Aldegar

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Seleyan leaders finalise new continental organisation in Ramsāhreza
     14 July 4879

     Leaders from six Seleyan countries have reached agreement on the terms of a new international organisation aimed at facilitating cooperation within the continent and promoting its interests abroad. Yesterday heads of state and foreign ministers arrived in the Aldegarian capital Ramsāhreza to formally sign the new agreement. Known as the Seleyan Intergovernmental Council, the new organisation aims to build on historic and recent efforts at Seleyan unity such as the North Seleyan Economic Community and the recently agreed Seleyan Free Travel Area.

     In contrast to previous agreements of this kind, the Council has a deliberately loose organisation without tying member states into economic or military agreements that might create political problems. Representatives from all of the six founding members of the organisation were in the Aldegarian capital including President Jorge Catillo of Gaduridos, Prime Minister Fu Yu Jun of Yingdala, Prime Minister Roland Di Natale of Keymon as well as incoming Kalistani Foreign Minister Sharice Mosswell and the Lodamese Foreign Minister Nicolae Ionescu.

     In the coming months all six countries are expected to ratify the agreement and it is hoped that additional countries will follow suit. From the beginning of next year, the new organisation will formally open its headquarters building in Ramsāhreza, chosen due to its position at the literal "centre of Seleya". President Shahram Jafarnejad spoke at the ceremony and implored the nations of Seleya to "recognise the immense positive value that cooperation brings to all".

     Even in the short time since the agreement was made, sources close to various national leaders have suggested that the new organisation may facilitate progress in a number of areas ranging from improved international transport infrastructure to a coordinated approach to oil production in the region. Aldegar and Yingdala alone have a combined population of over 400 million people and could provide significant economic opportunities to other countries if economic cooperation is improved. Yesterday it was even suggested early discussions were being held to create a continental basketball league.


Khelban (Pilot) is a broadsheet newspaper covering a variety of topics including politics, economics, culture and sports throughout Aldegar and Seleya

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     Aldegarian businesswoman Mitra Zamani announces the country's first F1 team
          4 August 4879

Ahead of the upcoming grand prix in Liore, Aldegarian businesswoman Mitra Zamani has confirmed that she has agreed a deal with the Hutorian engine manufacturer Ross Motors to enter the Formula One World Championship using a Ross-powered car with an Aldegarian chassis. Zamani Racing, as the team will be known, will become the first professional Formula One team registered in Aldegar in the country's history despite several Aldegarian drivers having competed at the top level before. Both of the two drivers selected to represent the team in their first grand prix in Liore are Aldegarian-born too: Nader Aslani and Benyamin Beheshti.

Mitra Zamani herself is among the best known figures in the Aldegarian business world (at least among the general public). Over the past decade she has become an established figure in the entertainment industry as a television producer and record executive. Last year she became a personality in her own right when she launched Zamani Hour, a current affairs and business television show pitched at the educated middle class. Zamani is well-known as an associate of the government too and has been a strong supporter of President Shahram Jafarnejad in the media.

The foundation of Zamani Racing is part of a broader attempt by the Aldegarian government to improve the country's position in the field of international sport. External Affairs Minister Leyli Kianian has spoken on several occasions about the power of sport as a unifying influence between countries throughout the globe. Aldegar has historically been associated with traditional sports like freestyle wrestling and polo however recent centuries have seen a diverse array of sports gain popularity among the Aldegarian public including football and basketball. The government offered financial support to Zamani to aid in the initial creation of the team but the details of this deal have not been disclosed.

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Ramsāhreza Conference achieves breakthrough in nuclear non-proliferation
     16 July 4880

     After almost a week of intense discussion, delegations in the Aldegarian capital of Ramsāhreza have reached an unprecedented agreement on a number of areas related to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. Formally chaired by Aldegarian President Shahram Jafarnejad, the conference was attended by leaders from Dorvik, Hutori and Yingdala in addition to representatives from Dankuk and the World Congress. At the conclusion of the negotiations this afternoon, Jafarnejad told the international press that "significant progress" had been made regarding non-proliferation.

