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International Relation news for today
The Foreign Ministry of Finland sends delegations to the United States of America JB and to Mashriq SECP to improve diplomatic relations and discuss further diplomatic opportunities.

Vennola-Chicherin Pact
This agreement was drafted to grant fruitful relations between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Republic of Finland. Both nations face the same problems, issues and believe they can find the best solutions together, as comrades. The pact:
1. Non-aggression treaty for 10 years, until 1932.
2. Free trade deal: no tariffs on products, the customs offices will not control as much as before.
3. Education partnership: the USSR and Finland can exchange scholars and professionals between each other to boost the USSR's and Finland's education.
4. No border control for those individuals who live within 50 kilometers from the borders.
5. Military partnership: Finland and the USSR will exchange 5000 officers during the next 10 years to improve the military training diversity and quality in both nations.
6. Soviet warships will be let into the inner Baltic sea for patrol purposes and defending trade ships.
7. Both Finland and the USSR helps each other in ensuring their borders' integrity. They will help each other in case of war, militarily, financially and in humanitarian ways. (military alliance)

Italia Declares War On The Kingdom Of Sicily!

Italia's prime minister, Antonio Armando, walked upto the porch of the town hall of Rome. The people of Italia looked up at him, expecting a speech from him. "Hello, citizens of Italy. As you all might know, the Kingdom of Sicily rejects being apart of Italia. However, today... following a discussion, the officials of the Italian government have come to a GREAT idea. The men that run the Kingdom of Sicily are sly thieves of the beautiful South East Asian nation, Malacca-Singapore, vassalizing them for goods and large amounts of money. So, I work together with Malacca-Singapore to liberate them from these overlords, and rightfully earn back Calabria and Sicily, islands that have rightfully belonged to Italy, to which nobody had objected to besides the evil conquerers of Spain, so, from this speech and on wards, a state of WARis official between Italia and the Kingdom of Sicily."

The newly formed Italian Armed Forces had made their movements towards Calabria, sending 2,000+ soldiers from the Potenza military base marching down to Calabria, and on the signal of the military general, the soldiers would charge into Calabria, occupying it as fast as possible. Finally, the Apennine peninsula was fully unionized into one country! "Do not worry, people of the city of Catanzaro. There is no need to worry, no need for shock. The Kingdom of Sicily is going to be defeated, and you will be put in the hands of a proper country, a proper democratic nation, we welcome you as new citizens of Italia!"

Troopships would sail on over to the southernmost tip of Calabria, where the 2,000 soldiers would board the troopships and sail out for Sicily. Similar procedures would be held out, but what awaited them at the biggest city of Sicily, Palermo, was a gunfight between the large police force of Sicily. Sicily did not have a military, but they did have a strong police force to boot instead. However, due to them only having a police force, they would not be able to handle the force of a strong army of soldiers, which had more advanced and stronger weapons then the police force.

A great picture would be taken, an Italian soldier stepping on the last police officer of Sicily as they bled out, aiming his rifle between the eyes of the officer, ending the officers life with a loud bang. Finally, the last matter of destroying the Kingdom of Sicily, the monarch, the king of Sicily would be tied up to a pole. A shooting range execution would commence, his body filled with 28 bullet wounds. Following July of 1922, the provinces of Sicily and Calabria would officially become part of the great Italia.

The Economic Plan

Despite being independent from the rule of its European masters for about 5 years, the economy of Kenya was seemingly not existent. Almost never ending civil wars and coups had destroyed any infrastructure the country had. Its cities lay in ruins, farmland destroyed and mineral deposits and mines looted and left in ruins. At the moment, Kenya was among one of the poorest nations in the world. In order to achieve his goal of transforming Kenya into the next world superpower, Jonas Abebe and his new staff planning to implement a massive economic plan to truly transform Kenya into the power it should be.

