RTD 24

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Red Tunic Party formed
Today the Communist Party and Workers party announced the long expected merger under the Red Tunic Party banner. The party merger first suggested under the protests against government crackdown on the far left following the terrorist attacks in the Duchies was put on ice for a while as things heated up domestically. The idea has been resurrected a few times with serious talks having began 2 months ago.

The Communist Party commented on the merger saying "We believe the parties of the workers must unite , only in this way can we as a united front protect workers. the Red Tunic is an important symbol of solidarity in this country." The Workers Party said "We are proud to work with left wing allies and friends and plan to fight the next elections as friends and not opposition. We would invite any PSD members who feel the PSD is too capitalist to join our party and fight for real socialism."

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Treaty of Porterdam has passed all houses
Today the Treaty of Porterdam setting up a new Anastasis City for nicolezians has passed all houses of parliament within one day with almost unaminous approval outside of the nationalist parties who abstained. The treaty which is now in effect and signed will result in the creation of Anastasia City with up to 1.25 million people innitially within 1.5 years next to Baltia City. The city will get an extension of the high speed line from that city and act as part of the metro area. The city will be built using almost all prefab buildings to speed up construction and ensure they can build at scale with it being expected many foreign contractors will be also be award contracts.The city is being granted 100 billion Euros in start up funds with 12 billion Euros a year diverted from the foreign aid budget a year for five years. The city is to be set up as 200 sq km Duchie equivlent with this possibly being expanded as time goes on if the project is successful. The city is expected to feature a stadium and town hall within a few years.

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United Duchies fund 6 departures per day from Copala
The United Duchies government announced the schedule for the departure of ships from Copala to the United Duchies . The government are to fund 6 departures a day promising 24,000 tickets to the United Duchies per day. The government have hired a fleet of cruise ships from cruise lines to cover paying compensation for any cancelled cruises people had on those ships to the cruiselines.

The government have encouraged any who want to to book one as soon as possible. The ships will arrive and then turn around with it being expected for it to take up to 3-4 weeks of trips depending on demand to get people to the Duchies. The operation is being escorted by the navy until Reitzmag waters to ensure the safety of the ships and also will have armed guards on board to help proceedings go ship shape and are secure.

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Government announces offer of 1.5 Billion Euro Aid package to Nofoaga
Today the government of United Duchies has announced it will offer1.5 Billion Euros in a one off aid offer to the Nofoaga government in order to help rebuild and improve infrastructure , compensate families and deal with medical issues and disability support arising from the eruption. The offer is expected to have the condition that equipment and products brought with the aid must be brought from the United Duchies if United Duchies companies sell the product in enough quantity such as in the case of pre-fab buildings and any new power stations built with the money must be green. They also offered to help fund the memorial to the victims.

The government said in a statement "We are devastated to see such a huge loss of life in both percentage and raw numbers. We know the people can never be brought back but we stand with Nofoaga and want to see it rebuild and thrive. Therefore we feel it is only right to share our wealth to help with rebuilding and give a bright prosperous future to the people of Nofoaga."

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Smart CCTV system now throughout all city centres

The government announced today its security scheme to ensure security throughout the nation has now been completed in all city centres of the country with every city centre and transport hub having Smart CCTV Facial recognition zones. The government also announced they had linked all zones with a nationwide facial database of the most common offenders while they now announced every new passport application , driving license application or application for any government ID will now automatically upload the photo to the Smartface Security System. The zones will automatically alert police if a crime is taking place or a suspect wanted enters a zone or if anyone is trying to hide their identity in a suspicious way. The home minister said "I am proud of our IT companies , police and security forces for working together with retailers and local authorities so effectively to increase security and safety. The zones are already reducing crime and increasing safety and helping us bring criminals to justice quicker with the 6 month back up of all CCTV images going forward only going to increase this effect. We are certain the zones will make the United Duchies safer and more secure and we will also be inviting all users of smart facial cctv cameras at home and internal cameras in public areas of businesses and staff areas to link their cameras on the exterior to the network with benefits for joining. " The minister also sent a warning "If you want to commit crime, terrorism or threaten the safety of the nation you will be caught and brought to justice." Privacy advocates have expressed concerns over how the data could be used in the wrong hands or if an authoritarian government gets into power.

