APwire ~ Affiliated Press News Agency

[Natal]

Caledonia to send peacekeeping task force to Loago
AP Dun Eidyn

Olibhia MacAnndra, the Toiseach of Caledonia has met in the last few days with the board of directors of the Caledonian Himyari Company. Before the summit, the whole event was seen as a bringer of a potential rapprochement between the High Kingdom, but now it is more than clear that the meeting was much more like a call for help by the CHC. This should literally signal that their experiment in Loago has failed after it brought down the civilian government and set up a pro-white racist military regime under the command of Toiseach Calum MacMhaoilein.

After the coup and the creation of the white minority government, the prices of the stocks of the CHC have slumped, as the regime, known worldwide for being propped by the Company, managed to win only the recognition of Eiffelland, while Caledonia itself was at the forefront in calling for an embargo against it.

At the end of the discussions, Olibhia MacAnndra has stated that Caledonia will end the embargo against the CHC and will send a task force to Loago to help the country fight the League of Communists, which acts in breach of both the SQT signed by Pelasgia and Kadikistan but also of the NSQT signed by Caledonia and Kadikistan. In exchange, the CHC has stated that it will dismiss the current regime and install a government of national unity which will represent all the people of Loago and will accept the arrival of White Army soldiers in the country for as long as the LLC hasn't been fully neutralised and the country is not risking to slide into a civil war.

For this, the Toiseach of Caledonia has ordered the mobilisation of the Projection Group Alpha, together with the 3rd Gallowglass division (Mechanised Infantry) for the White Army with the order of being sent in Loago as fast as possible.

 

[Justosia]

AP Wire, Avalon

Maiden report. Greetings Europe.

- Royal Palace is reportedly "done" with the slow pace of the Brecostan conflict in defence of allied Occitania. Planning final offensive.

- Finance Ministry to lobby Senate to pass legislation to further spur international trade.

 

[Justosia]

AP Wire, Avalon

- Royal Palace scrambling to clarify or rebuke recent Twatter post by HRH Julian II.

- Tech stocks are the saving grace of the Justosian Stock Market as they continue to surge. Preventing a possible crash & recession.

​

 

[Thaumantica]

Rare Admin Warning Alert:

@Justosia please look up the “AP writing style” on google, or scroll through the many previous pages of this thread where players are writing here. Your period posts are not acceptable to the standard, and one liners / "this is not JNN" does not keep to the standard of writing style in this thread.

I personally barely ever write in here because I am lazy to keep to the AP style, and domestic paper posts are easier honestly. Like if you look on the first page from 2009 I think I wrote a bad example of a neutral viewpoint AP post because I used subjectivity I think - I dunno. If you need clarification or some guidance please PM me or otherwise contact instead of writing in this thread. I'll delete your period posts, and just advise against making more in the future because it annoys people.

In any case check out this IRL guide:

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For RP purposes I think the most important thing to remember is that the AP writer you are channeling is not necessarily from your nation, and is attempting to express a neutral expression.

 

[Justosia]

(OOC: 3rd time's no charm I guess. For the forseeable future I guess I'll just leave this thread alone. Can't seem to get it write despite examples.....)

 

[Ostmark]

OSTMARK'S ECONOMY COLLAPSED, CLAIM DEFECTORS.

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VIENNA (People's Republic of Ostmark) - A number of defectors and detractors of the pompous National-Syndicalist People's Party have recently revealed insights in the harsh reality of life in the small eastern nation. Despite Peoples Chancellor Horst Grassers promises to nationalize the food industry and reverse the situation, Ostmark is currently undergoing the most serious and dramatic down spiral of poverty, famine and and social exclusion. While analysts agree that the current situation is a consequences to decades of irresponsible spending and mismanagement of the economy by the previous multi-party democratic establishment, the solutions proposed by the National-Syndicalist People's Party, which seized the majority of the People's Assembly in early October and declared Ostmark a single party state, are still failing to hide the dramatic capitulation, despite propaganda efforts.

Ostmarkian pensioner Helena says she never imagined a life reduced to food handouts: some meat, two bags of rice, a packet of bread, some apples and a tin of milk for the month. At 79, Helena – who herself once helped the hard-up as a shelter food server – was among a growing number of Ostmarkians barely getting by. After almost three years since the economic default, poverty isn't getting any better; it's getting worse like nowhere else in Europe. “It had never even crossed my mind,” she said, declining to give her last name because of the potential consequences for his family and relatives in Ostmark. “I lived frugally. I've never even been on holiday. Nothing, nothing, nothing.”

