Queen marries Kalistani William P. BennotsBennots now Prince-Consort Wrnhélm of Vanuku.Queen Mrjmai and Prince-Consort Wrnhélm at the marriage ceremony, Bennots is a former regional director of ODEN and met the Queen during his travels in Vanuku.August 4431 - Several years ago the Queen met Kalistani citizen William P. Bennots on the set of a movie. Soon after they were seen again and at one point the press even learned that Bennots was an often seen guest at the palaces in Wiel and Banstill. A few months ago the Archduke himself, on behalf of his sister the Queen, entered the Grand Council to seek approval for the royal marriage between Her Majesty and Bennots. The Archduke, a professional soldier, pleaded to all members of parliament to allow his sister to "marry out of love". The Grand Council unanimously approved the request, honouring the wish of the late King Juhn. Archduke Wrntukai is known to have openly stated he does not wish to be the Archduke and that he will abdicate from the role as soon as his sister has a child. "Be it a boy or a girl, I think my sister has proven that gender does not decide a good ruler."
The Queen and her fiancé opted for a closed marriage with many celebrations across Vanuku. Her Majesty stated that she meant no insult to any heads of state across the globe. "The marriage between William and I was for family and friends, the celebrations are for everyone." Only a minimal amount of pictures have been made at the affair and the guest list is still not entirely known. Rumoured attendees are Crown Prince William of Hutori, Empress Mary having cited health reasons for not attending, as well as Minister Abe Hashimoto of Kalistan who attended in place of the disgraced Premier al-Khali. The Bennots family, together with all branches of the Banmek-Sntazed dynasty, were all accounted for according to insiders.
Bennots, born into one of the most influential political dynasties of Kalistan, never entered politics himself. A good student the talented Bennots made a fast career in ODEN. After several years as a regional director he resigned and opted to travel the world as a philantropist, using his connections in Kalistan and abroad to better the lives of people across the globe. Bennots however never forgot to have fun, attending many cultural events, at one of these he met the Queen. The two struck off almost instantly and seemed a natural pairing even with their opposite backgrounds. With the marriage Bennots, a self-proclaimed socialist, has now become a royal of Vanuku. In the native Wrnkaék he is now Prince-Consort Wrnhélm and will function as an important diplomatic tool of the Kingdom.
Tanks and IFV's to receive upgradeLessons learned from Jelbanian Crisis will be applied to mechanized units.The current Cheetah MBT on the right, with the upgrade developed by Royal Krmj on the left after feedback from the Land Forces.March 4432 - While any conflict is to be avoided there are always lessons to be learned. The King Temrkai Think-Tank already showed this with their full evaluation of the Armed Forces after the end of the Jelbanian Crisis. One of the points made by the think-tank was that Vanuku's armoured vehicles were lacking. The Cheetah MBT is a licensed design from Hulstria, acquired a long time ago. With the Jelbanian Crisis the age of the design became apparent as the tanks did not function as well as they should have.
The Ministry of Defence issued a bidding contract for an upgrading package to the Cheetah MBT. The winner of the contract was Royal Krmj, with their innovative package impressing the Ministry of Defence. The latest technologies are offered in the package to improve the performance of the tank. Advanced modular armour has been added to the tank, this composite consists of nano-ceramic materials as well as titanium and steel alloys. New smoke grenade dischargers have been added all around the vehicle to set up a smokescreen within a second. Further improvements have been made to the fire control system, to improve accuracy and the rate of fire. A 360 degree periscope will give the commander of the improved tank better visibility, also added onto the periscope is thermal imaging. The machine gun on top of the tank has been turned into a remotely controlled weapon station, so no crew members have to expose themselves to added dangers in the heat of battle. The package will only add 4 tonnes to the weight of the tank, only slightly reducing the top speed.
Royal Krmj has pledged that with government funding it can fully upgrade Vanuku's tanks within 15 years.
Queen Mrjmai intervenes in Jelbanian Crisis TrialHer Majesty petitioned the Lord Justice to alter the death sentences to life-long imprisonments.Lord Justice Merlékam honoured the Queen's request.January 4433 - 1,5 years after the 'end' of Vanuku's trial of the century the legal story finally has an ending. Ever since the presumed end of the trial the former Prefect and four generals have been sitting on death row. However Lord Justice Merlékam had issued an extra investigation in the statements made by the Prefect regarding Kazulgate. The executions were to be put off until the investigation was concluded to avoid any new evidence coming to light after the deed had already been done.
Before the investigation could be finished however the Queen sent a petition to the Lord Justice. In the petition Her Majesty condemned the use of the death penalty, even though the Vanukean constitution allows it for the gravest of crimes, and requested the Lord Justice to revert his sentencing to life-long imprisonment to all five. She added onto her request by writing that "a statement has been made, all people involved are fully aware of the mistakes they have made, Lord Justice, there are times to punish and there are times to forgive but in my eyes here we can do both at once instead of only punishing these men."
While the Queen holds no formal powers the petition struck a cord with the Lord Justice who confirmed that he would be adhering to the request. "The Queen has shown she has a special regard for human life and the Supreme Court has found no reason to blatantly ignore a petition coming from our head of state. It is for these reasons that all five, including the former Prefect, will instead be incarcerated for the rest of their lives in one of the prisons of the Kingdom."