CNBC 24H News - Military officials prepare for a post-election Cabinet Defense Review in 2011

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News
Brought to you by the Cornavian National Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet​

BOLTON - Mining strike expands as union activists accuse Unity Group of strike-breaking

Negotiations between the Unity Group and those involved in the ongoing mining strike broke down today when National Mining Workers' Union chairman Jeremy Nielsen announced the Union's withdrawal from the mediation by Minister of Labour and Welfare Terrence Rowland. Nielsen accused Unity Group's CEO Gregory Naylor of having undertaken strike-breaking measures that were in violation of Cornavian labour law and commonly accepted striking practice.

"Effectively immediately, we are withdrawing from these mediations until further notice pending internal consultation", said Nielsen in a surprise announcement in Bolton outside of the Union's local headquarters. "We have it from our own people that Unity Group managers have tried to break the strike by preparing to fire striking employees and hire non-union replacements and to encourage non-striking employees through wage incentives aimed solely at them, and at the condition of them leaving the union if members. We can't tolerate this breach of every code of conduct in the history of Cornavian labour struggles, not at all", Nielsen ranted to an audience of Mining Union stalwarts and members of the press.

Naylor and the rest of Unity leadership denied the claims made by the Mining Union, while New Sutherland First Minister Johansen and Commonwealth Minister of Labour and Welfare Terrence Rowland urged the Union to return to the negotiating table. "I'd strongly urge the miners not to get caught in the innuendo and false speculations", Rowland commented in Bolton, saying that there was a "lot of uncertainty abound" as for the true situation of the Mining Union strike.

Unity Group's press spokesperson Samantha Wolfsmith denied the allegations leveled against the company by Jeremy Nielsen. She confirmed that a section of employees in the company's striking facilities had gone back to work, but said that they had done so voluntarily and that the company was still committed to the standards of protocol enforced in Cornavian labour struggles. Wolfsmith did not comment on rumors that the company might petition in the New Sutherland Labour Court to have the strike declared as an economic one as opposed to a labour rights strike, which would enable Unity Group to fire striking employees. Under Cornavian labour law, those striking for reasons other than workers' rights abuses carried out by the employer can be fired after a set period of time.

The resumption of the coal miners' strike has caused fears that the strikers might attempt to cause labour interruptions in Unity Group's gas and renewables facilities, which deliver energy to a significant portion of Cornavian industry and residences. It has also seen a reduction in the company's stock values as investors fear that a widespread strike could lead customers to seek foreign import coal.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Cabinet Chancellor Wainwright, opposing Commonwealth Party chairman candidate Sean Devenham tour Cornavian cities
Southport-on-Sea - Minister of Commerce and Transportation Charlotte Hunter:"Cornavian driver's license systems to reform into a stricter direction by 2012"
Southport-on-Sea - Commonwealth Specialist Crime Agency, Metropolitan Police hold five Hajr-born immigrants for involvement in a sex trafficking ring after a series of raids in Fairminster
Whitehaven - Oil crisis tensions cool down in the Stock Exchange after Talemantros announces its intention not to continue an oil embargo in Belmont
Anston - Republican chairmanship candidate, M.P Lawrence Anderton says he will draft a shadow "Cornavia First!" party and election program for the party chairmanship vote
Old Pyke - Dissident local politicians protest a planned construction of a large public housing project in the Cantonal capital of Iron Islands

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News
Brought to you by the Cornavian National Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet​

SOUTHPORT-ON-SEA - Biggest urban counter-culture festival commences

Held between the 9th and 12th of September, the Haslam Urban Festival has traditionally gathered people in their thousands into the Haslam Borough of Southport-on-Sea and other parts of the city. The Urban Festival, which has been arranged since 1973, has traditionally been a favored event of environmentalists, followers of alternate lifestyles and sexual minorities, but has become popular with the general populace as well during the recent years.

Though the Festival's traditional focus has been Walton Park in the Clifford Ward, it will occupy parks, bars, cafés, art galleries and other establishments everywhere in the Borough as well as elsewhere in Southport-on-Sea with its program of musical concerts (including indie, hip hop, reggae, techno and punk gigs), discussion events, theatric and art performances and other events. The event even spans outside of the city, with the town of Caldicott hosting the AirTek rave party. The Urban Haslam Committee, an informal group of cultural associations that has organized the event in the recent years, expects that "40-50000 people will be in attendance."

Haslam Urban Festival started out as a small event organized in a Clifford East squat to provide a "socially conscious urban festival for Haslamites and Cornavians as a whole", but has since grown into a Borough-wide festivity drawing people from all around Cornavia as well as abroad. The addition of casual lookers-on and park drinkers to the festival's audience has caused some stir among the original counter-culture activists who organized the festival, some of whom say that the event has become mainstream and commercialized. As a result, some in Southport-on-Sea's art and culture scene have begun to organize their own alternative events which coincide with the HUF.

The event is also popular among the capital's regular cannabis users, many of whom assemble in Haslam's coffee shops as well as parks to consume the plant, and for this reason HUF is often mentioned as one of the "things to see" for foreign drug tourists coming into Cornavia. As the use of illegal drugs, including LSD and ecstasy, has been frequent during such events as well, the Greater Southport Metropolitan Police will reportedly be carrying out special surveillance and hotspot operations during the entirety of the festival.

The authorities are also worried about the fourth successive "Black Haslam" alternative festival staged by an assortment of anarchist groups, which each year has been accompanied by violence between the Metropolitan Police and violent anarchist "black blocs". In 2009's Black Haslam, the police carried out over a hundred of arrests, and twenty cars were torched by members of violent anarchist groups. Black Haslam is expected to center around Clydesdale's Free Port Squat. Security Service sources have reported that foreign anarchist activists might be taking part in the event.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - The "Vote empty" protest campaign against the Northern Parliament by the League of New Lightbearers subject to heavy criticism by Cabinet Chancellor Wainwright
Southport-on-Sea - Commonwealth Traffic Incident Commission inquiry attributes M.P Stephen Wright's deadly car accident to driver fatigue and lacking visibility in the tunnel in a report released on today
Whitehaven - Hodgson-Baxter Infrastructure Engineering submits bits in an ongoing Guianan Canal project in an effort to expand internationally
Ashland - Ashland-Carrington executives, Commonwealth Air Force officials to demonstrate the ADF-14C "Dragon" abroad as part of a Wendmark military bidding contest for a new fighter aircraft
Bolton - Mining Union workers resume blocking attempts against several Unity Group facilities in the wake of a failing mediation in the ongoing labour dispute

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News
Brought to you by the Cornavian National Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet​

BREMERHOLM - Terrorism Act arrests on nationalist radicals after a racist fire-bomb attack

Five members of the proscribed radical nationalist political party Anglo-Saxon Front have been arrested in Bremerholm in a joint operation between the Western Crownland Anti-Terrorism Branch and the Commonwealth Security Service. Spokesmen of the Western Crownland Cantonal Police said that the arrests, which took place in the form of nighttime raids in three locations including the clubhouse of Anglo-Saxon Front Bremerholm, related to an earlier attack against a Vangalan curry house, for which one person is already in police custody.

