[b]Kingdom of Jouran[/b]
[u][b]
Government Defends Military Budget[/b][/u]: 
Prime Minister Josef Masaryk defended the government’s massive expansion of its Armed Forces in a session of Parliament today and later in a speech that was broadcast by radio. ‘’ The Jouranian Government maintains its rights to field its own standing army and to have military parity with its neighbors. This is an inalienable right of a sovereign nation. We reject all claims that Jouran is seeking renewed war or conflict on the continent. But we will not sacrifice our national rights to self-defense nor rely on other nations to grant it for us. Dongaria fields an army triple the size of the Jouranian National Army. Do we protest? No. But nor will we allow this new nation, which we have all fought so hard for, to be consigned to the ash heap of history because we did not invest in the manpower, equipment, and training to defend our homeland. ‘’ 

[u][b]King Rictus Conducts State Visit to Tyro-Antari Empire[/b][/u]:
In a move no doubt to smooth over ruffled feathers, King Rictus Von Wolframm is set to visit his cousin and Emperor in the Tyro-Antari Empire. The King is expected to stay for more than a week in the Imperial Capital, meeting government officials and promoting ‘’ Jouranian – Imperial ancestral ties of friendship’. The move comes as the Great Powers are set to meet over Kavonian complaints of Jouranian militarization, complaints that the King has called a ‘’ foreign conspiracy to strip the nation of its sovereign rights as a state. ‘’ 

[u][b]Ministry of Trade Threatens Retaliation:[/b][/u]  
The Ministry of Trade released a statement stating that if neighboring states began a ‘’ trade war against Jouran then the Kingdom would respond in kind against any and all measures, within legal means. ‘’ The statement did not elaborate on what those means could be but some measures could include the banning of certain imports and raising tariffs at border crossings. Meanwhile, Jouranian factories began producing the first batches of an estimated eighty thousand rifles that are destined for the army. Tiva Arms & Manufacturing President Milos Sovotka praised the government for the arms contract that would allow the ‘’ military to perform its national duties. ‘’