FûbâDöv International

[Dovakhan]

«It is 21h30 UTC. You’re listening to FûbâDöv International, broadcasting worldwide from over 50 global repeaters. Now for the news from Dovakhan:

• The Department of Diplomacy has denied issuing visas to Wawa missionaries from the unrecognised nation of ShogunKhan. In an official statement, the Department cited the apparent militant nature of the group, which specifically requested to install and their citizenship in an unrecognised nation. The Department has refused to comment on whether it plans to recognise ShogunKhan in the near future or whether it would entertain admitting the missionaries under different circumstances

• United Secular Movements of Dovakhan, a fiscal alliance of over 300 Dovakhanese charities, is under investigation by the Department of the Reserve for suspicious financial activities. The Chief Auditor of the Division of Non-Government Organisations has said that the organisation’s director, Mârjörî Vâlân, has come under particular scrutiny for possible embezzlement. The inquiry is expected to come to a close this month and charged are expected to be filed shortly thereafter.

• Social Democrats within the Labour Party have announced their desire to break its alliance with the Communists, thus becoming their own party once again. Officials from the Social Democratic Caucus of the Labour Party have stated cited ideological differences and the atrophy of the Communist Party, which hasn’t had seats in the Cama since two elections ago and is beginning to lose in its traditional strongholds, as reasons for the split.

The Labour Party was formed in the last election to strengthen the Social Democratic Party, which fell from first to third place within the legislature. At that time, Communists still held key positions in the rural north.

• Also in political news, the leaders of the governing New Democratic Alliance (Liberal Democrats + Greens) and opposition Liberal Party (right-of-centre) are making a journey to Dovakhanese-Occupied South Bai Lung to encourage parties in their respective wings to unify among themselves, thus ending the mosaic of Bai Lungese parties and promote political stability.

The New Democratic leader is hosting a meeting with delegates from the Chongsheng Party (centre-left/moderate), Farmer-Labour (agrarian-left), the Solidarity Party (left/liberal), and some known left-wingers among the Independent. Meanwhile, the Liberal leader is targeting the Industrial Party (centre-right), the Heartland Party (conservative), and some urban Independents. Both conferences will be held concurrently in New Jian Sha Zui.

This has been the news from Dovakhan on FûbâDöv International. International news will be broadcast at the hour. Please stand by for feature programming»

[Dovakhan]

«It is 21h30 UTC. You’re listening to FûbâDöv International, broadcasting worldwide from over 50 global repeaters. Now for the news from Dovakhan:

• In a recent press conference in the South Bai Lungese city of Sing Ren, the Director of Education, Research, and Culture has announced his desire to open a branch of the Dovakhan Foundation in Sing Ren. The Dovakhan Foundation was created in 1971 to promote the Dovakhanese language and culture outside of Dovakhan. The facility in Sing Ren would include a computer room, a lecture hall, a small library, and several private study rooms. The Director stressed that this would be an important addition to the rebuilding city and provide both countries a great opportunity for cultural exchange and mutual understanding.

• The Labour Party has officially voted to seperate back into the Communist and Social Democratic Parties not more than a year after its formation. The split comes after complaints on the part of Social Democrats over the Marxist doctrine of the Communist Party and their recent failure in the polls.

• The Office of Labour Mediation announced today that a deal has been reached in the matter between union leaders and the Government. A week-long strike had occured when the Cama voted to limit civil servants’ ability to carry out said work stoppages. The Government is to pay out a bonus to the affected employees and is expected to pass legislation giving employees even more job security and hardship/retirement package.

This has been the news from Dovakhan on FûbâDöv International. International news will be broadcast at the hour. Please stand by for feature programming»

[Dovakhan]

«It is 21h30 UTC. You’re listening to FûbâDöv International, broadcasting worldwide from over 50 global repeaters. Now for the news from Dovakhan:

• Controversy has erupted at the Dovakhanese National Association Football League over a proposed international player swap. The coach of the national team hopes to borrow a French player, Jean-Luc Girard.

However, the League’s charter strictly prohibits non-citizens from participating on the national team. The Office of Professional Sport, a division of the Department of Health, Research, and Culture, has condemned the violation of charter agreements and has threatened the team with a lock-out from its home stadium, a government-owned facility in central Tschmuschaboumtopolis.

• The Communist and Social-Democratic Parties, formerly constituents of the unified Labour Party, both began their respective party congresses in Sëlândê today:

The Communist Party reaffirmed its Marxist roots, which some felt were watered down by the party’s former alliance with the Social-Democrats. Their new charter calls for a “democratic revolution,” carefully toeing the line between Marxist calls for revolution to bring about a classless society and Dovakhanese law, which prohibits violent overthrow of the government. Meanwhile, the new Social-Democratic charter calls for «the assurance of basic individual needs for the greater good of society while giving all individuals the equal opportunity to develop and succeed within a market-capitalist system».

