Nieuws van Batavië | Diepenbrock Refuses to Apologise

[Batavië]

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in hele NC en ook Zingapoer
versies in het duits en het engels
20,- nr | NC: 4 Tysk. Schilling​

His Goals, His Job, His Travel, His Results:
Is Alex de Jonghe Right for Batavia?

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door Jikke Roos

Who is Alex de Jonghe? Batavia's first elected Prime Minister. The leader of the Social Democratic Party. A national saviour? The question is not so easily answered for a man who has done so much for his country in such little time. But is everything that Prime Minister Alex de Jonghe does the best choice for our people? His manifesto was simple and popular enough to give him a majority government without the need for a coalition: attract foreign investment, make peace with the BRA (Batavian Republican Army), repair and rebuild relations with as many governments as possible. Check, check and check. The market reforms are still painful for many, but the majority are not complaining. You can buy a mobile now, ATMs are being installed for the first time ever, salaries have increased and it is now possible to leave to country, for holiday, business or for good.

What does it take to push through such radical change in a country that less than a year ago was Europe's single most secretive and repressive regime? Long and stressful days in the office? Try again. Alex de Jonghe should call The Griffin (KLM 747 government jet) his home and office. He spends on average one week in the air travelling from Batavia to a foreign capital or business centre. The newspapers have criticised him. Batavia's second party, the Conservatieve Unie, mocks the governing party during weekly Question Period for his near constant absence to answer questions (Ministers and PMO staff are stuck with the job). Is this what our Prime Minister should be doing? Spending millions of rand per month flying around the world in a jumbo jet to court wealthy countries? Professor Heinrich Adenauer of Tyskreich's Lyndanisse School of Economics says yes.

'Batavia is a fascinating case of a completely closed off economy rapidly being exposed to the high volume trade of a market economy. The benefits are obvious with material products pouring in and salaries increasing, but the consequences are all too easily pointed out. Factories run on quota systems during the communist era have closed, jobs have been lost and many are living on welfare. The pinnacle of this point was in August but it appears as though things are turning around, if slowly. De Jonghe's style of courting foreign governments and begging for cash in a somewhat dignifying manner is working. He's getting companies to make use of Batavian labour, modernising and renewing the factories.'

Despite rising salaries Batavians still earn on average 50 per cent less per hour than their neighbours in Arendaal or the Free Union making their factory labour extremely attractive. Location also has a lot to do with the recent successes. Companies can have their products built in Batavia closer to home, paying extra for labour that would be cheaper in Himyar, for example, but getting higher quality employees and shorter shipping distances.

What does this mean then for De Jonghe's performance since coming to power in March of this year? Profil has to give De Jonghe high marks for his ability to get countries and corporations to invest in Batavia, but we remain weary about his domestic capabilities. He did get the leader of the BRA, Henk Roos, to resign and denounce violence and the EDF peacekeepers could be on their way home by Christmas or sooner. The Northern Council is bringing much needed economic and social integration to the sub-continent and Scanogermanian region and Vlaanderen has rekindled long-lost relations with governments near and far. Alex de Jonghe should not forget about his voter base, however. Not everyone is seeing the benefits, not all is well in the North where the siege on Spa ruined many lives and businesses.

Our Prime Minister looks great on paper, but he is not fully connected with the people who voted for his party. If the Conservatieve Unie or the smaller Vrije Partij figure out a way to further distance him he could be headed for an early election in a country where the people are quickly becoming aware of their power through the ballot box and their enjoyment of using it.

So we say in closing, Meneer Prime Minister, continue your hard work for the Republic and keep acting as the face of the country, but spend a little more time at home, right after your return from Zingapoer, of course.


​

OOC: I am aware, for those of you who speak Dutch, that 'Profil' is German and not the Dutch 'Profiel'. Unless someone feels like making me a proper news banner I'm going with the idea that Batavia's version of Dutch has this spelling variation.

 

[Batavië]

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nieuws op elk uur, Rapport op 20.30 GMT- 1 1/2​

het korte nieuws

»» Preliminary reports indicate that a recently disocvered & abandoned building site in central Windhoek Island may have been an attempt by the communist government to build a nuclear reactor. With designs of the 1960s and 1970s, it appears as though the site was never activated, but more investigations will need to be conducted

»» The Northern Council is days away from passing an act that will create a common market and common currency by year's end but it is not known if all NC members will adopt the currency immediately

»» A senior Foreign Ministry official noted her surprise at the Oikawan government's recent announcement of an 'Imperial Press Conference' said to be held soon. 'The chances of Nokanawa announcing an end to its war and occupation are slim to none, so I don't know why journalists are even bothering to fly across the world in the first place.'

