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| - A news index page from Freedom Press. November 7th 2013 - Two calendar days ago, across numerous timezones, the second matchday of qualification for the WNFA's World Football Championship 2014 took place. The Lovian national football team, in Group D, managed a comprehensive, if not overly dramatic 3-0 win over Andorra in Newhaven. Leo Fuster, who scored a brace in Lovia's previous match (a 3-2 win over fellow wikination Strasland in Noble City), could not find the back of the net again, but the other goalscorer, Nick Altidore, did, along with Henri Barras and team captain Charles Vrecka. Notably, Andorra are one of only two teams in the qualifiers yet to score a goal (the other being Bahrain). The win keeps Lovia at the top of the table, with a lead of two points over second-placed Maldives. In Group D's other match, Strasland rescued a 3-3 draw in their capital Finskeby thanks to key forward Viktor Rask, who was also a goalscorer in their previous match against Lovia. The Maldives, who managed a 0-1 win away in Andorra last month missing several key players such as Ali Fasir and Ali Umar, fought hard and were unlucky not to take all three points home. Star forward and Maldives team captain Ali Ashfaq, who recently scored ten goals in four matches to become the top goalscorer at the 2013 SAFF Championship, also got his second goal of the campaign. Now, on to the other groups. In Group A, a face-off of wikinations saw Libertas beat Kemburg 2-1, with midfielder Robert Victoriaan scoring the winner after Kemburg had equalised nine minutes earlier through veteran Emil Spencer. Meanwhile, Singapore got four players on the score-sheet in a thrilling 4-2 win over Liechtenstein at home, taking the group lead on goal difference. October 31st 2013 - In early September 2013, the controversial government of the African wikination of Tagog officially claimed that Vincent Ndengu, leader of the Free Alliance and the Shadow Parliament, the main political opposition to the Conservative Tagogese Party regime of Kanto Qyto (often considered a dictatorship), had died of mysterious causes, related to ricin poisoning. This came mere months after a previous assassination attempt against Ndengu was foiled. This immediately caused controversy, as, like with the failed assassination attempt, the local police barely investigated the incident. Even the circumstances of the supposed killing were suspicious: soon after the failed assassination in April, Vincent Ndengu had left Tagog to travel to various other wikinations, for both personal safety and diplomatic reasons, and was then prevented from returning due to controversial actions by Tagpol, the government's controversial secret police (which in itself could be considered in violation of the United Nations' Declaration of Human Rights). According to the scenario presented by the government, Ndengu would have had to sneak into the country, despite heavy Tagpol surveillance, only to almost immediately die of poisoning by an unknown perpetrator. Today, however, Vincent Ndengu has appeared in public, alive, in the wikination of the Southern Arc Islands, which had granted him asylum. Ndengu said that he was forced to keep this a secret for the past few months as he had basically been in hiding (with the support of the Southern Arc Islands and possibly also the Brunant government), due to the danger of assassination because of (illegal) Tagpol offensive missions in other countries. Ndengu has stated the following: "Though they didn't know my location, Tagpol knew I had gone into hiding because of their actions and was likely to remain in hiding for the time being. So, I was beyond their direct reach, and they couldn't assassinate me or anything like that. But, they were able to spin a story that I had in fact been assassinated, since for me to publicly dispute that would allow them to more easily track and attack me. Because of this, I was forced to remain in hiding, and only now do I feel I have enough protection to speak out. So, they spun their assassination story, with the main purpose of demoralising Free Alliance and other Shadow Parliament supporters. This, coupled with numerous heavy crackdowns on the Free Alliance in the last few months, including several military attacks on meetings and public supporters, caused numerous deaths and also has made the situation in Tagog even more unstable. I now still cannot safely return to my home country, and several of my family members and supporters have also been forced to flee Tagog due to the government and Tagpol's actions." There has been an increasing call for diplomatic, even military action against Qyto's regime, both by Shadow Parliament supporters in Tagog and the government of the Southern Arc Islands. It should also be noted that numerous threats were made against the regime after it officially declared its support for Ygo August Donia's coup in Lovia several months ago, a situation during which war, both civil and IWO-wide, was only narrowly avoided after numerous threats