PHILIPPINES:Philippine president Gloria Arroyo imposed a curfew last night after troops stormed a luxury hotel in Manila to quash a coup attempt by renegade soldiers.
The rebel soldiers and their supporters - including several Catholic priests - were led away in handcuffs to be charged after about 1,500 troops smashed their way into the Peninsula Hotel in the capital using an armoured personnel carrier backed by sustained bursts of automatic fire and tear gas grenades.
There were no reports of any injuries despite the gunfire, and the rebel ringleaders - who demanded Ms Arroyo quit - surrendered, claiming they feared a bloodbath among the hundreds of journalists who had crowded into the hotel before the arrival of the soldiers outside.
Coup leaders allowed guests at the hotel to leave after initially denying them the chance to go. The group of about 30 soldiers and their supporters barricaded themselves in a second-floor conference room from where they broadcast live their demands on national television. Ms Arroyo appeared on television shortly afterwards to assure people she was in control and commanded the army's loyalty.
The abortive coup was the third in the six-year reign of Ms Arroyo, who was herself propelled to power when the army backed street protests against her predecessor, former movie star Joseph Estrada.