»» Arendaaler police officers are assisting in a National and Local Police training programme to change the way Batavian law enforcers treat the public & suspects. 'A modern way of handling how our uniformed officials deal with the public is necessary to change the mentality of the people. The National and Local police are there for protection, not to report your activities to the SV.' said a Police spokeswoman

»» NC Secretary-General Hans-Erik Rasmus initiated a 'Forward Looking, Forward Thinking' programme today intended to carefully look for new potential NC member countries. The first neighbour that will be 'courted' is the Free Union, a bordering country of Batavia
​

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[Batavië]

Het Blik
Dagelijks meer dan 2 miljoen lezers!
Bat. 5,- nr | NC 1,50 tyk schilling ​

ook uit Duits, Aren-Noors en Engels! In hele NC en Zingapoer (Wing Sing).​

Van Arsdale: The Most F***** Up Case I've Ever Seen

Midstad, Noordveld Province — Not even the Conservatieve Unie bothered to react to Interior Minister Constantijn van Arsdale's public cursing. Responding to a crowd of journalists outside his Ministry offices in Vlaanderen, Minister Van Arsdale said that what should have been a normal police inquiry turned into 'the most f***** up case I've ever been involved with.' So what is this case that got the Interior Minister to curse on national television? We go to Midstad, a city of 300.000 people and the capital of the largest province, Noordveld, where the landscape is famous for being flat, full of farms and in many places below sea level.

Two weeks ago a night club in the city centre was at the centre of a typical police incident. A customer of the club required medical attention after an accident involving his beer bottle and nearby dancers. The victim, a 22 year old medical student, had just returned from the bar with his 'Uitmuntend!' brand beer, popular with students for its low price. While on the dance floor the student drank from his bottle, which was accidentally hit by a nearby dancer. The bottle was shoved into the mouth of the victim and knocked out both of his front teeth. Stunned and in much pain the student collapsed to the crowded dance floor where he quickly passed out due to shock and blood loss. Because of the very loud club music and crowded floor, it took five minutes before anyone noticed what had taken place. An ambulance was called and the unconscious student was taken to a nearby sofa, but the music and partying continued.

Ten minutes later both the ambulance and the Local Police arrived on scene. The emergency medical team immediately saw the danger that the student was in (he had been partially trampled by the dancers while unconcious) and began treating and moving the student to the ambulance. The Local Police called for backup and had the club's music shut off and lights turned on. Patrons were forbidden from leaving until backup arrived to conduct interviews. A Local Police captain, noting the high number of people and limited space in the basement club called for the Fire Protection Services to be called in. Fifteen minutes later the Fire Protection Services Commander of Midstad ordered the club's manager to immediately cease operations until a full safety investigation of the facilities was conducted.

Meanwhile the club patrons were slowly being interviewed by the Local Police who were seeking more information regarding the 'beer-teeth incident'. Naturally the drunk students did not know what had happened and were becoming increasingly impatient. At this stage, about two hours after the victim became injured, it was reported that the victim had succumbed to his wounds and blood loss and was pronounced dead at Midstad General Hospital. The Local Police captain in charge of the scene ordered his officers (now numbering over 30 at this one scene) to treat this as a murder investigation. Local Police vans were brought in to bring club patrons to the city's main prison where they would all be further questioned.

At 4.22 in the morning, about four hours after the incident began, the Veiligheidspolitie arrived on the scene with 10 agents. It is not known who called them in, but many suspect that they had the club bugged, any way. The Vepo captain, having the uppermost authority at the crime scene, ordered all 'prisoners' to be transfered into Vepo custody. Vepo claimed that the club was suspected of being a 'front for the Batavian Republican Army and its confidants' and therefore all patrons must be suspected of treason and treated as such.

By now an unknown Local Police officer or Fire Protection Services official had placed a call to the Midstad City Council, which then called the Interior Ministry. The following morning, with the club under both Local Police and Vepo watch and the patrons sitting in prison, Interior Minister Constantijn van Arsdale arrived from Vlaanderen via helicopter to take command of the situation. After about three hours of arguing with the local Vepo commander (and having to make a call to Vepo's director in Vlaanderen) Minister Van Arsdale was granted access to take over the inquiry. His first action was to release all club patrons and his second act was to call in the National Police to take over the investigation of 'a simple accident that resulted in an unfortunate death of a young citizen.'

Van Arsdale commented to the press that 'the Local Police overreacted because there was a death, which is understandable. But I don't know how or why Vepo got involved. Fire Protection Services will be conducting a safety inspection of the club to ensure that overcrowding does not cause more similar incidents...I am very disappointed with Vepo's actions and upset that what should have been a simple matter couldn't even be handled by the Local Police.'

Two weeks later in Midstad the Midstad City Council passed a law forbidding clubs from allowing patrons to bring drinks onto the dance floor citing 'safety and overcrowding concerns' and the 'high likelihood of dental-related injuries'. So, at the moment, all (3) clubs in Midstad are not allowed to have drinks on the dance floor and the number of patrons allowed in the clubs will have to be limited to the more stringent standing limitations.

