BREAKING NEWS

Ousted Zelaya, interim Honduran leader accept Nobel laureate as mediator

Both sides in the leadership crisis in Honduras signaled their willingness on Tuesday to forge a diplomatic solution to the deadlock over the fate of deposed President Manuel Zelaya, who was overthrown last month in a coup. The ousted president and interim Honduran leader Roberto Micheletti agreed to accept Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, a Nobel Peace laureate, as an international mediator. Arias' appointment was backed by the United States and was announced by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton after she met privately with Zelaya at the State Department. Arias will conduct the mediation in Costa Rica, where Zelaya intends to travel from Washington. Clinton said she expected the process to begin soon.