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Close Race Declares Moody Official Minister
At exactly 12:00 AM, the Ministry of Magic declared Interim Minister of Magic Alastor Moody the victor in the race for Minister of Magic. It was a close race, coming down to a 8% difference in votes between Moody and his closest competitor, former Assistant Minister of Magic Julian Derrick, but, in the end, Moody came away with a 52% majority of the nation's votes.
Moody was unavailable for immediate comment, stating in his acceptance speech shortly after the announcement that he had a lot of work to do and a lot of sleep to catch up on, but assured the nation that his election was a step in the right direction.
"We have been focusing on rebuilding our nation from the ashes of the former governments, and it has been no easy task," he said to the crowd waiting outside the newly constructed Ministry building. "I can't promise our nation will return to its former self overnight, this is a process that will take time, but we won't give up, and I thank you for believing in me and my ability to help lead our nation through this time."
Moody, 50, has spent his entire career in the Ministry of Magic. Starting out as an Auror straight out of Hogwarts, he worked his way through the ranks until he was named the Head of the Auror Department.
"Moody's one of the best Aurors world's ever seen," said Cash Proudfoot, Moody's successor as Head of the Auror Department. "Some people just follow orders, Moody really knows the difference between right and wrong, and I always liked him as a boss. He's experienced, not a stranger to responsibility, knows how to delegate and he knew my name. That's like five things the guys before him never had."
Moody will be officially sworn in as Minister of Magic in a special ceremony on 23 April.

Quickbeams Take Charity Quidditch Title
After only four and a half hours of play, the final to the charity Quidditch tournament in ended with Tsvetanka Ivanova's Quickbeams holding the Golden Snitch.
The final score was close, with the Quickbeams just barely edging out Catriona McCormack's Blanks at 300-280, but the majority of the match looked like it was going to be an easy victory for McCormack, who even coached the Scottish National Team to victory in the World Cup last summer. However, with the four-hour time limit lifted for this final match, the Quickbeams took that extra time to their advantage. After squeaking into range of the Blanks, the Quickbeams snatched the Snitch and ended the match.
"It was all in the spirits, I made those snobs feel like a real team," Quickbeam coach Ivanova said on her team's victory.
"Hey, no ill will, it's all for charity," said McCormack following the match, after congratulating Ivanova and her team. "And now everyone knows that I can't coach Seekers. It's one of my biggest faults as a coach and captain. But, hey, my Seeker's got a frog, he's happy, we're all happy. Congrats to the Quickbeams, they earned it."
The money raised from ticket and concessions sales will all be donated to the Rebuilding London Together fund. Magical Games and Sports Department Head Hamish McFarland says that the ticket sales were a rousing success, exceeding almost all of their highest expectations.
"It really helped that the pros really got into it," McFarland stated, "but we couldn't have done it without all the people who showed up to support their friends and family members, or who just came to see a good old fashioned game of Quidditch, without all the frills and over the top advertising and bleacher bum and unemployment that follows exciting matches that last about four days. So thanks to everyone who even had a passive part in making this a success, and the people at RLT thank you, too."

Muggles Suspected in Multiple Magical Murders
Over the past two weeks, there has been an increase in the amount of fatal attacks within the magical community. Originally thought to be the unfortunate outcomes of heated Quidditch rivalries as the Quidditch World Cup stirred up controversy, a disturbing pattern has begun to suggest otherwise.
Late last night, the bodies of three witches were found outside an unknown club in Hackney. Maria Lyons, age 23, Natasha Ivory, age 22, and an unidentified friend of the two women had headed out after leaving work earlier that night. The three women were interns for the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and had just started at the Ministry of Magic a few weeks before their deaths. The women were found to have been stabbed and beaten, with their wands left grasped in their hands, clasped to their chests.
These are the latest of a series of similar deaths in the magical community. Starting with the death of 19-year-old Ministry employee, Scott Bradford, nearly two weeks ago, the latest deaths brings this unfortunate total to ten.
Bob Akon, Ministry spokesman, was quick to release a statement regarding these deaths.
"These attacks seem to fit a very distinctive pattern," the statement read. "These have all been stabbing deaths, which is an unusual way for most wizards to kill, though we have far from ruled out an attacker within the magical community, and they have all been found with their hands upon their chests, clasping their wands. The Ministry's highest trained Aurors have been working around the clock to close this case before it gets out of hand, and we have even requested those who were previously let go return to their posts if at all possible, as well as begun accepting new applications."
Akon also stated that so far, all the victims have been young, dark-haired, halfblood witches and wizards, working within the Ministry in some capacity. Most of the deaths have taken place between 9 PM and 3 AM, though no specific area in London seems to be the target, as they have taken place in Hackney, Hammersmith, and even the Earl's Court tube station.
The Ministry would like to remind all magical citizens to be careful when walking in Muggle London, and to adhere to the requested curfews. They would also like to remind the Wizarding world that vigilante justice will not be tolerated, and that any attacks upon the Muggle world for these acts will be tried and punished to the full extent of the law.


