Luthori

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Luthori recognises "Union Government"; Cabinet agrees to hardline stance.

November 5585 (backdated)

Fort William, Luthori - The Luthorian Government, today, after a Cabinet meeting chaired by both the Prime Minister, Dr. Reyburn and the Foreign Secretary, Mrs. Hoptkins came to an understanding about the policy that the Realm should follow in regards to the Kundrati Conflict. While nations on the Continent are either playing both sides against each other to weaken the Kundratijians or even choosing the tenious policy of neutrality to enjoy good relations with both sides in case one of them comes out on top of this brotherly struggle. The Luthorian Prime Minister, Mr. Reyburn today appeared in front of television cameras in Crown Street to announce that the Luthorian Government would be recognising the currently-based "Union Government" of the self-proclaimed President of the Kundrati Union, Mr. Tiberius Aroain over the official and "legitimate" Kundrati legionaire Government which is currently based out in Kasaema. The Prime Minister stated that this decision was "reached by a consensus of all government ministers" over this issue, Parliament is expected to ratify this change, except some die-hard pacifists and isolationnists who argue that this recognition would only embolden Luthori further into this quagmire.

The Prime Minister and his administration have been hell-bent on protecting Luthorian interests over the Eastern Artanian region and to prevent a total collapse of Kundrati democracy and the rise of an nationalist, and likely anti-Luthorian regime in its place, which would put the Grand Duchies of Shipleyriding and Middenriding, under high alert of any Kundratijian reckless actions, as the country was known for doing ever since, now, quite a while. The Luthorian Prime Minister also stated that Luthori would begin "small-step" efforts in order to support the now-legitimate Kundrati government to fight off against what the Luthorians dubbed as being "fascists thugs". Ever since the rise of the so-called "Deltaria Coalition", Luthorian anti-radical sentiment has only risen, aided, in part by the Cabinet's most infamous minister, the Home Secretary, Kenneth McCoy, the first Beluzian-Luthorian to hold office within a Government. During his entire political career, Mr. McCoy, first as a lawyer, then as a politician, has defended a vigourous anti-radical stance, now entrusted with the power and responsibilities that came with his appointment as the Secretary of State for the Home Department, he has only emboldened his stance.

Due to this background, Mr. McCoy is widely considered as being one of the "most important" pusher for this stance, whether it is for better or worse.

@TheTimes

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Empress-Queen receives new Kalistani ambassador to Fort William

May 5588

Fort William, Principality of Orange, Luthorian Empire: Her Majesty the Empress has today met the newly-appointed Kalistani Ambassador to Luthori, Lord Samuel Trelawny III, Baron of Razar. While the appointment of yet another Kalistani Ambassador isn't an historic sight, in normal times, this times it's different. It's the first Kalistani Ambassador to be received by Her Imperial Majesty in the aftermath of the "North Seleyan Cold War", a loose and undeclared conflict that happened between the Kalistanis and the Luthorians, and seems to have ended in a Kalistani victory, as the Luthorians were unable to achieve most of their goals in the Continent, causing the diplomats in Fort William to change course in their policy. Due to these atmosphere which is prone to tensions between both states, and in the aftermath of a tenuous diplomatic situation between both nations that could have likely erupted in War if it wasn't for the last minute agreement between both powers on their respective sphere of influences in Seleya. Yet, after all these years, it seems that cooler heads prevailed in both the Luthorian and Kalistani, now Anantonese Governments for the preservation of peace, at the great regret of many "war hawks" in both nations.

Today, the Empress-Queen received at the Orange Palace, a rare sight of the now frail Sovereign who is mostly resting at either Rottingham Palace or Hosburn House in the Grand Duchy of Shipleyriding. Her Imperial Majesty today, took the trip to Fort William, to receive the newly-appointed Ambassador of Kalistan to Luthori. This Ambassador was appointed by Her Majesty, Empress Carolina of Kalistan to represent Kalistan's interests in the Western Land. While the Empress already appointed Mr. Alistair Thomas to that role, but the Luthorian Government's unwillingness to accredit someone who has a criminal record upon him made that Mr. Thomas was never formally invited by the Orange Palace to be received by the Empress-Queen, who it seems, privately, had expressed disdain for the individual. Now on the second attempt at sending an Ambassador, the Kalistanis sent Mr. Trelawny III to Fort William to be received by the Sovereign. The Ambassador has been remarked to be a diligent and stalwart civil servant, operating from the shadows of the Anantonese bureaucracy, he has also shown some willingness at casting some issues with the Luthorians aside to build a "new relationship and partnership" with Fort William. Yet, in a stark contrast compared to his predecessor, Mr. Trelawny has no judicial issues to deal with, a thing that made his meeting with the Empress much more pleasant.

