Coalition of Crown AlbatrossBoard

BUENA VERA, Artegana- A landmark agreement has been made between Qolaysian and Togarian representatives in Buena Vera during ongoing peace talks to hopefully end the decade-long Togana War between the two states, with rebels on the island of Togana (supported by Togaria) being granted limited administrative status in the Qolaysian parliament, Togarian fishing rights installed, but an order for Togarian military to stay away from internationally recognized Qolaysian waters.

The agreement, while not fully encompassing all issues presented by either side in the delegations, is one step towards a better agreement. Qolaysian officials are taking the decision as a win, flaunting the removal of the Togarian military presence in their territorial claims. The Togarians, on the other hand, are celebrating an economic victory with the rights of fishermen being allowed to cultivate and practice fishing in previously Qolaysian exclusive zones.

Addition to all of this is the plight of Togarian-backed rebels, who will gain perhaps the most in this agreement: a permanent 5-seat spot in the National Legislature of Qolaysia which, although a far cry from total independence, is still a victory for the group on a legal basis.

President Abiel Kennard praised the Qolaysian delegation, saying "this is a victory for us. The mediation worked, we brought Togaria to the table and won an important step in our stride for lasting peace in Togana."

After nearly 12 years of low-level conflict between multiple parties, with rebels in Togana backed by the Republic of Togaria and the Qolaysians backed by Beleroskov and Drambenburg, the peace talks have been marred with controversy. Togaria left the talks following the signing of an agreement with SEIAA, but international pressure brought them back to Buena Vera. The stalls also were marred with diplomatic shifts with representatives from both parties being switched around multiple times.

Chancellor Gianni Roussilis expressed satisfaction with the developments so far in the Syraranto ceasefire, which in addition to ceasing a significant amount of fighting in the country, has also allowed for the North Icadanian military to be less tensed in a constant fear of war. Over the past year, the Icadanian military has clashed occasionally with the Syraranto regime as they supported the rebels, but Icadania now is able to relax and lower their alert level to a considerable degree thanks to the Vuswistan-brokered ceasefire.

Icadanian people, especially those in the south, are being allowed to stay out later with the lifting of a martial law and a curfew that was instituted in August 2020 after Syraranto rockets landed in several villages inIcadania. Restaurants were opened, as were bars and night clubs, and life is seeming to get back to normalcy.

"I've waiting a long time to get back outside with my friends," one man said. "I wanted to get a drink again and see my buds. It's nice that we can do it safely too."

The Chancellor stated that if the ceasefire collapses, new restriction might have to start again, but until that moment, Icadanians can celebrate and return to a normalcy in public life.

SAINT RANEAU TIMES
MOREAU AND MELHAVEN MEET AMID WEDA CONCERNS
Chancellor Melhaven and President Moreau Met In Saint Raneau

WEDA leadership has recently been operating at a standstill as diplomatic relations in South Adula are strained. This all comes with increased Drambenburgian militarization, complications with De Yuaneze intervention, the collective organization of SEIAA, and an escalating crisis with collapsing governments. Today, along with the State Department of Zamastan, the Foreign Ministry of Albarine labeled many South Adulan nations as authoritarian states and called for democratic reforms.

Albarine is bordered by one of these nations; Zalluabed. The Albarinean and Zamastanian governments labeled Zalluabed as a totalitarian regime as their government conducts "counter-terror" operations in the nation's western desert province of Hisrea, where they have been accused of burning villages that have "harbored rebel cells".

Melhaven has been known for her assertive stance on "antagonistic" governments, and the actions of the Zalluabed navy in November of 2020 against Albarinean patrol vessels has certainly soured relations between the two regional powers. Albarine has thrown restrictions, tariffs, sanctions, and hefty patrol against Zalluabed in the months since, as repeated incidents have threatened vessels in international waters.

Chancellor Melhaven is joined in her sentiment against the Zalluabed government and royalty by Zamastanian officials and her counterparts in WEDA. Zalluabed is largely seen as the prevailing worrisome state in the South Adula region, although other concerns have arisen surrounding Qolaysia and Alecburgh in their crackdowns against pro-democracy demonstrations, as have worries around growing militarization by Drambenburg.

