Hutori

[RileyHP]

Ross Out, Tories to Elect New Leader



Embattled Conservative Leader Jason Ross has been removed from the party's leadership after the vast majority of his caucus voted to do so. Ross, who led the Conservatives to back-to-back electoral defeats, intended to stay on as leader and campaign to keep the job heading into the party's next convention in April. However, the party has a little-known and rarely used mechanism in its constitution that allows MPs to oust a leader.

That mechanism requires a minimum of 25% of the caucus (in this case, 24 MPs) to write to the caucus chair indicating their non-confidence in the leader within a period of 1 year. That threshold was recently crossed, leading to an emergency caucus meeting being called this morning, where Tory MPs voted 83-11 to remove Ross from the party's leadership.

Matthew Cooper, an outspoken critic of Ross in recent months and 4-term Conservative MP from St. Albert-Carter, was one of the first to submit a letter of no confidence. He explained the caucus's decision to oust Ross rather than allowing members to decide in the spring.

"As Conservatives, we strongly believe that party members should have a say in who leads this party. In normal circumstances, we would not utilize this mechanism. It's rarely used for a reason.

However, in order to ensure Conservatives can get back to work holding the Labour government to account, we had to put this behind us now and start looking forward. We can not afford to waste another 6 months arguing over whether or not Mr. Ross should remain leader. He's lost twice, and the last election results were an embarrassment to our party. We must move on as a united party and elect a new leader who can take us back to government where we can deliver for Hutorians."

A date to elect the next leader has yet to be set.

Houston to Serve as Interim Leader



Glentingham East MP Issac Houston will take on the role of Interim Leader while the party organizes and conducts the leadership election. He was elected in a vote that was reported to include MPs Danyil Yehorenko (Tremaine-Interlake-Eastman) and Joeseph Schutte (Acton Aurora).

[colonelvesica]

Hutorian Government Condemns Violence in Kafuristan


Hutorian Foreign Minister Peyton Walker

In one of its first statements the Hutorian Government of newly minted Prime Minister Wesley Law has issued a sharp condemnation of the recent coup and political crackdown in Kafuristan by the revived Ba'athists though stopped short of refusing to offer diplomatic recognition.

Hutorian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peyton Walker, stated the following.

Hutori has always stood four square against human rights abuses and will consistently adovate for political and personal freedom to allow the populace of a nation the freedom to pursue a reasonable political doscourse without fear of reprisals. We condemn in the harshest possible terms this political crackdown by the Kafuri Government.

When questioned on whether or not Bekenial would be offering political and diplomatic recognition to the Ba'athist Regime Walker refused comment stating only. "The situation is under review."

Bekenial has as of yet not shut down the Hutorian Embassy in Kafuristan, nor has any comment come from the Kafuri Embassy in Bekenial, it currently being unknown is the current Ambassador to Hutori is a Ba'athist supporter or not.

[colonelvesica]

The King is Dead, Long Live the Queen


Aerial View of Steuart House

The House of Steuart-Carmichael has confirmed the passing of His Imperial Majesty King William XIV last night. He passed away quietly in his sleep. The King had been considered in good health and his passing is considered a surprise. The King was 68.

His eldest daughter, the Princess of Adelia, has become Queen, taking the regal name of Queen Victoria. Invitations to the funeral have been sent internationally for foreign heads of state and family to attend the coming funeral, with the subsequent coronation planned 8 months in advance.

The King of Dead. Long Live the Queen.

[RileyHP]

Tories to Elect Leader in October

The Conservative Party announced today that its leadership election will take place on October 19th and 20th. The 2 day election will allow members to vote at polling stations in their constituency or at the party's leadership convention in Bekenial. Candidates have until September 10th to officially declare their candidacy and submit their nomination packages, which must include a $100,000 deposit, to the party.