The Empress-Queen met the man in her capacity as Empress of Luthori, as all matters regarding the Mordusian Crown are handled by the Governor-General of Mordusia, a position which is duly elected by the Mordusian people, and held by Prince Louis, the Empress' own nephew. The Ambassador has been confirmed by the Luthorians as being the Head of Kalistan's representation to Her Majesty's Most Loyal Government. Bismarck Palace released a statement in that sense minutes later. It remains to be seen what will be Kaliburg's response.

@TheTimes

[Ligbruderkrieg]

The Weekly Telegraph

Luthorian Prime Minister "pleased" with Mordusian conference results

February 5588 (backdated)

Fort William, Luthori - In the aftermath of the Prime Minister's short visit in Mordusia, held in order to attend a diplomatic summit between the main powers with influence in the region, that being the Holy Luthori Empire, represented to this Summit by him and Mr. Galliard [Minister of State for Seleyan Affairs], the Commonwealth of Mordusia, represented by both the Mordusian Prime Minister and the Mordusian Foreign Minister, although efforts in leading negotiations were mostly handled by Mr. Harrold Edwinson [Foreign Minister of the Commonwealth of Mordusia] and Mr. Jeffrey Heart [Minister for Defence of the Commonwealth of Mordusia], on the other hand, the Anantonese and Lodamese delegations were both marked by the intervention of the Empress of Kalistan herself. HIM Empress Carolina appeared to Mordusia with an explicit objective of continuing the normalisation process engaged with the Luthorian Government, by expanding it to Mordusia. Kalistan was also represented by the Empress' Foreign Minister, Mr. Christopher Bjorksdattir, who was the main diplomat leading up the discussion on behalf of the Kalistani Government. Finally, Lodamun's representation was honoured by the presence of the Lodamese Secretary of State, Mr. Oliver Caillou and the Lodamese Secretary for Defence, Mr. Kristan Harding. The Prime Minister's Office [also referred as 10 Crown Street in this article] announced the presence of Mr. Reyburn to the Conference in the seconds after he had finished his inaugural address as Prime Minister. The context for the Prime Minister's presence could mostly be summerized in two main ways. The first being the fact that Mordusia, Luthori's main partner and close ally in the Seleyan continent had requested for the presence of at least one (1) senior Cabinet minister from Mr. Reyburn's administration. Instead, they've received the support from the Prime Minister himself, who, in this first great test in foreign relations, wanted to make clear that Luthori's policy and focus towards the Commonwealth had not changed, and instead, strengthened with his arrival in 10 Crown Street.

With this in mind, a deal was struck between Mordusia, with Luthori's support and backing and Lodamun, with, this time, Kalistan's support and backing. That deal was remarked to be mostly similar to what the Mordusians originally wished for what their newfound collaboration with Lodamun was going to be. The key aspect of that agreement was the significant reducing in Lodamese military presence in the Naval Station Walbrook, with a deal about that said presence being agreed upon for the duration of 10 years, after which, that deal is planned to be renegotiated between Lodamun and Mordusia, without, at least normally, any involvement from either Fort William or Kaliburg. Upon his return to Luthori, the Luthorian Prime Minister take good care of first addressing the Imperial Diet in the aftermath of that first great foreign policy meeting, before addressing the International Press Corps in 10 Crown Street. During his speech in Parliament, he stated that the Government of Luthori "was very pleased with the conclusion of that Affair, and we [Government of Luthori] can only commend all sides present at this Summit for their level-headedness during these talks", that, and the recent welcoming of the Anantonese [Kalistan] Ambassador to Fort William by Her Majesty the Empress may signal a continuation of the former Administration's policy towards the Anantos, that of repairing relations between both states.

The Home Secretary, on other news, stated that the visit from the Union Government's representatives had went well, and that the Cabinet would announce "new policies" in regards to the Kundrati Emergency shortly.

@TheWeeklyTelegraph

[Ligbruderkrieg]

The Luthorian Guardian

Home Secretary announces "internal raids" against radical leftist and rightist orgs in Home Territory.

February 5586 (backdated)

