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Serenierre

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Karachi, Sindh
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Private Moments | President Maximilien Hortefeux
After the summit, at a lunch with friends in Solis, the Serenien president spoke to old friends, "Whether now, or later, Auraria will need to learn that it cannot continue on it's lonely path. I know those tired old arguments. But with Ivar on all of our doorsteps, what makes Solis think that Leninovism will stop in Bourgogne? Who could have imagined Bourgogne... the Grandest of all duchies, would be sitting in Ivar's grip?"
 

Oneida

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Jurzidentia
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PRESIDENT ORDENES AUTHORIZES ODS MEMBERSHIP
National Court Expected to Ratify ODS Charter, Formalizing Aurarine Membership
[SOLIS] – In what is undoubtedly a shocking display of unity in the Aurarian Government, Marisela Palace announced that an agreement between Auraria and the Organization of Democratic States (ODS) has been reached that would involve full membership for the Republic – becoming the organization’s fifth member. Even further, the package that Auraria negotiated has already been approved by a necessary majority of the National Court – meaning that the Government expects complete ratification of the President’s actions.
By the Constitution, the President of the Republic can enter Auraria into any international treaty. However, it is the National Court that is needed to pass the required enabling legislation for the involvement to have any weight. In January, President Ordenes elected not to sign the ODS Treaty due to the fact that the Government was unable to secure enough votes to ratify it. This would create an awkward scenario where officially the Republic was a member, but did not implement any of the benefits nor responsibilities of membership – negatively affecting the credibility of the country.
However, after receiving a formal invitation from all four ODS Nations to join the alliance – an unprecedented move – President Ordenes and Consul Valera got to work. Several weeks ago, the Government passed legislation that legitimized the various workers’ cooperatives across Auraria, providing them with much needed legal protections and satisfying the post-delegationist FNT’s largest labor issue. Valera hoped to use political capital from this compromise to work on the ODS.
In Auraria, three camps exist: the Democratic Defense Initiative, the Organization of Democratic States, and neutrality. Most political parties have picked a side, but the FNT was fairly divided. The FNT is more in-line with the DDI than ODS, largely due to political similarities between them and the Commonwealth of Pohjanmaa and the Anti-State. Perhaps even more problematically is the People’s Republican Party – the largest opposition party – and its devout support for the DDI. Details remain a bit vague, but it is reported that President Ordenes, Consul Valera, and Leader Ruiz have met on numerous occasions to discuss what full ODS Membership would look like in regard to relations to the DDI. Consul Valera promised that “ODS Membership is not in opposition of the DDI.”
Working with the opposition was critical toward gathering the long-term stability of ODS Membership. “It doesn’t do the country any good if every so many years a new Government undoes all the actions of the last,” Professor Julio Vasquez, a political scientist from the University of Navales commented “and undoubtedly that is a common trend in Aurarian politics.”
A lot of securing that compromise came from the exemptions requested by the Government – all of which were approved. However, while the exemptions and guarantees pleased some, they certainly raised eyebrows elsewhere. A significant portion of ODS membership involves membership in their Common Market. For the first time, Auraria is pledging to remove trade barriers between itself and the Johnston Isle, Eiffelland-Retalia, Etruria, and the Natal in all areas except for one: CAIDA. CAIDA is the largest manufacturer in Auraria and alone contributes a sizeable portion of the GDP. It the only company, in the entire county, to be granted protections from ODS’ common market. Seeing that the Common Market would require Auraria to lift its tariffs and tax benefits on RRF products in Eiffelland-Retalia, the country requested that it be exempt from those requirements. This is to remain a “competitive edge” for CAIDA. While most economists would argue that this is a positive stop, it is nevertheless controversial given that CAIDA is literally the only industry to receive such protections. It has already been reported that legal firms across the country have been contacted to “explore options.”
Auraria has consistently relied on the quality and name-brand of its products to withstand a market seeking to produce more and cheaper. It will be interesting to see how Aurarian companies fair against larger manufacturers, particularly in Eiffelland-Retalia. To help in that field, as a condition of membership, Auraria requested that ODS negotiate and adopt alliance-wide labor standards to ensure that companies aren’t given a competitive edge by taking advantage of lower or higher standards across nations.
Key speculations point to the Republic’s interests in reproaching the Grand Duchy of Furlaniè, which now stands as the barrier to a land border between Eiffelland-Retalia, Etruria, and Auraria. President Ordenes has been very critical of the country’s status quo treaty, but its highly unlikely if any of that has the ability to change. Nevertheless, Auraria’s membership in ODS provides a shift in Gallo-Germanian geopolitics that will undoubtedly cause as many problems as benefits.
“Nothing can happen in Gallo-Germania without something threatening global war,” joked Professor Vasquez.
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Oneida

