Natalian Media Outlet: NaBC, Mercury & Harton Chronicle

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Providing daily news in Implaria since 1835 and State wide since 1908- 1 Dollar- 4nd of March 2022
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San Juan Police Department announce major drug busting operation​

• More than 25 arrested for smuggling and distributing drugs​
• Major drug operation annihilated by authorities​
• Origin of drugs seems to be Monterrey​

The San Juan Police Department has announced this morning that they have reported a huge victory against the drug cartels that function within the continent, as they organised a series of raids along the Greater San Juan area, targetting a series of safe houses in the Agua Caliente and San Pedro neighbourhoods, but also the freight port, in a joint operation with the State Drug Bureau and the INTAF, the internal intelligence services.

The operation, which took place very early in the morning around 5am, has been a success as it brought forth the arrest of 25 men and women who will be accused of smuggling, commercialising and distributing hard drugs but also assault, after a fire fight took place in the docks with a smuggler opening fire on the policemen. No security forces have been wounded and the criminals dropped their guns once they observed they were fully overwhelmed.

The authorities have confiscated nearly 25 kilos of cocaine, 12 ounces of ecstasy, "significant" quantities of carfentanyl, a deadly synthetic drug hundred times stronger than heroin, but also 15 firearms and $151,000 in cash. The identities of the arrested persons hasn't been made public, but the authorities have stated that out of the 25, only 5 are Natalian, 2 are Josefino a Clarenthian, 3 are Gran Occidentians and the rest are from Monterrey, with some of them entering the Constitutional State illegally.

As this is brought a very strong blow to the drug cartel activities in the State of Tiburia, and with it in the whole of Natal, as San Juan is seen as the gateway into the nation from Occidentia, many fear that such operations treat only the symptoms, not the real cause of the issue, and the social causes, while many complex and the Natalian society can be criticised for allowing them to fester, are now being brushed to the side as there has been reported an explosion of criminal activity stemming from Monterrey, which has been exacerbated by the dismantling of the EF Mandate status and the withdrawal of the white helmets from the area.

"It is clear that the EF decision to blow up the mandate system, while decent in its goals, has backfired, as it created the perfect anarchic environment in Monterrey to fully turn it into a narco-state and now its the Natalian Tiburanos paying the price. God knows how much suffering they create in San Jose and Gran Occidentia too, let alone the people of Monterrey themselves. I will do my best to keep the streets clear and the drugs away from our children, so that the Natalians can still enjoy yet another day without the sense of despair that accompanies such a hellish addiction. But for God's sake, Camp Hill, Palmerton, Palmyra and Puerto Angeles need to unfuck themselves and sort the shit they created. Embarcadero needs to understand that laws exist for a reason!" stated Raúl Martí Seco, the governor of the State of Tiburia, known for his emotional outbursts and occasional lack of filter.

OTHER NEWS
WORLD BELT INITIATIVE: Natalian Authorities have met to discuss with their counterparts from Tianlong in regards to a commercial initiative that would like much of the world and aid the transportation of goods from one part of the world to another. As the geographic curse of Westernesse and Occidentia doesn't allow the easy building of a canal along Natal to unite the Implarian and Thaumantic Ocean, as it is blocked by the Whiting Mountains and the Natal river is too small to allow for maritime transportation, the Natalian authorities have announced that the railway infrastructure tying Harton to San Juan is more than enough to provide for a fast transcontinental cross from one part of the nation to the other. The Ministry of Development stated that it needs to discuss with the Tianlongese representatives to see if a further expansion or development of the ports of the two cities will be necessary.​

 

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Publishing only the hurtful but liberating truth - The voice of freedom in the West - 50 cents - 6th of March 2022
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BRIBING WOTO WITH NATALIAN TAXPAYER MONEY! END THIS MADNESS!!!

The Constitutional State has enough issues as it is. There is no need to this financial posturing and imperialism shown by OHP and the bozos that call themselves cabinet members. Going through Harton one can see the huge problems this country faces. Lack of adequate housing pushes prices up, forcing the middle class to leave the city, leaving only the rich and ultra rich living off the IT and entertainment industry, and the poor and very poor living off governmental handouts as eligible to enjoy the life what was once a great metropolis, the cultural capital of the world and the economical capital of the western hemisphere. The homelessness has reach so huge levels that one simply just stumbles through the rows of tents put up when only trying to cross a street in the districts of Pearl and Abbey. And what do we hear the government do?