Fort William, Luthori - While the Kundrati Union is embroiled in a devastating civil war which is seeing brothers taking up arms against fellow brothers, the Luthorian Government and more precisely, its international security organisations such as the Domestic Intelligence Agency, have reported that the Luthorian Home Territory was seeing a new trend rising in its population, both in political terms and in a societal terms, that trend was the one of "Anti-Radicalism". This movement was first pushed forward by the Luthorian League for Democracy, which ran a vicious campaign condemning extremism in both the left [Communist, Metzism, Anarchism] and the right [Ultra-Nationalism, Fascism, National Socialism]. While in theory, all of these ideologies are forbidden in Luthori due to the existence of the Democratic Process Stabilisation Act, passed by Former Prime Minister Steve Martins with the help of the Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister, Raymond Miller, in fact, the existence of political organisations affiliating to these ideologies was turned a blind eye by numerous Governments upon the dawn of the 56th Century, as most of these organisations would either (1) collapse overnight, with no opportunity to grow to a state where it could even become a nuisance to Grand Ducal Governments, or (2), even if it was allowed to grow, there was no chance that any of these movements gained mainstream traction as most, if not all political parties represented in the Imperial Parliament abide by a policy of strict "Cordon Sanitaire" when dealing with either the far-left on one hand or the far-right on the other. Former Luthorian Prime Minister, Mrs. Matilda Weddall, resumed this consensus by one simple sentence: "Our parties may hate each other with a lovely passion, but hate their extremist wings even more, to the point where they are willing to set aside their differences to contain them both". By that, it would hardly be a surprise that when, today, the Secretary of State for the Home Department announced that the Department of Internal Affairs, alongside both the Domestic Intelligence Agency and the Department of Justice, would be conducting an operation, not too dissimilar from the "raids" put in place by former Home Secretary and former Prime Minister, Garrett Bennett in the 54th Century, in order to "root out the evils of radicalism" from Luthorian society, that announcement was taken very positively by most of the Luthorian population and, most importanly, by its political sphere.

In Parliament, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Alfred Malfoy (National Labour Party) expressed himself by vowing his support for the Liberal-Conservative-HDA Coalition's policy in terms of, we quote, "stamping out extremism from the Realm", stating that the National Labour Party was "wholeheartedly" in favour of policies that would engage process to crackdown and dissolve organisations which would be found breaching the Democratic Process Stabilisation Act's protocols, all of them stipulating that all Luthorian extremist organisations were to be dissolved by a government decree without consultation from Parliament, as this Law states that the mere existence of these organisations was "unconstitutional", a fact that was later confirmed by the Constitutional Court upon hearing of the Scott v. Luthori case, which handled the constitutionality of such Bill which, in fact, ban all political formations who are not members of the "Luthorian centre", which was, at the time, the Luthori First movement. In the case, while the Court sided with Alfred Scott on the fact that the Government couldn't ban political parties which were formed before the presentation of the Bill to Parliament, the Court also confirmed, that, in general, due to the threat that these groups represented towards Luthorian democracy, especially with the memories of the so-called "5370s Crisis", a political and constitutional crisis that led to the formation of the first "Grand Coalition" between the left and the right to counter radical policies pushed forward by both the Workers' Party of Luthori and the Fatherland Front, that threat wasn't to be understated and the Court ruled that the existence of parties in the aftermath of the passage of this Bill was "unconstitutional". It was this ruling that was used by the Home Secretary to justify the necessity of putting in place a policy that would counteract the existence of such organisations within the Home Territory.

The Department of Home Affairs confirmed that the operations would be conducted in handy with the Department of Justice to allow for judicial treatments of most of these organisations' leaders, which would, for the most part, be judged under the crimes of the Democratic Process Stabilisation Act, but others would be charged under charges of burglary, theft or even murder in some case, the Justice Department announced in a statement, the National Police Department, the Fort William Metropolitan Police Service and the Luthorian Special Constabulary (chartered to the Department of Defence due to its military credentials) have announced already beginning operations to dismantle well-known "threats" against the Federal Government, with numerous offices which are harboring the clandestine meetings of either the Orange Order of Luthori, the Young Luthorians group at the far-right or the Free Workers or even the Communist Alternative movements at the far-left. The Department of Defence, the Department of Internal Affairs and the Department of Justice all assures that the operations meant to destroy the trace of extremism from Luthorian politics, would be going "smoothly", as stated by the Government's Lord Chancellor, Oliver Kelly [Hosian-Democratic Alternative]. The Constitutional Court, when asked about the constitutionality of such actions perpetrated by the Luthorian Government ruled out that the ruling of the Scott v. Luthori case, stating the mere existence of organisations which were "not respectful of the current constitutional laws enforced by Her Majesty's Government in the matter of political harmony and were, by that choice, posing a threat against the Luthorian Government" were unconstitutional, giving the green light to Mr. McCoy for enacting his policies on that matter.

The Prime Minister of Luthori, Mr. Reyburn, instructed the Leader of the Imperial Senate to put forward a resolution in Parliament, which would, legitimise the enacting of such operations, hopes were that since most of the political establishment reached a consensus on that matter, that an unanimous vote for this Resolution would be in order. In a rare case of unity within Luthori's Parliament, the Imperial Senate and the Imperial Diet both passed the resolution without issue, at the first reading, with both the Leader and Shadow Leaders of both the Diet and Senate working together to ensure that the Resolution was passed smoothly by both Houses of Parliament. The votes were nearly unanimous, in the exception of some Tories, HDA or even Green/Labour members voting against it "out of principles", but would not pursue the Case to the Constitutional Court, as they've already, and repeatedly confirmed their stance on the Question. This show of strength and unity against the rising tides of radicalism and extremism worldwide is rare and welcomed by the Luthorian population, that is increasingly becoming more and more committed to helping fellow democratic supporters abroad, such as in Kundrati. The Home Secretary, for his part, continues to increase his influence politically within the Liberal Party by strengthening his "anti-radical" credentials and continuing the fight against radicalism.

