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| Topic Started: 23rd April 2016 - 07:04 PM (1,467 Views) | |||||||||||||||||||
| MrsIronside | 23rd April 2016 - 07:04 PM Post #1 | ||||||||||||||||||
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  QUEEN DIES AT 101 YEARS OF AGE Her Divine Majesty Queen Sonja Lukić passed away last night at the age of 101 following a reign of 83 years. The record breaking reign began in 1933 when she was announced as the choice to carry the spirit of the Goddess Sessifet. She passed away in the Palace of the Waters, her favourite royal residence surrounded by her family. She was photographed just a week ago with her great,great granddaughter Mira who was just two weeks old, however since then she has struggled with her breathing and doctors had been called to the Palace several times. The Queen's 79 year old daughter Gabrielė spoke to the press stating, "I am duty bound to inform the nation of the passing of my beloved mother Queen Sonja. Today is a mixed day for my family, we are sad to know that a woman we love deeply will no longer be part of our life, however we realise that today is a blessing of sorts, my mother has carried the spirit of Sessifet for 83 years, 21 years longer than any other Queen, today she will join the other Queens who have had this privledge in heaven where she will enjoy her rewards for a job well done. We will celebrate her long and happy life and be thankful that Sessifet blessed her." It is thought that the Queen's reign may not be just the longest in Lodja but also the longest of any monarch anywhere in Mundus. The Conclave of the Patricians will now spend the next two weeks compiling a list of potential new monarchs before conferring with the Goddess about her choice and announcing it to the people. For the first time in history none of the Conclave were alive when the last one was called prompting Lord Radoslav Budny to say, "The great burden of this search is one I do not relish, however we shall do our duty to ensure the Goddess has a worthy carrier of her spirit." |
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| MrsIronside | 4th May 2016 - 04:07 PM Post #2 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 LONG LIVE QUEEN VIKTORIYA Yesterday amidst great celebration the nation of Lodja announced its new Queen. Following two weeks of consideration by the Conclave of six nobles and six Priestess it was confirmed that Viktoriya Tar, the daughter of Lord Ivan and Lady Marit of of Yovela was to inherit the spirit of the Goddess, Sessifet. The coronation came exactly 14 days after the death of Queen Sonja at the age of 101. The ceremony, as tradition dictates, immediately followed the cremation of the old Queen's body and was for the first time witnessed by those from outside the nation. The new Queen is, as the Goddess instructed, 18 years old and is the second member of the Tar family to wear the crown, the other being Queen Yolanda Tar in the 16th Century. She graduated just a few months ago from the highly prestigious Gaia Grammar School for Girls where she was considered to be "gifted in languages" The Queen also currently has arrangements in place to marry the eldest son of the Lord of Kruska when he turned 18, this would be in 2019 however no Queen has ever gone through with a marriage arranged before being coronated. The Queen will announce her decision on the make up of the Conclave in the coming days, already it is expected however that Lord Besarion will remain as Lord of the Council while Priestess Raisa will remain as High Priestess. With Vikoriya's father however being a Lord himself many are speculating that he may also be appointed as part of the six nobles who make up part of the Conclave. Lord Besarion however has already gone on record about his hopes for remaining in post, "What our Queen requires me to do I will of course do, however I feel that I still have much to offer my nation and I sincerely hope that I shall be permitted to continue in my role and help Lodja fulfil its potential." The Lord's popularity is high with 72% of Patricians supporting him while 62% of Plebeians believe he is the best man for the job. |
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| MrsIronside | 6th May 2016 - 10:00 PM Post #3 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 CONCLAVE UNCHANGED Queen Viktoriya has announced today that the nations highest council, The Conclave, will remain unchanged for the time being. The 12 person council is made up of six nobles and six members of the Priesthood who act as government ministers. The announcement means that Lord Besarion remains as the Lord of the Council, making him the highest ranked member, a position he has now held since 2015. Speaking following the announcement Lord Besarion said; "I am delighted Her Divine Majesty has granted me the opportunity to continue the job that I have begun. I hope that I can work with her to bring about a new era of prosperity for the Lodjain people." The approval rating of Besarion is riding high with 78% of Patricians while 62% of Plebeians support him remaining in position. When asked what he envisaged for the reign of Queen Viktoriya he said; "The time has come for us to spread our wings wider, we've focused upon our own lands for too long, a world of excitement exists outside our borders and I think Her Divine Majesty must make the most of it." It is already rumoured that the Queen is on her way to Protoa to attend the Imperial Wedding there.  QUEEN ARRANGED MARRIAGE OFF The newly crowned Queen had been betrothed to the 17 year old son of the Lord of Kruska, however today shortly after the Conclave announcement High Priestess Raisa announced that they had informed Lord Kruska that the marriage was now not going to happen. It is normal practice for a Queen with an agreement to marry to cancel the agreement upon taking the throne as the High Priestess explained. "Many Lodjains marry a partner selected for them by their families, some marriages are arranged from birth, however the agreement is between two people to marry, we must remember that upon her coronation Queen Vikoriya became one with the Goddess and no longer remains Vikoriya Tar therefore the marriage can not take place." Lord Kruska said he was "disappointed by the decision" but "understood fully" He however didn't fully rule out the marriage. "Over the past three years since myself and Lord Ivan agreed for our children to marry the two of them have become good friends. It is customary as I understand it for the Queen to take one husband choosen by the Conclave and then marry a husband of her choosing. There is still the possibility that my son Ruben may still marry Queen Vikoriya but I realise that is a big honour." High Priestess Raisa stated that the Conclave "have not discussed a marriage partner for the Queen" adding that, "That will be a matter for once the Queen has settled into her role and begun to understand her role better." |
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| MrsIronside | 9th May 2016 - 10:41 AM Post #4 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 QUEEN ENDORSES UPPSALA CONVENTION Today Queen Vicktoriya added her signature to the Uppsala Convention, marking the nations first signing of an international treaty. The Queen stated, "We are beginning to edge our way into the international community. It was I decision we made that recognising the rights of those involved in war should be protected." The Queen had meet with the Conclave to consider a range of different international treaties rejecting to sign the Mundus Convention on Universal Rights and the Commonwealth Treaty Organisation. The Queen explained those decisions by saying, "We considered each carefully. Their is much in the MCUR that would undermine Lodjain way of life and therefore we are unable to comply. For example our plebeian subjects would find themselves with rights they have not earned through service to their nation. This is unacceptable to us." She then went on to explain, "The Commonwealth Treaty Organisation prevents in our view decisions being made by ourselves, therefore we will not be submitting to its will, this however does not mean we shall not work with the organisation should its aims and objectives line up with our own." |
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| MrsIronside | 2nd August 2016 - 08:37 PM Post #5 | ||||||||||||||||||
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LODJAIN TO CHAIR CMA Duchess Gala Kozel, the Grand-daughter of Her Divine Majesty Queen Sonja Lukić was today appointed as the first Chief Councillor of the newly formed Cross Mundus Agency. The announcement was made by Queen Vikoriya who had just arrived back from signing the nation up to this treaty many are seeing as an alternative to the CTO. The move is also the first major international role to be held by an Lodjain and has been the cause of great pride in Gaia. Queen Viktoriya made the announcement at the airport stating, "It is our great priveledge to name the for Chief Councillor and we had no hesitation in choosing Duchess Gala, she has been a fine servant to us and we are certain she will continue this great devotion and service in Krokom where it looks likely that she will be based. We know that we speak for the whole nation when we wish her the best of luck and are certain she will do a great job for both our homeland and Mundus." The Queen was then questioned as to why Lodja joined the CMA and not the CTO and explained, "We are a small nation, as such our nation needs more than just a place to engage in debate, the CMA offers oppurtunities for science and technological co-operation and that is something we would be foolish to ignore. Furthermore we have had little contact with the outside world and those nations joining the CMA are ones that we have had contact with and so as such are more likely to act favourably towards a culture that now having been abroad we understand other nations may say as strange. It is our hope our nation can now open up and show how wonderous and beautiful Lodja and its culture is." |
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| MrsIronside | 26th August 2016 - 09:08 PM Post #6 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 LODJAIN GAS RIG COLLAPSE Yesterday the nations first off-shore gas platform collapsed during its launch. The Lady Grace platform was due to be towed to between two Lodjain islands where it would tap into a large pocket discovered last year. It was expected for the platform to become operational in two weeks time and begin pumping gas into tankers within a month. However this schedule is now in tatters. The much needed money that was likely to be brought in from the export of this gas was intended to improve the national infrastructure as part of a project to bring more foreign investment to Lodja. The rig collapsed when one of the floatation tanks was ill fitted and came lose snapping a tug's tow line in the process, this caused the rig to topple onto one side. Luckily the rig was unmanned at the time and as such no one was injured, however it will now take around a week to right the rig and assess the damage. A second platform was due to be launched in three weeks time called Lady Jessica however this is now under review in terms of its safety. Lord Aleksei Rodya, who is responsible for the nations finances said " We are concerned that this is now putting our timetable for national modernisation which is in turn tied to increasing the nations economic output is now behind schedule. This could lead to problems further down the line but I am confident that we can overcome them. This is a project Queen Viktoriya is keen to see succeed so we can have a trickle down to help the Plebeians in our society." |
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| MrsIronside | 5th September 2016 - 07:42 AM Post #7 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 PALACE ANNOUNCE AGENDA FOR YEAR Following consultation with the Conclave and the Queen the Royal Palace have announced what reforms and initiatives will be undertaken in the coming 12 months. As expected there s a significant slant towards Foreign Relations as well as improving the infrastructure of the country. There are of course many policies that will be outlined in more detail to come, however the Lodja Times have outlined the key policies below.