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Scooter and Bike journeys up 45% in 1 year

The government today celebrated as they confirmed cycling and e-scooter journeys have gone up 45% within 1 year with new innitiatives. It is estimated 55% of journeys come from shared bike and scooter schemes while the remaining 45% are on owned bikes. The increase is expected to continue in further years with the government aiming to get car journeys down to less than 33% of journeys within 10 years from the current 44% with increased usage of bikes, scooters and public transport. The government have pledged increased investment in scooter sharing and public transport.

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Farrmers lobby for mininim price floor bill
Today farmers lobbied the government for a minimum price floor for agricultural goods and animal products from farms to ensure that the farming industry remains sustainable and a price war environment at the expense of farming profit margins is impossible. The new campaign has also launched a public ad campaign "Keep Duchians Farming" with the campaign promoting to the public the benefits of minimum price floors according the Duchies Farming Cooperation Organisation. The Roscoes including all major members of the family in politics have also been shown to be public backers of the campaign with the supermarket releasing a statement saying "We are backing this campaign to create a fair level playing field and prevent a race to the bottom on prices and standards that threaten the environmental and economic sustainability of our crucial supply chains and to ensure the fair costs of production are reflected on the prices on supermarket and grocery store shelves."

If acted upon the act proposed by the DFCO and its backers would set up a national council with farmer representatives and experts on it to negotiate a minimum price floor that all shops , manufacturers and organisations operating in the Duchies would have to pay farmers for their produce and animal products taking into account natural wildlife percent requirements on farms. It would set different prices for Organic, Free Range and Conventional agriculture based on those standards requirements. There has been concern that discounters threaten stability in the supply chain by gaining market share by cutting prices paid to farmers to boost profits or reduce prices to consumers. Some critics have criticised the campaign and proposal arguing it will harm consumers by reducing innovation in farming and competition in the industry while keeping in business inefficient organisations. The Campaign for a Market Economy said in a statement "While we understand the need for sustainability we fear this is not the right approach.This approach will keep costs high , hinder efficiency and keep inefficient zombie farms alive. We believe the most appropriate way forward is to encourage competition , innovation and increased use of technology to increase yields sustainably."

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Government minister says Duchies can commit to Telum and Reitzmag

The foreign and defence ministers today both insisted that United Duchies can commit to friendship and co-operation with both Telum Treaty and Reitzmag. This comes after the North Diessan president Inge Pekcan announced North Diessan was not going to be involved in anti-piracy operations and also criticised a growing relationship with Reitzmag. The foreign minister said "I think its a wrong to say we cannot have good relations and co-operation with both the C3 Triumverite and the Telum Treaty on limited matters of defence and definitely on trade. I do not see Reitzmag as an enemy and if we want to see regional harmony and co-operation its important to have good relations with both the Telum Treaty and Reitzmag. The fact is we have a big issue as of now that threatens all Caspian countries , this piracy is not acceptable and needs to be dealt with the only way to do so is through co-operation based on mutual interests. United Duchies will continue to commit to positive relations and co-operation with both Telum Treaty and C3 Triumverite as well as other Caspian powers based on mutual interest and co-operation and believes this is the best course for regional security and peace as well as stability. We cannot forever punish a nation for past issues we may have had with them as it stands there are no issues with Reitzmag and should there ever be we will as always be frank and honest about it and what needs to happen in order to fix it."

The statement has been supported even by the opposition parties with almost all parties agreeing having positive relations with all regional powers is essential to security of the realm and stability. The policy is not unexpected as United Duchies has always attempted to balance interests and be a bridge between the Mediterranean and Caspian regions using its geo-political strengths including its location as the transit route of the Caspian. The policy is not expected to change anytime soon with United Duchies once again clarifying it will send no sensitive military date to Reitzmag and that would continue to flow only to Telum with co-operation with Reitzmag being on an operation by operation basis.