@TheLuthorianGuardian

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Luthori welcomes Beluzian state visit; announces another in Beluzia.

November 5586 (backdated)

Fort William, Luthori - The Luthorian Foreign Secretary, Mrs. Matilda Hoptkins received her Beluzian counterpart, Mrs. Peggy Hampton to the Bismarck Palace for the "establishment" of "basic diplomatic contacts" between the Luthorian Empire and the Beluzian Republic. Ever since the victory of Mrs. Hampton's Labour Party in Beluzia, the focus of the new Beluzian government was to "restore" or "install", depending on the person you ask, the Beluzian Republic in the Artanian Continental System. This visit, according to Mrs. Hampton addressing herself to Luthorian media tonight, was "the first step towards that aim", the visit from Mrs. Hampton went according to the Luthorian Foreign Office at Bismarck Palace, quite well. The two ministers discussed of many subjects impacting both countries, the first, at least, for Luthori was the matter of illegal immigration from the Beluzian Republic to the Luthorian Empire, other subjects discussed was about the loosening of each nations' respective tariffs on each other's goods, the renewal of cross-border trade and finally, the renewal of a policy of cultural exchange between Beluzia and Luthori, whose brand of Luthorian culture are different from one another due to years, if not centuries or even millennials. The Foreign Secretary stated to her Beluzian counterpart, Luthori's position on the matter of relations with Beluzia, as due to Beluzia being a Luthorian-speaking state, one of the few in the Artanian continent, mostly due to the Luthori's Union with Beluzia during the days of the Agathionian Empire.

The Foreign Minister of Beluzia also met the Luthorian Prime Minister, Mr. Warner Reyburn and the Beluzian-Luthorian Home Secretary, himself descending from a family of Beluzian immigrants who came to Luthori, Mr. Kenneth McCoy. And she also visited a traditional Beluzian-dominated neighbourhood in Northminster.

On the things discussed, the Luthorian Foreign Secretary announced, that while the two didn't found an agreement yet, finalisation of the deal between Luthori and Beluzia would be happening in Beluzia, with the visit from the Luthorian Prime Minister being planned to finalise the agreement between the two states.

@TheTimes

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Foreign Office re-opens contacts with Metz-Leonid after decades of silence.

October 5589

Fort William, Luthori - The Luthorian-Xsampan relations could be described as being "interesting", bilateral relations between both countries have never been amicable, some might say, while others may refer to the "Red Thaw" in relations when the at the time, Prince of Orange, the future Emperor Charles VII made a visit to the nation and expressed Luthori's apologies for the colonisation of the area by Luthori and for the exactions committed by Luthorian colonial forces and the Luthorian colonial administration during that era. Yet, apart from this episode, Luthorian-Xsampan relations have either remained cordial, yet not cordial enough to be considered as being a "friendship" between both states, after all, the Luthorian Empire has been resolutely anti-communist for most of its existence, a fact even strengthened today by the enactment of numerous anti-radical policies by the Luthorian Home Secretary, Mr. McCoy. Yet, over the course of the last years, it seems that this relationship between the Luthorian Empire and the Democratic Republic of Xsampa can become something more workable for both states. Recently, the former General-Secretary of the Communist Party of Xsampa, Mr. Wangchen engaged Xsampa in the course of transformation of the Xsampan economy, passing it from a form of Planned Economy to a so-called "Market Socialist" economy. While still far from the Luthorian Capitalist model. It's still a development that could, potentially, open up the way for the creation of commercial ties between Metz-Leonid and Fort William, especially considering that the Luthorian economy is continuing to grow, needing more and more economic partners to trade with. The Foreign Office, in that aim, announced the sending of an "official" Luthorian diplomatic mission to the Democratic Republic, with the task of creating an Embassy in Metz-Leonid to begin the process of restoring cordial relations between the communist and capitalist state. The Luthorian Government seems increasingly interested at burying old issues with other states in the World, be it with the Vanukeans, the Kalistanis, and now with the Xsampans.

