal Midsummer Ball in Arensburg and has recommended that the next President of Ambrosia continue to nurture a blossoming relationship.

The Federation · Jun 24, 2020

DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS - STATEMENT

Ambassador Rotsten to Varinia wishes to once again thank his Royal Majesty, King Manfred III for his gracious invitation to the Ambassador to the Royal Midsummer Ball. The Ambassador and his wife were pleased to have attended and participated in Varinian tradition.

Remuria · Jun 24, 2020

EMBASSY TO THE COURT OF THE KINGDOM OF VARINIA
FOREIGN AFFAIRS DIRECTORATE
REMURIAN COMMONWEALTH

His Excellency the Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary to the Kingdom of Varinia, Joseph-Francois du Mont-d'Autrui and his wife, were most honoured to attend the Midsummer Ball, signalling a growing partnership between the Commonwealth of Remurian Nations and the Kingdom of Varinia.

Natal · Jun 24, 2020

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Chancellor Roth visits fortified Church in Krebsbach

In his quest to preserve and further the keeping of the patrimony of Varinia for the future generations, Chancellor Michael Roth has begun a tour of the nation to observe the state of the historical fortified churches in Warnen, Dierland and Katten. The very rural and decentralised nature of the medieval Varinia has made this era known in the nation not as a period of knights, castles, tourneys and court intrigues, but rather the importance of fortifying the centre of any locality to protect against raids, banditry, warring petty lords and highwaymen, which always meant the local church. This in time has led to the development of the fortified church as a peculiarity of the Varinian middle ages, where they replaced the mighty and shiny castles of the continent and have become an institution in itself, and one of the main tenets of the Varinian patrimony.

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Some of the most important fortified Churches can be found in southern Varinia in the region of Warnen along the coast, but in Dierland and Katten too with only a few in the far north, which was always poorly populated. The Krebsbach Fortified Church, found in the hilly region of Dierland has always been an important location during the middle ages and the early modern era, being the centre in which the archaic kings of Dierland were crowned and later, after Dierland became part of Varinia, the investiture ceremony as the King of the North took place in here, before the Saint Wolkmar Cathedral was built in Arensburg, representing the moment of transition from the old feudal monarchy to the modern Kingdom of Varinia.

While the National-Syndicalist Regime pushed the narrative of the Fortified Churches at the basis of Varinian culture, be it political, religious or even military through the Holy Order of the Sword Brethren, in the eyes of the government, their importance has been reduced to touristy attractions in coastal and central inland Varinia, and with that, in the era post 1985, funding for them has been reduced, many becoming dilapidated in the 35 years that have passed ever since.

While the Church in Krebsbach, dedicated to the Holy Trinity is still very important as it is a centre of pilgrimage on the 15th of August after the reports of Marian apparitions in 1950 on its defensive walls have been recognised and accepted by the Tiburan Church, and is still flourishing as a very important religious and political centre, besides a touristic one, the others aren't sharing its fate, many of them, such as the ones in Rotbach, Benzenz and Hermannstadt are in a dilapidated state or even abandoned, with the one in Mühlbach becoming a ruin as years of abandonment have brought on the destruction of its central tower during a storm.

The Chancellor's visit to Krebsbach is part of a tour of the whole Kingdom which he has started to see the state of them with his own eyes, especially now during a scandal in which it seemed that the Ministry of Culture has under-reported the advanced status of decay of the Fortified Churches, and with reduced funding or open corruption that has moved the necessary funds from the repair and maintenance budgets, many have lapsed into a state of decay.