On the streets of the capital Gaia many Plebeians citizens spoke of their delight at many of the policies. One man called Miroslav Kubik stated, "The military was always one way some like us could raise to the rank of Patrician, but it took generations, this concept of outstanding people being made officers despite their birth offers a glimmer of hope to those serving. Additionally the fact we will now have a voice on the Conclave means that we can push for further reform." Meanwhile others were pleased that there seems to be attempts at creating more jobs, "Many of us Plebs are forced to do manual jobs on a day by day basis, the fact people will now be creating more jobs for us is great, I hope to get a regular job and therefore give my family more stability. Some of the policies however have drawn criticism from some quarters. One Priestess of Sessifet stated, "By allowing foreign influences into our nation it will water down our national identity and our closeness to the Goddess, I fear Queen Viktoriya will be pulled from Sessifet's path by foreign influence, she will compromise the Goddesses will. We should remain a nation bathed in the faith and only those willing to conform to our norms should be permitted here." Some Patricians also criticised some of the reforms stating, "Our families have worked hard for this nation for hundreds of years to ensure those Plebs are looked after and guided, this latest agenda seeks to weaken our families standing and that will weaken Lodja. The system we have in place has existed for over a thousand years and has served us well, the Queen should not cast that aside." The Palace also confirmed the Queen had attended a coronation in Arnor and spent much of the time accompanied by the King of East Moreland King David III. The Palace stated, "King David is a highly experienced statesman who is deserving of respect. Her Divine Majesty had never attended a foreign event such as that and despite Lord Besarion providing expert guidance even he must accept that King David was more seasoned in this field. He was willing to help Her Divine Majesty learn much about such formal functions and we are grateful. We hope this relationship between Lodja and East Moreland is one we can capitalise on." |
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| MrsIronside | 20th October 2016 - 10:06 PM Post #8 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 QUEEN CREATES NEW POLITICAL POSITION Queen Viktoriya has today announced the creation of a new political position, the first in 260 years of Lodjain history. The newly created position is to be called Tribune of the Plebs and will serve as a voice for the Plebleian class of Lodja. The position will be selected by public vote of the Plebleians who account for some 70% of the population, this however will mean that they need to be registered to vote and this process is likely to take several months. The Tribune will be permitted to sit on the Conclave and will also have a vote on domestic legislation, they will however have no say in foreign policy yet they can contribute to discussions. The Queen also announced that one conclave meeting a month will be chaired by the Tribune who will be free to select whatever agenda they wish. The move has drawn criticism from some nobles including Lord Stilic who said, "It is my view that the Plebleian's still are not ready for these, in many ways they are niave of the world beyond our borders and must place their trust in Sessifet, the Goddess will guide us and has appointed us to be the rulers of the people to look after and care for them like children. This move will change the dynamic of our nation and give people ideas above their station." One of the leading candidates for the job is likely to be former Lodjain footballer Mikhal Kuznetsov who has been supported by Patrician businssman Klaus Velov in establishing a network of football academies across Lodja, making himself a successful businessman in the process. The 47 year old former Gaia F.C striker said, "I've been encouraged to stand by several people, its something that interests me and I'll consider it after talking with friends." |
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| MrsIronside | 21st October 2016 - 12:34 PM Post #9 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 LOW KEY PROTEST OVER "MISSING MILLIONS" A handful of protestors gathered outside the Ministry for Home Affairs today to protest about what they perceive to be potential government corruption. Last week the government sold various mobile phone network contracts to overseas companies, netting the government approximately $3.3billion in revenue. The Queen had informed the people that this money would then be used on a variety of infrastructure projects such as new schools, land irrigation and scholarships for Plebeian students, however as of yet no announcements have been made regarding how this money will be spent now it is in the government account. Several of the protestors demanded answers, one saying, "We are struggling to provide our family with a good standard of living, meanwhile in the richer areas we see government workers with new cars and fancy suits. It's wrong if we, the people likely to buy these phones, do not benefit from this money. My daughter is in a Plebeian school and has to have 30 others in her classroom, meanwhile just down the road is a Patrician school that receives funding so that no more than 15 students are permitted in each class. This is wrong, we need more schools, more teachers and more resources." The Queen is thought to be unaware of these protests as she is at present in East Moreland meeting with their newly elected Chief Councillor Thomas More. Lord Besarion, Head of the Conclave, however made a statement on behalf of the government saying. "Transfering and organising billions in currency is not as simple as these Plebs think. We will account for every single Geld and we will use this money wisely. Her Majesty is on record saying how she will spend the money and I am confident she will do that. People need to be patient."  BARONESS TO MARRYb][/b] One of the Queen's Ladies in Waiting, Baroness Isidora Volkov, has announced that she has been given permission to marry. The 40 year old has been a Lady in Waiting since at the age of 20 becoming one of the four Ladies in Waiting to Queen Sonja, she then was maintained in her position by Queen Viktoriya. She is set to wed prominent businessman and youngest son of Baron Artur Krispin, Ivan Krispin, who is ten years her junior. The marriage is likely to be a large affair and the Queen's attendance has been confirmed. In a statement from the Queen's Office Queen Vikoriya stated, "Isidora has served this nation and myself faithfully her whole life. We wish her every happiness in her future marriage and a long happy marriage with her husband." The replacement for Baroness Isidora is likely to be named in the coming days. Edited by MrsIronside, 21st October 2016 - 12:35 PM.
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| MrsIronside | 24th October 2016 - 09:32 PM Post #10 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 GAS RIG SUCCESS Following the accident that caused the collapse of the nations first gas rig, the sister platform known as Lady Jessica, has been successfully launched. Lord Aleksei Rodya, the operator of the state owned Lodjan Gas Agency (LGA) announced the success saying, "The lessons of the first launch came fast, an inexperienced team carried out the launch and when things started to deviat from their plan they couldn't adapt. We've been better this time and now the platform is in place between two of our islands and is likely to begin operations within the week." The nation have planned a further ten platforms to exploit the extensive gas fields of the Sea of Alucard. Rodya continued, "We are truley blessed by Sessifet, our island chain gives us a rather large EEZ which means we can exploit a vast area of this gas field and that is good news for the finances of our nation. Queen Viktoriya has annoucned an extensive programme of spending based on the promise of this money and that has been put on hold, the sooner we get the gas, the sooner her plan can begin." It is expected that, in accordance with Queen Viktoriya's statement earlier this year, that 65% of the money will be used on projects designed to further the living standards of the Plebleian elements of Lodjain society and address the large wealth gap that exists. A recent survey discovered the average Plebleian earned $14,000 a year while the average Patrician earned $120,000, possibly being one of the largest wealth gaps in Mundus.  QUEEN SONJA SPORTING LEGACY The family of former Queen Sonja have announced today that they will be funding the creation of a national centre of excellence for sport. The move is part of a series of announcements the family will make regarding the creation of a lasting legacy for the Queen. It is traditional following the death of a Queen that her family go about a series of projects designed to leave a lasting way of remembering the former monarch. The former Queen’s grand-daughter, Lady Ivana said, “My grandma was always a fond spectator of sports and was often sad that Lodja never qualified for the football world cups, or entered a team in the summer games. We just haven’t taken sport seriously here in the past, we would like to change that. A sporting nation is healthier, more productive and more able to serve Sessifet. We therefore think the creation of this centre will help our top athletes have somewhere to train and improve.” It is expected that the centre will welcome its first residents in three months’ time as it utilisers part of an old army base. “The first athletes will be using the old military facilities while the state of the art stuff is constructed, we hope this will be the envy of many nations when done.” One of the first to attend will be Anastasia Pekrov, a 17 year old high jumper from Mulvik, “Back home our family didn’t have much money so going to a real athletics club was difficult, my father built me a kind of mat out of old mattresses he got and I jumped over a garden cane. To now have the opportunity to come here is a dream for someone of my age. We’d never be able to afford it without the legacy of Her Divine Majesty Queen Sonja” It is hoped the nation’s first summer games medallist will come from this centre in the near future. Edited by MrsIronside, 24th October 2016 - 09:32 PM.
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| MrsIronside | 27th October 2016 - 11:30 PM Post #11 | ||||||||||||||||||
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TAR ISLAND BECOMES PROTECTED AREA The birthplace of Queen Viktoriya is set to become a protected area for marine life. The island, known as Tar Island, has been in the family for 200 years and is home to just 250 people on a permanent basis. Since becoming Queen, Viktoriya Tar has only visited the island once, however had stated that she intended to create for Lodja a protected Marine reserve. As such the island will now have a 5km "no fishing" zone around it. The move is part of an attempt to protect wildlife as well as give fish a place to breed and grow before entering the open ocean. Similar projects have been used across Mundus and have been shown to have a positive impact on fish stocks in the area. A Minister of Fisheries spokesman said. "This move shows Her Divine Majesty has the interest of the world at heart, she has given up part of her families natural territory to enable our nations fisherman to have a long term supply of fish. It shows a very forward thinking sense and I am sure it will be a great success." The move however has caused some to claim it has come just as a way of ensuring the family maintain a monopoly on activity on the island.  QUEEN'S SISTER TO BECOME PRINCESS The Priesthood yesterday released confirmation that Queen Viktoriya's younger sister, Alana, is to become a Princess. Under Lodjain tradition the siblings of the Queen are granted royal titles only once the Priesthood have confirmed that they are blessed by Sessifet. The soon to be Princess Alana is 16 years old and according to High Priestess Raisa is "as kind and gentle as her sister the Queen, Sessifet has truly blessed the Tar family with two wonderful daughters and Alana is more than fit to posses the title of Princess." It is expected that a ceremony confering on her the royal title will be carried out in the coming days. The soon to be Princess is currently studying at the Gaia Academy for Girls and is considered by her teachers to be a "gifted student of the arts", additionally she has represented the prestigious school in Syncronised Swimming and Pistol Shooting. She is also considered a teenage fashion icon with her instagram account being one of the most followed in Lodja, her number of followers has almost doubled since her sister became Queen. Edited by MrsIronside, 20th January 2017 - 11:40 PM.