The Prime Minister's Office has stated that it was Luthori's "great hope", that in the aftermath of the tensions surrounding the area between Beiteynu and Xsampa, that basic contacts could be resumed between both governments in order to reach a settlement which would be favourable to the loosening of tariffs between both states [Xsampa and Luthori] and the establishment of a trustworthy relationship between both governments in order, yet again to achieve the development of a relationship which would permit the circulations of goods between both states. It should be noted that it isn't Luthori's first contact with the Southern part of the Dovani continent, Luthori's presence has already been factual in Vascania, with rumours indicating that the Luthorian Government has already re-engaged talks with the newly-apparent authority having seized power in Vascania. The Imperial Government has been facing a lot of issues about that fact, as some opposition members stated their disapproval of the Government's policy towards the Vascanian Empire, throwing their hat behind the Anti-Vascanian faction due to the 'Pilese issue', Fort William has been notably silent on the issue that once, forced the Luthorian Foreign Office to back down on their Commonwealth expansion policies and back down from the region entirely. Yet, since the reactivation of contacts in Vascania and the seemingly pro-business and more opened attitude that has shown Xsampa during these last years, the Luthorians are willing to throw the anti-communist axe down to begin working with the Xsampans to reach a favourable settlement for the promotion of both cultural exchange and economic collaboration and partnership with Luthori.

@TheTimes

[Ligbruderkrieg]

The International Inquirer

Crown Street announces twin state visits in Beluzia and Dankuk.

November 5589

Fort William, Luthori - In hopes of increasing bilateral relations between the Luthorian Empire and other states in the world, and in the aftermath of increased diplomatic efforts with Xsampa and Beluzia specifically, the Luthorian Government has announced the holding of two working visits by the Luthorian Prime Minister, Dr. Reyburn to both the Republic of Beluzia and the Kingdom of Dankuk. In his trip to the Kingdom of Dankuk, the Prime Minister shall be accompanied by the Prince Alexander, second-in-line for the Luthorian throne behind his mother, the Princess of Orange, Katherine. This visit would constitute the first visit that an imperial family member, at the exception of the Emperor himself would make a trip to a foreign nation such as Dankuk. While the visit to the Republic of Beluzia was already announced by the Prime Minister's Office, as the objective was shown to increase bilateral economic ties between both states, but, it would an understatement to consider that Luthori's visit to Dankuk was, unexpected, to say the least.

In truth, it seems that Luthori's interests, at least on the economic sense are yet again focusing abroad, as Luthori itself is focusing on either the establishment or the re-establishment of ties between Luthori and other states with whom the Empire could have either seen periods of frictions or even some period of silence in terms of bilateral relations. Yet, faced with an increasingly changing world and the gradual weakening of the United Kingdom of Lourenne as a commercial partner and the collapse of the Kundrati Union in a deadly civil war, the Luthorian Commercial Office has drifted the Foreign Office towards engaging a series of bilateral talks with other nations on the subject of seeing increased trade volume between the Luthorian Empire and these said nations. The Department of Commerce released a memo/note to the Foreign Department [Racheer Note About Luthorian Commerce and Its Future], describing what the Luthorian Empire could do to continue developing its trade network out of its traditional partners at the world stage. Thanks or due to these recommendations, the Department for Foreign Affairs recently confirmed having engaged talks with Kalistan, Dankuk, Xsampa, Beluzia on that very same matter. Discussions with the Vascanian Government have also been confirmed of having token place, yet, as of now, the Department is keen to not share of the details as no deal was in any way secured between both parties and the fact that, at least on the Luthorian side, talks are considered to be in their "infancy".

Fort William has released papers which were shared by the Department of Commerce outlining the goals and objective that each of the visits are hopefully going to achieve, if, "everything goes as planned and well", these were the words expressed to the press by a spokesperson for the Commercial Sub-Department, which are, hopefully, resuming well the Government's wishes upon these commercial deals. For the first agreement whose details should be refined by the Luthorian Prime Minister's visit to that said nation, that being the Republic of Beluzia, the Luthorians are hopeful that the negotiations initiated in the aftermath of Mrs. Hampton [Beluzian Foreign Minister] visit to the Luthorian Empire in 5586 would result in a good economic agreement being achieved between the two parties, culminating in the continuation of the construction of a goodwill relationship between Luthori and Beluzia, which was initiated by this Administration, following up the former Administration [Malfoy, Carrington]'s policies towards the Artanian continent, where the Empire, while cautious of not breaking the fragile balance existing between all Artanian powers that exists, that being the Federal Republic of Dundorf and the Dual Monarchy [formerly Dual Republic] of Narikaton and Darnussia, especially as the Kundrati Union collapsed into anarchy. Yet, at the same time, while respecting that fragile Balance of Powers, Luthori would seek to expand her economic power over the Continent, mostly due to consideration apparent to the numerous trade relationship around the World which have been put into jeopardy by the sudden dissolution of long-time political parties which had become inseparable from the these countries' administration or way of life. 

