Junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha dropped his latest saccharine pop ballad on the Thai public Monday, pining for the "democratic path" nearly five years after he seized power from the country's last elected government.

Hi-tech, cheap – and quiet. Thailand may have blazed the trail with its fleet of solar-powered tuk-tuks, but West Africa is catching up. The Ivorian resort of Jacqueville is betting on sun-powered three-wheelers as it looks to replace traditional but noisy and dirty bush taxis.