'Fiji military govt illegal'

SUVA, Fiji: A court in coup-plagued Fiji declared the military government illegal yesterday and said the president should immediately appoint an interim leader to oversee a return to democracy.

Military ruler Commodore Frank Bainimarama responded by saying he was relinquishing his post as self-appointed prime minister but would continue as the country's military leader and return his troops to their barracks.

"The ruling of the Court of Appeal and its refusal to grant a stay pending the appeal means, in practical terms, that we effectively do not now have a prime minister or any ministers of the state," he said in a televised address to the nation.