Natalian Media Outlet: NaBC, Mercury & Harton Chronicle

[Natal]

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Providing daily news in Lower Natal since 1835 and Federation wide since 1908- 6 shillings- 26th of October 1920​

Rush to the Centre of the World: Viewpoints from 4,300 feet underground
Otavi, Free State of Langfield

The first gold rush that rocked the nation took place 50 years ago, when prospectors found near the border between the Free State and the Loda Chiefdom a strand of gold which has led to the birth of a new town as Loda and Engell alike and even extra-continental prospectors have pushed to extract and exploit the riches of our lands. Since then, the Union of Natal has risen into becoming the greatest nation in the southern hemisphere, as gold rush was followed by a diamond rush, and then by another gold rush and then the whole process repeated, as the economy developed, infrastructure was build, cities rose up and trade expanded more and more. ​

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Today, the town of Otavi, a traditionally sleepy town of half white Langfielders of Engell and Gaullois ancestry and Loda nethians, situated at the foothills of the Eastern Grans, is going through its greatest phase in history as as the gold rush in the Eastern Grans is fuelled by the investments of the world huge Engello-Natalian Conglomerate, as they opened this month three more pits, with about 5,000 new jobs opened at the mines. The whole town of Otavi is expected to expand in the following years as it becomes the centre of the mining industry in the mountainous areas of the Free State, with some optimists believing that in time it will replace Parow as the State's capital and main city. ​

The Conglomerate, which is Natal's also biggest corporation has issued the construction of a whole new neighbourhood in the east end of the town for the new workers, mainly made from cheap wood houses, transforming the whole Goldend area into a company town.​

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The Otavi mines are offering a breakthrough of engineering as the are as of yet the deepest in the world, with the officials from the Conglomerate promising that if development continues the way it does, the region prosperity will continue to increase and that soon, a race to reach the centre of the world will soon start. The Queen Zandile pit, worked mostly by Loda labourers, reaches the nauseating depth of 4,300 feet inside the mountain, where by the conditions are very hard on the workers, but the promise of good wages and riches are motivating everyone to get into the elevated and go deep underground.​

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"Working in a mine is probably the hardest job in the world, and especially with the recent history, the 2nd most dangerous after a soldier," says a worker jokingly as he takes a pickaxe and hands it to his colleague, while he goes to take some dynamite from the storage facilities. "We are expanding the mines. From what I understood, they believe that the small valley in front of the town was the place where millions of years ago, a meteorite has fallen and the extreme conditions of the crash has created all those riches. We are still expanding the mines and using this," he says as he shows the dynamite. "We are making much more easier and faster if we use explosives, but it also makes it more dangerous, it is a continuous concern on us to see if the shaft holds or crashes on us or not," he says looking concerned.​

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While Himyar is a continent of extreme inequalities both in the colonial societies but also in the independent nations like Natal and Cathiopia, societies are broken between a very rich minority and the majority living in penury, with a little to non-existent middle class, for many, the booming mining industry of Natal is the best way of guaranteeing an open door for social mobility for many, irrespective of their racial belonging. Compared to the other Himyari societies, many which are colonial, where the colonial elite is closed off hermetically from the native majority, or Cathiopia, where the new republic is built upon the old foundations of an ancient civilisation, Natal is a new nation like the nations of westernesse which gives it's workers the best chances in Himyar for social mobility. ​

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OTHER NEWS ​

Sport: The Jacaranda Cup Rugby Tournament has started with a mach today in which the Harton Oryxes have defeated the Mzuzu Cobras, 46 to 27. John Owens, coach of the Oryxes is full of hope as he called his current squad a dream team.
Weather: Rains are expected on the coast, with spring bringing rains into the inland. Tonight, 17 degrees are expected in Camp Hill, 20 in Harton, Blackmere and Parow and on the other side of the Grans, 18 degrees in Wynyard and Balaka and up to 25 in Mzuzu.
Now playing on Coogee Street: Tonight the West End Theatre is having its premiere of "The Mutual Admiration Society" comedy musical. All the tickets have been sold out.

