Fiji: Prime Minister Deposed in Military Coup

Fiji's military overthrew the government yesterday following a year-long power struggle between Military Commander Frank Bainimarama and Prime Minister Qarase. Bainimarama had long threatened to topple Prime Minister Qarase's government, which won a second five-year term in May, calling it corrupt and too soft on those behind Fiji's last coup in 2000. Today, the Prime Minister was flown out of the capital to safety.

The fourth coup in 20 years, Fiji is likely to face international sanctions. The United States has also temporarily suspended $2.5 million in aid and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has condemned the takeover.

We've been following all of this news pretty closely for the last week and had been hoping a coup would be avoided. Last night we learned that the coup was underway. Is that why Pablo slept so poorly, I wonder? Alas. Let's hope for a speedy and long-lasting resolution for Fiji.

For more news on this topic, see Google News, which provides the news as it is released from a number of sources.