Kazulia

[alaskancrabpuffs21]

Long Live Queen Astrid The True Leader of Kazulia!!!!!

[Maxington]

Foreign Minister Dagmar Hedegaard, in a move aimed to reintroduce a changed Kazulia to the international community, apologised
to the international domain for Kazulia's action during its period of fascist rule. In a speech aimed at the nations whom Kazulia
has upset during this period of fascist, the Foreign Minister expressed "deep remorse" for her country's actions against its
worldly neighbours. The Foreign Minister's move comes as his government transitions the nation away from its period of relative
"darkness" back towards its state of relative peace and international strength. The Foreign Minister stated that she intends on reigniting
Kazulia's enthusiasm for global peace and stability. Prior to now, the nation had supported fascist regimes in Dovani which had
costed it its relationship with various Dovanian nations and had been privy to an international intervention. The Foreign
Minister has since stated that Kazulia's support for such regime are non-existent and that the government in Skalm was willing to
assist in seeing their immediate collapse. Although he expressed concern for the interventions in Dovani, she viewed them as
necessary recognising that Kazulia did not step up to the plate. She stated that during the fascist regime, Kazulia not only
disappointed its closest allies but it disappointed the world by its unwavering support for unstable, fascist regimes. The
Foreign Minister spoke before the World Congress General Assembly, where he gave the following speech.

It is in our darkest moments that our nature is truly revealed. The fascist regime which once held grip over Kazulia has brought
about the near destruction of the global peace which this nation has fought to establish. In their blindness they have perverted
our most sincere and close relationships. By supporting fascist regimes across the world, that regime has tarnished the name of
Kazulia and has no intention of stopping. I assure the international community that such ideals will never see such a return to
power again. It is in the most sincerest of hearts that i apologise on behalf of the Kazulian people for our actions and the fact
that we were coaxed into that destructive mindset. It is hoped that the nations who have been affected by our actions forgive us
for what we have done.

There have been talks of potential compensation for victims of the regime. The Foreign Minister has stated that if a case of
abuse via the previous regime becomes known to the central government and it is investigated and found to be legitimate, the
central government is willing to compensate. The Foreign Ministry stated that programme such as the Bortnem-Pomerleau Initiative
will be continued with a new vigour and Kazulia's involvement in regional integration will also be continued. With the Trade
Ministry stating that trade will be restarted with the international community, Kazulia must find ways to maintain its relevance
and place in the international community.

[Maxington]

Chief of Defence General Tormond Prestegard announced that after consultation with the Minister of Defence and the Prime
Minister, he would be leading a massive overhaul of the Kazulian Armed Forces, in a move that would work towards reversing
decades of mismanagement and incompetence in the Armed Forces. It has long been debated that within the Kazulian Armed Forces
exists structures which have proven to be inefficient as it pertained to the development of the KAF as a serious military force.
General Prestegard, who had been recently appointed to the position of Chief of Defence of the Kazulian Armed Forces (the highest
ranked commissioned officer in the armed forces), stated that he had been applaud by the lacklustre state of the Kazulian Armed
Forces after decades of neglect and mismanagement from various governments and his predecessors. Prestegard is a career general
educated in the Royal Academy for Military Studies. General Prestegard stated that the Kazulian Armed Forces had a commitment to
the Dovanian continent to guarantee peace and stability within the region, amidst the civil conflict, Prestegard noted that this
obligation has collapsed along with the established peace in the region.

Prestegard's first round of reforms come in the form of battle group reorganisation. Currently, with the modernisation of the
armed forces, the need for a robust system of administration as it pertained to battle formations was needed as a means of
ensuring the continuity of order within the Armed Forces. Prestegard's reforms will be mainly focused on the Army and the Navy,
whereby he intends on ushering in new battle formations in the form of smaller, more specialised divisions, etc. Although the
reforms are aimed at battle groups, they will place an extreme emphasis on the officer's corps. The conflicts in Dovani revealed
the need for a major revamping/reorganisation of the armed forces in favour of junior officers and decentralised military
decision-making and removing the sentiment that Command and Control elements are in place to micro-manage the affairs of the
squad/platoon. In a modernising armed force command, control and communications; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
disciplines must be exercised by commanders within the Kazulian Armed Forces.

