New Town established at Chalcedon

A new Austenasian Town was yesterday founded as an enclave of Kadikoy, Turkey, the modern-day site of the ancient town of Chalcedon. The new Town consists of a section of an apartment building and is home to six people. One of its residents, İsmetcan Saraç – who initiated the process of having the properties join Austenasia – has been granted the title Count of Bithynia and appointed Acting Representative of the new Town. Said new Town has taken its name, Chalcedon, from the settlement which has occupied the site since prehistoric times and is most famous as having been the venue of the Fourth Ecumenical Council in 451. Chalcedon was only renamed to Kadikoy in the sixteenth century, and is now a suburb of the Anatolian part of Constantinople (Istanbul). The Austenasian Town’s resurrection of the prestigious Greco-Roman name of the location can be seen as a further emphasis of the Empire’s Roman and Christian heritage, although all six residents of Austenasian Chalcedon are Muslim. Lord Saraç has become the fourth Representative to join the Fatherland Party, giving the Opposition an equal number of seats in Parliament as the governmental coalition. Furthermore, this most recent expansion has increased Austenasia’s population to 97, the highest so far in its history.

National Liberal Alliance renamed to Whig Party

Thursday 24th October saw the National Liberal Alliance (NLA), one of Austenasia’s three political parties, renamed to the Whig Party. The change was announced by Duke Bradley of Dullahan, Minister of Defence, who serves as the party’s Secretary. In comments made for the Austenasian Times, Duke Bradley explained that the change in name to the Whig Party was made in part to avoid the negative connotations often associated in today’s political climate with the term “liberal,” as well as to underscore similarities with the historical British party of the same name. The Duke of Dullahan stated that the Whig Party will stand “for the rights of the individual, for freedom and prosperity. Our stance is clear: the Throne is the anointed protector of the liberties given to all individuals, and we will strive to protect them.” Since its creation in May earlier this year, the Whig Party (then NLA) has been in government, serving in coalition with the centre-left Imperial Party. The two governing parties have one and three Representatives respectively. The only other currently registered Austenasian political party is the socially conservative Fatherland Party, with three Representatives.

Austenasia celebrates its eleventh anniversary

Yesterday saw Independence Day in the Empire of Austenasia, the yearly celebration of the Austenasian Declaration of Independence in September 2008. Independence Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of September, although the actual anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is the 20th, which this year fell on a Friday. As expected, celebrations were somewhat muted compared to last year, when Austenasia’s tenth anniversary was celebrated with a party at the Imperial Residence and the minting of commemorative coins. However, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor did release an honours list, a custom which has been performed on every Independence Day apart from 2009 and 2011. Recipients of honours included the foreign national leaders Emperor Taeglan I Nihilus of Reyla and King Eran and Prince Nathan of Florenia, who were all made Counts, as well as several Austenasian governmental and noble figures being given titles in the Austenasian Order. Independence Day also saw the Fatherland Party hold its first conference, which took place over Discord. The conference lasted just under an hour, but resulted in agreement being reached over the party’s policies.

Solar farm to be established on new Territory

An Act of Parliament passed yesterday evening has annexed a new Territory to Austenasia from Turkey, joining that of Laranda, which joined Austenasia in May. The new Territory is situated near Silifke, a town which was known as Seleucia in antiquity. It has therefore been named Seleucia ad Cilicia in reference to its past. Seleucia ad Cilicia consists of a plot of uninhabited land owned by Lord Dionisiy Tezdhzan-Smahin, who – as with Laranda earlier this year – claimed the land for Austenasia. Lord Tezdzhan-Smahin, who was appointed Governor of the new territory by Parliament, has announced his intention to install solar panels in Seleucia ad Cilicia. These solar panels will produce renewable electricity which will be sold to the neighbouring country of Turkey, making Seleucia ad Cilicia one of the only areas of Austenasia to produce an export in this way.