 

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Mbunda Nkosi of the Rharhabe Clan criticises Camp Hill Accords and calls for independence
Camp Hill, NCD

Faku Velile, the Nkosi (king) of the Rharhabe clan from the Mbunda Chiefdom has criticised the Mbunda Paramount Chief, Nkosi Sarili Hintsa, of the Gcaleka clan, for signing the Camp Hill Accords nearly 12 years ago and for having the Mbundas join the creation of the Union of Natal. In the speech given in the State Assembly, Nkosi Faku Velile has attacked the residing paramount chief and has gone as far as to call for the Mbundas to get their independence and calling the current constitutional status quo of Natal as "the most insidious form of colonialism, as the whites on the coast present themselves as locals, not as conquerors".​

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The Rharhabe clan is known as the Right Hang Clan in the Mbunda society, as they are the smaller of the two main clans of the Mbunda and their Chiefs are seen as the 2nd in command for the Paramount Chief of the Mbunda, which comes from the Gcaleka clan, which is the biggest family group. The Mbundas have joined the Loda in a personal union 25 years ago when Nkosi Sarili Hintsa has married the Queen Mother of the Lodas, Buhle, the mother of the current Loda Chief, Nkosi Vuyo kaAmehlo. She ruled as regent of the Loda Chiefdom while her son was a minor and united the two peoples in the Loda-Mbunda Union, in an era where the 3rd Rozvi Kingdom and the Coastal Republics were already negotiating the creation of the Union of Natal. ​

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In the latter part for the Scramble for Himyar, the Rozvi and the Loda-Mbunda have been some of the last to resist, together with the Cathiopians, but the endemic warfare between them and the superior firepower of the Gallo-Germanians have made them very weak and the pressure of the Gaullois colonisation of the Sun Coast, and the Aurarian influence over the Cathiopian polities have made many realise that unity with the Coastal Republics and the creation of a modern, civilised and independent Himyari nation was the only way of avoiding subjugation. While this take on the creation of Natal has made many, especially the Nethian elites and middle class happy that it gave them a chance to modernise and westernise on equal footing with the whites, compared to other colonial societies, where native Nethian polities are pushed into a status of protectorate under the colonial government. ​

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While the Union project has been started as a way to make both the Rozvi Kingdom and the Loda-Mbunda Union on one side and the Coastal Republics on the other viable, it has managed to show that it was an unthinkable success in creating a common Western Himyari identity for black, white and coloured alike, but even so, there are many for whom the Union was too much and they still crave the days fore it. While the anti-Union sentiment was quite strong during the first years after the Camp Hill Accords, but the generalised violence of the Great War has shocked many, and has made them remember why the need to create the Union was imperative. Economic growth soon followed with the development of infrastructure such as railways and strip roads, and the gold and diamond rushes. ​

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While the calls for separatism have been moved into the fringe of the Union's politics, it is believed that this call by Nkosi Faku Velile and the Rharhabe Clan, is only an artifice to turn the world's eyes to them and attract attention, while in reality many of the issues they have are part of the palace intrigues from the Mbunda Chiefdom and the Rharhabe's attempts to discredit the current Mbunda Paramount Chief, as there is a strong rivalry between Faku Velile and Sarili Hintsa. While historically there have been many violent ends to the reign of Mbunda Paramount Chiefs, with the new constitutional status quo of the Union, the authorities and Camp Hill have been adamant that they will not accept any clan war between the Rharhabe and Gcaleka clans, even if it means that Faku Velile will use this as a way to continue his calls for Mbunda independence. ​

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"Calls for independence and separatism are the now part of the fringe of the fringe and are used not for the real goal of achieving this, but rather to attract attention to other important problems in the substates and currently, the authorities are afraid that in the Mbunda Chiefdom we have a clan war brewing between the rulling Gcaleka and the Rharhabe. We will do our best to see peace prevail and all issued sorted before violence erupts," stated the Lieutenant Governor for the Mbunda, the honourable Fundani Sandile.​

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"Such irrational and dangerous calls for separatism and for braking the union are endangering all the progress we have made in developing the nation. Camp Hill will not accept any form of unconstitutional actions and will take measures before the Chiefdom will be destabilised by the mere rivalry of two chiefs whom are ready to push their clans to war," stated the right honourable Bradley Ross, Chief Minister of Natal in a scathing speech held in the Federal Assembly.​

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OTHER NEWS​

Lower Natal: The Rozvi King has been reported visiting the city of Harton in secret, fuelling the rumours that he has a secret relationship with a great actress from Coogee Street. As of yet nothing has been confirmed by neither the Mzuzu Royal Palace nor by any theatres on Coogee Street.​