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First Residents move into Anastasia City as elections for Anastasians announced

Today the first 20,000 residents were given keys to their homes in Anastasia city with a rudimentary city centre opened up which will be improved over the years.The development an offshoot of Baltia City has its own laws , parliament as well as law courts though currently these will use a court room in Baltia City. The first homes similar to the ones pictured above were innaugurated by the High Duke in a ceremony opening the new neighbourhood. Plans for the shopping centre for the city were released also.

The government of the United Duchies also announced that elections would be held in 6 weeks for legislature of Anastasia City with polling stations open in every Duchy and major city so every Anastasian due to get homes in Anastasia can vote, the elections will be run under a pure Proportional Representation D'Hon't system for now with the next elections being run under MMP system with list seats topping up seats for parties who fall under their seat count in the local seats. The government also announced they would continue to support financially the construction of council housing for Anastasians in Anastasia city which will likely lead to Anastasia city becoming the first majority council housing city.In response to the CPCI they have said their demands for independence are "unrealistic and unhelpful" pointing out that it is illegal under the treaty signed which explicitly grants Duchy Level powers with some level of control over who gets Anastasian citizenship within agreed numbers per year. They also stated the elections are at the time they were always due to happen within the grand plan.

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First Anastasian Opinion Poll (RTD)
CPCI:17.8%
The Left:9.2 %
Futurist Party of Anastasia City:1.1%
IUAC:27.1%
PSD:10%
Moderate18%
Liberal:7.2%
UoD:10.5%
OHE:0%
United:0%

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Roscoes announce plans for 17 supermarkets with hotels in Anasasia city

Roscoes announced today their commitment to Anastasia city with a grand plan for their presence in the city. They announced plans for 17 supermarkets over 5 years with 4,645 sq metres or more at key transit stops and squared to create destinations for local communities to shop at. The company announced it planned for the locations to have apartments above each store with plans to build 30,000 or more apartments over or around their stores as well as build space for community events and locations for doctors and public services working with government. Roscoes said in a statement "We aim to provide good affordable housing , density for the environment and public transport and to be a key place to shop , bank and get your medicine as well as access services. We aim to serve the community with all of our services." The move comes as no surprise as the company pursues the strategy in other cities in the Duchies in a changing retail environment.

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United Duchies passes price floor law
United Duchies has passed a price floor law for purchasing materials and products in order to combat unfair trade. The government has announced it will work with the fairtrade council to set buying price minimums in order to ensure all suppliers regardless of country are fairly paid and can make a profit without exploiting workers,child labour or cutting environmental standards. The price will apply to any Duchies registered subsidiary or company,with the price aimed to provide not only fair conditions for workers but also ensure a stable supply chain. It will also expect a fair trade certificate for products to be imported from countries with known lower labour standards.The act is expected to raise prices by up to 15-30% in many cases opposition parties have criticized the law for "hurting the poor of the country".

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Urban farm programme and micro-producer programme at Roscoes
Roscoes have announced they will have a target for local urban farms and micro-producers to make up 10% of available food shelf space in cities next by 2 years and 25% within 5 years and then to maintain that level. In a statement they said "Reducing food miles is essential as are sme's for equality and environmental protection. In recognition of this we aim to stock 15% of our shelves in cities with local micro-producer products and urban farm produced products in all city stores. We recognize this sector also needs support which is why in partnership with Roscoes Bank we will support a funding scheme for such enterprises with a special focus on non-white minorities getting extra funding. The scheme would also feature advisors to help the businesses and farms along. " The scheme has been praised by the government as well as charities who said "We are happy Roscoes already an excellent community and corporate citizen is taking this extra step beyond in sustainability and in supporting vulnerable communities who face overcoming poverty and discrimination.".

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Brummagem City Council reveal plans for former Palasades site

Today a 3D render was released of plans for the former Pallasades site. The former site was destroyed in the bombings of 2021 with 289 deaths. The new store would be a Primark the biggest one they have ever opened. The store would feature extensive homeware sections , clothing section for men and toy sections as well as a food court hosting a variety of cuisines. The site was brought by the Primark with the money going to a fund to help victims of the attacks with their costs of therapy in the future and other costs. A memorial will be built into the stores facade with a photo wall of every victim of the attack on the site. The development is expected to be popular with it being declared as a rebirth of the site and a show of defiance that terrorism will not defeat the Duchian spirit.

