ARCHIVED: [CLOSED] Sanctarian National Times

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VOL. XCV .. Num. 34,654 | In the News: Kindle in Senate -- Weekend Sport -- Cristi Murders

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KINDLE FACES SENATE Q'S OVER JOB VACANCIES
by SARAH PLEDYS, Political Editor

Sanctus - Prime Minister Kindle is set to be grilled by the Senate today over his failure to appoint key junior ministers and other government officials over eight months after his government initially took office. This will be the second time since June that members of the Kindle cabinet have been questioned by Senators over vacancies in government posts; the Senate Subcommittee on International Security previously hauled in Secretary for Foreign Affairs Yasminé Pontif over the SIS Director post remaining unfilled months after becoming vacant.

Leader of the Democratic Left-controlled Senate Senator Tiffany Bethelson originally announced last week that she would be clearing the entire day for the Prime Minister to answer questions from all 100 Senators - including some within his own Sanctarian Conservative Party. Legislation passed in April under reform packages promised by the new Kindle government included a provision allowing the Senate to summon any junior Minister or Cabinet Secretary, including the Prime Minister him/herself, for questioning or to deliver a statement on an urgent and pressing matter. The Senate originally passed a summons three weeks ago with some SCP Senators joining the majority.

Senator June Warren (I-Haven), who chairs the Subcommittee on International Security and led the original investigation into job vacancies going unfilled, yesterday welcomed the opportunity to question Kindle saying "this government has promised radical reform, and despite its promises, we see Junior Ministries remaining unfilled, and promises of a new Department being put on the backburner with no excuses given. It's time for the SCP government and the SCP-led House of Deputies to stop kowtowing to politics of the past and face up to their promises". Warren confirmed that her subcommittee would be looking into summoning Secretary Pontif before it again as the SIS Director position still remains vacant.

Kindle originally promised a massive shake-up of the government's junior ministries, including the disbandment of some and creation of others. To date only the new Ministry of Mental Health has been created, with Ministries such as Regional Affairs and Food being rumoured for the chop; the latter two remain among the handful of junior ministries yet to be filled with a government deputy. Government sources also confirm a new Government Department is being considered - the first since the creation of the state. This was an election promise, and if carried through, it's likely to be a department devoted to the oversight of Local Government. However senior ministers say the cabinet are reluctant to transfer powers from various government departments to create this new one and will likely create a specific junior ministry within the Department of Home Affairs, the traditional department concerned with local government, to more focus oversight and administration.

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VOL. XCV .. Num. 34,656 | In the News: Junior Ministers -- Golf Legend Dies -- News Anchor Arrested

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NEW MINISTERS FINALLY ANNOUNCED
by SARAH PLEDYS, Political Editor

Sanctus - After pledging on Monday to announce his government's new Junior Ministries, and the Ministers to fill them, before the week was out, the Prime Minister this evening announced to the House of Deputies the list of deputies the cabinet had approved to become junior ministers, as well as the ministries that they would be filling. In keeping with an election promise, Kindle has cut the the number of junior ministries from fourteen to twelve.

Almost half of the twelve junior ministers are women and this was widely expected after Kindle appointed only four women to his cabinet eight months ago. The new junior ministers, and the portfolios they will be occupying, do not have to be confirmed by the Senate and their appointments only had to be confirmed by the cabinet. Procedural legislation to create some of the new ministries were passed by both the House and the Senate in the hours following KIndle's announcement; previously existing junior ministries did not need to be re-established, while the same procedural legislation officially disbanded ministries no longer existing.

The Ministries of Police & Prisons, Food, Economic Planning, Regional Affairs, and Political Reform have all been disbanded and their duties re-assumed by their respective parent Departments. New Ministries include Local Government Affairs, as confirmed on Monday by senior government sources, a new Ministry of Immigration, and the previously announced and created Ministry of Mental Health.

The Department of Home Affairs, Justice & Equality has reverted back to its old name of just Home Affairs. Kindle has said this was because the Department was still referenced as just Home Affairs in public, in the media, and in the civil service and it made sense to re-certify this. He confirmed that it would still continue to house the responsibilities of Justice and Equality. The Ministry of Disability has been renamed to the Ministry of Integration & Equalities "in order to reinforce that equality in all instances was still on this government's agenda", Kindle said in his statement today. Also renamed are the Ministry of Children, which becomes the Ministry of Youth Affairs, and the Ministry of International Trade and Economic Involvement, which becomes simply the Ministry of Trade. Prime Minister Kindle also announced today that the Ministry of Mental Health would also come under the purview of the Department of Education & Science, as well as staying under the Department of Health, and that the Health Department would be losing the Ministry of Integration & Equalities (previous Disability).