Due to these considerations, the Foreign Office hopes that the treaty that will be signed between the Luthorian Government and the Beluzian Government would be a treaty focusing on the loosening of the border patrols over the Luthorian-Beluzian border, as per with the wishes of the Beluzian community in Luthori, the set up of a goodwill agreement meant to begin preparations for connecting the Luthorian and Beluzian nations through infrastructure and upgrading the Beluzian infrastructure. The implementation of a common policy meant at short-term, decreasing the tariffs existing for goods between both nations, which would be mostly, at the moment, at Luthori's advantage, and finally, Luthorian investments into Beluzia to kick start its economic development. Mrs. Hoptkins expressed her [and the Government's] views on the whole endeavour engaged with the Republic of Beluzia.

"We are very hopeful that this agreement that we've negotiated with the Beluzian representatives that have been sent by the Government of Mr. Teobald d'Ambray in the aftermath of Mrs. Hampton's visit to Luthori. The details of that bilateral agreement are still up to be negotiated by both countries' diplomats, yet we are hopeful that we've reached an agreement that would benefit all parties on board with that plan. We've received positive answers to the agreement by the Beluzian Government, which seems to be satisfied, as we are, with the settlement that we've reached. We have good hopes for that deal overall.

For the other visit that is on the Luthorian Government's mindset, the visit to the Kingdom of Dankuk, let's just state that the visit wasn't planned by any foreign policy analyst, yet, when looking deeper into the reasons for such a visit, the reasons become clearer and clearer. The Kundrati Union is engaged in a civil war never seen in long time, the United Kingdom's power is fading overnight due to recent international inactivity and the withdrawal of Lourennais/Canrillaise naval vessels from the Vascanian theatre against the Jelbic Empire and Beiteynu. Due to these factors, the necessity of finding a new, amicable trade partner to do commerce with in Western Dovani became, in a way, not only a necessity, but also, an obsession. Thankfully, the Kingdom of Dankuk is remaining as one of the sole powers capable of becoming that said partner, as Seko's economy is too linked with the Canrillaise Empire and Hulstria, Luthori's historic and traditional ally on the Continent had long since faded into irrelevancy, civil conflict and even genocide in some cases. This leaves only the Kingdom of Dankuk as a sensible and respectable ally in the Continent that Luthori can trade with. The Luthorian Diplomatic Office [the Luthorian Embassy] in Dankuk expressed that the Dankukian Government, under the leadership of the Prime Minister Gwisil Gowoonyaesol, was interested into finding a common settlement between the Luthorian Empire and the Kingdom of Dankuk to develop Dankuk-Luthorian trade and cultural ties. Prime Minister Reyburn shall be accompanied in this endeavour by the Duke of Alchester, Prince Alexander of Luthori, second-in-line for the Throne of Luthori and Mordusia, who will represent the Imperial Family during this visit to a fellow monarchy state in the World.

The Office of the Prime Minister didn't release any date for the visit to take place, stating that these would be announced when a settlement on the dates would be reached with both governments.

@TheInternationalInquirer

[Ligbruderkrieg]

DoJ engages inquiry upon the LEA's extensive lobbying actions.

August 5590

Fort William, Luthori - It has been announced by a statement from the Department of Justice that it was beginning an "extensive" inquiry upon the Luthorian Employers' Association, Luthori's large conglomerate cartel. The Department of Justice stated that the Imperial Government's decision to inquire the Luthori Employers' Association came after "high suspicions over the Employers' Association's extensive lobbying against the liberalisation of the Luthorian economy", which was a process which was engaged by former Prime Minister, Reinhold Carrington. The Department of Justice's suspicions are mostly covering up whether or not the Luthorian Employers' Association deliberately extended its lobbying process to avoid that further liberalisation laws be passed by the Luthorian Parliament, and to act against the Kalistani offer to buy stakes over the Imperial Oil Company's selling, which at the end, went mostly to Luthorian companies.

The Office of the Prime Minister hasn't offered any statement over this issue as of now. The Department of Justice has stated being "in close collaboration" with the Department of Home Affairs over this issue. The Imperial Investigation Office has already opened up the case against the LEA.

For now, the Luthorian Employers' Association has stated that they were "willing" to "cooperate" with the authorities, most analysts thinks that this move is "normal" coming up from the pressure group, as, after all, stating your willingness to cooperate with the authorities over an inquiry which targets you shows some form of confidence or even trustworthiness.

The Opposition criticised the lack of reforms preventing such pressure groups such as the Luthorian Employers' Association to yield so much influence over Luthorian politics. The Leader of the Opposition, has for her part, called for the complete dismantlement of the Luthorian Employers' Association, stating that "their anti-foreigner stance is incompatible with the Luthorian way of life and Luthorian capitalism".

