Fiji's military regime will appoint new top judges early next week to replace justices sacked two weeks ago when the president abolished the nation's constitution, an official said.

Fiji’s military regime today took the unprecedented step of halting all meetings of the nation’s powerful council of indigenous chiefs – accusing it of failing to accept that the military now controls the affairs of the South Pacific nation.

Fiji’s ousted prime minister today said the South Pacific country was sliding toward “the worst kind of dictatorship”, and offered to hold talks with the military regime to find a way to restore democracy as quickly as possible.