Guinea-Bissau president killed

Soldiers assassinated the president of Guinea-Bissau in his palace yesterday hours after a bomb blast killed his rival, but the military insisted no coup was taking place in the West African nation.

A military statement broadcast on state radio attributed President Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira's death to an "isolated" group of unidentified soldiers whom the military said it was now hunting down.

The capital of Bissau was calm and traffic flowed normally yesterday despite the overnight gunfight at the palace that led to president's death.