Langfield Free State: The State's Railroad Commission has stated that they will continue their plans of developing the railroad infrastructure of the state following the recommendations of the Federal government and will build any new railroad tracks using the metric gauge. The goal is to build a railway connection between Harton and the Gaullois Sun Coast Protectorate going through the Langfield Free State.​

 

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Ministry of Military Affairs begins the last phase of the military integration into the UDF
Camp Hill, NCD

Led by Marshall David James Woodward, the supreme commander of the Union Defence Force, the Integration Commission whose members are the Marshall, the right honourable Ellis Hamilton, the Minister of Military Affairs, the right honourable Liam Savage, the State President, the right honourable Bradley Ross, the Chief Minister and their majesties, Tendai III Mutasa, King of the Rozvi, Sarili Hintsa, Paramount Chief of the Mbunda, Mpande kaDumisile, the Chief of the Loda and Kamohelo Thabo, Paramout Chief of the Pondo, has met in Camp Hill to discuss the last phase of the integration of the armies and militias of the substates into the UDF.​

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Decided upon the signing of the Camp Hill Accords, which have created the Union of Natal, 12 years ago, the military integration was deemed necessary to create a modern and efficient defence force especially in the environment of the Great War. The Union Defence Force was originally created out of the Citizen's Force, the militia of the coastal republics, ex-armed forces of the Engell South Western Himyari Company. Once the referendum for responsible government has been passed and the Company was replaced by the new republics and the Camp Hill Accords were signed, the goal is to unify the defence forces and to integrate the Rozvi and Pondo Askari and the Mbunda and Loda Impi into the Union Defence Force.​

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Currently, the Askari and the Impi have been using the same equipment and uniforms as the UDF, and have been under the same general staff, but the military units are still segregated either from their substate origin or for their ethnic groups, being divided in mixed white-coloured-Nethian UDF, the all Rozvi and all Pondo Askari and the all Mbunda and all Loda Impi. The last phase of the integration is set to end this segregation and create mixed units that will use Engelsh as the language for orders and commands. The final goal is to use the military as a stepping stone to cement the creation of an all-Union Natalian identity as the majority of the male youth will go through military service once they become adults.​

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"Our duty is to create an efficient fighting force and for that, we need the units to be made of soldiers from all the provinces of the Union, as this form of segregation is an extreme vulnerability of the UDF as it perpetuates local loyalties and obsolete and tribal identities. The only way for our nation to be successful and to survive in those harsh times, is to create a common identity and an efficient fighting force," stated Marshall David James Woodward.​

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The rumours of a brewing clan war in the Mbunda Chiefdom is making many of the higher ups in the Mbunda Impi Forces nervous about the loyalty of the Mbunda soldiers who might see their clan loyalty as more important than their general UDF and Natalian loyalty. Regarding the story on the Mbunda Chiefdom, Marshall Woodward has stated that the Ministry of Military Affairs will make sure that no UDF equipment or soldiers will be used to start the potential clan war. ​

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OTHER NEWS​

Remis army mutiny: After the terrorist attack that has shocked the world, killing the majority of the members of the parliament, the Remis army is in mutiny and have gone in a total onslaught, taking over the Papal State and violating the peace treaties that ended the Great War. Tiburan Catholics in Natal are protesting in Camp Hill in front of the Remis embassy.​

Harton Partnership for Transport: The Harton City Corporation and the Ministry of Transport have signed a partnership to built a series of suburban trains that will connect the outer neighbourhoods to the city centre. A feasibility study for it will research to see if a train or a subway will be needed. ​

 

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Historic vote in the Federal Assembly to disband the internal borders
Camp Hill, NCD

In a historical session of the Federal Assembly, the Hippos and Hyenas have worked together and supported the same bill, voting for the disbandment of the internal borders between the Coastal Republics, the Rozvi Kingdom, and the Loda, Pondo and Mbunda Chiefdoms. While the Hippos have been adamant on disbanding the internal borders, the Hyenas have been alternating on their positions, as much of their base of support was coming from the Nethian middle class and the elites of the polities of the interior. The internal borders have been kept since the signing of the Camp Hill Accords, as a way to still keep a form of Nethian sovereignty in their polities and keep the Union of Natal in a confederated status, rather than full on integration. Support for the enhanced Federation has come later, when the Union proved to be efficient in keeping both Engells and Nethians sovereign and prosperous. ​

