WAR World Report for May 9th, 2020 to June 27th, 2020
John Penta
The World Report
World Alliances & Rivalries
Events of May 10th, 2020 to June 27th, 2020
Active Country List: USA (Pat), Israel (John), United Kingdom (Kai), Billy (France), Nate (Russia), Italy (Endia), Japan (Orion)
Out of Character Matters
Game Master Notes:
From John: With this WR, we’ll be shutting off the war-ic and war-ooc lists at google groups - they’ll still exist and be readable, they just won’t be able to be posted to, because they’ll be archives. Going forward, please use our new Nova site at https://war-rpg.net/.
From Pat:
From Kai: What. A. Month. It’s been just over a month in fact since the last WR and I can safely say, much has happened. From my perspective, the impending change to Nova will hopefully spark a new era of success for WAR as we move in a new direction. This change is going to put a lot of emphasis on you, the players, to develop information and pages for your characters and your countries, which can only deepen your knowledge base. Don’t forget, you can reach out to any of the GM’s in Discord, or the team collectively at st...@war-rpg.net
Help Wanted:
European LNG Resource: We would like assistance in finding a reliable (weekly) source of Liquified Natural Gas prices in Europe.
Recruitment: Our top five in wanted countries is currently: Germany, Spain, Australia, China, Brazil
United Nations & World Economics
United Nations Security Council
Permanent Members: People’s Republic of China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, USA
Members until 2021: South Africa, Maldives, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Belgium, Germany
Members Until 2022: Estonia, Vietnam, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia, Niger
UNSC Presidency Schedule: Germany (July), Indonesia (August), Niger (September), Russia (October)
Current UNSC Activity: Routine activity, currently no major issues.
UN Secretariat: All RL issues are in place unless superseded by in character changes for WAR. There is nothing currently of note for WAR purposes.
General Assembly: Normal operations, nothing of note for WAR purposes.
World Economics
IC Price of Crude Oil: $25 per barrel, down from $20 last report.
IC Price of Gold: $1300 per Troy Oz, down from $1400 last report.
Happenings Around the Globe
Major World Events
The COVID-19 virus that has rocked the world and shut down economies seems to have retreated as many health agencies are reporting a steep decline of cases. The reopening of nations is beginning as emergency orders are beginning to expire. Researchers are still working on a vaccine to eliminate this threat once and for all.
Massive protests rock Belarus as Alexander Lukashenko jails his most popular opponents in the August Presidential election.
Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, and the Greens agree on a new government in Ireland. Micheal Martin to become new Taoiseach (Prime Minister).
Negotiations continue between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt over Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on Blue Nile; Dam on track to begin filling in 2 weeks.
World News
Israel
Highlight(s): Reopening begins slowly as people begin to venture out in public, Outreach to public boosts consumer confidence, however people are still cautious
News Analysis: The Cities begin to reopen and the Israeli people begin to get back to their normal lives. The Prime Minister’s family being out and about is met with favor, as Dr Mrs Weizmann is very popular for her work on the front lines. However, people are still cautious; while unemployment is dropping, spending is remaining flat. Will this hold? Who knows.
The United States of America
Highlight(s): Primary Season 2020 comes barreling towards a conclusion, as the country reopens, and Congress does its best to work in a socially distanced sort of way. Unemployment begins to drop, but consumer spending remains stubbornly low.
News Analysis: As the country begins to come out of coronavirus-induced lockdowns, the Presidential primary season in 2020 seems to be coming to a conclusion. Most people give Jack Willis no chance of winning the GOP nomination or even having much of a presence in the delegate count at the convention in Charlotte, but the Willis campaign refuses to concede defeat even as scandal and tempest surround it. On the Democratic side, Nevada Lieutenant Governor Michelle Hideyoshi has officially clinched the nomination, and speculation is beginning to turn to the nominee’s choices for Vice President and for senior Cabinet posts (prompted not by any sense of “measuring the drapes”, but in fact by a federal law passed in 2016, which rather encourages nominees to name key Cabinet nominees well in advance of the election to allow for security clearance and other pre-confirmation procedures to be completed quickly after election day).
Off the campaign trail, however, the mood is best described as nervous. Economically, the country took a beating from the rapid spread of coronavirus and the shut-downs needed to stop the spread. The careful and detailed planning of the Andolini administration over the previous months has enabled reopening to be a success so far, but consumer confidence is still incredibly low. Even if the statistics say recovery should be quick, that’s not how Americans are behaving.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Highlight(s): Country reopens, People begin to venture out but cautiously, citizens still wonder how will they pick up their lives
News Analysis:The long lockdown is over and people are starting to take advantage of public spaces, being able to walk about without worrying about distancing or getting lectured by a Police Constable. As they begin to reach out, people are still worried, businesses, beginning to sputter up, have people picking up the pieces of their lives. Some businesses are not able to return, which impacts unemployment, and people are still worried about what will happen, and they are looking to 10 Downing Street for leadership.
French Republic
Highlight(s): French reopening reassures the public, but the seeming dysfunction of their government quickly kills the honeymoon period.
News Analysis: France appears to be returning to normal! And it’s government appears to be returning to normal (dys)function too, as President Bonaparte’s honeymoon period comes to a rapid end with the rapidly multiplying reports of infighting, possible jailing of leakers, and divisions over military and naval rearmament within the ruling party. The unemployment rate is dropping as France returns to work, but spending is flat because consumer confidence has dropped to a level best described as “rock-bottom and digging”.
Russian Federation
Highlight(s): The Russian people begin to reopen. The Czar’s public appearances and open communications, along with his forceful statements and requests have been met with surprising obedience.
News Analysis: Shops are back open, and people are going, for some reason the usually boisterous Russian people are following social distancing guidelines, surprisingly well, and in a surprise twist, violators are being called out and a group of elderly Babushkas have taken to lecturing violators, sometimes reinforcing their points with brooms, much to local amusements.
All in all the Czar is getting good marks on the handling of his first crisis.
Italian Republic
Highlight(s): Italian public is overjoyed by reopening. Getting to know the new PM helps, too, even if Italians are cynical and think it’s mostly an act.
News Analysis: Italy is proving to be an exception as it reopens from the coronavirus lockdowns. While the toll of the virus was fearsome in human and economic terms, the public seems reassured by the government’s detailed plans for reopening - this is expressed in part by consumer confidence that is among the highest in the EU at the present time. It might help that the government, through putting the PM up for an interview, appears confident too - even if that interview didn’t get past Italians’ cynicism about their leaders, they appreciate the attempt.
Japan
Highlight(s): Prime Minister Abe steps aside after two terms in office; Emperor signals new era of progression with the appointment of first female Prime Minister. Conservatives unnerved by Kobayashi’s age as well as gender.
News Analysis: Almost fourteen years since he was first sworn in, and two terms later, Shinzo Abe’s grip on power in Japan has finally been loosened with the investiture of Sakura Kobayashi as Prime Minister. In a swift, behind closed doors ceremony at the Imperial Palace, Emperor Naruhito appointed the first female to lead the nation. Whilst supporters of the new Prime Minister rave about the progressive move, many conservatives still feel unease with a woman leading their party. On the streets, it is clear that the people are curious about their new leader and obviously want to find out more.