Kalistan

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Kalistan to Host Cultural Exposition
"The Wealth of the Empire" to feature display of the Crown Jewels, including the Kundrati Diamond
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
November 8, 5642


Minister of Education and Culture Janet Simmons announces Cultural Exposition

Her Imperial Majesty's Minister of Education and Culture, Janet Simmons, announced a Kalistani Cultural Exposition to be held in Eveari in January. "It is Her Imperial Majesty's desire to show off the wealth and affluence of Kalistan off to the World," said Minister Simmons. "The Cultural Exposition will feature Kalistani Music, Art and a display of Kalistani treasures, including the Kundrati Diamond, which was first given to Empress Pavlina I Ananto by her family in Kundrati before 5578 and it is said to have originated in Beiteynu. It, along with a half dozen imperial crowns, numerous necklaces, broaches, sets of earings, bracelets, gauntlets, and other decoration, as well as The Empress' Diamond studded Coronation Dress will be on display during the exposition."

The exposition will run from January 15-31, 5643, in Eveari, across several venues and will be open to the public. "We are officially inviting dignitaries and reps from all friendly nations to Eveari during this time," said Simmons, "but most of those we expect to show up will probably be the People of Kalistan, who themselves are Kalistani Culture's biggest fans." She said most people will attend for the music, but expects a large crowd who will be there specifically to look at the Crown Jewels Collection, which will be hosted at Ananto Estate.

"Obviously we can't display the entire collection, which would be far too large and uncatalogued to display," said the Minister. "These are simply the most interesting and valuable pieces. We want to show off Her Imperial Majesty's best items." Besides the imperial art collection also on display, Minister Simmons also said there would be a nightly concert featuring musicians from all across the nation. "We're expecting Wanderlust to play a set, and Carrie Hill will be here on the last evening. We specifically booked her given Her Imperial Majesty's affinity for the singer. These should be phenomenal concerts." Most shows will be held at various local bars and clubs across Eveari.

"We look forward to many of Kalistan's elites from the art, fashion, business and finance community to be in attendance at different points during the Exposition," said Minister Simmons. "It should be an awesome event."

@LaModa

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Royal Heir is Born to Empress and Emperor-Consort
Fredrick-Martin David Ananto-Collins to be the next Emperor
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
December 12, 5642


Her Imperial Majesty Empress Mary I Ananto poses with new baby, together with husband

The new heir to the throne of the Empire of Ananto and Kalistan was born on the night of December 10, 5642. At 10:52pm, Kaliburg time, Her Imperial Majesty Empress Mary I Ananto delivered a healthy baby boy, who was officially named His Highness, Prince Fredrick-Martin David Ananto-Collins. The baby was seven pounds 4 ounces and was born fully naturally. Both mother and baby are said to be doing very well at the moment.

The new Prince was named after the Empress' late father, Emperor Fredrick III Ananto, and his father Martin Collins-Ananto. His middle name was taken from the line of early Ananto Emperors, the last being Emperor David I Ananto, who was the second Emperor of the Empire of Ananto and Kalistan, and who governed from 5209-5247.

Over the last day, the Empress was visited by other members of the royal family, who all took turns staying with Her Imperial Majesty and the new baby in the hospital, allowing the new parents to both bond with the baby and to get rest. Her Imperial Majesty reportedly had a prolonged labor, going into labor early on December 9th, about a week ahead of schedule. She and the Emperor Consort reported to the maternity ward at Kaliburg General and was admitted, but over ten hours, the labor did not progress. Her Imperial Majesty was reportedly given a sedative to help her rest and she slept through the night. She continued the next day and nurses were on hand to help the labor progress.

Her Imperial Majesty will remain in the neo-natal ward for four more days, and then will be discharged back to Cliff Home for more convalescence. The Empress is expected to be in attendance at the Kalistan Cultural Exposition in mid January in Eveari.

Congratulations to the Royal family on their new addition. Kalistan greets the new Heir.