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| MrsIronside | 30th October 2016 - 03:21 PM Post #12 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 RED LEGION COMING TO TOWN East Moreland's elite Red Legion are set to visit Lodja, the visit comes following the signing of a treaty between the two nations in which trade tarrifs will be removed and travel between the two nations will become easier. The visit is part of the Queen's policy to ensure that Lodjain Armed Forces are as well prepared as possible, as such she has invited the elite commando's to come and observe Lodjain training and procedure before having them make recommendations on how things could be improved. The Legion is considered amongst the best trained soldiers on Mundus with their selection methods being considered harsher than Lodja's own Commando training. It will also mark the first time our armed forces have worked with another nation. The exact number of observers has yet to be announced nor has the date on which they will arrive, although the Legion's usual secrecy may mean we will not known until the observation is complete. The move however has sparked criticism from General Rishkov, commander of the Ruben Regiment of Foot, who said, "Our regiment has existed for 170 years, we are trained professional soldiers with a proud heritage, we do not need foreign forces coming telling us how to do our job."  NEW PRINCESS TO BE EDUCATED GLOBALLY The soon to be coronated Princess Alana is due to begin education in several foreign countries. The move was announced two days before the Princesses coronation and around three months before she reaches the end of compulsary education in Lodja. It is expected that after sitting Basic Exams she would continue her education and go on to gain Advanced qualifications, possibly then going to University. The Queen however has announced that Alana will begin visiting several other countries to be educated, the Queen stating "We beceame Queen knowing little beyond the shores of Lodja, if we are to advance our nation we must embrace the world and learn from it. Princesses often take on diplomatic roles and Alana will be required to do that, she will be equipped for that role by this experience." The Queen has announced that Alana will spend some time in East Moreland and also in Nya Aland, a potential stay in Ui Cenneslaig has also been discussed but not confirmed as concerns still exist over the recent conflict in that region. The soon to be Princess is said to be "excited but nervous" about the prospect.  NATION PREPARES FOR POTENTIAL ASH CLOUD With scientists in Nya Aland annoucning a potential volcanic eruption on a large scale Lodjain experts have warned the nation to prepare. One expert said, "Two of the projections coming out of Krokom show that we are likely to be in the way of the cloud, if it comes we will find a dust landing on our nation that while not immediately harmful could damage machinary and crops. We are considering putting in place no fly zones and considering pre-emptively stocking outlying islands with more medical supplies just in case we can't fly for a while." The volcano generally erupts every 80 years however is long overdue causing more concern for the region. Potentially the cloud could reach a distance of 8,000km away from its source. |
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| MrsIronside | 1st December 2016 - 10:43 AM Post #13 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 DUKE TIKHON TO BECOME KING? Rumours are beginning to spread that Duke Tikhon Savva is set to become King by marrying Queen Viktoriya. The 22 year old Duke of Sukovo has been seen arriving at the Palace of the Goddess several times over the last week and he currently holds no position there. It is thought that he is considered to be a leading contender to marry the Queen, whose previously arranged marriage to a minor noble was cancelled when she assumed the throne. Tradition dictates that the Queen be married within her first year on the throne however as of yet the Conclave, who must approve a royal marriage, have yet to make any announcement. Duke Tikhon would be seen as ideal by many as he has briefly served in the military and has a history of being an active patron of education and the arts. The Duke inherited the Dukedom of Sukovo 18 months ago following the death of his father at the age of 67, at which point he left his position as a Captain of the Royal Dragoons and began running the family businesses. He already has had a brand new library and two schools built bearing his father's name and has established 50 scholarships for Plebleian families to allow their children to study at University. The Duke is also a keen sportsman and was captain of the Sukovo Polo team until his duties kept him from the playing field, he is also known to be a triathlete who represented the Dragoons in various competitions between the military. Several magazines have voted him "Lodja's Most Eligible Bachelor" and he has been seen with several famous Lodjain women on his arm. The marriage would appear to be a popular one with 63% of those asked by our publication saying they thought the marriage would be "perfect".  LODJA OFF TO GOOD START Lodja have won their opening world cup game 2-1 against Jukawa. The team are expected to escape their group and this win is the first step along the way which will see them play a further five group games. The team got off to a good start with a goal from winger Nikolay Melor who cut inside before beating two players and slotting home from around the penalty spot. The team then had to see Jukawa pull a goal back before with ten minutes to go midfield playmaker Makariy Viktor scored a free kick from some 30 yards out. Following the game Man of the Match Melor said, "It's nice to get the first points on the board and I hope that we can add many more in the games ahead. The atmosphere of our first world cup has been electric and I can't wait to get to the next game." Back home the game saw large crowds of Plebeians gather in city squares where the Queen had ordered large video screens to be erected. Football is a sport popular amongst the Plebs and the Queen has been keen to encourage support for the national team in the run up to the world cup, even going so far as to have been seen wearing the national team jersey. |
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| MrsIronside | 19th December 2016 - 10:53 PM Post #14 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 RED LEGION REPORT PUBLISHED Following three months observing the Lodjain military the fabled Red Legion of East Moreland have handed over their report into the state of the Lodja Armed Forces. The report was commissioned by Queen Viktoriya as part of her quest to modernise the nation, however its findings are likely to cause much headache for the government. The report is highly critical of what it calls "institutional nepotism" it criticised the way that command of Regiments are passed on from father to son, regardless of the son's military training. Traditionally this was done to ensure continuity of the Regiments traditions and customs, however the report believes that this can have a negative impact on operational abilities. One such example was the Vastov Regiment which was found to have recruits unable to do basic military tasks, they were however graded as "Outstanding" at drill. The standard of equipment was considered inadequte, the findings stating that much of the money given to Regiments for the upkeep of equipment and vehicles was "Going missing". This lead to one Air Force squadron of 12 aircraft having only 5 operational while an infantry regiment had to share rifles on their range exercises. The visiting Red Legionnaires also saw that the skills of this Regiment were "below that expected of a 15 year old East Moreland Army Cadet" while one of the inspectors was heard saying, "Stevie Wonder could have done better" when reviewing targets shot at 100 meters. The coastguard however escaped much criticism with it being described as "dedicated, over stretched but steady under pressure." The report was asked to grade several aspects of our nations military on a scale of 1(Outstanding) 2(Good) 3(Requires Improvement) and 4(Inadequte) the summaries have been released below. Standard of Basic Training - 3 Upkeep of Equipment - 3 Quality of Command and Control Structure - 4 Morale - 2 Standard of Continuing Training - 3 Maintainence of Vehicles - 3 Leadership Training -3 Size of forces - 2 It is expected that the Ministry of Defence will meet with the Queen and inspectors before releasing any official report.  PRINCESS ALANA TO BEGIN GRAND TOUR The younger sister of Queen Viktoriya is set to begin two months of education in East Moreland. Princess Alana is set to become the first royal to undertake the Network of Crowns Grand Tour, a journey designed to help young royals build knowledge and connections with other monarchies. The Princess arrived in East Moreland this mroning and will be part of Northfort Academy for Girls for her stay in East Moreland and will be living at the Royal Palace in Northfort alongside the ruling Ironside family. The Queen has become close to the Ironsides during several international events and many observers have said the King has almost been a mentor to her on the international stage. Princess Alana spoke of her excitement saying. "I'll be the first Lodjain Royal to be educated outside of Lodja and I think it will really benefit the nation for us to know more royals around the world and connect with them. I've heard a lot about East Moreland and Ui Cennesliag where I'll be visiting and I hope to learn lots."  DUKE TIKHON TO ACCOMPANY QUEEN AT BALL Duke Tikhon of Sukovo is to accompany the Queen to the nations New Years Ball. The traditional event has not had an unmarried Queen attend for nearly 500 years and as such there has been much gossip about what would happen. In many areas of the media rumours have been going around that Tikhon is being considered as a suitable husband for the Queen and that this is likely to be a closely watched event in order to help the Conclave make the decision. The Duke has been at the Palace of the Goddess for the last two weeks and Lord Besarian, the Lord of the Conclave, has been seen meeting with him on several occasions. |
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| MrsIronside | 22nd December 2016 - 05:22 PM Post #15 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCE MINOR MILITARY REFORMS Following the Red Legion report on the state of the Lodjain Armed Forces the government have released a series of reforms that they intend to make. These however are considered very minor in comparison to the major flaws that the elite East Moreland Regiment discovered. The reforms were drawn up by the Conclave and approved by the Queen yesterday morning. The reforms focus on three aspects of the Lodjain military, regiment ownership, promotions and basic training. At present 80% of Lodjain Regiments are run by their commanding officer who is considered the owner of the Regiment. Depending upon the regiments size and role they are allocated funding for the running of the regiment, Red Legion however discovered that in the case of some Regiments this money was being filtered into the pockets of the Commanding Officer and that as a result equipment was out dated and in a state of ill repair. From now on when the current Commanding Officer of a Regiment dies or leaves the Regiment control will return to the government. As part of this system officers are promoted either by the whim of the Commanding Officer or by purchasing their ranks, this is usually done as higher ranks gain more privledge within Lodjain society. The present cost of becoming a Captain is around $4,500 while a Lt-Col promotion is valued at around $50,000, this money going into the pockets of the Regiments commanding officer. From now on any promotions must be approved by high command via a promotions board which will be held four times annually, in addition to progress beyond the rank of Captain an officer must have attended a Senior Leaders course which will be run by High Command. The final reforms will see all soldiers complete a 14 week basic training programme run at either the Hiavok Military Training Base or at Vladia Training Base. This course will focus on basic soldiering and has been designed by the East Moreland Red Legion. After this soldiers will progress to their own regiments for trade training. It is believed that this move will ensure a basic level of training for all members of the Army. Further reforms for the Navy and Air Force are likely to be announced in the comind days. |
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| MrsIronside | 28th December 2016 - 12:05 AM Post #16 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 SWEEPING NAVY AND AIR FORCE CHANGE TO COME It was today announced by the government that the Air Force and Navy are due to come fully under direct government control by the end of 2017. The move comes following the recent report on the state of the nations armed forces by East Moreland's Red Legion, the report found the old system of private ownership of parts of the military were holding back the quality of our military. The report also found a large amount of corruption that was diverting funds away from essential maintainence, at one point a 12 squadron aircraft only had five operational planes. The move has caused anger amongst some families who have run Air Force squadrons for close to sixty years, some stating that, "We are now eroding the position of the Patricians of our nation, this will see our nation's moral fibre weaken and our society take backwards steps, this should not happen." It is also believed that the Navy will seek to replace the Native class Destroyer which turns 40 years of age next year. The vessel is in dire need of modernisation and no steps have been taken to begin the process, as such it is extremely likely that a foreign designed replacement will be sought for the seven ships which have never seen active service. Many experts believe that this fact may also see the Navy downsize slightly reducing the number from seven older ships to four modern replacements.  69% SUPPORT DUKE TIKHON FOR KING Following increased rumours that the Conclave are considering Duke Tikhon as a husband for Queen Viktoriya 69% of the nation seem to believe he is an ideal choice. The 22 year old Duke has made himself extremely popular with Plebleians over the last few weeks by giving scholarships to some families to allow children to study at University, as well as providing free tickets to local football matches in Gaia. Many believe that this charm offensive by the young man is designed to help gain favour amongst the people and help him become King. The Duke has visited the Palace of the Goddess several times, reportedly to speak with Lord Besarian, the Chief of the Conclave and the man most likely to determine who the Queen will marry. It has also been confirmed that the Duke has informally meet the Queen during one of this visits and a Palace source said that they "seemed to get along well in the short time they spoke." The Duke comes from one of the wealthiest families and is considered to be one of the nations most eligible bachelors. His father had turned down several arranged marriages for his son prior to his own death.  DUKE OF PELAGIYA'S DAUGHTER NAMED AS NEW LADY IN WAITING Stasya Pelagiya, the 21 year old daughter of the Duke of Pelagiya has been appointed as the Queen's new Lady in Waiting. The prestigious position is often held by girls from the most prestigious noble families and Stasya is the 10th Pelagiya to hold the position. She will join the three others, Anna Immich, Roksana Pajari and Jasmina Danailov as the Queen's closest members of staff. Stasya will now be partly responsible for helping the Queen fulfil her day to day duties as well as entertain foreign guests along with the Queen. The 21 year old has recently graduated University and is considered a well connected young lady and has a large social media following for her stylish fashion sense which has seen her lauded by major fashion companies. She is joined in the royal household by 19 year old Zoya Tatyana, who is the daughter of former lead male ballet dancer Sergie Tatyana, it is understood she will join the pretigious Royal Dance Troupe. Surprisingly it was revealed that the Queen insisted a Plebliean be part of the selection process and while being unsuccessful in the process Angelina Evanov, a 22 year old member of the Rostov Reconnassance Scouts Regiment, was appointed to the Queen's Security Detail making her the first Plebleian woman to earn a position. Edited by MrsIronside, 28th December 2016 - 12:05 AM.