LIVE: President al-Akhtar Closes Diplomatic Ties with WEDA Nations
The ambassadors to Albarine, Quetana, Kuresa, Caspiaa, and Zamastan have all been recalled to Zakaraban

President Zayyaan al-Akhtar has recalled the ambassadors for five of the ten Western Euronia Defense Alliance nations in response to resolutions passed today decreeing the Kingdom as an "authoritarian regime". Al-Akhtar called WEDA's move "blatant aggression and arrogance," and said that their actions "threatened the rights and sovereignty of millions of free Zalluabedi nationals."

King Farik al-Jamura has decreed a temporary halt on exports over the introduction of sanctions by the WEDA nations to "control an economic inverse as opposed to an uncontrolled economic crisis caused by these illegal actions."

Zalluabed has the 16th largest oil reserves in the world and the fourth largest in Adula, while it has the ninth largest reserves of natural gas. Zonatrach, the national oil company, is one of the largest companies in Adula, supplying large amounts of natural gas to Euronian nations, specifically Drambenburg and Tinten. These sanctions are expected to harm the national economy significantly for the rest of the fiscal year.

Ambassadors and foreign relations being frozen is sure to hamper further diplomatic channels, but authorities say that the move by President al-Akhtar is strategic; meant to force WEDA to a negotiating platform or risk running the blame for increased tensions. TTPA (Grand Alliance) nations have been notified of the ongoing diplomatic drop, and Zalluabed's government is awaiting responses to see if their allies follow suit.

Saint Raneau, Albarine, saw a historic day in the WEDA General Council resolutions

TOFINO - The General Council of the Western Euronia Defense Alliance has passed a nearly two-year-long waiting resolution to accept the Republics of Andaluni and Sulifa into the organization, a move which comes amid heightened tensions with several Southern Adulan nations. On Saturday, representatives of WEDA at a conference summit in Saint Raneau, Albarine, approved the resolution to accept the two Eastern Adulan nations after the proposal had sat in discourse and debate for nearly two full years. Increased pressure from the governments of Emmiria and Quetana, however, encouraged the unanimous vote to pass, with Andaluni and Sulifa becoming the first states to join the organization since Albarine and Emmiria in 2011.

Secretary General of WEDA, Damian Levasseur (Rio Palito), announced the resolution to an energetic crowd of diplomats and representatives at a hastily organized press pool, saying that "today marks the beginning of our restated resolution to peace and a more prosperous world. WEDA has shifted in the past to be, as you know, more inclusive of the opposite side of the Olympic and Toyana Oceans, and the inclusion of the republic of Sulifa today marks a key naval combination for future endeavor, while Andaluni brings the gap between our Adulan allies closer."

Andaluni's inclusion into the organization means that WEDA is now completely attached and unbroken amid land boundaries, closing a gap between Kuresa and Vitosium by attaching connection with Quetana and Skith, which translates to Emmiria and Sulifa. Talks are already in place for military drills to be established shortly with Sulifan and Andaluni units involved, as are conversations of investments for a shared infrastructure project of continental highways stretching from Sulifa City all the way to Nora and up into Kuresa and Vitosium.

President Atticus Moreau welcomed the organization's decision, lauding it as a "high point in negotiation and collaboration for Zamastanian foreign policy."

The decision, though, comes at an interesting moment. Only two days ago did WEDA establish crippling sanctions against a South Adulan power; Zalluabed. WEDA signified the government and royal family of Zalluabed as an "authoritarian regime" and called last month's elections "state-run power plays," calling for new elections to be held under a watchdog Coalition of Crown Albatross overview. The move angered multiple countries, specifically Zalluabed allies of Beleroskov and Qolaysia, the latter of whom was also sanctioned for suppressing pro-democracy movements and both of whom pulled their ambassadors from Zamastan, Quetana, Albarine, Caspiaa, and Kuresa.

Tensions are not new in the South Adula region, especially recently. This is, however, the most significant step by WEDA since the 1999-2005 War in Vulkaria that the organization has gone to blocking key economic efforts and utilities of a foreign nation. Some experts fear that the current diplomatic crisis, ongoing militarization of the region, and clear divides in political ideology is likening to the Cold War of the 1960s-80s.