Agriculture Reforms

Agriculture was by far the biggest part of the economy before independence. Arable land covers 10% of Kenya. All arable land will be covered, with Tea, Coffee and Corn being the primary grown crops. Coconuts, pineapples, cashews, cotton, sugarcane, and sisal will all be grown and available for export as well. The majority of crops will be grown on a series of plantations, in order to provide work for the population. Smaller crops like coconuts and pineapples will be grown on smaller farms. Families will be allowed to grow crops for subsistence, however they must give up a quarter of their crops for sale to the population.

Livestock also takes a huge part in Kenyan agriculture. Cattle, pigs, sheeps, goats, poultry and camels are the main livestock. All are used as either draft animals or for food and dairy. Like the crops, the majority of animals will live on already existing crop plantations or special animal farms. Animals will be allowed to live on subsistence farms as well, albeit with the same conditions as subsistence crops.

Industrial Renewal

In order to spur further agriculture production, food processing industries are needed. These industries will process various crops into further agricultural products. This is where the cities of Kenya will contribute.

In Nairobi, grain milling will take center stage. All grain will be sent to the Kenyan capital and from there, will be turned into flour or exported as is. There is also an underlying idea behind this, as it is hoped that the excess flour going to the population will spur a rush of citizen run businesses like bakeries. Beer production is also expected to rise, due to the vast amounts of corn and grain available.

In Mombasa, sugarcane crushing will be the main industry. Mills are being constructed to produce both brown and white sugar. In addition to the sugar industry, Mombasa’s ports are being expanded to include over 100 merchant ships at any one time. All trade traffic will flow through the city and its ports, and be pushed inland. As such, numerous new federally recognized trading companies have been set up, to establish more jobs and add competition to the economic landscape.

Smaller versions of all these industries will also be prevalent in Kisumu, along with a port to fuel inland trade with its neighboring countries. Kisumu will also be home to the majority of animal processing plants, with all animals available for export and animal products will be shipped before exportation.

Minerals and Mines

Unlike much of Africa, Kenya does not have abundant mineral reserves. Of the minerals Kenya possesses, Soda Ash and Niobium are the most abundant. Soda ash is primarily used in the production of glass, and it can purify air and water. Niobium is used as alloys in Steel, proving useful to the Kenyan armed forces.

Soda Ash production around Lake Magadi has significantly increased, with it now carrying the responsibility of being the most important/exported mineral from Kenya.

Several new Niobium mines have been built, each charged with either export matters or keeping the Niobium for Kenyan use.

The other available minerals like gold and fossil fuels will be kept for Kenyan use.

Shakedown in the Sahara
Emperor Habré sat back in his chair, gazing over the map in front of him, depicting the northern region of the country, its towns, bases and enemy encampments. As he looked, his Vizier Hassan Arabana outlined the situation for him.

"The Bedouins caught our garrisons off guard, occupying two towns, including our armoury at Faya Largeau before we could organise our response. Right now, they're sieging out the town of Fada, our last remaining outpost in the Sahara about 900km from here. To liberate it, we'd need to make the march there within three days and clear out the Bedouins, then march hundreds of kilometres across the desert through Bedouin lands where we'd doubtlessly be ambushed, then liberate both towns and execute the ringleader."

The Emperor looked up and simply said, "Then that's what we shall do. Dispatch a brigade of cameleers, two brigades of infantry and a brigade of camel artillery to Fada, tell them to march fast enough to arrive within two days."

And so, the brigades left that afternoon, marching through the night and sleeping in shifts to maximise marching time. This all paid off as they arrived near Fada after only two days of marching. As most of the soldiers set about establishing camp, scouts were dispatched to a tall sand dune with a view of the town, as well as the Bedouin siege encampment. When the scouts returned, the commanding officer, Colonel Mzumbe set about establishing a battle plan for the next day, outlined below.

