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Live: Donna Trumm election victory speech
First Federal Broadcasting Channel

Donna Trumm takes the podium. She is wearing a buttoned shirt with a loosened tie and black pants, looking tired but content. The murmur in the crowd goes silent.


"It's been a long night. A long night indeed. For all of us. So, you've all heard the news, I assume? You all read the newspapers? I know I did. On my way here, I bought one. The Implarian Observer. Who buys that thing, you ask? Why do I buy that thing? I know better than anyone else that it's run by a bunch of liars, that it is all fake?

Well, because I wanted to tell you all this morning what they write. Here's what their headline reads: Democrats win election, Hill to become President."

Laughter in the crowd. Then cheering. The cheering becomes louder still, some people are applauding. Then a chant bursts forth and the crowd starts to repeat it over and over:


"Socialism! Socialism! Socialism!"

Trumm gently gestures the crowd to go silent. It obliges.


"Liars and fake stories, through and through. But you all know that. You all know the truth. You all know that it was us who won this election. You all know I will be President. And I will be the best President this Republic has seen. I know that for a fact. I will bring back Socialism to the states and the world as a whole.

They said it can't be done. They said I'd fail in the preliminaries, but I didn't. They said I'd fail against Hill, but I didn't. They say I will fail in repairing this country and bringing back Socialism, but I say again, I won't fail. We won. Yes, we won here and we will win elsewhere.

They call me 'divisive', 'controversial', you know? Say I am too radical, too partisan, can never work with the rest of the system. But I know there are bad and good people everywhere in this country. It was the same in my own party. We had to root out the bad people and work with the good ones to achieve victory for this country, for socialism, for mankind. We will root out the bad people amongst the Social Democrats, too, and work with those good people I know in that party. We will help the social democrats save the social democratic party and then we will, together, save the good people of this country.

This is a victory for decency, for humanity, for socialism. For everyone in this country. And because of that, I will be a president for everyone in this country, too. The extremists who want to divide us lost. The middle ground, politics of the center won.Socialism won. Democracy won. And we will keep winning. We will win victory after victory, until there are no more victories to win.

Together!"
 

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Good Evening Virentia! - Interview With Senator Polk
Channel 3

H: Welcome to the show, Senator!

P: Thank you for having and apologies for the delay. I've been running from interview to interview all day.

H: Unsurprising. You've been one of the few social democrats who have warned that Mrs. Trumm may take this election and you have been an outspoken critic of the campaign Senator Hill had been running. Now that your predictions have come true, do you feel vindicated?

P: Oh, not at all. I had hoped to be proven wrong, but it at least it's now obvious we need to act and renew our own party.

H: What do you think was the biggest mistake Senator Hill made?

P: There are a few, but the biggest mistake was probably to appease the right-wing of the party. Our party has, over the course of the last few years, bred a small but outspoken minority of radical reformists who have gone on to challenge the very fundamentals of our society. Some have even launched attacks on the World Republic itself, demanding the abolishment of socialism. We have failed to sideline these radicals and instead Senator Hill has chosen to even lend them some legitimacy by advocating a policy of market liberalization that is, in fact, very unpopular with the broader population and the swing voters in particular.

H: Neither his policies nor his choice of running mate seemed to have harmed him at the time of the election. Polls continuously favored him over Trumm. Some analysts have now argued this election was primarily influenced by the Cussian intervention in Burgundy and the fears of our northern neighbour this has stoked.

P: I don't want to deny this was a factor, but it ties back into my main point. Trumm has a lot of negative traits associated to her, but weakness is certainly not one of it. Her campaign slogan - tough job, tough woman - emphasizes her vision of a strong republic and her promise of a more confident, less compromising foreign policy. An international crisis at the time of the election could only help her in energizing her core voters, though I doubt she needed it. Meanwhile Hill ran a campaign of compromise, of appeasement, of trade and open economies. This appeased the right-wing fringe, but it left many swing voters and even large parts of our core constituency doubtful of his abilities to handle the challenges the future seems to have in stock.

H: Senator Hills perceived weakness drove voters into the arms of his opponent?