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While the Coastal Republics, namely the Upper and Lower Natalian Republics, the Langfield Free State and the lesser polities such as the Lesser Free State and the New Republic didn't had any form of borders between them as they were all formed out of the lands of the Engell South Western Himyari Company, and thus had no borders between them, but when the Camp Hill Accords were signed, the Nethian polities have joined the union with the scope of further integration as autonomous administrative divisions provided that they see the Union as successful. ​

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While the internal borders still give the authorities of the provinces a sense of remnant sovereignty, for most of the people they have been extremely problematic, as needing an internal passport limits much of the opportunities of the Union for many workers which are either wanting to move to the Coast for work in factories or in the Grans to work in the mines. For many, the existence of the internal borders still mean that there can be limited professional opportunities as residency outside one's birth substate is limited to 90 days and holding a job in a different state is necessary to get the said residency permit. ​

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The main Natalian parties have voted in the Assembly meeting today to disband the internal borders, although the vote wasn't unanimous as Hyena rebels have voted against it, bringing the final results to a total of 578 AYEs and 22 NAYs. The disbandment of the internal borders bill will bring an end to the internal passport and the internal residency permit, giving everyone the freedom to move around the Union of Natal and change their residency and jobs irrespective of their birth province. ​

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The main opposition of this comes surprisingly from the labour movement, the trade unions in the Coastal Republics and the Antelopes (The Western Himyari Communist Party), which has called the end of the internal borders a ploy for moving Nethian labourers on to the industrialised coast and replace the white workers with cheaper black employees, all covered under the veil of unity and Natalian identity. While the Rozvian King, his majesty Tendai III Mutasa has been joined by the Loda and Mbunda Chiefs in applauding the new scheme as it gives great oportunities for their substates, the Pondo Chief, his grace Kamohelo Thabo has decried the disbandment, calling it the death of the sovereignty of the Nethian polities and stating that it will bring the end to the traditional Pondo way of life, as more and more youths will move to the cities and find jobs in factories or mines. ​

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The UDF and the Natalian Police Service are now facing a dilemma as while the bill has not been turned into law, as the State President didn't sign it, the bill does state that the internal borders are to be disbanded and the border crossings opened immediately, with the first rumours of the vote agitating the people will many assaulting the border crossings in the Rozvi Kingdom to cross into Upper Natal and in the Pondo Chiedfom to cross into the Free State of Langfield, while in the Loda and Mbunda Chiefdom, the Natalian Railroads have announced that they had to add additional carriages, going as far as to double the size of the trains going towards Camp Hill, Harton and Blackmere starting tomorrow morning because of the many tickets bought. While the situation was tense at first, orders from Marshall David James Woodward was to open the gates and let the people travel freely, as the State President himself has said that he will sign the bill into law and there will be no need to wait.​

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While many believe that the free movement will give a chance to Mbunda youths to find jobs and better opportunities on the coast and thus will reduce the social tensions and the chances for a clan war between the Rharhabe and Gcaleka clans, some more pessimistic pundits believe that this will turn the Natalian labour movement into a racial issue as many white majority unions on the coast are against what they call a "flood of cheap migrants" that might result in a generalised decrease of the wages.​

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OTHER NEWS​

Sport: The Natalian Board of Tourism and the national Rugby Union has anounced that signups for the Jacaranda Cup have been opened and they have already received interest from teams allover the world. It is expected that this summer's Jacaranda Cup will be the biggest ever.​

Theatre love story: The existence of a love story between the Hartonite actress Matipa Moyo and the Rozvian King Tendai III Mutasa has been confirmed in a press release by the Robert Burns Theatre on Coogee Street. While the Rozvian royals have not commented anything, it is rumoured that Matipa Moyo has been engaged with the Rozvian King, paving her way into becoming his fifth wive.​

 

[Jydsken-Østveg]

Collectivité d'outre-mer de Côte du Soleil
Overseas Collectivity of the Sun Coast