Artillery, towed from N'Djamena by camel, would be set up on the dune used by the scouts, raining explosives onto the camp. Below them, a division of infantry would be set up, hidden behind a smaller dune to ambush the camel or infantry charge the Colonel expected would happen when the Bedouins realised they were under attack. As the artillery drew out enemy forces, the cameleers and the second infantry division would charge into the enemy camp from the side, clearing it out and forcing a rout. Mzumbe, satisfied with his plan, issued orders for the next morning to his underlings, then retired to his camp to prepare for the next morning.

As the first rays of sun began to bake the sands of the Sahara, the artillery was towed up the dune and began to open fire, the explosions carrying for miles across the desert, signalling the start of battle.

Start of a new era
After the Kallio Government had stabilized the country (reorganized the army, opened the embassy program, alliance with USSR, economy and education reforms) the Cabinet held a meeting on the Scandinavian Union project. Finnish, Swedish and Icelander politicians came up with the idea of a unified Scandinavia back in the early 1900s, but it never happened due to the Russian Empire. Now, that all of the Scandinavian nations are independent the project became possible.
The Kallio Cabinet invited Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Icelander officials to present the Scandinavian Union idea. Some of them were very supportive, some of them not really. Iceland, Denmark and Sweden agreed that this Union is needed, especially nowadays when imperialistic nations are getting more and more powerful.
The entire meeting was 7 hours long with 4 breaks. All of the possibilities and concerns were brought up, the pros and cons of the Union. After the meeting, there was a ceremonial dinner with the delegations.
The results? The Danish and Icelander delegation told that both of their countries are ready would be pleased to join the Union. In Sweden they will hold a referendum on joining. The Norwegians refused to join any kind of Union saying "remaining independent and neutral" is the most important for the Norwegian people.

Finland Daily News - Suomen Päivittäiset Uutiset 2020/7/17
Culture
The Parliament has voted the Education Reform Act II legislation which will make schools from age 6 to 15 mandatory for everyone. The Minister of Education has also prepared a new legislation called Minority Education Act which will grant the Swedish and Russian minorities the possibility of opening schools with Swedish and Russian teaching language.
The Helsinki Orchestra would like to invite orchestras from all around the world to participate in the 1922 International Orchestra Event in Helsinki. In the event the orchestras can show do their best and bring prestige to their countries.
Economy
President Ståhlberg has signed Executive Order I, which mandates all unemployed citizens to do Public Work. In practice, all unemployed people will have to register for public work at the nearest Ministry of Social Affairs department. They will be rewarded with a monthly 500 Finnish Markkas which is enough for housing, medicine, food and other basic needs. Those who are registered as unemployed people will be put on a queue, and the MoSa will search a suitable workplace for them according to their skills, education, age and location. This program involves around 150 000 people.
The Minister of Agriculture, Juho Sunila has reported that the crop yields are at record-high. The overall Finnish 6 month agricultural production peaks at 1 million tons. Last year the yearly production was 1,8 million tons, the farmers are expecting at least 1,9 million tons.
The Minister of Finance released the national budget for 1922 which which is 6.8 billion Finnish markka. Total expenditure is 6.5 billion Finnish markka.
The Minister of Trade and Industry Erkki Pullinen has signed a contract with Singaporean officials to ship 50 tons of coffee to Finland. He said „Coffee will not be a luxury product in Finland anymore. Everyone will be able to buy it and enjoy it. We will increase the life conditions of the average Finnish people. Also, this is a great deal for the Government because we can generate a little income for the National Treasury.
International Relations
The Ministry of Defence had ordered one Bismarck Class Dreadnought for 3,1 million USD as a sign of goodwill from Finland to Germany. However, the German Empire told us that as a sign of goodwill from them, we will be given five Bismarck Class Dreadnought for free! This is a truly great deal for Finland. Now, we will be able to fully secure the Baltic Sea and won’t rely partially on Soviet ships.
Statement from Prime Minister Kyösti Kallio:
„This is great news. We misjudged the German Empire. I would like to thank Germany for this generous offer in the name of Finland and the Finnish people. I would like to invite the Kaiser for a meeting to Helsinki. It would be a true game-changing moment in the German-Finnish relations.”
Statement from Minister of Defense Bruno Jalander:
„These are big ships. And very powerful. This is a huge upgrade for the Finnish Navy, but also a challenge. We will have to somewhere store those ships, we will need crew to operate them and we will have to maintain them. We are going to have further talks with German officials about possible training program for our Navy cadets.”
Military
The manufacturing of the Finnish-built VR-1 light tank has officially begun in our Oulu plant. Between 70 and 80 tanks are going to be built monthly in Oulu, but we are planning to construct one more tank plant. Artillery, machine gun and airplane research is progress too.
The military manufacturing will be conducted by one national corporation, the Finland State Armament and Machinery Company.