P: No, that doesn't seem to have happened. What happened was that this election had a historically low voter turnout and that was almost entirely swing voters and traditionally social democratic voters who stayed at home. The Social Republicans had managed to bring their voters to the ballot, voters who felt alienated by the policies of our party and who feared for their own future with the direction the World Republic was headed. The Social Democrats could not motivate their own voters in a similiar way and instead, many chose to sit this one out.

H: Are you worried about a Trumm presidency?

P: I think it may prove to be the clearing rain this republic needed, especially my own party. Don't forget that we still hold the majority in both houses. We will put the brakes on any extreme and harmful decision Trumm may be emboldened to take. Our Republic is strong enough to reign her in. And if we bring the Social Democrats back on track by the time of the senatorial elections next year, I believe we will find that we can not only defend our majority, but even expand it. Four years from now, we will have many disappointed Trumm voters who wanted a strong leader but got only a hysteric, but ultimatively powerless woman in the red house. And we will be able to put forward a candidate with a policy that won't encourage half the republic to stay at home on election day.

H: Thank you senator, very insightful. That was all for tonight and I fear our time is up. Do you have any final statement to add to the interview?

P: Just that I am grateful to you for inviting me. And thanks to your viewers too, who gifted me their attention for a few minutes. Good night!
 

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Donna Trumm sworn in President
Westport Times Online

In a public ceremony in Deliverance, Donna Trumm was sworn in as 18th President of the Socialist World Republic today. Choosing a non-religious vow, Trumm promised to uphold the constitution, protect the interests of the citizens of the states of the World Republic and to aid the developement of democracy and socialism. As is customary, former President Nathaniel Winters presented her with the keys to the Red House and a sealed envelope containing a letter of introduction to her new post.

The ceremony then proceeded with a public speech by the new President, who outlined her future policies as strengthening the core industries of the World Republic, initiating military reforms and adopting a proactive foreign policy. According to official figures, the live audience in Deliverance consisted of roughly ten thousands people, putting it squarely in the middle in terms of sizes of crowds during Presidential inauguration ceremonies.

Donna Trumm will be the first female President in the history of the Republic, but has been harshly criticized for her aggressive and populistic election campaign. Her social democratic competitor, the Senator Clint Hill, has reportedly not yet congratulated Trumm on her election victory and refused to publically address his election defeat thusfar.

Two students of Laurel Union Colleges arrested at Fort Hayes
Ashford Observer

Two unnamed students at the Summers University have reportedly been arrested by Rangers at Fort Hayes after a trip to Beautancus. During a routine customs search, the students were found to be in possession of nearly two hundred grams of marihuana as well as a small bag of cocaine that had mostly been consumed by the time of the search. Both students have been taken into custody and are now awaiting trial at Ashford state court.

Governor Hendrick Klein reiterated that the state of Arvum - like all states of the World Republic - is commited to uphold the ban on narcotics like marihuana and cocaine. According to the governor, he feels it the personal responsibility of his office to protect the citizens of the Republic from the flow of drugs from Arvums northern neighbours, where those drugs are openly sold.

"We know a number of young people feel they haven't lived until they've taken a trip north and experimented with drugs. I can personally only discourage such needless and dangerous experiments, but my hands don't extend beyond the northern border. But let me emphasize that, once you decide to bring those drugs back south across the border, you aren't just being irresponsible, you are committing a serious crime and will be punished accordingly."
 

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This is the Trumm cabinet
Deliverance Times

Department of Defense - Ralph Zimmerer
The retired General has been an early supporter of the Trumm campaign and is considered a close confidant of the new President. Considered a hawk, he had joined the Social Republican Party after his retirement from active service as General of the Army Aviation Corps and been an outspoken critic of what he perceived as dangerous negligence of national defense by the Social Democrats.

Department of Foreign Affairs - Louis Redd
An experienced diplomat who had served as ambassador to Gunnland until he was removed by the Winters administration during the Milesia crisis for his open criticism of the government during this period. Supportive of interventionist policies he had spent the last years forging close political ties to Zimmerer and like him, he was an early supporter of the Trumm campaign.

Department of Justice - Martha West
West would have been the obvious choice for any Social Republican president, but by merit of that, becomes a surprising addition to the Trumm government. Unassuming and quiet, West is an experienced workhorse who has years of experience as senior state secretary in the department she now leads. Unaffiliated with the Trumm campaign thusfar, she may prove to be a stabilizing addition to the new administration.

