The National Gazette (Official Publication of the Game Engine)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

VOL. II | ISSUE 9
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
- BREAKING -

Map: North Korean Civil War, 1/31/18
Siege of Pyongyang Begins, Loyalists Turned Back at Anju

Nationalist forces sustained heavy losses in the course of a three-day Allied offensive against the city, taking a furious barrage from the land and air and giving ground rapidly.

Key
• Allied city          • Nationalist city          • Loyalist city
→ Allied advance          → Loyalist advance
⇢ Allied air forces
♆ Allied fleet

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

VOL. II | ISSUE 9
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

Seventy-Year-Old Lunatic Arrested on Capitol Steps

A heavy-set, seventy-year-old man was arrested at the Capitol yesterday evening after attempting to force his way into the House chamber. The man, who security officers took to be insane, told police he was the "last president of the United States" and was taken into custody after refusing to desist in his efforts to gain entrance to the chamber, saying he needed to give an important speech. Apparently unarmed, he allowed himself to be led away by officers of the metropolitan police, shouting "Fhtagn is fake news! Sad!" as they helped him into a waiting squad car.

Onlookers present at the scene described the man as wearing a dark suit and red baseball cap, saying he looked like "the owner of a chain of seedy casinos." "It's scary to think he got that close to being in the halls of our government," said one tourist who witnessed the arrest, adding "thank goodness he didn't get into the White House."

[Pericles]

Donald Trump lmao.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

VOL. III | ISSUE 1
FOREIGN AFFAIRS

East Asia: KPA Flag Raised Over Anju

Three days after an aborted assault by the Loyalist Army against this northernmost stronghold of Nationalist Korea, the flag of the Korean People's Army—unofficial emblem of the Loyalist forces—was raised over the South Pyongan city of Anju, as the city's approximately 50,000 defenders pledged fealty to Kim Jong Nam.

Just what negotiations may have occurred to secure this defection, and what promises may have been made to the Anju Nationalists in exchange for their support, remain unknown. What is clear, is that Nationalist forces outside Pyongyang appear to have lost confidence in the ability of General Yun Jong Rin to win the ongoing civil war, and have turned to the Loyalists—backed implicitly by the People's Republic of China—in anticipation of direct confrontation with the People's Republic of Korea.

There have been as yet no incidents of open hostility between the Loyalists and Allied forces, though the presence of Japanese destroyers patrolling the Korean Peninsula, their guns trained on the port cities of Chongjing and Kinchaek lest the Loyalists attempt to seize them, speaks plainly to the adversarial posture of the two armies. Foreign policy analysts postulated that with the defection of Anju, the Loyalists will now be free to throw the bulk of their strength eastward without fear of exposing themselves to a Nationalist counter-assault from the west.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Map: North Korean Civil War, 2/3/18
Territory Controlled by the Belligerents

Key
• • • Approximate extent of territory held by the Allies
• • • Approximate extent of territory held by the Loyalists
O Pyongayng (Nationalist control)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

VOL III | ISSUE 2
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
- BULLETINS -


The JS Izumo near the mouth of the Songchon River

Japanese Land at Hamhung

Land and naval forces of the State of Japan have occupied the port city of Hamhung in the Korean province of South Hamgyong, in response to reports of activity by divisions of the Loyalist Korean People's Army in the northern reaches of the province. The landing of 50,000 infantry troops at Hamhung signals an increased commitment of Japanese ground forces in the ongoing North Korean Civil War, even as Allied siege of Pyongchang shows no signs of abating.

. . .

Brexit Negotiations Near Conclusion

Having outfoxed his rivals in the Conservative Party late last year, U.K. Prime Minister Kenneth Clarke announced his government has entered into the final stages of negotiations with the European Union that would allow Britain to exit the European Union while preserving access to the common market. UKIP leader Henry Bolton has criticized the government's "clandestine negotiations," demanding that any deal with the E.U. be put to a second national referendum later this year.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

VOL III | ISSUE 3
FOREIGN AFFAIRS


President Xi Jinping of China after addressing reporters for the state media on Friday

