2006 Military Coup

Fijians flocked to vote Wednesday in the South Pacific nation's first election since a 2006 coup, with officials declaring the poll trouble free and military strongman Voreqe Bainimarama saying he would win.

Fijians voted on Wednesday in the South Pacific nation's first election since a 2006 coup, with the military on standby in case violence flares but police reporting no problems in early polling.

Military rule in Thailand is likely to last longer than expected and has been more repressive than after the country's last coup in 2006, a senior US official said on Tuesday.

The last time Thailand's army seized power, in 2006, some called it "the smiling coup." Residents of Bangkok who supported overthrow of an elected government they accused of corruption poured into the streets, handing out flowers to soldiers who had deployed tanks across this metropolis of glass skyscrapers and ornate Buddhist temples.

Fijians flocked to vote Wednesday in the South Pacific nation's first election since a 2006 coup, with officials declaring the poll trouble free and military strongman Voreqe Bainimarama saying he would win.

Fijians voted on Wednesday in the South Pacific nation's first election since a 2006 coup, with the military on standby in case violence flares but police reporting no problems in early polling.

Military rule in Thailand is likely to last longer than expected and has been more repressive than after the country's last coup in 2006, a senior US official said on Tuesday.

The last time Thailand's army seized power, in 2006, some called it "the smiling coup." Residents of Bangkok who supported overthrow of an elected government they accused of corruption poured into the streets, handing out flowers to soldiers who had deployed tanks across this metropolis of glass skyscrapers and ornate Buddhist temples.