In a stunning about-face, the Meijingese cheertator of Zimbabmei orders the assassination of the Vaticonian cheertator and blames the entire ultimatum fiasco on rebellious Vaticonian factions within the government.
The rapid developments began around 10AM on March 25 when Zimbabnese radicals reputedly attempted to assassinate Crown Prince Dewey. The prince survived without injury and remains under close guard in the Pentacon palace. He is the son of the Vaticonian cheertator and Minimei (the Meijingese cheertator's daughter).
From there, relations between the Vaticonian and Meijingese houses (which together make up the united country of Zimbabmei) deteriorated. The Meijingese cheertator, now using the archaic Meijingese title of Pharaoh, blamed the whole military adventure against Octavton on the Dope (the archaic Vaticonian title of that house's cheertator).
To stave off international outrage at her country's aggressive moves and to ensure that the military campaign come to an end, the Pharaoh ordered loyalist forces to assassinate the Dope. In addition, she apologized to the international community.
While Meijingese forces have claimed success, the Dope has not been seen or heard from by the international community. His whereabouts remain unknown.
However, two things appear to be certain. Octavton and its allies appaear to be safe for the time being while Zimbabmei teeters on the brink of civil war.