According to Captain Melissa Lake, press spokesman for the WCCP, those arrested are being held under the Terrorism Act of 1986 and the Violent Crimes Acts for complicity in the 4th of September fire bomb attack and for preparing to carry out additional criminal acts. A habeas corpus hearing for the five is scheduled to take place tomorrow. Lake said that "it had through investigation of the 4th of September attack and intelligence-gathering become apparent that the aforementioned incident was just the first in a planned string of racist attacks with the motive of inflicting fear and terror upon Bremerholm's populace". She added that because of the lethal intent uncovered in the curry house attack and the discovery of an organized group behind it, it was also being considered as a terrorist offense, specifically attempted murder.

The ASF Bremerholm club house in Herwood was the most high-profile target of the operation. Captain Lake said that a Western Crownland Cantonal Police armored car was used as a battering ram to breach the front wall of the well-protected club house before members of the Commonwealth STARS unit backed by armed Anti-Terrorist and Security Service officers entered the building. The officers then subdued the three people inside using non-lethal force. Michael Dale, 32 and head of ASF Bremerholm, and David Hamnett, 29 and deputy head of ASF Bremerholm, were arrested during the operation.

Additionally, the residences of Dale and Hamnett and those of three other Anglo-Saxon Front suspects were raided by Anti-Terrorism Branch officers and Bremerholm Police Firearms Support Teams. Police officers confiscated several licensed and illegal firearms, materials for constructing additional fire bombs and a reported "hit list" including immigrant targets such as the local Vangalan and Jizhouan cultural centers, pizza and curry parlours, bars and ethnic grocery stores.

The authorities have refused to issue further comments on the investigation, but from the fact that the arrests of the five took place under the Terrorism Act it is apparent that the ASF's activities are being investigated as those of an organized terrorist group. According to CNBC 24's justice specialists, this could have an effect on the group's legal status: At the moment, it is proscribed as a political party, meaning that it is banned from taking part in elections. If, however, it can be proven that Front leadership has been complicit in carrying out and planning terrorist acts, the Ministry of Justice could proscribe it as a terrorist group. Under the Terrorism Act, membership in a proscribed terrorist group constitutes a crime in itself. The Anglo-Saxon Front is estimated to have 300 active members and more supporters in cities including Southport-on-Sea, Whitehaven, Bremerholm, Redcastle and Ashland.

At least Dale and Hamnett are known to have previous criminal records for violent offenses. Cabinet Chancellor Joanne Wainwright has expressed her worry over the news concerning the ASF's activities, describing racist violence as an "act only done by a few hateful individuals, but still one that has created shame to be shared by all of Cornavia" and saying that those responsible should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Ministry of Agriculture statistics show a 12% increase in issued hunting permits by regional authorities as the Autumn's bird hunting season is formally kicked off
Southport-on-Sea - Commonwealth Appellate Court throws out an appeal against the suspension of Christian Good Shepherd School on the basis of "lacking constitutional challenges"
Southport-on-Sea - Haslam Urban Festival kicked off peacefully in Southport-on-Sea, but partyfolk worry over the potential chance of a rainy weekend
Whitehaven -Social networking and Internet services identified as a growing tertiary business subsector in a future business opportunity report by the Whitehaven Institute of Business
Sawcross - Sawcross Mayor Darren Bryce (Com.) announces plans to dedicate a square in the newly built Andersville area of the city after recently deceased M.P and Sawcross native Stephen Wright
Bolton - Mining Workers Union activists demonstrate outside of the New Sutherland Cantonal Hall to pressure

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News
Brought to you by the Cornavian National Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet​

SOUTHPORT-ON-SEA - Commonwealth Hockey League 2010-2011 kicked off

As football's Commonwealth League nears its high point in the form of play-off games, the Commonwealth Hockey League's eighteen teams prepare for this Friday's first games in the 2010-2011 Season. The Second and Third Leagues of the Commonwealth Ice Hockey Federation will also start during the weekend, which has traditionally marked the start of the Cornavian ice hockey season.

The sixteen-team and four-group Commonwealth Hockey League or CHL plays between September and April and is considered to be the most popular Cornavian sports league during the winter season, and the second most popular league during the entire span of the year right after the Commonwealth League. The comparative popularity of Cornavia's two main sports can be examined by the viewing rates of their main series' final games: The 2009-2010 CHL final between Alcott Raiders and New Sutherland Unity was viewed by 4.6 million Cornavians, while the 2008-2009 CL final between Southport Billmen and Marsden Rangers was viewed by 9.8 million.

While many Cornavians choose either ice hockey and football as their "number one" sport, some prefer both. CNBC Sports interviewed sports fans preparing for the evening's games in Southport's Sutton Ward's Penalty Box sports bar, and many professed to have both favorite ice hockey and football teams. Thomas Gates, a sales manager in a Northwood FreeTrade retail store, said, "I'm a [Southport] Billman born and raised, but when the hockey season starts, it's the SHC [Southport Hockey Club] that I'm rooting for." Similar sentiments were expressed by a number of others, though traditionally there has been rivalry between football and ice hockey fans.

This year's CHL begins amidst controversy over the planned pre-season rule changes brought forward by CIHF president James Wyatt, who attempted to introduce a set of rule reforms meant to bring an emphasis on "skill, rather than brute force" into the game. Wyatt's original program of increasing the size of the hockey field and introducing a football-like penalty shot zone as well as stricter penalties for offenses such as holding and interference was criticized by the ice hockey community, and numerous sports journalists, star players and team managers signed an Internet petition calling for the abandonment of the planned rule changes. However, many CIHF members are still calling for Wyatt's resignation.

In addition, CIHF and CHL people have been discussing the traditional positioning of the start of the league in September's second weekend. As football's Commonwealth League has its final in the last Friday of September, many ice hockey fans consider that for the September CHL games are being overshadowed by the more popular Commonwealth League play-off games, whereas the Commonwealth League begins as late as May.