Dearest Neighbors, While the case for the end of your internal borders may prove a point of rejoicing for many citizens of the more liberal forces that inhabit the Natal, the Sun Coast cannot turn a blind eye to the gross irresponsibility of policy that occurs to our north. The end of internal borders threatens the economic and social conditions of the Natal and leaves the Sun Coast victim to the impoverish forces that will arise: immigration, crime, and indecency. We urge the Natal to consider the morality of their future political decisions. The Sun Coast will not tolerate vandals that may seek to cross our borders in search of the wealth generated by our robust agricultural and trade systems. If this becomes a problem for the future, it is my wish to inform your government now that there will be a response in the form of the militarization of our borders. It is my hope however that we can continue our policy of de-militarized borders and goodwill. Sincerely, Prefect Charles Beauchamps

 

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Ministry of International Relations
Silvercrest Building, 24 Harton Road, Camp Hill, CH38GB​

Esteemed representatives,

We fully understand the fears and concerns of the authorities of the Overseas Collectivity of the Sun Coast and wish to make it known that the Union of Natal is a state where the Engellexic Common Law governs and where there is no threat to the stability of the Union and of it's neighbouring states. The issue of the internal borders has been for a long time a quite complicated one and while it was useful in the past, immediately after the signing of the Camp Hill Accords, today they are but a vestige which have started acting against our own interests and of our own economical development and they created unnecessary restrictions both for the manpower and the capital moving from one substate to another.​

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We hope that the good relations between Natal and the Sun Coast is set to continue as there is no need to militarise the border between the two countries, as besides the initial enthusiasm, no great migration is expected and our authorities, namely the Natalian Police Service and the Border Guards division of the Union Defence Force will make sure that every action is taken within the limits of the law.​

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Signed and Sealed,​

Russell Stone​

Minister of International Relations ​

 

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Hyenas ask for union wide common voting franchise
Camp Hill, NCD

In a speech held in the Federal Assembly, Edwin Claude Black, the chairman of the Hyenas and the MP for Harton-Shells, has called for the standardisation of the voting franchise in the all the substates of the Union of Natal. Mr. Black has argued that such a standardisation is necessary for the government's intention to create a Natalian identity, for which a sense of belonging must be cemented through political reforms. The speech was countered by the Minister of Regional Affairs, the right honourable Percy Eaton, which has stated that as per the Camp Hill Accords, each substate has the autonomy of deciding upon its own what would be their voting policies.​

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Currently, the Lower and Upper Natalian Republics are the most liberal in the Union as they make use of what it known as the Coast Qualified Franchise, which is non-religious and non-racial, but rather based on the literacy of the citizen and a minimum property ownership of 100 NAP. The system, which is known as the "One hundred quid vote" is completely colour-blind and is largely open to everyone who owns a house or an apartment, or at least an acre of land in the rural areas. The Free State of Langfield has a similar system, which puts the minimum property ownership at 200 NAP, while the Lesser Free State and the New Republic have an even higher wealth requirement, going towards 400 NAP, severely reducing the pool of electors and affecting whites and coloured too, not only nethians. Meanwhile, in the inland states, the situation is much more complicated, as in the Rozvi Kingdom, besides literacy and property ownership of at least 4 acres, one also needs to be an Utatu Orthodox Christian for the right to vote. In the Mbunda and Loda Chiefdoms, voting is limited to married men who own at least 2 acres of land, while the Pondo Chiefdom still functions as an absolute monarchy, and the chief appoints the representatives of the state to go into the Federal Assembly, while white and coloured citizens living in the Pondo Chiefdom, whom are not subject of the chief, they have their own Non-Subject roll and the Coastal Qualified Franchise applies to them.​

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The Hyenas have been the main progressive force in Natalian politics and fought for politics that were to disband the current overly complicated voting system and create a modern, civilised, standardised and unified one for all the states of the Union, based on the Coast Qualified Franchise, which is the most progressive voting system in the whole of Himyar and the 2nd most progressive in the Southern Hemisphere, after the one in the United Republics of the Thaumantic. On the other side, the Hippos have been arguing for the state rights to have their own systems as, the Hippos have a great support for the much more traditional Nethian elite. ​

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"It is important to create a system where everyone has the same rights, irrespective of the state they live in. Especially now that the internal borders are set to be disbanded, all those differences in the voting system will create a problem as many people will prefer to move away from the Pondo Chiefdom and from other substates where the system is more restrictive, to enjoy the more liberal and progressive laws of the coastal states. Standardising the voting laws in the whole Union is necessary for the development of a harmonious and liberal society that we have struggled for so many years to create. If we don't do this, society will be unbalanced as many of the native states will be emptied and the coast will be overwhelmed. We need to have a balanced development and we need to become a beacon of what is a liberal but orderly, civilised society," stated the honourable Edwin Claude Black, chairman of the Hyenas and MP for Harton-Shells. ​