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| MrsIronside | 7th January 2017 - 07:33 PM Post #17 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 FOOTBALLERS MAKE LAST FOUR The national football team have reached the Bronze Medal playoff at the World Cup, the team lost to Achkaerin 3-1 in their semi final and now face a match against the Galicain Union to determine who will finish in 3rd place. The team have had a good run in their first international competition and have found some strong following back home. Football is traditionally seen as a sport for the Plebleians however several leading Patricians have been spotted wearing replica shirts in recent weeks, the Queen was even seen wearing a national team scarf as she visited a military base the day of the semi-final game. The semi-final was watched by some 60million people, around 50% of the nations population. Former Lodjain international centre back Igor Ratsov said that he was " thrilled our sport is helping the nation cross the gap between the Plebleians and the Patricians, very few things bring all of our countryman together other than our shared faith, now we can add football to that." One Patrician who has been keenly supporting the national team has been Lord Besarian, the Lord of the Conclave who has announced he will be attending the Bronze Playoff in person having twitted, "Off to Kiryat Gat to see our team finish a superb tournament." There has already been arrangements made for the Queen to host the team at a reception in Gaia upon their return.  DUKE CLASS TO RETIRE It has been announced by the Ministry of Defence today that following the recent military report conducted by East Moreland the first step towards modernisation is to be taken. The Duke Class Frigate which entered service in 1969 is to be retired from service. The nation has six of these ships and their fate has not been confirmed, most likely they'll be sold for their scrap value, although some have suggest at least one will be sunk to create an artificial reef near Tar Island. The ships have been part of the Navy for the best part of 45 years and have in the opinion of the government "ceased to be a useful asset in our armed forces." They then however failed to say how they would be replaced, some believing that a deal may be being struck with Ui Cenneslaig whose Prince Lennox is in Gaia meeting with the Queen. It is thought Ui Cenneslaig are retiring several newer Frigates as part of their nations own programme of armament, some however feel a domestic built replacement should be sought to help encourage jobs in the dockywards of the nation. |
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| MrsIronside | 12th January 2017 - 10:05 PM Post #18 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 LAST MINUTE MARRIAGE CHALLENGE When it appeared that the Conclave were settled on Duke Tikhon as a husband for Queen Viktoriya it was today announced that LeadPriestess Raisa Chownyk has formally nominated her nephew, Baron Roman Chownyk, for marriage. The 35 year old is the owner of a series of property companies as well as having investments in an electricity company as well as a vineyard. He became a Baron five years ago upon the death of his father and has since used his families estates to extend their property portfolio as well as establishing and expanding the vineyard, he is also a graduate of Gaia Academy where he gained a 1st Class Honours degree in International Law. Many believe that the Baron could be a good match for the Queen on the basis on his knowledge of the international world. Duke Tikhon, while being closer in age to the 18 year old Queen, is considered to be less knowledgable of the world beyond Lodja however he does come from an older noble family something that many believe makes him the prime candidate. This nomination however will mean that the Conclave must now consider his nomination carefully in debate before proposing to the Queen who she should marry. It has never been the case that the Queen has refused to marry the Conclaves choice. The Baron's nomination is likely to split the Conclave with the Lords Temporal supporting the nomination of Lord Besarian in the form of Duke Tikhon, while the Ladies Spiritual are likely to support the Lead Priestesses nomination of Baron Roman, a tied nomination has never occured before, nor has a newly annointed Queen failed to marry within her first year on the throne. |
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| MrsIronside | 13th January 2017 - 12:58 PM Post #19 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 UC NAVAL DEAL AGREED Following the visit of Prince Lennox of Ui Cenneslaig the Lodjain Navy have agreed a deal to acquire an amhpibious command ship known as the Diermait, along with three Frigates. The purchases will see the ships, which were due to retire from the Ui Cennesliag military be transferred in the near future for a price thought to be close to $350million. A spokesman for the Navy stated, "Our outgoing Frigates were built in the 1960's, and while these purchases are not top of the line they are a significant improvement on our current capabilities. Add to that we now have a dedicated command and control ship the purchase will see a significant step up in what we can do in terms of our Navy. This shows how seriously we have taken the East Moreland report and that the Queen has already taken steps to respond to it." It is also thought as part of the agreement that a deal was struck allowing some Cenneslaigian companies to be involved in the expansion of Lodjain oil and gas fields. The exact agreement will not be revealed until next week after the Prince has departed and the agreement officially approved by King Finley. Lord Besarian, leader of the Conclave , said, "The visit of Prince Lennox has been productive, formal talks are over and it our hope he will stay and enjoy our hospitality to help ensure a closeness between the two royal families." Lord Besarian went on to say that, "There is still a need for modernisation within the Navy in particular and that will be something we shall look at in the months ahead, particularly after the Queen's marriage question has been resolved." His final statement indicating that a decision on that is close at hand. |
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| MrsIronside | 19th January 2017 - 09:49 PM Post #20 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 MARRIAGE ANNOUNCEMENT DUE FRIDAY SAYS BESARIAN The Lord of the Conclave, and leader of the Lords Temporal, Besarian Ivanov has today announced that the Conclave will make a decision announcing their choice of husband for the Queen tommorrow. The Conclave has been split between 35 year old Baron Roman Chownyk and 22 year old Duke Tikhon, at present it appears the vote of the ten person Conclave is split. The Duke is nominated by the five Lord's Temporal while Baron Roman, the Lead Priestesses nephew, is the prefered candidate of the five Ladies Spiritual. The exact procedure should a concensus not be reached is unknown as the Conclave prefers to keep its dealings secret. The Duke is highly popular amongst the Plebleians having gone on a large scale charm offensive sponsering entertainment for the Plebs as well as funding several scholarship programmes. Meanwhile Baron Roman enjoys a large support of the Patricians, largely because of his connection to the Lead Priestess. Neither of the two have spoken publically of the situation but both have been seen at the Palace of the Goddess in the last few days. |
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| MrsIronside | 20th January 2017 - 11:53 PM Post #21 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 TWO ROYAL WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENTS# The Conclave have today announced that they have reached a decision on the Queen's marriage, the announcement has however come as a slight surprise as they announced two upcoming weddings. The Conclave have determined that Baron Roman Chownyk, the nephew of the Lead Priestess, will marry Queen Viktoriya and become King. The announcement was made by Head of the Conclave, Lord Besarian, who said, "While in the early running the Baron was not the choice of the Lords Temporal we faced a tie, it is only right therefore in such a situation where we are selected a husband for a Goddess that us with only wordly knowledge bow to those with spiritual knowledge. We therefore are confident with the Priestesses guidance that we have made the right choice." It is thought that the Baron, who is 35 years of age, has meet the Queen just once. He however is highly popular with the public and the announcement is likely to be well recieved. The Baron said that the announcement, "had made me exceptionally proud. To be selected to be the companion of the Goddess and King of the nation I love is a humbling moment. I vow that I will do everything I can to make the Queen love me as I already love her as my Goddess." The wedding is likely to take place by the end of the month and is likely to be an international affair. Two hours later however another announcement was made, this time by Lead Priestess Raisa Cownyk, this one confirmed that Duke Tikhon, the 22 year old Duke of Sukovo will recieve a royal marriage. The Lead Priestess stated, "We feel that the Duke is a fine young gentleman and worthy of being considered a royal, sadly we felt his young age and lack of experience outside Lodja would have held him back in a position as King." She went on to confirm that the morning of the Queen's wedding he would be promised to Princess Alana and that their wedding would take place a day after Alana's 18th birthday on 5th June 2018. The Princess tweeted her response later in the day saying "Can't wait to meet my handsome fiancee". In Lodja it is not uncommon for women to have more than one husband and the former Queen of Lodja, Queen Sonja, married five times during her long 101 years. |
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| MrsIronside | 22nd January 2017 - 09:26 PM Post #22 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 ROYAL WEDDING TO BE TELEVISED The Queen's wedding to Baron Roman Chownyk is to be televised on national TV, with some interest from overseas. The wedding will be the first televised royal wedding in the nations history with Queen Sonja marrying long before television being a common form of communication. The national TV station will install discreet remote cameras in the Goddesses Chamber allowing images to be beamed across Mundus. The Goddesses Chamber is situated under the Palace and is visited only by the Queen and her Ladies except for royal weddings and the naming of children. Very few actual photographs ever appear of the venue, however we were permitted inside. The chamber can house perhaps no more than 300 people and is brightly painted with images relevent to the story of Sessifet and the past of Lodja, a single shaft of light enters the chamber down a series of shafts using polished silver mirrors to illuminate the room. The floor is made of coloured marble arranged into patterns and white marble pillars mark the outer edge of the room. The Queen has explained the decision to be so public about her wedding as, "We no longer wish for the Queen to be an isolated figure, she is to represent the nation and must be of the nation. We shall share everything our nation experiences, be it the people's sorrow, or happiness, therefore we wish for them to share our joy." It was also announced that King David of East Moreland will act as one of the Queen's Escort, marking the first time a foreigner has held such a position, the Queen explained this saying. "We have begun to take steps into international affairs and King David is well experienced, he was kind to us, supported us and is our constant friend, asking him to be part of our escort shows how far Lodja has come in the time this Queen has held the throne." It is thought the other Escort will be Prince Lennox of Ui Cenneslaig. |
