MicroWorld Newsbites – June 2017

ASHUKOVO

• On 25 June, Jacob Huff was inaugurated the new President of Ashukovo, having beaten Conservative rival Manolis Afentoulis in an election the previous week with 60% of the vote. Previous President Edward Jacobs is now Vice-President, having run on the same ticket as Huff. The election saw a 91% turnout.

DELVERA

• On 1 June, the Delveran Armed Services released from service all combat personnel, reverting to their previous militia system so as to save funds in peacetime. Soldiers employed in intelligence roles were kept on.

HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE

• On 18 June, the Khanate of Nedland become a member state of the Holy Roman Empire, boosting the Empire’s population by almost three hundred and giving it scattered territories across Europe, North America, central Asia and west Africa.

IMVRASSIA

• On 16 June, the previously advisory body of the Privy Council – comprised entirely of members of the Royal Family – was made the legislature of the kingdom by royal decree.

WILDFLOWER MEADOWS

• On 13 June, the State Crown of Wildflower Meadows was repaired after one of the decorative flowers was accidentally detached. The friend of Princess Hannah’s who repaired the crown was knighted shortly afterwards.

Parliament declares Austenasia a Christian country

The Christian “Chi Ro” sign, already used on state symbols from the national coat of arms to the ensign of the Imperial Air Force.

At 7:40 am this morning, Imperial Consent was given to an Act of Parliament establishing Christianity as the state religion of the Empire.

Christians make up the majority of the Empire’s population, and much of Austenasia’s symbolism and ceremonies have been inspired by Christianity. For example, the Chi-Ro holds a prominent place on the Empire’s coat of arms, and Emperor Jonathan I made his coronation oaths while holding a Bible.

The Act of Parliament has reaffirmed the provisions included in the Constitution that all have the right to choose and practice their own religion without discrimination or persecution. The Emperor has announced that he will consider the creation of an ombudsman-like position to ensure that no religious discrimination takes place.

No particular denomination has been specified as Austenasia’s state religion, but rather Trinitarian Christianity as a whole.

Austenasia has never before had an official religion, but since its founding the largest religion in the Empire has always been Christianity, which has influenced many of its laws and national symbols.

Several Christian feast days have been made national public holidays, and local authorities have been given the right to declare a local public holiday on the feast day of the patron saint of their town or territory.

King of the Grove visits Wildflower Meadows

King Calum I shakes hands with Princess Hannah during the former’s state visit to Wildflower Meadows yesterday.

King Calum I, ruler of the Kingdom of the Grove, yesterday met Princess Hannah of Wildflower Meadows in a state visit to Deva Victrix, capital of the Principality.

The two were accompanied by their respective romantic partners, Princess Hannah’s being Emperor Jonathan I, who has known King Calum since high school.

The King and the Princess signed a treaty of mutual recognition and national friendship on behalf of the Grove and Wildflower Meadows.

Calum I had previously met Jonathan I and Princess Hannah in Deva Victrix in December 2016 and March 2017.

Three towns dissolved in unprecedented Act of Parliament

Thanasia (L) and Porthbokon (R), two of the Towns which were yesterday ceded back to the United Kingdom.

At 9:00 am Wrythe time yesterday morning, an Act of Parliament was passed ceding the Towns of Zephyria, Thanasia and Porthbokon back to the United Kingdom.

Zephyria, which was the first inhabited territory to join the Empire outside of Wrythe, was annexed in April 2009. As the residential property of which it is comprised is soon to be rented out by the Town’s residents – the family of Lord Marshal William – while they move to another property, it was considered best that it no longer be part of Austenasia. However, Zephyria’s former population of three have retained their status as Austenasian subjects.

Thanasia and Porthbokon have both been ceded absolutely, with their populations also having lost their Austenasian nationality. Thanasia was ceded by the request of its population, whereas Porthbokon was ceded unilaterally by the government due to it having been unable to contact its Representative, Lady Evren, for over a year.