Noordveld Provincial Court is also working on a lawsuit filed by Vepo's Midstad branch against the Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken (Interior Ministry). Vepo's General Director, Mikael F. Duits, says that he has filed a directive to have Midstad's Vepo offices to repeal the lawsuit. 'The directive is going through the normal bureaucratic processes and we should know by mid-November what will happen regarding the beer-teeth incident.


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[Batavië]

Svenska Rösten Bataviska
De Zweeds-Bataafsche Stem | The Swedish-Batavian Voice

Bat. 10,— nieuw rand, NC 2,— Aren Reath​

Era of Swedish Suppression in Batavia Ends

Flandern \ Vlaanderen
At long last the Swedish-speaking minority of Batavia has been granted the human right to emerge from the dungeons of suppression and ignorance. Driven north and west by the Vistrasian migrations of century's past, the Swedish-speaking original inhabitants of what is now Batavia were forced to settle in the farthest reaches of the land, Het Groot Schiereiland, or the Great Peninsula (

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). Under the Batavian-Vistrasian Kingdom and then later the Principality the minority was ignored and the people forbidden to speak Swedish in public. Worse, when the communist era began in the 1950s the De Graaf regime made public utterances of Swedish punishable by ten years of hard labour in work camps. Swedish literature and publications were forbidden and burned and over the decades most Dutch-speaking Batavians have forgotten that there is a minority language in their country.

While not officially recognised, the federal government in Flandern (Vlaanderen) has, as of today, stricken the anti-Swedish laws from the books allowing the official use of Swedish as a colloquial and printable language. The city of Västerköping (Westpunt), home to around 200.000 people, is over 80 per cent Swedish-speaking despite the fact that Swedish hasn't been spoken on the streets in decades, if not centuries. Today that will change. Swedish-Batavians are estimated to number around 5 per cent of the total Batavian population and are not just limited to the Great Peninsula region (a part of Noordveld Province). The city of Flandern and capital of Batavia is likely to have a large number as well as Hilversum and Poortstad. Statistics Batavia, a federal agency, will be releasing official numbers in Census Batavia 2010, due for publication in the coming weeks.

The streets and cafés of Västerköping are full of talk, in Swedish, of what needs to be done next. Rumours of the formation of a political party to represent the minority are circulating as well as a growing demand for Swedish to be recognised as an official federal language, which would bring certain rights such as the ability to conduct official government business in Swedish. Relations with Suionia, from where the Swedish-Batavians hail from, are also to be on a cultural agenda.

As this day is marked in history for the re-emergence of a proud people and language we at Svenska Rösten Bataviska hope to do our best to report the progress of the Swedish people's in Batavia to all Batavians and all Swedish-speakers around the world.



Svenska Rösten Bataviska is published daily from Vlaanderen in Swedish and twice weekly in Dutch. Printing & distribution centres are also located in Suionia and all other NC member states.



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[Saxe-Friesken and Polaben]

"The Government of Suionia finds these developments encouraging and perhaps a sign of the times. That yes, the Northern Council is working and yes, our region is perhaps more harmonious than others."

- Prime Minister Elinor Lindahl​

 

[Arendaal]

"The Kingdom of Arendaal welcomes this news. The suppression of Swedes has long been a matter of concern for the Aren people and government alike. The initiative on behalf of Batavië's new democratic government reflects its espousal of the ideals of democracy, human rights and equality among all peoples. It is a move that is to be commended, and we do so gladly. We trust that the work of the Northern Council will further such progressive initiatives across the region and continue to make Scandinavia not only one of the most prosperous, but also one of the most progressive regions in Europe."

- Svea Bjornsen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Arendaal

 

[Rheinbund]

Aussenministerium
Trier, Eiffelland

Actually, we saw two wise decisions taken in Batavia recently. We commend the Batavian authorities for striking the anti-Swedish laws, but we also look at the decision regarding drinks on dance floors. The story of the student who died in Midstad is tragic, and we ourselves are planning to take it as a lesson.

Rudolph Kögler, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Vice-Chancellor

 

[Batavië]

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nieuws op elk uur, Rapport op 20.30 GMT- 1 1/2​

het korte nieuws

»» The Batavian-Swedish minority accounts for 5% of the total population confirms Statistics Batavia's census data. Federal government will hear requests for establishment of Swedish as an official language or minority but terms not yet known

»» Bataafsche Spoorwegen's SpoorJet high-speed train began regularly scheduled service between Vlaanderen and Hilversum, connecting the country's international airport to Hilversum, the seat of the Northern Council. Further service to Poortstad and Arendaal is expected in the coming weeks

