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O Kosmos - News from Tiburia

Pelasgia

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O Kosmos, whose name means "The World", is the largest and most prominent newspaper of record published in the State of Tiburia. It has been steadily published in Propontis since 1921, being the result of a merger between two previous Propontine newspapers, O Propontios Logothetis and O Chronographos.
 

Pelasgia

Established Nation
Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Messages
4,253
Location
Athens, Greece
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Demos
Πελασγικά | Engelsh | Кадикистнский | 当然語
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O Kosmos S.A. - Est. Propontis, 1921

World | Tiburia | Politics | Propontis | Business | Opinion | Tech | Science | Health | Sports | Culture | Cuisine | Travel | Magazine | Media

Government-backed candidate wins contested Propontis municipal election, recount confirms

Propontis, 5 October 2019 | Markos Nikolaou

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Propontis City Hall, located at the heart of Propontis' Old City Centre, is the seat of the Mayor and City Council of Propontis

The Ministry of Internal Affairs (YPES) of the State of Tiburia announced that Mr. Stergios S. Stamatides won last week's Mayoral Election with 68% of the vote, and a turnout of 36%. Mr. Stamatides will be sworn in as Demarch (or Mayor) of the Metropolitan Deme (Municipality) of Propontis this weekend, and will assume his duties in full come Monday. Mr. Stamatides campaigned as part of the National Coalition of Propontis (ESP), a local electoral faction affiliated with the dominant and currently governing national party, the right-wing National Rally (ES). Mr. Stamatides was personally endorsed by the current Prime Minister of Tiburia, Mr. Evangelos Logothetis, who viewed the mayoral election of the country's capital and largest city as a litmus test of popular support for his government, in anticipation of next year's general election. This view was shared by the opposition parties who campaigned hard against both the National Rally and the National Coalition of Propontis, lambasting the policies of Mr. Stamatides' predecessor. However, inifighting between the opposition parties and the presence of radical voices among them scared many voters away and depressed the turnout of their supporters, according to polls conducted by Lambda Research Ltd. for O Kosmos.

According to the official electoral results, Mr. Stamatides was trailed at just 11% by Mr. Tiverios A. Krotalides of the Propontine Labour Front (associated with the far-left Internationalist Communist Party of Tiburia/DKKT), 9% by Ilias G. Papadopoulos of the Propontine Centrist Union (associated with the centre-right Liberal-Centrist Coalition), 7% by Michail N. Dimitriou of the Democratic Front of Propontis (associated with the far-right National Democratic Party) and 2% by Andreas G. Kalogirou of the Propontis Citizens' Union (of the centre-left Civic Solidarity Coalition). The opposition was deprived of one of its strongest candidates, Anaxandros P. Stephanides, who was disqualified by the Electoral Commission after it emerged that his campaign had received illegal donations and had repeatedly broken campaigning rules. Mr. Stephanides had managed to rally the opposition base and unite most parties other than the DKKT, but his disqualification sent the opposition parties fighting over who would succeed him. This divide led many opposition backers to not turn out, considering the election already lost, while many undecided voters were pushed away by the more radical voices of the DKKT and NDP. Though the opposition demanded a recount, which the authorities granted, the recount did not change the results.

Mr. Stamatides has promised to continue the ESP's policies in Propontis, which include working closely together with the National Government. In practice, this has meant harsh law and order policies and a well-funded, expansive municipal police force and city police directorate, as well as participation in state investment and infrastructure projects, in coordination with major Tiburian business conglomerates. Mr. Stamatides' administration has often been criticised by opposition groups and NGOs of assisting the conservative National Government's crackdown on anti-establishment activities and those opposing the social influence of the powerful Orthodox Church; last year, the Propontis General Directorate of Police violently dissolved a gay pride parade after it was declared illegal by the local authorities for lack of appropriate permits. Still, Mr. Stamatides is widely regarded as having done a lot to improve the lives of the local citizenry, using the favour Propontis has gained with the National Government to his advantage. According to a poll by Lambda Research, 64% of Propontines thought that Mr. Stamatides' administration had had a positive effect on the local public services in general; the answer was 53% with regard to public housing, 72% with regard to waste removal, 51% with respect to hydro and sewage, 89% with respect to public safety and 77% with respect to educational and cultural infrastructure.

In other news
☞ (Politics) – The Kyparissos Administrative Court of First Instance has upheld the rejection of the asylum application submitted by G.W., a national of @Clarenthia who arrived to Tiburia via shipwreck. The authorities seek to deportat G.W. to Clarenthia, where he has been sentenced to several years in the Human Commodity System for numerous crimes. The Tiburian Civil Liberties Coalition (TISPE), which has provided G.W. with pro bono legal representation, has already stated its intent to see the case appealed to the Kyparissos Administrative Court of Appeal, and perhaps even to the Council of State, Tiburia's supreme administrative court in Propontis. The Ministry of Justice of Tiburia expressed its satisfaction with the decision, and hopes that G.W. will be returned to Clarenthia to serve his sentence as soon as possible.
☞ (Politics) – Tiburian Government introduces bill to the National Boule, amending the definition of piracy in the Penal Code and the Code of Public Maritime Law, following the enactment of similar policies by the Tiburian colonial administration at Fort Antipas, in the Far Southern Territories. The legal amendment has been designed to include the aggressive and often dangerous or violent to both persons and property activities of anti-whaling activists who have repeatedly harassed the Tiburian whaling fleet in the Southern Thaumatic in recent months. With this amendment, pirates convicted under the Penal Code and Code of Public Maritime Law for such anti-whaling activism would be punished as harshly as 'traditional' pirates, facing multiple years in prison, hard labour, penal exile (if Tiburian) or even capital punishment, depending on the severity of their actions. The bill is strongly supported by Tiburian business groups.
☞ (Education) – The National University of Propontis (EPP) celebrated its 1594th anniversary on the official date that its direct predecessor, the Pandidacterion of Propontis, was founded, and the 150th year since the University in its current form was Chartered by Emperor Andronikos I. The Chancellor of the University, Dr. Tiverios Athanasiades, addressed faculty, alumni, students and important public dignitaries on the anniversary of this occasion, in the attendance of both His Majesty, the Autocrat, and His All-Holiness, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Propontis. The University plans to host several events in commemoration of its foundation and reorganisation during the month of October. The events will take place on its main campus in downtown Propontis, which is located a few blocks away from the government quarter, as well as its newer campuses outside the city centre of Propontis.
 