The Danish Crisis
1st August - Upon hearing the events in Denmark, Prime Minister Kyösti Kallio immediately called Minister of Defense Bruno Jalander. "Resolve the situation with the least civilian casualties. I don't want to start this Union with killing innocent people." said the PM and ordered Mr. Jalander to command an offensive operation to take back Copenhagen.
A couple hours later Minister Jalander called the Generals of the branches of the Army, Air Force and Navy for a meeting. They agreed on directing forces from the Helsinki Division because of logistical purposes. The 14th Infantry Division, 1st Armored Battalion and the 8th Artillery Battalion had been commanded to Denmark. The forces were transported via the Navy's battleships and logistical ships.
3rd August - The forces reached the Danish coasts, two zones had been marked as places for landing. Mosede and Sovang were the two parts of Copenhagen where our forces begun the deployment. A pair of allied Danish reconnaissance planes reported the locations of enemy rebel forces. There were two rebel armies which were not stationed in a crowded place, so the Artillery Battalion started shelling enemy forces in open areas with the 150mm towed field guns. Infantry and armored forces started securing parts of Copenhagen.
4th August - After 9 hours of constant shelling, our artillery was ordered to stop because of allied forces' proximity. By noon, the Amager Ost, Vanlose, Bronshoj and Kobenhavn NV districts were under our control. The partisans managed to kill 98 Finnish soldiers and wound 196. Mines and secret explosives were the greatest threat to marching columns. Sometimes partisans built machine gun nests on the streets so our tanks had to literally crush them. We've managed to neutralize 590 partisans until the end of the day.
5th August - The rebels put themselves into a defensive stance in the city center. If our forces had started an offensive, it would have caused hundreds of Finnish casualties, so we ordered the artillery to strike the town center with fire and fury. The once great Copenhagen town center became a land of destruction and the cemetery of hundreds of communist partisans. Our forces managed to take over the city in three days, suffering 165 casualties and 470 wounded soldiers. After the victory the Finnish forces flooded local pubs, enjoyed the triumph with vodka and some Säkkijärven polkka.
6th August - We've left a small contingent in the city for safety reasons, the rest of the soldiers were brought back home. Other smaller communist rebellions were reported in Denmark but those were quelled by local police and military forces. The Finnish flag was raised on the tower of the Copenhagen City Hall - there is no official flag for the Scandinavian Union yet.

President Juho Ståhlberg's speech on the events:
"Communism won't dominate in Finland. We have experienced last week what communism is capable of. We shouldn't let the red terror reach the Finnish people's hearts and minds. As an Executive Order, I'm banning all Communist newspapers, events and organizations in Finland. We will stay with our national values. Finland will be forever the land of the Finnish people! Hail your army for protecting your homeland and hail your leaders!"
The crowd: "Hail Ståhlberg!!!"

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Matt Land has won the July Tennis Open

Reform;
Realizing that in this modern world, the pirate Sultanate cannot survive on piracy on the high seas for longer- it is believed that it will die out by 1932, Morocco must look to the future. Every province with 10,000 people, or a Kata has a factory sanctioned to be built there, in order to be able to employ 1/10th of the population.

One school is sanctioned for every 2500 people, as well as one hospital for every 5000. This is excpected to be completed by 1925, allowing for a smooth transition from its piracy to the modern era. Public works projects on roads are proposed, but due to the debt that would be accumulated they will start by 2030.