     At the beginning of the conference, the delegations reportedly made swift progress in a number of key areas. Among the first agreements reached between the three key countries in attendance was that all three would ratify the International Agreement on Nuclear Non-Proliferation. Related to this commitment was an agreement that the status of Vanuku as a "recognised nuclear power" would be revoked by the World Congress Security Council. Although most believe that Vanuku has no remaining nuclear stockpile, this would put them in breach of international law if they were to seek to reacquire nuclear weapons.

     After a productive first couple of days the remainder of the conference reportedly proved less easy-going and required significant diplomatic nous and a spirit of firm goodwill from all delegations. Though most of the conference discussions have understandably been kept under wraps, it is understood that President Jafarnejad was key to securing a final agreement and bridging divides between the nuclear powers.

     In addition to these initial steps to promote non-proliferation, the three countries have agreed to a joint commission to manage any disarmament in a safe and equitable manner. The creation of a commission is believed to have been a compromise offering in response to the desire from Aldegar and Dankuk (as well as other countries) to create a specialised agency of the World Congress to manage nuclear disarmament. As part of this step, all three nuclear powers have committed formally to reviewing the arrangements at least every three decades.

     The most significant aspect of the agreement relates to the specific size of the global nuclear stockpile. All parties agreed not to increase the size of their current stockpiles while Hutori in particular agreed to reduce their stockpile below an agreed "nuclear ceiling" as a gesture of goodwill and in recognition of their position as having the largest (public) stockpile. The formal agreement signed between the three countries was witnessed by President Jafarnejad, the Dranian foreign minister Bae Yoo-bin and the General-Secretary of the World Congress.


Khelban (Pilot) is a broadsheet newspaper covering a variety of topics including politics, economics, culture and sports throughout Aldegar and Seleya

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     Arman Nazeri to represent Aldegar once again at FOMAT
          20 November 4884

In preparation for the tenth edition of the Festival of Musical Arts in Terra, Aldegar has once again selected the popular singer Arman Nazeri to represent the country at the competition. Nazeri rose to fame as the Aldegarian entry in the competition's previous edition with his massive hit "No, No, No however he only managed to finish in sixth place in the competition.

Even though he was not successful with the international audience, Nazeri achieved domestic success following his selection and performance and has toured widely since then. When plans were announced to select the next Aldegarian participant for the event in Gaduridos, Nazeri told the press he would be competing in an attempt to improve on his previous performance. Nazeri achieved a comfortable victory in the public selection competition.

Unlike his previous entry, Nazeri's latest song is a slow ballad entitled "Coffee". Like almost all of Nazeri's work it is co-written and produced by Peacheaden, his long-time collaborator. In public interviews since the song's release, the pair have said they hope the song will showcase a different side of the Aldegarian music industry in contrast to the country's previous entries as well as bringing a distinctive Aldegarian flair to the competition as a whole.

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Jafarnejad wins re-election in landslide despite internal critics
     21 July 4885

     A snap legislative election in Aldegar has delivered a landslide victory for incumbent President Shahram Jafarnejad and his allies. In an unusual incident last month a number of members of the Aldegarian parliament voiced their lack of confidence in the long-serving national leader despite his unprecedented popularity among members of the public (at least according to opinion polls).

     Although there was no indication that the critics represented a majority of Parliament, Jafarnejad and his government called early elections to secure a stronger mandate from the public. Despite no legal political parties existing in the country there are various groupings in the legislature that operate in a manner similar to factions or caucuses in many other political systems. Jafarnejad and the government's allies are organised in the form of the "constitutional working group" that includes almost all members of the national legislature.

     In the election fewer than a dozen candidates not associated with the President were elected- primarily from the "patriotic" grouping that has developed in recent months. At the first meeting of the new parliament yesterday Jafarnejad was re-elected President with only two opposing votes against almost six hundred in support. Despite the overwhelming result of the vote the President did not use the opportunity to gloat instead urging Parliament to "return to the important business of governance".

     In the previous legislative term the government passed major healthcare reforms including provisions that transferred significant regulatory power over tobacco and recreational drugs from local administrations to the national government. The legislation was comfortably marshalled through Parliament by the President but was among the first serious legilsative challenges he has faced in over a decade and a half of government.

