The ANZAC Republic is desperately trying to recover from the sudden departure of two of their top overlords, Cotal and FriendJosh. The first to depart was Cotal, the number two overall scorer in the Metaverse. Cotal represented about 20% of the ANZAC Republic's total score while she was there and the mystery that surrounds her sudden defection has Emperor BlueSteel, along with the rest of the Metaverse, wondering what the reasons are. One witness to the defection was quoted as saying "What the?" There is some speculation that Cotal will return to the ANZAC Republic, but this is unverified. Cotal's brief statement regarding this event was "I have a cunning plan . . . ! To quote the words of Arnold Swart-shin-anger aka the Terminator (sp? ) . . . I'll be back . . . hehe (hope this works)? Don't worry fellow ANZAC Republicans there is madness in my method . . . " This cryptic message left everyone puzzled.

FriendJosh returned to the Fellowship of the Ring empire, from which he came. He was welcomed back with open arms to the wizard's empire. So far, there has been no comment from FriendJosh.

The combination of Cotal's and FriendJosh's departure has left the ANZAC Republic in 7th place. The beneficiaries of this development are the European Alliance, the Canadian Star Federation, and the Jedi Republic. It also brings the number of empires with over 1 million points to five, although the Jedi Republic is nearing the million mark quickly.

The Fat Bastard empire is streaking up the standings and now stands at 17th place. This one overlord empire is showing some real potential and could be 15th very soon. The Metaverse Review will continue to monitor this development closely.