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| MrsIronside | 24th January 2017 - 10:57 AM Post #23 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 GAIA BEING TRANSFORMED The capital city is hastily being transformed into a giant stadium in preparation for the Queen's wedding. As tradition dictates the Island of the Goddess will be uninhabited the evening before the wedding and the Queen will lead a procession through the streets. In order to watch this hundreds of temporary grandstands have been erected, it is estimated that seating for around 800,000 people will be available, furthermore four large parks have had large screens put in place. Overall it is estimated that around 4million people will flood the capital to watch the event live. Several residential streets have also been prepared for community street parties with road closure applications flooding into local council and police offices. Embassies around the world are also preparing events with the Lodjain embassy in Nya Aland preparing a royal ball while the one in East Moreland is preparing for a BBQ on the street outside, they will also have the wedding on a big screen mounted to the front of their embassy. In preparation for the wedding Baron Roman has announced that instead of lavish gifts for his wife, as is custom, he will instead be supporting good causes in her name. He has announced that a donation was made to the Global Childbirth Initiative. It is also thought he will fund several scholarships for Plebeians, a cause the Queen has already supported heavily. |
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| MrsIronside | 31st January 2017 - 08:47 PM Post #24 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 GAIA-FLOATILLA TO BUILD REMOTE CONTAINER SHIP The Gaia-Floatilla company has announced that it intends to build a prototype remote controlled container ship. The vessel, which is currently being called Silent Cargo, will utilise technology similar to that used in drones to be able to travel with a much reduced crew. Eventually the company, one of the nations largest boat builders and operators , will eventually lead to a fleet of cargo vessels that can be monitored remotely by a “captain” stationed at an on-shore command centre. The company also believe that the ship will have many benefits for operators and customers saying "autonomous ships will be safer and cheaper to operate, with more room for cargo. Therefore companies can pass their savings onto their customers." The ship is expected to be slightly smaller than those currently in operation, however the fact that the vessel will require little if any living space will mean it will be able to carry the same weight in cargo, this will also see savings in fuel costs per unit of cargo. The vessel will also utilise a new form of mainly electric propulsion, which will allow the vessel to use wind and solar power to recharge at sea making it even more fuel economical. It is hoped that once the protoype has been approved several other shipping companies will seek their own versions opening up a lucrative market for Lodjain ship yards. |
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| MrsIronside | 13th February 2017 - 04:37 PM Post #25 | ||||||||||||||||||
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THIS WAS FAKE NEWS FULL OF ALTERNATIVE FACTS
Edited by MrsIronside, 26th February 2017 - 09:55 PM.
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| MrsIronside | 21st February 2017 - 09:55 PM Post #26 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 QUEEN TO RESHUFFLE CONCLAVE Following the conclusion of her marriage to Baron Roman Chawnyk the Queen has announced that in the comning days she will be reshuffling the Conclave, the nations ruling council. The five lay members of the Conclave are always choosen by the Queen and upon her coronation Queen Viktoriya didn't change the council selected by her predecessor Queen Sonja. The average age of the current Conclave is close to 70 and the Queen has said that, "Now is the time to bring in new faces, our nation must step forward into a new age and for that we need new blood. Those five men who have served with great dedication and honour will be stepping aside to enjoy their retirement. We wish them all the best and know that should we require their advice they will step forward and support us." The Queen has however not indicated who will be in her new Conclave and many have speculated that her husband will be given a position along with future brother-in-law Duke Thikon, who recently got engaged to Princess Alana. Others have also suggested that the Queen may break with tradition and appoint a female to the Conclave, the first time this has been done in over 300 years. The announcement is likely to be made by the end of the week before the Queen goes to watch two days worth of the Mundus Games.  PRINCESS TO GO TO UI CENNESLAIG Following her engagement to Duke Thikon it has been announced that Princess Alana, the Queen's cousin, will travel to Ui Cenneslaig to study there for a period of a month. During her time there she is expected to attend a local school while residing with the Ui Cenneslaig Royal Family. The Princess has already spent time in East Moreland and this will form her second study period abroad. While in the celtic nation she has also been enrolled on a Gaelic language course at the innovative TG Lurgan Academy where music is used to help students learn the language. The Princess spoke briefly saying, "I'm excited, we've had Prince Lennox here twice now and he's been very supportive of our nation. I've kind of already begun to appreciate their culture and I'm thrilled to have the chance to take part in their language programme." The Princesses fiancee is not visiting during her time there. Edited by MrsIronside, 21st February 2017 - 10:15 PM.
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| MrsIronside | 24th February 2017 - 10:08 PM Post #27 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 POPOV WINS NATIONS FIRST GOLD 33 year old swimmer Nikolai Popov became the first Lodjain to win a gold medal at the Mundus games. The Vostok native won his medal in the men's Men's 50m Breaststroke beating the Tarranesia swimmer by 0.05 seconds. Popov however was not the only person to win a medal as Vitali Kerhav became the first Lodjain to win a medal taking Bronze in the Men's cycling, Popov and Kerhav have also been joined by Rudolf Makkev who took gold in the Men's 100m Backstroke, before Tomas Hubscov took gold in the Men's 200m Butterfly. Many of the Lodjain swimmers train at the national centre of excellence in Gaia which as soon as the results were known has had the men's names inscribed into tiles around the training pool. The Queen also sent her congratulations to Popov saying, "He has become an inspiration to all our people and has shown a new path for Plebleians to earn glory for their family." It is suspected that following the games any outstanding performances many see Plebleians winning medals being given Patrician status, however nothing formal has been said. |
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| MrsIronside | 26th February 2017 - 09:55 PM Post #28 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 GENERAL KUBIK JOINS CONCLAVE The uncle of Duke Thikon, who recently became engaged to Princess Alana has been appointed a member of the nations ruling conclave. The General, who is aged 69 announced his retirement from the military this morning and appointment to the Conclave was announced three hours later after a brief visit to the Palace of the Goddess. While the move has seen many talk of nepotism the appointment of Kubik to Lord of Defence, the Conclave member responsible for the military and security, is one that is based on his 50 years of service in the military. Speaking at the announcement Lord Besarian who remains as Leader of the Conclave said, "Lubos is a vastly experienced man who has given his best years to our nation in service of the Queen. His name was at the top of a very short shortlist as we were so determined to get him onboard and have his experience help us develop our new military organisation." The General will replace Lord Maxim Zakhar who Besrain said, "Had allowed our nations military to became stale, an oversight that is a rare blemish on a career of public service. We wish Maxim well in his retirement." It is likely that the rest of the cabinet reshuffle will be announced in the coming days with Lord Besarian being the only person retaining his position. It is usual practice for the Queen to appoint her own Conclave after her coronation, however Queen Viktoriya has held off doing this until now.  LODJA SLUMP TO IWI DEFEAT In the third round of the QuadNations Lodja slumped to a 30-14 defeat away from home at the Commonwealth of Unified Iwi. This defeat makes it three in a row for the nations rugby team. Head Coach Sebastein Moralav spoke after the game saying, "We knew coming into this tournament things would be difficult, three highly skilled sides, a former world champion, a nation like Ui Cenneslaig with a vibrant Gaelic sports background and the Iwi who live and breath this sport, meanwhile we're a growing nation in this sport. It's great for us to be playing at a higher standard week in week out and we will show an improvement." The fans back home however are demanding changes within the nations set up with one fan saying, "We're a nation full of gold and diamonds, we must invest in sport, we can not allow a holy nation like ours to become a laughing stock in a world sport." |
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| MrsIronside | 7th March 2017 - 01:59 PM Post #29 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 RE-TRAINING PROCESS BEGINS Members of the 1st Parachute Regiment have been selected to be the first unit to undergo retraining run by the Red Legion of East Moreland. The soldiers will undertake a ten week course run by the East Moreland elite regiment and designed to prepare the soldiers to pass on their skills to other units. The move comes following the report in which the Morelanders discovered our nations military to be woefully inadequate and disorganisted. It has since become apparent that major changes in the military make up of our nation is underway, with several 2nd hand naval ships coming from Ui Cenneslaig as well as this new training. Members of the 1st Parachute Regiment have spoken with mixed feelings about the training, one young Paratrooper who wished to remain nameless said, "We've been pushed extremely hard, they don't care what rank you are, what you've done in the past or your family background, if your not working hard they make life difficult for you and that is what I imagined a life in the military to be." However the new methods have not gone down well with all, another annonimous trooper said. "I've been publically humiliated, they have no respect for our traditionally way of going things." The move is likely to see more co-operation however with Queen Viktoriya today announcing that she will meet with the monarchs of Ui Cennesliag, East Moreland and the United Iwi in coming days to examine other means of co-operation. Edited by MrsIronside, 16th March 2017 - 01:40 PM.