Although some of the junior ministries had been filled prior to this, Kindle today said the cabinet had decided to re-confirm all of them. As of the today the list of Ministries and their Ministers are as follows (names in italics indicate new faces to the team, while those in bold are the junior ministers already appointed this year):

Shane Thompson has been appointed Minister for Budget Affairs. He shall also be Government Chief Whip.
Ben Sessions has been appointed Minister for Diplomatic Affairs.
Royce Norn has been appointed Minister for Employment and Labour.
Camille Richardson has been appointed Minister for Higher Education.
Ann Bond has been appointed Minister for Immigration.
Celine Taylor has been appointed Minister for Integration & Equalities.
Marc Foster has been appointed Minister for International Security.
Irving Manson has been appointed Minister for Local Government.
Eric Crowley has been appointed Minister for Mental Health.
John Warren has been appointed Minister for Trade.
Danielle Cordes has been appointed Minister for Transport.
Melanie Shore has been appointed Minister for Youth Affairs.

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VOL. XCV .. Num. 34,661 | In the News: Central Bank Forecasts -- Police Brutality Report -- Weekend Sport

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S£3.8 MILLION ON DIPLOMATIC FLEET REVAMP
by JOEY SESSIONS, Political Correspondent

Sanctus - Minister for Diplomatic Affairs Ben Sessions is to announce today that the current fleet of cars used for Sanctarian Ambassadors abroad will be phased out by the end of this year and replaced in the first few months of 2014. The range of Mercedes-Benz S-Class W221, which the Department of Foreign Affairs has been issuing to missions abroad, are no longer the most up-to-date model provided by Mercedes-Benz who have recently introduced a successor to the W221, the W222. According to government sources, however, Minister Sessions will not announce the continuation of the Department's association with Mercedes.

It is understood that to refit the entire fleet with the W222 would cost upwards of S£4.7m based on internal costings done by the Department. Instead, the Department of Foreign Affairs has decided to switch from Mercedes-Benz to Jaguar and will allocate to its Ministry of Diplomatic Affairs S£3,872,550 to purchase thirty-three Jaguar XFRs. Although the savings is only slight, Secretary Pontif has previously ordered civil servants and government officials within her Department and child Ministries to find savings wherever possible so more cash is made available for bigger projects.

Despite having far more than thirty-three diplomatic missions abroad, sources within the Ministry have indicated only missions marked active, and not dormant, will receive the new vehicles. It is also believed that the S£3.8m figure applies only to buying the XFRs for existing missions; purchasing vehicles for any new missions opened will obviously add to that cost.

The decision to refit the entire fleet with new cars just because of a new model being introduced by the manufacturer is unusual, but according to those in diplomatic circles, many of the currently used W221s are anywhere up to seven years old and vehicles for official government use are usually switched out after five years. The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and all Department Secretaries currently use BMW 7 series F01, a fleet of which was purchased in 2011. It is not believed that there are any plans to refit this fleet in the near future.

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VOL. XCV .. Num. 34,663 | In the News: Politicians' Expenses Published -- Great Horn Conflict -- Beef Exports Down

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GUSLANTIS INVADES ZEMNAYA SVOBODA; PONTIF URGES RESTRAINT
by JENNIFER McSHANE, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

Petrograd - In a move that has shocked governments across the world, the relatively obscure nation of Guslantis in the region of The North Pacific has launched a daring invasion of its neighbour Zemnaya Svoboda. Zemnaya Svoboda, which is considered an influential nation with The North Pacific, has responded by drafting conscripts to the front lines in its declaration of war to protect its people and lands.

The Vice President of Guslantis, in a hurriedly convened press conference, has stressed that his nation does not intend to invade all of Zemnaya Svoboda and that the invasion is only to claim a small strip of land along Zemnaya Svoboda's northern border with Grosseschnauzer, creating a Guslantian pathway to Green Pacifica. The Administration of President Aleksei Aleksandrovich Kerenskij in the Republic of Zemnaya Svoboda, however, has called it an "unprovoked betrayal".

Both Zemnaya Svoboda and Guslantis are located only a little more than 1500km away from lands owned by Sanctaria in the region, and lived in by Sanctarian citizens, and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Yasminé Pontif has released a statement urging "restraint" between the two nations in the region known as the Great Horn of The North Pacific. In the statement released last night Pontif said "We urge both Guslantis and Zemnaya to cease hostilites and come to the negotiation table. This is not a time for dramatic overtures, this is a time for considered restraint." Sanctaria's presence in the region means that Pontif and Prime Minister Kindle will be keeping a close eye on this what is being called the Great Horn Conflict.

With the constitution mandating neutrality, it's highly unlikely that Sanctaria will wade into this conflict militarily but Pontif has indicated that humanitarian assistance will be on the agenda in the event of serious escalations. When questioned on how Sanctaria will deal with the crisis in the meantime, Pontif responded that her Department and the child Ministry of International Security will be "watching closely and keeping lines of communication with the two governments open". Pontif has further insisted that business in the Sanctarian lands in the region will operate as normal as shipping and flight lanes are unaffected by the conflict.

