Mud and boulders loosened by days of heavy rain swept down a volcano and partly buried a small town, swallowing up homes as flooding and landslides across El Salvador killed at least 124 people.

Ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya was kept from landing at the country's main airport today because the runway was blocked by military vehicles and groups of soldiers, some of them clashing with a crowd of thousands outside.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has alleged that US intelligence agencies were behind a purported assassination plot that prevented him from visiting El Salvador.