East Asia: Xi Warns Against Escalation of Civil War

In a carefully-sculpted address delivered live on state media Friday evening, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a stern warning to any who might seek an escalation of hostilities in the ongoing civil war in North Korea, expressing hope that the conflict might be brought to a swift end and stability restored to the region. Though framed with conciliatory language, Mr. Xi's remarks were widely received as a pointed rebuke of Japanese incursions into the northern provinces of the DPRK, specifically the landing of 50,000 Japanese ground forces at Hamhung. Without naming any of the belligerents or commenting on the legitimacy of the various rival governments, the president reaffirmed China's commitment to promoting peace and stability in Korea, saying his government will do "whatever is necessary" to achieve the reconciliation of the North Korean people.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

VOL. III | ISSUE 3
FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Poll: Italian general election
to occur March 4, 2018

Support by coalition

Center-right		39%
Center-left		28%
Five Star Movement		26%
Others		8%

Support by party

Five Star Movement		26%
Democratic		23%
Forza Italia		21%
Northern League		12%
Free and Equal		6%
Brothers of Italy		3%
Europe+		3%
We with Italy		2%
Popular Civic List		1%
Together		1%
Others		2%

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

VOL. III | ISSUE 4
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
- BREAKING -

East Asia: NNK Routed, Withdraws North of the Taedong River

Nationalist defenses at Pyongyang have totally collapsed south of the Taedong River following a furious Allied offensive over the last twelve hours. Provisional reports estimate Nationalist casualties numbered more than 50,000—including more than 40,000 prisoners of war—in the assault that has left the heart of Yun Jong Rin's capital exposed to the advancing armies of the People's Republic of Korea and her allies. Allied forces have reported slightly more than 1,000 casualties in the course of the siege, against an estimated 2,500 Nationalists killed, wounded, or captured prior to this afternoon's offensive.

The Allied victory has all the markings of a turning point in ongoing civil war, as Loyalist forces in the north of the country press southward into territory until recently controlled by the Nationalist junta. With the arrival of Japanese forces at Hamhung, the war appears to be entering a second stage, as both factions prepare for the confrontation that is sure to follow any attempt by the PRK to establish itself in the north.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

VOL III | ISSUE 5
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
- BREAKING -

East Asia: Yun Jong Rin Is Dead; Loyalists Reinforcements Arrive in Pyongyang

Yun Jong Rin, the erstwhile leader of Nationalist North Korea whose November coup against the post war provisional government plunged his country into civil war, is dead, according to a statement released by the Loyalist Korean People's Army. The news reached Seoul in the early morning on the heels of reports that the Allied advance through Pyongyang had halted, the defenders having been reinforced and established a defensive line north of the Taedong River. By noon it had become clear where those reinforcements had come from, as Allied troops attempting to cross the Taedong were repulsed by tanks bearing the insignia of the Loyalist Korean People's Army.

While the statement released by the LKPA described Yun as having died peacefully in his sleep during the night of February 11, Allied intelligence suggests it is more likely he was murdered by his own generals, who had lost faith in Yun's ability to defeat his enemies. With Yun dead, the remaining Nationalist forces have pledged loyalty to Kim Jong Nam and the reestablished Democratic People's Republic of Korea, handing the Loyalists close to 100,000 seasoned veterans and—crucially—a foothold in Pyongyang with which to oppose the Allies' northward advance.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Map: International Support for the People's Republic of Korea
Australia, Canada Join Nations Recognizing the PRK

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

VOL III | ISSUE 6
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
- BULLETINS -


President Édouard Philippe of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany

France and Germany Agree to Jointly Recognize the PRK

The foreign ministries of the French Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany issued a joint statement recognizing the People's Republic of Korea as the legitimate government of North Korea on Thursday as fighting between the PRK and various forces affiliated with the Loyalist regime of Kim Jong Nam continues. President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, meanwhile, became the first head of state to publicly back the loyalists, posting on Twitter that "Venezuelans stand in solidarity with Kim Jong Nam in his struggle against the imperialist usurper."

. . .

Paflagonia Will Proceed With March Presidential Election

In spite of some speculation that the government would opt for postponement, the planned election for the presidency of Paflagonia will proceed as scheduled, a spokesperson for the office of Prime Minister Werner Schmidt announced on Wednesday. The country had been wracked by street protests following a ruling by the country's Constitutional Court disqualifying three opposition candidates, including the popular former Minister for Justice Gerta Baer, from standing in the March election. Field Marshall Adolph Von Kummerspeck, who has served as interim head of state since the August 2016 coup d'état by the National Council for Peace and Development, has announced he will contest the election as a non-partisan candidate.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

VOL. III | ISSUE 7
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
- BULLETINS -


Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of Australia with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan

Abe Embarks on Tour of Asian and Pacific Nations

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Australian Premier Malcolm Turnbull in Canberra on Monday in the first stop of his eight-nation tour of Asia and the Pacific. The tour has been widely interpreted as part of a Japanese effort to build and strengthen alliances with other powers in the region in the event of war with China. Shinzo is expected to meet with leaders from India, Indonesia, Myanmar (Burma), the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam before returning to Tokyo a week from Wednesday.