@TheRepublic

[GreekIdiot]

Tel Bira
Upcoming summit in Tel Bira set to shine the spotlight on Ananto's unnoticed background footprint in global finance
January 5643
https://forum.prtcy.com/thread-3-post-7509.html#pid7509

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Her Imperial Majesty Publicly Sacks Finance Minister
"Beiteynese Debt Deal" violates all Kalistani Finance Principles, says Empress
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
February 2, 5643


Empress Lectures Kalistani Legislators during Public Firing of Finance Minister

Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Mary I Ananto, back on the job following six weeks of maternity leave has very publicly and forcefully fired her Finance Minister Alicia Thompson following a finance deal gone awry. She accused the Finance Minister of acting outside of her authority in conducting financial negotiations without Imperial consent, and said what she called the "Beiteynese Debt Deal" could be potential corruption.

"Ms. Thompson has clearly exceeded her authority as our Finance Minister with this plot," said Her Imperial Majesty. "It has all the hallmarks of creeping liberalism, to suggest that our Empire shall assume the debt of a foreign nation and violates centuries of conservative, and carefully guarded financial principles. While we have not uncovered any evidence thus far of any foreign involvement in the plans, we have nonetheless lost faith in the judgement of our Finance Minister and have summarily dismissed her from our service."

The details of the failed deal were fairly sorid. In a regular meeting of financial stakeholders in early December, Ms. Thompson, then Her Imperial Majesty's Finance Minister, approached the directors of Kalistan's two commercial and investment banks, The Bank of Suldanor and the Foreign Investment Bank in Kaliburg. She proposed offering to buy Beiteynese debt, likely from one of the main debt holders in Hutori, Luthori, or from Canrillaise interests. Her goal was to buy the debt and use it as leverage in Beiteynu. She planned to restructure Beiteynese debt, and force other nations to follow suit, thus eliminating the power other nations have by holding the debt.

The Directors of the two banks, who assumed that the Finance Minister was acting on instructions from the Empress, agreed to begin contacting institutional investors to finance the purchase, and agreed to accept a 10 year treasury bond for the debt to be drawn from the Central Bank of Ananto and Kalistan. One of the institutional investors both banks reached out to was, of course, House Ananto's holding company Miramar. Princess Michelle Ananto, Her Imperial Majesty's aunt and head of House Ananto, felt that she should ask the Empress for direction. In mid January, during Her Imperial Majesty's maternity leave, Lady Ananto informed Her Imperial Majesty of the details of the deal, and prompted a call directly from the Empress to the Bank Managers who put a halt to the deal.

"The actions of the Finance Minister would have put our nation on the hook for hundreds of millions of Imperial Rubles of foreign debt" said the Empress in the National Assembly. "We are not attempting to characterize the credit worthiness of any particular nation in any way when we say: Kalistan is not in the business of loaning money at interest, especially money we are unsure of recuperating. This is the kind of thing that economic Liberals will do, and we shall add, this is the kind of thing that will get those economies into trouble.

"Kalistan does not engage in liberal economic practices, and quite honestly, we count it as an embarrassment that one of our most trusted advisors on economic matters would even consider an idea like this, especially when she thought our back was turned and we might not be paying full attention being preoccupied with giving birth to the next Emperor of this nation. We shall recommend a full and public investigation of the financial decisions of Ms. Thompson during her tenancy of office, and we hope that her dismissal will serve as a warning to anyone else who does not remain vigilant against these liberal practices within our Empire."

The public dressing down is not common in Kalistan. This exploded plot is certainly scandalizing and most analysts consider it a black mark against Her Imperial Majesty's Government, as well as the commercial banks in Kalistan, even though they weren't themselves implicated in a conspiracy with the Finance Ministry. Furthermore, it is uncertain what the former finance minister hoped to gain from purchasing the debt. Some guess that the effort might have been a good faith effort to restructure the Beiteynese debt, given the evolving relationship between the Empire and Tel Bira financial centers. Others suspect the real goal may have been to leverage Luthori by changing terms of the debt to pressure overly aggressive nations like Luthori to do so as well.

