Badara

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Foreign Minister Sabriiqa Soqman

FOREIGN MINISTER LAMENTS ZARDUGAL COURSE

While speaking to a seminar at Majatran University of Badara for women seeking diplomatic careers, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sabriiqa Soqman announced that Jumhuriat al-Badara would follow the lead of the Grand Empire of Deltaria and freeze the assets of any officials of the Zardugal government, the Zardugal government itself or any businesses or individuals that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the intelligence services determine are working with the the Zardugal dictatorship. Those assets will be seized by the Central Bank, any private bank in the Republic or any treasury of any government ministry or of any province. She noted further that the Republic will not be buying goods from or selling to the nation ruled by this dictatorship.

The Foreign Minister concluded her remarks as follows:

It did not have to be this way. When the benighted regime calling itself the reign of basil IIV tottered into the dustbin of history, all Majatra sincerely hoped a new regime would join its neighbors in the Majatran Economic Association and live in peace and harmony with its neighbors and share in the rising tide of prosperity we are working together to bring to all the people of Majatra. Instead the new regime not content to degrade its own people with tyranny and incompetent misrule is seizing the assets of its neighbors without the slightest claim beyond the vague fantasies of basil IIV and is planning to drill in the very area which is used for vacations and holidays by its neighbors and many throughout our continent.

Even now, as we lament the disaster this dictatorship is bringing on the people of Zardugal, the new regime could go to the Majatran Economic Association and negotiate to join the rest of us in trying to work together to bring peace and prosperity to all Majatra. The Republic is as always perepared for the worst but we will continue to seek the best. Who but Akim knows whether evil or good lurks in the heart of Man. Peace be unto you.

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ISTALIA SUPPORTS DELTARIA IN DEALING WITH ZARDUGAL

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VADM el-Rashid, General al-Khodr, and Defense Minister Beheshti

BADARA TO REJOIN SEA GUARD

Minister of Defense Achmed Beheshti and General Karim al-Khodr, Chief of Defense Command, visited the Mu'Tassim Southwest Task Force commanded by Vice Admiral Mahmoud el-Rashid to evaluate its readiness in the event of invasion. Beheshti stressed to reporters that the intelligence services did not indicate any likelihood of invasion but that common sense dictated our armed forces should be kept prepared to meet developments with contingency plans that could actually be executed if necessary.

The Defense Minister also acknowledged that the People's Assembly was voting on the treaty that would make Jumhuriat al-Badara part of the Sea Guard of Majatran nations so that the Badaran Navy could join our neighours in the common defense of Majatran waters.

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Deltaria Strikes, Operation Checkmate

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President al-Jabbar

IN VIEW OF TREATY BADARA LIFTS SANCTIONS

After greeting well wishers at the Ministry of Education and Culture, newly elected President Mustapha al-Jabbar stated that since Zardugal had executed a treaty withdrawing its claims on neighboring territorial interests in Lake Majatra and was not now trespassing on its neighbors' waters, the government of Jumhuriat al-Badara would lift its freeze on the assets and its boycott on trade with Zardugal. The President noted that the most expedient course for Zardugal would be to look into joining the Majatran Economic Association with its neighbors and jointly seek peace and prosperity, but that he well knew the value with which free advice was treated.

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Admiral bin-Yusuf and Admiral el-Sayed at the Dromedary Hotel and Casino

NAVY PLANS SHIPYARD EXPANSION


At the Navy Shipyard in Ras el-Haran, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Yasser bin-Yusuf, met with the Mu'Tassim Northeast Task Force Commander, Admiral Rashid el-Sayed, to lay out the parameters for expanding the use of the shipyard which was part of the home port of the Task Force. In future, the Navy anticipates modernization of the existing naval vessels along with standard repair and beginning ship building.

The Defense Ministry in conjunction with the Ministry of Trade and Industry will make loans available through the Central Bank to companies contracting with the Navy to repair, refit, update and construct naval vessels at the Navy Shipyard or at other facilities they might own or construct in the same general area.

Admiral bin-Yusuf indicated a task force from the Defense and Finance Ministries and the intelligence services had identified a nation whose military is highly regarded and spends roughly the same as Badara on defense (and incidentally also has like Badara a dwarf currency) and accordingly Badara's Navy should be able to have a model to right size the navy as part of the overall defense force and a model for modernization.

Admiral bin-Yusuf also stated that of course reestablishing the Majatran Sea Guard was a spur to preparing ourselves to be a contributing partner with other nations for our common defense.