Before her defection in early November, more than three-quarters of her monthly income went to renting a tiny Viennas apartment. State housing is insufficient to provide low-cost apartments for those who live under the line of poverty. The implosion of Ostmark's public debt in 2014 forced Ostmark to turn to international lenders. Much of the vast sums in aid money has simply been in the form of new debt used to repay old borrowings. But regardless of who is to blame for the collapse in living standards, poverty figures from independent foreign agencies are startling. Today Ostmark is the poorest country of Europe. The poverty rate has almost doubled since 2014, the year the economic default erupted. The reality of such statistics becomes clear at places like the food bank run by the local chapter of the National-Syndicalist People's Party where Helena collected her monthly handout. There, dozens more Ostmarkians waited solemnly with a ticket in hand to get their share. All are registered as living below the poverty line. “The needs are huge,” Helena added.

Figures for the food bank, leaked by the opposers of the regime, which serves central Vienna, show a similar trend on a local scale to the wider national data. About 23,000 families – or 35,000 people – are registered there, up from just 900 in 2013 and 7,000 in 2015. About 9,000 out 35,000 are children. Many of the shelves and refrigerators in its stock room stood empty. What they give away depends on what the government can afford to import.“We were worried because we don't know if we'll be able to meet these people's needs,” said a woman who worked in Vienna's food bank and illegally escaped the country in mid October. “There are families with young children and on some days we haven't even got milk to give them. Everyone is going through hard times – all of Ostmark is,” she added. In return for volunteering, the woman received handouts from the soup kitchen which she shares among her unemployed daughter and her two sons. “We were vegetating. We just existed. Most Ostmarkians just exist.”

Across Wien, the number of Ostmarkians sleeping rough is a testament to that. Members of the local chapter of the National-Syndicalist People's Party drive an old van with two washing machines and two dryers to neighbourhoods where the homeless gather to help them clean up. Few are hopeful of better days. “I don't think there's one person who's not afraid of the future,” said Lukas, who showed us smuggled pictures of neglected and ill elders sleeping in plastic bags.

 

[Oneida]

The Crisis Facing the Aurarian Catholic Church
AP Amusco

A few weeks ago, as part of my study of the Tiburan Catholic Church across Gallo-Germania, I stopped by the small Santo Domingo Hospital. The hospital is located north of Amusco, a city on the southern tip of the Aurarian region of Andaluz in the village of Cartaya. Cartaya has a little under 3,000 people in it and is fairly isolated from any other municipality. It has that rural, Andaluzi charm that I’ve read so much about in the tourism brochures. While it certainly does have a certain charm, what it certainly does not have is an abundance of basic services.

That’s where Santo Domingo Hospital comes in. The hospital is the only true, genuine medical center to serve the entire population of Cartaya – and often farmers living in a somewhat proximal area. Santo Domingo Hospital is owned and operated by the Aurarian Catholic Church. It receives almost all of its funding from the church and a certain degree of public financing. That public financing is quite surprising as the Aurarian Government is extremely resistant to using public funds for a religious institution – even if it’s a hospital in an underserved area.

The saddening part of the story is that it is very likely that the hospital will shut down once the leftist Aurarian President, Manuel Sanabria, signs his Financial Plan into law. The new plan, passed almost exclusively along ideological lines, finally grants a long fought for leftist goal of eliminating the tax exemption status of the Catholic Church. In doing so, it is very likely that the already struggling church will now face a serious crisis.

Being Catholic has never been easy in the almost violently secular country. A combination of historically anti-clerical policies, declining religiosity, financial scandals, and rising costs have plagued the Church for decades. All the while, the Church has spent a huge amount of resources providing services, like the Santo Domingo Hospital, to regions of the country often times ignored by the Central Government in Solis.

“There will be an impact, of course, but through such adversity we find strength,” said Bishop Isaac Savall of Amusco “There are certainly discussions on condensing the services we provide, the simple fact is that the Church will not be able to sustain its current levels.”

