President Ratu Josefa Iloilo

Fiji's military leader Thursday intensified his crackdown against perceived enemies of his regime, throwing out an Australian academic days after expelling the top envoys from New Zealand and Australia. The expulsion of Australian National University's Fiji expert Brij Lal also came as a close ally of self-appointed prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama was named the country's president, a largely ceremonial role. Lal was arrested on Wednesday at his home in Suva after giving a number of media interviews on Fiji's political situation as relations with Wellington and Canberra reached a new low. Bainimarama announced late Tuesday that the heads of the Australian and New Zealand ... Read Full Story

Fiji's acting president Ratu Epeli Nailatikau was sworn in as head of state of the military-ruled Pacific nation Thursday. Nailatikau, a former army commander credited with guiding self-appointed Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama through his military career, was appointed as acting president after Ratu Josefa Iloilo retired at the end of July. President Nailatikau had been appointed vice president in April, a week after Bainimarama repealed the constitution, sacked the judiciary and introduced emergency regulations including press censorship. The largely ceremonial positions of president and vice president were traditionally appointed by Fiji's Great Council of Chiefs, sidelined by Bainimarama soon after he ousted the elected ... Read Full Story

Fiji's acting president Ratu Epeli Nailatikau was sworn in as head of state of the military-ruled Pacific nation Thursday. Nailatikau, a former army commander credited with guiding self-appointed Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama through his military career, was appointed as acting president after Ratu Josefa Iloilo retired at the end of July. President Nailatikau had been appointed vice president in April, a week after Bainimarama repealed the constitution, sacked the judiciary and introduced emergency regulations including press censorship. The largely ceremonial positions of president and vice president were traditionally appointed by Fiji's Great Council of Chiefs, sidelined by Bainimarama soon after he ousted the elected ... Read Full Story

LONDON (Reuters) - The Commonwealth said on Tuesday it had suspended Fiji after the Pacific Island nation failed to meet a deadline for opening talks on a return to democracy. "This is an announcement I make with deep regret -- it is a step the Commonwealth is now obliged to take, and one that it takes in sorrow," Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said in a statement announcing Fiji's full suspension from the grouping of 53 nations, mostly former British colonies. Fiji had already been suspended from Commonwealth meetings. The tougher sanction means that Fiji is not eligible for technical assistance from the Commonwealth and ... Read Full Story

Fiji will likely be suspended from the Commonwealth bloc, New Zealand said Wednesday — a day after its military ruler strengthened his grip on power by replacing the ailing president with a stronger ally. Self-appointed Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, the armed forces chief who seized power in a 2006 coup, announced President Ratu Josefa Iloilo would step down on Tuesday. He will be replaced in the interim by Vice President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, widely seen as a mentor for the ambitious prime minister. Nailatikau was appointed foreign minister after the coup and assured Pacific leaders that elections would be held by April 2009 — ... Read Full Story