Nothing but spend money for the wrong causes! We know and understand the plight of the people of Sankt Katharina. They went to sleep a year ago under the Pannonian flag, and woke up in a limbo, with Pannonia defunct and two separatist states, Csengia and Bourdignie claiming them. As much as normally nobody should care what in devil's name is happening in the shithole of Pannonia, the people of Sankt Katharina simply can't legally import anything from the mainland as they lack the legal means, as Csengia is recognised only by Natal in the west, Bourdignie by all, but somehow everything is complicated by the dispute. So, OHP, in her hypocritical saviour complex decides to be the Mesiah of the west and take 15 billion Natalian Dollars to give it to Csengia, begging them to please leave Katharina alone and let them go free. As much as normally one would support this idea, as the Katharinans need to be aided to return to the decent life they had before the Collapse, one can also wonder, why do the Natalians have to suffer from this? Thank the Lord that the Csengians simply rebuffed her!

And while we all thought that this adventure is finally over and that people can finally see some nice news about huge investments in education or healthcare, here come the Rabid Coyotes out of nowhere, led by Asher Becker, who decide that the Occidentians and Josefinos are worthier of Natalian wealth than the Natalians themselves. Of course this stooge comes out with such ideas, when he has no clue what's he doing. He is just a mediocre actor, who probably won his awards through the same nepotism that brought him in politics. Does he think he can sing in the congress as bad as he did on Coogee Street? It seems he does think so, as he convinced the reprehensible members of the congress that sending the 15 billion to WOTO, officially surrendering them the wealth of the Natalians. With so many Occidentians clamouring for the annexation of Monterrey, it's just clear that our own people are now literally paying prop up that nation.

We do wonder how much will the Natalians just accept this maladministration and when it will all end? When will our politicians set their priorities straight and care first and foremost of their citizens?

OTHER ARTICLES​

• Are we living Cedarwood's last moments?! The movie giants don't seem to rise up to the occasion, leaving many to wonder if the entertainment industry of Natal is really up to the hype around it.​
• Is El Presidente a reptilian or has he been replaced by a Tarusan mind controlled clone? Read out to find out why Palmyra is weird.​
• Why the island of Frescania should just be detonated for the sake of the world? From awkward diplomats to perverse sexual cabals, the EF has it all.​
• Is the Lethonian WMD program really a thing? We say yes and we add, good for them. If they fall, the world should too.​

 

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Providing daily news in Implaria since 1835 and State wide since 1908- 1 Dollar- 10th of March 2022​

State visit to Avalon. Non Aggression Pact and Memorandum of Understanding signed

President Olivia Harper Poole has led a Natalian delegation in a state visit to Avalon, in the first Natalian state visit this century in the capital city of the Archipelagic Empire of Justosia. While nominally not effectively hostile to the nations of the Pressburg Pact, Natal did clash diplomatically once or twice with the monarchist nations, especially during the Pannonian Crisis, and because of the very good relationship Camp Hill has with Palmyra, has been seen many times by the Justosian public opinion as a hostile nation.

But since the Social Democrats have managed to win the elections in the Archipelagic Empire, the wind of change can be felt. Justosia has opened the way to pragmatism and a modern, mature foreign policy by recognising the Pelasgian People's Republic and San Jose, the latter being done at the behest of the Republic of Tianlong and the Occidental Republic of Natal. This also comes after months of diplomatic back and forth between Camp Hill and Avalon, which have been started by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Pedro Herrera, in cooperation with the cabinet of Canciller Manuel Albares.

President Olivia Harper Poole has signed a Non Agression Treaty with Justosia, which is enhanced through a Memorandum of Understanding, which will further open the way to cooperation and a cordial relationship between the Occidental Republic and the Archipelagic Empire. The Memorandum mentions that in time, further treaties will be signed, easing commerce and business between the two states, but also politically furthering the promise of mutual respect, thus putting at ease many of the radicals both in Natal and Justosia that the other would be coming to force political change.