"We are not interested in the reasons for corruption," said the Empress. "We are only interested in the fact of corruption. Whether the Finance Minister would have personally gained from this proposed deal is also irrelevant. Far more to the point was that she was doing this without even informing us. It's bad enough that we have to exist in a world where other nations take cheap shots at our nation whenever they get the chance. It is embarrassing to us personally that our own Finance Minister, who has apparently adopted a Liberal mindset with regard to her trusted duties, was trying to give them more ammunition against us, and that is perhaps more intolerable than anything else."

The Empress said she shall expect a list of proposed and acceptable replacements for the Finance Minister from the Chancellor within a month, and meanwhile, Deputy Finance Philip Zapato will serve in interim capacity. She also called on the Chancellor to provide new guidance on oversight of Imperial Ministries to ensure this kind of backroom dealing which attempts to sidestep Imperial Authority is prevented. Ms. Alicia Thompson is free pending investigation, but charges may be forthcoming.

@TheRepublic

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Kalistani News in Brief: New Finance Minister Named
Kalistan Considers SEC Treaty to combat external isolation; Northern Fleets complete Redeployment
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
May 6, 5643


Professor John Robert "Mac" MacKenzie, Her Imperial Majesty's choice for Finance Minister lecturing on Wealth equality over time in Capitalism

New Finance Minister Named
The aftermath of the Debt Scandal continues to reverberate through Kalistan's commercial banking community as Directors of the Bank of Suldanor and the Foreign Investment bank have both been ousted by their respective boards of directors for "negligence" surrounding the decision to go forward with the investment plan without appropriate due diligence. As both bank stocks continue to fall in the KalSiE, the National Government has been largely hands off in intervention on their behalf, signaling a remaining bitterness between Her Imperial Majesty and these two major institutional players. Both banks hope a change of management and revision of decision making procedures will help to restore some confidence in the banks as fiduciary institutions, but Her Imperial Majesty is confident to let both banks swing in the breeze for the time being.

In this context, the Empress' choice for new Finance Director and Head of the Imperial Bank of Kalistan makes a lot of sense. Professor John Robert MacKenzie, known to his collogues and students as "Mac" has been selected. MacKenzie, a professor at Kaliburg Polytechnic is one of the leaders of the new class of economic popularizers that has been on the rise in Kalistan over the past decade. MacKenzie is an outspoken mercantilist, and is on record for his hostility toward market economics and free trade. "If he wasn't such a strong, outspoken supporter of the Empire, one could almost accuse him of communism," said his colleagues. "But Mac insists that the only protection for workers is strong state intervention into the jobs guarantee and universal basic income, the only protection for consumers is price caps, and the only protection for investors is capital restrictions. He also believes that a strong central government is necessary to ensure these things, and is famous for saying that individuals need to take a back seat to social interests, where individuals can be expected to get private goods as a result of cooperation, rather than competition with one another."

The choice was applauded by Orthodox Institutional Deputies, who voted for the nominee by acclamation. But among liberals, the decision was troubling. "This man will singlehandedly erode any legitimacy our position has by denying us the ability to demonstrate that a more liberal, center of the road approach can also yield public goods too," said Liberal economic professor Dr. Mark Jones of Sulari. "We felt that this Empress might give our economy a break and let up on some of the controls, but in fact the entire thing has been a major disappointment for those of us who believe in individual reward for individual initiative and free and open commerce with the entire world."

Kalistan to Consider SEC Treaty to combat External Isolation
As Kalistan names a hard Nationalist to the position of Finance Minister, Her Imperial Majesty's Trade Minister announced that the Government was open to consider joining the Seleyan Economic Community to combat tendencies toward isolation. "I think AESA may be on its last legs," said Trade Minister Mel Greene-Collins, who is not related to the Emperor Consort. "It's not so much that people have pulled out of it, as that with Lodamun fully opening up to bilateral trade with Luthori especially, but also with Egelion now, that kind of undermines the last real function of the AESA, which is designed to preference Seleyan and Northern Anantonese trade over external trade. It is clear that Lodamun's gradual pivot toward Liberalism and their explicit courting of nations like Luthori, who Kalistan has worked for decades to keep completely out of Seleya, has taken out the last ideological support for the regional customs union, and going forward, it is likely that our region will devolve from our long standing special arrangement, to something that looks more like a system of completely independent states that maintain normal trade agreements."