Department of Agriculture - Harry White
White had recently been appointed senior manager of a major state-owned farm in the state of Arvum. A longstanding member of the Social Republicans, he had joined the Trumm campaign comparably late, but seems to have nevertheless been rewarded for it now. For the most part, White remains a blank book, as he has made few policy statements in regards to his department and had thusfar been more well known for his support of hawkish policies.

Department of Industry - Rebecca Land
Land is an old personal friend of Trumm, with history going back to their college-days. She was - and is - active in major womens rights organizations and has helped organize public campaigns in the past. While her political focus has been primarily on social rights issues in the last decades, she is an economist by trade and is on the record as supporter of protectionist trade policies.

Department of Education - Samantha Samuel
Samuel has perhaps the most experience in her field out of all those in the Trumm administration, having been in the same position on the state-level. As former chief secretary of the department of education in the state of Kent, she had striven to modernize the teaching environment and tried to place the focus of education on natural sciences. Policies she undoubtedly will try to pursue on the federal level as well.

Department of Health - Arthur Bucker
Having earned his medical doctorate at the University of Westport in 1977, Bucker eventually left medicine for politics. A cardiologist by trade, Bucker joined the Social Republicans to campaign against further centralization of medical infrastructure, which he claimed would harm the health of rural populations, as well as for better funding.

Department of Science - Helena Swift
A medical doctor like Bucker, Swift has gathered considerable experience in cancer research and was for a few years even the head scientist of the SWR's biggest cancer research institution in Westport. She has been an outspoken critic of the Social Democratic administrations, claiming that the SWR was falling behind in terms of scientific advancement and could no longer compete in the developement of modern anti-cancer medication.

Department of Finance - Elisabeth Grimm
Another old acquiantance of Trumm, Grimm is considered to have been brought to the administration by Rebecca Land. Like her, she is an economist by trade, but unlike Land, she had focused her career on economics and earned a tenure at Newton University. There she had been an vocal opponent of market liberalization attempts by the Social Democrats and was an early supporter of the Trumm campaign.

Department of Labor - Maria Marcos
Marcos was one of the very first Trumm supporters and served as administrator of her campaign. She is a longstanding labor union leader, with decades of experience campaigning as well as administrating the Steelworkers Union.

Department of Security - Gareth Hall
A retired Colonel of the Ranger Corps, Hall is an unexpected addition to the abinet, having not been particularily active politically in the recent years and though on the record as supporter of Trumm, he was not an active campaigner for her campaign. He most likely source of reputation that qualified him as chief secretary was a book he published in 2012, heavily criticizing the Winters administration for a plans regarding narcotics liberalization.

Department of Immigration - Simone Schwarz
Schwarz is a veteran member of the Social Republicans and has been actively involved in the formulation of its immigration policy throughout the last decade. She was an early supporter of the Trumm campaign and has been instrumental in securing the support of the state of Kent for Trumm during the primaries.

Department of Trade - Lance Arnold
Arnold is the oldest member of the Trumm administration, having returned to politics just weeks before his 80th birthday. He was formerly an executive officer of the Implarian City Shipyard Company and is generally supportive of an expansion of state-owned industry, protectionist policies and opposed to market liberalizations. Like many others, he was an early supporter of Trumm.

Department of Transportation - Harvey Mercer
Mercer is a senior railway administrator and Social Republican. He has no previous experiences in government and never held any position within the party, but he has decades of experience in his field. He was also an early campaigner for Trumm.

Department of Housing and Construction - Paul Rudolph
The former mayor of Irwin is another experienced politician that has returned from retirement to support the Trumm campaign. Irwin is on the record as supporter of suburban expansion and increased spending for public housing. He has also criticized the past focus on the "Big 10" and has argued in favor of more developement of infrastructure, industry and housing in smaller cities.

Department of Welfare - Amy Shoemaker
An old friend of Trumm and early supporter of her campaign, Shoemaker has earned her political reputation as a feminist firebrand during the prostitution debates of the 1980s, vehemently opposing a legalization of the practice. In the late 90s, she was a leading organizer of the mass strikes against planned cuts in unemployment assistance, a campaign that eventually earned her the position as senator she had held ever since.
 