and counter-threats by a considerable number of factions (both Lovian organisations and nations). While this particular situation has cooled down, there is still a looming, if indirect, threat of war if a similarly controversial situation crops up again, with the Donia coup crisis already showing potential cracks in the framework of both individual wikinations and the IWO/web of wikinations. September 23rd 2013 - The trial between Sebastian Noble, the current King of Lovia, and Philip Bradly-Lashawn has today officially begun. While the initial accusation and preparations were made on the 11th and 12th of September, the case has now officially been opened in the Supreme Court by the presiding judge Arthur Ismagiloff. The reason was initiated by Philip Bradly-Lashawn, who was the eldest son of former King Arthur III of Lovia, but who had not been considered part of the Line of Succession. As outlined by Bradly-Lashawn's head lawyer, Anthony Valbuena, he is accusing both the previous King, Dimitri Noble, as well as Sebastian Noble, of acting against the Constitution, and also claims that he (Bradly-Lashawn) should be the King of Lovia. Specifically, Valbuena argued that the Constitution states that the Monarchy must pass onto the eldest offspring of the incumbent king, unless they themselves have requested to be removed from the Line of Succession; so, the monarchy should have passed onto Philip Bradly-Lashawn instead of Dimitri Noble when King Arthur III died, back in 2007. Valbuena accused Sebastian Noble of violating the Constitution by not officially signing it upon his ascension, and thus not legally being King. This trial comes less than two months after the coronation of King Sebastian I of Lovia, who had been approved by Congress to be the new monarch of Lovia after the controversial abdication of King Dimitri I. This event itself came mere months after the even more controversial "May Coup" coup attempt, where Ygo August Donia, aided by his so-called "private army" The Brigade, attempted to take over the Royal Palace and oust Dimitri from the monarchy, to be replaced by Donia. This coup was ultimately unsuccessful, though the royal family was forced to flee the Palace, and, after a strange series of events, lead to an illegal trial in Charleston of several Brigade and Donia Clan members (including, disputedly, Brunanter prince Bernd Donia), which was lead by independent politician Charles A. Bennett and was abandoned in unclear circumstances. This coup attempt did result in some Supreme Court processes being initiated, but these were not in fact pursued, and this coup attempt did not officially lead to any prosecutions. Another aspect of the trial that could be considered controversial is the very presence of presiding Judge Arthur Ismagiloff. While the term length for Supreme Court Judges was changed from six months to one year recently, some argue that this happened after the expiry of the current Judges' term, so they should still be replaced. The defendant and plaintiff are now due to present their first round in the Supreme Court. As usual, new developments will be covered on this website. July 22nd 2013 - A number of the matchdays of the 2013 IWO Games have been delayed and/or postponed. The current schedule is not clear, but will certainly take longer than the previous one, which had the IWO Games ending on July the 20th, a date which has already passed. While the Opening Ceremony on the 10th of July, and the first few matchdays, went according to plan (initiating the medal table), numerous events quickly started to be delayed. While the official reasons for the delays are unknown (numerous Brunanter politicians, such as James Stanton and President Gert Henneman, have mentioned delays in the IWO Games, but none have actually cited reasons), there have been speculations about overbooking of venues, ongoing construction on some venues, visa issues with some athletes, and disagreements about the list of events (with numerous last-minute changes having already forced moving of athletes to and from Brunant). It is not known how long these delays will last, though some events are still being held. July 1st 2013 - The date for the opening ceremony of the 2013 IWO Games in Brunant has been postponed again, this time to the 10th of July. They were previously slated to be held on the 29th (or 30th) of June. Multiple reasons for this have been given: preparations for the opening ceremony had not been finished yet, and major Brunanter politician James Stanton of the CDU (Christian Democratic Union), along with several associates, would be leaving the country from the beginning of July to the 10th, on some sort of holiday. It is unknown whether the Games will still have a "cold start" (some events commencing before the actual opening ceremony), and whether this date is finally definite. Some individuals, including several politicians in Mäöres, have criticised this turn of events, and have recommended that the 2013 IWO Games be held in Mäöres (which had been the other main candidate) instead; this, however, is