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Jurzidentia
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STOCK MARKET CLOSES ON A HISTORIC PLUNGE
Increased Tensions and ODS-Sanctions on Kadikistan Cause Concern in Stock Values

[SOLIS] - “La Gran Congelación,” or the “Great Freeze” has summarized what many Aurarian economists have identified as a persistent period of economic stagflation over a long period of time. The period has gone for so long that many in Auraria see it as a factor of life. Stock traders in Solis shout at each other every morning before the stocks open “hoping for a hot one!” or “no coat today!” – referring to days when the markets were growing. Certainly, there have been hot ones, but the long awaited “arrival of summer” seems still distant.

Today, news of ODS imposed sanctions on Kadikistan in response to the Ivar-backed coup d’etat in Crotobaltislavonia sent shockwaves across the Solis Stock Exchange. Stocks fell a stunning 12.10% - one of the largest in the history of the exchange. Part of the sanctions included an ODS withdrawal of economic activity in the Kadikistani Special Economic Zones. While Aurarine companies themselves did not heavily invest in these zones, the country has been fast tracking legislative packages to integrate into the ODS Common Market – which has. This sudden reversal of policy from the ODS will undoubtedly send shockwaves to the heabily export-based economy of Eiffelland-Retalia, which is one of Auraria’s largest trading partners even before the inclusion into the Common Market. The impacts felt in Natal and Eiffelland spell a dim outlook for Auraria’s long-term fiscal stability.

“Of course, we are working diligently to address the matter and predict the long-term consequences,” said Consumer Affairs Minister Aleida Garcia Lopez “However, we do anticipate a sharp rise in the price of consumer goods as a result of unstable international trade. We cannot presently predict how long that condition will last.”

Dim economic outlooks during the “Gran Congeclación” aren’t new. While the economic crisis has affected all facets of Auraria’s society, perhaps none are so heavily impacted as Aurarian youth.

“What a terrible thing to be young in in Catamarca-Montena,” quips comedian Estéban Pedroso “they have so many sleepless nights wondering how to get the best job, best future. You see we here in Ebría sleep soundly at night because we know we don’t have any future to begin with.”

Skilled or unskilled, young Aurarians are earning less than they did ten years ago – according to the Bank of Auraria. Economists have noted that Auraria’s youth, particularly those of low educational attainment, are most heavily impacted, even in the economically powerful Constituent Community of Tauritania.

Tauritania, the country’s manufacturing hub, will be particularly impacted by the ODS sanctions as the closure of potential markets and disruption of trade routes will increase the costs of exporting the products produced there.

A particular stock of interest was CAIDA, which alone accounts for around 1.5-2% of total Aurarian GDP. Considering Kadikistan’s size, the country is a large market for aircraft. CAIDA’s stock fell almost 7% as questions rose over what it can and cannot do with planes already purchased and contractual obligations.

“The sanctions against Kadikistan are a critical statement that their foreign policy defined by aggressive expansion and subordination cannot be supported,” said President Ordenes “We will feel this economic pain but we must stand for our morals and what our country is founded upon.”

Conservative opposition leader, Miguel Ruiz of the People’s Republican Party issued a harsh rebuke of the President “Ordenes’ reckless foreign policy consistently and perpetually negatively impacts this Republic. Whatever leverage we had over Kadikistan’s economic wellbeing is gone over some petty high moral stance. The Kadikistani never have nor ever will care for morals and whatever economic pain they feel they’ll simply make up by forcing more Jurzani slaves into hard labor.”

Military Orders Deployment to Etruria

In response to the coup d’etat in Crotobaltislavonia, the Aurarine Ministry of Defense has announced that it intends to place a permanent deployment of troops in the Kingdom of Etruria to assist in defensive operations in the country.

“Only three years ago, the borders of the Rurikgrad Pact were more than 2,000 km east of Solis. Now Auraria borders it as country after country has fallen to the Pact’s aggressive expansion. The recent coup d’etat in Crotobaltislavonia and the closeneing of ties between Ivar and Grau are further evidence of the Pact’s intention to keep its western march. We must be prepared to stand in support of Etrurian sovereignty.”