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Trumm appoints military reform commission
Westport Times Online

One of her first actions in office, President Trumm has appointed a commission to develope plans for military reforms. The commmission is to review current military readiness and converse with the different armed service branches on how to best expand and restructure the military of the World Republic to face future challenges.

The move comes as no surprise, as the new President had made it clear in her campaign that she considers defense of the Republic to have been neglected by past administrations and fear the SWR may currently not be capable of going toe to toe with its neighbours. She made specific reference to the current crisis in Gallia to emphasize that those are not just theoretical concerns, but that the only way to preserve peace for the World Republic was to deter possible aggressors.

Social Democrats have voiced their opposition to the commission, calling it an act of "fearmongering" and based on "categorically wrong assumptions".
 

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Camden man hospitalized after trying to transplant genitals
Westport Times Online

A thirty year old man from the state of Camden has been hospitalized after trying to perform surgery on himself. According to a case report published by doctors from the Workers Samaritan Hospital in Alexandria, the man had been deeply discontent with the size of his genitalia for years. He then proceeded to castrate himself and attempted to stitch the private parts of a horse to his own body, before collapsing from bloodloss.

"Only the timely intervention of his mother, who lived in the same apartment, prevented the man from succumbing to the self-inflicted wounds," a statement from one of the surgeons treating him reads. According to the police, the man had been repeatedly arrested for possession of methamphetamine and, at the time of the ordeal, was heavily intoxicated from consumption of the illegal drugs.

Where he obtained the horse genitalia he tried to transplant is still under investigation.
 

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Presidential decree offers Burgundian refugees asylum
Deliverance Times

President Trumm has offered a general welcome to all individuals fleeing the war in Burgundy. Issuing a presidential decree on the matter, all Burgundian nationals seeking asylum in the Socialist World Republic will receive so for the duration of hostilities in the Gallian country without the need for any further documentation or proof of persecution.

Elaborating on her decision further, Trumm noted the aid already provided by citizens of the SWR in the region, mentioning the NGO "Hands across Oceans" as one example. Recognizing the difficulties war refugees in particular face in providing official documentation for asylum claims, Trumm praised her own decree as an "act of humanity during a particularily bleak period of history."

With thousands already fleeing as a consequence of the hostilities in central Gallia, analysts fear that a further escalation of the conflict could result in the biggest displacement in recent decades,
 

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Documentary: the Baron of Barons
First Federal Broadcasting Channel

1878, an accidental explosion at a construction site in the Santee mountains causes a landslide.The owner of the railway, Herbert Talbot, writes a letter to his wife, complaining that the landslide had caused him damage well exceeding four-thousand Engellish pounds in worth.

The four-thousand Engellish pounds in question were the lifes of fourty railway workers held in the bondage. They had been buried alive during the construction of a tunnel for Talbots railway company. Their children would be billed with the cost of recovering the corpses of the men and burying them, forcing them into indentured servitude for Talbot instead.

For Talbot himself, the loss of life meant nothing, the loss of money everything. Humans in bondage, freely traded within the Engellish human commodity system, were a replacable ressource. And even though, by that time, four-thousand pound were a miniscule sum for the wealthy railway baron, he would throughout his life be known as an extraordinarily stingy man.

Born at some time in the later first half of the 19th century, Talbot spent his youth as a street urchin in Dulwich. It was his extraordinary business talent and his frugality that allowed the young Talbot to rise beyond shoeshining for pennies, investing into a fledgling trading company focusing on exports to Implarian Westernesse. A business that should bring the young Talbot to Westport, where he would settle down and build the foundations of his personal Empire.

The Westport Transthaumantic Trading Company was small and insignificant and it would remain so throughout its existance. It would have allowed a young Talbot and his four business colleagues a stable, yet miniscule income, but Talbot wanted more and he was willing to take great personal risks for it. First investments into "human commodities" - Engellish slave trading - had convinced him of the many ways this system could help him succeed.

Hiring a party of mercenaries with loans, partly acquired fraudulently, as later historians would reveal, Talbot set out on an expedition to inner Westernesse. Somewhere beyond the Santee mountains, Talbot established contact with a number of native tribes living in the area, being the first Engell man to sign trade contracts with at least a dozen tribes. Trade contracts, that swindled these people of their livelihoods and gave Talbot a legal pretext to enslave them by force of arms and sell them into the human commodity system while claiming their lands for himself.