"It is a huge success for our administration, as the Coyotes are respecting their promises to provide Natalians with ease of mind, in regards to foreign affairs. A non aggression pact, the normalisation of relations and the memorandum of understanding are three huge steps for us in providing for a better future for both our peoples, so that they can develop in tranquillity, peace and prosperity. As much as so many people present them being hard to work it, it is clear not only for us, but it should for the whole world, that mutual respect is what can bring us all in a better world, and the Justosians, like your average Natalian or Tarusan or Josefino, just want to live their lives, and to prepare a better society for tomorrow for their children," stated President Olivia Harper Poole as she arrived back in Camp Hill from the state visit to Avalon.

OTHER NEWS
WORLD BELT PROJECTS UP: The Ministries of Development and Transportation have published the projects for the Natalian section of the World Belt Initiative. The three projects, namely the expansion of the freight ports of Harton and San Juan respectively and the building of an exclusively freight line which will go from Kelso to Camargo through the towns of Golden Valley, Whetstone and Red Rock. The freight trains of the initiative will use the common Natalian railway on the sectors from Harton to Kelso and Camargo to San Juan. The tally of the projects, rise to around 1.5 billion Dollars for each of the ports, and a billion for the railway line, bringing the total to 4 billion.
Cedarwood sees Frontier films renaissance: The great success of the Natalian-Cussian co-production Dry Country, a movie which follows the story of antihero John Ryder Savage, a Cussian gangster running from the law and finding refuge within the Chiricahua Nation, has brought on a revival of the genre with the audiences seeking less of the old and offensive motifs of the these movie types, but rather seeking stories of redemption, adventure and freedom, while also sparking an interest into the cultures of the Chiricahua and Taima nations. Dry Country managed to gross nearly 450 million Dollars in box office for a budget of only 90 million and the studios of Cedarwood started to give in into this renaissance. About 9 more Frontier films are currently in preproduction.​

 

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Providing daily news in Implaria since 1835 and State wide since 1908- 1 Dollar- 1st of April 2022​

Nation prepares for Midterm elections. Coyotes and Roadrunners go head to head​

• Rabid Coyotes take the forefront in many of the colleges​
• Nationwide Roadrunners and Coyotes are very close​
• OHP's approval rate has only gone down since her initial election​

As the Natalian Midterm elections approach, not only Westernesse but also WOTO and world wide nations are turning their heads towards Natal, as it is believed that those elections will change the policies of the Occidental Republic, depending on who manages to win the majority in the Congress, be them the Coyotes or the Roadrunners. The government in Camp Hill has received quite a lot of criticism recently, because Olivia Harper Poole has built a policy of appeasement towards the Tarusan Empire, some hoping that in such way, she will end up dividing the Pressburg allies, turning the HFE and Justosia from Kremlyov, but she received extreme criticism from other democratic nations such as the Scanlaw and Tianlong.

Many believe that the current midterm elections put her and her policies to the test, as the Rabid Coyotes, are condemning OHP for her appeasement, something that both the Roadrunners are doing too, leaving the Coyotes two great enemies, the rival party and an emerging new generation within their very own, who holds ideological unity closer to the heart. It is believed that while in some colleges both Coyotes and Rabid Coyotes are running, it will truly be the test for OHP's foreign policy.

Approval ratings have been steadily going down for Olivia Harper Poole. Historically elected as one of the best supported presidents of the nation, with a starting approval of nearly 80%, by the middle of her term she is nearing 50%. It is an extreme fall, but many analysts have stated that it can be observed that by midterms, most presidents get the nations divided roundly in two halves, "either love them or hate them".

Asher James Becker, vice president and the leader of the Rabid Coyotes has criticised many times Olivia Harper Poole and her positions, and many see him as her main rival, even if they both actually rose up in politics by cooperating and working together. While he has stated that democratic states should be aided, he is the one who blocked the passage of 15 billion Natalian Dollars in aid towards Zara, preferring to flush them to the WOTO budget.