Zamastan's own stipulations for their sanctions and condemnation towards the Zalluabed government were extensive, according to multiple statements and documents released by the State Department, but Secretary of State Jessiah Vallotis stated that the move largely had to do with a continuing Zalluabedi military campaign against their own people in the province of Hisrea.

"There have been reports of widespread human attrocities," Vallotis said on Saturday, "reports from the ground and from our own intelligence agencies with cooperation with our allies. Bombings of key civilian infrastructure like hospitals and schools, burnings of villages, mass murder and massacres, sexual violence, it's horrific stuff. The government of Zamastan fully blames and casts responsibility on the government of Zalluabed, President al-Akhtar, and the Zalluabedi Royal Family."

Zalluabed's own response to the crisis was recall to the ambassadors for five of the ten Western Euronia Defense Alliance. President Zayyaan Al-Akhtar called WEDA's move "blatant aggression and arrogance," and said that their actions "threatened the rights and sovereignty of millions of free Zalluabedi nationals."

Bridge Collapse Kills 11 in Blairmore, Nearly One Year After Similar Collapse In Moulins

The Blairmore Viaduct Cross Bridge collapsed onto city streets and rail networks below on March 20th, 2021

A bridge in the heart of Blairmore collapsed on Saturday, killing 11 people as dozens of vehicles and tons of concrete and steel plunged onto city streets below in a disaster that prompted an emergency review of the province's aging infrastructure, nearly a year after a eerily similar bridge collapse occured in Moulins, no more than 30 miles away. The Moulins disaster killed 21 on April 1st, 2020.

Marcus Sakin said he had just finished his shift at the city’s garbage collection company when “I heard something like an explosion and a screech of iron, and in a second we were all covered by a cloud of dust.”

Mr. Sakin went outside, and with his smartphone he started broadcasting the scene on social media.

“I immediately thought of the victims; I held my tears, with difficulty,” he said. “We were impotent, we didn’t have the means to help those who remained underneath.” He said two of his colleagues had been killed.

Long before the collapse, experts warned that the structure was deteriorating and possibly dangerous.

The highway bridge fell by as much as 148 feet just before noon, taking about three dozen cars and three trucks with it, according to Damian Borrelli, chief of the Civil Protection Department in Redeemer's Land Province.

The calamity following the collapse presented a serious test of Redeemer's Land's new provincial government, a coalition of populist parties that was formed only months ago. They rode to power on a wave of anti-establishment anger against President Foley Sakzi and the Blue Conservative coalition that had a major majority in Congressional Hall, but the coalition is led by people who had little to no experience governing, and now must demonstrate that they can manage a crisis and the scrutiny that comes with it.

Secretary of Transportation Earnest Thompson traveled to the scene of the disaster. The office of Moulin's public prosecutor said it would open a criminal inquiry, examining whether the collapse was because of negligence, and federal authorities indicated that they, too, would investigate.

Thompson said the government had ordered a comprehensive safety review of Redeemer's Land's infrastructure — including viaducts and bridges built in the 1950s and 1960s during the country’s main economic boom. Much of the infrastructure, he warned, was showing signs of age. “This is what Zamastan needs to do, now,” he said.

In a phone interview, Stephen Rachelina, director of the Institute for Construction Technology for Zamastan's National Research Council, said that most of the nation’s infrastructure “needs to be carefully re-examined” because much “was at the end” of its useful life span. He added, “In some cases it can be reinforced, in other cases it will have to be demolished and rebuilt completely.”

Mr. Rachelina said that civil and structural engineering projects in Zamastan were complicated by a national patrimony that dates to antiquity. “Our position, typically, is to try and conserve rather than demolish and rebuild, as happens in other countries,” he said.

The collapse of the Moulins bridge last year was a serious alarm, he said, “because it is not an isolated case — in the last three years, a number of bridges have collapsed in Zamastan, and they are all around 50 years old.”

Albert Daccii, a lecturer at the University of Duncan and an expert on floods and landslides, said “significant urbanization” of the city’s flood plains along with, at times, irrational urbanization, led to channels being narrowed and streams diverted. The result, he said, was a situation where flooding became more common, especially as the intensity of downpours has grown in recent years.

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