     In the next five years it is expected that Jafarnejad may consider constitutional change for the first time since the foundation of the Ninth Republic. In recent years he has lost most of his influence over the Shewra, Aldegar's collective head of state. Due in part to the health care legislation the regional leaders that dominate the body have grown to resent the national government and Jafarnejad has relied on religious leaders to maintain control over the body. Government sources have already hinted they may seek to reconstitute it to provide the legislature with more influence over the membership.


Khelban (Pilot) is a broadsheet newspaper covering a variety of topics including politics, economics, culture and sports throughout Aldegar and Seleya

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Hutori De-Commissions 25% of it's nuclear stockpile, Brings Nuclear Concerns to Aldegar as "Dealmaker"

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Endralonian President concludes productive visit to Aldegarian capital
     31 July 4890

     After four days of meetings with the Aldegarian government, representatives from the Directorial Republic of Endralon led by President Kapolcs Szabina have departed from Ramsāhreza on a positive note. During her visit President Kapolcs met directly with Aldegarian President Shahram Jafarnejad on several occasions as the two countries discussed a number of issues of mutual importance with a particular focus on international trade.

     Despite being active on the international stage in the past two decades, the Aldegarian government led by Jafarnejad has been involved in relatively few bilateral meetings with international leaders and has focused instead on fostering cooperation within the continent. In a similar manner the government has tended to avoid seeking foreign investment and has preferred a form of soft protectionism on trade. As the Aldegarian economy attempts to move on from a recent history of low growth and high unemployment though, the President is seeking international partnership.

     Although maintaining some restrictions to protect Aldegarian consumers and workers, the Endralonian President has reportedly secured new access to the Aldegarian market for Endralonian business in a number of areas. At the same time some Aldegarian companies will benefit from new arrangements with Endralon. In anticipation of the new trade relations, there have been a series of meetings between the Boros Oil Primary Association and the Aldegarian oil and gas producer AldeGas with a view to the latter selling pre-agreed quantities at a stable price.

     Considerable portions of the meetings were dedicated to international politics though. In the past five years the two countries have enjoyed a new relationship as two members of the World Congress Security Council. In spite of reservations on the Aldegarian side this has proven to be a relatively productive partnership with no major conflict having arisen in the term so far. Aldegarian Permanent Representative to the World Congress Fahime Khalili has even spoken publicly of the "positive discussions" between national delegations in recent months.


Khelban (Pilot) is a broadsheet newspaper covering a variety of topics including politics, economics, culture and sports throughout Aldegar and Seleya

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Jafarnejad rallies Seleyan support for Kaliburg in response to devastating earthquake
2 May 4892



ALDEGAR: After a major earthquake hit the Kalistani capital earlier this year, Aldegarian President Shahram Jafarnejad has joined with regional partners through the Seleyan Intergovernmental Council to facilitate a wide range of support to the city of Kaliburg and the surrounding regions. While the immediate search and rescue efforts have mostly concluded, the region was devastated by the impact of the earthquake and has been mostly evacuated in the past eight weeks.

In addition to disaster relief aid supplied by national governments, Aldegar joins Valruzia and Yingdala as the primary suppliers of both machinery and manpower in order to support the removal of large amounts of debris from Kaliburg. The aim of the international effort is to enable Kalistan's national government to focus primarily on supporting those forced to leave them homes and livelihoods in the capital.

The earthquake at the beginning of March was the most powerful to hit a Seleyan country in some time and the most significant humanitarian crisis since the formation of the Seleyan Intergovernmental Council. Jafarnejad offered his condolences to the affected families in the immediate aftermath. In the past fortnight he has been in close contact with both the Kalistani government and other member states to ensure that the organisation offered a proper response and supported the efforts of the domestic government as far as possible.

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Aldegar to step down from the Security Council next term
     22 July 4892

     Long-serving External Affairs Minister Leyli Kianian has announced that Aldegar will not seek re-election to the World Congress Security Council at the beginning of the next term. Although the election remains some time away yet, Kianian and the government made the announcement to avoid any speculation about Aldegar's candidacy and allow the government to focus on Security Council business rather than campaigning.