Our armed forces cannot advance unless we come to the realisation that we have to move as a team. Warfare is a sympathy of
perfectly timed moves, and strategically important pauses. If we are to push the notion of modernisation within the KAF, it is
imperative that we target our modernisation efforts on the officers, and squad elements before we seek to advance any further
cause in the name of modernisation.

To this end, in-order to satisfy the needs of a performance-capable armed force, the Kazulian Armed Forces must make moves
necessary in championing the sentiment of more professionally trained young officers as a means of promoting teamwork and
competence at the squad level and thus removing the centuries old tradition of command posts being given to the most loyal
instead of the most qualified; expand military education in the fields of command and control, infantry warfare disciplines
including squad and platoon tactics, mountain warfare tactics, arctic warfare tactics, desert warfare tactics and urban warfare
tactics. By extending officer competence in these disciplines the Kazulian Armed Forces develops a competence-driven command and
control structure capable of achieving any military objective and introduce competence in the highest echelons of the armed
forces. The spirit of the unit is set at the top. When the leadership of an armed force display a complete lack of concern for
the welfare of its soldiers such attitudes seep through the ranks reaching to the squad/platoon in some cases.

[Maxington]

Foreign Minister Dagmar Hedegaard and Trade and Industry Minister Jeanett Caspersen introduced the Comprehensive Trade Policies
Reform in the parliament earlier this morning outlining their reforms to Kazulia's trade policy. Underneath the Comprehensive
Trade Policies Reform, both the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Trade and Industry will carry out a review of
all free trade agreements entered into by the country so far to analyse the impact of such agreements on various sectors, most
notably investment flows, worker rights, environmental standards and practices and consumer safety. The review comes amidst the
government's economic redevelopment programme's launch which places a unique emphasis on improving Kazulia's manufacturing
capacity through investment and export business, almost removing the nation's reliance on large imports which had been the cause
for its trade deficit in the past. According to statements from the Department of Trade and Industry's recently opened Section
for International Trade, the question of the Council of Independent States had been raised. According to the Section's Director,
Ruben Ullmann there had been particular concern for the Kazulia's entrance into the agreement as it pertained to the various
nations entering the agreement. Of the nations joining the agreement, the Tsardom of Trigunia is becoming an increasingly
troubling prospect for some officials within the Department of Trade and Industry recognising the nation's recent human rights
record. Whilst Minister Caspersen offered little to no comment on Trigunia's recent actions, Ullmann noted that future
developments could complicate Kazulia's relationship with Trigunia, especially in the realm of trade.

Whilst Kazulia has found relative ease in negotiating mutual trade concessions with governments in the northern hemisphere in the
past, the Trigunian Government have always remained problematic mainly due to the amount of conflicting interests being presented
within the space of trade for Trigunia and Kazulia. We intends on working towards addressing these disparities and hope that the
Trigunian Government will meet with us when the time arises for us to address the question of trade between our respective
nations.

Kazulia has already implemented a plethora of free trade pacts with a number of countries including Lourenne, Sekowo, Luthori,
Hutori and Indrala. Minister Caspersen noted that different sectors have had issues with different FTAs. For instance, the
textile industry is not happy with concessions given to some Seleyan nations, the electronic goods industry is not happy with
concessions to the Artanian nations. Of the major concerns brought forward to both the Department of Foreign Affairs and the
Department of Trade Industry was workers protection. It had been estimated that previous free trade agreements had worked against
the interests of workers protections and worker's rights. It had been noted that corporations brought into the nation through the
free trade agreements were not bound to articles which sought to protect the rights and interests of workers at home and abroad.
Foreign Minister Dagmar Hedegaard that estimates had shown that the utilisation rate of Kazulia's free trade agreements sat
between five percent and twenty percent. The "Select Review" of Kazulia's existing free trade agreements signals a pause in
negotiating future trade agreement until a standardised structure for its free trade agreements move to focus addressing
investment flows, worker rights, environmental standards and practices and consumer safety whilst also establishing
trans-nationally enforceable trade principles such as investment flows, worker rights and environmental standards.