Both parties are expected to select new national leaders, even though the Communist Party currently has no presence on the national level.

• The Department of Education, Research, and Culture has announced that it is looking to expand the teaching of Mandarin Chinese, one of three main languages of Bai Lung. The Department aims at increasing Dovakhanese awareness and understanding of the culture of the partly Dovakhanese-occupied country.

• Major credit unions and banks have sent an open letter to the Department of Finance asking for more representation on the managing council of the Dovakhanese Reserve.

Unlike most developed countries, Dovakhan does not have a privately-influenced “independent” central bank and chooses instead to issue a fully-backed currency from its treasury, the Dovakhanese Reserve. The directors of the Dovakhanese Reserve are appointed by the Khagan-Chancellor and confirmed by the Cama.

Financial institutions are looking to send their own representative to the managing council to make sure that their business interests are looked after when the Reserve makes monetary decisions. The Director of Finance to comment on the letter.

This has been the news from Dovakhan on FûbâDöv International. International news will be broadcast at the hour. Please stand by for feature programming»

[Dovakhan]

«It is 21h30 UTC. You’re listening to FûbâDöv International, broadcasting worldwide from over 50 global repeaters. Now for the news from Dovakhan:

• The Dovakhanese Election Commission has officially announced a slew of elections to occur in the new few weeks. This is the first time so many offices will be up for grabs at the same time. The race for seats in local, khanate, and national legislatures will occur on Tuesday. The election of khans and local executives will occur the following day.

The New Democratic Alliance is expected to steal many national Cama constituencies from the Social-Democratic Party, but the Social-Democrats may have better luck on the local level because of the inefficiencies rife in the New Democratic administration of cities like Tschmûschâbûmtôpölîs and Vîn. The Liberals are expected neither to gain nor lose seats in their urban strongholds of West Urban Sëlândê. Meanwhile, prospects are increasingly grim for the Communists, who are likely to see many of their constituencies go to the Social-Democrats and New Democrats. This is mostly due to the party’s reaffirmation of its belief in Marxism, a political agenda that increasingly seen as unrealistic.

• Dövâksfêr, the state-owned corporation responsible for the management of Dovakhanese rail infrastructure, has announced that it has achieved 100% electrification on the remaining un-electrified lines in rural Âltêâ and Âgrîpîâ. Dövâzâmâ, the national train operator, has announced new services in these regions and wlll retire its old biodiesel rolling stock in favour of newer, faster trainsets. Electrification will reduce the carbon emissions of the trains themselves and allow for more trains to more places, resulting in a reduction of automobile traffic, which many remote regions depend on.

This has been the news from Dovakhan on FûbâDöv International. International news will be broadcast at the hour. Please stand by for feature programming»

[Dovakhan]

«It is 21h30 UTC. You’re listening to FûbâDöv International, broadcasting worldwide from over 50 global repeaters. Now for the news from Dovakhan:

• The final ballot has come in from the elections held on Thursday and Friday. The composition of the Third Cama of the Republic-Khanates of Dovakhan is as follows:

New Democratic Alliance (NDA; centrist/liberal): 219 seats (66%)
Social-Democratic Party (left-of-centre/liberal): 59 seats (13%)
Liberal Party (right-of-centre/liberal): 22 seats (21%)

Total: 300 seats (100%)

The Liberal-Democratic Wing of the New Democratic Alliance (NDA) took many Social-Democratic holdings, as expected. However, the Green Wing of the NDA was not so fortunate, losing some holdings to the Social-Democratic Party.

The real upset, however, was with the Liberal Party. Many Liberal holdings went over to the Social-Democratic Party and the NDA. The Liberal Party’s right-of-centre platform has suffered in popularity after proposals to privatize key state enterprises were shot down in opinion polls.

Regional legislative elections didn’t provide so many surprises. Seven out of six khanates went to the New Democratic Alliance. Three, Âltêâ, Âgrîpîâ, and Ksânâdû, went to the Social-Democratic Party. As predicted, Communists now have less than 30% of seats in any given regional legislature and hold no major executive spots.

• Dövöpöjûpîk, the Dovakhanese State Pharmaceutical Company, is seriously reviewing information from researchers in the United Kingdom saying that paroxetine (commonly called Seroxat or Paxil) and fluoxetine (commonly called Prozac) are ineffective against all but the most severe cases of depression.

The state-owned enterprise must import these new drugs, which are largely still under patent. So, even though these drugs aren’t subject to tariffs, and even though Dövöpöjûpîk has been able to negotiate advantageous prices, these drugs are still relatively expensive to procure.

Therefore, Dövöpöjûpîk is considering reducing its imports on these drugs over the course of ten years. In the place of antidepressants, the state-owned enterprise would encourage more psychoanalysis and so-called “environmental therapies,” such as a prescribed exercise and diet regimen, as a more effective way to combat depression. The company’s managing directors are expected to meet with officials from the health insurance branch of Dovakhanese Social Security next week to discuss the feasibility of this plan.