Within one brutal year of violence, Talbot had become a made man.

The wealth he had acquired here he would reinvest into a railway company. Not particularily familiar with this business himself, Talbot had still figured that the land he now claimed ownership over would multiply in value were the railway network in Implarian Westernesse to expand. So he teamed up with another young man, Henry Hull, a railway engineer by trade, and set to building the single largest railway company in the ten states area.

As in his previous achievements, it was his ruthlessness that would help Talbot succeed. Swindling farmers out of their land in order to acquire it for his tracks, bribing the authorities to use eminent domain to his advantage and sabotaging competitors, Talbot was an expert in manouvering the corrupt society of Implarian Westernesse to avoid repercussions while maximising his personal profit through illicit means.

But by this point, Talbot was still just one baron amongst many. One oligarch in a large oligarchy. His masterstroke would be the day he earned himself the title "baron of barons" by enemies and admirers alike, but it would also be the day he laid the foundation for his downfall.

Progressives within the ten states had been pushing for more centralization and stronger government control throughout the late 19th century. Trying to emulate their Engellish mother republic, they envisioned to tame the wild borderlands and with it erase huge parts of the anarchic conditions in which strong ruthless men like Talbot had made themselves wealthy barons. Many of these men felt the increasingly aggressive attempts by local governments to enforce the rule of law were a personal attack and began increasingly hiring mercenary companies. A number of famous clashes between the authorities and these mercenaries left the central government weakened. It was the perfect situation for Talbot to make his move.

Instead of siding with the rest of the barons, Talbot offered his support to the government of Arvum in securing the hinterlands. His own troupe of mercenaries began sweeping the countryside and the land of rebellious barons he would take for himself - officially sanctioned by the government. Talbot was waging a war for his personal enrichment and managed to paint it as an act of patriotism. His campaign concluded in the siege of Lee's Ranch, with more than five hundred hired guns on both sides fighting it out over almost two weeks, before Talbot eventually succeeded.

The conclusion of his campaign in service of the government left Talbot the wealthiest man and single biggest landowner in all of Implarian Westernesse. He was truly the baron of barons now and he weilded extraordinary influence, both financial and political. On his route to becoming such a powerful man, however, Talbot had made one too many enemies. One of the barons he had fought and robbed of his land had hatched plans of revenge and so had one of the widows of the railway workers that had lost their life while in indentured servitude for Talbot.

And on the fourth of April 1889, Herbert Talbot was shot in front of a brothel in Westport by Mary Huntsman, killing the baron of barons and leaving the empire of the childless magnate to be torn apart by his competitors.
 

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Catholic radical injures three at Kaplanite Bar Mitzvah
Westport Times Online

A thirty-four year old man wielding a knife has attacked a Bar Mitzvah celebration in the city of Meridian, injuring three of the guests, including two children. The man, who was on a watchlist for potentially violent catholic extremists, was stopped by a police patrol that happened to pass by and intervened as panicked visitors began fleeing the Synagogue.

According to a spokesperson of the municipal police department, the perpetrator gave a lengthy explanation for his attack, citing several antisemitic conspiracy theories, but espousing a particular hatred for the Kaplanite community. After interrogation by municipal police, he was transferred to federal authorities and may be facing the death penalty.

The Kaplanite community has been on the receiving end of particularily aggressive rhetorics for most of its existence. Viewing Westernesse as a new holy land for jews and native Westernesseans as descendants of a lost thirteenth tribe of Israel, Kaplanites have been accused of "Jewish imperialism" by their enemies - a phrase the attacker, too, had used in social media. Meanwhile, other Jewish communities commonly reject the status of the Kaplanites as Jewish.
 

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We are shocked at this display of senseless violence and send our thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families. Religious hate crimes have no place in any society, antisemitic rhetoric has no place in any society. Sadly, both are normalized in large parts of Europe as governments fail to see the urgency of protecting Jewish people and Jewish-identifying people in absence of a powerful Jewish state to protect Jews against centuries-old hatred.