The pirate sultanate of Morocco however will not stop its piracy offers, and again advertises its services.

Just a Little Something Something

Finally the request from Field Marshalls Farouk Salah al-Din’s request has been approved. With funds to Egypt starting to end the new funds and centers of industry are available for the expansion of the national industry. The new factories in Egypt have already started to show their promise using the power of the Nile Delta as their source of power. Literal tons of steel have started to be pumped out being fed by the iron and mineral reserves of the Middle East. The steel being produced here has already started to be pushed into service from anything from construction of further factories in the Nile and Mesopotamian areas to basic units of metal to be processed into commercial use. These factories will be what helps push Mashriq into the modern age.

New projects are being spurred on by the government as well, namely the changing of some sectors of industry. The textile industry has been huge in the Middle East for centuries and nowadays seems mostly useless in the face of further industrialization of the region. As such a new law was created, a “licensing” law for the sale of textile products. In all honestly the law was created to be difficult for smaller home textile workshops to stay in business forcing a larger pool of unemployment. However, if these smaller businesses are guaranteed a three months of welfare benefits and offered a job into the new growing industrial sector, after the three months are over they will no longer receive the welfare benefits. Naturally this causes some outrage among people of extreme rural areas, yet that will be taken care of in the near future by the government.

Besides the heart breaking shutdown of dated industries to help build the modern industries, there is a major project at hand in the construction of the Middle East’s first conventional hydro powered dam. The Kalak Dam will be a 113 m tall and 3.4 km long earth-fill embankment type with a clay core. The width of the crest is 10 m. At an elevation of 330 m above sea level, the reservoir, named Lake Zab, withholds 11,100,000,000 m3 of water. Of that capacity 8,100,000,000 m3 is active and 2,950,000,000 m3 is inactive (dead) storage. On the east side of the dam is the service spillway which is controlled by five radial gates and has a maximum discharge capacity of 13,000 m3/s. Further to the east is a fuse-plug-controlled emergency spillway with a 4,000 m3/s capacity. At the toe of the dam on its west side is the main hydroelectric power station. It contains four 187.5 MW Francis turbine generators for an installed capacity of 750 MW. Behind the power station are four surge tanks. Downstream of the dam is the Mosul regulation dam, which serves to regulate the tail-waters of the main dam but to generate electricity as well. The hydroelectric plant has an installed capacity of 62 MW with four 15.5 MW Kaplan turbine generators. Immediately upstream of the dam is the 240 MW pumped storage power station. It serves as a peaking power station by pumping water to a small reservoir above Lake Zab, storing it, then releasing the water back down to two 120 reversible Francis turbines during peak energy usage. The entire Kalak multi-purpose project is projected to have an installed capacity of 1,052 MW bringing a much needed sense of modernization to the Mesopotamian and help shorten the unemployment gap in that rural area.

When people look at the Middle East they don't see a worthy military power as compared to European or other Western nations; however, they can not be further from the truth. The Middle East has been the center of warfare for centuries and have just simply lacked the required amount of supplies to stay ahead in the military race; however, with the new progress made by Mashriq this gap is about to drastically change. Due to being part of a large front during the Great War Mashriq has witnessed first hand tactics and strategies from just about every great power in the war along with having an arsenal of mixed amount of German, British, French, and Turkish weapons not even including the small amount of Russian, Austrian, and US weapons captured or loaned to/from named above powers. This has created a logistical nightmare in the current Mashriq military, but at the same time has created a unique template for Mashriq to start to create its own domestic arsenal. Due to Field Marshalls Farouk Salah al-Din’s request finally being approved many different individual projects have started to appear from the ground up. With the support of the new industries and the allocated funds to the military a whole new fighting force the world has never seen may be just over the horizon.