Two non-residential subjects, contactable only via Thanasia, have also had their status as such revoked.

Speaking earlier to Parliament, Prime Minister Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy stated that the cessions “should not be misinterpreted as a sign of the Empire stagnating. The Government is working on a series of reforms that will soon be presented, and first among those reforms is guaranteeing that the House of Representatives will be comprised of active Representatives who will actually partake in the governance of our beloved Empire.”

The House of Representatives now has six instead of nine members. The three towns which have been ceded rarely voted, meaning that legislation required near unanimity of all voting rather than a simple majority; with the three less active towns gone, the legislature should become far more efficient.

Despite one third of the Empire’s Towns having been ceded, less than a tenth – 9.75% – of Austenasia’s population has been lost. Of even less magnitude has been the effect on the Empire’s land area, with Zephyria, Thanasia and Porthbokon together having comprised a mere 0.21% of Austenasian territory.

One demographic effect of this has been to push the proportion of Christians in the Austenasian population into the majority, from 49% to 54%, with both Thanasia and Porthbokon having been entirely atheist.

The total population of the Empire now stands at seventy four people, including thirteen non-residential subjects.

 

 

MicroWorld Newsbites – May 2017

ASHUKOVO

• On 19 May, President Edward Jacobs announced an election to be held on 18 June, with the victor to take office the following week. One week later, a poll showed 56% of those polled supporting the Conservative Party candidate Manolis Afentoulis, who is running against Orthodox Party candidate Jacob Huff.
• On 22 May, Akebar – an enclave of Yorkshire with a population of 16 – was annexed by the Ashukov Federation. Akebar had previously been a part of Ashukovo before the collapse of the first incarnation of the Federation in 2015.

FLANDRENSIS

• On 22 May, Flandrensis updated its Constitution for the ninth time since the Grand Duchy’s foundation in 2008. Two major changes concern the country’s monarchy: from now on the Grand Duke will be elected rather than inherit the throne, and the new position of Chief Magistrate replaces the monarch as head of the judiciary. The Flandrensian constitution was last replaced in July last year.

GRAND UNIFIED MICRONATIONAL

• From 6-7 May, the GUM held its second 24 Hour Quorum, a charity event during which a conversation between at least five people was sustained for twenty four hours over Skype. Thirty three people took part, and roughly £158 ($203 USD) was raised for various charities via participants being sponsored. The first 24 Hour Quorum, on which this event was based, took place in August 2012.

MERCIA

• On 23 May, an Act was signed granting autonomy to the Mercian territory of Uberquiesenberg, which is politically left-wing in comparison to the other areas of the country.

MOLOSSIA

• On 26 May, Molossia celebrated its 40th anniversary; the following day, a celebration attended by over 50 people – including Grand Duke Travis of Westarctica – was held in the Republic’s Red Square with a tour, barbecue, and speech by President Baugh. A commemmorative coin and stamp have been released.

SANDUS

• On 22 May, Sôgmô Gaius Soergel decreed that the academic robes worn at his recent university graduation will be henceforth used as his official regalia, which had previously been plain blue robes.

USKOR

• On 23 May, Uskor implemented a policy whereby all plastic bags must be collected and recycled as part of an effort to make the country more environmentally friendly.

WESTARCTICA

• On 24 May, Duke Wolf Tulier of Waesche stepped down as Prime Minister, a position he has held since 2010, to become Minister of Defence. Grand Duke Travis credited Tulier with “quite literally saving Westarctica from destruction”, referring to his role in combatting the instability that plagued the nation at the turn of the decade.

WILDFLOWER MEADOWS

• On 12 May, Wildflower Meadows celebrated a year since its foundation. Princess Hannah and her fiancé Emperor Jonathan I celebrated with a meal out in Deva Victrix the previous evening, and visited Chester Meadows – the site of the principality’s foundation – on the anniversary itself.