This has been the news from Dovakhan on FûbâDöv International. International news will be broadcast at the hour. Please stand by for feature programming»

[Dovakhan]

«It is 21h30 UTC. You’re listening to FûbâDöv International, broadcasting worldwide from over 50 global repeaters. Now for the news from Dovakhan:

• A land reform bill is passing through the Cama that would enable the large, independent communal farming communities in the northern khanate of Âgrîpîâ to privatize themselves. This would allow members of these communities to sell their personal property on the real estate market.

Communes, as these collective farms are called, were independently established through government land grants in the early 20th century to solidify the borders of the Dovakhanese nation-state and create a stable food supply for the growing population. Currently, they represent 55% of Dovakhanese agricultural output.

Largely successful, communes have become for many proof that communism works. However, their growing affluence, with a growing range of consumer choices, potential for capital growth, and diversity of lifestyles makes egalitarianism difficult to put into practice. Where collective farms in the USSR were dissolved for failure to produce, communes in Dovakhan are set to disappear as a result of their won success.

The new legislation will turn communes into operations similar to cooperative farming associations where members band together to procure expensive new technologies and for marketing purposes. While retaining a cooperative atmosphere, farmers will be able to compete and expand to their wishes.

• Open immigration is the order of the day for proposals regarding the Dovakhanese Baikal Territory. Cama deputies in the New Democratic Alliance have called the territory a “new world” in which the right to settle should be granted to all pioneering individuals, even those from other nations willing to submit to an eventual colonial authority.

Recently claimed and thus far unsettled, the territory on the Baikal Sea is expected to hold many natural riches. The Dovakhanese has secured the site pending what is expected to be the establishment of a colonial authority.

• The Dovakhanese Government of South Bai Lung is drawing up plans for the privatization of Bai Lungese state-owned industries and collective farms.

The Dovakhanese-controlled Ministries of Agriculture and State Assets Control have submitted similar plans, which call for the gradual “lease buy-outs” by prospective owners and shareholder. This is coupled with partial employee share ownership in the case of factories, and cooperative association in the case of newly-independent farmers.

Farmland reform is expected to begin immediately with the Legislative Yuan’s approval, but industrial reform will require the consultation of trade unions. Meanwhile, the Dovakhanese Government has formulated no plan for reform in the commercial sector, which was largely privatized under the Nationalist regime.

This has been the news from Dovakhan on FûbâDöv International. International news will be broadcast at the hour. Please stand by for feature programming»

[Dovakhan]

«It is 21h30 UTC. You’re listening to FûbâDöv International, broadcasting worldwide from over 50 global repeaters. Now for the news from Dovakhan:

• Happy New Year Dovakhan! The Vernal Equinox, observed at 05:48 on 20 March 2008 by the National Institute of Weights and Measures in Hâplâtö, officially marked the beginning Year 5768 of the Counting. However, celebrations began five hours and forty-eight minutes earlier with midnight fireworks in cities across the nation. The symbolic meal, which is said to reflect on the rest of the year, was then shared across the nation from the far North of Âltêâ to the Khagan-Chancellor’s residence in Tkânâtdövâkhîâstâât

The following afternoon, the Khagan-Chancellor Ânâtöl Êfösêbâd gave a New Year speech before the Cama surrounded by spring folliage. He stressed the need for national unity in this time when Dovakhan is planting the seeds of Democracy and stability in Bai Lung. Then, he encouraged the Cama to officially name this the “Year of International Democratic Brotherhood” in honour of Dovakhan’s efforts abroad.

Later in the afternoon, the Order of Baby New Year was ceremonially conferred upon all children born on New Year’s in honour of the traditional Dovakhanese Spirit of the Solar Year, who is said to be reborn with the New Year. The Khagan-Chancellor’s day ended with a charity ball for the United Secular Movements of Dovakhan that ended with an auction of goods donated by families, including that of Ânâtöl Êfösêbâd, in the spirit of traditional New Year’s “cleansing.”

• In other news, it’s time once again time to prepare for the Sêzâr Bâzrât Awards. Presented by the Dovakhanese Department of Culture’s Academy of Cinematograhy, the awards honour the very best in Dovakhanese cinema as well as foreign content that has had a profound effect on Dovakhanese society.

This year, the ceremony will be held on the 28th of March at the Palace of Culture in the medium-sized port city of Kêrâl. Hopefuls for Best Dovakhanese Film include «Hâ Mârî Kââr» (“The Great Mari Kaar”), a film about the woman hero of the Dovakhanese Revolution, and «Bâtmîtsvâ Êstêrgöp/Le Bat-Mitsvah d’Esther» (“Esther’s Bat-Mitzvah”), a film about the French Jewish community in Isslmeer.

This has been the news from Dovakhan on FûbâDöv International. International news will be broadcast at the hour. Please stand by for feature programming»