The CHL commencement is a popular event in traditional Cornavian ice hockey cities, and in Southport-on-Sea it coincides with the ongoing Haslam Urban Festival, bringing large numbers of people to the city's streets on Friday.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Arrests made during the first two days of Haslam Urban Festival for ecstasy, LSD and amphetamine use and sale, authorities preparing for Friday evening's commencement of Black Haslam
Southport-on-Sea - Anti-Globalist League of New Lightbearers proclaims last-minute support for the Republican Party in Sunday's Northern Parliament elections
Southport-on-Sea - Minister of Commerce Charlotte Hunter says Commonwealth Mail to be "split up" between a public service arm and a new, detached logistical company
Ashland - Ashland-Carrington Industries divestment from domestic appliances manufacturing described as a company success by the ACI Board of Executives
Bremerholm - Judge remands five Anglo-Saxon Front members held in yesterday's night time raids into investigative custody for charges including terrorism, attempted murder and firearms offenses

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News
Brought to you by the Cornavian National Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet​

SOUTHPORT-ON-SEA - Devenham works to reassemble Commonwealth Party opposition

Member of Parliament Sean Devenham is working hard to collect the reins left by M.P Stephen Wright's death during the last weeks ahead of the Commonwealth Party's chairmanship election. Devenham succeeded Wright as the "opposition" candidate for Commonwealth Party chairmanship against Cabinet Chancellor Joanne Wainwright in the party's forthcoming 18th of September chairmanship vote, which was originally to take place during the party's National Conference but was postponed due to Wright's fatal car accident.

The coalition that formed behind Stephen Wright was one that held the trappings of an alliance of convenience between the opponents to Cabinet Chancellor Wainwright's policy, being made up of antiglobalists in the manner of the controversial New Lightbearer movement, political populists opposed to what Wright described as the "Southport-on-Sea clique" as well as traditional rural advocates. A charismatic character, Wright managed to bring together even political rivals. Now, however, cracks have begun to show in the opposition.

During his period of challenging Cabinet Chancellor Wainwright for supremacy in the Commonwealth Party, one of the main bases of support for Wright was the Caucus of Rural Commonwealth Parliamentaries headed by M.P Mark Dunham. Though Dunham announced his support for Sean Devenham when he took over, controversy has been caused by Dunham's recent statement in the Anston Tribune that the Northern Cantons should "share on their naturel wealth" with the rest of Cornavia, including the troubled rural and Rust Belt Prefectures. Though Dunham later said that his statement didn't imply any legal change in the way the Farpoint, Iron Islands and Northolts handle their natural wealth, it was immediately seized by the people in the North. Furthermore, Sean Devenham chairs the Commonwealth Party in the Farpoint Canton, underlining the problem.

In an interview with CNBC 24H, Devenham acknowledged that "it's no small step to fit to the shoes of a man such a Stephen Wright. But then again, in a victory the shoes that I'd have to fill would be President Breckenridge's, so this counts as a good start." However, he also accused a "Southport-on-Sea political machine run by [Joanne] Wainwright"" of being behind much of the controversy surrounding his campaign. Both the Cabinet Press Office and Wainwright's personal press spokersperson denied these allegations.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Cabinet Chancellor Wainwright's husband Richard Wainwright appointed into a position in the Scanian University as a Research Professor of Corporate Law
Southport-on-Sea - Developing row between fellow Northern Council memberstate Tyskreich and the Germanian League received with worry at Claridge House, but no comment yet from Minister of External Affairs Fenner
Southport-on-Sea - Commonwealth Hockey League 2010-2011 opening matches draw significant audiences throughout the country, but hardcore fans complain over overlapping with football games
Redcastle - Ratham-Keaton Tobacco Company to establish the first "industrial-scale" marijuana production facility in Cornavia despite of objections from anti-drug temperance groups
Whitehaven - Whitehaven City's Office of Public Safety releases its inquiry into the 1st of September Harbour Park brawl, blaming a lack of "preventive security" but not recommending punitive measures
Farpoint - Seven left-wing activists arrested by Commonwealth Constabulary off Blackridge Island in a boat believed to have planned boarding an Unity Group natural gas rig off Blackridge

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News
Brought to you by the Cornavian National Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet​

SOUTHPORT-ON-SEA - Germanian League, Northern Council in a developing trade row, scant comments from Cabinet

Cornavia's fellow Northern Council memberstate Tyskreich and the members of the recently founded Germanian League are in a developing trade row after Tyskreich announced sanctions against Germanian League memberstates. The rationale stated for the institution of the sanctions concerns the membership of League of Free States memberstate Danmark in the Germanian League.

The Scanogermanian Trade Crisis has become a Cornavian concern too, as the Commonwealth shares joint market mechanisms with Tyskreich through both countries' Northern Council memberstates, and is a trade partner with countries in the Germanian League, most notably Wendmark. Cornavia signed a Bilateral Trade and Investment Treaty with the Germanian country several months ago. Minister of External Affairs William Fenner has reportedly summoned the Wendmarker ambassador to Southport-on-Sea to Claridge House to give an explanation on the ramifications of the founding of the League to the BTIT and Cornavian-Wendmarker trade ties.

On the broader issue of the ongoing crisis, together with the implications that Danmark's League of Free States membership has on it, neither Cabinet Chancellor Joanne Wainwright or Minister of External Affairs Fenner gave comments based on Cornavia's policy of non-alignment towards alliance issues, with the exception of a cryptic note from Wainwright saying that "Cornavia would monitor the situation naturally take any such issues into account in its future international dealings.". Unofficially, however, Claridge House sources state that Cabinet officials are concerned over the potential of a League of Free States "backdoor" that the Germanian League presents for Scanogermanian economies in general and the Cornavian economy in particular.

Though Parliament is holding a day off on Sundays, many Members of Parliament were quick to note the developing Trade Crisis in blog posts and other statements issued to the Cornavian press after the announced foundation of the Germanian League. Member of Parliament Lawrence Anderton (Rep.) vocally asserted his stance against "LFS encroaching into Germania", while Republican Party parliamentarians and those from other parties called for the Wainwright Cabinet to re-examine Cornavian trade ties with Germanian nations. On the other hand, several Commonwealth and Labour M.Ps criticized Tyskreich for unduly escalating the Germanian League issues.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - 150 vandalism and rioting arrests of anarchist demonstrators and rioters made during Saturday's Black Haslam, fifteen Metropolitan Police officers wounded in clashes with anarchist elements
Southport-on-Sea - Party campaigners work hard on the last day ahead of the Northern Parliament elections filling Cornavia's quota of seats
Southkeep-on-Sea - Cornavian Lutheran Church's Archbishop John Pembleton undergoes hospitalization at the Whitehaven Luther Hospital for unspecified "stomach troubles"
Whitehaven - Unity Group sees a drop in stock values, rising stock for sector rivals, at the Whitehaven Stock Exchange as the nearly month-long strike threatens to expand
Bremerholm - Political youth organizations, local anti-racism activists and immigrant leaders demonstrate against hate crime and racism after planned violent acts by Anglo-Saxon Front members are uncovered
Farpoint - Activists arrested for trying to board Unity Group natural gas rig identified as Communist Party (Post-Vanguardist) members, no comment from Mining Workers' Union representatives

 

[Remuria]

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Cornavia
Foreign Affairs Department
Free State of Wendmark

Memo concerning the Germanian League​

OOC: Formal note transmitted to the Cornavian External Affairs Minister in addition to the oral explanations offered during the summoning to the Cornavian External Affairs Ministry.

