Military leaders in Thailand have staged a coup, suspended the constitution and declared martial law. The army commander Sondhi Boonyaratkalin said the military leadership had formed a council for a political reform and ousted the Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Mr. Thaksin canceled a speech he was due to give at the UN General Assembly in New York and it's not clear whether he intends to return to Thailand. J H reports from Bangkok.

It's now clear that the coup ordered by the top levels of the army has taken place in the Thai capital against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. A spokesman for the military has appeared on television, declaring martial law throughout the country and canceling the state of emergency announced earlier by the prime minister from New York where he's attending the UN General Assembly. The spokesman said irreconcilable differences between Mr. Thaksin and his opponents had forced them to act. The coup leaders he insisted, were acting in support of Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Tellingly when announcing the abolition of the constitution and the dissolution of parliament, he said the influential previous council of senior aides to the King would still function. But he said the military would return power to the people as soon as possible.

The European Union has called for Thailand to restore democratic order as soon as possible. The Prime Minister of Finland which holds the rotating EU presidency Matti Vanhanen said the country needed to revert to democratic order without delay. But an opposition Senator in the Thai parliament, *, welcomed the removal of Mr. Thaksin.

I would say that the majority of people in Bangkok are saying good reasons to Thaksin, I was elected to the Senate and We're all supposed to be independent. But he managed to get a hold about 130 people, put on his barrow. And we became no longer independent.

United Nations General Assembly has opened in New York with forceful calls for action in the Sudanese region of Darfur. President Bush said the credibility of the UN was at stake and announced the appointment of a special American envoy to help in the efforts. President Chirac of France echoed his call, warning that a catastrophe was being prepared in the region.

In Darfur, millions of people are in danger, a crime against humanity is in the making. Bloody unrest is once again on the point of rocking the very hard of Africa. France exhorted the international community to avert a new humanitarian catastrophe.

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A BBC investigation has uncovered what it says is evidence of a series of widespread corruption in English football. In the year-long investigation by the panorama television program, 18 past and present football managers in the premier league were named to the BBC as corrupt by people who dealt directly with them. One of those named is the manager of Bolton W, Sam Allardyce, who was a leading contender for the job of managing England's national team earlier this year. Mr. Allardyce said he's never asked for or taken an illegal payment. The BBC investigation used secret recordings to interview several football agents. One former agent said in his experience, illegal transferred payment was the norm across the premiership.

More than 10, 000 anti-government protestors are gathering in Hungary to renew their demands for the resignation of the Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany. The demonstration in central Budapest is reported to have been peaceful so far in stark contrast Monday night, which left 150 people injured. Mr. Gyurcsany has been under growing pressure to stand down since the leak of 9a[/color] tape recording in which he admits lying to win reelection last April. L S reports from Budapest.

The latest demonstration outside the Hungarian parliament was bigger and better human than the last. Under the watch flies of riot police, many dropped in from the provinces to reinforce their colleagues in the capital. Around 10, 000 people gathered to listen to speeches ridiculing the prime minister. His admission in a tape leaked on Sunday that he had consistently lied to the public in order to win the second term in office, sparked the current crisis. The prime minister has defended in his speech and claimed the moral high ground to speaking openly about the country's problems.

The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has approved a request by the judiciary to replace the chief judge trying the ousted President Saddam Hussein on genocide charges. Officials in the prime minister's office told the BBC that the judge will be transferred to a higher judiciary council. It's not clear when a new judge will be appointed or what impact will have on the trial proceedings in Baghdad. A senior prosecutor had earlier demanded the judge step down, saying he was too lenient to order Saddam Hussein and the six co-defendants.