»» Members of the Conservatieve Unie called for Prime Minister De Jonghe to order a purge of the Veiligheidspolitie, citing deep disagreements within the intelligence organisation and conflicting agendas. The six remaining MPs from the Bataafsche Arbijders Partij (former De Graaf party) said during parliamentary debate that PM De Jonghe 'lacks the capability' to influence the 'greatest institution of this country', namely Vepo

»» KLM Airways has plans to open a Cathay Hub nn Zingapoer (Wing Sing) by year's end to service its new non-stop flights from Vlaanderen to Zingapoer and beyond in Cathay. The airline is seeking to become the premier Scanogermanian carrier for the most non-stop flights to Cathay and the most frequent air-cargo services

»» Working within the framework of the NC, btv has expressed interest in broadcasting Vistrasian news broadcasts on a special channel and regularly on the main btv channels. Currently btv already broadcasts news and other programmes within Vistrasia as with all other NC countries & Zingapoer. Some producers have noted concern about the comprehension abilities of Batavians to understand Vistrasian Saxon-Dutch, which is often difficult to understand at first due to the strong accent and different vocabulary and use of words. Subtitles in Batavain-Dutch were proposed
​

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[Batavië]

Het Blik
Dagelijks meer dan 2 miljoen lezers!
Bat. 5,- nr | NC 1,50 tyk schilling ​

ook uit Duits, Aren-Noors en Engels! In hele NC en Zingapoer (Wing Sing).​

Statistics Batavia Releases Census Results

Vlaanderen, Batavian Capital Territory — After months of hard work, mailing out postal forms, going door to door and compiling vast amounts of information into one 752 page report, Statistics Batavia has released the results for Census Batavia 2010. The results are incredibly surprising. Once thought to have about 20 million inhabitants it is now clear that the former communist regime artificially inflated the numbers. The actual national population is in the neighbourhood of 17.432.284 people. Five per cent of the population, or about 872.000 people, are part of the Batavian-Swede minority. With most of the Batavian-Swedes living in the 'Great Peninsula' of Noordveld Province, half of them are spread out among the country with many residing in and around Vlaanderen and Hilversum.

Census Batavia 2010 also had a series of obligatory questions relating to religion, race etcetera. Not surprisingly 92 per cent of Batavians registered themselves as atheists while about 3 per cent considered themselves Christians and the remaining 5 per cent was uncertain or other. With these religious census results the provinces and municipalities will be able to determine whether the construction of churches and religious centres is feasible or acceptable. Churches were banned during the communist era and only the historical ones were not raised, left to stand as historic monuments for learning purposes. According to most provincial laws a community needs to have at least a 10 per cent population of religious believers to build a church or other house of worship on government or public grounds. It is estimated that less than twenty municipalities in the entire Republic will meet this requirement.

Attracting even more attention is the result of the Batavian-Swede population. With such a large minority reaching 5 per cent of the national population many Batavian-Swedes are calling for the recognition of the language as official alongside Dutch. Such a change would require all federal documents and laws (including Parliamentary debates) to be translated and made available in Swedish. The Provincial Diet of Noordveld Province met today to discuss the results of Census Batavia 2010 and consider recognising Swedish as an official Provincial language. Batavian-Swedes living in Västerköping (Westpunt) are calling for fresh provincial elections to allow Batavian-Swedes to run for election. Others are calling for the creation of a new province on the 'Great Peninsula', however that would require federal assent and is unlikely to be accepted to quickly after the removal of Swedish suppression laws.

The Batavian Defence Forces, currently going through a reform process after the fall of communism, also called for a 'Full Branch Congress' this week to discuss the census results. Maintaining the most heavily armed and largest military in Scandinavia during the communist era, it now appears that the ratio of soldiers to civilians was even higher than previous thought. The reduction of standing soldiers is extremely likely especially with the introduction of a mandatory draft for both men and women, reducing the need for volunteer troops. The fate of the military still remains in question with a falling budget but the federal governments mandates for the adoption of modern equipment. The sole and ageing aircraft carrier of the Republican Navy the De Graaf (which hasn't been renamed), remains docked in Windhoek Harbour, unable to remain in service due to budget cuts. The goal is to have it back on the high-seas for routine patrols sometime in 2011, but the books say otherwise.



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[Batavië]

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nieuws op elk uur, Rapport op 20.30 GMT- 1 1/2​

het korte nieuws

»» Increased Republican Air Force activity was noticed on Windhoek Island the last few days as people in the streets of the 'City of Renovation' - Windhoek, have seen dozens of flybys made by multi-role jets based from the nearby bases. The Air Force has declined to comment

»» OLR Railways will be adding German, Norsk and English to its service announcements, 3 Northern Council official languages, much to the delight of travellers wishing to explore the undiscovered gem of nature. With the NC discussing an open borders agreement, norocrats in Hilversum are considering proposing an NC-OLR visa agreement, but it is unlikely that the total removal of visas between the NC and OLR will occur

