Suva - Talks between Fiji's military and rebels holding 31 political hostages, including the Prime Minister, ended without a deal yesterday, appearing to dash hopes of an imminent end to the crisis.
"There are some contentious issues," the rebel leader, Mr George Speight, said after a day of talks ended without a resolution.
Mr Speight and a small band of supporters stormed Fiji's parliamentary complex on May 19th, taking the country's first Indian Prime Minister, Mr Mahendra Chaudhry, and his multi-ethnic coalition government hostage in the name of indigenous Fijians.