not the first time they have done so, and the level of preparation for the Games in Brunant makes it very unlikely that this would actually occur. As usual, updates on the situation will be covered on this website. June 17th 2013 - A few days ago, the president of Brunant, Gert Henneman, in co-operation with several other individuals, declared that the opening ceremony for the 2013 IWO Games would be held on the 29th of June. This can be considered encouraging, since, over the last few months, numerous individuals in both Brunant and Lovia have expressed their worry that the IWO Games wouldn't be held at all. The IWO Games were originally scheduled to be held in "early June", but various delays and other issues forced this date to be pushed back. The 2013 IWO Games are currently scheduled to last roughly two weeks, with no date having been set for the closing ceremony yet. It is believed some events will also start just before the opening ceremony. Also, it appears that the sports list will be shortened from the original plans, with throwing sports being possibly missed out altogether. Over the past few days, multiple IWO/WNFA nations, including Brunant itself, have started to submit lists of athletes to participate at the Games. No activity related to this appears to have been initiated in Lovia yet. June 15th 2013 - Today, a no confidence vote has been initiated in the Second Chamber, after several discussions on the matter in the First Chamber. This vote, if successful, would cause the Ilava II Government and the 2013 (First) Congress to lose power, forcing new (mid-term) elections. Early voting statistics and Congressional conversations have shown that there is considerable controversy and opposition with regards to this vote. The vote was initiated by independent politician Semyon Breyev. Major proponents of the no confidence vote/proposal include CNP leader Lukas Hoffman; and Marcus Villanova, founder of the RLP movement and also (former?) leader of the Labour Party. Congressional logs have shown that, at this stage, there are many contra votes against the proposal, and also abstentions. Numerous major politicians have expressed opposition against the need for mid-term elections, including Justin Abrahams, currently the main active politician (semi-official leader) of the SCP; William Krosby, leader of the SLP; and Nicholas Sheraldin, leader of the GP. Those in favour of no confidence have mainly complained about a perceived lack of active politicians in the Congress, which they believe could threaten the functionality of the current Congress. Meanwhile, those opposed to no confidence have mainly argued that the Congress is currently functional (several bills have been passed in the last month), and that there is therefore no need for mid-term elections. May 29th 2013 - Only about a month after the "coup crisis", Ygo August Donia has embarked on another controversial political venture. Donia, who attempted to take over Lovia's throne and led a military group (his Brigade) into Noble City to attack the royal palace, is currently a free man, since no-one has actually submitted charges against him and had them approved by the Supreme Court and/or the Ministry of Justice (a rather worrying fact, by any means, as all other figures involved in the incidents during the crisis, including SCA leader and politician Charles A. Bennett, escaped trials similarly). Now, Ygo August Donia is attempting the revive the highly controversial Iron Guard Party. The Iron Guard Party has been inactive for several years; in fact, it was officially dissolved/banned in the Supreme Court. The IGP, when it was active, was a far-right (basically fascist) party, led by notorious Lovian Civil War figures such as Dietrich Honecker and Hessel and Drabo Doorian. After the Civil War and the IGP trial, most of the non-imprisoned members of the IGP, including numerous Donia family members, moved to the (slightly less far-right) Union of National Solidarists, which has since also collapsed. Now, Donia is trying to revive the IGP, by trying to declare the ban on the party void. His main argument is that the judge who carried out the trial, Arthur Jefferson, was corrupt, and therefore the trial was void. In several statements, Donia has declared that another trial/appeal should be held, at least. Neither the Supreme Court nor the Ministry of Justice have responded to Donia's statements yet. Donia has already put his plans to revive the IGP into action by running in the Train Village local elections under a IGP banner. Since no new trials have in fact been held yet, it is not clear whether this action is legal. As usual, any important updates will be covered on this website. Meanwhile, another Donia family member, Dalia Donia, is taking a very different political path to her relative: she has become an associate member of the Green Party, and will likely petition to gain full political member status soon. Green Party deputy leader Levi Straszev has said today that there are numerous submissions for associate and full member status