SUVA, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - Fiji's military regime said Friday it would lift emergency measures reintroduced last month to gag deposed prime minister Laisenia Qarase.

The emergency regulations, which included allowing the military to detain people without charge, would be eased from Saturday, local reports quoted military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Mosese Tikoitoga as saying.

'The military is confident and we want to inform the public of Fiji that we do not see any threat to the nation or its people,' Tikoitoga told Fiji Radio.

BANGKOK, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - Thailand's new army chief General Anupong Paojinda is a career soldier who will try to strengthen the army in its barracks but will stay out of politics, analysts and the government said Thursday.

Anupong, named to succeed junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin late Wednesday after the king's approval, will lead the most powerful branch of the military as the nation heads into general elections on December 23.

BANGKOK, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - Thailand's new army chief General Anupong Paojinda is a career soldier who will try to strengthen the army in its barracks but will stay out of politics, analysts and the government said Thursday.

Anupong, named to succeed junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin late Wednesday after the king's approval, will lead the most powerful branch of the military as the nation heads into general elections on December 23.

BANGKOK, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - On the first anniversary Wednesday of a coup that overthrew Thailand's longest-serving elected prime minister, activists and politicians warned the country's return to full democracy is under threat.

Deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra led the charge, accusing the international community of ignoring the junta's 'departures from democratic norms.'

BANGKOK, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - General Anupong Paojinda, a key player in a coup exactly a year ago, will replace junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin as Thai army chief, the government said Wednesday.

'General Anupong Paojinda, assistant army commander, will become army commander,' a statement from Government House read.

Anupong, a former classmate of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was seen by analysts as a moderate choice to succeed Sonthi, who faces mandatory retirement as army chief at the end of September.

BANGKOK, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - The Thai military has failed to justify its reasons for overthrowing Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's elected government one year ago, a former ruling party official said Wednesday.

Army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin said he ousted the twice-elected Thaksin on September 19 last year to end political turmoil, reunite a divided nation and rid Thailand of corrupt politicians.

LONDON, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - Exiled former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Wednesday he still planned to return home, a year to the day since he was ousted in a bloodless coup.

'I will go back but after the election... I will probably have to wait until the election, when the new government is installed,' he told BBC radio.

'I can't be sure when but that's my idea initially. The situation in Thailand is changing every day.'

BANGKOK, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - A military coup one year ago in Thailand has been a big setback for human rights, a watchdog said Wednesday.

New York-based Human Rights Watch was commenting on the first anniversary of the September 19 overthrow of prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's elected government in a bloodless coup.

Human Rights Watch said the military-installed government has taken few steps to keep its promises to protect human rights, and prospects for the return to an elected government through free and fair elections remain uncertain.

BANGKOK, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - Thailand is eyeing a record tourist influx with foreigners seemingly undeterred by the Phuket plane disaster or political concerns since a military coup one year ago, industry officials say.

Hassles at a gleaming new airport outside the capital Bangkok have not put off visitors either, helping the tourism sector perform better than at first expected.

SUVA, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - Fiji's coup leader and self-proclaimed interim prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama said Tuesday he will go to the United Nations next week to plead the case for his rule.

Bainimarama, who as military chief toppled the elected government in a bloodless coup on December 5 last year, said he had been invited to address the UN General Assembly.

Asked what he would say in his speech, he said: 'You go to the General Assembly and plead your case, you tell them what's happening in Fiji.'

'I will tell them what democracy is like in Fiji.'

BANGKOK, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - One year after Thailand's coup, the kingdom's economic growth ranks among the lowest in Southeast Asia as domestic demand and investment have slumped due to political uncertainty, analysts said.

The economy is expected to rise over four percent this year, far below average growth of 5.6 percent in the region led by Indonesia, Singapore and booming Vietnam, according to the Asian Development Bank.

BANGKOK, Sept 16, 2007 (AFP) - Thailand is edging towards elections after a coup one year ago ousted its longest-serving elected premier, but analysts say the generals' promise to restore stability, unity and democracy remains a remote prospect.

Military interventions to wipe the slate clean are nothing new in Thailand, which has seen 18 coups in 75 years, but many had thought those days were over -- until the tanks rolled into Bangkok on September 19, 2006.

SUVA, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - The European Union warned Friday a reintroduction of a state of emergency by Fiji's military regime could break undertakings on which hundreds of millions of dollars in EU aid depend.

The leader of December's bloodless coup and self-proclaimed interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama Thursday reintroduced emergency regulations, which had been lifted at the end of May.

BANJUL, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) - A Gambian court last week sentenced three people to 20 years in jail with hard labour for their parts in a plot to topple President Yahya Jammeh, documents showed Monday.

The verdict last Thursday was handed down by the president of the High Court, Avril Anin Yeboah, according to a copy of the court documents seen by AFP.

Former treasury official Alieu Jobe, former police and immigration official Tamsir Jasseh, and religious leader Omar Faal Keita were found guilty of 'treason,' 'plotting,' and 'complicity in treason,' the document said.

MONROVIA, Aug 3, 2007 (AFP) - Two alleged coup plotters facing treason charges in Liberia briefly appeared in court on Friday but their hearing was delayed indefinitely for logistical reasons.

Charles Julu, a former army chief of staff, and George Koukou, an ex-parliamentary speaker, were due to answer charges on suspicion of masterminding an alleged plot against the Liberian government.

The two, who were brought to court in handcuffs, were not asked to enter pleas.

MONROVIA, July 30, 2007 (AFP) - Liberian authorities on Monday postponed by four days a treason trial against two alleged coup plotters because of a scheduling conflict for the state prosecutor.

Charles Julu, a former army chief of staff and George Koukou, an ex-parliamentary speaker, were due in court on Tuesday to answer charges on suspicion of masterminding the alleged plot.

But the prosecutor Samuel Jacobs asked for the postponement of the case because he won't be available until Friday.