More surgery for East Timor's Ramos-Horta

The Nobel laureate and former prime minister was flown to Darwin after Monday's attempted coup in which rebel leader Major Alfredo Reinado was killed but Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao escaped uninjured.

 Ramos-Horta, 58, was shot up to three times outside his Dili home and underwent emergency surgery at an Australian military hospital in Dili. He was put into an induced coma for the one-hour flight to Darwin and had three hours of surgery when he arrived.

 After removing bullet fragments doctors said they were optimistic he could make a full recovery from chest and stomach wounds.

 A hospital spokeswoman said the president had undergone a second operation, which was earlier said to be necessary to patch up a wound to his right lung.

 "He has been in surgery this morning and he has come out of it," the spokeswoman told Australia's AAP news agency.

 Ramos-Horta is still in an induced coma, and on a ventilator, but doctors said he would breathe normally if they wished him to.

 "I expect that he's quite resilient and I expect that recovery would be a full recovery," Royal Darwin Hospital head Len Notaris said earlier this week. "He remains in intensive care and will remain there until at least Thursday this week on a ventilator."

   Ramos-Horta shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with compatriot Bishop Carlos Belo for leading the diplomatic campaign for the half-island's freedom.

 Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975 and its occupation continued until 1999, when Australia led an international force that helped guide East Timor to full independence in 2002.

 The tiny country of 1 million people fell into chaos in 2006 after 600 soldiers were sacked from the army and took to the hills. Reinado, who broke out of jail in 2006, was a hero to some of the soldiers who deserted with their guns.

 Dili has remained calm since the botched coup. Australia has sent reinforcements that has brought its complement of soldiers to near 1,000 and a state of emergency has been declared.//dpa