The statement by the Trade Minister was simply a public acknowledgement of the changing relations between the two nations that were formerly much closer. "It is clear that Lodamun's foreign policy and trade policies have dramatically changed, but those changes were in the works before Lodamun split from the Empire," said Greene. "The split was the result of the resolution on Lodamun's part to pursue a foreign policy that was certainly completely independent from Kalistan, and also, more than a little undermining of Kalistan's position. While there is no animosity between Kalistan and Lodamun, it is clear that Lodamun has no intention of maintaining the regional attitude that Kalistan has as its priority. Which causes Kalistan to need to re-evaluate its own position if it wants to maintain its strictly regional focus and not allow the rest of the world to completely isolate it."

To this end, the Trade Minister expects a pivot toward Kalistan's other Seleyan partners in Gaduridos, and make efforts to strengthen trade relations with Baltusia and Valruzia. "We notice that Baltusia has expressed a desire to join the Seleyan Economic Community," said Greene. "That agreement is particularly focused on Seleya itself, and as such would be interesting to Kalistan. But of course, we would have to read the treaty as it stands now: There were provisions that used to be a part of it in the past which Kalistan, which is strongly nationalist, would never have accepted, but primarily because of Artanian and Lourennais penetration of Seleyan Markets at the time. Joining would leave Kalistan vulnerable to those pressures as well. Things have changed in Seleya, for the better, with the ejection of Luthori capital in Northern Seleya and the general withdrawal of Lourenne from the conversation, and so now Kalistan would likely be more interested in seeing how this treaty could work with Kalistan's economic goals." It is important to note that Lodamun is also a member of the SEC, so joining would help preserve ties to Kalistan's northern neighbor and allow for the moribund AESA to finally be completely ended. If there was a renegotiation of the treaty, Kalistan would likely argue for stronger protection against external actors being able to benefit from free trade within Seleya.

Northern Fleets complete Redeployment
Kalistan's First and Fourth Fleet have completed their redeployments in the Northern Anantonese Ocean, says the Ministry of Defense. "The Fourth Fleet has been brought entirely east of the Karzon Straits, ending our prolonged patrols of the eastern Mad Dog Ocean," said Defense Ministry spokesperson Doug Johnson. "This clears the area of Imperial Navy, and opens it for Dolgavan, Hutorian and Lodamese Navy to pick up security tasks in the region. That forward mission was a product of the tensions in the Artanian Sea, and now that Kalistan has utterly washed its hands of that Continent, there is no reason that Kalistan should maintain a presence there, at its own expense."

Meanwhile, the First Fleet, which had patrolled the Northern Anantonese Ocean north of Ananto, has also shifted east into the Lorna Sea between Keris and Dovani, north of Lourenne. "With Egelian naval units in the northern part of Keris, the First Kalistani Regulars aim to augment security in the sea passage into the Anantonese Ocean from the north. It is our hope that we find some opportunities to cooperate on security with Egelion, being the other relevant naval player in the area, but to date Egelion hasn't shown a lot of interest in cooperating with Kalistan on naval security, and that is a truely missed opportunity on a number of levels, so we will maintain the status quo in international waters of the Ocean, and continue our own security missions. Seeing Egelian Navy in the Anantonese Ocean is quite rare at any rate, so there is at least no competition for training areas or patrol routes."

To mark Kalistan's decreased presence, much of the First and Fourth Regular Fleets will remain in port for much of the year, the First Fleet in Bozo River Combined Air Ground Training Center in Ananto and the Fourth Fleet at Port Swedes Naval Logistics Center in Vrassa. "The sub screens will be the only units deployed on a regular basis," said Johnson. "This will allow us to track shipping into and out of the Northern Anantonese Ocean, and should give us adequate early warning if our Satellites and sub surface network fail us for some reason." Johnson said the Second Fleet went back into port last year and the Third Fleet went into port at Gaduridos' Bentasur Naval Station three years ago as tensions in the Anantonese Oceans have been reduced to almost nothing, and Egelion continues to pick up more slack in the Southern Anantonese Ocean. "Permanent Deployment of forward Naval Forces like that is very expensive," said Johnson. "Our decision to finally return the last of our four fleets to port will represent a tremendous savings that we can use for refitting, upgrading and more procurement, or direct to the peace sector. Other nations who choose not to do that will continue to bear the expense of their forward deployment."

