Follandan Informer

In the News Today;

Favored Leader Speaks Out
From his hometown in Leahpolis, previous Chancellor Michael Moen spoke in an interview with the city's major news network about the state of Folland and his thoughts as a previous executive.

"It's a complete mess." Moen said rather upset.

"I could see that it was pretty bad back when I was in office but, good lord, things have gone down a hell hole lately. I mean, look at it. We have the least number of Allies now than in Follandan history, and even our neighbors, Shayden, Kuyrut, Kaskaskia, they all look at us and think, 'what horrible, illegal thing are they going to do next?'. There was a time when Folland and the other Euphemian powers were tight in relations, we could go to each other for almost anything. Now? We're not even in the Bloc Nations anymore, something I helped found."

Though Moen is upset that Folland withdrew from the Bloc, he then elaborated that he wasn't at all surprised about the move.

"I understand what my daughter did. She's always had a good head on her shoulders and withdrawing from the Bloc was a logical move at that moment considering the backlash from the international community. She showed that Folland could be humble after making a mistake. And it apparently worked since Shayden has stated their wish for Folland to return."

When asked about other topics currently hot such as Follandan-Sinope relations, Moen was visibly upset.

"I can understand the international community raising an eyebrow at the lack of elections when my daughter became Interim Chancellor, yes. I can understand them raising an eyebrow at the method used to arrest Grumboltd, of course. But honestly, there is not one single logical shred of evidence that shines this country's government as an illegitimate 'regime' for God's sake. Honestly? Sinope has gone full bore off the diving board with their remarks about our Government and they're completely unwarranted. If their statements aren't blatant provocation then I don't know what it is. But. I have faith in my old friend, Prime Minister Panin to keep a level head through it all, or just downright ignore them if need be."

Dat Bias

In The News Today;

Unidentified Aerial Sightings North of Leahpolis, Folland
Reports came in from residents in a small border town north of Leahpolis of what appeared to be lights moving across the night sky toward Folland. Amateur footage caught the lights moving in an erratic fashion from Kuyrut toward the border into Folland, however the dark made it impossible to identify the object. Several witnesses then saw two Follandan jets intercept and chase the lights for what seemed to be several minutes of maneuvering through the sky before the unidentified lights were attacked by the fighter planes. Flames could be seen as the video tracked it as it descended into the distance over the Lovise Mountains and out of view. The Informer has reached out to the Follandan Air Force for comment but have not received a reply.

Bah, it's just fear mongering by the government :S It's not aliens, right?

Just a rock.

To Yesterdays Article: Shayden still wishes you came back. D:

Folland be like:

Damn weather balloons.

LOL

In The News Today;

Military Convoys Move Through Leahpolis
Folland's northwestern city of Leahpolis woke up this morning to several convoys of Follandan Military vehicles moving through the city toward the mountains in the north east. Hundreds of calls to the local police department flooded the lines, asking about the sudden presence of the Follandan Army. Many believed the Army was coming into Leahpolis but continued on through into the suburbs and eventually up mountain roads into the distance. Other reports came in that Helicopters were flying toward the mountains as well, varying from transports to armed gunships.

"I don't understand what's going on." one resident said to a reporter. "The Army almost never comes out up here, then suddenly at 4am it's like there's a war going on."

Earlier in the night amateur footage captured what appeared to be a firefight between Air Force jets and an unknown object over the Follandan/Kuyrut border, after which the object was seen crash landing into the Lovise Mountains where the Army is now heading. We sent in multiple calls to the Armed Forces spokesperson but have yet to receive a reply. More on this as it develops.

Mitron is unsettled by these movements near our border, and demands to know what caused the Follandan military to take these actions.

In The News Today;

Mystery in the Lovise Mountains
As reported earlier amateur footage caught action in the night time skies north of Leahpolis over the Folland Kuyrut border where two planes of the Follandan Air Force apparently attacked an unknown object flying erratically into Follandan airspace. The object crashed into the Lovise Mountains where later that night in the early morning hours the Army cordoned off a large area around where the object seemed to crash.