That story plays out across the country. Depending on who you talk to, it takes a markedly political tone. Perhaps the biggest feud in the country is at the very top, between President Sanabria and Archbishop Velázquez themselves. The feud goes from the ceremonial, such as disinviting one another to traditional events, to the extreme – such as, well, eliminating tax exemptions.

“President Sanabria, the Coalition for Change, and leftists generally have forced us to take a political stance,” Archbishop Velázquez’s Office stated.

The Archbishop has lead a renewed crusade in Auraria, leading efforts to improve the Church’s management – at all levels – and appeal to a larger swath of the population. It was actually the result of Velázquez’s leadership that many Catholic hospitals, schools, and homeless shelters sprung up across the country.

“It isn’t so much spreading God’s message,” the Archbishop said “As it is using every resource available to better live in his image.”

While through these financial difficulties, the Church has also stepped up its contributions to the political realm – particularly to the People’s Republican Party. The People’s Republicans generally favor using the Church to administer social services on a more localized level and have provided a number of public funds to accomplish that task. The leftist Coalition for Change has radically pulled money from religious institutions and beefed up state institutions.

Undoubtedly, Aurarian Catholics have apprehension about the future of their country’s politics. It is widely believed that this is only the beginning of an assault on the Church. Leftists, conversely, state that it is long overdue that the Church pay its fair share to society. The debates will rage on but the decisions have an impact on the people of the country.

“I was diagnosed with cancer three years ago,” Carlos Casal of Cartaya said “God gave me help when the State would not.”

 

[Azraq]

Azraqi noble dating Austwegian royal identified
AP Jugol

The Azraqi nobleman rumoured to be dating an Austwegian princess has been identified by social media users as Samakaab Olol Looyaan of the Xaqaar clan, the largest and most prestigious of the Azraqi imperial clans.

The alleged relationship has proven controversial in Jyskerige-Østveg, where commentary had focused on how a mixed-race and faith relationship would be received. Strict lèse-majesté and privacy laws in Azraq have discouraged local press from discussing the romance, although some Azraqis have taken to Twatter and other platforms to air their opinions.

"Will Aw* Samakaab given up all his concubines for this 'princess' loool" twatted user @aaden91 while @jigi_jigi asked if the Austwegian royal, Princess Ulrika of Sørmland, would be happy being one of several wives.

Under Azraqi law, Samakaab can legally have as many wives as he can "materially support". Given the Xaqaar clan's immense wealth, this could potentially run into the dozens, if not hundreds.

The Xaqaar clan, named after the mother of the Muslim prophet Ismail, is one of the six Imperial clans of the Azraqi Empire. The Empire is a rotational monarchy, with the title of Emperor passing between a designated representative of each clan every seven years. This means Princess Ulrika could become an Empress. However Azraqi constitutional experts say she'd have to convert to Islam in order to become accepted.

When contacted by Affiliated Press, representatives for both Princess Ulrika and Samakaab Olol Looyaan refused to comment, as did the governments of Azraq and Jyskerige-Østveg.

*Dawamali honorific

 

[Ostmark]

HORST GRASSER, A STRANGE LEADER.

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​

​

VIENNA (Ostmark) - When the National-Syndicalist People's party seized a majority in the National Assembly, 66 years old Horst Grasser became Chancellor with no experience in governance. Of what little was known about Grasser, many observers drew attention to 35 years of his life spent as an automotive factory worker. Those details led many observers to speculate that Ostmark finally had its reformer, that the dynamic Horst, whose family lived the plight of poverty and famine like the majority of Ostmarkians during the default followed by economic recession and austerity, would further open his country’s economy. Having tasted life in a free market society, it seemed to follow that Horst would bring his country out of isolation, gradually lifting the restrictions on movement of people and information both into and out of Ostmark.

But instead of opening his country, Horst’s first few days at the helm featured a series of purges in the upper ranks of the now defunct Bundesheer to solidify his grip on power, removing from their positions anyone he perceived as a threat. He also increased security along Ostmark’s border to limit the number of Ostmarkians who defect to the West.

Once he felt secure, Horst began to consider his country's position in the international order. As a small, poor country, Ostmark needed to do something to build a profile that more powerful countries would take into account. After being confronted with the harsh reality of facts, Horst realized the only way to defend Ostmark was to keep it as isolated as possible from the rest of the international community. As of today, Ostmark is the most secretive and isolated country of Europe.