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| MrsIronside | 16th March 2017 - 04:33 PM Post #30 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 QUEEN SENDS FORCES TO UPPSALA Following the recent heavy snow fall in Uppsala the Queen has commanded the Army to mobilise a detachment of soldiers to deploy to the stricken city in order to provide humanitarian aid. The deployment to Uppsala will be the first by a nation in Albion and will follow similar actions taken by the East Moreland and Commonwealth of the Iwi forces. Speaking during a visit to Tar Island the Queen said. "We have undertaken a review of our military and there is no reason why we can not send some of our units to this mission. It will give our soldiers an opportunity to see others in action as well as hone their own skills. As one of the more populous nations in Albion and a leader in the Albion Congress talks we must show the way forward." It is expected that the force will number around 1,000 soldiers and that they will arrive within the next 24 hours.  SIR CLYDE WINDWARD ACCEPTS LODJA RUGBY JOB Former East Moreland and Rugby World Cup Winning Coach, Sir Clyde Windward has today accepted the invitation of becoming Lodja's new rugby coach. Following a humiliating QuadNations rugby tournament the Lodjain RFU has decided to replace national coach Stanislav Viktor. The Morelander has won both the world's most prestigious rugby competitions, the World Cup and now defunct Confederations Cup, since then he has gone on to be a performance director with the East Moreland Mundus Games teams. A LRFU spokesman said, "This appointment is a real coup, Sir Clyde is probably the greatest rugby coach Mundus has produced, at least in the modern era, and as such to have him come and help us build the game and our team is huge." Sir Clyde has agreed to be coach for the next two world cups on the condition that he is given sweeping powers to change the game in Lodja. Arriving in the country he said, "What is needed is to move the game from an amateur background to a highly professional one. I'll be dropping ego's and no one is safe from losing their position, as far as the players are concerned its day one of their career, whatever they've done in the past if of no significance, they all need to step up and show me what they've got." It is understood that Sir Clyde has already arranged for the East Moreland champions, the Northfort Royals, to come and tour Lodja at the conclusion of the East Moreland season, a tour that will feature two games against the national team. |
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| MrsIronside | 19th March 2017 - 06:55 PM Post #31 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 PETROV REPLACED AT HOME AFFAIRS BY DUKE MAXIM Duke Maxim Schnoor, the cousin of Lord Besarian who is the Lord of the Conclave, has been appointed Lord of Home Affairs, replacing Lord Petrov who at the age of 72 is retiring. This appointment marks the second change in the Conclave in the last few weeks after General Kubik became responsible for Defence. Duke Maxim is the 40 year old cousin of Lord Besarian, considered the most powerful man in the Queendom and has spent much of his life working as a corporate banker and business advisor, an estimated 120 Pleblein businesses trade using his name and he is estimated to have a personal fortune of around $100million as well as a substaintial property portfolio. The Duke arrived at the Palace of the Goddess for his first meeting saying, "I'm deeply honoured to be given a chance to serve the Queen and the Goddess, I hope together we can help make Lodja into a nation she would be proud of." He however refused to comment when asked if his appointment was nepotism. With four remaining Lords left from Queen Sonja's Conclave there are likely to be more appointments in the coming days as four former Minister remain, however they have an average age of 71 and many will be likely to retire to permit the Queen to smoothly bring in her own appointments. Duke Maxim has hinted one of his first policies will be to explore education funding and how more money can be allocated to the creation of selective schools which accept students based on test scores rather than whether they are Patrician or Plebleian. UC BACKED GAS RIGS BEGIN OPERATIONS The first of five Ui Cenneslaig operated gas rigs today began drilling in the Sea of Alucard. The two rigs, named Munster and Connacht by their operators UC National Gas, are expected to be the first of around thirty new rigs to be set up in the next two years, to which Ui Cenneslaig companies have been given the rights of five. The outgoing Minister of Finance, Lord Aleksei Rodya, has already stated that he has sold rights for twenty of the licences. The nation has been discovered to have substaintial offshore gas, however this has not been fully exploited until Queen Viktoriya began speaking of exploiting it and the profits being used for social projects. To date the nation had a disastorous launch of their first gas rig however since then there has been a good sense of success with the newer projects. |
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| MrsIronside | 26th March 2017 - 04:31 PM Post #32 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 QUEEN TO HAVE SIBLING The Mother of Queen Viktoriya has today announced that she is expecting her third child and therefore that the Queen will soon get a sibling. Lady Helena Tar, aged 41, also confirmed that the child will be born on the Island of the Goddess and that the Conclave have already determined that the child will be given a royal title. The Queen has said that she is "delighted at the news, excited to be a sister once more and praying for our mother's well being." The nation had been hoping that the next Tar birth would be the Queen's first child with her husband Baron Roman, however the nation has already shown its excitement with the announcement quickly getting over 2million likes on Facebook. The Queen's father, Lord Mikhail Tar is also delighted saying "I have twice been blessed with wonderful children and I am delighted my wife will grace me with another." The family have asked that the media respect Lady Helena's privacy at this time. This will be her third child following the birth of Queen Viktoriya in 1999 and Princess Alana in 2001.  "THE QUEEN'S" HAVE GREAT FOOTBALL WEEKEND The Lodjain women's football teams have had a great weekend of success. The U-23's playing at the Mundus Games earned themselves a Bronze medal with a 5-1 victory over Vaguzia, meanwhile their senior counter parts won by the same margin over East Moreland in the Quad Nations Championship. With a packed Gaia Arena urging on the team nicknamed "The Queens" the senior team began the day by going on the rampage against visiting East Moreland. A hat-trick by Sonya Kuznia came in the first half. At the hour mark it looked like the Morelanders may mount a fightback however their single goal seemed more like a motivator to the Lodjains. A goal from winger Tasha Yulov and then a free kick by full back Petra Nemano rounded off the day and left the team in a strong position following a disasterous rugby tournament for the nation. A few hours later in the Mundus Games, no doubt spurred on by the victory over East Moreland the "Junior Queens" replicated the score, this time with 17 year old teen star Alana Merikov scoring the hat trick. The sport of football has always been popular amongst the Plebleian population of the Queendom and this double day of success is likely to see the sport begin to gain some popularity with Patricians, especially after Baron Roman tweeted the teams following the game saying. "I am now a fully fledged football fan. So proud of "The Queens" along with a photograph of him wearing a team shirt. |
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| MrsIronside | 27th March 2017 - 08:28 PM Post #33 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 SERMINO TO GET NEW DEVELOPMENT Over the last fifty years the Popvic family, who have been highly influential on the Island of Queens, have begun turning the city of Sermino into a must visit city for Lodjain nobility. The family have today announced that they are to invest around $250million to develop a new luxury holiday destination on the edge of the city. Popvic Marina will be big enough to house around twenty "mega yachts" as well as many smaller baots. Additionally it will feature a five star hotel in a very unique twisted pattern along with many suite hotels along the sea front. It is also likely that around 150 luxury appartments will be sold for private investors. Lord Mihail Popvic who is managing the project has stated. "I want people in Albion to think of Sermino when they think of luxury holidays, I want the top film stars, pop stars, footballers, royalty even to see us as their little paradise, I hope that we'll make it highly exclusive and create many jobs in the service industry." The island has already seen a 12% increase in tourist numbers in the last 12 months and that figure looks set to raise after a hydrofoil service to the mainland was established a few weeks ago. The island is also due to host a surf festival in the coming months. |
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| MrsIronside | 30th March 2017 - 09:22 PM Post #34 | ||||||||||||||||||
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QUEEN SIGNS MULTI-NATIONAL TREATY Having started off as a sporting tournament the QuadNations has now formed into a full blown multi-national treaty. While visiting Ui Cennesliag for the final rugby game in the QuadNations tournament the Queen, along with the monarchs of East Moreland, Ui Cenneslaig and The Commonwealth the Unified Iwi, ventured onto the pitch during the East Morleand V's Ui Cenneslaig game to sign the treaty. At first the crowd were slightly confused, with talks having been kept secret, however upon realising what things meant they gave the various monarchs a warm approval. The Queen was the third to sign and spoke about how "by working together our nations can become greater than the sum of their individual parts." Over the last few months relations between East Moreland, Lodja and Ui Cenneslaig have been built up after various meetings at international events between the three nations royal families. Members of the Ui Cenneslaig and East Moreland royal families even served as Guardian's during the Queen's marriage to Baron Roman, who was present during the signing of the treaty. The general feeling about the treaty in Gaia was positive with many seeing it as creating oppurtunities for the nation and hopefully bringing a new wave of business investment into the country. Others spoke positively about it exposing the nation to a less rigid class system meaning that potentially the barriers between Patrician and Pleb could be changed, however Lord Besarian spoke saying, "While this treaty makes us able to advance our nation in safety we still have the knowledge that our nations core traditions, values and systems will not change. Her Divine Majesty has done well signing this and I look forward to working with the others." One small barrier to the Treaty may be the fact that King David has promised the people of East Moreland a referendum on the subject which will take place in the next 14 days. The result of this will not have an impact on the current arrangement for the Morelanders to help retrain sections of the Lodjain military. |