Oberfalcer annexed as new Territory

Austenasia expanded yet again on Friday 23rd with the annexation of Oberfalcer, a group of fields in south-eastern France. The founder of the territory, Pierre-Henri Paccard, has been named Governor of Oberfalcer and given the title Duke of Viennensis. This marks the first time that Austenasia has annexed land from France. Oberfalcer, together with Theodosiopolis, have together been placed in the new Region of Gallia for administrative purposes. Oberfalcer measures roughly 588,400 square feet.

Imperial Party announces second Annual Conference

The Prime Minister, Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy, has announced the date of the second Imperial Party Annual Conference as Party Leader. The conference will occur on 31 July at 4 PM EST via the Imperial Party discord server. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Lady Vice Admiral Eryn Lewis, are expected to deliver addresses. The Deputy Prime Minister currently serves as Party Chairwoman, and will preside over the conferences proceedings. In attendance will be all Imperial Party cabinet ministers and representatives, New Richmond Mayor Alex Francis MAO, and various private members. The Prime Minister is expected to announce cabinet reforms as part of his address.

New Californian territory annexed

The Empire continued to expand on Thursday 27th with the annexation of Costa Del Sol, its newest Territory. Costa Del Sol is comprised of the garden of a residential property. It was claimed for and ceded to Austenasia by one of the residents of said property, the now Lady Sophia Albina, who had contacted the imperial government with a request for the Empire to annex the land. Lady Albina has been appointed Governor of Costa Del Sol, and will administer it on behalf of the government. The new Territory is an enclave of California, and measures roughly 2,563 square feet.

Second town in one week joins Austenasia

Only five days after Augusta was founded, a new annexation has taken the title of Austenasia’s youngest Town. The Town of Gebirgspark is bordered by the Slovakian capital Bratislava, and consists of a residential property along with its garden. It has a population of three, all of whom are Roman Catholic. Gebirgspark is currently represented by its founder, Lord Krištof Fondrk, who has been appointed its Acting Representative by Parliament. In an era of increasingly partisan politics, both the government and opposition are waiting to see which party – if any – Lord Fondrk aligns himself with. This most recent annexation has increased Austenasia’s population to 88.

Territorial reforms enacted by Parliament

The Empire sees various territorial reforms with the passage of the Amerdansk, Augusta and New Richmond Act 2019. The Act, proposed to the House of Representatives by Prime Minister Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy, has separated the former New Richmond borough of North New Saint Josephsburg from that City, becoming the Town of Augusta. The now Lord Riley Kennedy, Baron of Augusta – the younger brother of Lord Admiral Joseph – has been appointed Acting Representative of Augusta pending a local election. Lord Riley has joined the Imperial Party, and as a Representative has become a member of the Imperial Party Board (the governing body of the party). The legislation has also re-annexed portions of the New Richmond borough of Saint Josephsburg which were previously ceded to the United States by the New Richmond Act 2014. The newly re-annexed land consists of the house where Lord Admiral Joseph resided at the time of New Richmond’s transition from a Crown Dependency to a Town, and is currently resided in by his aunt and her three children. The Town of Amerdansk, formerly represented in Parliament by Lord Anthony Clark, has been transitioned to a Crown Dependency, which the now The Rt. Hon. Anthony Clark has been appointed Governing Commissioner of. This is in response to Clark’s withdrawal from active politics, including within Parliament.

Austenasia grows with huge Turkish annexation

The size of Austenasia’s territorial claims more than doubled yesterday after the annexation of the new Territory of Laranda. Laranda consists of 165 acres of farmland. Now an enclave of southern Turkey, it is the private property of Lord Dionisiy Tedzhan-Smahin, who inherited the land from an ancestor who was a local landowner. Laranda is so large that it now makes up 59.7% of Austenasia’s total land area. Lord Tedzhan-Smahin, who also serves as Representative of Theodosiopolis, has been appointed Governor of Laranda, but as he no longer lives nearby the day-to-day administration of the land will be undertaken by his cousin, the Deputy Governor. The name Laranda is derived from the former name of Karaman, a nearby Turkish city.