"We worked a lot to keep Gallo-Germania peaceful, because a peaceful Gallo-Germania means a peaceful Thaumantic and that means a peaceful Occidentia-Westernesse," stated Olivia Harper Poole, but it is clear by now that the rising criticism she receives come from people who see the Natalian politics not as working for peace, but rather selling out any Gallo-Germanian resistance to Tarusa.

"We aren't a a shithole empire. We as politicians are here because we have a mandate from the people, who wield the real power. If the people of Natal consider the current positioning to be against their will, they will vote OHP out and go for others. If they support her, they will cement her domination of the congress and will vote classic coyotes over rabid ones or roadrunners," stated Asher James Becker.

The Roadrunners have preferred to stay away from the foreign policies, especially Gallo-Germania, stating that they will go for closer relations with Westernesse and Toyou nations.

OTHER NEWS
WHITAKER RECALLED: The Natalian representative to the European Forum, Sebastian Whitaker has been recalled back to Camp Hill for consultations. As of yet, no representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has cared to comment, and it is unknown as of yet when he will return back to Frescania. There has also been no diplomat sent to replace him. Some analysts commented that the Natalian vacancy in the EF will last until the midterm elections.
AMELIA-ROSE COOPER WINS GOLDEN PUMA: In a first win for her, Amelia-Rose Cooper, one of Cedarwoods's rising stars has won a Golden Puma, one of the world's most prestigious moviemaking awards, for her main role in the movie Dry Country. The frontier movie follows an anti-hero from Beautancus who takes refuge with the natives in Natal, turning his life around.​

 

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Providing daily news in Implaria since 1835 and State wide since 1908- 1 Dollar- 27th of June 2022​

Roadrunners take control of the Citizen Assembly in Midterm election victory

• Coyotes keep the governorship in many states
• Senate is evenly divided
• Roadrunners take control of the Citizen Assembly in an upset victory

The results for the Midterm elections in the Commonwealth are officially in, and it seems to have been a much needed victory for the Roadrunners, who are again in the political game, after Natalian politics has been thoroughly dominated on all levels by the Coyotes in the last 7 years. Last weekend's midterm elections brought an end to the Coyote domination, which had a majority in the Senate, which represents the states, in the Citizens' Assembly, the lower house and in the executive, which is represented by the presidency.

The results, were made official by the Federal Electoral Board, and have been surpising for many, as it returned the Roadrunners (Country Party) into the forefront of the Commonwealth's politics, giving them a majority in the Citizens' Assembly, followed by the Coyotes (Progressive Federal Party), the Ferrets, officially known as the Natalian Communist Party, the Cougars, officially known as the Western Liberal Union and the Shrews, officially known as the Neo-Tiburan Front. Out of the 850 seats of the Citizens' Assembly, the Roadrunners managed to take 400, the Coyotes - 378, the Ferrets - 30, the Cougars - 20, and the Shrews a mere 12. This means that while the Coyotes did lose the supermajority they enjoyed, losing 47 seats, the Roadrunners don't fully control the house, and negotiations will be needed for every law that is to be voted upon for it to be passed.

In the Senate, everything was much more stable, but the upper house too has seen some changes. Both the Coyotes and the Roadrunners have lost seats in it, the Coyotes 4 and the Roadrunners 1, making both have 95 senators each, while the rest of the seats being taken were 5 for the Ferrets and for the Cougars each. In the governorship, the only ones which had elections were the Taima Nation, Implaria and the Western Grans, which were all three won by Coyote candidates.

The results were a surprise for many, as while it was expected for the Coyote hold on the institutions to loosen, it wasn't expected that the Roadrunners would have become so popular. Before the current elections, Brad Ross, the party's chairman and ex-President of Natal, was under pressure from the party members to step down, as they were hoping that a change in leadership would give the Roadrunners a new impulse, but it seemed that Ross' recalls to the times when he was president in the campaign had been well received nowadays when gas prices have skyrocketed thanks to the Himyari War. The Coyote loss has also been put on the back of the inner-party conflict between Olivia Harper Poole's camp, the mainstream Coyotes, and Ashton James Becker's more radical camp, which was named the Rabid Coyotes by the press.