The Free State of Wendmark first and foremost expressed her sincerest regret that her joining of the Germanian League has caused distress in the Commonwealth of Cornavia. Wendmark values the historic ties with the Commonwealth, that date back to the years when the Grey League was inspired by Cornavian ideals of liberty and freedom to carry into the Revolutions of 1848. The Commonwealth of Cornavia has the full assurances of the Free State of Wendmark that the latter has no intention to jeopardise this relationship by any action what so ever.

The above having been said, the Free State of Wendmark wishes to attract the attention of the government of the Commonwealth of Cornavia to the following facts:

1. the Free State adheres to the Bilateral Trade and Investments Treaty and that the provisions of the Germanian League do not prevent the continued application of hte BTIT, as the Germanian League maintains the right of member states to continue undertaking their own trade policies for in as long as such policies do not hamper their trade ties with other Member States;

2. that the BTIT is not contrary to the principles of the Germanian League and does not hamper the Free State's trade relations with the other Member States;

3. the Free State did not express any semblance of a doubt in Cornavia's adherence to the continued respect and development of the Bilateral Trade and Investments Treaty following the latter's admission into the Northern Council;

4. that the Cornavian Ambassador to Einsiedeln was not summoned to offer any explanations, as such a summoning is an act of high diplomatic protocol indicating a measure of displeasure and is not to be confused with an audience between a Minister and an Ambassador and that it is customary protocol to request non-conflictual clarifications through the usual means of correspondence exchange between the foreign affairs service and relevant embassy;

5. that given the above, the Free State deeply deplores the aforementioned summoning;

6. the Free State formally informs the Commonwealth of Cornavia that her Ambassador to Einsiedeln shall be summoned to the Foreign Affairs Department to give explanations as to why the Commonwealth of Cornavia has not condemned the unprovoked, uncalled for and disproportionate sanctions unilaterally imposed upon the Free State of Wendmark by the Republic of Tyskreich, sanctions which are as of yet have not been answered in kind by the Free State and what, if anything, actions the Commonwealth shall undertake in this direction;

7. that the Commonwealth Embassy to Einsiedeln has already received the aforementioned summoning at the time at which the Wendmarker Ambassador to the Commonwealth was summoned to Claridge House and the present note transmitted;

8. that the Free State sees in both Cornavia and Tyskreich as ideological friends, rooted in our common culture of liberty, democracy and freedom;

9. that given the aforementioned point, the Free State regrets ever so greatly the unprovoked, uncalled for and disproportionate unilateral sanctions imposed upon the Free State by the Republic of Tyskreich;

10. that despite the desire of Wendmark to establish better ties to other republican democratic governments, the Free State shall not stand idly when her interests are violated and her trade is virulently attacked as was done by the Republic of Tyskreich and that if other democratic republican governments seek to isolate and destroy Wendmark and the prosperity and wellbeing of her People, then Wendmark shall do what is necessary to diversify her economic outreach to continue providing a worthy living standard to her People;

11. that through her unthoughtful and unprovoked hostile actions, the Republic of Tyskreich is in fact herself pushing the member states of the Germanian League, and the Free State of Wendmark, away from better and improved relations with the Republic in particular and the Northern Council as a whole;

12. given that the Republic of Tyskreich set upon the path of disproportionate escalation of tensions, the Free State of Wendmark retains the right to use the full plethora of means available to her in domains economic, political, diplomatic and cultural in her future dealings with the Republic of Tyskreich.

To conclude, the Free State reiterates her desire for cooler minds to preval and for pragmatism to triumph and reiterates her strongest condemnations against the unilateral unprovoked and disproportionate sanctions imposed upon Wendmark by the Republic of Tyskreich.

It is the sincerest hope of the Free State of Wendmark that the Commonwealth of Cornavia impacts positively upon the Republic of Tyskreich and guides her way from the path of destruction the Republic has set upon.

 

[Confederal Republics]

Cabinet Chancellery
Commonwealth of Cornavia

Note handed in person to the Foreign Affairs Department by Mrs. Eleanor Whitcombe, Ambassador of the Commonwealth of Cornavia to Einsiedeln during the summoning to the Foreign Affairs Department

The Commonwealth of Cornavia, in response to the note of summons delivered to the Commonwealth Ambassador in Einsiedeln and to the reply to the note of summons delivered by the Free State Ambassador in Southport-on-Sea to Commonwealth Ministry of External Affairs Mr. William Fenner, states the following:

Throughout the post-Great War period, foreign policy adopted by the Commonwealth has based itself on the principle of non-alignment, specifically in regards to the rivalry between Europe's competing blocs and associations of political power. Hence the preference for other non-aligned governments such as Wendmark as the Commonwealth's partners in trading and other liaisons. I also wish to assure that in spite of the ongoing dispute between Tyskreich and the Germanian League, the Commonwealth does not intend to renege on the Bilateral Trade and Investments Treaty between it and the Free State of Wendmark.

Trusting in the Wendmark government's consideration and due diligence for the standards of diplomatic confidentiality, I will concede that there is Cornavian concern for the founding of the Germanian League, primarily through the League of Free States membership of the Danish government. In this, I will also concede that these concerns indeed echo those expressed by the government in Tyskreich, but not to such extent as our fellow Northern Council memberstate has expressed. While we believe that Tyskreich has already set its own course, it is naturally the hope and aspiration of the Cornavian government that they adopt a more moderate stance.

However, the Commonwealth is inclined to propose the addition of safeguards to the Bilateral Trade and Investment Treaty to such an effect that the preferential trade conditions created in the agreement would not be subject to abuse by third parties. In practice, this would exclude, for example companies owned by individuals that are not citizens or permanent residents of either contracting party or by other companies not registered to either contracting party, from the terms of the BTIT.

Such a measure, we believe, would also improve the Free State's position concerning the resolution of the unfortunate ongoing dispute with the Tyskreicher government. Having said that, I will still reiterate that neither the Northern Council or Cornavia have taken the side of Tyskreich in this affair and that the entire element of uncertainty on my behalf in this affair stems from Danmark's involvement. Neither I or the Commonwealth bear any ill will towards our long-standing partners in Wendmark.