»» With only 17 million inhabitants the dairy farms of Batavia have a surplus of milk that cannot be consumed or bought by the domestic market leading many farmers seeking to export their products to other NC states and nearby markets in Germania. Once the NC customs union is established it is expected for exports to triple within one fiscal year

»» KLM wants to offer twice daily direct flights from Vlaanderen International Airport to Götköping, the Suionian city enclave within Oelar. Ferry service from Götköping to the small Batavian city of Terkoo on the Long Sea coast are also planned to increase business and leisure travel

»» Noordveld Province will hold provincial elections next week to allow the Swedish-speaking minority a fair say with local politics. Batavian-Swedes have also been calling for the federal government to have elections, but the parties currently in parliament are unlikely to oblige, more content with passing through language and culture recognition reforms without the need for debate
​

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.

 

[Batavië]

Svenska Rösten Bataviska
De Zweeds-Bataafsche Stem | The Swedish-Batavian Voice

Bat. 10,— nieuw rand, NC 2,— Aren Reath​

Demands for Language Equality Reach Vlaanderen

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Erika Balström leads the young Svenska Folkpartiet (Swedish People's Party)

Flandern \ Vlaanderen
This week the 1 million residents of Batavia's largest province, Noordveld, will head to the polls for the second time in Batavian history. This time, however, they will be electing their provincial government, rather than their federal representatives. The grounds: the re-emergence of the Swedish minority in Batavia, specifically the concentrated areas of the Great Peninsula in the west of the province. While the new Svenska Folkpartiet is expected to gain seats in the provincial parliament (it is estimated that around 20% of Noordveld residents are Batavian-Swedes), no federal election is planned.

Is Vlaanderen and the Social Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Alex de Jonghe, ignoring a rather noisy minority? Five per cent of Batavia's 17 million citizens are Batavian-Swedes, no small figure at 850.000 people. Even though resistance at the federal level to Swedish equality reforms is not expected, there have been no official policy statements regarding the status of Swedish as an official federal language. Will it be taught in schools? Will Batavian-Swedes have the right to handle official government correspondence in their native language? Swedish is granted official status in the Northern Council, headquartered in the Batavian city of Hilversum, so why will our federal policy makers not rush to grant it the same status at the local level.

The argument against making Swedish official at the federal level is potent. It would cost tens of millions of rand, if not more. Services, such as government publications, websites, government posters, post offices and more would need to become bilingual. Bilingual bureaucrats and civil servants would need to be quickly hired. But even though Swedish is all but certain to be given official provincial status in Noordveld, not all Batavian-Swedes are centred there. Of the 850.000 thousand Batavian-Swedes, only 200.000 live in the sparsely populated lowlands of Noordveld. Many more are scattered about the country, especially in cities like Hilversum and the rich enclave of Braamfontein just north of Vlaanderen.

Miss Erika Balström, leader of the new Svenska Folkpartiet, has publicly stated from her offices in the city of Västerköping (Westpunt) on the Great Peninsula that if the federal government does not grant Swedish official language status by the end of November, she will file an official appeal with the Northern Council, mandating the organisation to, at the very least, open an official investigation into the matter. If that is done the NC's Northern Parliament would have to create a special committee to review the citizen rights guarantees laid out in the organisation. If such a committee were to find that excluding Swedish as an official federal language in Batavia contrary to NC standards, the organisation could all but require Vlaanderen to change course. Not wanting to fight what he spent so much time creating, Mr De Jonghe would likely have to capitulate if it came to such a level.


Svenska Rösten Bataviska is published daily from Vlaanderen in Swedish and twice weekly in Dutch. Printing & distribution centres are also located in Suionia and all other NC member states.



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[Confederal Republics]

Ministry of External Affairs
Commonwealth of Cornavia

The Commonwealth government urges the Batavian government to take into account the particular conditions and issues affecting the ethnic Swedish minority in Batavië, and owing to Cornavia's historical practices of regional bilinguality between our Anglic and Nordic communities is willing to provide consultation to our Batavian friends in this regard.

Regards,
Mr. William Fenner,
Minister of External Affairs

Nordiska Folkspartiet
Nordic People's Party

The NFP, delighted of the efforts of its cousins in Batavië to work towards achieving cultural and political empowerment through the imposition of linguistic equality, wishes all the best to the new Svenska Folkpartiet. Keeping in mind the similarity of the conditions affecting our parties and our represented groups in our respective countries, the NFP also wishes to open avenues of cooperation.

Regards,
Lisbeth Heyerdahl,
Cantonal Representative in Iron Islands,
Chairperson of the Nordic People's Party

 

[Batavië]

Het Bataafsch Blik
dagelijks meer dan twee miljoen lezers!

