IBOMA TIMES
14 March 2021, Sunday
TRETRIDIAN MAN FACES DEPORTATION FOR PUBLIC INDECENCY, HARASSMENT!
CALLS FOR IBOMA TO STAY OUT OF NOVARIS LEAGUE
By Imira va Karina
[hr]
Luzaro - Reports have emerged of a Tretridian male that citizens have complained is disturbing the peace. For legal purposes, we cannot disclose his name, but he is described as a large human male with blond hair and a beard, pale semi-translucent skin from Tretrid working for a company in the small country town Jambana in Luzaro Province. The community reported this man to the police – who arrested him – after repeated incidents of “man-spreading” (spreading his legs on the bus), “cat-calling” (whistling at and making rude sexual remarks toward other people) and worst of all, grabbing an Ibomian female’s posterior without consent.
The Royal Constable for Jambana has stated that the District Guardian of Jambana will hear his case tomorrow where the Crown Defender will present the charges. According to reports from the Crown Defender’s Office in Jambana, the man will be charged with harassment, assault and public indecency and the Crown will recommend him for deportation. Tretridians on the Pigeon social media site have called the charges trumped up, xenophobic and racist. Unfortunately, we were unable to interview the man due to him being placed under police custody.
This concerning incident raises questions about the viability of Iboma applying to join the League of Novaris. Last week, the State Office for Foreign Affairs announced that the Ibomian government would investigate applying for membership in the League of Novaris, a multilateral geopolitical organization composed of nations on and around the continent of Novaris. Traditionalists, most notably Priestess Finimba va Sala, signed a joint letter stating, “Joining the league will allow more uncivilized infidels to enter and defile our country”. The business community is divided, with the Join Novaris campaign stating that increased tourism, investment and trade with Novaran nations will boost the domestic economy, while the Better Alone campaign states that increased competition from foreign imports and companies will drown local businesses.
IBOMA TIMES
15 March 2021, Monday
TRETRIDIAN MAN CONVICTED AND DEPORTED
ROLE OF CULTURE IN FOREIGN RELATIONS QUESTIONED
Imira va Karina
[hr]
Tretridian man has been convicted of public indecency and harassment, and the was acquitted of assault charges. The District Guardian of Jambana handed the judgment today following representations by the Crown Prosecutor and Defence. The man was deported and the government was instructed to ensure his immediate repatriation to Tretrid. Traditionalist have praised the judgment while Tretridians on Pigeon have decried the move against this man, and by extension their country.
According to political commentator Yaweri nga Sindani of the Ibomian Foreign Policy Centre, the case of the Tretridian Man (as he is commonly known), reflects the cultural and political friction that will pervade the relationship with Novaris. Nga Sindani explains that the conflicting interests of religious authorities and the business sector will need to be addressed before the application to the League of Novaris can be made. Iboma must strickly consider how it will handle tourists and foreign workers, rules of origin, external customs and tariffs and a raft of other issues.
IBOMA TIMES
17 March 2021
HOW GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS ARE IMPACTED BY GEOECONOMIC INTEGRATION
WHY JOINING THE LEAGUE OF NOVARIS IS NOT STRAIGHTFORWARD
By Delila nga Kamala
[hr]
Global supply chains refer to the worldwide network of producers and logistics that bring a good or service to a location and condition ready for sale. For instance, a PrimPhone smartphone consists of components and raw materials and is assembled at different locations and sold via different platforms. The lithium for the battery, microchips, internal conductors, casing, rubber, plastic, proprietary screws, glass screen and display, network adapters all originate from and are produced in different nations, spanning several continents, timezones and thousands of employees. The reasons for this are because companies find it cheaper to source materials and components from different nations due to competitive labour costs, administrative and tax advantages, the presence of good infrastructure and technical skills, and the ease with which goods can be moved in and out a country. In some instances, they also benefit from low import and export duties and free regulations.
Geoeconomic integration refers to a political process among several sovereign states to align internal laws, lower trade barriers, share economic costs and other measures to bring them into alignment. This works well in organisations and agreements where nations have competitive advantages against each other. This is found in organisations such as the UNAC, where the diversity of member nations’ economic advantages, relative peace among member states, the similarity of political and economic customs enable them to achieve a high level of integration. This allows them to negotiate in bulk with foreign suppliers and to create favourable conditions for local companies when competing with foreign nations.
The issue with the League of Novaris and Iboma’s entry into that organisation lies in the vast political differences and divergence of economic interests that must be considered. As an island nation, the increase in imports of agricultural and biological products may result in the introduction of alien species that could harm local fauna and flora. Iboma’s legal and political system differs widely from other Novaran nations and might make harmonisation of laws and tax structures challenging. Longstanding disputes on fishing, mineral exploration and shipping rights in the Tretridian, Tiervan, Tadeshi and Veridian Seas will complicate sharing and cooperation agreements. Some economies in the League are over-leveraged, exposing other member states to low-quality unserviceable debt. Conversely, others are net lenders and access to comparatively cheap or abundantly available finance, could result in higher demand for foreign finance and an outflow of foreign exchange to service those debts.