Regards,
Mrs. Joanne Wainwright
Chancellor of the Commonwealth Cabinet

 

[Remuria]

Foreign Affairs Department
Free State of Wendmark

Note delivered by ascertained courier of the Wendmarker Embassy to Southport-on-Sea to the Chancellor of the Commonwealth, Her Excellency Joanne Wainwright, as signed by the Head of the Foreign Affairs Department, His Excellency Ferdinand Niederhausern

Strictly Confidential

Your Excellency,

Following the reciprocal summons of the honourable ambassadors Whitcombe and Mäder to our respective foreign affairs services, and the exchange of notes that followed which clarified the position of our two States on the subject of debate, it is my pleasure to write to You personally to put the case to rest between our two States. I am personally grateful for the Commonwealth's continued consistent position in the matter and am delighted to learn of your intentions to continuously fructify the relationship between our two republics.

First of all, I shall begin with answering your Ministry's proposals for amendments to the BTIT. We find in principle these amendments acceptable. We thus propose a first exchange of project notes in one week's time. After this, the Free State is offering to dispatch a team of negotiators to Southport-on-Sea to settle the finer points of the matter.

As of the case of the Kingdom of Danmark, then I shall count on Your Excellency's own sense of diplomatic confidentiality to not reveal what shall be henceforth described. The Kingdom's accession to the League of Free States was not taken with much enthusiasm in Einsiedeln, this we can assure our Cornavian counterparts of. Einsiedeln would have preferred Danmark to maintain her status as a neutral country. However, the Kingdom remains an important economic partner for the Free State regardless of affiliations in defensive alliances. The Trans-Alpine rail and highway network that links the two countries is one of the entry points for goods imported into Wendmark, the Free State being landlocked and without access to the High Seas. Wendmark herself is not interested in isolating herself from the Kingdom of Danmark.

Whilst the Free State has her own suspicions about the League of Free States, we have to admit that Wendmark's unique geographical position right at the cross croads of alliance politics has meant that we had to improvise inventive means to ascertain our independence from alliance power politics. Under this doctrine, Wendmark trades and cooperates both with neighbouring EDF states and non-neighbouring Greater Sarmatia, which is a major supplier of energy ressources to the Free State. The current arrangement, which maintains the status quo, is satisfactory to the Free State. Wendmark seeks no entrance into either the EDF or the LFS, be it as member of one of the alliances or as part of a hypothetical sphere of influence.

The aforementioned facts having been stated, the exclusion of the Kingdom of Danmark from the Germanian League would have had much more dire consequences of pushing the Kingdom even further into the grip of LFS politics. The Free State is actively interested in the continued stability and prosperity of the Kingdom of Danmark in the context of democratic development consistent with the fundamental notions of liberty and freedom. We sincerely believe that isolation and exclusion of the Kingdom in such circumstances is ill-advised and counter-productive.

Yet again, I reiterate my hope for this to remain confidential between ourselves and put my trust into Your Excellency's hands. I am glad to see compromise and understanding prevail over, and I shall not shy away from using the word, hysterical agitations. I am looking forward to further contacts with Your Excellency on matters pertaining to the relations between our two free, sovereign and democratic nations.

My best regards,
Herr Ferdinand Niederhausern
Head of the Free State's Foreign Affairs Department

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News
Brought to you by the Cornavian National Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet​

BOLTON - Unity Group to take ongoing strike into labour courts

Mining and natural resources conglomerate Unity Group is taking the National Mining Workers' Union to a labour court over the ongoing strike of coal miners that has affected Unity Group production for nearly a month. The company will petition to the Commonwealth Labour Court for New Sutherland that the ongoing strike would be declared as an economic strike, rather than a labour rights strike, which would allow the company to fire striking employees. In the meantime, Unity Group may bring in temporary replacement employees.

Mining Workers' Union chairman Jeremy Nielsen has announced that his union would challenge the Unity Group's petition before the Labour Courts. The NMWU accuses Unity Group of labour rights violations including widespread striking during the threshold preceding the possibility of legal proceedings, as well as violations of dismissal clauses in agreements established for coal mining workers to be laid off from the Frostrock 7 mining complex. Additionally, the Mining Workers' Union is accusing Unity Group management of communication failures related to the planned layoffs.

Negotiations between Unity Group management and the National Mining Workers' Union, which represents a majority of the 2000 people employed by the company in coal mining functions, broke off last week when Mining Union chairman Nielsen accused the company of organized attempts to break the strike during the negotiations. Minister of Labour and Welfare Terrence Rowland, who spearheaded the failed attempts in mediating the strike, has unsuccessfully tried to urge the conflicting parties to return into the mediation table.

With Mining Workers' Union activists and members of sympathizing left-wing movements including the Red-Green Youth and the branches of the proscribed Communist Party having broadened the strike campaign into systematic blockading attempts against Unity Group facilities, it is rumored that the company might also file a later civil lawsuit for damages against the Mining Workers' Union. With its coal production in a virtual standstill and with other problems caused by the strike, Unity Group is projected to face significant losses at the end of Q3 2010. Rumors already speak of pressure towards company CEO Gregory Naylor to concede to the terms demanded by the strikers.

The continuing strike has also drawn in high-level political commentary, with Cabinet Chancellor Joanne Wainwright herself criticizing the strikers. "I think that certain elements should be more conscious towards economic reality", said Wainwright in a likely reference towards the dwindling prospects of Cornavian coal industry, "And a dose of patriotism wouldn't hurt either."

The troubles with Unity's coal division stem from the face of Cornavia's dwindling coal resources - the country has been a net importer since 1991 - the company is seeking to expand its activities in renewables and natural gas at the expense of coal. Thus, energy industry experts describe the Unity Group's layoffs and other cost-saving measures as an inevitability.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - An attendance rate of 66% recorded in the Northern Parliament elections for the Cornavian quota, Ministry of Justice to release voting results on Wednesday
Southport-on-Sea - Haslam Urban Festival organizers estimate a record audience of 60000 attendees in the festival and event areas alone, city officials satisfied with event arrangements-
Whitehaven - Apparent end to Talemantine-Belmonti Oil Crisis inspires calm in the Whitehaven Stock Exchange
Redcastle - Local anti-drug organization to petition against Ratham-Keaton's plans to build Cornavia's first industrial-scale marijuana production facility in the city
Bremerholm - Commonwealth prosecutors "will press charges" in Western Crownland Commonwealth Court against six Anglo-Saxon Front members for attempted murder and offenses under the Terrorism Act of 1986

 

[Socialist Commonwealth]

Union of Communist Workers

The ongoing campaign against striking workers in Cornavia is a prime example of a modern alliance between enterpreneur and state to dismantle labor rights and disarm the working class. We urge our fellow proletarians in Cornavia to take this fight to the bitter end if necessary, because failure in this battle will mean a setback for the whole of the working class in Cornavia.
The Unity Group and the Cornavian state have turned a mere fight abour wages and working conditions into a battle about the entire system of collective bargaining, union activity and workers' rights. Our solidarity goes to the Mining Workers' Union.