"It has been like a cold shower, seeing many Natalians feeling disilusioned by our administration and putting their hopes again on the Roadrunners, which have led the country into one of its worst social crises caused by extreme inequality. Coyote administration had done its best and now the events taking place outside the nation have been weaponised by the Roadrunners instead of focusing in cooperating for the best of the people. Even so, I still congratulate Brad Ross for his victory and I hope we will prove to be mature enough to not block the congress, only to sabotage the administration," stated President Poole.

OTHER NEWS:
NATFLICK to expand in South Westernesse: The world's biggest subscription service corporation, NATFLICK has announced that it will begin providing Thaumantican subtitles to its shows in a big to expand to the nations of South Westernesse, namely Gran Occidentia, San Jose and Corrientes. Plans are also to offer the service in Azraq and to return it to Tarusa and the Holy Frankish Empire.
Higher Speed service to San Juan resumed: After two years in which the Camp Hill - San Juan mainline of the TransNet Infrastructure Corporation has been in works for a modernisation, the project has been completed, and traffic has been resumed. Initially, the Federal Investment Corproation has started the works, two years ago, but it was later joined by the Tianlong Investment Bank, which has come in Natal through the World Belt Initiative and the development of a freight exclusive mainline between San Juan and Harton, liking the Implarian and the Thaumantic Ports. The rail line from San Juan to Saint Deroin has thus been completed, allowing fast direct services from Camp Hill to San Juan and leaving only the Kelso to Saint Deroin segment left for construction. Average speed of the trains is set to increase from 60 mph to 100 mph.​

 

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Providing daily news in the Southern Cape since 1835 and Nation wide since 1908- 1 Dollar- 11th of October 2023​

Natalians March for Peace and Freedom​

• The Hippos (Country Party) organised the March for Peace and Freedom​
• More than quarter of a million people in the whole Union participated in the demonstrations​
• Flags of Natal, Federation, Thaumantica, Dune Sea and even pro-national flags of Noks and Al-Magrab seen​

Called by State President Demetria Unathi Vavi and the Hippos have organised over the beginning of this week the March for Peace and Freedom, celebrating the steadfastness of the Federation of Westernesse, Hansa and the Thaumantic Order against the autocracy of Tarusa and their allies. The marches and demonstrations also included a more Himyari element to it, with the marchers calling for an end to the colonies of Himyar and the full liberation of Rio de Oro, Loago, Noks, Al-Magrab and Hajr.

More than a quarter million people participated across the country, with 200,000 marching in Harton alone. They have waved the cyan-white-black flag of Natal, the mustard-white-green flag of the Dune Sea, the crimson banners with the Minuteman of the Federation, the rainbow banner of the Thaumantic Commons, but also the national flags of Noks, Loago and Rio de Oro, chanting slogans and singing songs in the name of Peace, Freedom and Democracy.

"Himyar has been a victim of Imperialism, with the Noks Free State and others being examples of that. For decades our cultures and civilisation has been derided and mocked by colonialism, and our people enslaved, in what is even today an open air prison exploited for resources that keeps the Tarusan war marchine functional. We have taken to the streets to condemn it and to celebrate the Federation and the Thaumantic Commons in their steadfastness in fighting for Freedom, democracy and peace. We will continue to be a safe heaven for peace and liberation activists accross the world, a beacon for Himyar, as the Federation is for the western hemisphere, Thaumantica for Gallo-Germania and the Anti-State and Tianlong for the east," stated the right honourable Demetria Unathi Vavi, State President.

The march has been turned in Harton and Sandhaven into an outright festival, with open air conferences and music concerts and even charity raffles with the money bbeing sent to the Thaumantic Commons, the Hansa and the Federation's umanitarian efforts. About 50,000 demonstrated in the Dune Sea too, mostly centred in Sandhaven, the state's capital.