So far, 4 candidates have been approved by the party; Jean-Guy Martin, the MP for St. Adrian-La Salle; Leah Davies, the former MP for Newport, who lost her seat in last summer's election; Marshall Levington, a former executive with Houston Enterprises and long-time conservative pundit; and Danyil Yehorenko, the current MP for Tremaine-Interlake-Eastman.



Martin, who is in his third term as MP, built a strong base of support for himself both within and outside of the party long before publicly declaring his leadership ambitions. The former investment banker has connections throughout Hutori's conservative circles and quickly made a name for himself among ordinary Hutorians with impassioned speeches and a "tell it as it is" approach in Parliament.

Martin officially launched his campaign in January, and his campaign's latest figures claim they have sold more than 600,000 memberships.



Shortly after losing her re-election bid in Newport, Davies was very vocal about her displeasure with Jason Ross and helped lead the grassroots side of the effort to remove him. Before politics, Davies was a TV news anchor in Adelia.

Her campaign officially launched in Februrary, and they report selling upwards of 700,000 memberships.



Levington, the only candidate to have never served in the House of Parliament, has an extensive resume that includes stints on the boards of directors of Houston Enterprises and Gold Lion Capital, two of the country's largest and most influential companies.

His campaign also launched in February and claims to have sold just shy of 500,000 memberships.



Yehorenko has served as the party's National Defense shadow minister since his election as MP in 5393. He is well liked amongst party members and has the most caucus endorsements at 29.

The last candidate to enter the race, launching his bid in March, Yehorenko wasted no time catching up to the others. The retired Rear Admiral claims the second highest membership sales at a little over 690,000.

[RileyHP]

MARTIN WINS CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP



BREAKING: St. Adrian-La Salle MP Jean-Guy Martin has been elected leader of the Conservative Party on the third ballot.

Martin, a former investment banker, defeated business executive Marshall Levington on the final ballot with 57.3% of the vote. Full results below.

Round 1
Martin: 29.7%
Yehorenko: 27.3%
Levington: 21.9%
Davies: 21.1%

Round 2
Levington: 34.5%
Martin: 34.1%
Yehorenko: 31.4%

Round 3
Martin: 57.3%
Levington: 42.7%

[Robert F. Kennedy]

The International Inquirer, June 5399 - Luthorian Prime Minister, staff and Imperial Family to visit Hutori.

[RileyHP]

HIHL Announces International Tournament



HIHL commissioner Gerald Fettsman has announced the league is preparing an international best-on-best tournament and is inviting nations from across Terra to compete. The announcement comes as the league begins to prepare for it's 1000th anniversary in 5411, which is when the league plans to host this tournament that it is dubbing the "Terran Cup of Hockey". Players from around the world, regardless of whether they play in the HIHL, will be welcomed to compete for their nations. The Hutorian Ice Hockey Federation has confirmed it will be competing in the tournament.

The announcement was made at the recent HIHL Awards, where Prosperity Voyageurs cleaned up. Forward Nathan MacDonald took home the league's MVP award, as well as awards for most goals and most points. Defender Victor Gonchar won the defenseman of the year award and goalie Marcus Price won goaltender of the year. The team also took home the league's ultimate prize, the Alexander Cup in June.

[colonelvesica]

Horizon Successfully Launches Archangel-IV



It was applause all around at SERA's Headquarters in Falristan as Horizon Technology Corporation, in conjunction with both SERA and the Hutorian Department of National Defence, successfully test launched the newest variant of the venerable Archangel class of space rockets that Horizon developed for Hutori's space program. This was done after significant sign on from various international partners that have signed on with SERA's Project Artemis II, the long term Hutorian space program to not only push Hutori back into space, but eventually rebuild the Artemis Space Station, an international project that had taken decades and involved over a dozen nation.

The successful firing of the Archangel-IV, which came of the culmination of almost ten years of research and development and testing, is widely acknowledged as only the first step. SERA Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Kandel stated bluntly. "This is only the beginning. We've got some way to before we'll be putting Hutorians back into space, but not we can see how we'll get there."