"It is important that we respect our traditions and our patrimony. Those churches are part of our national and cultural fabric, being a part of our society for more than a millennia. If so many generations took care of them so that they survived to the present day, it is our duty now to keep them for the posterity as a way to keep our patrimony alive, as they are one of the element which characterises the Varinian culture, history and religion. Nobody pushes anyone to go to church, as attendance to the Sunday Mass isn't compulsory anymore since 1985, but to see the way those institutions have decayed it is tragic, not only from the point of view of a Tiburan Catholic, but from the eyes of any real Varinian who respects his land, his language and his culture and understand the importance those churches played in building up our society and our kingdom. I will visit not only Krebsbach but if possible all of them, and if I will be disappointed by what I see, not only will I send funds to repair and renovate them, but rather start a whole nation-wide investigation into the status of all our patrimony, for it is shameful to see how much they went down," stated Chancellor Roth.

OTHER NEWS

Erste Liga: The last match of the Varinian Erste Liga has been played today by Nord Arensburg and Rapid Draas, with the former winning the championship with a score of 3-2, after Germund Küttner managed to score the winning goal in the 83rd minute.

Increased number of seasonal services: WKB, the Varinian Royal Railways has announced that with the summer in full swing and with the very good weather this summer, they have increased the number of seasonal services connecting the resorts on the coast of the Gothic Sea from Arensburg to Kerz, but also from Arensburg to the main inland lakes, to Reps and Broos. The Polar Express, making the 1,811 kilometre trip from Arensburg to Eishaven in 27 hours, leaves every day both from Arensburg and Eishaven at 19:00 and now the WKB has announced that they will double the service with a morning train that would leave at 09:00 from both terminus stations.

Natal · Jul 1, 2020

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The Northern Times is the most popular newspaper in the Duchy of Warnen - Since 1880 - 2 Krone - Anglisc version

National-Syndicalist nostalgia in the armed forces sparks concern

After five soldiers from the Green Army have joined a demonstration of the National-Corporatist Union a few months ago, sparking a scandal as they marched in their parade uniforms, now a new scandal rocks the Catholic and Royal Army, as in a training shooting session at a unit near Arensburg, the soldiers have used pictures of the centre-left and social democratic politicians as their targets.

While it was always presented in its history as one of the last real Royal Armies, which was loyal first and foremost to the institution of the monarchy, even during the National-Syndicalist Regime and the royal vacancy that existed at that time, the Catholic and Royal Army, nicknamed the Green Army was very close to the far right regime that led Varinia from 1958 to 1985, and has been an instrument in the regime's foreign policy which tried to stem the rise of Post-Delegationism in Pohjanmaa and of socialism in Dalriada, even if it failed in both expeditions. This has led to the creation of a myth that even today is extremely alive and still very divisive in Varinian political circles, which states that the Green Army, probably the most potent fighting force in Vaalbara and Scania was not defeated in battle, but rather was forced into retreating by internal pressure that came from pacifist, democratic, liberal and socialist politicians opposed mostly to the Corporatist regime of Albrecht Haring.

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True or not, many of the conservative circles in the nation do wish to see the Green Army return to its primate position and for some, the less-militarised and more democratic and liberal society that has followed after 1985 has done more problems to Varinian culture than the many authoritarian episodes of the country's history in the 20th century, even if the nation has a long history of constitutionalism starting in 1701.

The recent scandal at a military base situated to the north of the capital city of Arensburg has started after some photos have been leaked to the press showing soldiers in target practice, shooting at images of Raimund Distel, the current chairman of the social democratic Freiheitspartei, the biggest opposition party, Edgar Neff, his colleague and vice-chairman of the party, Helene Westheimer, the leader of the extra-parliamentarian Green Party, and Niels Kranz, the leader of the National Federation of Trade Unions, the biggest industrial trade union in the country.

The act itself has been leaked in the press and the Military Police has stated that they have started an investigation ex-oficio to determine who were the soldiers using the images as target and what was the reasoning behind it. In a first comment regarding it, some of the lower officers have just described the whole scene as either a sick joke, or an act of terribleness, but the higher ups have stated that the investigation will bring everything into the light.