World Tour for The Weird Sisters To Begin Next Week
On the heels of their latest album release, Sincerely Yours, Expletive Deleted, wizard rock phenomenon the Weird Sisters will be rolling through Europe starting next Monday. The tour will kick off with a few stops across Asia with their first stop in Korea, and will be supported by Scrambles, a new band out of Italy. Scrambles, the until now unknown band, was discovered by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myron Wagtail and Heathcote Barbary, who stumbled upon them at a pub following an interview last week.
"I love them! They gave me candy," Wagtail said when asked how they had chosen the latest unknown band for their European tour dates. This follows a common theme for most of the Sisters headlining tours for the past three years, nearly all of which have included fresh faces in the rock scene for their opening acts.
"I like to give small bands a chance," reasoned lead guitarist Kirley Duke. "F---, we were small once, right?"
A previous discovery of theirs, the Finnish-based Parasiiti, will be teaming up with the Sisters when they hop the pond and hit America on the 21 of this month. It will be the first time the Weird Sisters and Parasiiti have teamed up for an American tour in nearly two years, and this time they promise to be better than ever.
"We're really stepping it up this time around. We've got four albums of new songs we are working on and a few surprises," said Regulus Black, one of the two lead vocalists for Parasiiti. News of the tour smooths over rumours that the band was headed for a dramatic break up just over a month ago, though Annikki Duedson, the Parasiiti manager, claims that everything was always fine with the band and breaking up was never discussed..
Supporting the Weird Sisters and Parasiiti, in the tradition of all Parasiiti tours for the past year and a half, Umlauti, side project of Parasiiti's second vocalist, Burton Jones, will be opening for both bands. It will be the first time that the Weird Sisters and Umlauti will be sharing a stage, and everyone involved claims this is not a tour to be missed.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow and are expected to sell out quickly. However, management for the Weird Sisters would like to thank everyone who does manage to come out, and, that if demand for more shows is apparent, they will extend their tour as needed.


France vs. South Africa: Mbete To Miss Rest of Season
Quidditch fans lined the stadium in Paris yesterday afternoon to watch two of the biggest rivals in Quidditch history, France and South Africa, beat it out for a place in the Quidditch World Cup. These two rivals have been known to create some of the bloodiest games in the past, and this match was no different.
Within three minutes of the starting whistle, France had to replace both Beaters and their Seeker with their reserves. With the game tied fifty to fifty just thirty minutes into the game, Mosiuoa Mbete the Seeker for South Africa fell from his broom and landed in the middle of the pitch, breaking both arms and his left leg. He was taken immediately from the game and rushed to hospital, complaining of severe abdominal pain, which was believed to be caused by internal injuries. Several cries of foul play from South Africa were immediately heard, all fingers pointing directly at the Captain of the French team, Bertrand Croix.
The game was immediately suspended, in order to prevent a riot on the part of the South African crowd, and investigations into the accusations were quickly enacted. After two hours, Quidditch officials were unable to find any evidence to prove foul play on the part of Croix or the French team, and play resumed.
Five minutes after play resumed, Thabo Msimang, reserve Seeker for South Africa, caught the Snitch while hanging upside down from his Cleansweep, ending the game and snagging a victory for South Africa, 490-300.
"It's horrible what happened," said Msimang at the victory party following the game, "but he would have wanted us to keep playing, and we did. This one was for Mosi, and we will make it to the finals, even without him!"
Official word from the hospital was that, while Mbete was recovering quickly, it will be several weeks before he is fully recovered. He has been placed on the reserve list until he can regain all his strength, and it is expected that he will be sitting out until the beginning of next season.

Muggle Lord Murdered in London; Magical Causes Suspected
On the evening of May 14, Muggle Metropolitan Police discovered the deceased body of Lord James Ahmed in his home. Concerned neighbours called the police in when Ahmed, an experienced Conservative member of the House of Lords, had not left his home in a week. According to his next door neighbour who made the call, "Newspapers were starting to pile up on the porch, which was just not like him."
His death was originally believed to be a heart attack or stroke, due to the lack of physical evidence on the body, but an autopsy revealed Ahmed was in near-perfect health at the time of his death. At this point, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was alerted, and representatives of the MLE arrived to determine if there was any magical residue on the body.
Tegan Simonson, one representative for the MLE, said, "With all that's been going on between our worlds right now, with all the tension and anti-Muggle or anti-magical sentiments flying around, we were really just treating this as a formality to keep them happy. We didn't actually expect to find any magical residue on him."
The traces of magic found upon Ahmed were minimal, and the MLE was not able to confirm the Killing Curse was used on him. "With this little evidence, he could have just walked past the Leaky Cauldron or under an owl delivering a Howler," Simonson said. "But that was enough for these policemen to start a murder investigation. It could be a murder, but there's far from enough evidence to decide that. I just hope every suspicious death from here on out isn't suddenly solved by shrugging and saying, 'A Wizard did it.'"
Anyone with any information on the death of Lord Ahmed is asked to contact either the Department of Magical Law Enforcement or the local police agency.