which the party is currently working through. May 29nd 2013 update - The legal situation has grown even more complicated today as, when Ygo August Donia "declared" the IGP trial void, Labour Party politician Marcus Villanova immediately launched a legal suit against Donia and the IGP because of the same reasons as the previous trial. Donia responded to this by "counter-suing" Villanova, with an unknown rationale. Soon after, Donia already started to try and assemble a team of lawyers for the aforementioned possible trial. It is believed he approached Rico Wasabi, a former SCJ and close friend of Donia, and several Green Party politicians; their reactions are currently unknown. The Judges, and date etc. for this trial have not been finalised, but developments will of course be covered here. Meanwhile, a representative of Ygo August Donia released a statement that he did not in fact support the fascist ideologies of the IGP at the moment, but instead used an IGP banner for the Train Village election in order to make a point against Jefferson and the IGP trial. May 14th 2013 - It is uncertain at the moment whether the Supreme Court trials of Ygo August Donia, the Brigade and the Southern Cross Alliance will actually happen. Prime Minister Oos Wes Ilava has, in fact, for some reason stated that they "probably shouldn't". In the meantime, Supreme Court Judge Samantha Brown has said that there wouldn't actually be any trials unless someone explicitly pressed charges. Later on, however, she released a statement that the Supreme Court is planning trial(s) "Friday or this weekend". Whether any charges have been pressed at this point is unknown, though Ygo August Donia himself seems angry at the Southern Cross Alliance for attacking his castle as well as kidnapping members of the Brigade. Then again, whether it is even legal for someone who is a fugitive himself to press charges is unclear. Anyway, the second statement by Brown does indicate a trial will likely be held. Of course, if any new information is released, we will update this website. April 27th 2013 - Ygo August Donia, leader of the Donia Clan and (former?) CCPL politician, has announced that he is planning to become the new king of Lovia. He has asked for the current king, Dimitri I, to abdicate in order to accomplish this. The strange nature of this situation (Donia is not even a member of the royal family) has caused a lot of controversy and criticism, though the royal family itself has not actually issued any statements regarding the matter. Notably, Donia announced his retirement from Lovian politics several months ago, making the current situation even more strange. Why exactly Donia intends to take over the Lovian throne is not exactly clear. It should be noted that, currently, the King of Lovia has relatively little actual power beyond ceremonial proceedings, after reforms made a few years ago. The royal family itself has also gone quite silent, issuing statements only several times a year. In his public speeches, Donia has mainly criticised Dimitri I and the rest of the current family, with what could be labelled as hate speech or slander. Statements have included that he considers his roots "far more worthy" of the throne than "Dimitri and his lazy, worthless relatives". According to statements by Donia, the hunters of the Southern Cross Alliance offered Donia assistance; however, Donia refused them, stating that they should "leave the fighting for the REAL men", by which he likely refers to The Brigade, his private hunting organisation, which was officially disbanded by court order several years ago. At the time of the previous statement, Minister of Defence Lukas Hoffmann made a statement that "the Police can handle it" (the situation). Donia has also contacted the government of the troubled wikination Tagog, stating that he will supply arms to the Resistance, but if the government supports his claim to power in Lovia, that he might support them instead. Even more troubling is the most recent development: Donia has announced that, if Dimitri I does not abdicate before the 1st of May, he and the Brigade will militarily march into Noble City on said date, likely with the intent of taking over the royal palace and physically carrying out his coup. This contradicts his earlier statement, where said that "there will be no bloodshed, for this coup will be a peaceful one". Donia's most recent statements, however, definetely do suggest bloodshed, and Hoffmann's statement about the Federal Police may end up being put to the test. The fact that the royal family generally takes weeks to publicly respond to anything, makes the likelihood of the "deadline" passing very high, and with it the risk of a military attack in Noble City. An interviewed citizen of Noble City, who did not want to be named, said that he was worried that "the whole situation will cause a second Lovian Civil War", less than two years after the conclusion of the first one. Other citizens also echoed this worrying thought. It could not have come at a worse time, as the government of