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While the calls were received with great enthusiasm by republican associations from the Nethian substates, and by progressive politicians and newspapers, as of yet no bill for such a change has been put forward. The Supreme Court did release a communique immediately stating that there is no legal way of changing the electoral law with elections being so close, as there needs to be at least 6 months between any change of the electoral law and any voting process.​

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OTHER NEWS​

Ivernish community celebrates Beltane: The Ivernish community in Natal celebrates the festival of Beltane, the beginning of the summer season, as the difference between the northern and southern hemispheres makes the seasonal celtic celebrations be observed in mirror from their original ones in Ivernia. As the Ivernians in their homeland celebrate Samhain and the new year, the Ivernians in the southern hemisphere are enjoying the equivalent of Mayday.​

State President signs Internal Borders Bill: The Right Honourable Liam Savage, the State President of the Union of Natal has signed the Internal Borders Bill, officially transforming it into law and thus disbanding the Internal Borders between the Nethian States and the Coastal Republics, giving the free right to travel and get permanent residency to all the citizens of the Union in all the substates.​

 

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Violence breaks out in the Mbunda Chiefdom
Bloodthirsty mob bent on lynching as a Gcaleka family was killed

Violence has broken out in the Mbunda Chiefdom in the small village of Addo, after some felons from the Rharhabe clan had a botched break in attempt in the house of the Mvaba family and in the process killed them as they tried to defend the household. The uproar of the six member Mvaba family fighting a band of about 10 attackers has woke up many of the neighbours which came up to help the victims. A generalised battle has resulted where the Mvaba family members were killed by their attackers but the neighbours have managed to either kill or incapacitate the attackers. ​

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The Mvaba family is a prominent family in County Sarah Bartman, with some of its members being some of the first Mbunda intellectuals, offering the Mbunda Chiefdom lawyers, theologians, writers and professors. It was a rich family with connections to the current Mbunda Chief and a part of the Gcaleka clan, which rules the Mbunda Chiefdom. As of yet, information still pours in from the Chiefdom and nothing is definitive, but some believe that it was just a random robbery gone bad, while at the time of the attack, it was seen as a politically motivated attack. ​

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Initially, after the attackers were incapacitated, only the the rumour that the attackers where from the Rharhabe clan has pushed the whole village in a frenzy. The majority of the families in Addo are from the Gcaleka clan, with only about 15% of them being Rharhabes, but starting from the neighbours whom have witnessed the attack on the Mvaba family, the Gcalekas have started crying for blood and beginning to randomly attack Rharhabe households, throwing stones at the households, setting huts on fire, rustling the Rharhabe owned cattle, or in some instances even killing them. ​

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The Police Service in the village of Addo, which is manned by about a total of 10 policemen has reported that they tried to stop the mob, but they were quickly overwhelmed. Initial reports to state that in reality, the Police Service was absent and the police station was quickly deserted immediatly after the Mvaba attack has transformed into an anti-Rharhabe lynching mob. The Union Defence Force has been put on alert and by the break of dawn, order has returned to the small village as soldiers have poured in and have broken the bloodthirsty mob. ​

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Initial casualties reported rise at about 25 dead, including the 6 members of the Mvaba family, with an additional 40 wounded. Out of the dead, it was reported that some were citizens of Addo which had nothing to do with the attack, but rather they were unlucky to be members of the Rharhabe Clan. It was initially reported that there were 6 instances in which Rharhabe clan members were hanged by the mob. ​

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The village has ben put under martial law, headed by Colonel Munaki Shaw, a coloured Rozvi officer, leading the unit of Askaris which have been sent to pacify the village. As per the orders of the supreme commander of the UDF, Marshall James Woodward, because of the tense situation in the Mbunda Chiefdom, no Mbunda Impi are to be sent in to pacify the province as there are fears their clan loyalty would be stronger than their espirit de corps.​

