Paraguay's Congress impeaches President
Paraguay's Congress moved to impeach leftist President Fernando Lugo on Thursday on charges he mishandled clashes over a land eviction that killed 17 people last week, and the Senate will decide his fate on Friday, Reuters said.
As political allies deserted him, the president refused to resign and vowed to defend himself in a lightning-quick Senate trial that could result in his removal from office.
Paraguay's lower house of Congress agreed in a swift, near-unanimous vote on Thursday to start impeachment proceedings. The Senate later agreed on impeachment rules and will decide on Friday at 4:30 p.m. (2030 GMT) whether to oust the president.
"This president announces that he is not going to present his resignation and that he will fully respect the constitution and the law to face the impeachment trial and its full consequences," Lugo said in a televised address. "There is no valid cause - neither legal nor political - to make me resign."