The Ministry did not provide any details on the total number of assets it intends to deploy to Etruria, but certified that it is monitoring the defensive capability of Etruria and using that to account for what forces Auraria is looking to provide.

Members of the Government, particularly MAFUETO have criticized the actions stating that diplomacy, not arms, will resolve the current crisis. However, Consul Valera has stated that she is confident of the National Court’s ability to appropriate the necessary funds to support the deployment and that the President has certain powers that compel the National Court to not compromise the safety of Aurarine Troops.

Continuing in its vagueness, the Ministry reported that it hoped to have the troops deployed “promptly without delay,” but did not give a solid time frame.

News in Brief…
:exclaim:Auraria refuses to recognize the new government in Crotobaltislavonia, calls it illegitimate.
:exclaim:University of Navales announces intentions to expand weather monitoring experiment with moored buoys throughout territorial waters in the Reman and Long Sea
:exclaim:People’s Republican Party questions Government’s commitment of financial aid to Eiffelland-Retallia and Natal over the withdrawal from KSEZ.
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Oneida

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STRING OF FIRES TERRORIZE TAURITANIA
Described as an "Attack of Arson" the City of Tauritania was "under siege" from fires this morning.

[TAURITANIA]
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“it was unlike anything I have ever seen,” said one dock worker as the order to evacuate was given once the fires spiraled out of control in the Drydocks. Sirens and fire alarms rang across the city, harshly awakening the city in the early morning hours. The Tauritanian Fire Service reported as many as seven cars were set ablaze throughout the city, but the largest of the fires took place at Tauritania Port (particularly, the docks of yacht-maintenance company La Mar) and the Central Republican Bank’s Tauritania Headquarters.

The Bank, due to its central location and extensive safety measures handled the blaze fairly well. In the early morning hours very few staff were on hand and the vaults themselves are designed to handle far worse than a fire. However, the Port fared much worse. The fires erupted at around 4:35AM and by 5:00AM, were well out of control. Despite being on the water, the yachts docked in La Mar’s facilities had exposed wiring and, according to initial reports, likely didn’t follow proper fire safety procedure. In addition to these facilities being rather difficult for emergency services to reach, the fires spread rapidly before they could be put under control. La Mar’s facilities are located fairly close to a fuel storage area, which if it would have been ignited could have caused “an unprecedented castrophe.”

For those who lived far enough away to escape the brutal wail of the sirens, when they awoke and opened their windows they were greeted by a haunting sight of a plume of smoke billowing into the sky. Given the heightened tensions with the Grand Duchy of Furlanìe and the likelihood of Tauritania as a prime target, undoubtedly citizens were sent into panic and one air raid siren even sounded.

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Throughout the city, reports of multiple cars on fires forced the Fire Service to allocate resources to preventing blazes elsewhere as they combatted the main fire at the dock. Certainly, the scenes that permeated in the morning for the city were horrifying and elected officials were quick to respond.

Commenting on increasing demonstrations, particularly among Tauritania’s communist factions and pro-independence groups, Tauritania Prime Minister Aristide Santos Sunyer issued a harsh rebuke stating “These are criminal acts of terror on the people of this city. We will devout all necessary resources to capturing the perpetrators and bringing them to justice. There is no place for this kind of behavior in Tauritania.”

Tauritania, throughout history, has been no stranger to lighting things on fire to make a political statement. To burning down palaces in 1819 to churches in the 1960s and 70s as part of the cultural revolution, demonstrations such as these have been common place. It’s hard, then, to dismiss the likelihood of political motivations given the targets: the Republican Bank and a yacht-maintenance company that serves some of Tauritania and Auraria’s most elite citizens. Further, Prime Minister Santos’ own yacht left port only hours earlier.

Communist and Pro-Independence demonstrations have increased dramatically after the arrest of Delegate Antionio Luiz Delgada on the floor of the National Court after a literal fist fight erupted between the Aurarian Marxist League, the Together for Tauritania, and the People’s Republican Party. Delegate Delgada has been sitting in prison since the fight with the National Court out of session since, presumably, if it is called back into session Delegate Delgada is constitutionally obligated to attend and must be released from prison. The Council of State is currently determining the issue. Further, the recent explosion of violence in Pelasgia along similar lines raises concerns in Tauritania of the political motives of the fires. Thus far, neither the Aurarian Marxist League nor Together for Tauritania have commented on the fires.

“Regardless of the reason,” said President Ordenes “This is not acceptable. We will find the perpetrators and they will face the penalty of the Republic’s law."
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