@TheRepublic

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Reader Poll selects Kalistan as Top Nation in Terra
Kalistan is Declared "Nation with no Obvious Flaws"
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
August 7, 5643


Surfing and Music cited by voters as two Greatest Kalistani Cultural features

In a poll of readers of the cultural and current events magazine Dah Daily, The Empire of Ananto and Kalistan were selected "Best nation in Terra to live in." The poll was conducted from May to July this year and included more than 10,000 responses from readers and non-readers alike. The results showed a clear preference for Kalistan as the "Objectively Greatest Nation in Terra" according to more than 54% of survey respondents. Dah Daily, published in Dahriel, is a magazine which sells well among the cannabis culture in Kalistan, and features articles about growing for self use, interviews with members of the Ananto and Kalistani Growers syndicate and ODEN-K, news about policy pertaining to marijuana cultivation domestically and abroad, and product reviews for growing equipment and techniques.

"Out of 84 countries, more than half of the readers voted for Kalistan as the Best Nation to Live in, and that's saying something," said magazine editor-in-chief Gina Rodriguez of Dahriel. "Most of them cited the openness of the culture, the welcoming vibes, surfing and music as their top reasons for voting for Kalistan. When asked what they should change about Kalistan to make it even better, the vast majority of people said change nothing. To me, this says that Kalistan has no obvious flaws."

Rodriguez knows that these results may upset some internationally, who feel they need to constantly criticize the Empire. "The readers have spoken. What can I say. I guess some people will just have to live with disappointment. 10,000 readers globally think we're doing great, so, I'm just reporting what the masses said. I know there are some people who hate Kalistan because we are so awesome. But when more than half the voters select my country, out of all the possible choices? Well, that speaks volumes."

She reported that the next closet countries for readers were Gaduridos and Hutori, both scoring in the double digits. "It's not at all surprising that the voters voted Artanian nations as the 'Worst nations in Terra to Live in' with Luthori, Kundrati and Dorvik earning the bottom three spots" said Rodriguez. "Kundrati actually got six. Votes. Not six percent. But six votes." She said that those places are known for their horribly oppressive laws, their objectionable forms of government, and their general "unpleasantness".

"What can I say: I guess I'm just lucky to have won the birth lottery," said Rodriguez. "I got to be born in the Best Nation to Live in, and 10,000 voters globally agree with me." While these results were posted on ODEN's official KaliBirdApp account, Her Imperial Majesty's Government had no comment.

@LaModa

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Kalistan praises election results in Egelion
"Regime Consonance" whether planned or not, is "good for relations" says FM Waltrip
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
August 27, 5643


Her Imperial Majesty's Foreign Minister, Lady Anya Waltrip, speaking in National Assembly this week

Her Imperial Majesty's Foreign Minister, Lady Anya Waltrip was on hand this week to speak on regional affairs at the National Assembly. Highlighted in her speech was praise for the recent election results in the Kingdom of Egelion. "Her Imperial Majesty issued a statement in May that strongly endorsed the Egelian King Romulo's handling of the brewing constitutional crisis in Egelion as republican forces in the government attempted to limit the Royal authority of the Sovereign," said Lady Waltrip. "Her Imperial Majesty's government has been watching the developments unfold in Egelion this summer and is very pleased with the results as the Absolutist Coalition has achieved a clear majority in recently elections to the Royal Court."

Lady Waltrip talked about the value of regime consonance. "While I wish we could say that this was coordinated between our two nations, it really doesn't matter much that it was not. The fact remains that when we have regimes that are of similar outlook and under similar constraints or lack thereof, this tends to decrease uncertainty and increase credibility, which itself leads to a greater baseline of trust between our two nations. It is ultimately good for relations between our two nations. That means a more mutually beneficial starting point on negotiations going forward, and a more opportunities for cooperation and communication." Lady Waltrip noted that with both Egelion and Kalistan openly embracing Absolutism in their monarchical regimes, Kalistan finds it easier to trust that the word of the King is the word of the entire government, or that it won't be undermined or watered down by democrats whose interests supersede the will of the King. "Our monarchs don't have to 'check' with anyone when they commit to something in talks."

