TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras's post-coup de facto leader said on Friday he would give up his presidential duties for a week, a step Washington welcomed as a way to help ease a five-month-old political crisis.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras's post-coup de facto leader said on Friday he would give up his presidential duties for a week, a step Washington welcomed as a way to help ease a five-month-old political crisis.

A top US diplomat for Latin America headed Tuesday for Honduras to renew contacts with all parties and try to defuse the lingering political crisis, a State Department official said.

Despite political unrest, a relaxing vacation in beautiful Honduras is possible. "The president's been arrested already this morning," hotel owner Jeff Kuken told my wife and me one Sunday morning in late June.

The Honduran Congress will consider whether to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya on December 2, three days after elections for a new president, the body's head said Tuesday.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduran lawmakers will wait until after a November 29 election to decide whether to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya, delaying a vote central to a U.S.-led deal to end months of political crisis.

A top US envoy said Wednesday that Honduran elections were key to resolving the crisis set off by the June 28 coup, despite the rejection of the polls by ousted leader Manuel Zelaya.

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Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said Thursday he would legally contest November 29 elections because they were taking place before Congress decides if he can briefly return to power.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras's de facto leader said he may give up his presidential duties for a week so voters can focus on an election that Washington hopes will help end a five-month-old political crisis.

Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Micheletti said he planned to step down briefly over November 29 elections in an apparent bid to boost their international legitimacy.

Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Micheletti said Thursday that he planned to step down briefly during November 29 elections in an apparent bid to boost its international legitimacy.

Honduras interim president may leave temporarily to allow voters to concentrate on election. Honduras' interim president said Thursday he may step down temporarily to allow voters to concentrate on the upcoming presidential elections.

The Honduran de facto regime on Friday ordered citizens to turn in their weapons in a bid to avert violence around disputed presidential elections to be held at the end of the month.

The United States on Friday welcomed a move by interim Honduran leader Roberto Micheletti to step down briefly, saying it boosted chances for ending the months-long political showdown.

The interim leadership in Honduras has vowed to use all security measures at its disposal to ensure a safe election this month and emerge from the country's crippling political crisis.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said on Saturday he would refuse to return to the presidency as part of any deal to end the crisis sparked by his ouster, saying that to do so would legitimize a June coup.

Deposed Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya has written to US President Barack Obama saying he wants no part of US efforts to broker a deal to restore his presidency and end his country's political crisis.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A speech to the U.N. General Assembly by a representative of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya's government has been postponed from Saturday to Monday, a U.N. official said.

The stakes rose in Honduras Sunday after ousted leader Manuel Zelaya, holed up at Brazil's embassy in Tegucigalpa, called on his supporters for a final offensive -- and coup leaders respond by giving Brazil a harsh warning.