No progress in Fiji hostage crisis

The head of Fiji's Council of Chiefs, Sitiveni Rambuka, says there has been little progress in negotiations with armed rebels who've taken over the parliament buildings and are holding hostage a number of senior government figures In an interview with the BBC, Mr Rambuka said the rebel's demands - that they be recognised as the legal government and that the multi-ethnic constitution be scrapped - were unacceptable.

But Mr Rambuka added that while he disagreed with the rebels' methods, he had some sympathy with their view that the culture of indigenous Fijians should not be eroded while ethnic Indians held political power. Earlier the Fijian president, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, defended his sacking of the democratically-elected government saying he had no option but to adopt a desperate measure.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service