Lady Waltrip noted that Kalistan is interested in visiting Egelion to see if a new Modus Vivendi in the Anantonese Ocean can be established, now that the crown's reassertion of its authority has been ratified by Egelian voters. "Her Imperial Majesty is optimistic on this point. Kalistan has long maintained that the reported 'tensions' between our two nations was always more of an external narrative that was hyped by actors foreign to the region for their own personal gain, and relations between our two states were never so broken that they couldn't be repaired. Her Imperial Majesty was both pleased and flattered that the King and Queen of Egelion visited her at her Wedding, and has expressed some interest in meeting more formally to discuss where to go going forward, and though several international events have occurred, Her Imperial Majesty has always sought to put positive spins on things that even she, in past years might have looked less favorably upon, just to keep the door open and to announce that she was interested in working through any difficulties that remained on the table so we could move forward in cooperation rather than competition."

Lady Waltrip finished the section on Egelion by stating, "Her Imperial Majesty strongly believes that Monarchies should be both conservatively and institutionally oriented, and absolute in nature. She feels that even opening the door a crack to liberal forces will ultimately undermine the stability to the prevailing social order that a strong monarch defends, and when loyalty of the government is split between the Monarch and the People, the people, who are far more easily manipulated by instrumentalist forces, will always stupidly vote against what is good for them in the service of demagogues. Several monarchies are tainted by the stench of republicanism right now. We would encourage them to follow the example of the Absolutists and rid themselves of those influences. Kalistan has long demonstrated, and Egelion now confirms, that majorities can also prefer absolutist forms of government, especially those who wish for good government."

Lady Waltrip then announced Kalistan's decision to fully abrogate the AESA in favor of signing the Seleyan Economy Community treaty along with Baltusia, with the aim of "... increasing trade flows and infrastructure investment in our neighbor to the south."

@TheRepublic

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AeroKal struggles with Challenge of Aircraft Pollution
Veteran company would like "aerotaxies", but jet fuel issue continues to Vex producers
Sulari, Duchy of Suldanor
November 8. 5643


The AK 56-217 turboprop, AeroKal's "greenest" engine rolls off assembly line

As Kalistan has been successful in turning almost all its energy consumption green, with hydroelectric, wind, solar, geothermal and even tidal energy production powering nearly all sectors of the Kalistani economy, and providing electricity for nearly all homes and businesses in the nation, and biodiesel and biopolymers permitting clean travel, two stubborn applications of fossil fuel continue to elude ecological solutions in Kalistan. These two primary uses are liquid Kerosene used as Jet Fuel and petrocarbon diesel used in many of Kalistan's naval vessels.

"We have not been able to completely eradicate Kalistan's dependence on fossil fuels, despite our best efforts," said AeroKal CEO Walter Peterson. "The commercial airline industries remains the single largest non-military user of petrocarbons in Kalistan. It certainly isn't for lack of attempts to find alternatives, but we just can't switch due to a number of confounding factors that prevent weaning ourselves completely off those polluting commodities for good." Peterson briefly described some of his company's efforts to find sustainable alternatives, none of which were as fuel efficient or cost effective as simply kerosene based jet fuel.

"For what we need, kerosene regrettably remains the best option," said Peterson. "We have stats that demonstrates that commercial aviation contributes anywhere from 2 and a half to 5 percent of the total air pollution annually, and if you add to that noise pollution from these massive turboprops necessary to get our large international flights off the ground, you find our industry, despite years of attempts to clean it up, to be still very destructive to our environment."