There is no good reason to believe that Horst intends to negotiate away his country’s isolation, or that he longs to be the reformer that will open Ostmark to the outside world. Even under Horst, Ostmark has stuck to its ideology of limiting outside influences. Horst now faces the challenge of finding a way to improve the economy, while keeping the country as far as possible from the events of the West and the East.

Horst has proved to be a shrewder leader than anyone expected when he took power, but this balancing act is likely to prove too difficult, even for him.

 

[Natal]

Caledonia to organise a referendum to for the ascension into CoN
AP Dun Eidyn

After an extraordinary meeting of the government today, Toiseach Olibhia MacAnndra has stated that she has the approval of the Cabinet to organise a referendum regarding the ascension of the Commonwealth of Caledonia into the Council of the North. The next step of this is to be sent to the Aonach and if it will be voted, a referendum will be set up and if not, the issue will be dropped. Through their powers, both the Toiseach and the President have the mandate to call a referendum, but considering the consequences of such a decision and how divided the society was on this subject, many have considered necessary to have no queue jumps and get the approval of all the necessary institutions.

While constitutionally, military alliances can be signed only with the support of the parliament, the polarisation that came from the first news of a potential Caledonian ascension into the CoN has created one of the most important national debates in the country since the fall of the monarchy and the National-Syndicalist regime in 1985.

The supporters of the ascension project, like the new minister of Foreign Affairs, Calum Seadh, have stated that trans-national cooperation is the only path for the future. "The days when small nations like Caledonia, Jyskerige-Ostveg or Justosia were relevant by themselves have long passed. Caledonia had her great colonial empire, the Two Kingdoms had their own imperial projects back in the day, but in the 21st century, in the times of the Rurikgrad Pact and the Engellkin, can such small nations manage to keep themselves afloat without banding together? Some, like the Two Kingdoms have adopted the path to neutrality, but I do believe that a membership in a military alliance might prove a better way to defending yourself, even if that means strength in numbers," stated Calum Seadh.

Others, who have been extremely vocal against it, such as the conservative wing of the National Union, have stated that Caledonia has a long history of playing the David in front of many Goliaths and has managed to prevail in the most damnable circumstances.

"It is clear that if Caledonia joins the Council of the North, it will be trapped in the volatile affairs of North Germania. The Seven Day War and the Gunnish intervention in Crotobaltislavonia, even if it was humanitarian, has shown that they are easy to be caught up in the quagmire that is politics of CBS and the rivalry between the Engelkin and the Rurikgrad Pact. Like us, they have their own Status Quo Treaty with Kadikistan, but compared to us or Pelasgia, they are ready to play some political games that put their treaty at risk. Can we say that we are comfortable with such a thing? Do we want to risk the future of our children and see a repeat of the events from 1957?" stated Gòrdan GilleChrìost, the head of the conservative faction of the National Union.

 

[Northern Cooperative Unions]

TEKST - WORD FROM PRESIDIUM OF THE COUNCIL OF COOPERATIVES

The Proletarian North encourages the Caledonian peoples to maintain independence in the interest of cooperation between our two peoples. If the Caledonian nation chooses to engage itself in continental commitments which may bind it to support parties which act against the interests of the peoples and cooperatives of the North, the cooperative relationship between our peoples may find itself in a difficult position. Our peoples hope the Caledonians are sensible in this regard, and we have no intention to jeopardize the diplomatic or independent processes of Caledonia otherwise.


Regards,
Council of Cooperatives

 

[Northern Cooperative Unions]

Whispers in Rigustad
AP Rigustad

The Northern Cooperatives are a remote society isolated from most of the West by Kadikistan. The only land borders into the country are via Kadikistani border checkpoints and railways. Party to the Rurikgrad Pact as an associate more so than a solidified ally, the Northern Realms have consistently avoided the international affairs that often dominate the affairs of their Kadikistani cousins.

The government has consistently maintained a staunchly isolationist and pro-independence attitude. Even when presented with the concept of a "union state" many times throughout the past between Kadikistan and some of the Cooperatives, the pro-independence Teutonians and Latgallian-Wendish have refused outright. This pro-independence attitude has neither been supported nor countered by their Kadikistani comrades. Relations could be no better than they are now. A beacon of stability in comparison to their neighbors, the Northern Realms have not ever had internal strife through the passage of power. This has often been chalked up to "luck", as most of the disparate parts that make the Northern Realms have had little reason to complain with the three rulers of the Cooperatives in the past.

