Dreesbach's Interland to Stay with the Grand Commonwealth

Interland's Kaiser, Daniel Dreesbach, has vowed that it will remain a member of the Grand Commonwealth for the foreseeable future, and that it would not rejoin Attera if the latter "came back from the dead".

So far, due to the lack of a public internet presence, the only evidence of this has been the frequency of articles published by the state journal, the Red Shield III. It recently reported that Emperor Mik?el Tzion I had approved the creation of a new "East Interland" in Attera to "teach" Dreesbach how to establish a "viable entity". It will be interesting to see if this can be achieved, given that Interland was allowed to languish for many years under Atteran control.

The Kingdom of Interland voluntarily joined the Grand Commonwealth at the beginning of this month, following its independence from Attera after the change of government that saw founder Emperor Mik?el Tzion I (aka Diga Makonnen) retake control and refocus its presence away from the internet-based nation it had been for a number of years. Kaiser Daniel said that Interland was better off in the Grand Commonwealth as it "retained its sovereignty and own identity".

Commenting about Makonnen and the recent changes in Attera, Dreesbach added: "He has a very defined view of what Attera should be and not be, which has not changed over the years. On the other hand what has changed is how he deals with others, especially within Attera. Diga has been more unbending toward Atterans who disagree with him. That in itself may not be a bad thing but how he dealt with those issues did cause problems."

NEWS FLASH: Lemurian Ramu Assassinated!

Nista Ramure, Lemuria- The second Ramu of the Empire of Lemuria, Ramu Taiçardainre I, was found dead in his palace this morning, when attendants failed to rouse him from a strong night of celebrations last evening.

The Mu was rushed by ambulance motorcade to the Ramure Central Hospital at around 6:30am this morning, after failing to rise for a meeting with the new Government of the Empire. After spending an hour trying to revive the beloved leader, the Ramu was declared dead at 7:47am.

It was soon announced to the media by Meran Aauberman, who was to be sworn in today as the Officer for State Affairs, that the Ramu had died silently in his sleep from what appeared to be a poison inserted into his food or drink sometime during the previous night. The slow acting agent did not affect the Mu until well after he had returned to the palace last night. He had not complained of any pain or injury before retiring for the night, so it can only be assumed that he died peacefully once asleep.

Rumours are already circulating that the assassination may have been the work of a small splinter group who were unhappy with the nations withdrawal yesterday from the Grand Commonwealth. Police have not yet released a statement to the media, but an unusual amount of activity at police headquarters today show that they may have a number of leads on the case.

The Council of Elders has been called into emergency session this afternoon for the arduous task of appointing a new Ramu to the Lemurian throne. There is currently no clear contender amongst the Lemurian families to take the role, who were all very fond of the now deceased leader. Being the youngest Ramu to date, at just 28, there has been little previous discussion about a possible successor for Taiçardainre. A spokesman for the Aféñ family said that ?Mu Taiçardainre has been a uniting force for the Empire, just as Ségirdair was before him. It is hard to believe that we have lost two great leaders in as many years.?

A memorial service for Taiçardainre I will be held next Monday in the national capital. It has been declared that all flags will fly at half mast till this date.

Apollo Inquisitor will keep you up to date on the latest in this breaking story as it comes to hand.

Lemuria Leaves; Interland Joins

Meredosa, Lemuria- The Majlis-i-Dharma today voted 6-2 to allow the Empire of Lemuria to leave the Grand Commonwealth.

In one of the quickest votes to date by the council of Commonwealth states, the vote was proposed by Lemuria?s Ramu Taiçardainre I. All members of the Majlis voted in favour of the vote except for Babkhan delegate Osman Shahanshan, who was interested in seeing the Commonwealth stay preserved with its original membership.

On the home front, Lemurian?s began rejoicing in the streets when news of the vote reached the national capital. A vox pop on the streets of some citizens found, however, that there was a small minority of the population not happy with the outcome of the vote.

The passage of the vote marks the end of a remarkable third session of the Majlis, where it has admitted just its second new member state, the Imperial Kingdom of Interland, after the fall of the Atteran Empire. It also saw the introduction of numerous key pieces of legislation, such as the recently passed Banking Act, which has seen the introduction of a Commonwealth currency.

The third session of the Majlis has now retired, awaiting the swearing in of members of the fourth session, and the election of a new Taoiseach.