 

[Confederal Republics]

National Mining Workers' Union

On behalf of the miners of New Sutherland in particular and all Cornavia in general I wish to thank the Union of Communist Workers towards the expression of support for our ongoing struggle.

Regards,
Mr. Jeremy Nielsen,
Chairman of the National Mining Workers' Union

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News
Brought to you by the Cornavian National Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet​

SOUTHPORT-ON-SEA - Republicans gain seats as Commonwealth Party fails to gain absolute majority

As the results for the election of the Cornavian quota of Northern Parliament representatives have come in, the Commonwealth Party has failed to attain the majority in seats it set out to achieve in the elections. Instead, the Republican Party emerged as a major contender in the election, gaining a portion of seats exceeding their portion of seats in the Commonwealth Parliament and not anticipated pre-election by either the Republicans themselves or Cornavian politicians.

Up for grabs were the 32 Cornavian seats in the Northern Parliament. Though the Commonwealth Party failed to attain the simple majority that it enjoys in Commonwealth Parliament, it managed a share of 43% of votes totalling in 14 seats, while the opposition Labour Party gained 10 seats with a 31.25% vote shareand the Republican Party gained 8 seats with a 25% vote share. The Red-Green and Christian parties were left wanting, as they were unable to breach the voting threshold required to attain seats in the Northern Parliament.

A voting turnout of 66% was recorded by the Ministry of Justice, in comparison to the 75% average turnout in the Commonwealth Parliament in the most recent elections. Cabinet Chancellor Joanne Wainwright described the relatively low turnout as a likely symptom of the Northern Parliament being a "rather new and unknown organ of power" to many Cornavians, and expressed confidence that the situation would improve in the next vote.

However, Wainwright had less to say over the 43% share of votes gained by her party in comparison to the 50.8% share in the Commonwealth Parliament, which has already caused concern among party leadership. Political analysts suggest that the lost votes went largely to the opposition Republican Party, which gained over ten percents in comparison to its share of seats in the Commonwealth Parliament. M.P Edmund Moreland, Republican chairman, expressed satisfaction over this result and described the elections as a victory for his party. Moreland said that his party would aim for a similar share in the 2011 Commonwealth Parliament elections.

Analysts attributed the surprising result to protest voters attracted to the Republicans by their opposition to the Wainwright's Cabinet policies of Council of Nations and Northern Council membership. "It may well be possible that many of those who voted Republican will go back to Commonwealth in the domestic elections, but on the other hand, the Republicans now have the ear of many Cornavians", said Professor Jason Mulcahy, the head of the Department of Political History in the Faculty of Civic Sciences of the Scanian University of Southport-on-Sea. Among those worried about increasing xenophobia in the Cornavian society, the Republican increase in support has caused a stir as the party has vocally advocated stricter controls on immigration.

The elected Members of Northern Parliament will travel to take their positions in Hilversum next week, and will be formally received by the Cornavian High Representative Ryan T. Conway.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Cornavia to back Vistrasian motion to seek membership in the Northern Council, says Minister of External Affairs William Fenner
Southport-on-Sea - Human rights organizations to stage candlelight demonstrations in Southport-on-Sea and elsewhere against over thirty victims of police violence in the Free Union
Southport-on-Sea - Metropolitan Police, Specialist Crime Agency sweep Haslam's brothels, netting twenty prostitutes with improper documentation and several possible cases of human smuggling
Dominici - Archbishop of Whitehaven Sven Wallin travels to papal conclave to represent Cornavian Catholics in the election of a new Pope
Bolton - National Mining Workers' Union strike goes to the New Sutherland Labour Court amidst high tensions between continuing union demonstrators and police officials

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News
Brought to you by the Cornavian National Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet​

FARPOINT - Separatist gunman in the Farpoint prosecutor killing gets the death penalty

A member of the ethnic Scanian separatist group Nordisk Frihet identified as one of the gunmen in the June killing of Farpoint Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeremy Peterson has been sentenced to death for his role in the attack. The Commonwealth Court for the Farpoint Canton gave Einar Stenberg, 28, the sentence of death by lethal injection today after a month-long trial. It is unknown if Stenberg will petition against the sentence to the Commonwealth Supreme Court.

Stenberg, a resident of Farpoint Castle, was one of the two gunmen who in June in the municipality of Alton Down fatally shot Farpoint D.C.P Jeremy Peterson, then the presiding prosecutor for terrorism and extremism cases in the Canton including a prosecution of six members of Nordisk Frihet, and seriously wounded a Farpoint Canton Constable temporarily assigned as his chauffeur and bodyguard. The court ruled that the conditions of the killing - a deliberate and planned act by an organized terrorist group and targeting an officer of the court - constituted "murder under aggravating conditions" as defined in the Commonwealth Capital Crimes Act of 1955 as a crime warranting the death penalty. The sentence was based on Stenberg's DNA obtained from blood spilled at the crime scene after Stenberg was shot by the police officer wounded in the attack, as well as Security Service intelligence and witness interviews conducted under confidentiality.

Stenberg was also found guilty to membership of an organization proscribed under the Terrorism Act of 1986 and to the possession of an illegal firearm. Four other members of the group who assisted Stenberg in carrying out the murder and in subsequently evading the authorities are to face charges for aiding an abetting in a murder and for membership in a proscribed organization. Thor Skepman, a 22-year old Farpoint resident who acted as the second gunman in the murder, was shot and killed by Commonwealth STARS officers during a raid which led to the capture of Stenberg and two other Nordisk Frihet members.

Due to security concerns, the trial was carried out amidst heavy security in a secure underground court room. Immediately after the trial, Stenberg was moved under heavy security to the Farpoint Castle Air Force Base, from where he was reportedly flown to Snowgate Commonwealth Prison in Coleridge-Anston. The high-security prison houses Cornavia's only active death row, where Stenberg will join the sixteen other Cornavians currently in death row.