Traitors to the Government Exposed and Imprisoned
On Thursday, May 8, ten citizens of the Pan-European Ministry were asked to report to their local Ministry of Magic for questioning. Those ten citizens, whose names have been withheld for their safety, were not under arrest, but were believed to be connected to, or have knowledge of, the recent epidemic that swept the United Kingdom and beyond. They had until 5:00 PM on Monday, May 12, to report before an official arrest warrant was to be issued for them, and they would be charged with treason against the magical world.
"It was a reasonable request, it was flexible and did not force people to rearrange their schedules, and it was a step that had to be taken to ensure the safety of the Magical world as a whole," said Ministry representative, Adam Toomey. "The illness that hit our country is believed to have been a terrorist attack, believed to have originated from the Soviet Union. We cannot sit by and allow our country to be attacked."
While several of those named did show up for questioning, a few did not, and arrest warrants have been issued for them.
"If they set foot in the PEM while they are on the run, they will be arrested and put in Azkaban," Toomey continued. "The others who have been arrested have a trial coming up, and if convicted, the length of their sentence is likely to be significantly shorter than those who ran."
The trials for those accused of treason are set to begin by the end of the month, and are expected to take no more than a few days each.
"If you have been wrongly accused, then the justice system will sort it out," Toomey said. "If you take the law into your own hands, you will inevitably lose."

Venezuela vs. Ireland: Irish Fans Call for a Rematch
The record for the quickest capture of the Snitch in a World Cup game has been shattered. Just last night, fans swarmed into the Caracas stadium long before the start of Venezuela's match against Ireland, and swarmed out just minutes later, as the Snitch was caught a total of 13.8 seconds into the game by Venezuelan Seeker, Roma Chavez Vera, smashing the former record of 32.8 seconds. Chavez was carried from the stadium in celebration, but not before the look of utter bewilderment had faded from her face.
"I didn't even realise I'd caught the Snitch!" she later admitted, much to the chagrin of Irish fans.
"Biggest ripoff ever," one Irish fan grumble as he was escorted from the stadium after attempting to start a riot in protest. The fan wasn't just talking about the disappointing length of the game, though, as many fans on the Irish side are now calling foul play on the part of the Venezuelan hosts. Claims that the Snitch was old and tired immediately started circulating, and many began to speculate that it was even a Snitch the Venezuelans had practiced with, ensuring that Chavez's fingerprints were the first to touch the Snitch, in the case of a close call.
"I used to be a semi-pro Quidditcher, then a ref, now I manufacture Quaffles, Bludgers and Snitches, and I can tell that thing was past its prime," said Arty Waffel, owner of Waffel's Quaffles and More. "You don't use a game Snitch more than once, you don't use a practice one more than a few weeks or else you get a game that ends in 15 seconds and lots of ticked off fans."
The Venezuelans, however, contend that there was no tampering with the game equipment prior to the match, and that the first time the Snitch had ever been used or handled was in the game.
"This is preposterous, and the worst case of poor sportsmanship I have ever seen," Alonso Ornelas Frias, Captain and Beater for the Venezuelan team, spat out upon first hearing the accusations of cheating. "I hear they're calling for a rematch, which they're not going to get. We won, they lost, we move on, they don't."
A petition has been started by fans of the Irish National Team, asking for a rematch between Venezuela and Ireland. It has already been signed by 673 people, and, if and when they reach 10,000 signatures, they intend to send the petition along to the International Association of Quidditch. No one at the International Association of Quidditch was available for comment on what the response would be, should the petition be completed.

Progress Made In Sudden Illness
As of the morning of Tuesday, May 6, St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries in London began a new treatment for those infected with the illness that has swept the United Kingdom. The treatment appears to be working on those who have reported symptoms more recently, and those with less severe symptoms, and several patients have already checked out of St. Mungo's.

The treatment was developed by a team of researchers, working closely with the Ministry, and headed by Assisant Minister Julian Derrick.

"I just want my wife back," Derrick said as he delivered the experimental treatment. Derrick's wife has been hospitalized since the illness first began to show around a week ago.

The cure isn't working across the board, however. A large amount of wizards have reported no change since being treated, while some appear to be deteriorating further. Those who reported illnesses earlier have seen no change in their disease, but St. Mungo's representatives remain optimistic.

"We are very close to pinpointing the exact beginnings of this illness," said Healer Amycus Carrow. "Once we have that, we should be one step closer to sending everyone home."

At this point, the treatment has only been distributed within the Magical community, sparking many to question why it isn't being given to those sick within the Muggle community. According to Ministry spokesman, Bob Akon, the treatment is still in the experimental stages, and should not be passed out "as some miracle sure cure-all."

"With the death toll at 50 wizards, we're trying our best, but this treatment is clearly not working on everyone," Akon continued, "and it's best to keep it on a smaller scale until the Ministry finds a way to cure everyone who's been infected. Once such a treatment is developed, we are sure that it will find its way out to the Muggle hospitals."