OTHER NEWS
POLICE TO INCREASE PRESENCE IN MZUZU STREETS: With reports of increased criminality in Mzuzu, which has been dubbed as the crime capital of the world during peacetime, the Engwahlian South Himyari Police Service is set to increase its presence and start an operation to reduce gang activity. The national government has been criticised for leaving too many responsibility to the hands of the local Rozvi Kingdom authorities, which, in their quest for more autonomy have proven to be incapable of administering the territory efficiently. The Parliament has created a Commission to investigate the issues of the Rozvi Kingdom and to see how the capital, Mzuzu, has become a national embarrassment, security wise, and a gate for illegal migration, and drug and human trafficking between the nation and the rest of Himyar.
GOVERNMENT CRITICISES ANGLIARIQUE FOR MILITARISING FRESCANIA: The National government has issues a criticism and condemnation of the Empire of Angliarique for sending the fleet to allegedly escort their delegation to the European Forum island of Frescania, a historically Ebrian island close to the Hamrunite Archipelago. The government stated that the European Forum has been lacking in the recent times, but that does not mean that it needs to be put under such pressure in the open. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, the honourable Liam Savage, commented that "recently, there has been an inflation of edgy governments, with extremely fascistic tendencies, who tend to cry out that they are bullied, when they are just being called out for their unacceptabble behaviour".​

 

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Providing daily news in the Southern Cape since 1835 and Nation wide since 1908- 1 Dollar- 30th of October 2023
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Harton declared load shedding free. Problems still continue in the rest of the country

The energy crisis that has hit the nation since 2005 is continuing to create problems for the southern Himyari communities as the population of Natal exploded from 25 million people in 1990 to 50 million in the present day, with little investment and expansion of the energy infrastructure. Both the Hyena and the Hippo government have been adopting a policy of expanding energy production, but they have been based on the expanding on the coal power plants as the hydrocarbons are extremely cheap with the nation being one of the world's biggest producers. These have started to attract more and more protests and criticism by 2010, with calls for renewable energies and more sustainable production.

The Hippo government of Demetria Unathi Vavi (2010-2014; 2017-19; 2022-present) has invested in the Dune Sea energy production, using the Kalagadi Desert, which provides the most sunshine hours per year out of everywhere else on the globe, to build solar power plans. The government was also interested in hydropower along the Natal River, creating the project of the Silver Canyon Dam along the valley of the river crossing the Granite Mountains, but this project came under scrutiny too as many ecologist groups are criticising it for potentially destroying the ecosystem along it.

The last option for the government remained an expansion of the gas and coal power plants, which will alleviate many of the issues in the short run and has managed to end the load shedding issues in the capital, Camp Hill, Parow, the capital of the Langfield Free State and Harton, Capital of the Lower Natal Republic and Himyar's greatest city. Significant issues remain in Blackmere, Engaruka, Mzuzu and along the rural areas. For this, the government has announced its most ambitious project as of yet, the construction of a nuclear power plant, with 5 reactors at Calvinia, which, at maximum strength will be able the provide the nation with over 40% of its electrical consumption and will make Natal a net exporter of electricity.

"The issue is more complex than just building the electricity production centres. Too many governments of this nation have done their best to promote the development in this avenue, probably the most disastrous being the Hyena initiative to offer grants to private citizens to instal solar panels and turn themselves from consumers to prosumers. The problem was, that in the end, it was too popular and it ended up collapsing the grid in certain areas. What the government needs to do is to improve the grid. It's not only about production, but about transportation. Electricity cannot be stored, so Eskom needs to provide enough electricity for the level of consumption it exists. It needs to have a grid that resists this level of electrical transfer. The problem for many Natalian governments is that it's not really as glamorous rebuilding the grid, as it is to cut the ribbon on a huge dam or a nuclear power plant. This brings us the most problems we have with load shedding today," stated Sizani kaGana, political analyst.

Load shedding issues continue to this day in many rural areas and are generally mobile through the day, announced for the citizens affected through the governmental alert service on their telephones. In the cities of Mzuzu and Blackmere, loadshedding hits at night, with no electricity between 2 to 5 in the morning.