. . .

Defense of Pyongyang 'Weakening,' But Fighting Persists

Allied commanders overseeing the siege of Pyongyang expressed confidence that the Nationalist and Loyalist forces defending the city were weakening under a near-constant air and artillery barrage, while acknowledging the city is unlikely to fall before exacting a significant sacrifice from the besieging forces. The arrival of Loyalist air and artillery forces has led to a notable increase in Allied casualties over the past week, as Japanese forces in Hamhung brace for an imminent attack on their position in the east.

. . .

Rumors of Ill Health Dog Berlusconi as Election Nears

The leader of Italy's center-right coalition appeared before journalists on Monday to dispel rumors that his ill health had left him bedridden for days as the general election campaign enters its final weeks. Berlusconi had previously canceled several public appearances in the last week, leading some to speculate the octogenarian former prime minister  had been incapacitate. Recent surveys shows Berlusconi's Forza Italia in close competition with the governing Democratic Party for second place in the polls, while the anti-establishment Five Star Movement pulls further ahead.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Map: Siege of Pyongyang, 2/24/18

Key
→ Allied flanking maneuver
— Loyalist troop placements
X Bridge destroyed
✶ Area of heavy combat

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

VOL. III | ISSUE 8
FOREIGN AFFAIRS

United Kingdom: Hardliners Balk as Clarke Announces 'Brexit' Deal

A provisional agreement reached by negotiators from the United Kingdom and the European Union to settle the terms of Britain's impending exit from the European bloc has drawn fierce criticism from Euroskeptics within the Conservative Party, as Prime Minister Kenneth Clarke turns to his coalition partners in the Labour Party to secure the necessary votes for ratification in the House of Commons. Announced in Friday in a joint press conference of diplomats from Europe and the U.K., the treaty would cause Britain to leave the European Parliament and other political institutions of the E.U., while remaining member of the single market and the customs union, in effect enrolling Britain as a member of the European Economic Community. The treaty also includes significant exceptions for Northern Ireland on trade and regulatory issues in order to remain faithful to the terms of the Good Friday Agreement negotiated in 1998.

As expected, the announcement drew a hail of criticism from U.K.I.P members and from Eurosceptics within the prime minister's own Conservative Party, who blasted the treaty as an undemocratic gentlemen's bargain subversive of the spirit of the 2016 advisory referendum, which resulted in a narrow majority for the 'Leave' campaign. The treaty is nevertheless expected to be ratified by the Commons with support from Labour, One Nation Tories, the Liberal Democrats, the Welsh and Scottish Nationalists, and members of the Irish S.D.L.P.

[wxtransit]

Prime Minister Kenneth Clarke

his coalition partners in the Labour Party

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

[snip]

Read this. Long story short, Kalwejt is a maniac and wrote the single-most-bizarre election conceivable into existence when he was GM.

[wxtransit]

[snip]

Read this. Long story short, Kalwejt is a maniac and wrote the single-most-bizarre election conceivable into existence when he was GM.

Why didn't the Conservatives just split, then?

[wxtransit]

Also,

https://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/French_Presidential_Election,_August%E2%80%93September_2017

wat

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Why didn't the Conservatives just split, then?

They did—sort of. The Conservative and Unionist Party is a united whole de jure, but for all practical purposes the 100 or so Euroskeptics led by Boris Johnson are the de facto opposition party: most of them voted against the Queen's Speech, and attempted unsuccessfully to force Clarke from office late last year. In practice, the government has 240 votes in the House of Commons, with the Euroskeptic Conservatives and a handful of Labour hardliners forming the unofficial official opposition.

Also,

https://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/French_Presidential_Election,_August%E2%80%93September_2017

wat

Yeah, Macron was assassinated a few months into office. 'Tis a violent world we live in.