Samuel Goldbaum
President of the World Zionist Congress
 

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The Rape of Ouistreham
Deliverance Post

As the world watches on more or less apathetically, the invasion of Burgundy by domain forces continues. Having established a beachhead, soldiers press on to secure control over the port city of Ouistreham - and they show little restraint in doing so. Reports on the ground speak of widespread destruction of the city and high casualty rates, with domain forces killing on sight and offering no quarter to soldiers and civilians alike.

The widespread use of incidiary ammunitions by domain forces, including so called "fuel-air" weapons and white phosphorous, are verified. Images from the city show entire districts levelled by the invading forces, with countless historical riches lost. The spectacular Burgundian architecture and its historical heritage will never be recovered. Throughout the city, fires rage and threaten the complete extermination of one of Gallias largest and oldest cities.

Meanwhile the majority of its people have fled the city, hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the onslaught of the invaders. Many thousands are missing and presumed dead. The ruthless bombing of the city will have claimed countless lives, once the dust is settled, but reports emerging from the city and its fleeing populace speak of a more willful and targeted violence against the civilian population.

Domain forces are said to shoot anyone they encounter, including Burgundian civilians. That surrender to domain forces is impossible is already well known amongst Burgundian soldiers. Cussian forces in particular are spoken of for their wanton cruelty, including mass rape of women. Speculations are ripe everywhere as to what the brutality of this campaign means, whether it is the result of frustrated soldiers having been promised quick victory and encountering fierce resistance - or whether it is the first step in a deliberate campaign of genocide.

Either way, the behaviour of domain forces on the ground belies their propaganda of intervening in the name of peace and stability. The Rape of Ouistreham makes it very clear that the intention of domain forces is not to prevent a reunification of Burgundy and secure Neustrian independence, but to use the conflict to advance their own imperial designs.
 

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West Engell Foreign Office

The Deliverance Post has gravely insulted and insinuated ghoulish misdeeds upon the our Combined Armed Forces, and those of the Thaumantic Domain.

We are preparing to release a commitment by Dictator Heydendahl not to engage civilian personnel with weapons of war, and are supremely disappointed that his counterpart in the Burgundian People’s Republic, von Goltz, chose not to agree to this basic rule of war to protect innocent life.

We endeavor to continue to work with SWR NGO’s to provide refuge for civilians, and resources to the needy. This builds upon our public commitment to engage with key leaders from Tiburan Catholic Church, Eiffelland, and the SWR itself to help form a checks and balance organization for providing civilian aid in times and locations of conflict.

May Goodwill Prevail,
Aisling Derring,
FO-TAC
 

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Trumm in Beautancus: I've secured peace
Westport Times Online

Following the second stop on her international tour, President Donna Trumm claims that she has averted a war between Beautancus and the World Republic. "I've secured peace," President Trumm stated, elaborating that she had managed to clear up questions over her policies and strengthened the ties between the neighbours. In doing so, she says, she has averted a Cussian attack on the borders of the World Republic, "something the weak social democrats would surely have failed at."

Questions by journalists were mostly evaded, but it is apparent that there was no belligerent tension between the two nations at any point and that borders remained peaceful. Likewise, the Cussian counterparts have emphasized the language of concord between the two nations and welcomed the message of peace and coexistance from their southern neighbour, if not its presidents phrasing.

Reportedly, the talks touched similiar subjects as the ones in Clarenthia yesterday and President Trumm, while urging for peace in Burgundy, assured the Domain of the World Republics continued neutrality. Similiarily, she seems to have downplayed the planned tarrifs on trade with the Engell nations and promised that Cussian objections would make it to the debate in Congress.
 

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Trumm congratulates shooter in Sylvania
Westport Times Online

In a controversial statement during her visit to Sylvania, President Donna Trumm has congratulated Frank Perrot on the killing of Joseph Bernstein, former Director of Foreign Affairs who was accused of involvement in a pedophile sex-trafficking ring. Arguing in favor of the death penalty, Trumm claimed that Perrot had done Sylvania "a great service" and encouraged the Sylvanian state to root out any remains of "capitalist corruption that doesn't even make halt in the face of the innocent lifes of children."

Her public statement overshadowed what was reported as an otherwise fruitful talk focused on mutual trade and regional security. According to the Office of the President, Sylvania and the World Republic had a clear mutual understanding of each others role as a balancing factor against Beautancus, whose military endeavours in Gallia have Westernessean states worried about its intentions. "As long as Sylvania stands, peace on the continent will be assured," the President praised our regional neighbours.
 

