Fiji's president suspended the constitution of his troubled South Pacific country on Friday and fired the judges who declared its military government illegal, according to AP. The radical move by the titular head of state paves the way for the armed forces chief who seized power in 2006 to return to control despite a senior court's ruling Thursday that his coup _ and therefore his government _ was unlawful. The 24 hours of turmoil marks the latest chapter in a long-running political crisis in the once-idyllic country of 800,000 people that has become increasingly unstable and more impoverished after four coups in the past 20 years. In a national address Friday, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo announced he had abolished the constitution, assumed governing power and revoked all judicial appointments as part of what he called «the new order.» He said he would appoint a new prime minister within days and hold elections no later than September 2014.