To be clear: most of this is stuff that happened before I took over for 1184AZ; in the case of the UK election, it was more than a year ago. You could say I was gifted a volatile world by my predecessors; a fair bit of my energy over the past months has been put towards developing and ordering scenarios they began, and cataloguing them for future reference (so that my eventual successor does not have to dig through four GMs' threads to figure out where things stand in the world). If you're interested in knowing the backstory in more detail, I would recommend Category:Countries on the wiki and the first several posts in this thread as a starting point; of course, I'm always happy to answer questions as well.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

VOL. III | ISSUE 9
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
- BREAKING -

East Asia: Loyalist Counteroffensive Fails at Pyongyang, Both Sides Sustain Heavy Losses

A desperate counteroffensive coordinated between land and air forces of the Korean People's Army (Loyalists) and ex-Nationalist divisions has failed to break the Allied center, inflicting heavy casualties on both armies as the death toll from the twenty-seven-day siege continues to climb. As many as 1,100 Loyalist and Nationalist soldiers are believed to have been killed, wounded, or captured in the last eighteen hours to slightly more than 800 for the Allies; civilian casualties are believed to number in the dozens, with nearly all non-combatants south of the Taedong having been evacuated by Allied forces.

The Loyalists had planned a two-staged assault to destroy the Allied center north of the Taedong, first by using their small air force to eliminate the remaining bridges spanning the Taedong, followed by a massive infantry assault to slaughter the Allied infantry now trapped on the north bank. The first stage of the offensive enjoyed limited success, damaging three of the five bridges but falling victim to the superior Allied air force and anti-aircraft guns. Allied forces then repulsed the Loyalist infantry assault with aid from reinforcements hurried to the center line across the remaining bridges.

Total Loyalist and Nationalist casualties are estimated to approach 16,500 killed or wounded over the last thirty days, in addition to more than 60,000 surrendered as prisoners of war. Allied casualties number slightly more than 2,500, a number that has been rising rapidly since the arrival of Loyalist divisions of the KPA fifteen days ago. The total number of civilian fatalities is unknown.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

VOL. III | ISSUE 9
FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Paflagonia: List of Approved Candidates for March Presidential Election Published

The following nominations have been approved by the National Council for Peace and Development in advance of the 2018 presidential election, to occur March 4:

• Heide Gruber, environmental activist and former environment minister (SPP) • FM Adolf Von Kummerspeck, Chairman of the N.C.P.D. (independent nomination) • Heinrich Lugner, businessman and entrepreneur (independent nomination) • Alexander Mayr, retired air force sergeant (independent nomination) • Stefan Moser, editor of Freiheit Für Paphlagonien (New Dawn) Rejected • Conchita Schicklgruber, human rights activist ("insufficient signatures") • Hermann Weber, former labor minister ("past association with terrorist groups")

Poll: voting intent

Von Kummerspeck		71%
Gruber		20%
Moser		8%
Lugner		1%
Mayr		0%

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

VOL. III | ISSUE 10
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
- BULLETINS -


Prime Minister Kenneth Clarke of the United Kingdom in the House of Commons Monday

UK Begins Debate on Brexit Deal

Debate in the House of Commons has begun on the Hammond-Barnier Treaty negotiated between the European Union and the government of Kenneth Clarke. Under the terms of the agreement, Britain would formally exit the E.U.'s political institutions while remaining member of the common market and the custom's union, to the fury of Euroskeptics within Clarke's Conservative Party. The vote to ratify the treaty will take place on Sunday, March 4.

. . .

Regional Elections Will Proceed in Catalonia

The Spanish government announced on Thursday that elections for the parliament of Catalonia will be allowed to proceed, following the dismissal of the previous government of President Carlos Puigdemont in October. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy had resisted calls to reinstate the provincial government during the late referendum, in which a majority of Catalans voted in favor of independence from Spain.

. . .

Italian Elections Unlikely to Produce Majority Government

As the clock ticks away the final forty-eight hours of the campaign, it appears likely that neither Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party nor the center-right coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi will command a majority in the Chamber of Deputies after Sunday's election. Recent polls suggest the broadly populist and anti-establishment Five Star Movement will be the largest party in the lower house, while a volatile alliance of right-leaning parties (including Berlusconi's Forza Italia, the Euroskeptic Lega Nord, and an assortment of minor parties) will hold a slim plurality in the chamber.

[DKrol]

Glad to see my choice of Ken Clarke for PM is still having an impact on the game.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Glad to see my choice of Ken Clarke for PM is still having an impact on the game.

Well continuity was one thing that we had longed for, among other things (GM independence, activity, creativity etc etc).