The Times, Fort William, by Stephen Bryan.

@TheTimes

[Ligbruderkrieg]

The Fort William Inquirer

Prime Minister meet with military leaders; military reforms being considered by General Staff.

February 5591

Fort William, Luthori - Amid ongoing modernisation efforts in the Imperial Luthorian Armed Forces, the Luthorian Prime Minister today took a time to meet out with Luthori's most important military leaders, to come a favourable settlement for both parts' in the course of Luthori's ongoing military modernisation program. While previous administrations were more favourable to the improvement and funding of the Imperial Luthorian Army, this Ministry seems to re-favour the Imperial Luthorian Navy, as per with the Cabinet's Pro-Commonwealth orientation and their latest promises of "defending Mordusian sovereignty" in case that the worst aspects of human suffering, namely an aggressive war waged by a desperate nation reaches the shores of the Commonwealth. Although, greater emphasis was placed upon remilitarisation and strengthening of the Luthorian defence industry through extensive investments orchestrated by the Department of Defence.

The curious case of whether or not the throne was secured to Luthorian hands isn't too much of a concern for military specialists or even to the Government, that is. The threat from both the West and South is becoming increasingly worrisome to most members of the administration and the current course set by the Prime Minister may come to a crashing blow. Regardless, the Prime Minister met with military leaders to set the course for yet another round of military modernisation efforts, although, this time, with, as stated earlier, an emphasis on the recreation of "Luthorian engineering" and of technological growth militarily.

As such, due to this objectives, it shouldn't come as a shock that (1) - most of the Luthorian defence establishment was represented to this meeting and (2) - the Prime Minister gave them specific orders of "retrieving" all military assets that they may have or have produced, developed, abandoned over the years and, thanks to these results, bring a complete analysis to Crown Street to begin a process of "evaluation" by the Defence Staff, which would work in collaboration with these said defence corporations in order to align the production and research goals of these said companies with the military's needs. Although, such process would first need to be preceded with an overhaul of the Imperial Luthorian Army, the Imperial Luthorian Navy, the Imperial Luthorian Air Force, the Imperial Marine Corps or even, God forbid, the Imperial Guard, as the military begins to take herself into a more critical outlook, allowing the reformist-minded Chief of the Defence Staff, Gen. [General (Air Force)] Aline Bennett to reform the Command Structure of the Luthorian military.

Such ideas are becoming increasingly popular as the decades grows, as the Luthorians seems increasingly becoming ready to kickstart their economy in the case that the worst happens, as with an increasingly hostile Vanuku to its South and an unknown and uncertain partnership with Narikaton & Darnussia, it seems that a military leadership reform is needed to steer the military towards new heights. The military headquarters at the Citadel are planned to be expanded to welcome other organisations in itself. Organisations mostly specialised around intelligence gathering and reconnaissance, although the military seems to be focusing towards the establishment of military-led intelligence departments, separate from the civilian-led ones, such as the Domestic Intelligence Agency, the Foreign Intelligence Agency or the Imperial Security Service. Such foundation of agencies would need to be first approved by the Citadel, then by the Defence Secretary, then the Cabinet, then Parliament and finally, the Crown. Although, independence of actions from the military forces in these type of circumstances is widely considered to be a "possibility".

The Cabinet is continuing to monitor the current "thaw" in relations with Narikaton and Darnussia and the Beiteynuese due to the increasingly "worring world situation" and has confirmed the command of over 20 fighters jets of the XF-43 class [Luthorian variant of the HF-35 (Hutorian) fighter jet] and the command of the world-class tank Challenger 3 at 30 units. Estimates for these orders are between £1.7 and £1.9 billion, mostly caused by the average price for an XF-43 fighter jet, which has been fixed at £82,5 millions by its contractor. Well, dear readers, we would hope that this little piece of information has helped you in journey towards the prize of knowledge.

@TheFortWilliamInquirer

[Ligbruderkrieg]

The Luthorian Guardian

Is Luthori, the New "Leader of the Free World"? Worrying nationalism grows in society.

February 5591

Fort William, Principality of Orange

Luthori. What a nation isn't it? The cradle of human civilisation as we know it. If you don't believe me, look at the World, look at the ideas of democracy enshrined all over the World, from Dundorf to Lourenne, passing by Hutori, and others, or from Dankuk to Mordusia, the ideas and ideals which create the basis for a democratic society to strive and develop itself are present all over the World. Yet, while this is a good image, if we only look at the window, we see a World unrecognisable from the one we were born into, from the critical withdrawal from world affairs by the Canrillaise Empire and the total collapse of the Vanukean Monarchy in Vanuku and the exile and then marriage of King Wrunktai XII to Queen Theodora of Narikaton & Darnussia, to the collapse of the Kundrati Union into fascism and then civil war and the victory of fascism in our backyard, but what can we learn from this?