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New Green European Fund announced
In a move of setting up a more "co-operation treaty based approach to development" United Duchies and Reitzmag governments announced the creation of a Green European Fund.They are signing up and committing billions of Euros to the fund with United Duchies committing 5 billion Euros annually as a start to the fund to fund a green transition in Europe. The fund will be entirely vountary donation based with countries donating over 0.01% of GDP getting 1 seat on the council running it which will be headquartered in Europolis and countries over 2 billion Euros per year getting an extra seat on the council. The fund will commit 40% of its funds to developing nations defined as nations under 20,000 Euros per capita GDP such as Nofoaga with unspent money being invested in green financial funds to make money until it can be used. The fund is inviting investment into it saying " We believe we can make this a true juggernaut in the green movement and gleaming example of co-operation regardless of politics coming together as humanity in Europe to encourage green development and work together to fund projects saving our planet hopefully not only meeting targets but exceeding commitments and targets and helping developing countries leapfrog past the polluting stage in development."

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Prominent Autistic Boy fighting for life after hate crime

Today Amaziah Mizrachi-Roscoe was fighting for his life after having been found in a park almost dead. The 13 year old who recently celebrated his entry into his teenage years and was caught up in the Leftist Duchies Bombings of 2021 and has had to recover after almost dying then was found in a park having been stabbed over 7 times and shot 3 times and left on his own in the park after he was reported missing after he didn't arrive at his girlfriends house just 30 minutes walk away. A phone recording him was found at the scene with a social media stream found and took down by authorities. The crime is being treated as a hate crime with a recording of the video took as evidence with 5 arrested for now for attempted murder and anti-autistic hate crime. The charge could be upped to murder if the son of the famous EU councillour dies and his family have been seen at the Chamberlain Park hospital in United Duchies.

The family said in a statement "We are devestated our beautiful son has been attacked and targeted in such a disgusting brutal fashion just because of who he is. This shows our society despite its progressive values and community values still has some way to go in acceptance and we must all continue to fight for acceptance. " The boy who recently joined twitter and Ogobook was in the media just today after criticising the Spanish President for praising Columbus and celebrating his legacy. Politicians from all parties have condemned the hateful attack and expressed support for the family and boy. The Moderate leader said in a statement "I hope the justice system suitably punishes those who committed this crime. All citizens are valuable in this country neurodivergent and neurotypical and it is crucial we punish those who attack based on such characteristics, this attack is not just an attack on one boy but on a whole community and its values and our national values of acceptance of differences. I have had the pleasure of meeting Amaziah many times given his presence at many of the events I am at and always found him a charming , kind , funny young man and I wish him the best in his recovery and very much pray he comes out the other end. " The attack has shocked the country with concerns over hate crime against neurodivergent people once again brought to the forefront with neurodivergent people 5 times more likely to be victims of violent crime and 10 times more likely to be victims of crime in general, it is important to note even for neurodivergent people the chance of being a victim of violent crime is low. Charity Positive About Autism has called for action to fix this issue saying in a statement "This goes beyond one boy and family. Fear of their beautiful neurodivergent family members being a victim of crime is a common theme we hear about and the number one issue affecting independence. This must be adressed and we believe despite best efforts hate crime still doesn't have serious enough penalties in the United Duchies."

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Op-Ed:Amaziah is right , Columbus is a source of shame
Spain is today in a nationalist frenzy of historical revisionism and pride celebrating Columbus and his alleged discovery of the Americas. The first thing is that he was not truly the discoverer , the truth is the vikings got their first , yes they may not have recorded it as well but its like saying Captain Cooke discovered Australia and New Zealand just because he made better records, also how could he "discover" it when there 10's of millions of native americans living there already not counting indigenous nations all over the Americas many of which were more advanced than Europe at the time. Secondly even if he was first is that a source of pride or shame, even for the time which was pretty brutal Columbus was seen as pretty damn evil , when natives didn't give enough gold he killed them and he enslaved many natives in brutal conditions , he took over using existing rivalries then paved the way to salt out civillians and paved destroyed Tenochtitlan.His direct impact including bringing diseases to the Americas wiped out 90%+ of the native populations in a generation. He brought in an age of barbarity and incivility against natives in one of the worst treatment of natives and theft of wealth of nations.Also the fact he thought he was in Asia not the Americas is a sign of his idiocy , basic calculations at the time should have clued him in and Vespucio recognised soon after it was a new continent, showing up Columbus.I suggest the Spanish celebrating Columbus are the ones that haven't looked at their history properly.