[Maxington]

Governing Mayor of Skalm, Sivert Strommen in his first address as the governing mayor of the capital city, called for the city
government to add 30,000 housing units and has set targets to ensure that the project occur alongside the government's
infrastructure programme. Having received around 12 billion krona from the national budget, a major increase from the 1 billion
received during the previous centuries. A statement from the Skalm Department of Planning stated that a directive from the
Governing Mayor had ordered city agencies to identify new policies, tools, and initiatives to begin fulfilling the bold goal of
creating 30,000 new affordable housing units by 4620. A significant part of the order directs the Department of Planning to look
at the amount of housing, both subsidised affordable and market-rate, which has been built in each of Skalm's “planning areas."
Then, the Department of Planning will define “fair share targets” by September 4617 for housing, including for creating new
affordable housing and preserving existing infrastructure. The goal is to “create an equitable distribution of affordable housing
across the City” by 4650. Underneath a new housing programme from the Skalm Housing Administration seeks to reduce renting rates
within the city's market-rate homes to make space for lower income families and to dismantle the disparity of wealth
inequality.

The order further orders agencies to “identify new ways of promoting opportunities for affordable housing throughout the city,
especially in high opportunity areas that provide access to good jobs, schools, and transit.”. Thus reducing housing segregation
has been identifies as an important goal for the Governing Mayor. The order also calls on agencies to increase incentives to
build new affordable housing, take efforts to preserve existing affordable housing, lower regulatory costs that make new
affordable housing more expensive to build and encourage home-ownership. The City Government's comprehensive plan for its
economic development demands major improvements in core infrastructure from housing to transportation. Vice-Mayor for Urban
Development, Karianne Koppang stated that the city government had begun plans to construct new housing in the districts of
Sognhelle, Åndalstrøm, Kirkerum and Halden. The City Government is expected to release the Comprehensive Plan for Skalm's
Holistic Development (CPSHD). One tool in the box is raising the height limit, and the city government. Currently, laws have been
enacted within the city to keep buildings at a certain height due to previous concerns of earthquakes. The Vice-Mayor of
Infrastructure and Transport, Tim Bjerregaard stated that the Chief Engineer of Skalm will have to review the case for abandoning
the height limits with the National Seismic Centre.

[Maxington]

The Skalm Stock Exchange has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer in the form of former HKBC banker, Malcolm Turner to
replace Tage Lauridsen who announced his retirement some months prior. Turner, who advises exchanges as the CEO of HKBC Hutori's
market structure business in Bekenial, will join the ranks of the Skalm Stock Exchange after around 25 years at the banking firm.
The Hutorian's first task will be to steady the SSE after an unusually turbulent period for one of the City’s oldest and most
prestigious institutions. After rumours had circled that Lauridsen had been forced into retirement, Ebbesen Fund Management
Service one of the three major shareholders in the SSE called for his reinstatement as CEO of the SSE. The dispute came to head
after Lauridsen came out with a statement reaffirming the fact that he had decided to retire from the SSE to make room for
younger faces. Lauridsen who had been 72 at the time of retirement had served as the CEO of the SSE for more than 30 years and
had weathered the SSE through its most difficult transitions. Turner's appointment comes with large amounts of pressure and high
expectations as many of the SSE's shareholders hope that Turner would be able to weather the future economic turbulence to come
similar to his predecessor and with an even greater degree of success. The Hutorian would also have to defend the Skalm Stock
Exchange's position as the centre for derivative transactions against mounting competition in Dovani. Apart from the economic
revival being orchestrated by the federal government and the City Government of Skalm, Turner will have to bolster the SSE's
position as the dominant stock exchange market in the Northern Hemisphere.