Late this afternoon witnesses looking toward the direction of the area in the mountains witnessed several helicopters lifting off from the off limits region of the mountains and headed southeast, possibly toward the city of Mastidon or beyond. One witness claims one of the heavy lift helicopters was towing an object underneath it, sitting on a platform covered possibly by tarp. Because of the distance these witnesses were to the area many of the amatuer footage caught was horribly pixelated from trying to zoom in and thus couldn't get a clear enough image of what the Army was trying to hide. As of this moment the Army still has the area off limits to non military personnel.

~In related news the city of Leahpolis is effectively surrounded today when militaries of all three border nations of Folland, Kuyrut, and Mitron moved units to their respective corners of the border, most likely in response to the Follandan Air Force's actions the previous night. What this means however remains unknown. The Follandan Armed Forces Chief of Staff finally released a statement concerning the mobilizations.

Official Statement.

In The News Today;

Gender Favoritism Accused
Gaining national spotlight recently a quite odd group has surfaced attracting massive amounts of positive and negative attention. Contrary to Human history, the Male Rights Association is a nation-wide group with the goal of securing "equality" for boys and men in society. The group claims Folland over it's history has steadily favored girls and women, giving them special rights and civil liberties in order to empower them in society, much to the displeasure of certain Male Superiority activists who have now disguised their struggle as a movement to make women "equal" to men. Naturally hordes of women across the country condemn the group, labelling it as a sexist conglomeration of power seeking men who feel they need to remain superior to their female counterparts. Unfortunately this has spurred a surge of popularity with the phrase, "Get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich.".

Euphemian 13 Ends Horribly
It's been two days since the final day of the Euphemian 13 conference in Saint Nors, Folland and everyone can safely say the summit was a complete failure. Over the span of two weeks, only one topic was minimally discussed with nothing produced from it, and the other topics suggested before the summit were completely ignored. Many attendees never even spoke. Truly this is an example of just how poor local international relations are on the continent. Prime Minister Panin herself shook her head at the outcome of this summit.

"I'm very disappointed." she stated to the press. "I had hopes for this. That we could really reach out to our neighbors after all that has happened. But, either it seems they're just not completely ready yet, or the future of this continent looks more bleak than first imagined."

Prime Minister Panin further elaborated that Folland will continue to put itself first in it's policies and interests, while still trying to make attempts at building stronger ties to it's weary neighbors.

"Building relations. It's a two way road. We can try to be nice, but our neighbors need to reciprocate that. And if what we've seen of the Euphemian 13 summit is any evidence, it shows our recent efforts are pointless."

Prime Minister Panin revealed that she has given up on requesting a personal meeting with Fraesia's leadership over the incident between the two countries months ago, saying the attendance of their Foreign Minister at the E13 summit was 'probably as good as we'll get'.

Mike, I was gone for half of the E13, it was never in the "Happening Now" section, and you never pushed anyone about it, so we forgot.

Never pushed anyone about it? lol

I did my fair share of "advertising". Gave it two weeks. Colored the topic title red. I even double posted a few times to bump it.

I never really heard about it at all once I came back.

Unnecessary militarization... good thing it's declining.

Unnecessary militarization

You could say that to many, not just me.

In The News Today;

Military Claims Drill Gone Awry
The Army pulled out of the mountains near Leahpolis earlier today after spending almost a week cordoning off an area of the region. Amateur footage caught a glimpse of two planes of the Air Force apparently shooting down an object which was later assumingly retrieved by the Army. After the week long presence the Military released a statement claiming it was a Drill gone wrong but no one was injured in the event. 

Three Armies At The Border
Forces of the Kuyrutian and Mitronan militaries gathered at their shared borders with Folland this past week after the Follandan Army moved into the mountains north of Leahpolis. Analysts assumed Kuyrut and Mitron were responding to the sudden presence of Army personnel so close to the border, however the Military stated the reason behind the movement and assured there was nothing the two countries needed to worry about.