~“Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds will have gardens beneath which rivers flow that is a great attainment | Surah al-Buruj 85:11”~

Finland Daily News - Suomen Päivittäiset Uutiset (2020/7/19)
Culture
“There is still no registered Memovirus case in Finland” said the Minister of Interior in his press conference on the Memovirus pandemic. “We’re making decisions, very tough decisions actually. This virus is a very deadly one. We can’t let it inside Finland. Currently there are no travel restrictions, but this might change. The list of countries which are considered unsafe stayed the same: Malacca-Singapore, Neo-Mughal Empire and El Haluf. We are not sure yet about letting the Singaporean soldiers into the territory of Finland. There is a high chance that they might be infected, or at least some of them.”
The government suggests not visiting foreign countries and crowded places. Use face cover if you travel to an unsafe foreign country.
The integration of Iceland and Denmark to the Scandinavian Union is going well. The Finnish markka as currency was established in both nations. The Finnish laws and Constitution will be soon adopted. The Danish Armed Forces are going to be integrated into the Finnish Defense Forces. Iceland has no army so we will have to dispatch an infantry regiment over there. Mass recruitment will start soon. We’re expecting that the army will reach 300,000 in number of trained professional troops.
Economy
The Helsinki-Sodankylä railroad’s construction is going well. We’re expecting no postponements, the railroad will open in time. The Government’s preparing to purchase locomotives and various carriages from Germany, with their respective licenses so we will be able to produce them in Finland later.
The steelworker’s union demands higher payments, as they stated it in an open letter to the Acting Prime Minister. The Finnish Economy is growing very well, pays are increasing as well, however steelworkers haven’t received a salary increase yet. “We think this is unfair. Steel for Finland is really important, especially for the arms manufacturing industry. If we want good weapons, we need steel. If you need steel, we need money.” – said Henrik Rantala, the Chairman of the Steelworkers’ Union. Minister of Finance Risto Ryti was tasked to allocate 6 million Finnish markkas for the raise.
The fur industry experienced a huge boom since the announcement of the Helsinki-Sodankylä railroad. Several new companies were established and hundreds of fur maker and hunter lodges are being built in the Northern territories. The fur industry has a potential of making 20 to 50 million Finnish markkas every year.
Reconstruction of Copenhagen has been started. It will take around 4-6 months to demolish buildings, clear the rubble and reconstruct the old town. “We do not regret the shelling of Copenhagen. It was a good idea, we saved a lot of lives with it.” – said Major General Kimmo Junnila of the Finnish Army.
Military
The Finnish Defense forces are put on high alert due to recent national events. The National White Guards’ number of members reached 200,000 but only 50,000 of those men are well trained and armed. The number of members is expected to drop, the President’s approval rating decreased drastically after the assassination of the Prime Minister. The pro-democratic government’s approval rating rapidly increased.
The fascist front demoralized upon hearing that thousands of Soviet and Singaporean troops are waiting on the borders. Rebellions and deserting became very common in the lines of the National White Guards.
Approximately 60% of the Finnish people stand strongly with the Government. There were several protests against the President, his agenda and the NWG. Strangely, the NWG didn’t counter-protest. A chance of a civil war has decreased because of the moral loss of the fascist movement, however we never know what the President will order.

Memoavirus New Cases Report
El Haluf: 6860
America JB: 689
Vandalia: 686
Spain: 300
Greece: 599
Serbia: 3600
Italy: 60
Mashriq Dawlah Islāmiyyah: 3000
USSR: 3600
Neo-Mughal Empire: 19500
Malacca-Singapore: 120000
Caucus Union:37
Kenya:1000
Chad: 60
Phasia:2
Finland:386
Germany: 200

New Deaths:
El Haluf: 7000
America JB: 29
Vandalia: 4
Spain: 85
Greece: 306
Serbia: 875
Mashriq Dawlah Islāmiyyah: 347
USSR: 5000
Neo-Mughal Empire: 10000
Malacca-Singapore: 50 000
Caucuses Union: 3
Kenya: 8
Chad: 50
Phasia:0
Italy: 21
Finland: 157
Germany: 30