Bat. 10,— nieuw rand, NC 2,— Aren Reath
ook in het Zweeds, Duits en Aren-Noors​

Social Dems Guarantee Welfare Benefits Despite Budget Shortfalls

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The Dutch & Swedish logos of the newly created Social Pension Institution

Vlaanderen
After weeks of debate in parliament the Social Democratic Party has proclaimed a federal guarantee for social welfare in Batavia. While budget shortfalls threatened the famous 'cradle-to-grave' system of the communist era, the Social Dems managed to pass the welfare act with support from the Greens and the 6 remaining Batavian Worker Party MPs (former ruling party of De Graaf era). The opposition Conservatieve Unie criticised the welfare programme as unrealistic and too expensive for a struggling economy.

While unemployment is currently at 21 per cent and still climbing and factories are still being renovated with many likely never to see operations again the Social Dems highlighted the growing oil and gas explorations being conducted by Batavian Petroleum in concert with neighbouring Statoil in Arendaal, a major future potential source of revenue, as well as the already profitable and still growing mining sector on Windhoek Island.

The welfare programme will be funded both from a basket of various federal taxes and for citizens born after 1 January 2011 with a special Vpa geboordefonds (birth fund). Parents will have one year after the birth of their child to register them with Vpa with whom a fund account will be opened in the name of their child. The fund will then have a one-time deposit of 15.000 nieuw rand with a fixed interest rate of 5 per cent. It will be made available for use from age 55 and for emergency funding from age 17 if a special report is submitted to Vpa.

Vpa will distribute monthly stipends to students who study domestically as well as within the Northern Council and Zingapoer (Wing Sing). Unemployed permanent residents who constantly show efforts to search for work will also be given monthly stipends. And, of course, retired residents will be afforded monthly expenses. While the services of Vpa are available to all permanent residents of Batavia, NC citizens living in Batavia for at least one year and are studying or searching for permanent work will also be entitled to the welfare benefits, a measure that the Conservatieve Unie fought with gusto against due to the expected costs.



andere nieuws

NC Secretary-General Hans-Erik Rasmussen called for NC member governments to remain civil and avoid entering diplomatic conflicts with NC neighbours, specifically the Germanian League

Foreign Minister Arjan van Vliet confirmed to the press that he met with Vistrasian officials in Hilversum last week & discussed bilateral cooperation topics, including possible military collaboration

Erika Balström, leader of the new Svenska Folkpartiet, joined in on the welfare debate from Västerköping despite the fact that she is not an MP. 'We could fully fund the Vpa/Fpa if the so-called military reforms actually downsized our unnecessarily gigantic armed forces.' Fru Balström is expected in Vlaanderen on Monday to discuss the status of Swedish as an official federal language with the Prime Minister

NC officials commented today at a daily press conference that the regional organisation cannot stand by any longer as the people of Oelar lack basic modern needs and infrastructure. While not mentioning Franken by name, it was clear that the officials wanted to ensure that the NC logo and name will carry weight in the mountain country



Het Bataafsch Blik is published daily from Vlaanderen in Dutch. Printing & distribution centres are also located in Vistrasia and all other NC member states as well as Zingapoer (Wing Sing).



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[Batavië]

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Good evening, you are listening to Radio Zonder Grenze, Radio Without Borders. I'm Ruud Hertog, the time is 20.00 Götköping Mean Time, 18.00 Scandinavian Time.

The top story, today we have a special guest, Professor Arndt Mikael from the Department of Political Science at Hilversum Universiteit. Professor Mikael will be discussing with us today the growing rumours that an unprecedented increase in cooperation between Vistrasia and Batavia is on the way.

Professor Mikael, I would like to thank you on the behalf of Radio Zonder Grenze for coming here today. My first question is fairly general: are we going to see significant cooperation between Vlaanderen and Threveburg and if so, in what form?

Yes. It's no secret that high-ranking officials from Threveburg met with Foreign Affairs Minister Arjan Van Vliet in Hilversum a few weeks ago. Although very informal and on the side of an official NC affair, they apparently discussed many key points revolving around the growing 'special relationship' between our two countries.

What I can say about the details is mostly speculation. I would not rule out military cooperation, however, and for two reasons. One, Batavia is running and adding to a very hefty budget deficit as the accountants in Vlaanderen sift through the bad books that the communists left behind. Even though the economy is growing at an exponential rate, unemployment remains massively high and growing at 20 per cent thanks to the loss of factory jobs. Investment is rising, but they cannot, for example, keep our sole, yet small aircraft carrier operational. The De Graaf, which has not been renamed yet, remains docked in port in Windhoek, all but rusting. Vistrasia, while on a better footing financially, is a small country both topographically and in terms of its population. I am sure that they would welcome any measures that would increase efficiency, lower costs and gain an ally for protection.

I know it's a bit early to bring about this question, but won't some governments worry and look back on history? The United Kingdom of Batavia and Vistrasia? The united Scandinavian sub-continent? They used to say that the 'Sun never sets on the Batavian Kingdom'.