Burenia threatened to invade Lovia over a remark made by Minister of Commerce Dave Leskromento. Additionally, the diplomatic situation in Tagog is increasingly spiralling out of control, with the nations of the IWO being divided over which side to support in the conflict. In response to the threat of battle in Noble City, the Green Party has announced that the Free Society centers in Noble City will be open for sheltering civilians if a military attack does occur, and that they, along with other key Green Party buildings, will be "barricaded" to prevent military conflict. However, the GP and associates will not participate in any conflict, though this is subject to change depending on circumstances. Important developments will be covered on this website. April 28th 2013 update - Donia has now also contacted the government of Burenia, stating he'd help them with their "invasion" of Lovia if they support his coup in Lovia. The central government has not replied yet; however, situation has been complicated even further by Hrob Di Kob, governor of the province of Kòb, who stated that his province will support any enemies of the central Burenian government. This might point to civil conflict within Burenia in the relatively near future. Additionally, Donia seems to have tightened his "deadline" even further, as he issued a statement that he will (attempt to) be King "before the end of April". April 30th 2013 update - There has been a strange silence from Donia these past two days. He has not issued any public statements in Lovia; in fact, he hasn't been seen in public at all, though it is reported he travelled to Tagog on the 29th to talk to the various factions there. When he is planning to launch his coup is not entirely clear. Still, barricades are being set up at the Free Society and Green Party buildings in case conflict does break out tomorrow or in the next few days. As usual, important developments will be covered on this website. Another April 30th 2013 update - It seems we spoke slightly too soon; we have reports of a Facebook conversation involving Ygo August Donia, as well as several other politicians, including Lukas Hoffman and Semyon Breyev. In this conversation, Donia stated that he wouldn't necessarily be opposed to Lovia becoming a republic during his reign; it is apparently more important to him that Dimitri is no longer king than that he is king. Donia also stated that his Brigade was heading towards Noble City "as we speak". Also, the government of Strasland stated that they would send in their navy in order to help the current Lovian regime. May 1st 2013 update - The current situation is not entirely clear. It appears the Brigade managed to bypass the Federal Police and directly assault the Royal Palace, forcing its inhabitants to be evacuated. Soon after, the Palace was surrounded by police, and it has remained that way for several hours now. The current locations of both King Dimitri I and Ygo August Donia are unknown. Meanwhile, a representative of the Donia Clan has initiated discussions in the First Chamber about a referendum to decide whether Dimitri will remain King, Donia will become King, or Lovia will become a republic. Another May 1st 2013 update - Hunters from the Southern Cross Alliance have surrounded Donia Castle. In response to this, Ygo August Donia has officially surrendered to the Southern Cross Alliance, on the condition than no-one in the Donia Clan is harmed. How the Federal Police will react to this new complication is currently unknown (the Alliance is not an agency of the government). Third May 1st 2013 update - Politician Charles A. Bennett has just announced that the Southern Cross Alliance will take Donia and the Brigade to Charleston, where they will be put on trial. No-one in the Alliance is a Supreme Court Judge, however, so such a trial would have no legal status (Donia would need to be trialled again), and this might even cause the Alliance legal trouble, because Donia is currently basically a fugitive, whom the Federal Police will want to "retrieve". May 2nd 2013 update - It appears Ygo August Donia is now in the custody of the Federal Police. However, the situation is ongoing, as the SCA have taken numerous Brigade and Donia Clan members to Charleston where they have set up a trial with politician Charles A. Bennett as judge. Of course, this trial does not actually have legal status, since there are no Supreme Court Judges present. The trial has been referred to as "Western Sylvania vs. Donia Clan", which is a bit odd, considering the Brigade's recent actions do not relate to Western Sylvania directly. The Federal Police is now looking to break up this trial and arrest the SCA as well as the Brigade members. According to one source, the SCA even attempted to set the Donia Castle on fire. The situation seems to have become even more complicated as one source states that among the people taken to Charleston is Bernd Donia, husband of Brunant's heir apparent, Princess Helene. Bernd Donia was supposedly visiting the castle at the time, and was reputedly holding