This is not meant to dampen the interest that has been shown nor the potential benefits that could arise from joining the body, but I believe it would be more advisable to have a bilateral agreement between the League and Iboma which allows their mutual political, legal and economic integration without plunging headfirst into the potentially unfavourable outcomes that a hasty joining of that organisation might bring.
IBOMA TIMES
8 April 2021
JUSTICE STATE OFFICE OPENS ANTI-TRUST INVESTIGATION AGAINST GOGGLE
Imira nga Karina
[hr]
Komodu - The State Office of Justice has announced that it has opened an anti-trust investigation against technology giant Goggle for uncompetitive and anti-trust behaviour that is undermining technical development and innovation of smaller companies. The Ibomian Information Technology Association has brought the complaint and has stated that it wants Goggle to change its policies and stop stifling innovation for the sake of market growth and profit.
The list of complaints against the company are as follows:
- Market Stifling Acquisitions and Mergers - The first complaint is that Goggle is buying up tech start ups without the intention of growing them for the sake of stifling competition for its products.
- Unfair Marketing and Preferential Treatment - The second complaint is that Goggle platforms are unfairly favoring their own products. This complaint applies to the Goggle search engine and Goggle application download platform.
- Unfair Pricing - By offering its services at unreasonably low prices or completely for free (without making the some of the knowledge open-source), Goggle is crowding out the market and crushing smaller companies who rely on subscriptions to make money and there is reason to believe that Goggle will eventually raise prices and hurt consumers in the process.
The State Office stated that they will serve Goggle with a notice of the investigation later today. As of the publishing of this article, no comment from Goggle has been received.
IBOMA TIMES
2 June 2021
HEAD OF STATE OF DURAKIA, HORACE ADLEY, DIES
Imira nga Karina
[hr]
The head of state of Durakia, Horace Adley has died. According to our intelligence, it is unknown exactly how he died. Councillor of State for Foreign Affairs, Amira nga Hananiel has stated that the Ibomian government expresses its condolences, but is currently unaware of all the details. It is unclear how his death will impact the team investigating the Durakian nuclear program. According to nga Hananiel, there will not be a deviation of plans put in place prior to Adley’s passing. Queen Rutendo will represent our country at the funeral.
IBOMA TIMES
OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF THE AKRONIST CHURCH OF IBOMA REGARDING THE EX-COMMUNICATION OF METRADAN CHURCH
Citizens of the world and fellow believers,
The Akronist Church of Iboma hereby condemns the bomb that was detonated in Crystal City, Acronis, that caused the deaths of over 200 innocent souls. We are repulsed by this incredible act of ruthlessness. This flagrant disregard for sapient life is counter to the values our Goddess Akrona wanted to instill within us. May the perpetrators of this awful deed be punished and face the full might of justice. Furthermore, we pray that our Goddess may bring peace and comfort to the families affected by this event. We ask all stakeholders to work together to restore order and ensure peace.
We understand that making the decision to excommunicate the Church of Metradan was not easy. Nevertheless, we do not believe that it was proportional or appropriate. Yes, we can unequivocally support the judgment that the actions of the Church of Metradan for instance holding the Novaran Council was morally reprehensible in the extreme, we contend that this was not the right action to take. Excommunicating the entire church not only excommunicates the conspirators but also individuals. Furthermore, while the reasoning that the ex-communication lies in part on years of actions that are an effrontery the values of the mother church, we believe that ex-communication is somewhat politicized.
Firstly, the Akronist Church of Iboma would have recommended that individuals were excommunicated and that the Church of Metradan as an organization be suspended from links with the global community until meaningful internal reforms were undertaken. We believe that ex-communication is for spiritual, not temporal crimes. For instance, blasphemy, idolatry, desecration of religious sites, and propagation of false teachings and sorcery are spiritual crimes and as such justify the ex-communication of an entire body. By contrast, temporal crimes should not result in ex-communication. For instance, common criminals are punished by temporal laws while still having access to repentance and redemption. In contrast, spiritual crimes may not have temporal punishment, at least in most secular jurisdictions, but are punishable by the church. We would instead move to declare the Church of Metradan anathema and ex-communicated their leaders and co-conspirators and avail other Akronist branches as alternative churches for the everyday lay adherent.
May Akrona watch over us at this time.
The Goddess Provides,
The High Priestess on behalf of the Holy Council of the Akronist Church of Iboma.
IBOMA TIMES
23 February 2022
IBOMA OFFICIALLY RECOGNISES ACRONIS
Nomana nga Samandra
Earlier today, Her Majesty, Queen Rutendo officially announced that the Queendom of Iboma officially recognises the People’s Communion of Acronis as a sovereign nation-state. She stated that Iboma will seek to cultivate a strong relationship with the new nation including working to develop a comprehensive partnership spanning the areas of diplomacy, military and economic cooperation. Queen Rutendo has formally sent an invitation to the Matron Vana Dandreal and Atra Metravar to have a state dinner in Komodu both in celebration of their newly acquired independence but to discuss future relations between the two nations.