Ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya will be allowed to travel freely from next week.

President Porfirio Lobo of Honduras says the former president no longer need fear arrest, if he wishes to leave the country.

Mr Zelaya has been sheltering in the Brazilian embassy in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa since September. In June he was deported following a coup d'état led by Roberto Micheletti.

Following mediation, new elections were called in November and conservative politician Porfirio Lobo was elected president. His term of office begins on 27 January.

Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernández has agreed to welcome the ousted president and his family as guests in an attempt to end his state of limbo. Mr Zelaya has expressed his appreciation for the gesture and says the new president has distanced himself from the “dictatorship of Micheletti”. He has not said whether he will take up the offer.

Photo Manuel Zelaya in Brazilian embassy - ANP