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Civil Engineering at NIT

REVERSE ENGINERRING DEPARTMENT FORMED

Phasael Mattar, Vice President for Development at the National Institute of Technology, announced that the Ministries of Science and Technology and Education and Culture were jointly funding the creation of an Inter Institutional Department of Reverse Engineering as part of the faculties of Majatran University of Badara (MUB) and the National Institute of Technology(NIT). In addition to some class room space in MUB and NIT, office and classroom space will also be provided by the Ministries of Food and Agriculture, Science and Technology, and Education and Culture as well as the facilities of the Ground Forces Weaponry Development Center, owned by Congreve Boogington, located on the grounds of NIT. (Boogington was formerly a restauranteur in Likatonia). It is expected that the faculty offices will be ultimately located in the Ground Forces Weaponry Development Center. In addition to these instructional facilities in Bier Qassem, it is expected that the Navy Shipyard in Ras el-Haran will provide experimental and laboratory space for specific projects.

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People's Assembly

CHANCELLOR ASKS PEOPLE"S ASSEMBLY TO REVIEW 3M QUESTION

Chancellor Sabriiqa Soqman has asked the People's Assembly to look at the question again of whether using the 3M as a pharmaceutical supplier could be a good thing for Jumhuriat al-Badara since it has proved to be a very good experience for a number of nations.

The earlier look was when the government was producing and supplying all prescription drugs but was about to allow private companies to produce as well. The view at the time was why would the government want to get a percentage of money flowing out of the nation when the government was the source of that outflow rather than at least keeping the expenditures in Badara.

Finance Minister ibn Ortoq believes this fundamental analysis is still correct but would certainly like to hear other viewpoints. Heath and Social Services Minister Hakim al-Radwan indicated the primary advantage the Ministry sees is simplicity; using the 3M would get the government out of the manufacturing of pharmaceutical business which would simply pay for the drug supply admittedly likely at a premium and to the disadvantage of the drug suppliers developing in Badara.

The Chancellor invited Assemblypersons to consult with academics and others capable of doing economic modeling so the right decision can be made.

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Finance Minister ibn Ortoq

FINANCE MINISTER RENEWS SUPPORT FOR MEA

At a seminar on uneven distribution of economic prosperity between the two islands at the University of Al-Buqiyaa, Finance Minister Bashir ibn Ortoq acknowledged that there had been more economic growth on Mu'Tasim than Nashwa. The Finance Minister assured those present that the government was making every effort to provide equal opportunity to businesses and industry in terms of government loans but there were several factors in play. Outside of the Kerbogha family there was not anywhere near as great a concentration of existing wealth on Nashwa as Mu'Tasim. Further, when it came to government contracts, the government may well choose to deal with a stable thriving business rather a star up unproved company but that this was much less true with respect to smaller contracts where trying to develop new business was as important as actual performance. Further, in al-Samania there was a large concentration of the Bedwi who were much more suspicious of government and less likely to enter voluntary arrangements with it than among other citizens many indeed clinging to the old ways. A similar attitude of hostility to the government exists among those in Al-Baharia who really preferred their religion be the state religion and resent the secularization of the state and the accompanying religious freedom.

Ibn Ortoq noted that People's Democracy had left the nation a very thorough going safety net as part of the socialist agenda which Free Radicals did not propose to dismantle and that the Free Radical agenda was to move to a mixed economy of public and private ownership of the means of production from entirely public ownership. He also noted it may be the work of another political movement to completely privatize the economy should that be our future sayin we will know when it is time to go.

When asked about the Majatran Economic Association, the Foreign Minister said that despite sharp disagreements among the members, in fact truly sharp disagreements, the Free Radical government had confidence this was the international association in which Jumhuriat al-Badara could work to bring greater prosperity to our nation and our neighbors and hence hopefully encourage peace in our part of Terra stating that why would nations working together to bring greater prosperity to all of us have reason to war among ourselves. He further noted we have free trade agreements with 22 nations about 1/2 of which are because of the Majatran Economic Association.

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Port of Al'Buqiyaa

QOS TO BUY TANKERS

Qat Oil Services(QOS) Managing Partner Moqtada Kerbogha has announced it will be buying a few oil tankers to facilitate transfer of oil to and from the various ports of Jumhuriat al-Badara. Kerbogha indicated QOS would not be shipping oil to other nations at this time but that could come later. He stated that at this time QOS was more interested in seeing there was shipbuilding on the island of Nashwa and had bought an interest in Majatran Fishing of Al'Baharia (MFA) which provided a healthy number of the fishing boats to the fisherfolk of Al'Baharia and had just entered a contract with the Nashwa Naval Task Force for patrol boats. Kerbogha noted that since the MFA shipyard was located in the port of Al'Buqiyaa, the tankers QOS were buying would have al'Buqiyaa as their home port.