Paraguay's President Lugo impeachment trial under way

Mr Lugo's supporters, many of them poor peasants, gathered to protest against the trial

Lawyers representing Paraguay's left-wing President Fernando Lugo have begun his defence in impeachment proceedings.

Mr Lugo, who asked the Supreme Court to stop the trial, announced he was not going to defend himself in person.
Both houses of parliament voted on Thursday to begin impeachment proceedings over his handling of clashes between farmers and police in which at least 17 people died.
His 2008 election ended 61 years of rule by the right-wing Colorado party.
A vote is expected at 16:30 (20:30 GMT), with a two-thirds majority need to remove Mr Lugo from office.
The impeachment trial is being held in the upper house of parliament, the Senate.
The two main political parties, Colorado and Liberal, have put aside their differences and voted in favour of the motion to begin the impeachment trial.
The Liberals are part of Mr Lugo's ruling coalition.
The vote in the House of Deputies was passed with an overwhelming 76-1 majority. Reports suggest only five out of 45 senators support Mr Lugo, who has likened the impeachment bid to a coup.
In an appeal filed with Paraguay's Supreme Court on Friday, Mr Lugo's lawyers said the proceedings do not ensure due process, and that the president should be granted more time to prepare.
"The president has been given fewer guarantees and fewer rights to defend himself than someone with a traffic fine," one of Mr Lugo's lawyers, Adolfo Ferreiro, told the AP news agency.
The Senate's decision to schedule the trial for Friday gave Mr Lugo less than 24 hours to ready a defence.
A centre-right legislator, Carlos Maria, denied allegations of unconstitutionality. "There's nothing illegal here, there's no constitutional rupture, no coup,"
Supporters of Mr Lugo gathered amid tight security outside the National Congress building in the capital Asuncion before the trial was due to start.
If Mr Lugo is impeached, Vice-President Federico Franco would take over as president until the end of Mr Lugo's five-year term in 2013.
There are fears the vote could prompt violent street protests.