Plague Strikes the Byzantine Empire. Athens, Byzantine Empire. An epidemic has struck the kingdom this year. So far, the epidemic has been minored but has killed nearly a hundred people and sparked fears of a new Red Death. These fears, so far, have been unfounded but that hasn't stopped a panic in Athens as rumors of King Burb II's disease-fueled death circulated for only a short time before thousands attempted to flee the city to the countryside. (-1 Pop, -1 Stability)
First Portable Watch Created. Machynlleth, Celtic Empire of Wales. An ingenious craftsman in the Celtic Empire created the first portable watch. The rather expensive instrument is popular among very wealthy craftsmen who own productive shops with workers, intrigued noble lords, and others in need or interested in timekeeping, sparking a boom in the industry and others. (+.02 Industry)
Tales of Wealth, and the Evidence, Arrives in Toulouse. Toulouse, Duchy of Toulouse. A privately-funded, small expedition overseas by merchants seeking the Northwest Passage has resulted in the merchants returning, not finding the passage but with furs. Amazing furs. Furs that people want. These merchants also told stories of the natives in a world across the sea who traded furs and turquoise for the goods the merchants brought with them. Lost underneath the story are the reports of death, malnourishment, and a lost ship during the passage. (+5% Trade Modifier)
Schism in Catharism Rocks Southern France, Holy Land.. Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem. King Baldwin I of the Kingdom of Jerusalem declared that the Toulouse Cathars have gone too far in their anti-Catholic drive and that teachings of the original Roman Catholic Church must be brought back to Europe. A moderate number of Cathars in Jerusalem have switched their allegiance from Toulouse to the Orthodox Catholic Church of Jerusalem. Grand Duke Bonaventura Gualtiero III Visconti of the Grand Duchy of Milan, a neighbor of Toulouse has also embraced this schismatic church and have converted a larger share of their population to it than even King Baldwin. Toulouse so far has managed to contain the heresy within their own borders. (-1 Stability for Kingdom of Jerusalem, +1 Stability for Grand Duchy of Milan)
Meanwhile, a schism in an African nation has gone relatively unnoticed.
Schisms in the Celto-Catholic Church Raises Doubts: Dublin, High Kingdom of Mide. The Church is calling for action regarding spreading the faith and strengthening it in light of divides arising between the Dublin and Celto-Catholics in Russia, France, the Balkans, and the Far East. Church leaders have taken it upon themselves to reintegrated those within Mide that have fallen astray and Bogomil and the Russian Orthodoxy are now only rumors within the kingdom though French merchants bring their heretic faith with them from France. (Oriental Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity no longer notable in the High Kingdom of Mide)
Milanese Merchants Renowned Across the Mediterranean. Genoa, Grand Duchy of Milan. A century after the Red Death, the Italians are showing off their shipping skills once more. Milanese ports such as Genoa often become points of interest and centers of trade for traders as far as Ireland to the Holy Land and Crimea. This prosperity has resulted in a number of immigrants from the Duchy of Toulouse (mostly Orthodox with a splattering of Toulouse Cathars) to find greener pastures in Milanese cities (+10% Trade Modifier, -6 pops for Toulouse, +6 pops for Milan)
Bogomil Supplants Celto-Catholicism in Bosnia. Bobovac, Kingdom of Bosnia. King Nedim I Kotromanić's split from the Celto-Catholic Church started a wave of reformation across the church which resulted in Oriental Catholicism to rise in China (and strangely, France), and the Russian Orthodox Church to become unchallenged in their small part of the world. The King's handling of the schism is also the best, as the other schisms have resulted in unrest in the regions where they spawned, especially in France where a sizable number of the population still identifies with the CCC.. (Celto-Catholicism in Bosnia downgraded to notable, -1 Stability for Russia and China. -2 Stability for France)
Peaceful Immigration from the Barbary States Raises Fears in Catalonia. Barcelona, Principality of Catalonia. Immigrants from unclaimed Iberia and the Barbary States is strengthening the economy of Catalonia as labor demands start being met. However, there are a number of outspoken Catharist clergymen who have spoken out against the rise of followers of Islam within the country. (+10 pops for Catalonia, -5 pops for Barbary States)
Minor Baby Boom in the Crimea Attributed to the Monolith. Dzhankoi, Republic of Crimea. Higher than usual births in the Republic of the Crimea have been attributed to the mythical Monolith that is central to Monolith Worship in that region of the world. Some scholars in the Crimea say that this sudden burst in growth can be thanked more to the stability of the region than "some rock". This has created a fierce public debate on city streets across the republic. (+.05 population growth in Crimea this turn)
Celto-Catholic Immigration to Sweden, Crime Rates on the Rise. Stockholm, Sweden. As numbers of Celto-Catholics from Mide and Wales migrate to Sweden, crime rates in the Scandinavian country are on the rise. This has resulted in a backlash against Celto-Catholic immigrants as well as disputes between poor Celto-Catholic and Orthodox Christians. These disputes often turn violent. (+15 pops to Sweden, -7 for Mide, -8 for Wales, -1 Stability in Sweden)
Federalism in Antwerpen Decreases Tensions. Antwerpen, Union of Flanders. The federal system in the Union of Flanders, despite claims in its inefficiency compared to monarchies across Europe, is working to decrease the tension between the nation's two major, and opposed, religions, Celto-Catholicism and Oriental Catholicism.
French Craftsmen Envy of the West. Paris, Kingdom of France. Despite growing religious tensions in the country, the craftsmen of all denominations in the country have managed to refine their technique and to create a system of transferring this knowledge to the next generation of craftsmen effectively. The rise of craftsmen guilds in France are seen as a positive step forward for the kingdom. (+.02 Industry Growth)
Orthodox Christian Numbers on the Rise. Moscow, Tsardom of Russia. A number of immigrants from the surrounding regions have flooded into Russia this year and converted to the state religion, Orthodox Christianity. This has put the Celto-Catholics in the region in a bind as their influence is threatened. (+15 pops in Russia)