Honduras police break up protests

Mr Zelaya's supporters had defied a curfew imposed until Tuesday evening Honduran security forces have broken up protests outside the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa in support of deposed President Manuel Zelaya, reports say. Police surrounded the embassy, where Mr Zelaya is staying, and the scene is now said to be calm. Protesters defied a curfew set after Mr Zelaya's surprise return on Monday. He had been in exile since being thrown out of Honduras on 28 June. Interim leader Roberto Micheletti has insisted Mr Zelaya should face trial. The confrontation between protesters and police took place in the early morning local time, reports said, and police are now said to be in control of the area. Police fired tear gas at the protesters and at least two tear-gas canisters landed inside the embassy compound, said a photographer for Reuters news agency who was at the scene. Inside the embassy, Mr Zelaya accused police of preparing an attack. "The embassy is surrounded by police and the military... I foresee bigger acts of aggression and violence, that they could be capable of even invading the Brazilian embassy," he told Venezuelan broadcaster Telesur, according to Reuters. But a police spokesman said force had to be used to disperse the protesters, and that the curfew remained in effect until Tuesday evening. A protest leader, Juan Barahona, alleged that police had used live rounds, but this was denied by the interim deputy foreign minister, Martha Lorena Alvarado. Mr Micheletti has demanded that the deposed leader be handed over to face trial, saying Brazil will be held responsible for any violence. In addition to the curfew, airports have been shut and roadblocks set up on highways leading into Tegucigalpa. Calls for calm But Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim warned that any threat to Mr Zelaya or the Brazilian embassy would be a grave breach of international law. Earlier, the European Union called for calm following Mr Zelaya's dramatic return to the country. In a statement, it called on Mr Zelaya and the interim government to negotiate an end to the three-month crisis. It added its voice to that of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said Mr Zelaya's return must not lead to violence.