"It is shocking and outright disgusting. The constitution of the Kingdom stresses the importance of the civilian administration and governance in military affairs too and we cannot simply let the whole situation spiral out of control as it did back in 1957 after the socialist republic of Roman Becker has fallen and our dreams of a return to democracy were transformed into the corporatist nightmare. No, I know the army is a centre of nostalgia for militarism, nationalism and chauvinism, but in its modern structure and form, the Green Army needs to be a modern, democratic army, ready to serve the people and the constitutional status quo against any form of threats, be it even far right circles within it," stated Herr Edgar Neff, vice-chairman of the Freiheitspartei and a member of the House of Deputes for Arensburg-Feldstadt.

The Victims of the National-Syndicalist Regime Support Group, a civil group which aims to support the victims of the political repression from the 1958-1985 regime and to build the legal framework to keep such a historical episode not happen ever again have stated that they might sue the Catholic and Royal Army as an institution for what they perceive as an institutionalised cover up of the building of a corporatist network that threatens the constitutional status quo of the Kingdom. To that, the Minister of Defence, Bastian Brunner has stated that such a move might be a little to extreme and is nothing but exaggerations and conspiracy theories, yet, even him and Chancellor Michael Roth have stated that they expect the investigation of the military police to bring uncover and punish the perpetrators.

OTHER NEWS

Cooler weather for much of the month: After last month's heat wave, a cold front coming from the Pole is covering much of Varinia for much of July, as the sunshine is to be replaced with clouds and rains, with heavy precipitations expected in the coming week along the Gothic Sea coast and in Katte. The temperatures will fall to 13 degrees max in Arensburg and Kerz, to as low as -4 in Eishaven in the north.

Huge delays on the A6: Huge delays have been reported on Autobahn 6, linking Broos to Rotbach, as repairs have started on the Hermanbrucke viaduct, on which cracks were reported a few days ago on its critical structure.

Summer Holidays starting: The students are now off as School and Unis have finished their 2nd semester and/or exam period, giving now the nation's youth the chance to unwind after a long and stressful year. Schools will be starting again in two months and a half, on the 15th of september, while the university year will start on the 1st of October.

Natal · Jul 3, 2020

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The Northern Times is the most popular newspaper in the Duchy of Warnen - Since 1880 - 2 Krone - Anglisc version

Royal Assembly votes for constitutional change banning same sex marriage

In a joint meeting of the House of Deputies and House of Lords, a constitutional amendment has been approved with a total of 630 votes for, 255 abstentions and 15 votes against, which fully bans any change to see same sex marriage become a thing any time soon in Varinia. Article 42 of the Constitution was the one defining marriage which up until recently stated that "Marriage represent the union between spouses with the specific goal of becoming a family and creating a healthy environment for the growth and development of children". The change voted upon is replacing the term spouses with "a man and a woman", ending a two decade debate on the constitutional legality of same sex marriage and, in the words of Chancellor Roth, it ended an episode of judicial confusion, because of the "unfortunate wording" of the article's text.

Because it is not considered a critical article of the constitution, like the primary ones defining the system of government, the separation of powers in the state and the rights and duties of the citizen, article 42 can be changed easily with a vote in a joint meeting of the houses of the Royal Assembly and the royal promulgation that would come in the aftermath of a positive vote.

The government stated that the vote isn't necessarily one against the LGBT community of the country, which still enjoys laws that protect it from discrimination, but as Chancellor Roth has stated, "Marriage is a union that is sanctioned by God and by the Church, and thus it cannot be done in regards to a same-sex marriage". A government spokesperson did state though that the Landespartei and its coalition members will not forget the sexual minorities nor will they accept any infringements upon the people's rights, but rather they will differentiate between a secular union and marriage, which has a religious element to it too.

Bianca Loos, chairwoman of the Parliamentarian Commission for Human Rights has stated that they are already preparing a bill for a civil partnership, which targets everyone, not necessarily the LGBT community, who don't want to go through the whole hassle and costs of a marriage ceremony, yet want to enjoy the judicial status of a married couple. "This will be open to everyone and will give same sex couples a chance to finally be a family too in front of the law," she stated.

