Foreign Concerns Gazette/Year 530 - 531

*Main article: Grand Strategy 2*
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***A Grand Celestial Empire? Galorius Declares Himself Emperor***

**International News:**

* "Galorious the Self-Crowned" *Self-Styled Emperor Comes from Old and Powerful Lineage Dating to Margravate of Tarim: Deep Pockets and Family Connections Believed to Have Smoothed Galorious's Takeover of Celestial Council, with Particular Support of Admiralty and Diplomatic Corps.*
	+ "Does a Crown Mean Centralization?" *Worried Anticipation from Celestial Grandees That Galorious May Intend to Consolidate Power At Expense of Local Autonomy – Public Organized Resistance Has Not Yet Materialized*
	+ "Should the Diet Convene?" *Debates Among Grandees as to Whether Celestial Diet Should Officially Convene to Debate and Vote on Galorious's Coup.*
		- *Pro-Confederates Articulate Dilemma* "If the Diet meets, it can be co-opted, but if it stays silent too long without any other resistance to Galorious, it will disempower itself."
		- *Imperialists Face Alternate Dilemma…* "Should an Emperor Even Seek the Approval of a Diet?"
	+ "Confederate Loyalists" *Loud Protests from Academics and Jurists at Galorious"s Accession; Chaos in Diplomatic Corps Blamed on Recalcitrant Intelligence Agencies that Oppose Galorious as Emperor*
* "There is No Emperor in Celestial Space" *Middle Kingdom, Aksai Chin Reject Legitimacy of Galorious and Refuse Diplomatic Materials with any Reference to Grand Celestial Empire*
* "Gathering Storm, or a Cosmic Shrug?" *Apparently Muted Response from Imperial Powers to Self-Declared Emperor of "Grand Celestial Empire" Has Protestors and Supporters in Disquieted Limbo*
	+ "The Longer the Great Powers Delay, the More Galorius Consolidates!" *Celestial Academics Write Entreaty to Imperial Arms Control Summit, But Delegation Arrives After Conclusion of Meeting*
	+ "Failing to Acknowledge Galorius Allows our Diplomatic Apparatus to be Hijacked" *Pro-Galorious Celestial Ambassador to Alusia Complains that Ambiguity of Galorious"s International Status Allows Rogue Actors to Bypass Diplomatic Hierarchy* "We Have Unacceptable Behavior from Individuals Without Proper Diplomatic Credentials Transacting State Business on Behalf of the 'Grand Celestial Confederation' Which Our Emperor Has Dissolved"
* "Offering Transparency About Weapons of Mass Destruction" *Serene Doge LaPaix of Aeldrum Excites Fialta Controversy With Public Announcement that Aeldrum Will Maintain a Second-Strike Posture and Regularly Publicize Its Own Null Bomb Capabilities.*
	+ "Enough to Destroy Fifty Worlds" *Aeldrum Public Null Bomb Stocks at 300, With Capacity to Produce 240 More Annually*
	+ "MAD Is Madness" *Aeldman Policy Receives Public Rebuke from Fialta Emperor, Criticism from Thalranese in Rare Agreement*
* "Bringing Stability in a Dangerous Era" *Emperor Leutarus Urges Summit on Null Bomb Policy at Fialt, but Imperial Powers Ultimately Convene at Sevalne.*
	+ "Frustration and Misalignment" *Alusia Roundly Rejects Disarmament, Asserts First-Strike Doctrine. Shantine and Aeldmen Largely Seen as Aligned on MAD, While Fialta Call for Disarmament but Refuse to Publicize Current Arms Stockpiles.*
	+ "Does an Alusian First-Strike Against Conventional Invasion Trigger an Aeldman or Shantine Second-Strike?" *Questions from Saldanese Academics After Arms Summit*
	+ "We're At the Table!" *Jubilant Sermayean Crowds Cheer Arms Management Summit as Sign of Cosmic Stature of their Republic and Foreign Policy Success of President Wynn. References to* "SAFAS" (Sermaye, Aeldrum, Fialta Imperium, Alusia, Shantine Empire) *Dominate Sermayan Media*
		- "…But Are We?" *Some Media Outlets Point Out Sermayean Officials Notably Absent From Imperial Great Power Dialogues Outside Summit*
	+ "A Technical Solution for Deproliferation?" *Fialta Imperium calls for disarmament or international observatory body, and research into remote tracking and disabling solutions.*
* "Who Will Speak for the Small Powers?" *Fear and Anxiety Among Media and Governments of Lesser Powers as Imperial Powers Discuss Policies of Mutual Annihilation.*
	+ "Two Different Models?" *Sermaye and Fialta Imperium Both Score Points in Celestial and Imperial Space as Advocates for Inclusion of Non-Null Capable States in Arms Policy Considerations, but Polling Indicates Sermaye Perceived as a Partner Moreso than Imperium*

