MicroWorld Newsbites – October 2016

DELVERA On 5 October, a meeting of the Chamber of Deputies relocated the capital from Lavrada to Colo, established a Confederal Bank of Delvera, and set up a wage system for government employees. KUMANO JIRITSU On 16 October, Hatsu Aki was sworn in as the new head of state after the resignation of his father in July. The title of the head of state, Daitōryō Daimyō, can be translated as “President-Noble” or “President-Lord”. MOLOSSIA On 29 October, President Kevin Baugh and the Molossian First Family took part in the annual Nevada Day Parade in Carson City for the tenth time. The President met with various Nevadan dignitaries, including the governor and several congressional candidates, most of whom were found to be already aware of Molossia. SABIA AND VERONA On 20 October, Sabia and Verona celebrated four years since its foundation. King Tarik released a statement celebrating the stability of the kingdom. SANDUS On 19 October, Sôgmô Will Soergel celebrated the Sandum holiday of Armilustrium by publishing a playlist on Spotify and conducting a religious ritual. On 26 October, the Sôgmô announced a meeting of the Citizen’s Party of Sandus to formulate an official platform for the party, a goal which had previously been intended to have been reached by May earlier this year. WILDFLOWER MEADOWS On 14 October, the Principality of Wildflower Meadows annexed Grosvenor Park, an ornamental Victorian park in the British city of Chester, located directly between the Principality’s existing claims of Chester Meadows and the walled city itself. ZEALANDIA On 26 October, Claire Nymoria was appointed the new Prime Minister of Zealandia by leader Charlotte Lindstrom.

MicroWorld Newsbites – September 2016

CALSAHARA The week of the first Monday in September has been declared Opera Week, during which all citizens are encouraged to listen to only opera and classical music. CAMPINIA The abdication of Duke Elias I in favour in Shady Morsi, as reported last month, has been revealed to be a misunderstanding. After several days of mistakenly claiming to be Duke of Campinia, Morsi was offered the position of head of government as Grand Constable by Elias I, which he has accepted. DELVERA/NOTTALOTTA ACRES On 1 September, NottaLotta Acres was annexed by the Grand Republic of Delvera with the consent of its citizens, having had an entirely stagnant administration for some time. On 21 September, the Empire signed a treaty with Delvera recognising it as a sovereign state and as the sole legitimate successor state of NottaLotta Acres. Many Delveran officials were previously NottaLottan political and military leaders. FLANDRENSIS On 4 September, the Grand Duchy of Flandrensis celebrated eight years since its foundation. KUMANO JIRITSU Hatsu Aki, son of previous head of state O-Hatsu Kenji-sama, has been unanimously elected to suceed the latter by the National Senate after his father retired in July. Hatsu Aki is expected to take office in early October. LEYLANDIISTAN & GURVATA On 14 September, the Confederation of Leylandiistan and Gurvata dissolved, ceding its territory to the Republic of Ireland. The Empire had held diplomatic relations with Leylandiistan since January 2014. MOLOSSIA On 17 September, President Kevin Baugh and members of his family appeared in the Dayton Valley Days Parade of Dayton, Nevada, it being the seventh time that Molossia has been represented in the parade. ÜBERSTADT On 17 September, King Adam I announced that from henceforth the Kingdom would aim to keep Edmount Island – Überstadt’s original territorial claim, which it initially hoped to one day settle – uninhabited and undisturbed for ecological reasons.

MicroWorld Newsbites – May 2016

FLANDRENSIS On 9 May, Gwendolien de Loungville resigned from her post as Minister of Finances & Economy after completing the process of paying back all those who had invested money in the building of the nation, paying off the national debt. JUCLANDIA Over the last weekend of the month, the three political parties of Juclandia held their Congresses in the Palace of the Great National Assembly to elect a new President and General Secretary for each party. Furthermore, it has been announced via MicroWiki that a general election will be held in July or August later this year. LEYLANDIISTAN & GURVATA A new government website has been launched and can be seen here. MOLOSSIA President Baugh has set his nation a goal of having 200 tourists this year, to surpass the average of Nauru, the least-visited member state of the United Nations. As of 22 May, 42 tourists have so far visited Molossia in 2016. SANDUS On 22 May, Sogmo Gaius Soergel announced plans to gradually decentralise the currently absolute power of the monarch. On 26 May, Sandus celebrated seven years since its foundation as Sandefreistikhan in 2009. ÜBERSTADT On 26 May, the king’s father was replaced as High Chancellor – top judge – by Terrah Perera, who King Adam I described as “thoughtful, studious, and articulate… [and] the most qualified Überstadti for this job.” The king’s father, Baron Ballinger, had to resign due to taking up a ministerial position incompatible with being High Chancellor. WILDFLOWER MEADOWS A new sovereign state, the Principality of Wildflower Meadows, has been founded by Emperor Jonathan I and his unmarried partner Princess Consort Hannah, the latter of whom now reigns as Princess of Wildflower Meadows. The principality claims land in and around the British city of Chester, and the Empire earlier today ratified a treaty of mutual recognition which also gave Wildflower Meadows the status of a protected state of Austenasia. ZEALANDIA On 22 May, a new Constitution was published, with Zealandia now a socialist commonwealth after its latest revolution last month. The new Zealandian Constitution can be read here.

MicroWorld Newsbites – April 2016

This is the first instalment of a new monthly feature for the Austenasian Times: MicroWorld Newsbites, in which a look will be taken at news stories from around the world of small nations, which are unlikely to be covered by major news networks. COPAN The fence around the Playing Field – part of which formed Copan’s international boundary with the United Kingdom and with the Grove – has been removed by Sutton Parks Service.   FLANDRENSIS The Flandrensisian Commonwealth, a diplomatic partnership between Flandrensis, Arkel and Campinia, was dissolved earlier today. The three members of the Commonwealth – which was founded in October 2010 – all claim territory in Antarctica but have populations based in Belgium and the Netherlands. Due to its members sharing a diplomatic policy, a treaty signed in January 2013 by the Empire to formalise its by then four year old friendship with Flandrensis resulted in diplomatic relations being formed with Arkel and Campinia as well. The three nations remain on good terms, but according to Grand Duke Niels of Flandrensis, a renewed focus on environmental matters and a more global diplomatic outlook made the Commonwealth redundant. George De Feyter, Minister of Antarctic Environment, has announced “an ambitious programme which aims at alerting all the countries in the world about the dangers of pollution and damaging Antarctica”. A letter will be sent each week to another government, starting with the top ten most polluting countries in the world.   MOLOSSIA On 5 April, Molossia welcomed its second native-born citizen, raising its population to 31. On 16 April, Molossia celebrated Obscura Day, a worldwide celebration of unique places. A group of sixteen visitors was given a tour of the nation by the President, First Lady, and Chief Constable.   VIKESLAND A change of government structure in Vikesland is being discussed, with more power planned to be transferred to King Christopher to enable more efficient governance.   ZEALANDIA Between 11 and 13 April, the former Queen Astrid of Zealandia (also known as Anna Lindstrom) launched a self-coup against her own government, replacing the monarchy with a communist state council of which she is now chairwoman as Charlotte Lindstrom. Known for its instability, Zealandia’s latest revolution has been criticised by other governments. Diplomatic negotiations to update the treaty between Austenasia and Zealandia concerning New South Scotland – of which the monarch of Zealandia was made ex officio governing commissioner – are currently underway.