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President visits West Engellex: "Finally done with the Engellsphere"
Westport Times Online

Expressing a modicum of exhaustion after day four of her international tour, the President publically stated her relief to be "finally done with the Engellsphere", a comment that has caused some slight aggravation with her hosts in the West Engell Republic. Regardless of that, both sides otherwise stressed the productivity of the visit and emphasized continued harmonious relations between the World Republic and the domain.

Similiarily to her visits to Beautancus and Clarenthia, Trumm adressed her planned tariffs during the meeting and sought to ease worries over her policies vis-a-vis the domain. On the subject of the Burgundian war, Trumm commended the West Engell Republic on their work with humanitarian organizations, but noted that "without war, there would be no need for that in the first place" and encouraged the Engell nations to work towards ending their military intervention.

"If I leave the Engellsphere now for the rest of Europe, I wish to emphasize one message and one message only: that we all ought to live in peace throughout the world."

NGO's reject Trumms protection of ships in Engellsea

Deliverance Times

Days after Trumm issued an executive order for Navy marines to accompany ships in the Engellsea, humanitarian NGO's operating refugee relief operations in the region have spoken out against such protection in a joint declaration. Rejecting the presence of soldiers onboard their ships as unnecessary and stating that they feel secure in travelling through the Engellsea, the refugee relief organizations declared that they would refuse SWR soldiers to accompany them.

"The presence of military forces onboard our ships threatens to compromise our humanitarian efforts," the NGO "Hands across Oceans" explained. "Our ability to operate without interference from either side of the conflict and the trust refugees place in us is entirely dependant upon our strict neutrality and independence from political interests. The presence of any military force, including that of our own homeland, would threaten to undermine this and might run the risk of us being seen not as an independent humanitarian actor, but as a state actor."
 

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Nilshanks
Thaumantic Alignment Committee
Foreign Policy Office
Press Brief Excerpt, Aisling Derring


“We gladly invited the Lady President because we maintain respect for the democratic will of all people, especially those derived from Thaumantic Civilization. Madame Trumm has introduced herself to Engellachia, she has presented a vision of world peace, and to this lofty goal we shall work with her where and when we can . . But to your question, be that is it may, that Madame Trumm is relieved to be ‘done with the Engellsphere’, we can assure her that Thaumantic Domain is not done with her!
 

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Trumms visit to Johnston Isle: the one where nothing happened
Westport Times Online

Ill-phrased comments and overstepping boundaries has become the norm for Trumms tour of the globe that it has sadly become a surprise when nothing of the sort happens. So media and international observers were quite shocked to see a Donna Trumm in Johnston Isle that conducted herself with grace and eloquence, charming her hosts and committing our nation to a foreign policy of mutual understanding and cooperation with the tiny country at the entrance of the Cassiopeian Sea.

In a joint declaration following the meeting, both parties emphasized their interest in regional peace and stability. Trumm herself noted the strategic interest the World Republic has in a peaceful, stable and mutually benefitial relationship to Johnston Isle, promising that, as long as the nation would fulfill the "obligation geography had shouldered it with" to keep the trade routes into the Cassiopeian Sea and towards Westport secure, they would find the SWR its greatest friend and protector from foreign threats.
 

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Presidential visit to Pohjanmaa, Trumm surprised "trains run on time"
Westport Times Online

Following her visit to Pohjanmaa, President Donna Trumm has made a number of double-faced public remarks about her hosts, disparaging their post-delegationist alignment while simultaneously praising the nation of Pohjanmaa. Amongst these remarks were surprise that "trains run on time", that streets are generally safe from criminals and a general astonishment that Pohjanmaa was not a disorderly, lawless mess.

Her hosts seemed to take the comments in stride, instead choosing to focus on the positive and commenting that "perhaps, this subversion of her expectations will lead to a reassessment of her views on post-delegationism". Both Trumm and President Lepomäki claimed that their countries could learn from each other and expressing hopes for a continued friendly relationship in the future.