Both the Farpoint Bar Association and the Commonwealth Guild of Policemen commended the decision, while anti-death penalty campaigners and representatives of the Nordic Freedom Party urged for higher court levels to commute the sentence to life. In addition, an anonymous web message posted by a self-described representative of Nordisk Frihet vowed retaliatiory attacks if Stenberg would be executed.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Free Union Solidarity Alliance confirms the date of candlelight human rights demonstrations as Saturday 25th
Southport-on-Sea - Reports of the Cabinet investigating the option to proscribe the Anglo-Saxon Front under the Terrorism Act of 1986 denied by Ministry of Justice spokespersons
Southport-on-Sea - M.Ps Edmund Moreland and Lawrence Anderton to compete in the Republican Party's chairmanship election on September 26th
Whitehaven - Stocks go up for VersaLife Industries as the bioengineering company announces the planned September 30th release of a new line of genetically engineered crops
Alderney - Communist Party of Cornavia (Post-Vanguardist) activists besieged by riot policemen after taking over an Unity Group office building in the mining company's logistics complex

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News
Brought to you by the Cornavian National Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet​

SOUTHPORT-ON-SEA - Security Service head:"Threat of terrorism at its highest since the 1980s"

The threat of domestic terrorism is at its highest since the 1980s - when the communist Cornavian Red Army and the separatist Nordisk Frihet were at the high point of their history - according to the head of the Commonwealth Security Service. Speaking before the Subcommittee of Intelligence and Security at the Commonwealth Parliament, CSS General Director Jonathan Wilcox warned that domestic terrorist groups had increased their activities to levels suggesting the occurence of further attacks this year. However, Wilcox said that there was no imminent risk of a serious terrorist attack. "This doesn't mean that violent terrorists would be preparing to engage in acts right now", he said, "But groups in the Ministry of Justice's list of proscribed groups are definitely building up their capabilities to launch attacks."

According to statistics of the Ministry of Justice, 2009 saw 39 incidents categorized as terrorist acts, and the period between the January and September of 2009 26 terrorist acts. At the same time, the period between the January and September of 2010 has seen 32 terrorist acts, including serious incidents such as the murder of a Cantonal Deputy Chief Prosecutor in Farpoint by Nordic separatists and the attempted murder-arson against a Vangalan curry parlor by white supremacists. Still, most of the incidents in question have only targeted property and have not lead to a loss of life.

General Director Wilcox warned that the most significant terrorist threat still came from the ethnic Scanian separatist group Nordisk Frihet, which has shown signs of increasing activity in the Northern Cantons lately. However, Wilcox also said that far-right terrorism with "racial and ideological, but not separatist motives" could become an increasing issue in the future, and warned that "a hard core prepared to carry out acts of violence for their cause" was capitalizing on growing anti-immigrant sentiment. "We're already seeing youth gangs tied to people such as the Anglo-Saxon Front, and street violence isn't that far away from political violence", said Wilcox.

Left-wing radicalism has also been on the news lately, particularly with the intervention of Communist Party of Cornavia (Post-Vanguardist) on the side of the New Sutherland strikers in the ongoing labour struggle with the Unity Group. In his meeting with the Parliament, General Director Wilcox described extremist leftism as more of a "public order rather than anti-terrorism issue" and said that the remnants of the Cornavian Red Army were presently inactive.

Jonathan Wilcox's warnings over the far-right come at a time when the Ministry of Justice is debating the possibility of proscribing the Anglo-Saxon Front under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1986, after members of the ASF's Bremerholm chapter were implicated in an attempted murder and arson against a Vangalan curry parlour in the city. The president, vice president and four others from the chapter are currently being tried for terrorism-motivated attempted murder and arson.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Human rights organizations conduct a candlelight vigil outside of the Free Union embassy in response to the country's police brutality and widespread backing to "dubious governments"
Southport-on-Sea - Member of Parliament Lawrence Anderton wins Republican Party chairmanship elections, vows a bid for a Cabinet seat in the 2011 elections of Commonwealth Parliament
Whitehaven - Dominican Catholics in Cornavia greet the election of new Pope Stephanus IV in Cornavia's Dominican Catholic churches
Whitehaven - PMC Sandown Security Solutions announces a contract to provide law enforcement and security services for the Kryobaijani government
Bolton - Commonwealth Labour Court for New Sutherland to issue a verdict on the Unity Group mining strike by the end of the month amidst heavy local controversy
Alderney - Left-wing squat of the Unity Group logistical center in Alderney continues despite of police pressure for the squatters to remove themselves

 

[Papal States]

Secretary of the Holy Office

Stephanus IV expresses his gratitude towards the kind Catholics of Cornavia.

Cardinal von Sensenhorst

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News
Brought to you by the Cornavian National Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet​

BOLTON - Labour Court supports the Unity Group stance to the ongoing mining strike

Today in Bolton, the Commonwealth Labour Court for New Sutherland issued a verdict declaring the ongoing National Mining Workers' Union strike against the Unity Group's coal mining branch as an economic one, rejecting the NMWU's attempt to have the strike declared as a labour rights issue. In effect, this means that Unity Group will be allowed to dismiss those employees who remain striking after a transitional period of two workdays after the passage of the verdict.

In his closing statement, Presiding Justice Winston Atherton stated that the conditions affecting the workers of Unity Group "went beyond the management of the company" and that in his view the firm's management was conducting its labour policy in a way necessitated by the conditions prevalent among the Cornavian private enterprise. "Everyone knows the conditions our coal mining is in, and has been, for well over two decades", Presiding Justice Atherton said, adding that "all companies in this land have adjusted when their businesses have not been satisfactory."

The National Mining Workers' Union case accusing Unity Group of employee mismanagement and illegal strikebreaking in connection with the strike and demanding conditions including an option to transfer into other branches of the company as well as severance fees was rejected by the Labour Court.

While the Unity Group itself and several business interest groups including the Chamber of Commerce-funded Center on Labour Law applauded the decision, it drew in a sharp reaction from the National Mining Workers' Union. Indeed, after the verdict was declared, an altercation started by NMWU chairman Jeremy Nielsen and five other union activists required the emptying of the courtroom and the detaining of the persons in question by intervening Commonwealth Constables. Contempt of court charges are being considered.

Unity Group is required to wait until Monday in conducting any dismissals of the strikers, unless the NMWU appeals to the Commonwealth Supreme Court concerning the verdict. Union activists are apparently intent on resuming their street action of the company alongside members of youth activists from the Labour and Red-Green Parties as well as Communist groups including the CPC(PV) and the 15th of September Movement. Anticipated unrest targeting the company have drawn in significant law enforcement attention. At the same time, the squatting of an Unity Group office building in Alderney by CPC(PV) activists is in progress.

Unity Group, one of Cornavia's "Big Three" of energy companies and the largest domestic coal producer supplying one-eight of overall Cornavian coal supply and producting nearly a half of Cornavian coal, has suffered in its business from the ongoing strike as well as interruptions caused by demonstrations in its other facilities. However, at the same time, the NMWU is rumored to suffer from problems in financing its campaign of strikes.