Am I saying other nations weren't guilty , not at all Montenbourg , Reitzmag and their empire the Duchies and its Duchies United Trading Company and trading companies profited off goods made with slavery and on stolen land. The Reitzmag and United Duchies are not glorifying the murderers, the profits off slavery and stolen land and the "achievements" there is a sense of shame for the crimes of the past and an attitude of fixing the damage. Imagine how it must feel to be the great grandson of one of those exploited by the empire in Spain seeing your exploitation and ancestors suffering celebrated by all and the great and powerful royals , its just insensitive and tone deaf at best and evil at worst. Amaziah is right we need to stop glorifying the empires of the past built on oppression and exploitation of the the black , asian and indigenous people and acknowledge our roles, talk about reconciliation and how we fix the economic disparities that to this day exist as a result of the rape of the wealth of these peoples and nations. Columbus is no hero just Captain Cooke and countless others weren't they were murderers, selfish and rapists of the wealth of many peoples and nations who led to brutal opression and enpoverishing of entire ethnic groups to this day. Lets not celebrate that but instead celebrate indigenous cultures and focus on remembering the victims of this exploitation by all European nations in history. Frankly anyone celebrating Columbus Day or any days like it are ignorant fools or imperialist racists.

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RTD Polling Week ending 10th October
EU:
What is the your stance on the EU?
Leave:22%
Reform with less power:41%
Increase EU powers:19%
Stay about the same powers:18%

Anastasia City Projection:
CPCI:14.91%(8 Seats)
The Left:11.83%(6 Seats)
Futurist Party of Anastasia City:0.43%(0 Seats)
IUAC:22.08%(11 Seats)
PSD:9.87%(5 Seats)
Moderate:19.43%(10 Seats)
Liberal:8.78%(4 Seats)
UoD:12.63%(6 Seats)
OHE:0%(0 Seats)
United:0%(0 Seats)

Duchies National Polling(Excluding Anastasia City):
The Left:12.1%
PSD:20.9%
Liberal Party:14.1%
Moderate Party:23.1%
Union of Democrats:20.8%
Alliance of Royalists:5.2%
National Rally:3.6%
New Dawn:0.2%

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Protests erupt over Amaziah Attempted Murder and Anti-Autistic Hate Crime

Protests erupted throughout the Duchies with one of the biggest in Brummagem over the attempted murder of Amaziah Mizrachi-Roscoe which has now been classed as a hate crime. 10's of thousands took to the streets to organised protests with organisers inviting speakers from Poisitive About Autism , other disability and neurodivergence campaigning groups and the family with chants such as "Justice for Amaziah" ,"Death to ignorance" and "We are all Amaziah" in the protest among others . A key speaker in the protest was his girlfriend , brother Mathias and cousin Hosea among others. The protests also erupted in Goudadam, Porterdam, Cair Para and Hamborg. The protests come after the attack but there has been a spate of attacks according to disability and neurodivergence charities with reports suggesting Autistics are up to 15 times more likely to be victim to violent crimes and 20 times more likely to face bullying with over 80% having reported at least some bullying to to their Neurodivergence.

