diff --git a/client/js/modals/format.js b/client/js/modals/format.js
index b6a8ff1..7a1ff1b 100644
--- a/client/js/modals/format.js
+++ b/client/js/modals/format.js
@@ -70,18 +70,29 @@ export function percent(value) {
   return `${value < 0 ? "−" : "+"}${(Math.abs(value) * 100).toFixed(1)}%`;
 }
 
-// Renders one news entry as text, resolving civ indices to names and demonyms.
+// Renders one news entry as text. Government actions name the specific actors
+// doing them — "French troops", "French scientists" — rather than the nation as
+// a whole, and the victim or target is named in the people's form ("the
+// Vietnamese").
 export function describeNews(entry, civs) {
   const name = (index) => (civs[index] ? civs[index].name : `Nation ${index + 1}`);
+  // The attributive form of a nation, for putting before an actor noun. It
+  // falls back to the demonym, which doubles as an adjective for most of them;
+  // the few person-nouns (New Zealander, New Hampshirite) carry an explicit one.
+  const adjective = (index) => {
+    const civ = civs[index];
+    if (!civ) return `Nation ${index + 1}`;
+    return civ.adjective || civ.demonym || civ.name;
+  };
   const people = (index) => {
     const civ = civs[index];
-    return civ && civ.demonym ? `The ${civ.demonym}` : name(index);
+    return civ && civ.demonym ? `the ${civ.demonym}` : name(index);
   };
   switch (entry.type) {
     case "war":
-      return `${people(entry.actor)} declared war on ${name(entry.target)}`;
+      return `${adjective(entry.actor)} leaders have declared war on ${name(entry.target)}`;
     case "capture":
-      return `${people(entry.to)} captured ${entry.city} from ${name(entry.from)}`;
+      return `${adjective(entry.to)} troops have captured ${entry.city} from ${people(entry.from)}`;
     case "policy": {
       const policy = policyById(entry.policy);
       const policyName = policy ? policy.name : entry.policy;
@@ -89,12 +100,12 @@ export function describeNews(entry, civs) {
         civs[entry.ethnicity] && civs[entry.ethnicity].demonym
           ? `the ${civs[entry.ethnicity].demonym}`
           : name(entry.ethnicity);
-      return `${name(entry.civ)} enacted ${policyName} for ${who}`;
+      return `${adjective(entry.civ)} lawmakers have enacted ${policyName} for ${who}`;
     }
     case "technology":
       return entry.repeatable
-        ? `${name(entry.civ)} improved ${entry.name}`
-        : `${name(entry.civ)} discovered ${entry.name}`;
+        ? `${adjective(entry.civ)} scientists have improved ${entry.name}`
+        : `${adjective(entry.civ)} scientists have discovered ${entry.name}`;
     case "join":
       return `${entry.player} took control of ${name(entry.civ)}`;
     default:
diff --git a/tests/modals_test.js b/tests/modals_test.js
index 0ed4348..47ddbd8 100644
--- a/tests/modals_test.js
+++ b/tests/modals_test.js
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { TestCase } from "./framework/test_case.js";
 import { setupDom, teardownDom } from "./framework/dom.js";
 import { CityModal, NationModal, ConfirmModal, NewsModal } from "../client/js/modals.js";
-import { buildingEffectText } from "../client/js/modals/format.js";
+import { buildingEffectText, describeNews } from "../client/js/modals/format.js";
 import { BUILDINGS, GOVERNMENTS, TECHNOLOGIES, PROTO_UNITS } from "../shared/data.js";
 
 export class CityModalTest extends TestCase {
@@ -640,9 +640,13 @@ export class NewsModalTest extends TestCase {
       modal.show(news, civs);
       const items = env.$("#news-list .news-item");
       this.assertSize(items, 2);
-      this.assertTrue(items.eq(0).find(".news-text").text().includes("The French captured Lyon from Britain"));
+      this.assertTrue(
+        items.eq(0).find(".news-text").text().includes("French troops have captured Lyon from the British")
+      );
       this.assertTrue(items.eq(0).find(".news-date").text().includes("05:00"));
-      this.assertTrue(items.eq(1).find(".news-text").text().includes("The French declared war on Britain"));
+      this.assertTrue(
+        items.eq(1).find(".news-text").text().includes("French leaders have declared war on Britain")
+      );
 
       modal.refresh([], civs);
       this.assertEqual(env.$("#news-list .news-item").length, 0);
@@ -653,4 +657,41 @@ export class NewsModalTest extends TestCase {
       teardownDom(env);
     }
   }
+
+  test_news_names_the_actors_doing_the_action() {
+    const civs = [
+      { name: "France", demonym: "French" },
+      { name: "Vietnam", demonym: "Vietnamese" },
+      { name: "Aotearoa", demonym: "New Zealander", adjective: "New Zealand" },
+    ];
+    this.assertEqual(
+      describeNews({ type: "capture", city: "Saigon", from: 1, to: 0 }, civs),
+      "French troops have captured Saigon from the Vietnamese"
+    );
+    this.assertEqual(
+      describeNews({ type: "technology", civ: 0, name: "Radio" }, civs),
+      "French scientists have discovered Radio"
+    );
+    this.assertEqual(
+      describeNews({ type: "technology", civ: 0, name: "Railways", repeatable: true }, civs),
+      "French scientists have improved Railways"
+    );
+    this.assertEqual(
+      describeNews({ type: "war", actor: 0, target: 1 }, civs),
+      "French leaders have declared war on Vietnam"
+    );
+    this.assertEqual(
+      describeNews({ type: "policy", civ: 0, policy: "some_policy", ethnicity: 1 }, civs),
+      "French lawmakers have enacted some_policy for the Vietnamese"
+    );
+    this.assertEqual(
+      describeNews({ type: "join", player: "Alice", civ: 1 }, civs),
+      "Alice took control of Vietnam"
+    );
+    // Person-noun demonyms carry an explicit attributive form.
+    this.assertEqual(
+      describeNews({ type: "technology", civ: 2, name: "Radio" }, civs),
+      "New Zealand scientists have discovered Radio"
+    );
+  }
 }