Most of the talks focused on economic cooperation, with President Lepomäki expressing their optimistic assessment that closer cooperation between the SWR and Pohjanmaa can help strengthen international opposition against the Engellish Human Commodity System. The talks furthermore touched upon issues of regional security, with claims of piracy in the region of the Engellsea and Gothic Sea having both nations worried might lead to a further deterioration of regional stability and be exploited by outside powers to facillitate power projection into the area.

"Contrary to how other global powers seek to exploit the growing instability in Gallia," Trumm announced "the World Republic is committed to work with reliable, democratic partners in the region, like our friends in Pohjanmaa, not against them."

Eiffello-Implarian Association: Printengesetz an insult to emigrant communities
Deliverance Times

The association of Eiffelländer emigrants in the SWR has commented on plans of their ancestral homecountry to change the so called Printengesetz, the law regulating the production and sale of a variant of gingerbread. According to plans announced by the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Eiffelland-Retalia, the name "Aachener Printen" is to be restricted exclusively to products produced in the city of Aachen.

"The name Aachener Printen is the name of a cultural heritage that has been brought with them by Eiffellandian emigrants across the globe. It is not the name to describe a specific origin, regardless of quality, but to describe a specific method and quality of production, regardless of origin. It is the recipe that makes the Aachener Printe, not its origin," a press release by the Eiffello-Implarian Association reads.

Eiffelländer laws will have little impact on sales in the SWR, which will continue to label Aachener Printen produced in the SWR as such. However, particularily those communities in western Virentia which often have significant Eiffellandian heritage fear that the decision may be an attempt to curb the competetiveness of exports with an underhanded measure. "This has nothing to do with whether our goods are better or worse in quality, they just want to create the impression that this is the case," a member of a local bakers cooperative in New Trier commented, adding that "my grandfather came from Eiffelland and we visited our old home each year at least once, no matter the costs. For the first time, I think I will skip the visit this year."
 

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Trumm criticizes Imperial election in Germania, but praises Gunnish intentions
Westport Times Online

President Donna Trumm has called the Imperial election to Holy Tiburan Emperor an "unwise policy decision" and advised a reunification of Eastern Burgundy with the territory currently held by the Burgundian People's Republic, which the World Republic maintains is the sole legitimate government of Burgundy. In the face of war in central Gallia, Trumm argued while visiting Windhaven, negotiations should seek a peaceful reunification of Burgundy under a national unity coalition, to then enter peace negotiations with the Thaumantic Domain. "It is the weakness, instability and dissolution of Burgundy that has created the current situation. Reversing it is the quickest way to remedy it."

Admitting that she and her Gunnish hosts did not see eye-to-eye on the issue, Trumm went on to praise the Gunnish government and commented that the intentions behind their Burgundy-policy are "without a doubt" noble and that both Gunnland and the World Republic formulate their diplomacy vis-a-vis Gallia from a fundamental desire for peace. According to the President, the talks had clarified many misunderstandings between the nations and yeilded concrete results that will lead to stronger political and economic ties.

"We are looking forward to working with our Gunnish partners and will support them as stabilizing influence in Gallo-Germania."
 

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New Andaluz - Sargoza connection finally coming?
Alexandria Weekly

The Department of Transportation has announced its intention to complete the long desired high-speed railway connection between New Andaluz and Sargoza. Plans for the route had been first made in the 1950s, but as predicted costs kept rising due to the swampy terrain and thick mangrove forests along the southern coast, construction had been postponed time and time again in the decades to come. Since the 1990s, no government had attempted construction of the route.

Chief Secretary of State Harvey Mercer commented that the failure to complete the route has been a mark of shame upon past administrations, particularily noting that the I-3, also known as the Transimplarian Highway, does pass along the southern coastline and through the difficult terrain. "This is not a technical issue, this is an issue of political will."

As it stands, fast intercity trains have to pass all the way around the Santee mountains if they are to reach the state of Kent from the west-coast, making the connection unfeasible in a country otherwise proud of its mass transit. Experts have repeatedly noted that completion of the connection could, in the long-term, help lower carbon emissions from the SWR, bringing a considerable number of travels by car or plane on the rail.

Notwithstanding the general consensus on the usefulness of the New Andaluz - Sargoza connection, funding for the railway route however remains a contentious issue and may prove difficult to secure in a congress with a Social Democratic majority.
 
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