Turner, who has been based in Bekenial until now, spent his initial years in HKBC Hutori advising on exchanges. Whilst not a
native speaker of Kazulianisk, it is expected that he will find integration (in terms of language) easy as most Kazulians speak
Luthori as a second language. Turner has stated that he intends on learning Kazulianisk during his tenure as CEO of the SSE,
which according to the agreement is expected to last for around 10 years before it can be reviewed by the Department of Finance
and the Economy. Turner will be the first HKBC-born Stockbroker to take command of the SSE after a long history of the DoFE
appointing exchange advisers from Kazulsk Bank. Ingrid Torvik will step down from Acting CEO of the SSE and will re-assume her
position as Chief Financial Officer. Otto Watland, an analyst for SRS stated that Turner's appointment was good news for the SSE
as investors were hoping an outsider would take over. As a former merger and acquisitions banker, Turner will be equipped to buy
other companies, in line with its current strategy.

[Maxington]

With a new Chief of the Navy in the form of Admiral Kasper Poulsen at the helm, debates on the navy's forces structure have
entered the realm of discussion among defence and acquisition planners, as a number of defence analysts and planners are calling
for a larger navy with an expanded scope. References as to the state of the navy, having lost a handful of frigates and the
damaging of an aircraft carrier, it had been noted that the full force of the Kazulian Navy at the height of the civil conflict
had not been exerted with around 90% of the combatant vessels that comprise of the larger Kazulian Navy remaining intact having
sent to the island of Arenheim to whether the situation. Admiral Poulsen noted that if the entire Kazulian Navy had been involved
in the civil conflict, the subsequent Istalian Naval intervention would be have been halted. The return of democratic rule within
Kazulia marks a new dawn for the Kazulian Navy, having lost a handful of vessels, it still remains one of the largest in the
world. The arguments being brought forward in favour of a larger navy come from the perspective of the undeniable truth that a
ship cannot be in two places at one time, and that Kazulia continued presence in the Dovanian continent and the wider world
demands a greater naval presence.

One of the more effective arguments for the expansion of the Navy comes from Admiral Poulsen and his report entitled, "A Navy in
Transition". The report exhibits a gratifying sense of urgency about Kazulia's return to naval strategic dominance and about the
need to increase the sea services to wage protracted strategic competitions against peer competitors. According to Admiral
Poulsen, great power competition was the greatest cause for the current drive towards expanding the navy. The important question,
according to the Admiral is not whether the navy should expand, it is whether the navy is powerful enough to accomplish the goals
assigned it by senior commanders. He noted in his report that "Naval power is not solely a function of hulls in the water." The
Admiral calls for the navy to move away from defining its power by the sheer number of vessels it possess to define its power by
its ability to adequately apply enough combat power at likely hot-spots to fulfil the strategic objectives as outlined by senior
commanders. Poulsen, stated that he had become extremely tired of other nations defining their naval power by sheer size/number.
He noted that it was better for a navy to be competently lead with a competent tactics and strategy than to be massive and led
with inadequate strategies and the false claim that in modern conflict size matters more than competent leadership.

The revised maritime strategy calls on the navy to do matters a great deal of soul searching for competent leadership.Whilst the
Kazulian Navy in its current size is well capable of mounting a defence of a eastern hemisphere alongside its allies in the
region, it is important to note that with advances in technology the gap between size and strategy is closing. Whilst the
Kazulian navy is woefully under strength to challenge the rest of the great powers simultaneously, what separates Kazulia from
the other great powers is the emphasis on strategic competence and effectiveness. Tallying up ship numbers, then, makes poor
shorthand for Kazulian naval power. The Admiral noted that nations who take pride in tallying the numbers of their massive fleets
show a major weak spot in combat effectiveness. In concluding the Admiral noted that whilst the Kazulian Navy will increase in
size, the topic of numbers is not as important as maintaining the effective edge the Kazulian navy maintains through doctrinal
warfare and competent leadership.