The World is changing rapidly, whether we like it or not. It is a fact of life. The Globe as we've known it for so many generations has collapsed into shattering glasses, with no power being capable of calling itself the "Global Hegemon" as the Canrillaise could have done in the past, no nation can say that it controls the world economy thanks to the sheer size of its own economy or through its currency, and where does this has led us? In the brink of collapse, free market capitalism isn't as dominant in the world as it once was. People are turning to radical ideologies, such as communism, any form of left-wing authoritarian ideology prompted by fears of inequality, wishes for a revolution from the Old Order.

And the Old Order? Where is it today? Headless, without a clear leader, while many nations could potentially take up the mantle left up by the Canrillaise Empire and remould it, taking into account its ideology and its geopolitical goals. Alas, today, we are in a time of crisis, where one Leader of the Free World can rise and take up the mantle of fighter against communism, fascism, autocracy and other ideologies around the World. What wouldn't it be, as I said earlier, that said craddle of human civilisation as we know it. While we are not the point of departure of the human race, nor are we the foundation for much of the beautiful cultures that we may find in this diverse and developed World, which make it unique in itself, we can be considered to be the home of democracy itself, after all, who founded the Williamite system of governance that most countries have used to or created their parliamentary system derived from that said system.

Luthori, the place where the Industrial Revolution, which transformed our way of lives and the World's ways of lives to unseen heights ever since the days of both the Rontin and Augustan Empires on the Artanian and Majatran continents, first started to grow with the invention of numerous techniques which allowed the development of industries and the industrialisation of the World. Due to these achievements coming from Luthorian might and knowledge, and let's be honest, a bit of luck. We are now, forced by the circumstances of time, by the dangerous tides engulfing that World, to take upon the mantle as the Leader of the Free World. It is not only our destiny, but also...our birthright.

This was the speech expressed by Dr. Lindsay Hoyle, Professor of History at the University of Fort William, when asked what would, in his view, the future of Luthori would look like. While it's quite a bold claim to lay claim upon the title of "Leader of the Free World", as he did during his speech, his claim has been widely taken as granted by many in Luthorian society. Especially on social media, people have begun taking his views quite seriously, with people reminiding about "how much the Luthorians have supported the KPP against fascism", how much the Luthorians were willing to cast aside to build safe relationships with both the Jelbic Empire and the Anantonese Empire. Yet, one of these deals fell through and flat into the ground, as first, the Vanukean constitutiant of the Jelbic Empire collapsed into revolution, forcing the Emperor in Exile and then, the House of Orange-Villayn laid claim over the Yeudi Throne, using as a pretext that fact that such a weakened Jelbic Empire couldn't possibly and appropriately defend the Holy Land.

Whatever this means for the future Jelbo-Luthorian relations, they are likely to take a turn for the worse, as observed the Luthorian Diplomatic Independent Inquirer, which predicted that if Luthori couldn't find a settlement favourable to the Jelbics in the next year, relations are likely to take a turn for the worse. Regardless of the state of these relations, the Luthorians seems to be obsessed over one ideal. The ideal of democracy. Luthori, beginning to feel paranoid over the increasing number of extremist or radical states in the Western Hemisphere (the ones who are not following the doctrine of free-market capitalism or liberal democracy), seems to have engaged in a quite radical path, in shark contrast to the quite pacifist and moderate views of Luthorian foreign policy, traditionally focused around the finding of a balance of powers between all Terran nations.

Yet, it is no longer to be. With the increasing numbers of radical states having "invaded" the Globe, whether it is in Vanuku or in Kundrati. The Luthorians wishes to be the front-runner of the preservation of the "Old Order", where the "old ways" of free market capitalism and liberal democracies shall be preserved against the threat of both communism and fascism. Although, the rise of communism is a much more pressing threat to the Luthorian Way of Life.

Mr. Hoyle stated that it was Luthori's duty to strengthen all "lovers of liberty and capitalism", and he also stated it was the "Luthorians' duty to become the Light of the World, enlightening the World with democracy and capitalism, the two main points of the Luthorian Way of Life", before concluding his speech by praising Luthori and the Luthorian people.

This worrying trend of nationalism is stated to be "heavily watched" by the Department of Home Affairs, with this "Civic Nationalism" seemingly taking its toll over the Luthorian populace. Crown Street, for its part, has remained silent. While many people are beginning to point fingers to see who is responsible, at least, politically, for the rise of such nationalism and proudness in Luthori that has never been seen before.

Is Luthori the new "Leader of the Free World"? Only time will tell, although most of the time, Luthorian hubris killed its ambitions and Luthori herself, whether time will tell if its going to be the case yet again.

@TheLuthorianGuardian