We managed to get an interview with James Mizrachi Roscoe after the protest from our reporter on the scene:
Jorgie May: Hi Mr Mizrachi-Roscoe , theres been a great turnout today clearly your son is much loved. How is he doing currently?
James: Thank you , yes its a fantastic turnout and I'm honoured . I very much hope Amaziah lives to see this level of support with all he's gone through , he's not always felt acceptance like many autistics unfortunately. Currently honestly we don't know how things will pan out but I have been told to prepare for the worst , overall he still needs all the support and prayers he can get as he is still fighting for his life.
Jorgie:I'm sorry to hear that and we obviously very much hope for a quick recovery for him. What do you think of current efforts to stop hate crime and do you think there is enough support?
James:Honestly I think the current efforts are not enough , the figures speak for themselves. We shouldn't have to have to choose our kids freedom or safety and autistic adults should not have to worry about their safety just going for a night out with friends and its been a big issue for a long time yet we as a society have not acted or just ignored the fact the issue exists. Racism , Sexism and Trans and Homophobia are all talked about reguarly but where do you see the column inches for hate against autistics and neurodivergent of all communities? Wheres all the mass movements and days for them? They don't exist and it would remain that way if it wasn't my son who was attacked. Frankly the only reason it came up was my son is a son of European Councillour and prominent businessman but it shouldn't take me being who I am and my sons relationship to me to get the press and public out there. Why is my son any more important than the other many hundreds and thousands suffering this hate crime and the 80% suffering bullying or teasing? It shouldn't take a kid of the rich and famous being a victim for it to be big news perhaps we need to continue the focus to defeat this disgusting ableism and hate once and for all.
Jorgie:I can definitely see the point there , but maybe its not so prominent because its not so obvious or doesn't affect as many?
James: Maybe thats the way its seen but each of those is a valuable human life and also its not as rare as you think. Something like 20% are Neurodivergent in some way, 1 in 40 Autistic in this country at last count thats a community of millions and many millions of families affected. This should not be seen as a niche issue in fact it affects more people than crimes of racism and homophobia combined and I'm not saying those are less important either but this affects all families of all races and creeds. But even if it was 0.5% would it make it any less important?
Jorgie: I suppose not , what do you see yourself doing going forward?
James: I will be talking to the prime minister as well as the cabinet on this issue as I carry a great weight of power with my responsibility I want to use it to make more lasting change. I will also be looking at how I can help in Europe with the international side of this issue, its not just a Duchies issue , anti-disability and autistic hate crime is a problem in all countries including progressive countries like Spain, Inquista , Reitzmag and Montebourg we need to tackle this throughout Europe. Perhaps Europe wide campaigns on disability and neurdivergence are needed like we have for the LGBT and Women and have those set up by the Autistic and Neurodivergent communities made official. I will consult to see how to make this a reality on top of the current EU act on Neurodivergent rights.
Jorgie:Thank you I wish you all the best with your campaigning, for justice and your sons recovery.

The ICS church also weighed in saying "Our heart aches for Amaziah and his family. He is a well respected member of his church and the whole church family and faith community is shocked at this horiffic hate crime. We are in talks with other churches in the Duchies about how we can help not only the family but also the whole community and use our influence to spread acceptance. No child or adult should suffer discrimination based on their Neurotype or Disability all are God's children and deserve the same love and acceptance as all people." The movement is only expected to grow as groups are now founding to work to counter hate crimes.

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Foreign minister says "Ready to help North Diessan but need to have help requested"

United Duchies Foreign Minister has said in a statement that Unitec Duchies is ready to help in North Diessan to combat the terrorist groups expressing grave concern for the country. The government said in a statement "we are ready and waiting to send troops in to defend North Diessan but in these circumstances we need them to formally request it first according to our military policy something they have not done. We cannot just go over the border officially uninvited. If they want help all they need to do is ask and it will be given right away."

The government also denied the operations in the Caspian were a threat to North Diessan saying "We do not believe these to be a threat to North Diessan. We are simply working with Reitzmag to defeat the scourge of Kaasian piracy of shipping causing severe problems. It is part of our navies job to keep commercial vessels safe and that is exactly what we are doing jointly with Reitzmag who are not an enemy not a threat , we are committed to good relations and positive partnerships with both Telum nations and Reitzmag and will look at how to work with whoever the new government may be in a positive manner".

The government have announced they are likely to begin operations in two days if they can establish communications with the DDF and the government of North Diessan but they need communications to be opened to do so .