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"The recent issues in the Mbunda Chiefdom can be described as a powder keg which can explode into a clan war between the Rharhabe and Gcaleka. This is currently inflamed by the head of the Rharhabe clan with his declarations attacking the Mbunda Chief and the Mbunda allegiance to the Union. While there have been no comments on it from the Gcaleka leaders, many of the clan members are hostile to the Rharhabes. This powder keg has exploded last night in the village of Addo, County Sarah Bartman. It is my duty here to pacify the village and start an investigation on what happens. We have a zero tolerance policy on mob rule and on violence. While I will do my best to keep this region peaceful, I am asking the government to put the whole Mbunda Chiefdom on martial law or at least have the police service be aided by the Rozvian Askari, the Loda Impi or the units from the coastal republics, as here it seemed that it was useless by itself, until at least things calm down," stated Colonel Munaki Shaw.​

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OTHER NEWS​

Antelopes issue a solidarity statement: The Communist Party of South Western Himyar, commonly known as the Antelopes, have issued a statement of solidarity to the socialist groups, political parties and trade unions in Implaria and stated that they do believe that their supperior organisation will see the creation of the world's first socialist republic there.​

Royal Wedding: His majesty, king Tendai III Mutasa of the Rozvi Kingdom, has came out and stated that he is in a relationship with the Hartonite actress Matipa Moyo and that they are now organising a royal wedding in Mzuzu. Matipa Moyo would then become the King's 5th wife.​

 

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The beginning of the Union wide general election campaign
Both Hyenas and Hippos are set to shine and many believe the local parties won't be up to the challenge

With one month going up until election day, the campaign has officially opened, as this year is a special one as the presidential election falls in the same year as the legislative and the gubernatorial one for the substates. As this is a huge undertaking, with three parallel elections, the National Electoral Bureau has already announced that it will be looking to temporary hire about 10,000 people for the counting and the organisation. The gubernatorial and legislative elections take place in Natal every four years and are staggered by a year from the local elections, while the presidential elections take place every seven years. There are many voices that now expect the Hyenas and the Hippos to be going full national as opinion polling has shown that support for the local parties such as the Utatu Union and Mwari Union tanking, especially as they supported the continued existence of the internal borders, while the Hippos and Hyenas are both now riding a wave of popular support thanks to their historical cooperation to bring them down. ​

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How does the voting system work?​

There is no standardised voting system for the whole Union, as each state has it's own way of voting and it's own franchises. The most prevalent franchise is the "Coast Qualified Franchise", which is used in the Republics of Upper and Lower Natal and is a non-racial and non-religious one, the only limit being the ownership of at least 100 Natalian Pounds in property. The same system is in the Langfield Free State but the wealth threshold is 200 pounds, while the Lesser Free State and the New Republic have it at 400 pounds.​

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The system gets more complicated in the interior polities, as the Rozvi Kingdom has a religious and wealth based system where only Utatu Orthodox baptised subjects of the King who own at least 4 acres of property or their equivalent in cash are given the right to vote. In the Mbunda and Loda Chiefdoms, voting rights are given to married men who own at least 2 acres of land, while the Pondo Chiefdom is acts like an absolute monarchy, where the Chief appoints the members to the parliament. ​

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Because of the complicated system, citizens of the coastal republics or non-subjects of the Rozvi King, Mbunda, Loda or Pondo Chiefdoms who live in those areas are given a special voting roll which follows the rule of the 100 pound vote, the system found in the Lower and Upper Natalian Republics. Because of it's unique system, the Pondo Chiefdom sends no representatives to the Chamber of the Representatives but sends the normal 20 to the Chamber of the Nations.​

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To further show the importance of the federal system, where the voices of all the substates can be heard without having the smaller ones be smothered by the big ones, an elector system is in place. Each state has a certain number of electors which vote for the preferred candidate in a first past the post system, where the winner of the popular vote takes all the electors, irrespective of the percentages and the proportions. As it is the most populous substate, the Republic of Lower Natal has a total of 15 electors, which is followed by Upper Natal with 12, Langfield with 8, Rozvi Kingdom with 8, the Lesser Free State, Mbunda and Loda Chiefdoms with 5 each, and the New Republic, the Capital District (Camp Hill), and the Pondo Chiefdom with 3 each. ​

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The main issues for this election​