[Maxington]

The International Technologies Corporation (ITC) held its inaugural Electronic Architecture Expo yesterday where the company's
new CEO outlined its renewed direction for products and microsystems in the near future. The event was held at the Svendsen
Conference Hall in Skalm. ITC has been under considerable pressure from its shareholders/investors to diversify the company's
products as well as enhance their capabilities. To actualise these changes, Christoffer Haagensen a software engineer from parent
company, VOLT was brought in to replace Peter Ovesen as CEO of the International Technologies Corporation. Fox had led the
company into largely unsuccessful ventures which resulted in the company having to beg the much larger VOLT to be "rescued" from
near bankruptcy through direct capital investment. With factories open in Agatha and a mounting interest to expand into Lourenne
mainly due to the relative ease of labour, Haagensen has brought a few tricks to ensure that the International Technologies
Corporation remains several steps ahead of the competition. Haagensen unveiled "Cookie Jar", which is ITC's next generation core
CPU platform. Haagensen has stated that the new platform is smarter and faster than its predecessors and will form the backbone
for Chocolate Chip (server) and Cookie Dough (consumer) processors with the platform to be rolled out in the next quarter.
Haagensen stated that Cookie Jar would allow for increased performance and will increase the space needed to accelerate the
process of facilitating artificial intelligence, processing and large workloads mainly in areas demanding of high CPU power.
Cookie Jar will take advantage of ITC'S 10nm manufacturing process granted to the company by VOLT which in itself will be a
relief to the company's decade long use of 15nm process products. Major reductions in latency and increases to instruction have
been stated to be implemented in the new platform. As it pertains to memory, a major boost has been hinted. With the possibility
of a jump from 40 bits to 60 bits. However this increase comes as a cost as the hardening of the infrastructure of the platform
will be introduced as a means of curbing future exploitation of the platform, a problem which ITC has run into many times in the
past.

Although the processing platform is formidable in itself, the most important of the features to comes with Cookie Jar is the
improvement in graphics. Integrated graphics performance whilst not being one of the company's high points has been making
significant comes backs and Cookie Jar brings with it the Alpha Four (A4) which will improve graphics mainly on laptops and
desktops. ITC has stated that it intends on pushing its processors and graphics cards to be used in the video game markets, most
notably the pc-gaming market. It has offer a jitter-free experience through Alpha Four and improved frame-rates. In the past, the
Alpha Three had been privy to much dissatisfaction as consumers complained of major concerns for rubber-banding. Whilst ITC shot
down the sentiment knocking off as a problem with the consumer's system and not the processor, the Alpha Four still makes an
attempt to address the issue by reducing latency. Not to leave out the company's interesting in cellphone chip manufacturing,
Haagensen stated that the company was in the process of developing a chip which will enhance battery life and cellphone speed.
Transistors are the backbone of cellphone electronic ability. ITC has stated that intends on rolling out the "Mustard Seed"
transistor in 2024. As in the name, the Mustard Seed transistor is expected to be far smaller than its processor, "Cashew". The
smaller transistor would allow for ITC to add more electronic ability to cellphones. Through the smaller transistor phones could
either opt for a boost in speed or battery life by a factor of 10%. ITC's new business model has garnered much support from its
shareholders and under Haagensen guidance as has been demonstrated with the face-lift for the company which had been registering
losses for sometime, the International Technologies Corporation is expected to be an extremely successful subsidiary of VOLT and
an extremely successful technology company in the global markets.

[Maxington]

Gasstrien has restarted production at a 5.6bn krona project that will return its operations in the maturing Kazulian oilfields to
growth. According to statements from the company, Gasstrien alongside its principle partner, SP Energy needed to modernise their
operations in the Kazulian shelf, which had stuttered since the offset of the civil conflict. The oilfield in questions known as
the Grimwald-Hrappsson which have stuttered since 4560. Having been discovered around 4540 by Gasstrien, the oilfield was the
field to be explored by Gasstrien in the Nafnisson Plateau. Thorvald Hermansen, CEO of Gasstrien stated that the project coined
Heuzé 550 would be on of the company's latest investments back into Kazulia. It is the third of eight major upstream projects
Gasstrien expects to start in the coming decade around the world. At the height of its production prior to the civil conflict,
the Grimwald-Hrappsson produced nearly 100 million barrels of oil equivalent. According to Gasstrien, the redevelopment will
extend the life of the area until 4630 and could potentially unlock around 300 million barrels of oil. The operations in the
Nafnisson Plateau would help Gasstrien double its production in the wider Nafnisson Plateau by some 100,000 barrel a day.
Gasstrien's Kazulian production almost peaked prior to the civil conflict at around 600,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Whilst some energy companies have been pulling out of the plateau in favour of interests in other Dovanian nations and
potentially in Majatra, companies such as Gasstrien and SP Energy have been re-entering the area to capitalise on the almost near
lack of competition.