Of course NC allies and neighbours near and far are going to automatically refer to that very powerful point in time for Batavia and Vistrasia. But let us not forget that the year is 2010, we have the world's most advanced regional organisation bringing the neighbouring countries extremely close together and dependent of each other. Not only are both Batavia and Vistrasia not rich or powerful enough to even come close to what they had in the past, I don't think that they want to in the least. They are quite content remaining active partners in their region.

And Batavia's current standing military? It remains the most heavily armed and largest west of Franken. What will happen if cooperation occurs?

I think that the old timers still hanging around in Vlaanderen are going to have to realise that we just can't afford to maintain such a fierce and large force any longer. It's not a necessity, period. I found the recent remarks from Fru Erika Balström, the leader of the Batavian-Swede Folkpartiet, very prudent and acceptable. She essentially told the government that there is no need for the current structure of the military and that it should be downsized and reduced to a Defence-only force, but still being able to project power abroad in the form of humanitarian missions. Cooperation with Vistrasia could further her visions.

Lastly I was hoping you could provide us with some of your personal expectations of bilateral cooperation with our fellow Dutch-speaking country.

I mentioned our aircraft carrier. By no means is she brand new or large compared to, say those of the Breotish or Oikawan fleets, but she is a capable warship. I wouldn't be surprised if, through a partial joint funding programme, the navies of both countries share the vessel and operate it with rotating commanders and a shared, multi-national task force. The language barrier is non existent. Well, the accent and different use of some vocabulary could present a problem, but it's not a serious issue.

A humanitarian joint force is possible, which could involve the sharing of Batavia's long-range cargo planes and lastly I foresee bases being exchanged at some point. Of course, non-military cooperation is also possible, but I am fairly certain that most civilian accords will be dealt with through the frame of the Northern Council.

Professor Arndt Mikael of Hilversum Universiteit, thank you very much for coming in to speak with us today.

My pleasure, Meneer Hertog.

You're listening to Radio Zonder Grenze. We'll be right back for the evening headlines.

And now a look at the weather. Vlaanderen will be overcast tomorrow and cold with a high of 4. The entire BCT and Gauteng Province can also expect snow flurries overnight. Further south in Delft Province Poortstad will be slightly warmer with the temperature hovering around 8 degrees and with rain scattered throughout the day. In the north, Spa will be cold and snowy while west Westpunt, or in Swedish, Västerköping, will be overcast and rainy. Windhoek will be 15 degrees and partly cloudy with a good outlook for the weekend weather. If you're planning a weekend getaway to the Island of Minerals and Mysteries, as the provincial government there is calling it, this would be a great time with KLM Airlines offering roundtrip tickets for only 300 nieuw rand, or about 50 Franconian Thaler.
​

 

[Confederal Republics]

Ministry of External Affairs
Commonwealth of Cornavia

The Commonwealth is eager to see improved cooperation between two of its regional partners both within the Northern Council and in bilateral relations, and is also interested in seeing such initiatives reflect to overall cooperation of the Northern Council and the relations of the affected countries with the Commonwealth itself.

Regards,
Mr. William Fenner,
Minister of External Affairs

 

[Arendaal]

Aren Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Aren Government welcomes this instance of improved bilateral relations between Batavië and Vistrasia. Not only does it reflect the successful integration of a democratic Batavië into the European community of nations, but we believe that this commendable move will have positive ramafications for all members of the Northern Council and its neighbouring states

 

[Batavië]

het handelsblad »
financiële nieuws en meer van Batavië en de NC​

5 nieuw rand | 2 Aren Reath
​

Batavian Banks Make Move to Global Finance Centres

Vlaanderen, BCT, Batavië.​

Both of Batavia's two largest private banks, Bank Batavia [VLX: BB] and Batavia Handelsbank [VLX: BHB], have announced plans to open offices and trading floors in two of the world's most major financial centres, Danzig and Zingapoer (Wing Sing). Sources of Het Handelsblad say that Bank Batavia was the first of the two to break the news after having signed paperwork to open offices in Danzig. Batavian Handelsbank was close to follow and both institutions made similar moves in Zingapoer. Both of the banks are the number one and two in size based on deposits and capital held, however they do not lead the domestic market in terms of retail clients, which is dominated by Spaarkass and Postbank. Those two bank tend to focus more on domestic markets.

Bank Batavia and Batavia Handelsbank have each either already acquired or are in the process of acquiring large offices in both financial centres. They will most likely rent large floor-spaces in sky scrapers to get their logos up in the steel jungles. Both banks are building new towers in Vlaanderen and are expanding their global operations. While not backed by the most stable economy around, Batavian banking laws are straightforward and simple, although by no means private in the Danziger sense. Both banks also specialise in emerging markets and long term risk management, perhaps appealing to a variety of companies and client from all reaches of Europe.