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Pelasgia

Established Nation
Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Messages
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Location
Athens, Greece
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Demos
Πελασγικά | Engelsh | Кадикистнский | 当然語
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O Kosmos S.A. - Est. Propontis, 1921

World | Tiburia | Politics | Propontis | Business | Opinion | Tech | Science | Health | Sports | Culture | Cuisine | Travel | Magazine | Media

Shootout on Tiburian-Nzadi Border births many questions as Propontis doubles-down on its war on drugs and organised crime

Propontis, 16 October 2019 | Markos Nikolaou

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Men of the National Security Service's special operations group "Omega" in the city of Larissa, near the southern border

Reports coming out of the Tiburian-Nzadi Border crossing near the city of Larissa allege at least twelve dead and two wounded following a firefight between Tiburian security forces and gang members who were stopped by the former while attempting to smuggle illegal narcotics into Tiburia through the Western Himyari Coastal Highway. The twelve men, including four Nzadis, three citizens of Kir Chares, two Natalians and three Tiburians were surrounded by black-clad state security operatives right after entering Tiburia, who attempted to place them under arrest. One of the men from Kir Chares reportedly attempted to shoot a Tiburian security operative with an automatic pistol, leading to a shootout that wounded two of the operatives and resulted in the deaths of the surrounded gang members. The National Security Service (YPEA) seized several kilos of cocaine, along with several thousand obols in cash, and multiple military-grade illegal firearms from the vehicles. These items were presented to the public in a press conference earlier today by YPEA's regional director for Eastern Tiburia. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (YPES) dabbed the operation a "success", despite the unfortunate deaths of the would-be detainees, given the material collected, which apparently includes several hard driver and phones.

Analysts have expressed their view that this incident marks the definitive return of the Tiburian state to a hard-line approach in its war on drugs and organised crime in the region. Tiburia has long advocated draconian measures to limit the inflow of narcotics and other illegal imports produced and smuggled by gangs from southern Himyari countries. These include harsh prison and even death sentences as mandatory minimum punishments for drug offences, zero tolerance policies on all drug offences and a militarisation of units and efforts to curb drug usage. This approach has drawn the support of much of the Tiburian public and the Tiburian political elite, who emphasize the need for law and order to prevail at all cost, and has found sympathy in the governments of many other countries in the region, which also wish to stem the flow of narcotics to the wealthier countries of northern Himyar, and those of Gallo-Germania across the Long Sea. However, many nongovernmental and human rights groups have raised concerns about the impact of these policies on less fortunate parts of Himyar, particularly parts of the continent plagued by gang activity.

Nevertheless, the Government of Tiburia has openly stated its desire to harshly and actively prosecute drug traffickers and organised crime groups across western and northern Himyar. Earlier this month, the Minister of Justice formally submitted a legislative proposal extending criminal sanctions to those indirectly aiding or doing business with gangs and their front groups. In no uncertain terms, Mr. Valentios A. Axarianos vowed to "prosecute these antisocial elements to the bitter end, using the full force of the law to bring their toxic activities to an end". The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Petros K. Lazarides, also emphasised Tiburia's willingness to work with its partners in other Himyari capitals to jointly pursue a pan-Himyari anti-drug and anti-gang campaign; during a seminar on pan-Himyarism hosted by the National University of Propontis, Mr. Lazarides noted that "if these problems are not resolved in even one Himyari country, they are as good as unresolved over the entire Ebony Continent".

In other news
☞ (Tiburia) – State Electricity Company (IEK) unveils designs for new nuclear power plant in the Souchoton Theme, and two new dams in southern Tiburia, to meet the growing energy needs of Tiburia's border regions. IEK has also partnered with the National University of Propontis and the University of Eresos to research alternative forms of energy, such as more efficient solar panels and wind turbines, for use on the highly seismic and isolated islands of the Tiburian Archipelago.
☞ (Health) – Ministry of Health publishes new guidelines, including mandatory vaccinations for schoolchildren, following expanding concerns over the global outbreak of Engellpox. The Ministry has also stressed the need for the tighter controls at the border, recommending tighter screening and even potential import restrictions on known source countries.
☞ (Politics) – National Boule legislator belonging to the Civic Solidarity Party takes flak from all sides after airing idea of an abolition of military service in favour of social service. The incident occurred during a debate on an opposition proposal to offer further alternative methods of service for conscientious objectors and relax criteria for objection in the Boule's Standing Committee on Military Matters.
 
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