Furthering the scope of the union has been the biggest element talked about in the days coming up to the electoral campaign, as the Hyenas and also factions within the Hippos have started to go as far as to openly criticise the current federal system, which creates 2nd and 3rd class citizens only in the name of Substate rights. While the Hippos have preferred to keep away from it and to call for the constitutional sacral status of the Camp Hill Accords, the Hyenas are openly criticising the voting system where subjects of the Pondo Chiefdom have no voting rights, while both the Rozvi, Loda and Mbunda offer complicated conditions that restrict the vote a lot. While radical republican associations have been calling for the reformation of the Union and the creation of a standardised system where all the substates are republics based on the Lower and Upper Natal, the Hyenas haven't gone as far yet, and still call for the respect of the traditional Nethian institutions, but they asked for the standardisation of the voting franchise, based on the Coast Qualified Franchise. ​

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Education is the 2nd important element, as currently Natal is trailing behind the civilised nations in the way of literacy, with barely half the population being able to read or write, most of them being found in the coastal areas, with the likes of the Harton Peninsula (the Harton Metropolitan Area) having an 85% rate, while on the interior, the situation is dramatic, with the likes of the Pondo Chiefdom going as low as 10% estimated. This is further complicated by the traditional oral cultures of the Nethians, and the lack of a specialised literature in the local languages of the substates. While the newer generations begin to use Engelsh as their lingua franca, especially when for many the idea of leaving the interior for the developed coast is a means for social mobility and for more desperate ones even survival, the ones remaining hope do suffer from a generalised lack of healthcare and education. The Hippos have called for further funding of the education sector, especially in the interior, where it is important to create an efficient system which can further the economic development. The Hippos have argued that further funding and the creation of a Union wide institution which would work like an inspectorate would aid in making the education system better, while also respecting state autonomy. On the other side, the Hyenas have called for the education system as a whole to be taken over by the central authorities and be given more funds, as they see standardisation as the only way to make it more efficient. ​

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The labour and agrarian reform is the 3rd important issue. This one is divided on the coastal and internal lines, as the labour movement is active especially in Harton, Blackmere, Camp Hill, Blue Bay, Engelltown and George. Here, the Hyenas and the Antelopes struggle to gain the support of the workers, while the Hippos are rebranding themselves into being more pro-workers as alternative unions spawn up or split from the large, mainstream ones as they are disenchanted by the lack of action coming from the Hyenas and the Antelopes. In the interior, the agrarian reform is a pressing issue as currently, Nethian nobility, which accounts to about 2% of the population of the Rozvi, Mbunda, Loda and Pondo States, own more than 55% of the land. In this case, both the Hyenas and the Hippos have called for an agrarian reform to avoid the radicalisation of the farmers in the interior substates. The Hyenas have called for the confiscation and redistribution of lands, leaving no plots bigger than 25 hectares, while the Hippos have called for a gradual reform where the state buys land plots from the owners and then redistributes them.​

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The presidentiables and current opinion polling​

While each party officially puts forward a candidate in the race for the office of State President, it is as of universally accepted that the only ones having real chances are the candidates from the Hyena and the Hippo parties. The Hyenas have decided to go with someone new in the higher ups of politics, with the idea of bringing a breath of fresh air in the system and have pushed forward Logan Meadows, an undersecretary for the Ministry of International Relations and an ex-ambassador to Le Vieux Bourg in Petits Pays, while the Hippos have decided to go with a veteran in politics, and have elected Curtis Stone, the governor of the Natalian Capital District. This will also represent the retirement of Liam Savage from the high politics of the union. ​

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As of yet, the opinion polling shows that the Hyenas and Hippos are actually running an extremely tight race, and are eating with no issue the support of the traditionalist Nethian parties, especially considering the internal borders issue. The Antelopes might be hurt too by the disbandment of the internal borders, as they targetted mostly the white working class from the coast, and have shown visible ire at the disbandment of the internal borders, which they even went on to say that it will lead to a Nethian migration to the coast and thus it will lead to a lowering of the average salaries. ​

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OTHER NEWS​

Jacaranda Cup Opening Ceremony: The Malcolm Marx Stadium in Harton been the main centre for the celebrations of the opening ceremony of the 1920 Jacaranda Cup. After a series of speeches, the athletes from the best rugby teams of the world have paraded in front of the spectators, being cheered and celebrated. The first matches of the Cup are to start very soon.​

Competition with Coogee Street: As the entertainment industry expands, the new technologies that brought on the talkies are beginning to create an explosion of motion pictures and many analysts believe that in the future, the name Cedarwood, the district of Harton where the film production studios and companies are concentrated, will become even greater and more known than Coogee Street, the main theatre avenue in downtown Harton.​