HIA (Homosexuelle Interessengemeinschaft Arensburg) an LGBT activist group headquartered in the capital, has stated that while they feel disappointed by the constitutional ban on same sex marriage by something as superficial as a replacement of the term "spouses" with "man and woman", they have stated that they feel a step forward has been achieved, should the government honour their promise the Bill for Civil Partnership would be passed soon and become law.

On the other side, Cardinal Seelman, the Varinian member of the Pontifical College has stated that he full heartedly approved of the government and their decision to push for this change in the definition of marriage and for the parliament that they voted it. He has stated that the change has the full approval of his holiness the Pope. The Landespartei and Rübenliga, the ruling coalition, and the National Corporatist Union have all voted for the change, together with very few members of the Freiheitspartei, while the majority of the opposition have abstained, only a few members of Nordwind voting against it. The marxist-leninovist Linkspartei have continued their tradition of absenteeism and thus their votes have been counted as abstentions too.

OTHER NEWS

Minister of Enviornment visits Regenland: Denise Bauer , the Minister of the Environment has visited today the Duchy of Regenland, wishing to observe the state of the national parks in the region, before a series of investments are to be made to re-forest large swaths of the Vaalbara taiga in the Duchy.

Anti-Drug Police sees CBS in a more positive light: The commander of the Anti-Drug Division of the Police, Colonel Baldur Ducke, has stated that he believes that the Marxist-Leninovist takeover of Crotobaltislavonia will finally end the nation's tenure as a narco-state and its reign as the supreme world-wide production and distribution centre for drugs, especially the highly potent and addictive Blud.

Pelasgia · Jul 3, 2020

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ORTHODOX CATHOLIC CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE OF PROPONTIS
Public Statement | February II, AM (V)MMDXXIX

To whom it may concern,

The Ecumenical Throne looks most favourably upon the recent developments in the Kingdom of Varinia with regard to the definition and defence of marriage against any forces that might seek to corrupt or upend that fundamental pillar of society and Christian life. We warn the Kingdom's faithful that they must guard against any attempts to circumvent the traditional definition of the Sacrament of Saint Valentine by measures such as "civil unions" or other heretical concepts approximating marriage but depriving it of its holy substance. A marriage is a union of man and woman under God; without God and His blessing, no union can survive. And no union which cannot be blessed by God can be a marriage. The Ecumenical Throne has ordered that prayers be said for the Kingdom of Varinia, and its Sovereign and Christian subjects on Sunday's Divine Liturgy in every church across Europe.

Signed and sealed,

Nektarios Christophilopoulos
Logothete of the Drome

Natal · Jul 5, 2020

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The Northern Times is the most popular newspaper in the Duchy of Warnen - Since 1880 - 2 Krone - Anglisc version

Chancellor Roth: Our current peace and prosperity is owned to Landespartei policies

In this week's Question Time in the House of Deputies of the Royal Assembly, the opposition party, Freiheitspartei, together with their allies, Nordwind have launched a series of attacks against Chancellor Roth, and the Landespartei and their allies Rübenliga, the Turnip League. The leader of the opposition, Raimund Distel has accused the Chancellor for becoming an Albrecht Haring (National-Corporatist dictator which ruled Varinia between 1958-1985) wannabe and for seeing the degradation of the Varinian democracy, up to the levels of 1957, as he stated.

"I do want to use the time I have been given here to state that I condemn the fact that our Chancellor is becoming less and less suited for his position by the day, turning himself into a strongman and playing the institutions of our proud Kingdom so that he can further his own interest over everyone else, especially over the ones who really believe in the policies of the Landespartei. Boreal is now sanctioned by the ODS for dealing with Kadikistan. National Corporatists and Party of the Left supporters roam around forgetting the monstrosities both their regimes inflicted upon our nation. All hell breaks loose and all we see is the Chancellor becoming rich and fat from his dealing with the state, while ignoring the world burning," stated Raimund Distel.