As of late, however, our journeys to Rigustad have indicated unease in the local government. The Central Cooperative Press Union, the Northern Realm's largest news agency, often presents a cheery image of anti-corruption battles and work to liberalize the country. While the latter is occurring to an extent, the purpose of the anti-corruption battles appears to be in preparation for what we assume to be a succession. The preeminent candidates to succeed the role of the old Premier Diethelm Jaroslavas are his son, Vadic Jaroslavas, and the Deputy Premier of the Chamber, Bohdan Smit - the Premier of the Teutonian Cooperative. There is one other candidate often referred to from the very far North - the radical Ludvigs Balodis, the Premier of the Lietvu Cooperative. Balodis set himself apart from both candidates by coming from the minority Litu peoples, often only represented in the Cooperative Chambers by the Litu Cooperative itself. Balodis represents an attempt by the minorities to elbow their way into the traditionally Teutonian-Latgal-Wendish representation.

Throughout history, the ethnic minorities of the Northern Realms have often been subject to outright assimilation attempts or purposeful ignorance by the government. Forming most of the Cooperatives, the minorities hail from many disparate groups who often fight themselves more than their government. These groups form the bulk of the so-called "Northern Mafijas", the criminal syndicates that run most of the country's minority cooperative governments.

It remains to be seen if the Northern Realms can maintain stability if succession occurs again. Rumors from our sources have indicated that Diethelm Jaroslavas may have been stricken ill, and this would justify the recent "anti-corruption" crackdowns targeting many veterans of the chambers who might form realistic opposition when the torch is passed.

 

[Azraq]

Azraqi foreign minister demands Loago majority rule
AP Jugol

Multau Birru minister of foreign affairs for the Empire of Azraq, has demanded an end to white-minority rule in Loago and criticised plans for a Caledonian peacekeeping force.

"The denial of basic political rights to the native peoples of Loago is a shame on our continent and offensive to Azraqi" Birru declared, "and so is the idea the Commonwealth of Caledonia can fix it having made the problem."

Loago, a former Caledonian colony that neighbours Azraq, has been in the midst of internal conflict, with a long running Communist insurgency and recent military coup.

The previous Azraqi government was believed to have quietly supported the racist white military regime in its fight against the Loagan League of Communists. However the new coalition administration has struck a different tone, condemning the lack of democracy.

Foreign minister Birru is also leader of the Shamo People's Liberation Front (SPLF), which has known links with the LLC from the SPLF's time as a guerilla movement during Azraq's own military junta. Many Himyar experts think this is why he has spoken out but the rest of the Azraqi government has stayed quiet.

"Both the Justice Party and Movement for the Poor and Dispossessed are focused on their domestic agenda... Loago and everything else is a distraction," says Natalian geopolitical analyst Onai Matonga.

This may limit Birru's movement for manouevre. "Jugol will not want to lock unnecessary fights abroad," Matonga continues.

 

[Touzen]

Touzen claims Rosencranz Affair as foreign policy victory
AP Siyang

The Anti-State's Ministry of Revolutionary Defense and External Affairs has released a communique stating the recent Elben announcement to exile Johan Rosencranz, convicted under the Kingdom's punitive Tiburan Catholic legal code for Masonic activities, instead of being burned at the stake as originally announced, was "a victory of the Anti-State's foreign policy" that underscored "the Anti-State's corrective influence on the behavior of the most appalling statist human rights violators". The original announcement by the Kingdom of Elben via its paper of record to burn Rosencranz had caused widespread horror and condemnation in the international community, with many governments having called for clemency and moderation in the case.

"The leadership of Dictator Hayabusa is already showing to have a positive effect. Historically, tyrants felt emboldened whenever Touzen has opted for isolation from the general affairs of the world. The best case for human rights is a bold Touzen asserting its code of conduct proactively in the international sphere. Of course they will deny it, but our track record of following through with our announcements of action-taking will have influenced the King and his advisors", an unnamed source in the Ministry stated towards AP.

