Capital News Service - News from Acronis

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PM Relinquishes International Trade Portfolio, Announces Inquiry into Royal Marshals, Pledges “This Ends Now”

ZARAM-- A day after Indar Province saw widespread lockdowns as a suspected serial murder and rapist was at large and miscommunication in her office caused her not to be aware of the situation, Prime Minister Žarís Nevran Alandar made a solemn pledge in a rare weekend press conference: “This will never happen again. This ends now.”

In a set of actions that the Prime Minister called “just the very beginning, nowhere near the end” of changes, Ms. Nevran Alandar announced that she would immediately relinquish her position as Minister of International Trade and Development, a portfolio she has held since her election as Prime Minister in 2017. Her mother, Nari Nevran Alandar, also held the position from 1994-1999. “International trade has been an interest and a priority of mine, but it is clear that to best serve the interests of the Acronian people, all of my attention needs to be on the premiership.” Taking her place as Minister of International Trade and Development will be Nitai Lavra Endošti, who is also the Minister of Industry and Commerce.

Additionally, Ms. Nevran Alandar announced a “total, wholesale review of the Royal Acronian Marshals, what went wrong, and what needs to be changed.” The Prime Minister added that “nothing is off the table” when asked by a CNS reporter if the review would consider options such as ending Acronis’ use of military forces for civilian law enforcement. The Royal Acronian Marshals, a division of the Royal Acronian Armed Forces, serve as law enforcement officers everywhere in the country except the cities of Zaram, Dravai, and Lantaž, each of which have their own municipal police departments.

“We have a long way to go, and we have a lot of work to do,” said the Prime Minister. She acknowledged that in Indar Province particularly, there have been “years of complaints” about the Marshals, and she said “we intend to involve community organizers and the public at large in this review process.” The review will be led by Internal Affairs Minister Avri Londrai Takanaš.

The Prime Minister did not discuss details about the law enforcement investigation of the Indar attacker, citing the “active, ongoing investigation,” but said that more information would be forthcoming in the coming days.

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Acronis Announces Defense Agreement With Ayaupia

CAYOO, Ayaupia-- Days after Parliament formally ratified the defense agreement with Aponivia, Prime Minister Žarís Nevran Alandar travelled to Ayaupia today to announce a new defensive agreement with that country, an ANG ally.

“Our agreement today provides security and safety to Ayaupia, but it is truly a victory for the region of Northwest Gondwana as a whole. We all benefit from increased security and stability, and we are very pleased to partner with Ayaupia, with whom we have worked before to great success,” said Ms. Nevran Alandar in remarks to members of the media. Ayaupia is also a member of the Alliance Space Cooperative, an international space program under the Alliance of Northwest Gondwana.

The agreement gives the Acronian military permission to operate in Ayaupian air space and territorial waters. Additionally, one Royal Acronian Air Force squadron will be permanently based in Ayaupia, with others rotated in and out “as needed.” The agreement requires Acronis to station no more than 3 nuclear warheads in the country at any given time. The weapons will be air-based, not intercontinental ballistic missiles launched from submarines. While the negotiations for the agreement began before the announcement of the nuclear program, negotiators included the nuclear provisions in the last few weeks of talks.

“The devices the agreement mentions are known as ‘pre-strategic’ warheads, and are designed to either counter an inbound nuclear missile or to serve as a so-called ‘warning shot,’” says Zaram University professor and nuclear weapons researcher Vodri Kanatar Venkat. “They have much smaller payloads than the larger, submarine-based missiles. 150 kilotons of TNT compared to 600.”

At the end of her remarks, Ms. Nevran Alandar also took questions regarding the ongoing investigation into the serial murderer in Indar Province. “We now have a clearer picture of who this individual was targeting for his attacks,” said the Prime Minister. “He appears to have been targeting the Ayaupian refugee community and individuals who lost good standing with the Church. And I am here today to tell everyone listening that this isn’t acceptable, that we have failed to protect our Ayaupian refugee community, and that from this day forward, we will work as hard as we can to make sure nothing like this happens again.”

Prior to her remarks, Ms. Nevran Alandar met with Ayaupian Prime Minister Alastir Ruste for two hours. No transcript of the meeting was released by either government, and no Acronian government spokesperson would comment on the nature of the talks. A high-level source within the Ministry of External Affairs who was not authorized to speak publicly told CNS that the talks were “sometimes heated” and “centered exclusively on the Acronian failure to protect Ayaupians.”