The comments of the leaders of opposition have drawn upon the protests of the members of the ruling coalition, with the speaker needing to calm them down and even force out of the room a few more vocal ones. The condemnation of the Chancellor comes after the opposition led Kreise (Circles -Duchies) and Stühlen (Seats - Counties) are feeling the brunt of budget cuts after the new budget was adopted a few months ago. Freiheitspartei is accusing the central government in Arensburg for sending much of the investment funds to local administrations that are manned by the members of the ruling coalition, in the words of Raimund Distel "Punishing the others for voting for the opposition".

Chancellor Roth has laughed off the condemnations and comments stemming from the social-democratic Freiheitspartei, calling it "nothing more than spewing hate in the truest Prometheist sense", referring to the old rivalry that existed in Varinia between Prometheism and Marxism-Leninovism and National-Syndicalism back in the middle of the last century.

"The new budget offers funds that are proportional to what each municipality brings in tax. In my view, we are promoting a work ethnic in which the local administrations are striving to be more efficient and we promote this efficiency," stated chancellor Roth in response to the budget issue. "As for the whole Crotobaltislavonia and the ODS, I cannot but say the following. CBS was a disaster of a state. Not even a state. A territory led by corrupt politicians, warlords and narco-traffickers. There is no word in German to describe how bad it was, Of course, as a conservative politician, I would have loved to see the good old days when CBS was a principality and was led by a noble house, I am thus not elated to see it become a Marxist-Leninovist Republic, but what I see there happening now is a real improvement over what was before, as we finally see all those drug cartels hunted by the authorities. Being blinded by their arrogance and supposed moral high ground is really bad for Lars and their friends, as they fail to see that the biggest issue of CBS isn't communism, but rather the bands that were roaming like crazy, aided by corrupt officials like President Hodiah, which was a friend of the ODS, to export Blud and other drugs like there was no tomorrow and poisoning our people and our youth. I see that our allies and friends in the Northern Tiburan Empire have seen their interests secured, as they have kept control of their Highway going through CBS and the only thing that blocks its normal functioning is the closed borders of the Federal Kingdom of Etruria. I am a pragmatic man and my government has sanctioned and complained about CBS being a narco-state for some time now. The MLists taking over has been an unorthodox way of solving this issue, but it has solved it," stated Chancellor Roth.

In the end, in the applause of the Deputies from the Landespartei and the Rübenliga, Chancellor Roth has applauded the previous governments coming from the ranks of the aforementioned parties, stating that peace in Vaalbara and the Gothic Sea and Varinian prosperity could have only been achieved by the clear mind and pragmatism of Landespartei administration, which was never blinded by ideology and has held a neutral position with the exception of the Council of the North membership, being open and trading with anyone, be them liberal democrats, conservative monarchists, socialists or post-delegationists.

OTHER NEWS

State owned news trust to be exempt of anti-trust laws: The Supreme Court has decided that the state owned NNN (Nationale Nachrichten aus dem Norden) will be exempt from the anti-trust laws that try to break up monopolies and keep competition alive between different businesses and sectors of the economy. The decision has been motivated by the fact that NNN, being under state supervision, will be less inclined to publish fake news or seek sensationalism, and rather present the news in an objective and mature manner. Other press trusts have condemned the decision, calling it a farce, some going as far has calling the NNN trust, which Die Nordzeit is a part of, as probably the most corrupt and unreliable of the news outlets in the Kingdom.

One World Football Series: The last preparations are being done as the Royal Football Federation is ready to host the greatest teams of Europe in Varinia. Out of the Varinian teams, FC Boreal Arensburg is seen as a favourite, but many hope to see the FC Grün-Weiss Kerz meet with the Kadikistani 7th Tankers Sbrevika, one of the greatest derbies ever, nicknamed "The Reenactment of the Winter War", as both teams are sponsored by the armies of both Kadikistan and Varinia.

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