The Anti-State, particularly in Touzen, is currently in a process of restructuring that has been going on for months with a swing of the internal political climate towards the more traditionalist wing of Post-Delegationism, sidelining moderates and reformers centered in the All Citizens' Congress, the former parliament of the Anti-State, through continuing institutional reforms and political campaigns criticized as authoritarian and hardline in character by critics, but championed as a restoration of democratic processes subverted by decades of reformist rule by proponents.

 

[Great Engellex]

BREAKING: DoVEL and DoLEV Urge Caution Over Hacked Billboards Across the Republic
AP International

The Department of Vigilance and Enforcement of Lawful Behaviour (DoVEL) in SoCRER, and the Department of Law Enforcement and Vigilance (DoLEV) in NoCRER, have both issued statements urging caution in NoCRER and SoCRER after the appearance of unauthorized messaging on electronic billboards across the Engellexian Republic.

The messages, which began to appear at some time this afternoon, seem at this stage to be linked to Bloody Momentum, which has a presence in both the North and South, and urged citizens to participate in a Republic-wide civic unrest in response to the events surrounding the embassy in Vesper, Cantignia.

Sir Credence Legge-Somers, Congressman for Camden, and Minister for DoVEL in Elephant & Castle, released a statement just moments ago, calling for caution throughout SoCRER and the wider Republic while the department investigates the source and honest intent behind the agitation. In the statement, he recommended that law-abiding, and honest free citizens do proceed with a degree of caution, until we have determined what the actual motivation behind these calls for mass disobedience truly are. At this stage, their motive is not entirely understood, and DoVEL is on high alert while a full assessment of the situation of civic security takes place.

During the press conference, Sir Credence Legge-Somers also confirmed that at this present moment, intelligence suggests that these agitators may be a splinter from Bloody Momentum, or a hardliner cell of Bloody Momentum which has turned away from the democratic appeals of the wider protester group, and that it is very possible that this group may be born of the frustrations from within Dulwich at the beginning of this year.

A spokesperson for Miley Cyrus, a musical artist from Otho-Eam, has refused to comment on the use of her music - Nothing Breaks Like a Heart - unreleased officially, alongside political protest messages on hacked billboards across the Engellexian Republic.

 

[Ebria]

Alice Makeba sues the Justosian Crown Prince
AP Harton

The Hartonite social media influencer, twatter and MePipe celebrity Alice Makeba has just sued the Justosian Crown Price after he has called her on twatter a dog faced commoner, jealous that "no one will lay with her". This comes after Alice Makeba has posted on twatter a question, asking if anyone else was concerned about the well being of the Natalian Minister Plenipotentiary, Emilia Harris, as she had to meet with the Justosian Foreign Minister. Makeba ended her post calling Avalon the rape capital of Europe. She stated that her using that label on the city comes after a Jysk woman was raped in the capital, following the sectarian fuelled diplomatic row between the two countries.

The Lady Protector, Adrianne Stone has jumped too into this, condemning the Justosian prince for his lack of respect towards women and issuing a travel warning to Justosia like the Sylvanian government. The recent spat comes only a day after Natalia and Justosia have just ended a diplomatic row. The Lady Protector has asked the Justosian government to try to limit the access of the Crown Prince to social media. In the words of the Lady Protector: "His immature antics, misogyny and frustrations are making him a bad example, especially knowing his position. What diplomats and politicians work so hard to build, this mad has just destroyed in a few seconds".

The row has also started a trending hashtag on twatter, #metoo where women from all over the globe have started to condemn the Justosian prince. The trend was started by Marit Austrheim Engeli, the woman who was the victim of the rape a few weeks ago in Avalon. She might now turn into becoming a leader of the feminist movement, giving a voice to women all over the globe who are living in fear of sexual attacks or abuses.

 

[Justosia]

The seeming erratic, frenzied state of the Natalian Federation

AP Internationale
Charles Tessarico

The federation known as

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has entered what many currently in Avalon & even reportedly the upper echelons of the government are calling "a frenzied state".

With the news breaking that a Natalian semi celebrity has tried suing HRH Prince Julian II, HRH is refusing to apologize. Claiming the woman in question insulted the entire population of the capital.

There have been trickles, seemingly, lately. Of Avalon's growing suspicion of Camp Hill. From its threats or insults, claimed by the government via their Foreign Minister Chris Tanner, to its latest swatting away of the diplomatic overtures from the Justosiangovernment. Including the de-classification of DR One, & the latest offer of proposed military defence excecises.

