Fiji orders Australian, NZ diplomats out

SUVA, Fiji: Fiji's military ruler yesterday gave the top diplomats from Australia and New Zealand 24 hours to leave the country, deepening a rift between the island nation and its biggest South Pacific neighbors.

Commodore Frank Bainimarama and the governments of Australia and New Zealand have been at loggerheads since the two regional powers led condemnation of the military leader's 2006 overthrow of the elected government in a bloodless coup.

The latest spat is over a group of expatriate judges from Sri Lanka that Fiji wants to hire to replace some of those fired by Bainimarama's administration.