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VOL. XCV .. Num. 34,668 | In the News: Peace Talks -- Weekend Sport -- New SIS Boss

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OMBUDSMAN NOMINATED FOR TOP SIS POST
by BRIAN DeNOBLE, Defence & Security Correspondent

Sanctus - After nearly eleven months without a Director, the Sanctarian Intelligence Service will soon be back to business as normal after new Minister for International Security Marc Foster today announced that Ombudsman Alexandra Maye was the government's choice to take helm of the nation's primary intelligence agency. Foster confirmed that his superior, Secretary for Foreign Affairs Yasminé Pontif, sought official approval of the nominee at last week's cabinet meeting.

The choice of Ombudsman Maye as Director of the SIS is a clear signal from Sanctarian Conservative Party government that the previous system of a career intelligence officer being appointed Director is no longer suitable; Alexandra Maye is widely considered to be more of an administrator than agenda-driven, with some sources within government calling her a "true red-tape loving bureaucrat, pencil pusher, and a notorious bean counter". Maye was appointed Ombudsman back in 2005 after serving a five year stint as Director-General of the Revenue Service. Prior to this Maye had worked in the civil service at various grades in the Department of Finance. She is a qualified accountant.

Speaking after Foster's announcement Maye said that she was "honoured to be chosen for such an important post" and that "while it will be difficult to leave the Office of Ombudsman, I know that working in the Sanctarian Intelligence Service means I'll be helping keep Sanctaria, her borders, and her people safe, and that's paramount".

Maye's tenure as Ombudsman has been lauded by all sides of the political spectrum with both government and opposition figures commenting that she held back no punches in her dealings and investigations of complaints by the public about actions of public bodies. The transition from holding an office that is responsible for transparency in government workings and holding public bodies to account to someone in charge of a clandestine and historically sinister government agency has not gone unnoticed by some; Independent Senator for Haven June Warren, who chairs the Senate sub-committee responsible for the SIS, this afternoon commented that "although I don't doubt Ombudsman Maye's ability, this does herald a marked departure from her usual portfolio".

Although not a Senate-confirmable position, Senator Warren has indicated she'll be asking Secretary Pontif to allow the Senate Sub-Committee on International Security informally interview Ombudsman Maye in in camera proceedings. Warren also said that if this was request was not granted that she would summon both Secretary Pontif and junior Minister Foster before the committee instead to "sound them out and see why they chose Maye for the job".

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VOL. XCV .. Num. 34,700 | In the News: Q3 Figures Released -- Sanctaria Commended -- Parliament Recesses

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SANCTARIA COMMENDED BY WORLD ASSEMBLY
by KIM TOWERS, World Assembly Correspondent

World Assembly HQ - The Sanctarian delegation received a standing ovation yesterday as the World Assembly's Security Council voted to commend the nation by an impressive 8,807 votes to 1,912. Citing "consistent dedication to furthering peace and prosperity" and "a sizable knowledge of the murky workings of international politics", the resolution praised both the Sanctarian Department of Foreign Affairs and the Sanctarian diplomatic team in the World Assembly for their "admirable and politically important ... body of work".

Responding to the commendation, which came as a surprise to the Sanctarian government, Prime Minister Mark Kindle said that "Sanctaria is delighted and most humbled by this commendation which serves to underline how vital international cooperation and involvement is to a nation. For the Security Council to hold us as a benchmark is a great honour and one we should all work hard to live up to". Secretary for Foreign Affairs Yasminé Pontif also said that she was "humbled by the Security Council's decision" and said that the award was "an endorsement of Sanctarian foreign policy and a recognition of the hard work Sanctaria does on the world stage".

Dr. Christian Ferguson, Sanctarian Ambassador to the World Assembly, also welcomed the commendation and thanked the Abacathean delegation for authoring it. Ferguson's legislative work was highly lauded in the text of the award which also called Sanctaria "a valuable asset to the World Assembly".

The commendation comes at a time when Sanctarian involvement in the World Assembly has taken a back seat to other international commitments; a Sanctarian is currently Secretary General of the Council of International Democratic Union States (CIDUS), a term due to expire at the end of the month, and until recently Secretary Pontif was directing all Department resources towards maintaining and establishing diplomatic relationships with both nations and regions across the world, in particular concentrating on relations with nations that border Sanctarian lands in The North Pacific.

When questioned about whether or not Sanctaria would be throwing itself back into what's widely reported as the "snakepit" of the General Assembly, Ferguson said that he has "not stopped representing the Divine Republic in the General Assembly and that the only thing that has lessened of late is an interest in authoring and pursuing new avenues of legislation". Pressed on the matter of Sanctaria traditionally eschewing the Security Council, Ambassador Ferguson said "in light of the commendation, I believe the Department is reviewing the policy".