Adding to this is the news that the federation's own news sources aredeliberately reporting false &/or dated news. The Justosian Stock Market has closed up a total of roughly 450 points inthe last 3-4 days. This is largely seen as due to the recent de-nationalization of industry. Federation news sources can only, really be seen as deliberately misleading its readers as this news is almost a week old.

To add to this, federation news sources have, very surprisingly, began to guesstimate the completion levels of Justosian aircraft carriers. Which could further inflame tensions internationale as charges of government propagandist interference in their news could arise. In yet another worrisome trend, the respective writers are seemingly proving they don't understand how tariffs work. As the elimination of the aforementioned earned internationale praise from would be taxes importers. The end ofinflammatory protectionist trade policy, which also led to a stock market bump.

Rarely has politics internationale become as strange as this. Strange however, asalways preferable to tension, or worse.

 

[Touzen]

Justosia: A crisis long in the making
AP Jugol

The crisis surrounding the Himyari state of Justosia has intensified in recent days, with reports coming from the hermit kingdom's capital of Avalon that protests in the slums at the outskirts of the city have been swelling after the government announced further austerity measures and investment programs to counteract the chronic economic troubles of one of Europe's poorest countries amplified by an ambitious armament program that has raised fears of regional destabilization in Himyari diplomatic circles and beyond.

The Northern Himyari "Pirate Kingdom", so nicknamed for its history of Urudoah rulers associated with legendary privateers during the Long Sea Pirate Wars of the 18th and 19th Century, has always been a factor of instability alongside the Long Sea, a situation that has only been intensifying since King Carlos Francisco II. took over the reigns of the country from his father King Carlos Francisco I. in 2005.

Carlos Francisco, also known by his birth name Juan Gonzales, overthrew the fragile democratic government of the Republic of Shark el-Arish in a military coup in 1990, ruling as authoritarian president while suspending the constitution. During his reign, the ruler amassed large amounts of wealth by expropriating landed elites mostly composed of ethnic Aurarian settlers still intimately tied to the former colonial homeland, having assumed rules of prominence in the region even before independence during the time of the Protectorate of el-Arish. Gonzales,himself an Aurarian, enjoyed a certain degree of popularity owing to his actions, helping him to keep the volatile peace in the multiethnic former Aurarian colony, carefully sharing the spoils with key supporters who would go on to buy him the acceptance or at least passive compliance of the Urudoah, Nethite and Mestizo communities.

However, overextended budgets for bribery and compliance as well as increasingly extravagant displays of powers shook the economic foundations of the small country, increasingly pushing Aurarians previously dominating the economy out of the country, the resulting brain drain an event from which the country never quite recovered. Increasingly senile and paranoid, Gonzales declared himself King Carlos Francisco in 2001 at the age of 78, abolishing the former mantle of Republicanism in favor of declaring a Holy Kingdom of "Justosia" - the Just- in its stead, promising an end to ethnic divides and civil strife under the auspices of a divinely mandated monarchy. Styling himself a defender of the Protestant faith, the last years of his reign saw increasingly erratic and violent suppressions of politic opponents, bizarre policies and international isolation, until the self-styled monarch was declared "unable to assume the responsibilities of rule" in 2003 by a group of military officers. His son Jesus was appointed regent, and ascended to the throne in 2005 as Carlos Francisco II. after the death of his father under suspicious circumstances.

The recent increase in diplomatic posturing by the king has been feared by same to be a revisitation of his father's reigns, an authoritarian ruler who was in his later years no longer pliable by western overtures of investment into the considerable rare earth resources of the country, preferring to close the country's economy to foreign influence in fear of conspiracies against his rule, famously having accused Aurarian spies of sending "espionage eagles" to spy on the country in preparation for an Aurarian supported invasion of Republican exiles in the Bay of Owls. For those concerned about the armament program, they fear that the King will use the recently commissioned carriers, seen by military analysts as barely functional by contemporary standards, to enact a permanent strategy of tension to ensure his army's and people's compliance.

Yet, denationalization and announcement of free trade policies could also be a shimmer of hope: That perhaps, through investment, a detente can be reached and a more moderate modus of interaction with and reliance on the international community might yet reintegrate the coastal realm into the concert of powers, if only for the time being. Whether more diplomatic voices will prevail in Avalon remains to be seen.