Part of the effort that Peterson detailed was mixing available alternative fuel types with Kerosene to reduce the amount of petroleum based hydrocarbons used in a typical flight. "The issue here is not availability of these type of fuel sources, but the costs of producing them. If we were able to produce them at scale, they would still be about two to three times as expensive to produce than standard fossil fuel. We'd have to pass that cost on, and there never seems to be an appetite among the public for dramatic increases in costs of flying, or in the government for more subsidies to a polluting industry like commercial aviation." As a result, mixed fuel, so called Sustainable Aviation Fuel, only accounts for about 10 percent of all jet fuel burned in Kalistani aircraft each year. "It's a start, but its not nearly enough," said Peterson. He says that cost cutting is happening by attempting to increase efficiency of fuel use in existing engines. "Increased efficiency of the engines can help make less fuel go a longer way, but we can only squeeze so much efficiency out of an aircraft engine before it just stops working, so efficiency is also not an acceptable solution."

Neither are electrical engines. "Automobiles, and to some degree, even ships don't have the same challenges that aircrafts do, with something as ordinary as gravity. Cars sit on the ground, and therefore are gravity neutral. Ships, if you can believe it, are gravity negative: Buoyancy makes a ship float, so it is even easier to propel them than it is a car, which moved through leveraging friction. In aircrafts we have generate enough lift to keep us in the sky, and you create lift through velocity: An electric turbofan is not going to be able to generate that sort of velocity, unless we had enough batteries on the plane to get that kind of power, and by our estimates, that number of batteries with existing power constraints would be about 4 times as heavy as the plane itself is."

"The only thing we can do to cut down emissions in the short and medium term is reduce the amount of air travel we use," said Peterson. He said that the Imperial Government currently heavily subsidizes ground transport through the National Railroad. "Daily flights between Kaliburg and Sulari are really the main flights left within Kalistan: Everything else is either Regular train usage has led to a pretty serious decline in the number of domestic flights in Kalistan," said Peterson. "This has, obviously had an affect on the amount of pollution we create." The challenge, of course is international flights.

"Kaliburg is a main east west hub for Seleya, while Sulari is a major hub for north south Flights. Sulari International has overtaken Kaliburg International as the main international airport in Northern Seleya, and connects much of the Southern hemisphere with Keris, Northern Dovani and Makon. All those flights in and out of Sulari generate a ton of pollution for Sulari, and we can try to mitigate that pollution all we like locally, but for all our own efforts to mitigate petrocarbon usage, we can't do much compared to what is brought here by other nations, who burn straight traditional Kerosene based fuel. We can either surrender our place as a center for international commercial transit, or we have to accept that a lot of that pollution is not going away."

For its own part, Kalistan can help mitigate the pollution it makes for itself. "We'd like to see new biofuels based in seaweed and waste products from food and etc be developed. The biggest limiting factors in biofuel production is the amount of arable land and potable fresh water that the State is willing to turn away from agriculture that feeds humans, and toward the production of biodiesel crops. We could resolve a lot of that tension with heavy investment in the cultivation of kelp off our shores which not only kelp keep our continental shelves healthy, but also provide a tremendous return on investment for biofuels. Making more fuel available to mix in with regular jet fuels, at varying amounts will help us reduce the amount of petrocarbons we use ourselves."

Other solutions the CEO suggested was increased subsidies to offset the cost of using mixed sustainable Aircraft fuel. "The cost for us it too high to justify it, but the government could offset a lot of that cost by committing to cleaner skies." A subsidy for aircraft manufacturers may also spur new development of more efficient, or at least more petrocarbon efficient engines and aircraft tech.

Additionally, a lot of the domestic aviation can already switch to electric engines with current technology. "We see a lot of civil aviation still burning fossil fuels," said Peterson. "We currently manufacture a line of small craft that is meant to replace a lot of the petroleum based fuel systems in much of our current privately owned, civil and local aircraft with electric fans. The newer planes can take a max of four people more than 200 miles at this point before needing to be recharged. Public investment in battery technology (especially around weight of batteries,) and power that can be supplied could revolutionize civil aviation in Kalistan, and provide giant steps toward reducing our dependence on fossil fuels even further. Maybe someday, we can see something like aerotaxis that take people between towns not served by the National Rail. We could do it with public funding."