Bleak Future for Struggling Althenan Nation
Bergenstein. A black spot on West Althena's international image. The country has suffered tense local politics, a bloody civil war and a just as bloody occupation by Althenan Coalition Forces in an effort to bring stability to a war torn country that was on track to tearing itself apart. Now things are just as tense and numerous international powers are abandoning the country like a lost cause. Okaiken just recently ordered all Sanese based industries to vacate the nation, taking away vital business which is projected to strike a heavy toll on the economy there. Other nations simply do not recognize the currently established government for several reasons. Will Bergenstein eventually pull itself back into a hopeful future? Some nations involved in the Coalition, including Sinope have their doubts.

Progress on Air Force's Tiltjet Aircraft
Uther & Trell Aeronautics' latest development, the UT-64TC Ghost is reported to being back on track for it's debut in the Follandan Air Force after suffering mechanical setbacks with it's engine design. The UT-64TC is Folland's first ever Tiltjet Troop Carrying aircraft similar to a helicopter, however the major difference being the Tiltjet doesn't make use of conventional rotors but jet engines mounted on rotaries on the sides of the aircraft. This design offers the aircraft additional lift thus raising it's carrying capacity, as well as provides additional maneuverability. Folland went through international scrutiny previously for setting restrictions on the exportation of this new aircraft, at first saying only Euphemian Bloc nations could place orders. Now Prime Minister Panin has stated the aircraft will be strictly exclusive to the Follandan and Shayden militaries. Shayden was included simply because much of the development process involved Shayden defense contractors, and the project wouldn't have been possible without their contributions. The Ghost is slated to become available for use by the Winter of 2014 if there are no more difficulties.

Lel that tension over aliens

In The News Today;

Hinali Rethinks Policies
In a session with the High Council, Prime Minister Panin spoke on Folland's recent actions politically and militarily and how these actions have negatively affected the country. Panin elaborated on that Folland was moving and pushing too hard, too fast without consideration for others. 

"We are becoming something we used to view upon with disgust." she said in a speech. "Is Folland a belligerent? No. Is Folland a Rogue State? Of course not. So why are we being labeled such things? We are treading down a very dangerous path in the name of our so called interests. So, what will we do about it?"

Nothing, says Panin.

The Prime Minister wants Folland to return back to the country's roots of moderate isolationism. Remaining uninvolved in international affairs. To basically mind our own business and try not to start business for others. And considering the seemingly constant backlash against Folland, it's not sounding like such a bad idea. Folland has been scrutinized for several choices and events over the past year, been the victim of economic sanctions and having some relations ceased. International image is at an all time low, so Hinali's best course of action now is to simply do nothing. To stop doing things that would just worsen Folland's image. 

Chunk of Navy's 1st Fleet Calls Tephan Home
Kewani Naval Base opened last week on the island of Tephan in the Okanamapi Province out in the Rites Sea, which will now act as the homeport of several warships of the 1st Fleet which is stationed in the Rites Sea. The rest of the 1st Fleet remains based out of Kristinsund Naval Base on the mainland coast. Kewani was built with the purpose of having warships as close to the Cilician as possible, to cut down deployment times as opposed to deploying from the mainland.

S.D.I. Takes Dive on Market
Investors sold their stocks this week after news arrived that the Follandan Government was planning on cutting military funding as early as next year, which includes hefty contracts with major defense contractor Syndicated Defense Industries. S.D.I. in a press conference stated even though business will decline somewhat due to potential budget cuts there will still be business to be had as current contracts will remain active for several years still.

E13 Summit Failure Causes Threat
Police, SWAT, and the Bomb Squad responded to the Saint Nors Convention center today because of a Bomb Threat that was made against the building. After searching the massive complex inside and out, no explosive devices were found and a false alarm was declared. It's been discovered that the Bomb Threat was made by a disgruntled citizen upset over the failure of the recent Euphemian 13 Summit which was held in the Convention Center earlier last week. Police traced the phone call to a mobile device which lead to the arrest of a middle aged male suspect. Word has not been given yet if he will be charged for the threat.

Folland's becoming shaky again