 

[Ebria]

Caledonian intelligence general defects
AP International

A shocking news came today from Ivar, where the Caledonian general Seathan Forsaidh, the head of the Caledonian intelligence services, the State Protection Service has announced that he requested political asylum from Kadikistan. Forsaidh, which has been mostly a shadowy figure in Caledonian politics, but has been observed close to certain members of the conservative and anti-communist faction of the Turnip League.

The defection seems to have been planed for some time, as the general has made it public, rather than secretive and has condemned the Scanian and Western countries, describing them as "living on borrowed time". Sources from Caledonia seem to be divided in two, some being surprised by this, especially as Forsaidh was the senior most member of the SDS, responding directly to the Toiseach and the President of Caledonia. Others have quickly responded and called him a crypto-communist, while others even went as far as calling him a Kadikistani mole, who managed to achieve the pinnacle in infiltration, taking down with him the country's whole secret service.

"Kadikistan has been the guardian of order in Europe in the last 60 years. The volatility of the western nations and the lack of respect towards the people has made it clear that they pushed Kadikistan into this war in a bid to relive the events of 1957. They were wrong. In the end, Kadikistan represents the vanguard of the working class and they were steadfast when the torrents came upon them," stated Forsaidh in a press conference in Ivar.

It is believed that with his defection, Seathan Forsaidh has offered the Kadikistani secret service all the info of the SDS starting from past operations, going through the network of agents and ending with the planned future operations. This represents the biggest security breach in history, as never again a secret service has been dismantled in such a way.

The ex-general has stated that he will start publishing information which he describes being of "international importance", put together by the SDS, in the hope of, as he calls it, "stopping imperialism and neo-colonialism".

 

[Ostmark]

IT'S NO SURPRISE OSTMARKIANS ARE ANGRY

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VIENNA (People's Republic of Ostmark) - There has been much debate about why the public in Ostmark has lost faith in mainstream political parties but the reason behind the rise of Ostmarkische Nationalsyndikalismus doesn’t take much working out. The past years have seen the biggest national financial crisis and a complete meltdown of the economy, followed by a default of the country's finances under the weight of a more than three trillion OstMarks public debt and a sluggish and stagnant recovery. Living standards flatlined and public spending had been cut. Ostmarkians are anxious, frustrated and angry. The only real surprise is that they are not angrier. These are perfect conditions for an age of insecurity and the rise of populist movements such as the National-Syndicalist People's Party.

When former Chancellor Franz Kohler, who has been recently sentenced to death, announced his austerity measures in 2014, his slogan was "There is no alternative". Strangled by international lenders and hyperinflation, Ostmark's economy fell into a self-sustaining cycle of unemployment, poverty and de-industrialization. Thousands of companies filled for bankruptcy, and with them, hundred thousands of families had lost their main source of income. Most ostmarkian families relied on a single salary to pay for their upkeep and meet month's end.

When historians and political analysts blame the rise of National-Syndicalism on former automotive industry technician Horst Grasser, they once again ignore the prolonged state of frustration and despair which was forced upon almost six million ostmarkians. Instead of enacting new policies aimed at resolving endemic poverty and unemployment, the Sozialdemokratische Partei Ostmark (Social Democratic Party of Ostmark) concentrated economic reforms with the sole goal of keeping their promises to international lenders and creditors, thus abolishing rights such as the right to medical care, insurance in case of illness or disability and also increased retirement age up to 68 from the previous parameter set at 62.

When Horst Grasser mentions the so-called "Days of Sorrow", he most likely refers to a prolonged condition of deprivation and malnourishment which exaccerbated the frustration of millions of citizens who, according to academics, triggered a psychological trauma on a large portion of the population. Some have speculated that Volkskanzler Horst Grasser suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and struggles to cope with severe depression. This is not surprising. After all, there isn't a single family in Ostmark that has not suffered poverty or unemployment. Many others have mourned a loss likely linked to such phenomena. According to a survey, over three thousand ostmarkians committed suicide. Over seventy percent of such deaths occured by hanging. There have been a few cases of immolation, and hundreds of cases of suicide by train, to a point railway transportation ceased to function due to daily operations to remove corpses and assist the injured.