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News
Brought to you by the Cornavian National Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet​

BOLTON - Policemen clash with union activists, communist youth in Bolton and Alderney

The first backlash over the New Sutherland Labour Court's decision swatting the ongoing miners' strike was felt yesterday and last night in the local cities of Bolton and Alderney, when National Mining Workers' Union members and communist youth activists clashed with riot policemen from several police departments. In addition, peaceful demonstrations opposed to the court verdict declaring the NMWU strike as an economic strike according to the Cornavian labour law took place in both cities.

The unrest begun at the Bolton Miners' March organized by the NMWU and Red-Green and Communist youth organizations and gathering 3000 attendants in total. According to the Greater Bolton Metropolitan Police, the march proceeded peacefully until undercover officers observed makeshift weapons being passed around in a so-called "black bloc group" of violent activists involved in the march. At that point, the march was held up by riot policemen, who pushed themselves into the crowd to carry out arrests using batons. They were met by activists throwing empty bottles and bricks, and eight police officers and nineteen demonstrators were injured during the incident, while thirty were arrested.

Later in the evening, another crowd of demonstrators attempted to make its way to the Greater Bolton Prefectural Detainment Center in the city, where the thirty arrested during the day are being held in custody. After being confronted by riot police, the two hundred or so activists engaged in a running battle with the police in the Bolton area of Durling. The rioters used parked motor vehicles and other equipment in order to create a barricade against the police, and later set some of the said vehicles on fire, in addition to throwing bricks and rocks at the police, who responded by firing tear gas and bean bag rounds at the crowd. Hospital sources said that thirteen police officers and twenty-five rioters were injured, and the GBMPS announced the arrests of over forty people during the events.

Meanwhile in Alderney, City Police backed by the New Sutherland Canton Constabulary and the Commonwealth Constabulary pre-emptively stormed the squatted Unity Group office building between Thursday and Friday. The operation involved the use of a helicopter and armored vehicles lended from the Army to deliver riot policemen and armed officers into the building, and saw the use of batons, attack dogs and non-lethal grenades to subdue the 42 people inside. The multi-hour operation ended at dawn, but during the day riot policemen had to fend off another group of demonstrators trying to enter the complex.

The situation related to the ongoing strike is tense, as New Sutherland waits for the Unity Group's next-week commencement of legitimized strikebreaking measures. The Cantonal leadership has reportedly urged the company to exercise moderation in bringing the strike to an end, but the latter is eager to restore its coal operations back to normal. Chief Executive Officer Gregory Naylor is meeting with the company board of directors in Bolton on Monday.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Belmont-EDF split's effect on Cornavian foreign relations with either state to be carefully considered, says Minister of External Affairs William Fenner in response to Parliament questions
Southport-on-Sea - Ministry of Justice's Electoral Review Board gives an "all clear" on the Cornavian conduct of the Northern Parliament elections
Southport-on-Sea - Commonwealth government removes the requirement of a visa for citizens of Northern Council memberstates in order to advance the Council's free movement agenda
Bremerholm - Anglo-Saxon Front members go before the court in Bremerholm to answer for charges of attempted murder and arson as an act of terrorism

 

[Confederal Republics]

24 Hour News​

Brought to you by the Cornavian National Broadcasting Company. Available on the Internet​

SOUTHPORT-ON-SEA/WHITEHAVEN - Vangalan-origin man arrested on espionage charges

In a surprise announcement, the Minister of Justice David Connington today released information that a 25-year old Cornavian resident of Vangalan citizenship had been arrested under the Treason, Espionage and Alien Act of 1845 and under the Security Secrets Act of 2005. The arrest, which took place during the last week, occured as part of a joint operation conducted by the Commonwealth Security Service and the Public Security Wing of the Greater Southport Metropolitan Police.

The man, a student of the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology of the Whitehaven University of Technology, is reportedly employed in a major Southern Cornavian ICT company where he is conducting his internship required of students in the WUT. According to the Security Service's General Director, Jonathan Wilcox, the said company features among its products sensitive information systems intended for the use of Commonwealth, Cantonal and local civilian administration and has been listed as a Category B Security Interest Company by the Cabinet Intelligence Committee. Wilcox said that the company had not been involved with any projects related to national security.

Commonwealth Security Service sources said that the suspect had been under surveillance for several weeks after being red-flagged by his employee's security personnel as a potential security risk, and that confidential company information had been discovered on his lap-top when Border Services officers took him aside for questioning as the man attempted to board a flight to Kilikia at the Greater Southport International Airport. It is believed by the Security Service that the man was attempting to transport corporate secrets into his native country, possibly on behalf of his country's intelligence services.

Investigators are currently working to ascertain if the man was indeed attempting to remove confidential material from the country, or if the materials had remained on his lap-top accidentally. The Security Service has refused to comment on any further details in the matter or the possibility of any further suspects in the case. However, at the very least, the 25-year old Vangalan could face a civil suit on behalf of his employer for violating the terms of a corporate non-disclosure agreement. If found guilty of criminal action, charges of industrial espionage or espionage may be brought forward by the Commonwealth Prosecution Bureau.

Security insiders have reacted with curiosity to the news of an espionage arrest, which comes at a time of tensions between the Vangalan, Batavian and Cornavian governments over the former's sheltering of former operatives of the Batavian regime's secret service, some of whom are reportedly sought by Batavian and Cornavian intelligence agencies.

News in Brief
Southport-on-Sea - Cornavian universities record more applicants during the autumn application period in comparison to those of previous years
Southport-on-Sea - Defection of Commonwealth Party M.P Barry Devers to the Republicans sparks debate over growing internal divisions in Cornavia's ruling party
Whitehaven - Whitehaven Financial says "long-term" investor loss of confidence against Unity Group could follow as a result of the company's handling of a recent coal strike
Bolton - NMWU to petition to the Supreme Court over the Labour Court strike verdict, but analysts say the strike against Unity Group is effectively ending
Bremerholm - Anglo-Saxon Front Bremerholm president and vice-president get 10 years each, four others get between 4 to 8 years in the trial of a racist attack against a Vangalan curry parlour

 

[Polesia]

পররাষ্ট্র মন্ত্রক
Ministry of External Affairs

The People's Republic of Vangala condemns and protests against the politically-motivated arrest of an innocent Vangalan citizen by the Cornavian authorities. We will not be forced into accepting Cornavian demands by the unjust harassment of our people.

We have recalled our Ambassador to Cornavia for further consultation and summoned the Cornavian Ambassador in Kilkila to explain the outrageous actions of his government.