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| MrsIronside | 2nd April 2017 - 09:24 PM Post #35 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 FIRST FEMALE APPOINTED AS TEMPORAL LORD IN CONCLAVE The Queen has today announced her third pick for th Temporal Lords in the Conclave and her latest choice has raised a few eyebrows. The tradition of the Queen picking a new set of non-religious advisors goes back 800 years and in that time no woman has been selected as what is known as a Temporal Lord. The Queen has nominated the highly controversial Lady Anna Utkin to the position of Minister for Social Affaris, but has also expanded this portfolio to include "Representative of the Plebs", the first time the Plebleians of Lodja have had a direct representative in the Conclave. The 31 year old was born into a Plebleian family herself and at the age of 18 married Lord Samuel Utkin, himself a keen social reformer. Three years later Lord Utkin was killed when a house burglarly went wrong and he was pushed down his homes stairs. Lady Anna believed it was the extreme poverty some plebs faced that drove the killer to commit the crime. She took over her deceased husbands companies and estates and used them to create the first Lodjain co-operatives where Plebs could co-own land with her. The scheme has helped 300 families get out of poverty and has been used by several other reformist Patricians. Speaking to Lodjain TV the newly appointed Minister, who choose to dress very casually, stated, "My brief from Her Divine Majesty is clear, don't upset the social standing but raise people out of poverty. Make the pathway of transfer from Pleb to Patrician smoother, allow more families to progress. That is exactly what I've spent my life trying to do, I like to think my late husband is sharing this role with me, it was his dream too and I did my best to work with him to make it come true. I've now got given the ultimate weapon to achieve this and I fully intend to use it." The new Minister is also known for her non-traditional fashion sense and tattoos. Her appointment also makes her the first openly bisexual member of the Conclave breaking yet more new ground. The Minister spoke on this saying, "Our nation has no issue with sexuality, never has never will, Sessifet taught love is blind and love is good. I'm just surprised its taken this long to have someone who is bisexual on the Conclave." Lady Anna's appointment means there are now two posts left to fill, Minister of Finance and Minister of Education. |
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| MrsIronside | 3rd April 2017 - 08:33 PM Post #36 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 PROFESSOR APPOINTED AS EDUCATION MINISTER Brayan Coxovich, a well respected Physics professor and TV personality has been named as the new Minister of Education within the Conclave. Professor Coxovich has become a media celebrity in recent years with his programmes designed to help ordinary people learn more about the Universe, he has also engaged in several tours linked to the TV show in which he has visited schools and theatres across Lodja. The professor also teaches a class in astro-physics at Gaia University. The 49 year old spoke as he was introduced to the media saying, "I'm thrilled to be given this oppurtunity, we've seen the standard of education in Lodja be hit and miss over the last few years and we now need to ensure every student, regardless of gender and social class have an oppurtunity to learn and improve themselves. I dream of the day seeing us able to put a person into space....I'd happily voulenteer." The appointment means that just Minister of Finance roles need to be filled.  EYES BROWS RAISED AT ENVOY SENT TO EAST MORELAND Following the announcement that East Moreland are to hold a referendum into membership of the CNN Queen Viktoriya has sent an envoy to meet with the East Moreland government, however her choice of envoy has raised some eyebrows amongst political minds. The Queen has sent Lady in Waiting Stasya Pelagiya, a 21 year old member of her personal circle. The eldest daughter of Duke Tobias of Pelagiya only became a Lady in Waiting a few months ago and has no political experience, she is however well followed on instagram for her fashion tips and make up tutorials from before taking on the royal role, and her followers include people from across Mundus. The decision was explained by a royal press secretary saying "Lady Stasya is a highly intelligent lady who speaks good Morelandish and as such was seen as a good choice in exhibiting that we, the people of Lodja value East Moreland as friends and hopefully future partners. Lady Stasya was paired as Guardian and Escort to the Queen during her wedding and therefore have a basis of friendship which we hope will allow her to convince King David to support his people joining the CNN." |
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| MrsIronside | 7th April 2017 - 04:18 PM Post #37 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 KNEZEVIC ENTERPRISES CEO APPOINTED AS FINANCE MINISTER Dragan Knežević, the youngest son of Duke Stanislav Knežević and CEO of the families company has been appointed as the nations Finance Minister and final member of Queen Viktoriya's Conclave. The 32 year old has managed the highly successful Knežević Enterprises, which overseas the families investments in Plebliean companies and has made the family one of the most wealthy in Lodja. To date Knežević Enterprises supports 270 or more Pleblein companies and last year the family made some $270million in after tax profit from these investments. Dragon Knežević is a graduate of Iskor University and held in high regard by the nations business community. Lord Besarian Ivanov, Lord of the Conclave stated, "Dragon is a wise appointment, he is a talented accountent and investor and if he can turn those talents to a national scale then we are in safe hands. It is my hope he can manage the nations finances in a way which will bring constant prosperity in both the long and short term." The new Minister is likely to stand down as CEO in the coming days and move to Gaia from the family estate in Noginsk. In a brief telephone interview the new Minister said, "I'm excited to work with Her Divine Majesties talented and enthusiastic Conclave, its an amazing oppurtunity to drive Lodja forward and great things lie ahead for us all."  BARON ROMAN URGES KING DAVID TO PUSH "YES" VOTE IN CNN REFRERNDUM In his first political speech the husband of Queen Viktoriya sent a message directly to King David Ironside, the leader of East Moreland. The Baron was addressing the annual gathering of city Mayors who had invited him to speak to their conference. During the speech his attention turned to East Moreland saying.
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| MrsIronside | 8th April 2017 - 03:45 PM Post #38 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 WEAPONS STASH FOUND IN ANKOR During a routine shipment check between the Isle of Queens and the mainland a shipment of illegal weapons was found. The package was marked as machine parts but contained several assault rifles. The package was delivered by police in a sting operation which arrested three people at a residential address in Ankor. Police also found several other weapons in the apartment as well as packages of explosives and ammunition. Police Chief Jonas Sirikov said, "This cache of weapons is a puzzle to us, our nation has no history of terrorism, we are thinking that perhaps this was a criminal gang considering some heavy duty hiest or something." The three arrested, one woman and two men, have been taken to seperate police stations to be questioned, however they have not been named. Two hours after the arrest it was announced that they would be charged with weapons smuggling and a further investigation into religious terrorism had started after books and other documents about a foreign native religion, long thought to have collapsed, known as Bene Gesserit was found. After this revelation Police Chief Sirikov said, "It is our hope this defunct religion is not looking to start itself in Lodja, we will protect our goddess and the faithful of Sessifet." |
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| MrsIronside | 10th April 2017 - 03:55 PM Post #39 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 SILENT-CARGO TO UNDERGO TESTING Two ships built by the Gaia Floatilla Company, known as "Silent Cargo" will undergo extensive testing over the next few months. The two ships, one a giant container ship, and the other a liquids carrier, will be used to transport goods around Mundus for the next three months in order to assess their capabilities. The boats will use various software and systems to automate much of the ships functions meaning that they need a much reduced crew. The system operates in much the same was as those from automated cars which have begun to be seen in many cities across Mundus. The ships for now will feature a full crew in case of emergencies and will therefore be permitted to operate as normal. The fist of the ships left Gaia and headed towards Ui Cennesliag carrying several containers of good ranging from clothing to jewellrey. The second ship is heading from Gaia to Hunters Bay in the Commonwealth of The Iwi carrying supplies of liquid gas. A director of the Floatilla Company said, "Should these ships be successful it will help organise international shipping and make the moving of goods across Mundus much easier. For example there will be no need for large crew quarters meaning the space can be given to more cargo." |
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| MrsIronside | 22nd April 2017 - 04:17 PM Post #40 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 QUEEN CELEBRATES 1st ANNIVERSARY OF CORONATION Queen Viktoriya this weekend celebrates the anniversary of her coronation as Queen. The 19 year old Queen has had rather a busy first 12 months in charge of the nation having hosted the redraft of the Uppsala Convention, initiated the Network of Crowns and most recently had the nation join the CNN Alliance. Furthermore the Queen has now gathered her own Conclave having replaced all those who served under Queen Sonya with the exception of Lord Besarian Ivanov who has retained his position as Head of the Conclave. The Queen has also married the person choosen for her by the Conclave, Baron Roman Chowynk. Many pundits have said that the Queen has had a great first year, being the first Lodjain monarch to formally push the nation beyond its own borders and establish the Queendom as a part of the international community. She has also proved herself to be very popular with the people. One noble stating, "The Queen is the eptimoe of a perfect Queen, proud, noble, intelligence and above all beautiful, she is the very personification of Sessifet and I am sure her 2nd year will be even better." She has also courted great favour with the Plebs with one saying. "I've found myself better off this last twelve months and my children have had a lot more oppurtunities, its good to see money being spent on their education rather than syphoning off our nations wealth to help those with plenty." The Queen has however failed to announce an impending royal birth, something that is traditionally accomplished within the first 12 months of a reign. This however may be explained by the fact that the Queen took six months before allowing the Conclave to begin talks on who her husband will be meaning she has only been married three months. Baron Roman addressed this matter when visiting the golf course yesterday saying, " The Queen is exceptionally hard working and views the whole of Lodja as her child, as do I. With that in mind she is dedicating herself to making the lives of everyone safer, richer and happier, if we can fit in having a second child in that regard then I'll be delighted." |
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| MrsIronside | 22nd May 2017 - 06:11 PM Post #41 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 QUEENS HALF TERM REPORT Queen Viktoriya became the first monarch to publish her plans for her first four years of her reign. What was refered to as the 1st Royal Plan was released to the public in September and 7 months later experts are beginning to look at the progress she has made. We here at Lodja Times have created a handy progress chart to show the Queen's successess and failures.