OTHER NEWS
Antelopes call for Decolonization Conference: The Pan-Himyari Communist Party (Antelopes), have issued a call for the nationalist anti-colonial movements from Loago, Noks, Al-Magrab, Hajr and Rio de Oro to join them in a conference which will be held in Parow this november. Alice Makeba, chairwoman of the Antelopes, has called the Pan-Himyari Decolonisation Conference to be held under the auspices of freedom fighting, solidarity building and a new tomorrow, under the motto "The Himyar we deserve: A family of free nations, developing harmoniously". The Natalian communists have been extremely critical of the wars in Hajr and Al-Magrab and still keep the Noks Free State as the model of dehumanisation as a result of colonialism.​

 

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SGR begins operations on Phase II mainline between Blackmere and Harton

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The SGR (Standard Gauge Railway) is one of Himyar's currently most ambitious infrastructure projects, aiming to unite the big cities of Natal, namely Camp Hill, Blackmere, Harton and Parow and also extend with secondary lines to Mzuzu in the north east and towards Zandhaven in the Dune Sea. Its role is to replace the old metric gauge railway built in Natal and the Dune Sea in the late 19th century and early 20th century with the standard gauge of 1,435mm, which could also support speeds as high as 160km/h, from the current maximum speeds of 80km/h on the Natalian railways, whose trains actually average 43 km/h for passenger and 25km/h for freight traffic.

The SGR has been the result of the cooperation between Natal and @Tianlong and its World Belt Initiative, with the total cost rising at about 10 billion EM, in which 70% was financed through low interest loans from Tianlong, while the rest coming from the FIC, the Natalian Federal Investment Corporation. Work on the railways have started in 2015, with the first Phase namely the Harton to Parow mainline, and the Harton-Camp Hill branch line. This opened in 2018 and then work continued with Phase 2, which was the Harton to Blackmere mainline and then continued from Blackmere to Zandhaven in the Republic of the Dune Sea. These sectors have been finished in 2022, with tests running through most of 2023 and starting the 1st of November, the first passenger services have begun travelling on the railway, with Shosholoza Meyl, Natal's passenger railway corporation introducing the Harmattan Express service, with the whole service going on the Parow-Harton-Blackmere-Zandhaven route, while the Harmattan Limited travelling along the Camp Hill-Harton-Blackmere-Zandhaven route, linking the major urban centres of the twinned nations of Natal and the Dune Sea.

Work on Phase 3 will begin early in 2024, with a branch line from Camp Hill to Mzuzu and in the Dune Sea it will continue with a coastal mainline from Zandhaven to Bloemfontein. The latter one will cost 3 billion EM and will be funded by the Dune Sea government and the Natalian FIC. Work on Phase 3 will the most difficult of them all as it will pass through the Kalagadi Desert and the Sand Coast, while the first two phases were just refurbishing already built railways, which made the construction easier.

"It is one of the most expensive projects of ours, but it will be a great investment for the future generations as we expect them to be functional for the next century with good maintenance, as the previous ones were. Our Tianese partners recommended us to build them in parallel to the old railways, but that would have meant extra costs for expropriating people and building new facilities such as railway stations, warehouses and depots. This way of action would have given us less disruptions on our main railway system, but we have decided to rather have these disruptions and have the new railway go across the cities like the old one so as to keep the central infrastructure. We expect passenger numbers to increase by 70% compared to the 2015 numbers and freight transport by about 350%," stated William Sizwe, Director General of Transnet Infrastructure.

OTHER NEWS
Antelope Congress goes forward: Despite the angry reactions from the Anglians, Alice Makeba is going forward with the Decolonisation Congress, calling for the liberation of Himyar from the colonies of Rio de Oro, Loago, Gesire, Noks, Al-Magrab and Hajr. The Congress is organised by the Pan-Himyari Communist Party, which, following the Natalian custom of nicknaming political movements after the most known Himyari animals, are more known as the Antelopes. The Natalian government, led by State President Demetria Unathi Vavi and Chief Minister Liam Savage, both Hippos, have stated that there is no connection between the government and the Antelopes but have stated that Natal is a democracy and Alice Makeba has all the rights to express her political views and the government has all the duty to ensure that she is safe doing so.
Spring in the south: Spring has officially arrived, albeit later, at the southern shores of Himyar, with temperatures along the coast set to rise. Minimum temperatures are expected to not rise at night over 15 degrees in the next two weeks, but daily maximums are expected to rise up to 25 degrees and even 30 degrees are set to be felt around Mzuzu. On the peaks of the Grans some late snowfalls are still expected. ​