Gasstrien maintains a 51% interests on oil and natural gas discoveries in the Kazulian shelf as a state-owned oil and natural gas
company protected underneath the Oil Explorations Act. The Kazulian Environment Authority has barred the exploration and
exploitation of oil and natural gas resources in the Kazulian arctic claim and around the island of Arenheim, designating the
areas of ecologically and environmentally sensitive areas. Gasstrien alongside SP Energy were awarded exploration licences in the
Hammarskjöld basin which remains underdeveloped compared with the rest of the shelf. Energi Kazulmark, a trade body, welcomed the
redevelopment of the Grimwald-Hrappsson citing the move as another positive endorsement of the potential the Kazulian Continental
Shelf still offers with the right investment. Production in the Kazulian shelf returned to growth two years ago following a
protracted period of decline during the civil conflict. Energi Kazulmark stated that through the government designating the oil
and natural gas industry as a strategically important sector in the first economic redevelopment programme and the subsequent
investment flows that comes with the designation, the region would once again be a major cash flow for the companies that operate
within the shelf. Gasstrien is currently working on installing a new production vessel capable of coping with harsher weather
conditions. Whilst the company could not make an exact estimate of the amount of well which are expected to be drilled, it is
estimated to be around 10.

[Maxington]

Air-Force Command wants to improve the development of joint leaders and enhance command and control elements. Chief of the
Air-Force, General Björn Stenbeck previewed his paramount goals for the air-force in the coming decade in a speech at the
Association of Home Guardsmen of Kazulia Conference in Skalm. In a separate conference with the Air-force Association Conference
he unveiled three commanders who will be responsible for implementing the aforementioned priorities. General Stenbeck believed
that it was extremely important that the Kazulian Air-Force regain air superiority in the northern hemisphere. "The Kazulian
Air-Force was the most highly trained and professional air-force in the northern hemisphere and the wider word, it is our firm
intention to regain that status through competent planning, leadership and core training," General Stenbeck told reporters.

One of Stenbeck's top focus areas is advancing command-and-control capabilities so that the service is more networked and can
make decisions rapidly enough to hinder its enemies' reactions. Although Stenbeck did not discuss any specific acquisition
priorities during his speech, he hinted that better command and control could be enabled by a more widespread use of
open-architecture systems. For example, the service's Joint Air Operations Centre (JAOC) at Dahl-Ahlgren Air Base, Arenheim is
responsible for coordinating air campaigns in the northern hemisphere. Teams working at computer stations help to plan and
execute missions that include everything from space to personnel recovery, he said. But because those teams use different
proprietary systems, it's impossible for teams to share data unless a gateway is built across the two programs — something that
requires another contract with industry and more money spent. Stenbeck stated that he wanted to push the sentiment of technical
integration within the air-force similar to the army's Joint Operating System (JOS).

Finally, the Air Force needs to improve both how it develops joint leaders and how it teams with other services, in part because
any fight against a great power adversary — would likely contain an air element, Stenbeck said. He said that it was important
that the air-force move towards strengthening its development of joint leaders so that it can step in, and not only support, but
lead any of those operations. Stenbeck indicated that the service may consider whether to begin joint training of its officers
earlier in their career, with said joint training to focus on training officers to coordinate alongside commanders from the navy,
army and the home guard, but also commanders from foreign nations whom Kazulia will most likely have to fight alongside.
Currently, airmen spend about a decade in the tactical level, during which time they may not gain a lot of experience cooperating
with the other services. Stenbeck noted that whilst from the squad level integration between the air-force, navy and the army has
been achieved through the Multi-Domain Operations Systems (MDOS).