a gun when the SCA laid siege to the castle. If Bernd Donia really is being held for trial by the SCA, this situation could very quickly turn into an international hostage situation, considering Bernd Donia has probably not broken any laws. Another May 2nd 2013 update - The situation seems to be growing even more complicated and unclear. Several sources state that some sort of conflict has occurred at the Western Sylvania "trial", but it is unclear what exactly happened; apparently, the Federal Police was not actually involved, not having reached the scene yet. It is unclear why this conflict occurred or who was involved, but it is reported several people, including Charles A. Bennett, were injured, and the Brigadiers and Donia clan members held by the SCA have been moved to yet another location. One source reported men with black balaclavas being present at the conflict, but numerous other sources, including Federal Police officials, dispute this. If any more information is revealed, we, as usual, will update this site. May 3rd 2013 update - The current situation is unclear, though the conflicts seem to have cooled. It seems to be the case that the Federal Police have taken control of the courthouse in Charleston, and the SCA, as well as the Donia Clan and Brigadiers present, are currently in custody. No sources can agree on what exactly happened at the courthouse, though it is believed the initial gunfight was caused by an internal split in the SCA. Controversially, Minister of Justice Yuri Aksyonov declared the "Western Sylvania vs. Donia Clan" case a state court case, despite the fact that state courts were dissolved a few years ago. It is currently believed this was a mistake, but it is unclear. Whether Bernd Donia was actually present at the Donia Castle is also disputed. What will happen now is also unknown, though it is likely there will be at least one Supreme Court trial. April 22nd 2013 - In the African wikination of Tagog, an assassination attempt against Vincent Ndengu, leader of the Free Alliance and chairman of the Shadow Parliament, was foiled today. Vincent Ndengu, as the leader of the largest opposition party and the resistance authority the Shadow Parliament, is often considered a major figure within the Tagogese Resistance, which opposes the controversial regime of the Conservative Tagogese Party and Kanto Qyto. The assassin, whose identity is unclear, was seemingly commissioned by Tagpol, the notorious secret service of the Tagogese regime. The assassin snuck into a building in Gogat, Tagog's capital city, where a small-scale Free Alliance conference was being held. He was armed with both firearms and several bottles of neurotoxins. The target, Vincent Ndengu, was in fact not at the meeting, with Ese Ndengu and Ronald C. Jones being the only major Free Alliance members present. From security footage, it has been established the assassin hid in a side corridor, observing the meeting, from 9:58 AM to 10:14 AM. At 10:14 AM, a security guard by the name of Mick Embesu noticed the assassin lurking in the corridor, and approached him. After trying to get past the guard into the main room, the assassin pulled a pistol from his jacket and shot Embesu, before running across the main room towards the fire exit. While in the main room, the assassin wounded three individuals, including another security guard and two civilians, before being tackled by a third security guard and several civilians, who disarmed him. The assassin was held to the ground until 10:22 AM, when paramedics arrived. Mick Embesu, who was of mostly Zambian descent and 32 years of age, was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other casualties were taken away to be treated. The fate of the assassin is unknown, as he was taken away by local police authorities. In response to the assassination, several international entities, including the Green Party here in Lovia and the government of the Southern Arc Islands, have strongly criticised Tagpol and the Tagogese government, with asylum also being offered to Free Alliance members. Monday Ndengu, brother of Vincent Ndengu and fellow Free Alliance member, said that "if the situation grows any worse, security and travel arrangements will be made for Vincent, and possibly the rest of us as well". April 23rd 2013 update - From a trustworthy source we have information that, in response to the assassination attempt and rising internal tensions in Tagog, Vincent Ndengu and several other Free Alliance members have travelled to other wikinations in order to discuss asylum and intervention measures. It is known he will at least travel to Lovia, the Southern Arc Islands and Brunant. In response to the assassination attempt and other rising tensions, and the general oppressive law of Tagog, Lovia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially released a Travel Advisory strongly discouraging travel to Tagog. Also, the government of Brunant has offered asylum and protection to Vincent Ndengu in light of recent events.
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