The Royal Hutorian Air Force, to show how serious the concept is to them, has restarted Hutorian Space Command to retrain astronauts for the mission that is planned at some point within the next decade, and began diverting significant resources to Air Marshal Thompson Air Force Base, the home of Hutorian Space Command. SERA has again put out a call to international partners to assist with the second phase of the Artemis-II Program, in order to build an international team that will go into space with Hutori and eventually be the on the ground partners constructing the Artemis II Space Station.

[colonelvesica]

Labour Merges with New Progressives to Become Liberal Party of Hutori



The Labour and New Progressive Parties are no matter, following a successful merger and negotiation between the old parties over the course of several months, with the new party as an effort to "United the Progressives Against Regression", according to inaugural Liberal Party Executive Director and Chairwoman Annalise Fields.

Following the 5397 elections, the Labour Party under former Prime Minister Ellie Davidson was able to largely wipe out both the New Progressives and opposition Conservatives, reducing the Conservatives to 90 seats and the New Progressives down to 28 seats, giving the governing Labour Party over 200 seats when the dust had settled. The colossal size of the Labour majority, set both opposition parties into soul searching having dumped both of their former leader, Jason Ross and Avery Taylor. The Conservatives ultimately united under Jean-Guy St. Martin while the New Progressives, under interim leader Zoe Cote instead sought to united back with Labour. This was made easier with the resignation of Prime Minister Ellie Davidson, who announced she would be stepping down as leader in advance of the Labour Party's Annual General Meeting back in 5398. The former Prime Minister, who had served as an MP from 5373 until this recent election, is widely credited for securing the dominant performance of Labour. She was replaced by her Foreign Minister, New Sertei MP Wesley Law, who also oversaw the negotiations between the two political parties.

As apart of the agreement, three Cabinet positions were reserved New Progressive MPs, and Zoe Cote was tapped as the Chief Government Whip, serving as the third in command of the new governing Party in the House of Parliament. The crossing of the floor of the New Progressive MPs has given the Liberals 245 seats in Parliament, an outright supermajority. Negotiations are still ongoing between the rebranded Liberals, their provincial affiliates and the New Progressives in the individual provinces, whom not all wanted the merger to proceed. Time will tell if the Hutorian people rally behind the new Liberal Party.

[colonelvesica]

Hutori & Kalistan Jointly Celebrate Victory at FOMAT-XXIII



For the first time since FOMAT-II, FOMAT will be returning to Hutori following the victory of the joint Hutori-Kalistani ticket of Jennifer Bostick and Taiga with "What Are You Waiting For". The joint ticket, the first of it's kind for a FOMAT, narrowly won over Luthori by a single point at FOMAT-XXIII in Eroncourt. Following talks between Hutori and Kalistan it was decided that Hutori would serve as the principal host of FOMAT-XXIV, with both sides acknowledging Jennifer Bostick as the lead, though she was extremely clear in all post victory interviews "I would not be here without Taiga and my friends from Kalistan. This is a victory for both of us no matter what." Some analysts have noted the decision was likely influenced by Kalistan wishing to actively participate in the following FOMAT, and tradition stating that the victorious nation needed to sit out.

Bostick received a heroes welcome back to her home town of Acton, and went on a limited tour to celebrate with Hutorians, before her return to Kalistan where she spends at least half of her time. Hutorian Minister of Culture Olaf Sturgis has announced that the Hutorian FOMAT Committee has already begun the bidding process for which Hutorian city will host FOMAT XXIV with Acton, St. Adrian, Axminister, Port Prosperity and Carter City all putting forward substanial bids to host the exclusive event. No firm date has been decided, but it was announced in advance that the Hutorian FOMAT Committee wanted to give as many international participants as much time to participate as possible to find acts and entertainers. Hutori has also put out a call for sponsors, with the expected cost of FOMAT XXIV to be significant, with ODEN-H already stating they would be stepping forward, matching Kalistan's ODEN-K's history of sponsoring FOMAT in Kalistan.