Cannibal Kingdom to Host International Business Conference

[Korolaya]

Korolay, Korolaya-

The Ministry of Information of the Sultanate of Korolaya announced plans earlier today to organize an international trade and investment conference this month in the capital city of Korolay.

The government of the tropical island nation, long considered an isolated and backwards place, has recently made attempts to rehabilitate its international image, and the country's Ministries of Tourism and Commerce have reportedly been spending millions on advertising to attract holidaymakers and investors by calling attention to a potentially attractive combination of pristine natural beauty and strict corporate secrecy laws.

Unfortunately for the country's media relations, however, most of the attention paid in the press to Korolaya recently has focused on the well-publicized upcoming release of anthropologist Dr. Harold Mandelbahm-Smith's profile of the country's traditional culture of cannibalism. While Dr. Mandelbahm-Smith has been coy in recent interviews about the book, it is widely rumored that the book contains allegations that cannibalistic practices persist in Korolaya, and are abetted - and engaged in - by members of the Korolayan business elite and those in the highest levels of government.

While members of the country's elite have fervently denied these rumors - going so far as to threaten legal action against Dr. Mandelbahm-Smith and the book's publisher - it is unclear how the conversation surrounding the country's cannibalistic past will affect its capitalistic future.

[Korolaya]

As the weeks while away until the opening of Korolaya's first International Conference on Tourism and Investment, negative press continues to dog the island nation despite the best efforts of the country's Ministry of Tourism and Economic Development. Dr. Harold Mandelbahm-Smith, celebrity anthropologist and author of a new "tell-all" book on the rumored depravity of the Korolayan business elite, has been dropping a string of hints about the contents of his latest publication in the lead-up to its release, now moved up to coincide with the opening of the conference.

Following the announcement by Korolayan Economy Minister Gerald Bunghoray that the conference will be chaired by Martin Uboghubay, CEO of Korolaya's Island Meat Packing - which in recent years has expanded operations in foreign markets - Dr. Mandelbahm-Smith has indicated that foreign consumers of Island Meat's products may want to watch what they eat.

In the wake of the island's economic boom following its opening to foreign trade, the anthropologist asked coyly in a recent interview what had happened to hordes of beggars and vagabonds that until only recently had crowded the streets lining Korolay's pristine beaches - now fronted by at least a dozen brand new hotels and casinos.

Of course, the good doctor's implications could simply be an effort to generate marketing buzz in anticipation of what will in all likelihood be a dry academic text - but there may be no harm in keeping that Island Meat "genuine veal cutlet" in the freezer until after the book's release.

[Korolaya]

The South Pacific Times

Korolay, Korolaya -

Registration has finally opened for the first Korolayan International Business Conference. In addition to representatives from Island Meat Packing, the President of which will also be chairing the conference, the President of the newly constituted International Court of Arbitration, Arthur Kisiway, will also be attending and will be making a presentation on the importance of robust mechanisms for intellectual property disputes. The mayor of Korolay, Martin Smith Ujukei, has also announced a citywide clean-up operation will begin in the weeks preceding the conference.

In other, stranger news, the Korolayan Ministry of Justice has announced that they have filed suit to stop publication of the new book by Dr. Harold Mandelbahm-Smith, which purports to expose certain depraved practices of the Korolayan elite. Citing the book's "intolerable racism and defamation", Minister of Justice Oliver Kaseji announced the suit in a television announcement this morning, claiming that he had the Sultan of Korolaya's full backing.

In other news, an additional ten migrant workers employed in the construction of the Korolay Towers hotel and casino were reported missing. This marks the latest in a spate of reported disappearances of foreign construction and service workers that have reportedly been swamping the offices of the Korolay Police Force. Foreign consulates in the city have supposedly become anxious in recent months, and it is rumored that certain nations will be issuing warnings to citizens traveling to Korolay.

In response to this, Korolayan Minsiter of Foreign Affairs Jonathan Chase Isebo issued a strongly worded statement, assuring foreign governments that their nationals are entirely safe to travel and work in Korolay, which has some of the highest compensation rates for construction workers in the region. We will continue to be following this story as it develops.