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| MrsIronside | 27th May 2017 - 03:08 PM Post #42 | ||||||||||||||||||
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  QUEENS MOTHER WEDS LOVER IN SECRET The mother of Queen Viktoriya, Lady Helene Tar, has today announced that she has taken her 2nd husband. The 41 year old, who is currently four months pregnant revealed that is was her lover, 30 year old former Army Officer Lt-Col Vitya Nikolaev who is the father. Lady Helene also today revealed that the pair had married in a private ceremony yesterday with just members of the Priesthood present. Nikolaev becomes the Mother of the Guardian's 2nd husband with her already being married to the Queen's father, Vitali Tar. The pair appeared in public for the first time this morning as the Queen headed to hospital for a routine scan. Lady Helene, who was holding hands with Nikolaev, said "I'm very very happy, I love Vitya deeply and I can't wait to be the mother of his children. I know some people may talk of the age gap but it's not really a big deal. I wanted to to keep my wedding to myself and my love just so we could enjoy the day and our lives together." Meanwhile Nikolaev said, "I'm excited to no longer having to keep our love secret. I am a lucky man to have Helene as my wife and even luckier to join her family." It is thought the two meet at the Queen's coronation almost 12 months ago beginning their relationship soon after. It is thought Duke Vitali Tar was aware of the relationship as was the Queen. It is futher expected that Vitya Nikolaev will be granted some official title in the coming days, his family historically held the title of Custodian of the Ports until no male heir of age was avalibale to inherit the title in 1898. |
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| MrsIronside | 22nd June 2017 - 08:40 PM Post #43 | ||||||||||||||||||
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QUEENS UNDER PRESSURE The Queen is facing pressure for the Priesthood over the lack of a royal child. It is traditional that the Queen coceive within a year of her marriage, and now six months in the Queen has yet to make any announcement. High Priestess Raisa explained, "It is considred a great task of the Queen of Lodja to produce children. These boys and girls will be of the bloodline of Sessifet, they will have a special role in society and within our faith. The descendents of Queen Sonia are already undertaking great duties for our nation and a new generation needs to be discovered." The Queen is currently on a tour of the Queendom and has not taken Baron Roman with her leading some to speculate that the pair may not be as close as it was hoped. While the Queen has been in the islands the Baron has been left to arrange events in the capital hosting several academic dinners in support of local universities. |
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| MrsIronside | 2nd July 2017 - 08:46 PM Post #44 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 FINANCE MINISTER TAKES EARLY ACTION Finance Minister Dragan Knežević has today announced that the government is putting aside an extra $20million for emergency efforts should projections of upcoming sea level raises by confirmed. The warning comes from East Moreland officials who have announced that a large section of Hrothgar's ice shelf is to collapse. They have announced that it is likely sea levels will raise for several months by as much as 1.5meters in areas of Lodja, should this projection be accurate it is likely several of the islands of Lodja may be effected, including Tar Island, the Queen's home island. Speaking following a meeting of the Conclave, that the Queen was not present at as she is attending an overseas meeting, Mr.Knežević explained, "This emergency may never come, and I hope it doesn't, but there are plans in place for evacuating several islands in emergencies, however we never expected it to effect so many, there may be a need for extra funds and now that's in place. Hopefully we can get by without this emergency fund, I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it." It is expected that it will take around a week for notciable changes that could leave much of Tar Island flooded. Minister of the Military, Lubos Kubik, has already sent naval forces to the islands to aid in evacuatuon efforts should the need arise. He said, "Dragan is a prudent man and I know he's tirelessly working on plans to lessen the impact on our people. The military is 100% behind him and I hope we can carry out his plans to the letter. It's a great challenge for our men and women."  A-XX TO BE DEVELOPED Following spending two years working with EMAC in East Moreland, Stanislav Basik set up his own aircract company called LodjaWings, today he has announced that the company is set to develop a new low cost trainer and ground attack aircraft. The project, which currently has no real name, is mainly an engineering project to see if a Lodjan company can carry out a project without outside help from start to finish. It is hoped if successful the aircraft can be a challenger on the international maket for EMAC's Dragonling, a project Basik knows very well. "In times of economic scrutiny militaries are looking for more bang for their buck and the chances of large scale high intensity warfare are slimming. Therefore budget options like the Dragonling are a new market that EMAC seem to have a niche in. I don't see why we can't compete and our new aircraft will do exactly that." It is likely the prototype will be ready for early August. |
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| MrsIronside | 4th August 2017 - 10:28 PM Post #45 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 PUBLIC ATTEND PRAYERS FOR QUEEN With the Queen now married for eight months and still not pregnant many people are becoming concerned. It is considered a bad omen in Lodja if the Queen does not conceive within a year of her marriage. With her 8month anniversary taking place today the public gathered at the urging of High Priestess Raisa to pray for the Queen's health. No Queen has failed to conceive within her first year of marriage since the 1600's, additionally it is seen as worrying that the Queen's Mother is in fact pregnant while her daughter seems unable to conceive. One member of the public at the vigil said, "Sessifet is the mother of all and a Queen is only complete once she is a mother. Queen Viktoriya has done a great deal for our nation but she must now do this or she will be seen as a failure." Another member of the public stated, "People are beginning to think perhaps the Priesthood got it wrong, that Viktoriya should not be Queen. We had several other candidates who perhaps were more blessed." The issue is likely to continue to become a major talking point for the nation as Baron Roman has been spotted spending a lot of time away from the Palace leading others to wonder whether the marriage is not a happy one. One royal commentator howver explains this is not important. "The Queen and the Baron both have duties to carry out, their feelings towards each other are unimportant. Beside the Queen can take other lovers and husbands, she has no excuse." The prayer vigil went on for several hours and the Queen sent a note of thanks to be read to those in attendance which stated she was "Grateful for their prayers and thoughts"  MINISTER JOINS SCIENCE FESTIVAL. ANNOUNCES LODJA SPACE GOAL Education Minister Brayan Coxovich today announced that a deal was being worked on with East Moreland to put a Lodjain in space by the end of 2017. The Professor who was appointed by the Queen earlier this year to oversee Education reform, with an emphasis on Science and Technology, was attending a local science festival where students from several schools had put together small experiments that could be taken into orbit. The Minister, who is also Lead Professor of Physics at Gaia University announced that the winning schools experiment would accompany the Lodjain who it is hoped will go to East Moreland's Mini-Space Station. The Minister also was seen wearing a badge saying "Save the Bots" a clear reference to the social media exposure SmartWar's three missing SwarmBots on Lunar has generated. The Minister mentioned them during his speech to students during which he said, "These kind of stories grab the interest of the youth and hopefully inspires people to get involved in science. I think its a lovely little story, perhaps a joint Lodjain and East Moreland rescue mission could be launched." It is likely however that selection for an astronaut will take priority with several members of the Air Force being considered due to the technical nature of the operations required to reach the space station. The Minister also added, "I wish I could go myself but I think we'll need someone younger and fitter but I've not given up the hope of one day going into space myself. Fingers crossed this kind of project of small scale experiments will pave the way." |
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| MrsIronside | 12th August 2017 - 03:44 PM Post #46 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 A-XX PROTOTYPE FLIES LodjaWings first domestically produced combat aircraft, the A-XX, today successfully underwent its first test flight. The two seater light ground attack aircraft is likely to also be used as a basic trainer within the airforce. Stanislav Basik, CEO of LodjaWings has announced the aircraft will undertake several months of testing before being handed over to the Air Force for their assessment. Additionally he has announced that a civilian version of the aircraft will be made for the pleasure flying market. The A-XX will feature a rather unconventional pusher propeller at the rear, two side fuselage mounted canons and hardpoints for eight missiles or rockets. Minister of Defence, Lubos Kubik, witnessed the trial and spoke warmly after saying, "Our nations military is woefully ill equipped in certain areas, the Air Force is one of them, the last attack aircraft we brought was in the 1990's, and while the A-XX is not going to be our mainstay multi role workhorse it is a good option for many of modern conflicts. We are thrilled with how today has gone and I'm looking forward to further tests in the coming days, especially once our Air Force get hold of it." The aircraft is likely to cost around $15million, making it one of the cheapest combat aircraft on the market. However it is unlikely that a major overseas market would be tapped into as LodjaWings is a new company in the military market and competition from EMAC's Dragonling is likely to be fierce.  SCHOOL REFORM KICKS IN The Queen's school reforms promised upon her coronation have today kicked in. The reform makes it the law now that all students must attend an approved school between the ages of 5-16. Previously Plebleian children could leave school at 14 with their parents permission, this was usually the case in rural areas of the country where youngsters were expected to go and work on farms or in small businesses. The Queen upon ascending the throne saw the nations education policy as "failing young people." This was seen in the fact that between plebleian classes literacy was only 78%, compared to 100% in Patrician families, furthermore only 8% of Plebleians complete education until the age of 18, compared with 95% of Patricians. The new measures will mean that all Lodjain's starting school today will recieve a minimum of 11 years of education and will therefore sit the High School Baccelorite exams, the first stage towards earning a full High School Diploma. Education Minister Brayan Coxovich spoke of his happiness in this reform stating, "Education is a fundemental building block to help a nation build. We've been far to slack with it for years, now we have a chance of preparing young people for the realities of Mundus." In addition Plebleians will also receive a free school meal each day, and those on an income of less than $15,000 will be able to apply for vouchers for a free school uniform. Plebleains over the age of 14 will also be incentivised to stay in school through the Educational Maintainece Allowance (EMA) which will pay them $20 a week to stay in school with half termly bonuses based on attendance and achievement. |
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| MrsIronside | 18th August 2017 - 08:00 PM Post #47 | ||||||||||||||||||
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 TRANS-LODJAIN PIPELINE TO BE BUILT It was today announced that Lodjain based oil and gas company, PajariPetro, will be constructing a pipeline from the coastal city of Leubin to their Ducual home of Noginsk in the West of Lodja. The company which is owned by Duke Silvan Pajari will build the 850km long pipeline at a cost of around $1.1billion in order to pump oil and gas to Noginsk's hilly city. The pipeline is likely to also create several thousand jobs in construction and maintainence amongst people in that region. The pipeline however is not without controversey as it cuts through several areas of ancient forest which are thought to also be the home to some of the nations final remaining wild Bears. The Lodjain branch of the Wild Mundus Organisation have also lodged an appeal at a local court in order to try and prevent the construction, however Duke Silvan is confident this case will be thrown out. "Her Divine Majesty herself has spoke of the importance of lowering energy prices for the people of non-coastal cities, pipelines are the easiest way of doing that, therefore I am certain PajariPetro enjoys the support of the royal family in this and therefore I am confident it will go ahead." Many however have said that the prescence of Roksana Pajari as a Lady in Waiting is possibly likely to have helped secure the agreement.  LADIES BALL SEASON TO BEGINThe traditional Patrician Ladies Balls have begun for the summer season. These series of annual dances are hosted by many of the Patrician families in order to allow Patrician girls to find future husbands. The balls have traditionally seen families contest in hosting the most lavish and impressive balls as well as the engagements of many 17 year old noble ladies. The first ball of the season shall be held in the Palace of the Goddess and hosted by the Queen where her sister, who is already engaged, shall be the guest of honour. It is expected that on New Years Eve Princess Alana will marry her fiance Duke Thikon who nearly married the Queen. The balls this year are expected to be some of the most lavish ever with the Ivanov family ball already beginning to be prepared despite being six weeks away. |
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^ 4:46 PM Jul 13
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May the force be with you.