A public private partnership between the Imperial Government and companies like AeroKal and KalMD may be in the cards at any rate already. The Chancellor has said he is looking for new ways to reduce pollution in Kalistan and improve transportation infrastructure in a way that won't too heavily burden Kalistani tax payers. "We welcome any cooperation with Her Majesty's Government," said Peterson. "We take this problem seriously, and absolutely need partners to help us take steps forward."

@TheRepublic

[Louis]

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Kalistani News in Brief: Empress to visit Egelion
Diamond Imports to go forward from Xsampa; 19 year old Supermodel named highest paid model
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
May 15, 5644


Addisjah Supermodel Kelsey Ryan named Kalistan's Top Paid Model

Empress to Visit Egelion
Upon direct invitation from His Majesty the King Romulo of Egelion, Her Imperial Majesty Empress Mary I Ananto has agreed to visit Egelion for an official state visit and summit this summer. The announcement was made by Her Imperial Majesty's Foreign Minister Lady Anya Waltrip in Kaliburg this week.

"The Empress has welcomed the opportunity to continue on the nascent positive trends in relations between the Empire and its northern Neighbor," said Lady Waltrip. "Her Imperial Majesty has said that news of tensions between our two states is certainly an external narrative which did not reflect the actual relations within the regions, and both His Majesty's Invitation and Her Imperial Majesty's acceptance are thought to be steps toward countering that narrative and develop a new war of living between our two states that is built upon trust and cooperation."

Lady Waltrip said that Her Imperial Majesty is interested in reengaging in a conversation about security in the region as well as looking for new avenues of engagement. Observers note that this meeting also signals a willingness on the part of the Imperial government to acknowledge growing integration in Keris and to try to determine its position within that developing arrangement. The Meetings will take place in Altea. Their Highnesses the Emperor Consort and the Minor Prince are expected to fly to Altea with the Empress.

Diamond Imports Go Forward with Xsampa
House Ananto has announced a ₭57 million Ruble diamond purchase from Xsampa. Her Highness, Lady Michelle Ananto-Sandoval, head of House Ananto, said that the Royal Family has agreed to a private purchase of close to 26 thousand carats worth of mostly raw diamonds of various sizes and shapes from Xsampa. In addition, Kalistan has decided to purchase another 10,000 carats of industrial diamonds destined for Kalistan's National Industries.

"Having a reliable source of ethnically sourced diamonds, but for decorative and for more useful purposes," said Lady Ananto. "Xsampa's willingness to make these items available will allow Kalistan to replenish its supplies while we wait for Baltusian sellers to come online. But the majority of the purchase is being made by request from Her Imperial Majesty, who looks forward to aggrandizing her collection of gems. Adding 26 thousand carats in diamonds alone will certainly make the collection significantly larger, and that certainly pleases her greatly."

As Xsampa fulfills its orders, Lady Michelle said that House Ananto will continue to attempt to negotiate a similar agreement from Baltusia. The raw diamonds are being purchased specifically by House Ananto, and no public money is going into the purchase. The Industrial Diamonds, however, are being purchased by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

19 year old Supermodel named highest paid model
Addisjah based model Kelsey Ryan has recently been named Kalistan's Top Paid Model by Kalistani fashion magazine La Moda. Ryan has just signed an exclusive five year contract with House Del Valle in Sulari worth ₭2.3 million rubles. Added to her various appearance deals, Ryan's annual earnings total more than ₭7 million rubles.

"Del Valle sees Ryan as the face of the brand going forward," said fashion reporter Monique Holloway in Sulari. "Few companies have selected someone who is intended to be so closely identified with the brand. So this is a new strategy for Del Valle. They not only want to say 'Buy Del Valle and you can wear these clothes.' but also 'Buy these clothes and you can look like Kelsey Ryan.' Its an interesting strategy and we'll see if it pays off. With someone like Ryan on board it seems like a great bet on Del Valle's part."

Del Valle's contract will also make Ryan one of the most recognizable faces in Kalistan. She is also on schedule to host the Luxon Swell Surfing competition this summer, and has appeared in several music videos that will air on M7. Her rapid rise to stardom will only be amplified over the coming years as she continue to be associated with Kalistan's leading fashion designers.

@TheRepublic