Chairman Assassinated
July 4431
In a severe shock to Deltaria, the country has lost its dynamic Chairman of the Grand Council Ret. Captain Sigeric von Thaller. The 47 year old Chairman met his end at a campaign rally in Hadsingōs, Doron Akigo. He was greeting rally attendees when one produced a plastic knife and stabbed him in the neck. The knife is believed to have been laced with poison which hastened his fate. Thaller ruled the country for 11 years, an area of progressivism which saw a growth in government functions and a somewhat more pragmatic foreign policy.
Chairman Thaller shortly before his death
In the aftermath, Vice Chairman Jan Koda the Grand Councillor for Transport acceded to the Chairmanship and declared a State of Emergency over the country. The assassin was detained for questioned. Speculation has risen with some blamed domestic conservatives and ultra-nationalists, others the Papz, horrified at the secularisation reforms carried out by the von Thaller government.
Koda is the first non-Thaller head of state in a very long time. Thaller influence is hardly weakened though, the dead Chairman's widow Ereleuva von Thaller has "reluctantly agreed" to join the Grand Council taking Koda's old post. Another Thaller, Theodoric, the late Chairman's brother is to be Grand Councillor for War.
Deltaria Rejects "Baseless Accusations"
Foreign Affairs Grand Councillor Bela Rakosi has rejected allegations raised in the media by a supposed intelligence operative about Deltaria taking part in shady deals with Kazulia. Rakosi said the two countries have a "strong and equal alliance" and have only ever worked together to enhance collective international security.