     Not only has the government announced the withdrawal of Aldegar's candidacy but they have gone a step further and confirmed that the country will back close partner Gaduridos in the next election. Although the country has not previously announced they were running for the seat, it is believed that the Aldegarian and Gaduri governments have held bilateral discussions over the matter in recent weeks in an attempt to secure proper representation for Seleya on the Security Council while ensuring some diversity.

     By the time of the next election, Aldegar will have served two consecutive full terms on the Security Council. First elected in 4869, Aldegar has formed an informal partnership with Selucia and Liore on the Security Council to pass a number of measures strengthening international law in areas ranging from nuclear weapons to maritime conduct. In the most recent term, they have also formed an unexpected working relationship with Endralon on such matters as combatting forced marriage.

     Aldegar's government has spoken to other members of the Seleyan Intergovernmental Council in an attempt to ensure support for Gaduridos and promote a spirit of continental solidarity. At present it is not clear exactly how successful these discussions were however it is unlikely that the government would've proceed in their announcement without some commitment from regional partners.


Khelban (Pilot) is a broadsheet newspaper covering a variety of topics including politics, economics, culture and sports throughout Aldegar and Seleya

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     Second International Mind Sports Championships attracts international attention
          26 July 4893

Participants from throughout the world are concluding their time in Aldegaria following the second International Mind Sports Championships (IMSC) event held over the past three weeks. In comparison to the first event held almost two decades ago, the latest edition included far more international athletes and a higher calibre of competition in most of the events as a result. Although the Aldegarian team dominated the points table, this did not reflect the standard of competition overall, in which international participants outperformed Aldegarians routinely.

Building on the format of the inaugural event, the organisers added a host of new games for athletes to compete in. Alongside the two most popular events (chess and go), three new abstract strategy games were contested (backgammon, shogi and xiangqi) in addition to the ancient Aldegarian game shatranj, an early version of international chess that has become popular as a variant in the country over the past century. The most popular addition to the competition was the game Wordplay, contested in the Luthorian language.

In all eight countries competed at the tournament from four different continents. The official national standings were calculated by allocating three points for a gold medal, two for a silver and one for a bronze. As the vast majority of competing athletes were Aldegarian, there were several sports in which they were the only ones to compete (notably including both formats of the memory and mental calculation events). In the two leading events contested, Aldegar was limited to a third place finish in the blitz chess and all other medal spots went to international athletes.



Kalistan's Caroline Vespa took the coveted first place in the go competition by beating Utemban team captain Palden Nepali in the final. Both the classical and blitz chess formats were dominated by the rivalry between Endralon's Máléfalvy János Miklós and Selucia's Phaedromus Capito. Each took a gold medal in one format and made the top three in the other. Despite only being included for the first time at the event, the Wordplay event attracted much attention. Two separate time formats were played and Kalistan emerged victorious in both.

In the traditional tile games there was fierce competition between a number of countries. Dundorf picked up their only first place finish in mahjong and placed second in the dominoes event, won by Utembo. The card games were dominated by the Alorian team coached by Stefani Müller. Team captain Michael Fischer won all three poker formats beating out a number of tough competitors and ensuring that Aloria finished second in the national points table (number of gold medals was used as a tiebreak due to the equal points scored by Aloria and Dundorf).

Organisation of the tournament was a joint effort between the Aldegarian government, the Global Association of Sports Organisations and the Endralonian Lievenian Trade Group, who have been responsible for organising some of the largest sports and entertainment events in the world. The partnership was a result of the recent decision by the Aldegarian government to liberalise trade relations with Endralon, a move which also allowed Endralonian firm Divatvállalat to design and produce Aldegar's official team uniforms for the tournament.

Public interest in the Championships within Aldegar far eclipsed the first edition of the event. Representatives from both the International Chess Association and the International Go Association have reported increased engagement with the respective sports throughout the world but particularly in participant countries. In recent years both games have accumulated widespread online followings in which top-level players will livestream themselves playing games while interacting with audience members. Shahram Jafarnejad, a moderately successful bridge player at one time, hailed the event as "a great showcase of top-class international minds".