In any case the bankers and citizens alike on the bustling streets of Zingapoer and Danzig will for the first time see the logos of Batavian banks. While Batavians are expected to be transfered to the new locations, most trading teams will be international in composition.
​

het handelsblad is ook in de hele NC, Zingapoer (Wing Sing), Danzig en veele andere staaten ter wereld uitgeprint

 

[Batavië]

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nieuws op elk uur, Rapport op 20.30 GMT- 1 1/2​

het korte nieuws

»» Separatist Nordic terrorists seize an oil refinery in northern Koornavië (Cornavia) & take hostages. No requests yet given. BuZa offers Republican Guard special ops team to assist.

»» Foreign Minister Arjan van Vliet is scheduled to visit Threveburg, Westrasië (Vistrasia) later this week to discuss bilateral cooperation items. No further details given.

»» Eskom, the state energy operator, says that without higher investment levels from the federal government it will be unable to supply demand after February 2011. Parliament has put Eskom's financial problems on priority number 1 on the agenda for this week.

»» NC Secretary-General Hans-Erik Rasmus told the press in Hilversum today that the Northern Parliament was days away from passing two ground-breaking 'Acts of Parliament' for a common market, shared currency and open borders. The implementation of these Acts would not be immediate, however.

»» A federal investigation into the discovery of a mysterious complex deep in the wild of Windhoek Island stated in a preliminary report that the facility 'could have been nuclear in nature' and 'most likely' dated from the 1970s and '80s. Vlaanderen orders cite to be contained pending further investigations from experts being flown in from the capital. Opposition parties demanding access to Vepo records regarding a possible De Graaf era nuclear programme.

​

btv is broadcasted in all NC countries, Zingapoer (Wing Sing) and also in most other countries in Scandinavia, Germania & Gallia. If you live in an area where btv is not available call us at +07 0175 27.66.42 or visit

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to learn more about our satellite subscription options. Additionally, select special reports and daily broadcasts of 'Rapport' can be streamed online free of charge at

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.

btv broadcasting corporation
Witwatersstraat 161
B- K1B2 Braamfontein, BTC
Batavië

btv broadcasting corporation
Karel-Baas-Straat 12
V- 6334 Threveburg
Westrasië

btv broadcasting corporation Batavë ©
btv broadcasting corporation B.V. Westrasië ©​

 

[Batavië]

You must be registered for see images

nieuws op elk uur, Rapport op 20.30 GMT- 1 1/2​

het korte nieuws

»» High Representatives of the NC's Great Council convene in Whitehaven, Cornavia for 3 days of talks.

»» A long list of bilateral agreements between Zingapoer (Wing Sing) & Batavia will begin to be implemented before year's end, including discussions with the NC as to providing visa-free travel between the island city-state and the NC common external border area.

»» Simmering tensions between Coronado and Belmont threaten to create a border conflict, which Prime Minister De Jonghe said could 'threaten the stability of the region' and 'should not be acceptable on the doorstep of the NC'.

»» A smoke pillar seen nearby the site of a recently disocvered abandoned power complex, believed to possibly be of a nuclear type from a De Graaf-era experiment, was visited by the Republican Air Force via helicopter. The Air Force commented lightly and said only that 'arson forces' were responsible and that 'Celtic inscriptions' were found nearby the site of the massive bonfire.

»» A study completed at Poortstad Technical University claims that even with expected oil and natural gas revenues, the federal government will not be able to keep up with its debt obligations if loans continue to be taken from foreign governments. The study did, however, say that some degree of debt is necessary in order to carry out vital infrastructure upgrades and expansions Republic-wide.

​

btv is broadcasted in all NC countries, Zingapoer (Wing Sing) and also in most other countries in Scandinavia, Germania & Gallia. If you live in an area where btv is not available call us at +07 0175 27.66.42 or visit

You must be registered for see links

to learn more about our satellite subscription options. Additionally, select special reports and daily broadcasts of 'Rapport' can be streamed online free of charge at

You must be registered for see links

.

btv broadcasting corporation
Witwatersstraat 161
B- K1B2 Braamfontein, BTC
Batavië

btv broadcasting corporation
Karel-Baas-Straat 12
V- 6334 Threveburg
Westrasië

btv broadcasting corporation Batavë ©
btv broadcasting corporation B.V. Westrasië ©​

 

[Touzen]

Imperial Ministry of Interior

In light of the recent changes of the modus operandi of travel between the Batavian Republic and Wing Sing we wish to use this opportunity to remind Batavian travelers who seek to enter Oikawa on a business or special permit visa and are having a layover in Wing Sing that they will still be subject to visa and customs controls once arriving in Oikawa. Travelers also need to bring the background check voucher signed by the Imperial embassy in Vlaanderen. Please be advised that the general consulates do not offer this service right now.

We remind travelers to always keep their visa and customs declaration ready for the case of inspection to ensure a speedy and relaxed journey.