It Just Gets Bigger!
Annexation of Lands Gives Rattanjeetland Clout

Before the dissolution of the Phoenix Confederacy, the Ethnarch of Rattanjeetland ordered all minor nations of the power bloc to send troops into Terra Incognita, the unofficial name of the new Land Rush land. As a result, relatively minor powers such as Josephville and Novara ended up making somewhat legitimate and legal land claims.

However, when the first wave of pioneers had finished pitching their tents and uploading data to orbiting satellites about geological topograhy and the sort, the Ethnarch realized how small of a plot of land he had claimed. Using his widespread powers over the minor former Confederate powers on September 7, 2001, all claims with the exception of the legitimate East El-Hussaqi and Dickensian ones, were absorbed into the Rattanjeetland plot. As well, due to a severe shortage of land in the northeast, the Ethnarch could not send in a second wave of pioneers, as other nations did.

The move barely made a ripple on the evening news of many nations. Even in the countries most directly affected by the Ethnarch's territorial annexation, citizens are more interested in other matters. For Jollywood, milking the cows take precedence. In Novara, it's the process of maintaining its reputation as the most romantic country on the Mapp. On a somewhat related note, birth rates in Novara have steadily rose over the past six months.