**Military and Disaster News:**

* "Famine in Paradise" *Elvish Enclavers Reach Aeldman Ports Claiming That Crop Failures Have Caused Mass Unrest in the Paradise Worlds.* "It"s as if the Triad is Withdrawing Deeper into its Domain… Some Chose to Follow, We Chose to Leave."
* "A New Emperor… And a Dead King" *King Manang of Middle Kingdom Dies in Tragic Accident on Pleasure Barge with Two of Three Wives, All Four of His Sons and His Surviving Brother and Uncle. Amidst Confusion Over Succession, Prince Yaland of Keshig Declares Himself Rightful Heir by Marriage, Petitions Emperor Galorius for Assistance.*
* "Nightmares at the Summit" ­*Mass Panic at Sevalne Summit as Collective Nightmares of End of Cosmos Induce Terror, Madness in Attendees.*
	+ "An Occult Hoax" *Shantine Sources Declare Mass Nightmares a Result of Bad Actors, Not Cosmic Warning*

**Economic and Technology News:**

* "A Better Life… But Who is Left Behind?" *Significant Migration Patterns From Celestial Space into Imperial Space, and from Impoverished States Like Delarma Raise Specter of* "Economic Death Spiral" *for Depopulated Communities*
	+ "They Didn"t Want Our Rule, They Can Stay Right Where They Are" *Aeldman Secular Nationalist Party Agitates Against Wave of Immigration from Aeldman Commonwealth*
	+ "Lands of Opportunity… Or Places of Holy Refuge?" *Shantine Attract Millions of Kirvan Immigrants, Outpacing Raw Immigration to Traditional Economic Destinations Such as Aeldrum and Sermaye*
* "Panic" *Death of Middle King and Ambiguous Succession Sends Celestial Markets Into Spiral, Threatening Debt Crunch for Heavily Leveraged Merchants in Middle Kingdom*
* "An Object Lesson" *Infinite Wishes Demonstrates* "Miraculous" *Worship Enhancement Technology Across Ethernet Media Programs, Showcasing Gains for Healing, Harvest and More to Ecstatic Crowds.* "The Truly Faithful Will Be Rewarded In This Life and the Next, Thanks to IW"
* "Win with Wynn" *Sermayan Diplomatic Corps Offers Contracts for Patented Wynn Consulting Method, Computational and Analytical Support. Critics Disgusted by* "Unprecedented Profiteering," *Supporters Accuse Detractors of Unseemly Envy*

**Cultural News:**

* "What Makes a Great Nation?" *Fialta Empress Leona Stirs International Debate with Cultural Series on Foundations of Historic Great Powers.* "Since the Mage Imperium, Civilization Must Ultimately Be Understood as Rooted in the Relationship Between Mortals and the Divine"
	+ "Cosmography Makes Empires, Not Gods" *Calathan Academy of Sciences Claims Cosmographic Determinism Accounts for Success of Mage Imperium and Aeldrum*
* "Off to the Edge!" *Thalranese High Lords Offer 10M Ducat Prize for the Fastest Circumnavigation of the Known Cosmos and 10M in Prizes for the Most Interesting Finds from Outside Known Space*
* "Media Lockdown?" *Amidst Criticism of Celestial Government and Chaos in Middle Kingdom, News Organizations Throughout Celestial Space Claim They Are Under Unusually High Pressure by Local Regimes to Smooth Over Negative Coverage*

**Affiliate News Contributions**

*The Impartial Times Polling Company:*

* "Most Attractive Head of State" – Leutarus I
* "Most Likely Head of State to Win a Fight" – Leutarus I
* "Most Likely Head of State to Save the Cosmos" – Leutarus I
* "Most Likely Head of State to Doom the Cosmos" – Leutarus I
* "Most Likely Head of State to Rig a Poll" – President Alexander Wynn

*The Lighthouse*

* **News from the Outremer:** *A Universal Church - Reports from the Outremer Kirvan Kingdoms that the Shantine Church of Kirva, assisted by the Knights of Leandra, have begun building churches and offering food and shelter to needy parishioners in the far reaches of conduit space.*
	+ "Leandra's warmth and Kirva's light belong to all Kirvans - no matter how far from the heart of our holy Church." - *Knight-Captain Sol Brightfellow*
* **A Festival of Prosperity:** *Citizens across the Shantine Empire celebrate the start of a new decade; exhibitions of Shantine art, artifacts, culture, and cuisine organized by the Internal Ministry showcase the brilliance and holiness of Bishant and House Kataph; effigies of Empresses Theoboda and Irboda are constructed and immolated in rituals of honor and reverence for their part in ushering in this era of greatness.*